With the bang of the gavel on Saturday night, officials from 195 countries reached a historic pact that will set the stage for climate change in the years to come. This comes after decades of foiled efforts of international representatives to reach an agreement on climate change.
Traditionally, the accords required developed countries to take vigorous steps to prevent drastic climate change but exempted developing countries like India and China from such steps. The pact which has arisen out of the Cop21 Paris Climate Conference 2015 requires every country, no matter developed or developing, to take steps in some form which suit their capabilities and capacity.
After two weeks of intense negotiations, it was agreed upon to limit the rise in global temperatures to less than 2C. It requires all countries of the world to cut carbon emissions and is partly legal, partly voluntary.
Ban-Ki-Moon, the United Nations Secretary General said in an interview, “This is truly a historic moment. For the first time, we have a truly universal agreement on climate change, one of the most crucial problems on Earth.” He also said that there was ‘Plan B’ if the deal was to fall apart.
Scientists claimed that the deal here were the best and the last hope for humanity to root for a climate change and to commence a movement that would save the world.
THE KEY ELEMENTS OF THE AGREEMENT AT THE PARIS CLIMATE CONFERENCE COP21:
- To keep global temperatures “well below” 2.0 C and to persist in efforts to maintain it at 1.5 C.
- To limit the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by human beings and to maintain a balance between the sources and sinks in the second half of the century.
- To review the progress of every country every 5 countries so that they don’t fall back on the challenge.
- To commit the rich countries in helping the poorer nations by providing “climate finance” to adapt to the change and also to be able to switch to sustainable energy.
The Paris Climate Agreement is only a small step into the future to preserve and protect the planet. All the planets still have a very long way to go.
“This deal won’t dig us out of the hole we’re in, but it makes the sides less steep.”
The big question is will the deal be successful in bringing about the promised change. India is going to double coal output no matter what was promised at the conference. They already feel they have compromised more than required in Paris. So much for the only planet there is!
That is not the way to go certainly. This deal can’t be another piece of paper. A lot of effort is required at an individual level for the countries to make this deal a global success. We can only hope that every country does their bit! Even though the text has been agreed upon, there’s still much more that needs to be done before the agreement goes into effect.
Here’s to hoping for a better tomorrow!
Sources:
- BBC News
- New York Times
