Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Improving Air Quality
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2.2 Goals of the Paris Agreement
A key benchmark for understanding what needs to be done to manage the
effects of climate change is the United Nations Paris Agreement on Climate
Change, which was adopted on December 12, 2015 by the Parties of the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC,
2015) and came into force on November 4, 2016 after appropriate ratification.
The Paris Agreement is based on voluntary efforts to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions as a key way to stem climate change. There has been some progress to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but many would like to see greater
efforts and better results.
Specifically, one goal of the Paris Agreement is to keep the increase in global
average temperature to well below 2°C above pre- industrial levels. In other
words, this is the amount of climate change that is believed to be endurable, rather than catastrophic. Because of the dangers of even this amount of
global temperature increase, efforts are often focused on actually limiting the
temperature rise to 1.5°C.
Greenhouse gas emissions are a primary reason for the existing increase
in the global average temperature and the resulting climate change, so those
emissions are the obvious thing to address to stem climate change. We need to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions to at least the point where there is a balance
between emissions and sinks (i.e. factors that absorb greenhouse gases), and
we need to do this as soon as possible. To illustrate the situation, consider the
concentration of carbon dioxide (a potent greenhouse gas) in the atmosphere.
Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have been increasing by about 2
or 3 ppm (parts per million) each year, primarily because of combustion
emissions. In July 2018, carbon dioxide levels were of the order of 408 ppm
at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Mauna
Loa Observatory in Hawaii (NASA, 2018). The clear first step is to stop this
rate of annual increase in carbon dioxide; it needs to move towards zero.
The majority of greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide,
are produced by developed countries. Countries that are still developing
have been understandably concerned that steps to curb climate change
might also curb their ability to continue their economic development.
Therefore, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change was developed with
due consideration for the issues of decreasing poverty and increasing
health – two key aspects of development. Thus, the UN General Assembly
(United Nations, 2015) adopted the resolution Transforming Our World: The
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on September 25, 2015. This resolution ties together a sustainable development agenda with the Paris
Agreement. In fact, the issues of equity, sustainable development, and
the effort to eradicate poverty are included in the language of the Paris
Agreement (UNFCCC, 2015). The 17 Sustainable Development Goals
and the goals of the Paris Agreement are both very high priorities for
the United Nations and many of the member countries. Each country has
12
12
2.2 Goals of the Paris Agreement
A key benchmark for understanding what needs to be done to manage the
effects of climate change is the United Nations Paris Agreement on Climate
Change, which was adopted on December 12, 2015 by the Parties of the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC,
2015) and came into force on November 4, 2016 after appropriate ratification.
The Paris Agreement is based on voluntary efforts to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions as a key way to stem climate change. There has been some progress to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but many would like to see greater
efforts and better results.
Specifically, one goal of the Paris Agreement is to keep the increase in global
average temperature to well below 2°C above pre- industrial levels. In other
words, this is the amount of climate change that is believed to be endurable, rather than catastrophic. Because of the dangers of even this amount of
global temperature increase, efforts are often focused on actually limiting the
temperature rise to 1.5°C.
Greenhouse gas emissions are a primary reason for the existing increase
in the global average temperature and the resulting climate change, so those
emissions are the obvious thing to address to stem climate change. We need to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions to at least the point where there is a balance
between emissions and sinks (i.e. factors that absorb greenhouse gases), and
we need to do this as soon as possible. To illustrate the situation, consider the
concentration of carbon dioxide (a potent greenhouse gas) in the atmosphere.
Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have been increasing by about 2
or 3 ppm (parts per million) each year, primarily because of combustion
emissions. In July 2018, carbon dioxide levels were of the order of 408 ppm
at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Mauna
Loa Observatory in Hawaii (NASA, 2018). The clear first step is to stop this
rate of annual increase in carbon dioxide; it needs to move towards zero.
The majority of greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide,
are produced by developed countries. Countries that are still developing
have been understandably concerned that steps to curb climate change
might also curb their ability to continue their economic development.
Therefore, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change was developed with
due consideration for the issues of decreasing poverty and increasing
health – two key aspects of development. Thus, the UN General Assembly
(United Nations, 2015) adopted the resolution Transforming Our World: The
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on September 25, 2015. This resolution ties together a sustainable development agenda with the Paris
Agreement. In fact, the issues of equity, sustainable development, and
the effort to eradicate poverty are included in the language of the Paris
Agreement (UNFCCC, 2015). The 17 Sustainable Development Goals
and the goals of the Paris Agreement are both very high priorities for
the United Nations and many of the member countries. Each country has