"The
end of the fossil fuel age."
The enthusiasm came from a delegate
after 195 nations agreed at the climate change summit in Paris to limit the
rise of global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius and maybe down to 1.5C.
After two weeks of negotiations, the
pact is the first to commit all countries to cut carbon emissions.
It is partly legally binding as in,
for example, submitting an emissions reduction goal. A $100-billion funding for
poor countries by 2020, however, is not legally binding.
Scientists who have analyzed the
agreement say it will cut emissions by about half of what is needed to prevent
an increase in atmospheric temperatures of 2 degrees Celsius.
As a result, all language on the
reduction of carbon emissions is essentially voluntary. The deal assigns no
concrete reduction targets to any country. Instead, each government has crafted
a plan to lower emissions at home based on the country’s domestic politics and
economy.
The accord uses the language of an
existing treaty, the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change, to require countries to verify their emissions and to periodically
issue tougher domestic plans.
“The Paris Agreement is probably the
most important international agreement in history,” says Achim Steiner,
Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program. “Nations of the
world have underlined that climate change is a threat to the security and
prosperity of all societies, and can only be addressed through unity of
purpose. A sustainable future benefits all of humanity.
"This agreement is a testament
to the ability of our societies to set aside differences and confront
collective challenges for the global good. Importantly, the agreement has
provisions to protect the most vulnerable. Fairness and equity are at the heart
of this accord.
He says governments “have sent a
signal to the private sector that the momentum toward sustainability cannot be
stopped. This is what the world needed to see. Above all, we have given future
generations hope instead of doom and gloom.” (SciencePhilippines)
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