Prakash Javadekar to give statement on Paris agreement in Parliament

While many are celebrating the agreement as a landmark event in the global fight against climate change, others are skeptical about how much the agreement will actually change and whether certain countries will be able and/or willing to live up to their end of the bargain. So, in many ways, the climate change deal that emerged from Paris over the weekend, a month after terrorist attacks traumatized the city, represents a remarkable achievement on behalf of humanity.

As my boys and I frolicked at our local Chicago park yesterday in record heat of nearly 60-degrees, a neighbor in the clean tech business mentioned how many people oppose climate change.

The Obama administration states that the deal will encourage almost 200 countries to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, slowing global warming.

It also differentiates between countries as to their responsibilities for action and provides finance for poor countries to deal with rising temperatures, both key asks for developing nations.

These nations’ economies are dependent on fossil fuels and the transition to greener energy will be especially painful for them.

Outgoing Climate Change Minister Tim Groser said there would be no changes to domestic policy around the issue.

Not only that, developed countries will also be required to help developing countries in this process, with developed countries having to send $100 billion per year to developing countries, a figure that is set to increase with time.

The long-term objective of the agreement is to make sure global warming stays “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) and to “pursue efforts” to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). It is vital that our utilities, corporates and consumers adopt the best emerging global practices in the domain of energy and climate action. Together, we will need to demand responsibility and accountability for meeting and increasing our contributions in carbon pollution reductions to protect against the worst impacts of climate change.

From the hugs, handshakes, huge applause and standing ovation at the conclusion of the United Nations Climate Change Conference near Paris, onlookers could be forgiven for thinking world leaders and delegates had already saved the planet.

Israel’s prime minister also welcomed the agreement.

He highlighted the agreement as one of his top priorities since the day he became UN Secretary-General.

Thirty-one pages. That is what more than two decades’ worth of diplomacy, haggling, bargaining, debating, and political wrangling has come to in Paris on Saturday evening, December 12. Critics on the left said that the treaty is not ambitious enough, while critics on the right, who have always been against a deal such as this, dispute the scientific evidence that links climate change to actions by humans. By saying we’ll sort it out later, they risk closing the door on our best and perhaps only chance to address the crisis before us. The agreement will enter into force after 55 countries that account for at least 55 per cent of global emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification.