Is Paris Agreement Enough or we think beyond?

 

“Governments should declare a climate emergency in their countries as the world faces a "catastrophic temperature rise. Can anybody still deny that we are facing a dramatic emergency? The commitments to keep the global temperature rise this century to below 2 degrees Celsius did not go far enough and are not being met: "Five years after Paris, we are still not going in the right direction"." UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Paris accord. India worked hard on the climate agenda and has already reduced the emissions intensity by 21% from 2005 levels while augmenting solar capacity from 2.63 GW in 2014 to 36 GW in 2020. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address at Climate Action Summit marking five years of the landmark Paris agreement said “India is not only on track to achieve its Paris agreement but to exceed them beyond expectations. We must not only revise our ambitions but also review our achievements against targets already set.” 

We all know the story: extreme weather events, displacing millions, costing billions, are increasing year on year, from wildfires, to superstorms, from floods to droughts. Emissions have continued to rise, and temperatures follow suit, with the last decade the hottest on record. So, to stay below the 2°C warming threshold—or below the 1.5°C limit that vulnerable island nations say is needed to prevent rising seas from swallowing their communities. “2021 is an important year for the Paris Agreement. Against the backdrop of growing ambition, nations must move from discussions about how the Agreement works, to how they will fully implement it in their countries, and how the most vulnerable countries will be supported in this over the long-term. The outcome needs to be a balanced package – the kind of balance that was achieved in Paris - that also enables actions by all stakeholders at all levels of society” said Patricia Espinosa, UNFCCC Executive Secretary on the 5th Anniversary of The Paris Agreement.

National ambitions to reduce emissions have been insufficient and the experts talk of global temperatures soaring past the Paris targets to plus 3C. The Climate Action Summit recently concluded and had some 70 Heads of State, along with regional and city leaders, and heads of major businesses, delivered a raft of new measures, policies, and plans, aimed at making a big dent in greenhouse gas emissions, and ensuring that the warming of the planet is limited to 1.5C. The number of countries coming forward with strengthened national climate plans (NDCs) grew significantly today, with commitments covering some of the world's biggest emitters on display.

“Only one country among the more than 190 signatories had left the Paris accord - the United States. I fear that other countries might follow the lead of the United States under climate-change sceptic President Donald Trump failed to materialize, but Biden had promised to rejoin quickly” said Achim Steiner, head of the U.N. Development Programme. And yet, suddenly, there is hope, there is optimism, there is opportunity. Out of the tragedy of the COVID-19 pandemic, major economies are eyeing a green, sustainable, renewable recovery with trillions of dollars of stimulus funds available. Isn’t it easier to speak rhetorically about the importance of climate change than it is to do the hard work of putting in place the regulatory framework that actually ensures pollution declines? “The world’s richest countries, the G-20, have earmarked $12 trillion to address the economic disruption caused by COVID-19, but just one-quarter of the donors are dedicating funds to efforts to reduce carbon emissions” said Inger Anderson, Executive Secretary, United Nations Environment Programme.

“All countries can strengthen their climate targets by substantially incorporating nature-based solutions within them, countries cannot afford to overlook nature’s full potential to help the world mitigate and adapt to climate change.” Said IUCN. Can these targets be achieved alone? Shouldn’t the, public sector, private sector, civil society, governments act together? Yes, and governments must cooperate with each other as well. Every individual has a role to play and I recall that 2015 has been an eventful year for us as well. I am pleased to mention that we had set a Centre for sustainable development Goals for localizing SDG’s and like Paris Agreement even CSDG has completed five years spearheading the tenets of sustainable development at grass root level among communities and to document knowledge resource and good practices my book on Water-Energy-Food nexus was published by SAC Dhakha in December 2015. To build back better we have also set our own goals and look forward to contributing for the same, similarly we urge countries, organizations, individuals to Act Now and urgently respond to the climate emergency.

Dr. Arvind Kumar

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