In Paris late last year, the countries of the world pledged to reduce emissions to keep global warming “well below a 2 degree Celsius” rise in global average temperatures compared with preindustrial levels.

As an advanced economy, the U.S. is expected to lead in making the required emissions reductions, which would be roughly 80 percent by midcentury compared with 2005. This would entail moving a large portion of U.S. power generation off fossil fuels and shifting the majority of our vehicles to electric power. That’s a tall order.

Most existing energy policies focus on the nearer term, and as yet there is no roadmap to achieve this 2°C limit—or even less aggressive targets for emissions cuts in the next 15 years.

Part of the difficulty in turning our pledges into tangible actions is creating enough motivation to drive a wholesale transformation of our energy and transportation systems. Global climate change is typically perceived as a problem that’s mostly in the distant future and worse in other parts of the world, so is not prioritized relative to whatever pressing issues are dominating current political discourse.

In essence, many people believe climate change mitigation policies require a change in our lifestyle and paying costs now for benefits that predominantly go to people living elsewhere and in future generations. Understandably, this is not at the top of the agenda for most voters.