The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

On Earth Day 2016, heads of state at the United Nations pledged their commitment to fight global warming. So how effective will the historic Paris Agreement on climate change be, and will the countries that committed follow through?

Aside from the photo opportunities and ear-to-ear smiles, on paper 196 countries pledged their support for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris, committing to change the way their respective governments act. The Paris Agreement was approved on December 12, 2015. Although the United States is considered one of the major contributors to global pollution, it would be a shame for our nation and our lawmakers not to put into place the regulations contemplated by the UNFCCC.

I am a Republican, but it seems to me that if 196 countries agreed in Paris that we have a problem that needs fixing, we should support the accord not only on paper but also in our actions as a responsible nation. If we want other nations to believe what we say, we should do what we say we are going to do. Let's face it: our reputation in the world is not that stellar these days. We sign it, so it follows that we have to do what we commit to.

We are not short of federal regulatory authorities. To name a few: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). We are also not short of federal environmental laws — the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, the Oil Pollution Act, and many more.

So what gives? All we have to do is act as we legislate, and not let lobbyists do an end run around the laws, as they have done time and again.