Amid ominous talk of climate change, Barack Obama said Wednesday that humans must preserve Earth before dreaming of colonizing Mars. The former US president was speaking at a renewable energy conference in the French capital, Paris, organized by two entrepreneurs in the field.
In his address, Obama emphasized the role of the private sector in tackling global warming. He praised several firms, including retail giant WalMart and chipmaker Intel, for investing in clean-energy projects and supporting the US stance in the Paris climate talks. He also singled out investment firm Berkshire Hathaway for its commitment to reduce the company’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Obama has pushed hard to align the world’s largest carbon emitters behind substantial cuts in greenhouse gases, even though developing nations argue that wealthy nations must do more. The Paris summit could prove a turning point in efforts to avoid dangerous global warming, as the agreement is expected to enter into force this month following a rush of ratifications.
However, critics say he has been slow to enact policies and that his legacy is undermined by an intractable political fight in the US over immigration and the deficit. Many of those critics are the same people who argued against his 2009 stimulus program, which they say did little to ease strains on struggling coal producers.
Amid the ominous rhetoric, it is clear that Obama is taking nothing for granted in the Paris negotiations. The former president will meet leaders of China and India, the world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitters, on Monday and will announce a new initiative to boost funding for energy research. The effort is in addition to a multibillion-dollar project announced earlier by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and other wealthy business people.
The aim is to create a network of laboratories that will collaborate on various projects, including the development of cheaper and more efficient green technologies. The effort will be backed by the governments of 20 countries and the world’s most powerful private investors.
Some more ambitious plans include a solar-powered house to cut energy consumption by 50% and an artificial intelligence system to monitor power use in homes and offices to prevent overuse. In the event of an overuse of electricity, the AI system will warn people and suggest alternatives.
