The Paris Climate Agreement is an agreement between 195 countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere to prevent the acceleration of global warming for the first time in history.
The only 2 countries who refrained from this deal--Syria & Nicaragua...and now the USA.
- USA is the world's 2nd largest carbon emitter...China being #1.
- Essentially this is the "new" 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The Protocol failed when the US pulled out and others failed to comply.
- Pledges to the Paris Climate Deal saw a 36.86F (2.7C) rise in temperatures, but the agreement lays out a plan to speed up progress.
- Greenhouse Gases are created by burning fossil fuels--oil, coal, and natural gas. They also include:
- Carbon Dioxide
- Methane
- Hydrofluorocarbons
- 2/3 of Americans said they "supported signing onto an agreement that would legally bind the US and the rest of the world to cut carbon emissions".
- Climate experts say that an increase of more than 2 degrees Celsius in the planet's temperature could bring about irreversible consequences--this includes:
- A rise in sea level
- Superstorms
- Crippling heat waves.
- GOAL:
- To limit the amount of GHG admitted by human activity to the same level that trees, soil, and oceans can absorb naturally beginning between the years 2050-2100.
- Rich countries to help poorer countries by providing "climate finance" to switch from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy & they need funds to do so. A key part of the agreement provides $100 billion per year to 2020.
What did the US agree to?
- The Obama Administration set the goal of reducing GHG emissions by 26% to 28% by 2025---this is measured against the 2005 baseline level when the USA emitted 6,132 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
- Obama signed an executive order confirming the US adoption of the Paris Agreement---but did not submit it through Congress, which is how President Trump can "cancel" the agreement.
- Because of Obama, the USA saw a decrease in emissions because:
- The rise in affordable renewable energy
- The abundance in natural gas
- In 2016, 48% of Americans believed that the Earth was warming because of human activity, and 49% believed an international agreement to limit carbon emissions could make a big difference in addressing climate change.
- Apple, BP, Google, Microsoft, Shell, and several others sent Trump a letter in April encouraging him to keep the US in the pact because it strengthened their competitiveness, created jobs, and reduced business risk.
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