The Paris Agreement: Climate Change, Solidarity, and Human Rights

128 Pages·2017·5.04 MB·English

by  Judith Blau (auth.)

The Paris Agreement
JudithBlau
The Paris Agreement
Climate Change, Solidarity, and Human Rights
JudithBlau
UniversityofNorthCarolina,ChapelHill
ChapelHill,NorthCarolina,USA
ISBN978-3-319-53540-1 ISBN978-3-319-53541-8(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-53541-8
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To afew formerstudents
Annette,Asif, Berhane,Gordana, Keri, Marlese,Mim,
Nawsheen, Niobra, Rafael,Raj, Tanya
P
REFACE
November2016mayverywellberememberedasthemostdecisivemonth
everforthefateofhumanity.Indeed,forthefateofthehabitableplanet.
OnNovember4,theParisAgreemententeredintoforce.Itistheinterna-
tional treaty that binds states to make the transition from fossil fuels –
namely fuels that are responsible for emissions that warm the earth – to
renewable energy and establishes guidelines for rich countries – largely
responsible for emissions now in the atmosphere – to aid poor countries
acquire technologies for renewable energy, notably solar, wind, and tidal
technologies.November6wastheopeningdayofmeetingsinMarrakesh,
Morocco, to launch the Paris Agreement. (Officially, it was the 22nd
Conferenceof Parties, orCOP-22.)
Over 25,000 people attended. They included scientists, heads of state
andministers,farmers,representativesoffaithgroups,indigenouspeoples,
fishermenandwomen,CEOsofmultinationals,peoplefromnongovern-
mentalorganizations,andjournalists.Itbecameclearinthepresentations
and discussion sessions that most advocated that stricter limits be placed
onplanetaryheatingthanearlierproposed–1.5degreeCelsiusratherthan
2 degree Celsius– and that fossil fuels be eliminated by 2050, if not
sooner. Then it was announced that November 2016 would probably be
thehottestmonthonrecordand2016thehottestyeareversincerecords
were kept. It was evident to any one watching these meetings1 that this
announcementmadeattendeesevenmoredeterminedtoconvincetherest
of the world that the sooner countries meet targets to end reliance on
fossilfuelsthe safer wewillall be.
vii
viii PREFACE
But then, as if a bolt of lightning had struck, attendees learned in the
earlymorningofNovember9thatthemanwhohadproclaimed,“climate
change is a hoax,” was elected president of the United States. Anxiety
mixed with anger, and a mood of despondency settled over the meetings
for a day or two. But then the mood dramatically shifted as participants
expressed even greater determination to forge international partnerships
for collaboration and cooperation to combat climate change. In meeting
aftermeeting,participantsstressedthatitwasimperativetoreducetheuse
offossilfuels(notably,coalandoil),toendgreenhousegasemissions,and
to adapt renewable energy (notably, solar, wind, and wave energy). Not
only was the 1.5 degree Celsius limit affirmed by countries, but rich
countries contended they would help less developed countries acquire
renewable, or green, technologies. US Secretary of State, John Kerry,
gave a powerful, positive, and bold speech, affirming the imperative of
global cooperation to halt the pace of climate change,2 and there were
hintsthatChinamaytakeontheleadershiproleabdicatedbytheUnited
States.3
Tobesure,asthisbookgoestopress,onNovember19,2016,itisstill
possiblethatTrumpwillbepersuadedthatplanetarywarmingisinevitable
and that he must commit to advancing the efforts the United States is
alreadymakingtoreducetheintensityandspeedofclimatewarming.Four
yearsarerequiredofanypartytoexittheParisAgreement,4and,besides,
many US businesses (including large multinationals) have already seized
opportunities to develop green technologies, and US states (notably
California) and cities (especially coastal cities, such as Boston, Honolulu,
Miami,NewYork,andSanDiego)arewellalongintheirpreparationsto
reduceemissionsandtolessentheimpactofsearise.Onthelastdayofthe
Marrakesh convention, the White House released an ambitious report
setting out plans for the United States to reduce emissions and store (or
sequester) carbon. The aim, it states, is to reduce greenhouse gases by
80%,byyear2050.5Itisnotclearwhetherthereportallayedtheanxieties
oftheattendeesornot,buttheplanisunambiguous.Thatis,theUnited
States will fully cooperate with other countries to ultimately aim (within
the century) forzero greenhousegas emissions.
ItcannotbestressedenoughthattheentireworldisatriskiftheUnited
States abandons its responsibilities under the Paris Agreement. This is
because the United States is already one of the top two emitters in the
world,andwereittowithdrawfromParis,itwouldberesponsibleforan
ever-growing proportion of the world’s emissions as other countries
PREFACE ix
reduce their own emissions. One can assume that prospects of this hap-
pening are not great because long before the United States could inflict
much damage, the rest of the world would step in – to inflict, say, trade
embargoes, sanctions, or boycotts. The consequences of allowing US
emissions to go uncheckedare tooterrible toevenimagine.
BACKGROUND
InParis,onDecember12,2015,attheir21stinternationalconferenceon
climatechange(COP-21),worldleadersadoptedtheParisAgreementby
consensus. They agreed to hold the global average temperature below 2
degreeCelsiusabovepreindustriallevelsandtopursueeffortstolimitthe
temperatureincreaseto1.5degreeCelsiusabovepreindustriallevels.They
madepledges clarifyingthestepstheirowncountries wouldtaketo meet
their own target objectives, and agreed that developed countries would
assistdevelopingcountriestoachieverenewableenergygoals.Inlessthan
ayearaftertheadoptionoftheParisAgreement,onNovember4,2016,it
becameaninternationaltreaty,infact,atreatywithunprecedentedinter-
nationalsupport.Justtonoteagain,theCOP-22conferenceinMarrakesh
beganjust 2days later, onNovember6.
The causeofglobalwarmingisprimarilycarbon dioxide(CO ),which
2
makes up most of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) that trap heat in the
atmosphere, warming the earth and oceans. Carbon dioxide is a by-pro-
duct of the burning of fossil fuels (primarily coal, oil, and natural gas),
which is thrown into the atmosphere as these are burned. It is not as if
carbon dioxide somehow disappears. On the contrary, it remains in the
atmosphere foravery long time,leaving tracesup to 1,000years.
The global concentration of carbon dioxide in the world’s atmosphere
today far exceeds what it has been over the last 650,000 years and it is
about 30% higher than what it was about 150 years ago. As the planet
warms, there will be consequences. Just to mention a few: melting ice in
theArcticandAntarcticwillincreasetherateatwhichtheseasrise;some
places on earth will be too hot for habitation as well as for crops; many
countries(SmallIslandStates)willsimplydisappear;manyspeciesofbirds,
animals, and insects will vanish; and, besides warming, the weather will
become increasinglyunstable andunpredictable.
Given the extraordinarily high levels of GHGs already trapped in the
atmosphere, it is necessary to reduce GHG emissions to zero by 2070 to
limit the global average temperature increase to meet the goal of 1.5
x PREFACE
degree Celsius. Is it possible? Of course, it is possible; there are many
sources of renewable energy: solar, wind, tides, and nuclear as well as
geothermal, biomass, and biodiesel. Indeed, the more complicated ques-
tion is this: How will the world’s peoples achieve this? More specifically,
what are the social foundations that make such global cooperation possi-
ble? My thesis is that our equalities and our differences unite us, in
solidarity,in the pursuitof collective well-beingandahabitable planet.
As human beings, we are all equal and we are all equally entitled to
dignity and fundamental human rights. This is the premise of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, many international treaties, and
most country constitutions. In fact, this is what we mean by the terms
“humanity”and“humankind.”At thesametime,wealsofullyrecognize
that no two humans are identical or the same; that is, we have different
languages, families, personalities, and in all other ways we are different
from one another. That we are all equal human beings and all different
human beings may be a paradox, and, yet, it is a paradox that we happily
accept. Besides, because we acknowledge that this duality is the basis of
humanity; we have the capacity for empathy as well as for recognizing
vulnerability.Weassistchildren,thedisabled,theelderly,theun-housed,
andothervulnerable peoplewhoneed our help.
Insum,becauseweareequalandbecausewearealldifferentfromone
another, we have many (indeed, infinite) talents and interests, a great
capacity for empathy, and a shared understanding of vulnerability. The
urgent necessity to tacklethe immense challenge of slowing –and ideally
stopping–planetarywarmingrequiresustorecognizeouruniquenessand
equality.Thiswillouranimateourunderlyingcapacitiesforempathy,our
understanding of our vulnerabilities, and heighten our appreciation of
bothour sharedhumanity andour ownindividuality. Nevertheless,there
areobstacles,andtherearethreemainones.Oneisongoingconflicts(that
arenotonlycatastrophicinandofthemselvesbutdrainhumanenergyand
resources). Another is indifference or ignorance (often confounded). A
third is our failure to question destructive and homogenizing capitalism
thatimperilscultures, identities,andour uniqueidiosyncrasies.
For whatever reasons, compared with people in other countries
Americans are not especially concerned about climate change and plane-
tary warming. An accompanying tragedy of this is that we Americans do
notknow thattheUnitedStates bearsmostresponsibility forthe CO in
2
the atmosphere today because CO lingers in the atmosphere for up to
2
around 1,000 years. This means that whatever was emitted during the
PREFACE xi
long period of industrialization (during the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries) remains in the atmosphere, as new and current emissions also
accumulate. Yes, it is true that both the United States and China are the
world’sleadingemitterstoday.BotharepartiestotheParisAgreement.In
thisbookIemphasizethat,yes,whilethechallengesareextraordinary,the
human ingenuities to tackle them are infinite. The first challenge for
Americans is to ensure that the United States lives up to its domestic
andinternational responsibilitiestohelp keep the planethabitable.
NOTES
1. Marrakesh Conference of the Parties (COP-22), November 6–18, 2016:
http://www.cop22-morocco.com/
2. John Kerry’s press conference in Marrakesh: http://unfccc.cloud.stream
world.de/webcast/us-secretary-of-state-john-kerry
3. ValerieVolcoviciandSue-LinWong,“TrumpWinClearsWayforChinato
Lead on Climate,” November 12, 2016: http://www.climatecentral.org/
news/trump-win-china-to-take-climate-leadership-role-20870
4. See Article 28, Paris Agreement: http://unfccc.int/files/essential_back
ground/convention/application/pdf/english_paris_agreement.pdf
5. The Whitehouse. United States Mid-Century Strategy for Deep
Decarbonization. November 2016: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/
default/files/docs/mid_century_strategy_report-final.pdf