The greatest hope for climate change
mitigation is the Paris Agreement, which entered into force on November 4th,2016. This means that every country that signed the agreement is committed now to
cut their greenhouse gases emissions in order to keep the Earth average surface
temperature well below 2ºC.
The mechanisms and some instruments for the
good implementation of the agreement are already set, but there is much more to
do in order to accomplish the climate goals. That is the reason why governments
are gathered together right now in Marrakech at the COP22, where they will keep trying to find solutions
and tie up all the loose ends left behind by the Paris fervor.
But let’s return to our bubble for a
moment, what we can do inside here while some important persons shake their
hands hundreds of kilometers away? The answer is: a lot!
It would be incorrect to think that the
climate problem is already solved thanks to the Paris Agreement. The things
that really matter are the national determined contributions (NDCs): national
projections of future greenhouse gases emissions. And guess what… the NDCs lead
directly to you!
Whatever actions you do in your
environment, decisions you make in consumption or demands that you make to your
government will eventually build up your national emissions, which are the
principal input not only of the Paris agreement but of the climate system
itself!
So in the next days when you listen about
this big international meetings just remember that the real change is on us. Here is a not-conventional list of super
easy things you can do for fighting climate change and environmental
degradation: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/takeaction/
Read you later!
Thanks for the Wake up Bernardo! You are right, it all boils down to individual choices. Governments have a major role to play as well. Having outlined their targets, it is time for them to roll their sleeves and get down to business. Its about 'living your word'. There are situations where countries sign onto such crucial international agreement because they are 'excited' that other countries are doing it. They forget that they are accoutabke individually. I would think its critical to have a positive cycle of climate action where citizens play their role - bottom-up approach - and governments offer enabling environments for action e.g in terms of policy frameworks, inclusivity in decision making processes, empowerment, capacity building, accountability and generally good governance. climate action will not happen in a vacuum. Quick question - do you think the Paris agreement (in its unbinding nature) as it stands and the intended nationally determined contributions would be enough to lead us to a '0 emissions world'? If so, when do you us getting into this 'world'?
ReplyDeleteVery interesting reflection Asha, yes, the change is from both sides and should be a synergy of citizens and institutions. Your question is complex and I don't know if I am capable to answer it, but as a first approach I would say that YES (with some big help), the Paris agreement set the ground for big things, I think that one thing essential would be the international instruments that would facilitate the improvement of the NDCs, since as we know, they are not leading is to the targets desired as they stand right now.
DeleteI do imagine a "decarbonized" world hopefully by 2100. maybe not completely 0 emissions but low enough to allow the carbon cycle to buffer the impacts.
cheers and sorry for the delayed answer