Climate change is a direct result of industrialization and the subsequent increase in the burning of fossil fuels. When fossil fuels are burned, they release energy and greenhouse gasses. The energy is used to provide energy for almost everything the developed world uses (cars, planes, plastic, etc.). However, greenhouse gasses, such as carbon dioxide and methane, accumulate in the atmosphere, trapping the sun’s heat, and increasing the planet’s surface temperatures. Already, the average temperature in 2020 was 0.9*F higher than the 1968-2005 average. If our consumption of fossil fuels remains unchecked, the Earth will warm by several degrees within the next century. The results will be catastrophic with negative economic and political implications across the globe.
In general, climate change will increase the intensity and rate of weather events and natural phenomena, whether that be hurricanes, droughts, heatwaves, or the infamous rising and warming sea levels due to melting Arctic ice and the effect of absorbing 90% of the heat fossil fuel emissions. The specific effects of climate change vary by region and a country’s capacity to protect itself against these dangerous consequences also differs around the globe. With regards to flora and fauna, climate change poses an enormous threat to wildlife around the world because it alters ecosystems, which are intricate and fragile.
Perhaps most importantly, human lives are also at risk, with estimates placing one billion people at risk of water shortages or losing their homes to rising sea levels due to melting ice caps and increased rain rather than snow. Coastal communities throughout the world are facing this issue, particularly those that live on islands. Rising sea levels will cause a refugee crisis that will threaten national security for many countries and put a strain on foreign relations. Global food production will also be severely impacted as arid regions such as ours in Southern California will become even drier. Unchecked climate change will increase poverty and contribute to political instability, especially when livelihoods, food supplies, and survival itself are threatened. The global climate science community has set an average temperature increase of 1.5 degrees C as the target, lest climate change becomes completely unmanageable.
Developed countries and their multinational corporations are the biggest contributors to climate change. Unfortunately, developing countries are the most affected by climate change. It is these same countries that also want the opportunity to industrialize and grow their economies, which presently requires the use of fossil fuels. The biggest emitters of fossil fuels are China, the European Union, the U.S., and India. Due to a lack of coordination between the developed/industrialized and the developing/pre-industrialized countries, there has been a lack of global resolutions put forth by the UN or other international organizations that address climate change, despite its time-sensitive nature.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was signed by 154 countries in 1992 and was the first initiative of its scale that focused on the climate change issue. Its primary objective was to “stabilize” atmospheric greenhouse gas levels at a safe level. But because the plan included no mandatory action, it was largely unsuccessful. The next large, global plan came in 1997 and was signed by 150 countries. The Kyoto Protocol targeted developed countries (which at the time did not include China or India), asking them to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The United States Congress never ratified the agreement and critics argued that because the two biggest carbon emitters, China and India, were not part of the Protocol, it would be ineffective. Eventually, the Paris Accords signed in 2015 at the 21st Conference of the Parties known as COP21 replaced the Kyoto Protocol. The Paris Accords were signed by 196 nations, including the US, China, the EU, and China. The agreement calls on countries to prevent the global average temperature from rising above the “magic” 1.5*C level. However, like all previous global climate agreements, the Paris Agreement is non binding.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, most of the greenhouse gas emissions from human activities within the U.S. results from the burning of fossil fuels for transportation, electricity production, and industry. Data was collected from 2019. Globally, most greenhouse gas emissions in 2013 came from electricity and heat production, transportation, and agriculture, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.
This brings us to today and COP26. The Glasgow Climate Pact, the first UN agreement to acknowledge, however minimally, the role of fossil fuels and coal in the climate crisis, was agreed upon by all 197 countries present. It requires countries to show up to next year’s COP27 in Egypt with new plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The Paris Agreement had required updated plans by 2025. In addition, 141 countries “pledged to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030,” according to the Council on Foreign Relations. The signatories, which include Brazil, home of the Amazon rainforest, control more than 90% of the world’s forests. The Global Methane Pledge, which aims to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030, was also introduced and agreed upon by over 100 countries. Steps to phase out coal were agreed upon by 23 countries and some major international banks as well. Notably, just last week, the U.S. and China have pledged to increase climate cooperation and battle climate change together, while India announced plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070.
Comments