Readers React: Remember the Paris climate deal when voting in 2016

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius puts his hand over his heart after his speech at Le Bourget, outside Paris. Flanking him are French President Francois Hollande, left, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Dec. 15, 2015 5:08 AM PT

To the editor: The Paris climate agreement is a resounding success — within the context of reduced expectations after 20 years of failed agreements. (“Nearly 200 nations join together to fight climate change in historic Paris agreement,” Dec. 12)

The U.S. Senate has effectively held the entire world hostage by refusing to ratify a true legally binding treaty or even admit climate change is a problem. It is up to us, the electorate of the most powerful nation in the world, to demand that our representatives of all political stripes provide moral and economic leadership to usher in a low-carbon future.

This will not remain a partisan issue forever — Republicans have children too.

Loraine Lundquist, Northridge

To the editor: Vague pledges to lower greenhouse gases are futile without plans on how to discourage fossil fuel companies from carbon production. One such plan (strangely ignored in the discussions although much bandied about before the conference) would be to levy an annually increasing fee on fossil fuels at their source — and on carbon imports as well.

As the price of carbon rose, 100% of the fees could be returned to the people as a compensatory dividend. And as alternative energies became cheaper by comparison, their development and use would expand.

Kitty Kroger, Pasadena

To the editor: It is encouraging that most of the world’s nations have pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and have agreed to a program that provides accountability on how well they are meeting their pledges. President Obama deserves a lot of credit for his role in enabling this agreement.

The scientific evidence is conclusive that the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is causing climate change. The destructive effects are projected to become far worse in the future if we continue emitting carbon dioxide at current rates.

It is disturbing that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has stated that the agreement is subject to “being shredded in 13 months,” implying that if a Republican is elected president, the U.S. would likely default on its pledges. If this happened, the U.S. would become a pariah nation.

Voters should think carefully about this when deciding which candidate to vote for in the next presidential election.

Al Barrett, Santa Monica

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