What are the talks about?
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Why do we need a new deal? We can also expect more frequent and more severe extreme weather events, with huge social and economic costs. The challenge is to further slash global emissions so that “we can keep global temperature rise to below 2°C”.
The document, which is being presented to the 102nd Session of the ACP Council of Ministers, notes that the fight against climate change must be tackled in an “urgent, cohesive and decisive manner at the worldwide, regional and national levels, collectively by both developed and developing countries taking into consideration the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities”. This is scheduled to take effect in 2020.
“But that goal will only be seen as a clear signal if it is backed by solid plans from every country to cut emissions, a commitment to increase the ambition of those plans regularly, and money on the table to help developing countries make the switch to clean energy”.
While Trudeau will not provide a new greenhouse emissions target in Paris, he has committed to coming up with a goal with Canada’s 10 provinces within 90 days of returning from the talks.
Once again, the eyes of the world will be watching Paris. As one negotiator puts it, legally binding merely means “more likely to be implemented than a non-binding deal”. Unless the concerns of developing countries are adequately addressed, they will remain cautious about the obligations in other parts of the agreement that they must assume after 2020.
The march also comes as the World Meterological Organisation warned 2015 could become the hottest year on record, owing to a combination of El Nino and human-influenced climate change.
Have any previous environmental treaties actually worked? The Montreal Protocol, for example, agreed in 1987 and ratified by all United Nations countries, has been successful in phasing out use of the chemicals which cause the ozone layer to be depleted. There’s still a lot that can go wrong in the kitchen.
Debate over providing sufficient finance and support to help poorer countries, who will be worst hit by rising temperatures, cope with climate change and develop cleanly is a potentially huge stumbling block. Yet a success in Paris may not, by itself, be enough to prevent risky warming of the planet in the decades to come, a new study warns. We’ve got about half a degree centigrade to work with if we’re going to avoid 2C warming.
Ms Robinson, who is also president of The Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice also praised the Commonwealth’s values, which she said promoted collaborative action, ensuring, that all countries and all people were treated fairly and with dignity.
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To perform the analysis, the team incorporated the INDCs along with assumptions about future emissions reductions into a global, technologically detailed model of the world called the Global Change Assessment Model or GCAM that includes energy, economy, agriculture and other systems.
