words: Gretchen Bleiler

When I was a little girl in Ohio, I dreamed of one day becoming an Olympian. In 2006, I won a silver medal in the halfpipe at the Torino Winter Olympics. One of the most important privileges that resulted from my Olympic podium was being invited to the White House along with all of the other US Olympians to meet the President. During our stay in Washington, a speaker said something that I will never forget: “Congratulations you all are now Olympians,” he said. “You will always be Olympians. But this is not the end, this is just the beginning. Because what are you now going to do with that title and that credential?”

Those words changed my life and took me in a direction I could have never predicted. I now sit on the board of directors for Protect Our Winters, an organization that’s mobilizing the winter sports industry under one banner to leverage our collective voices to create action on climate change. Working together with members of POW has given me the push I needed to step outside my comfort zone and say YES to opportunities like lobbying on Capitol Hill and speaking in front of auditoriums filled with high schoolers. And in the process, I have stepped into owning my voice and leadership in this global movement. Not because I feel like I am now a leader, but because we simply can’t afford to look to others to lead on climate change. We must all step up and use our voices. We must demand action before it’s too late.

So here I am in Paris, speaking at the COP21 with CEOs, scientists, experts and world leaders. And while I still feel like I don’t quite belong, and that there must be a million other people who are far more qualified to take my place, I know that stepping up and using my unique voice IS the point. Only when everyday people who care about winter get involved, can we create the social movement necessary to push the world’s leaders into action. My question to you all today is, “How are you going to use your unique voice to get involved?”

I arrived early yesterday to a whirlwind of activity. At the core of this gathering are more than 150 world leaders here with the goal of crafting a commitment to reduce our global carbon footprint. At this point, nearly every country on Earth has already submitted their individual commitments for tackling their own carbon emissions. And so the point of COP21 is to plug all of these individual commitments into one core agreement that will unify us in our action. Easy, right? Not so fast. There are a ton of issues that need to be worked out between developed and emerging nations and, as post-industrialized countries, the amount of carbon we should be responsible for, since we’re the source of most of the carbon already in the atmosphere.

Secondly, how should countries revise and strengthen their commitments over time? As technology improves and countries get more confident in their ability to curb greenhouses gases, so should their commitments. And then the final component is how countries can critically evaluate and hold one another accountable to each other’s commitments. The problem is that what’s on the table is not enough.

Experts say it will limit global warming to about 2.7 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels which is still above the 2 degrees C marker that scientists say is needed to stave off the worst impacts. But it’s a start — a foundation to build on. The reasons why we all should care about Paris are obvious — this could be the tipping we’ve been waiting for to help save snow and winter, preserving our sports and our industry for the next generation. We’ve all worked so hard to get to this point — all of us — and we’re finally here. And frankly, however Paris ends up, we’re all stronger for it to take on whatever comes next.

So that’s why I’m here, as a voice for the winter sports community amongst many voices. Over the next few days, I’ll be taking part in two panel discussions with the Green Sports Alliance and fellow athletes from around the world, as a representative of POW and the winter sports community. I’ll use the platform I have to speak up and call for strong action on climate on the world’s stage on behalf of a community with so much at stake. But also I’m psyched to meet other athletes, from other sports, in other countries, who feel the same way I do. Maybe, possibly, there is a way to strengthen this movement based on our shared love for not only winter, but the planet.

I’ll check back in soon.

Gretchen