The timing is right. The party in the White House is right. But once again a crisis has overshadowed cap-and-trade legislation.

Already delayed by our two wars in the Middle East and the financial meltdown, now health care reform threatens to push a solution for global climate change off the front of the agenda once again.

Yet, climate change poses as serious of a long-term threat as its more imminent rivals.

An ever-growing chorus of military and intelligence analysts warn that the destabilizing effects caused by climate change have the potential to collapse states and spark brutal conflicts over resources.

A recent report by the CNA Corporation, a Pentagon-funded organization, warns that climate change will act as a “threat multiplier in already fragile regions, exacerbating conditions that lead to failed states – the breeding grounds for extremism and terrorism.”

Usually these experts in national security do not concern themselves with the environmental sciences, but they have found the evidence for climate change so alarming that many call for immediate action.

The fact that our planet is getting warmer is undeniable. Natural temperature cycles exist, but not at this scale of fluctuation. Global temperatures have increased twice as fast in the past 50 years than in the previous 100. Furthermore, the ten warmest years since 1880 have all occurred in the past 12 years.

The explanation for the abnormality is simple: humans are currently removing carbon sources that have been buried for millions of years and burning them into the atmosphere.

The greenhouse effect is a proven phenomenon that we are now causing.

Fortunately, the solution is within our reach.

If we act now, a cap-and-trade system will limit greenhouse gas emissions enough to prevent the worst effects of climate change. Cap-and-trade is a simple system that caps the amount of greenhouse gases that a given entity is allowed to emit. Greenhouse gas emissions are then divided into subunits – e.g. one ton of carbon – to be distributed to emitters of greenhouse gases.

If the United States adopts this system, emitting greenhouse gases without the possession of an equivalent number of allowances will be illegal.

This system will require sacrifices from every Americans. Nonetheless, these sacrifices are not as substantial as critics claim and are well worth the prevention of global climate change.

To build an international coalition on climate change, we must act now. The Copenhagen Climate Conference this December will be the largest international conference about climate change since the 1997 Kyoto Conference.

Though a great opportunity, the stakes are enormous. We are on the brink of entering into a vicious cycle of inaction and delay.

Many countries refuse to enact cuts in greenhouse emissions until the United States pledges a substantial reduction, but the United States refuses to pass cap-and-trade legislation unless it sees a similar commitment from potential competitors.

Thus, as the most powerful country in the world, we should demonstrate the confidence and maturity to take the first step. If political battles once again overshadow a serious discussion on cap-and-trade legislation, other countries will use our inaction to avoid forming a meaningful international agreement at Copenhagen this December.

However, if we can rise above these political battles and pass cap-and-trade legislation, the Copenhagen Climate Conference has the potential to create a committed global coalition dedicated to averting the climate threat.

- Elizabeth Allan is a sophomore from Atlanta, majoring in international affairs and is a member of Roosevelt at UGA, the University’s student run think tank.