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Need to know ~ Topics & Events
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The Paris Agreement
Announcement from the White House, January 20, 2021
Photo: The White House, Public Domain
Why current?
2021-03-10
Rarely do many world leaders all see eye to eye on any one thing. But on December 12, 2015, 195 countries agreed that there is a threat facing the planet that is so grave that the only way to fight it is to work together. This threat is climate change. The leaders made a pledge to think of ways each of their countries could start to reduce carbon emissions – the main cause of global warming. The pledge was put into a 32-page document called “the Paris Agreement” (because it was written in Paris, France). The president of the United States at the time, Barack Obama, was one of the signers of this treaty.
In 2017, the U.S. got a new president, Donald Trump. He was opposed to the Paris Agreement. He said it would cost the U.S. trillions of dollars and millions of jobs. This claim was later proven to be untrue, but Trump pushed his false narrative. He announced his intention to leave the agreement in 2017 and officially told this to the United Nations (the body within which the Paris Agreement was made), in 2019. His withdrawal of the U.S. from the agreement was made official on November 4, 2020.
Now it’s 2021, and there is yet again a new president in the White House. Joe Biden was elected by American voters on November 3, 2020 and was sworn in as president on January 20, 2021. On that same day, he announced to the United Nations that the U.S. would re-enter the Paris Agreement, and on February 19, 2021, it became official. Biden’s goals to address climate change are more far-reaching than those of any previous U.S. president. He aims to not only be a part of the Paris Agreement, but to get world leaders to do even more for the planet.
So now, the United States is back in the treaty. But what exactly is the Paris Agreement? What are its aims? Can we really hope that it will be able to save the world from climate catastrophe?
More about the Paris Climate Agreement
Definition
– The signers of the Paris Agreement promise to do three things:
1) set goals to limit greenhouse gas emissions
2) be honest and open about progress made – even when that progress is not great – so that leaders feel the pressure of accountability
3) help countries with less resources be able to bounce back from climate catastrophes.
– All countries that signed made a commitment to try to stop the warming of the planet from exceeding 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures. The agreement sets this as a baseline. Much better would be to keep temperatures to no more than 1.5 degrees C above earlier temperatures. Scientists say that this half a degree makes a big difference in amounts of sea level rise, drought, famine, and the disappearance of wildlife habitats.
– Once the agreement was drawn up, it needed at least 55 of the countries producing the most carbon emissions, to sign the treaty. This took place on October 5, 20216. The Paris Agreement was put into action on November 4, 2016.
Aims
– Specific emissions goals for countries are not given in the Paris Agreement. This is because different countries have different capabilities. Also, not all countries contribute equally to the problem. China, the U.S., and India, for example, are the top three producers of greenhouse gases. They have set some of the biggest goals for cutting emissions, simply because they are contributing most to the problem.
– No matter what the goal of a particular country may be, the outcomes of its efforts are reviewed and reported on transparently to the world. This is so that countries are held accountable. There are no financial penalties for failing to reach a goal, but progress is tracked and publicized, and a sort of “global peer pressure” keeps nations focused on their goals.
– Rich countries are expected to help poorer countries, most of which have been the smallest contributors to global climate change. Nations with financial means and resources are to help parts of the world that suffer from climate disasters. No specific amount of assistance is required. But countries are supposed to be transparent about how much they are helping support developing nations.
Why do we need the Paris Agreement? Why can’t each country just do its part on its own?
– While some parts of the world are currently feeling the effects of climate change more than others, there is no place on Earth that is “safe” from the crisis. For coastal regions, rising sea levels is a greater threat than for landlocked areas. But tornadoes, droughts, and wildfires might be more likely in places farther away from the coasts. Changes in temperature and precipitation can affect every part of the globe, whether the effects are felt in the form of violent storms, destructive flooding, or more intense heat waves. Poorer nations often don’t have the means to build structures that will resist extreme weather and struggle to recover from natural disasters. But wealthy nations, too, feel the effects. In the U.S. alone, there were 16 major natural disasters caused by climate change in 2020, costing about $1 billion EACH.
– Plant and animal species everywhere are struggling to survive due to the effects of climate change. The decline or extinction of any one part of an ecosystem will affect every other part of that ecosystem.
– Some people say that it costs too much to address the climate crisis by, for example, reducing carbon emissions. But the cost of doing nothing will be much, much higher. Health costs are skyrocketing as more and more people suffer from the effects of climate change. As some areas are becoming unlivable due to drought, rising sea levels, or wildfires, large numbers of people are being displaced and seeking homes elsewhere. This can drive conflict, cause shortages and stress infrastructure in the areas where people can live away from climate disaster hotspots. As people become homeless from destruction in their communities, illness and hunger increase.
– When it comes to issues as big as climate change, the whole world is interconnected. We all feel the effects. We all face an uncertain future. For this reason, we all must work together to find solutions. If one part of the world is ignoring the crisis, the efforts of the rest of the world become much less effective.
The Future
– Each one of us can help make a difference. We can plant gardens, not drive our gas-guzzling cars as much, dispose responsibly of our trash, use less plastic, the list goes on. But even with all our efforts, if governments are not cooperating with one another around the globe, the climate crisis will continue to spiral out of control. The Paris Agreement is an effort to bring nations together and make large-scale changes.
– People worry that if countries start to move away from the use of fossil fuels, jobs will be lost. But the numbers don’t lie; more jobs exist in the clean energy sector than in the part of the economy fueled by coal, oil, and gas.
– At the moment, there are countries who joined the Paris Agreement but who are not meeting their goals. The will needs to be strong in our political leaders to deliver on the commitments they made and to keep an eye on the planet’s long-term well-being. And even if goals are met, standards should continually go up. Goals should become more and more ambitious. The Paris Agreement outlines just the minimum of what we should do. In order to start to recover from the damage already done, countries must do much more.
– World leaders will meet again in November 2021. This time, the conference will be held in Glasgow, Scotland. Past achievements will be assessed and new goals set. We hope that those will be enough to make a difference.
Sources: Mai, H.J., NPR, “U.S. Officially Rejoins Paris Agreement on Climate Change,” https://www.npr.org/paris-agreement-on-climate-change, February 19, 2021; ec.europa.eu, “Paris Agreement,” https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/paris_en; Denchak, Melissa, NRDC, “Paris Climate Agreement: Everything You Need to Know,” https://www.nrdc.org/stories/paris-climate-agreement-everything-you-need-know, February 19, 2021.