Your life, your climate agreement

Let's reflect for a moment. What pulled you out of bed this morning? How do you spend the hours of your day? What would you like to experience in this one life? We build our lives of moments that matter to us: getting a degree, helping others, building a business, inventing something new, enjoying our families. These moments are meaningful on a personal level. But personal moments become meaningless if they combine to destroy the one planet that we share. Climate change is a threat to our very existence. Wherever we live and whatever we do. We all contribute to it. And we all have a responsibility to do something about it. At home, we can take a series of small actions that add up to a positive impact: change your light bulbs, reuse and recycle, use less plastic, turn off electronics when not in use, buy more environmentally-friendly products like an electric car, for example. As communities, we can opt for more and better public transport, build bike lanes or recondition city parks. This, too, adds up and makes a difference on a larger scale. There is still one big piece of the puzzle missing: a global climate change agreement. The framework for all our individual climate actions. This is easier said than done and world leaders have stumbled in the past. But there is hope. Last week at the Geneva Climate Change Talks, 194 countries came together and agreed on a negotiating text as the basis for the final agreement they hope to reach at the Paris Climate Summit in December. Every country's position has been included. A good foundation for a collective global pledge to confront the threat to our future. This is your climate agreement. It is not simply a piece of paper to be discussed in a dusty conference hall. It is about your life. Let's help leaders keep the momentum: Write to your local parliamentarian. Petition party leaders. Use social media. Get your kids and community involved. Start a climate neutral group in your neighbourhood to lead by example. Global action is woven by local commitment. It is the only way we can ensure that we can all keep waking up in a world where we can safely build our lives: individually and together. It is your life - and it is your climate agreement. "The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." - Albert Einstein