Climate Change is Drastically Increasing, Only 16 Countries are Currently Following the Paris Agreement for Emission Reduction

Climate change may have been causing disasters and different kind of droughts, but it will really increase and even kick into gear in just decades to come. By then things will get more apocalyptic. Scientists don’t really speak about the devastating effects of climate change, they only speak partially due to the backlash they get for even suggesting it existence.

Just a few days ago, one enterprising New York Magazine writer exposes the secret of scientists by bringing down a bunch of them to explain how climate change will affect the world in decades and centuries to come. They explained a lot about the latest happening and the changes that will come after.

Although we train our eyes on climate change, yet the little we can see that look so terrifying is small compared to what will come if there is no fast solution. Over the past decades, the world culture has gone apocalyptic with Mad Max dystopias, perhaps it because of the collective report that is of climax anxiety and yet the contemplation of the real world warming danger is suffering a failure of imagination – the scientist explained “scientific reticence”.

The Paris agreement which unit the world to fight against climate change is been declined by many countries. From the agreement made, only 16 countries have set up plans and target for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with their pledged contribution to the Paris agreement, according to the recent research published.

About 157 of 197 parties committed to this agreement have set up economy-wide gas emission reduction plans as part of their Nation Determined Contribution (NDC) to the agreement but only 58 countries have actually set up plans and policies, while only 16 of those that have targeted are actually consistent with the initial plans set in their NDCs.

A study published by London School of Economic and Political Science- and the world resources Institute, which was entitled Aligning national and international climate targets, gave a comparison by with the targets in countries NDCs to the Paris agreement, and the countries that have been set in national laws and policies. The study was based on data source from the Grantham Research Institute Climate Change Laws of the World and the world Resource Institutes ClimateWatch.

The research shows that 140 countries have put on ground national sector targets, such as effort for emission of energy, land use, and transport. The report vividly states that “countries are being slow to reproduce their NDC commitments as targets in national laws and policies.” It also includes that “over 60% of economy-wide and sectoral targets in national laws and policies are currently set for 2020, whereas the target year for most NDCs is set for 2030”

After all the comparison, the report concludes by saying “Given that a gap already exists between the targets in the Paris Agreement and in countries’ NDCs, it is advisable that countries enhance the stringency and transparency of their current targets as they are expressed in their national laws and policies. This is an important step towards greater transparency over countries’ credibility to deliver on their targets.”

At the finishing point of all, it was found that only 16 countries have changed their NDCs into domestic laws and policies strong enough to be matched with the Paris agreement. Rica, Ethiopia, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Guatemala, Indonesia, Samora, Tonga, Japan, FYR Macedonia, Singapore, Malaysia, Montenegro, Canada, Algeria, and Ethiopia are the 16 countries that are currently on the full plan.

It is necessary that countries that want their NDCs to be Paris agreement should translate their plans into quantifiable national policies and law. Three recommendations are given:

  1. All countries that have not yet made their plans should make quantifiable targets into the national climate policies.
  2. Government that have made plans should extend their target to 2030, in cue with the parish agreement
  3. There should be an improvement in adding clarity and detail to the targets to properly track record

Explicitly setting a high-level economy-wide emission reduction target helps countries to ensure that sectoral targets and policies add up to the necessary action,” the authors of the report note. “While it is possible to meet the overall target in a country’s NDC without setting an economy-wide target – instead setting sectorial targets or implementing sectorial policies that aggregate to the overall target – this approach presents governance challenges as sectoral policies are often overseen by different institutions (e.g. different government ministries) and expressed in different metrics and ways.”

If all countries are to take this plans seriously and set the domestic target as stated, the target of 2030 can still be achieved but the current news in the air is about the America (which is the world eye) withdrawal from the agreement said Wallace in an article.

Share on:

About Arindom Ghosh

A professional writer, editor, blogger, copywriter, and a member of the International Association of Professional Writers and Editors, New York. He has been part of many reputed domestic and global online magazines and publications. An avid reader and a nature lover by heart, when he is not working, he is probably exploring the secrets of life.