PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT SIGNED

Photo credit:  thebadastronomer | Flickr

East County News Service

December 16, 2015 (Paris) - World leaders from 195 nations have signed a landmark climate change accord in Paris.  The goals are ambitious, but there is no binding mandate to reach them.  That’s because the U.S. refused to agree to mandates, since that would have required approval by Congress, a politically unachievable feat given current control by Republican leadership that denies climate change is a problem.

The agreement sets a global goal is to prevent temperatures from climbing by 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit and to pursue efforts to limit the rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.   Since the Industrial Revolution, temperatures have risen about 1 degree Celsius. By 2050, the agreement calls for man-made carbon emissions to be reduced to a level that oceans and forests can absorb, instead of having greenhouse gas emissions rise into the atmosphere, trapping heat that is warming the planet.

Countries agreed to set national targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and revisit those every five years.  Developed nations agreed to actually slash emissions, while still developing countries are merely encouraged to do so. Wealthier countries are also encouraged to provide financial aid to help poor countries cut emissions, though this remains voluntary. 

Island nations provided a vocal presence at the Paris summit, citing fears of submersion by rising seas.  The accord includes a passage recognizing “loss and damage” from disasters linked to climate change, but does not provide a mechanism for compensation for those losses.

The United States pledged that by 2025, it will cut its emissions by 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels.  But that commitment could erode if the next President seeks to overturn climate change policies of the Obama administration, or if  a future Congress chooses to block implementation of policies needed for the U.S. to live up to the agreement signed in Paris.