‘Climate Concerns’ Overshadow 5th Anniversary Of Paris Deal Summit
By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – The U.S. government stayed away from a weekend summit marking the fifth anniversary of the controversial Paris Agreement on climate change, where world leaders expressed worries about Earth’s future.
This weekend’s gathering, hosted by France, Britain, and the United Nations, pressed countries to keep their promises to halt what they view as dangerous global warming.
They say that five years after the Paris Agreement, the world still faces significant perceived climate change impacts such as existential threats from rising seas.
The gathering was held online amid the coronavirus pandemic, a sharp contrast to the many delegates flying to conference venues hosting previous climate gatherings.
More than 100 countries — and even more companies, states, and cities — pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century. The summit cited experts linking carbon emissions to global warming.
They said they wanted to hold global average temperature increase to “well below 2 Celsius” (34,6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. The agreement pursues efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 Celsius (35.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial measurements.
CARBON EMISSION
Most of the carbon emission promises aren’t yet official targets of the Paris pact, geared toward goals by 2030.
As a group, the world’s third-largest emitter, the European Union, beefed up the continent’s 2030 carbon reduction targets on Friday from 40 percent to 55 percent of 1990 emission levels.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive, considers reducing greenhouse gas emissions crucial to halt climate change, suggest Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “All EU countries should benefit from the transition – with economic growth, a cleaner environment, and healthier citizens. The European Green Deal will be our growth strategy,” she stressed.
But Swedish teen environmentalist Greta Thunberg blasted world leaders for setting what she calls “distant hypothetical targets” while “speeding in the wrong direction.”
“The five years following the Paris agreement have been the five hottest years ever recorded. And during that time, the world has emitted more than 200bn tonnes of CO2,” she said, referring to carbon admissions.
U.S. SKEPTICAL
“Distant hypothetical targets are being set, and big speeches are being given,” the teenager complained. “Yet, when it comes to the immediate action we need, we are still in a state of complete denial, as we waste our time, creating new loopholes with empty words and creative accounting.”
However, the United States government, which under President Barack Obama was instrumental in forging the accord, wasn’t present at this weekend’s summit.
The administration of U.S. President Donald J. Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement, which he claims is based on disputable science and will cause millions of jobs.
However, declared President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to rejoin the accord.
He wants to put the U.S. on a track to stop adding more carbon to the atmosphere than can be removed by 2050.
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