Current Status of Paris Agreement 2019
The Paris Agreement is an international treaty aimed at limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The agreement was adopted in December 2015 by 196 parties, including the United States, China, and the European Union. It entered into force on November 4, 2016, after receiving the necessary ratifications.
However, in June 2017, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the agreement, claiming that it would hurt the US economy and jobs. The withdrawal process began immediately, but it took until November 2020 for the US to officially leave the agreement. President-elect Joe Biden has promised to rejoin the Paris Agreement as soon as he takes office in January 2021.
Despite the US withdrawal, the Paris Agreement remains in effect, and the other parties have continued to work towards its goals. In December 2018, at the United Nations climate change conference in Katowice, Poland, parties agreed on guidelines for implementing the agreement, including how to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2019, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, convened a Climate Action Summit in New York, where countries and companies announced new pledges to reduce emissions and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. However, a report by the United Nations Environment Programme in November 2019 warned that the world is still on track for warming of at least 3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century, far exceeding the Paris Agreement`s goal.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on global greenhouse gas emissions, causing them to decline by an estimated 7% compared to 2019. However, this reduction is unlikely to be sustained, and emissions are expected to rebound as the global economy recovers.
The next United Nations climate change conference, known as COP26, was scheduled to take place in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2020 but has been postponed to November 2021 due to the pandemic. The conference will be an important milestone in the implementation of the Paris Agreement, as countries are expected to submit updated and more ambitious national climate plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
In conclusion, the Paris Agreement remains in effect despite the US withdrawal, and other parties have continued to work towards its goals. However, the world is still not on track to meet the agreement`s temperature goals, and urgent action is needed to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. The upcoming COP26 conference will be a crucial opportunity to increase ambition and accelerate progress towards a sustainable future.