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IT’S being heralded as a historic game changer in the long saga of global climate change debate-a debate that has divided countries for decades.
In December 2015， parties attending the COP21 meeting under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted the landmark Paris Agreement to address greenhouse gas emission for the post-2020 period， while increasing individual countries’ability to adapt to the negative impacts of climate change during follow-up sessions.
The Paris Agreement to reduce global warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius， and， if possible， below 1.5 degrees Celsius， and work toward discarding the world’s dependence on fossil fuels in this century was groundbreaking. So was the implied willingness by the almost 200 nations attending the conference to accept responsibility for their decisions， a clear indication of a long-awaited return to multilateralism.
The agreement was given a massive boost after China and the United States， the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters， agreed to limit emissions. Taking a responsible position， China emphasized that there could be no alternative to the Paris Agreement for any country， and a compromise was non-negotiable. To this end， Beijing has made a significant move in its economic development modus operandi by ramping up investment in renewable technologies and energy sources.
South African President Jacob Zuma said climate change poses a grave threat to developing countries’ ability to ensure that their people are lifted out of poverty. The Paris Agreement presented a big step forward in committing all countries to act decisively against climate change， Zuma said. Significantly， the agreement was reached during South Africa’s term as chair of the Group of 77 （G-77） plus China， a bloc of more than 130 developing countries representing more than 80 percent of the world’s population. Zuma said under South Africa’s leadership， G-77 plus China was more united than ever before in the history of climate change negotiations. South Africa managed to rally this group， which made a decisive difference in building the political will that was required to reach agreement on this important issue.
Reducing the effects of humanity on the climatic system emerged as a consistent goal at COP21， but attainable goals come at a cost. As expected， developing countries are still in a position where coal and oil are required to provide electricity to drive stuttering economies. Though inevitably， a move must eventually be made toward more green energy options. All present at COP21 agreed that it is imperative that developed countries assist with the move to cut emissions in poorer nations. To this end， richer countries have pledged $100 billion a year by 2020 as a base， which must be updated by 2025. It is money desperately needed in Africa， where the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says ongoing climate change will impact the continent’s farming trends， exacerbate water shortages and increase malnutrition and cases of malaria.
With poorer nations seeing tangible results of money in the coffers to help with emission reduction and the effects of global warming， there is much hope that the global community has sent a clear signal to manage climate change more effectively than at any time in history. The human family and the planet can only be the better for it.
THE EDITOR
In December 2015， parties attending the COP21 meeting under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted the landmark Paris Agreement to address greenhouse gas emission for the post-2020 period， while increasing individual countries’ability to adapt to the negative impacts of climate change during follow-up sessions.
The Paris Agreement to reduce global warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius， and， if possible， below 1.5 degrees Celsius， and work toward discarding the world’s dependence on fossil fuels in this century was groundbreaking. So was the implied willingness by the almost 200 nations attending the conference to accept responsibility for their decisions， a clear indication of a long-awaited return to multilateralism.
The agreement was given a massive boost after China and the United States， the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters， agreed to limit emissions. Taking a responsible position， China emphasized that there could be no alternative to the Paris Agreement for any country， and a compromise was non-negotiable. To this end， Beijing has made a significant move in its economic development modus operandi by ramping up investment in renewable technologies and energy sources.
South African President Jacob Zuma said climate change poses a grave threat to developing countries’ ability to ensure that their people are lifted out of poverty. The Paris Agreement presented a big step forward in committing all countries to act decisively against climate change， Zuma said. Significantly， the agreement was reached during South Africa’s term as chair of the Group of 77 （G-77） plus China， a bloc of more than 130 developing countries representing more than 80 percent of the world’s population. Zuma said under South Africa’s leadership， G-77 plus China was more united than ever before in the history of climate change negotiations. South Africa managed to rally this group， which made a decisive difference in building the political will that was required to reach agreement on this important issue.
Reducing the effects of humanity on the climatic system emerged as a consistent goal at COP21， but attainable goals come at a cost. As expected， developing countries are still in a position where coal and oil are required to provide electricity to drive stuttering economies. Though inevitably， a move must eventually be made toward more green energy options. All present at COP21 agreed that it is imperative that developed countries assist with the move to cut emissions in poorer nations. To this end， richer countries have pledged $100 billion a year by 2020 as a base， which must be updated by 2025. It is money desperately needed in Africa， where the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says ongoing climate change will impact the continent’s farming trends， exacerbate water shortages and increase malnutrition and cases of malaria.
With poorer nations seeing tangible results of money in the coffers to help with emission reduction and the effects of global warming， there is much hope that the global community has sent a clear signal to manage climate change more effectively than at any time in history. The human family and the planet can only be the better for it.
THE EDITOR