Oscar Friedmann

Ned Wales

SSUD11-100 Climate Change and the Future World

November 22, 2021

The Current Impact of the Paris Climate Agreement and Its Future

Word Count: 2730

 Introduction
They have promised to set a nationwide target of a 50%-52% carbon
emission reduction between 2005 and 2030, 17% of which was already completed in
2020 (United States NDC April 21 2021 Final.Pdf, n.d.). They have given 30% of the
European Union’s budget to climate control, and set a personal target of achieving
net neutral carbon emissions by 2030 (EU_NDC_Submission_December 2020.Pdf,
n.d.). Their nationally determined contributions have a strict framework and time line
in the short term (2025), since they need to work in equilibrium with the nation’s goal
of eradicating poverty and inequality, which are set to be reduced by 2030 (South
Africa.Pdf, n.d.). The Paris agreement brings us one step closer to carbon emission
neutrality, and while it is a major challenge to fully adopt sustainable resources while
maintaining a stable economic growth, it is clear that the consequences of not
adapting could be catastrophic.

What Progress Has Already Been Made?

Climate change affects much more than just health, it can impact our ability to
develop economically, technologically, and socially, it is by all means, the greatest
threat to mankind (The Lancet Planetary Health, 2018). The countries that signed
and are following the Paris agreement are attempting to avoid this global
catastrophe, even if it means somewhat negatively impacting other aspects in their
nation. Nevertheless, not enough is being made, and not every nation (like Australia)
has joined the cause. There is hope that in the future, we will be able to maintain the
global climate below the 2 degrees celsius that is planned.

What Are The Plans For The Future?

On the contrary to other nations, South Africa expects a 3%-23% carbon
emission increase for 2030, which puts further into doubt their 2050 target (Targets,
n.d.). Despite this, South Africa is praised for their clarity in short term progress and
shows initiative to turn their carbon emissions around. South Africa’s efforts to
combat climate change are insufficient, even in the context of developing nations.
While it may seem like most countries are on track for completing their desired goals,
the reality is that as it stands, we are not on track for meeting the 2 degree minimum
requirement of the Paris agreement. While it be political complications like in the
United States of America, or other priorities and lack of information like in South
Africa, there seems to be something stopping most countries from prioritizing climate
improvement. There is still hope however, as at least most nations seem to realize
the urgency of this matter.

Conclusion

The Paris agreement was signed on December 12th, 2015, with the intent to
unify the world to mitigate the impact of climate change on economic and social
frameworks (Sumaila et al., 2019). This agreement contained ambitious long-term
temperature goals, even exploring niche emission sources in the research
community (Mitchell et al., 2018). To accomplish a lower than 2 degree celsius
increase in temperature, all countries in the agreement have created nationally
determined contributions that fit their economic standards. The United States of
America, being the second largest contributor to global carbon emissions (15%) has
had an unstable relationship with the agreement, leaving it during the Trump
administration, and just recently joining back in thanks to president Joe Biden. As of
this April, the USA has committed to achieve net neutral carbon emissions by 2050,
and a 50% reduction by 2030. They also promise to donate 100$ billion USD to
developing nations by 2040, with the goal of helping them develop their renewable
resource infrastructure without affecting their economic growth. The European Union
seems to be on track to achieve their targets, promising carbon neutrality by 2050,
and a 40% reduction by 2030. They’ve also consistently improved upon their targets
between Paris agreement check ups and included things like travel in their data
(which not many have). Within the EU’s individual countries there are some that
stand out, offering things like renewable public transport and such. Even then, this
might still not be enough to achieve the Paris agreement’s long term goal. South
Africa, as a representative for developing nations for the purposes of this essay,
seems to be unsurprisingly behind developed nations. They seem to struggle to find
the balance between fast economical development and climate conscientiousness.
This seems quite unfair, considering that historically their more developed peers
were able to enjoy the readily available fossil fuels. Despite all this, they promise to
be carbon neutral by 2050. For developed nations, it has been shown that the Paris
agreement is actually cost effective, benefiting the economies in some markets
(Glanemann et al., 2020). This encourages others in a similar position to further
invest into reducing their carbon footprint and making the world a better place. To be
able to achieve a global net zero carbon emission, carbon capture devices will be
needed to reduce carbon emissions, and negative emissions technology will need to
be developed to capture already existing carbon that is trapped in the atmosphere
(Haszeldine et al., 2018). The Paris climate agreement is extremely complicated on
many fronts, requiring not only a nation’s research team, but the entire earth’s
working combined. Even stretching out of the research community, politicians,
economists, lawyers, emergency planners, engineers, and many more are needed to
make this plan work (Mitchell et al., 2018). It is honestly incredibly amazing how the
agreement is able to function, even as it is today. With the current rate of progress,
the world will not achieve a 2 degree celsius maximum increase. There is too much
variation between countries doing all they can to achieve their targets in time, versus
others that seem to not care. Because this is a world wide collaborative effort, if one
country fails to support the cause, everyone loses. However, there is still hope. As
the public grows more aware of the rapidly approaching catastrophe, more and more
people are pressuring their government to implement climate friendly policies. With
some luck, and a lot of work, the Paris climate agreement might achieve its goal, and
minimize the damage done to our planet.
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