After Paris accord, most US Republicans back action on climate

When our children’s children look back to what we did to keep our planet livable, they may see this year’s United Nations climate conference in Paris as a turning point.

However, if you also capture the emissions from the bioenergy plant and bury them underground, you are actually removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Critics say that could mean converting millions of acres of farmland used for food production to grow biocrops, which could clash with Article 2 of the Paris Agreement, which says the battle against climate change must be carried out “in a manner that does not threaten food production”. “The focus now shifts to implementation”.

The summit did not contain any surprises, BMO Global AM says, that would have an immediate impact on company or portfolio valuations, with all the country-level policy announcements having been made well in advance. After two weeks of intensive negotiations, not to mention two decades of UN climate talks that have paved the way to global action, a deal was struck that saw more than 180 nations agree to reduce climate emissions and support some of the most vulnerable people and ecosystems to adapt to the impacts of a warming planet. Meanwhile, the Himalayan glaciers feeding the river system, the lifeblood of this country’s agrarian economy, are melting faster than glaciers in most other parts of the world. Former NASA scientist James Hansen said the accord is “a fraud”, and former Bolivian climate negotiator Pablo Solon called the agreement “a death sentence for many people”, adding, “A world with temperature increases more than 3 degrees Celsius is a world where not everyone will survive”. Market forces will drive this agenda forward, and there will be greater potential to invest in renewable energy in developing countries than ever before.

Perhaps the most contentious issue has been that of differentiation i.e. the relative responsibilities of developed and developing nations in addressing climate change.

Climate calendar: the next five years at a glance?

Climate actions basically fall in three buckets-‘mitigation” or reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to limit future global warming; “adaptation”, or building defences against climatic events that may have already become unavoidable; and “loss and damage’ or rehabilitation after a climate event occurs. In addition developed countries are required to report on the level of support they have provided and an indication of what they will provide, while developing counties will report on the support they require and what they have received.

As Governments, business and civil society begin the mammoth project of tackling climate change and realizing the Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations will assist Member States and society at large at every stage.

Now, with the Paris Agreement in place, our thoughts must immediately turn to implementation.

Given the failure of previous negotiations, reaching any global agreement on the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions has been welcomed as an achievement in itself, and the 187 INDCs submitted to date, while not sufficient to meet the 2°C, are still significant.

Fourth, world leaders must push harder for carbon pricing. “Of course, the question is how we accelerate from here – be it on innovation, finance, creativity, investment and so on”. He said it was a comprehensive, balanced and effective deal. With its yearly Conferences of the Parties it established a mechanism that slowly but steadily strengthened global rules on climate change. We, currently, in Vermont are mostly relying on carbon-based sources for our energy, and the draft Comprehensive Energy Plan proposed by the Public Service Board has set ambitious goals for the state to obtain 90 percent of our energy by 2050 from renewable sources.