Only this kind of approach, with every nation sharing responsibility and taking steps to mitigate carbon pollution, can enable us to reach the goal of keeping global temperatures from exceeding 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels.
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An aim to keep global mean temperature within 1.5°C of that which existed before the industrial era.
Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate Democratic minority leader, said climate change poses one of the greatest threats the world has ever known, and that no country acting alone can stem the tide.
Negotiators from 196 countries approved a landmark climate accord Saturday that seeks to dramatically reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases blamed for a unsafe warming of the planet. “Full implementation of this agreement will help delay or avoid some of the worst consequences of climate change, and will pave the way for even more progress, in successive stages, over the coming years”.
US President Barack Obama has hailed the agreement as an “ambitious” and “historic”, but also warned against complacency.
“The “agreement” calls for different standards of transparency between developed and developing countries and even expects that developed countries will set economy wide emission reduction targets while developing countries like China and India can play it by ear”. In the end, that is basically what happened, but some developing nations were frustrated that the agreement does not include a legal commitment to an annual amount – specifically, $100 billion per year, a figure that has always been suggested.
Obama portrayed the hard-won deal as a product of American leadership. There is money for poor countries to adapt, there is a strong review mechanism to increase ambition over time.
Immediately after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, two largest multilateral financing institutions threw their weight behind the accord and said they will help countries across the globe fight climate change. “This deal will ensure all countries are held to account for their climate commitments and gives a clear signal to business to invest in the low carbon transition”.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sees the Paris agreement as “a victory for all the planet and the future generations”.
It notes “with concern” that countries’ existing pledges to curb greenhouse-gas emissions would fail to meet targets for curbing planetary warming. As organizers of the Paris climate talks presented what they hope is a final draft of the accord, protesters from environmental and human rights groups gather to call attention to populations threatened by rising seas and increasing droughts and floods.
The previous emissions treaty, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, included only rich countries and the U.S. never signed on.
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The distinction is made because industrialized countries have historically contributed to warming the planet by emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere over centuries.
