Partner Article

Westward Group Alternatives: UN climate talks in Paris

Representatives from around 190 nations have started the latest phase of negotiations in Geneva a couple of weeks ago to discuss climate change concerns.

The international agreement which covers over 100 concerns was contained in a 37-page draft that still needs to be prepared for negotiations in May and June, then ratification by the end of the year.

Pressure to get a final decision on the climate accord is mounting as both the global sea and land surface temperatures have reached record levels last year. All the leading countries have to declare emission targets by March so it’s no surprise that the EU is reportedly exerting pressure to get pledges from its members.

At the start of the conference, EU has already recognized that the target countries might not be able to contain the rise of global temperature below the ideal threshold of 2°C. (That critical 2 degrees is the threshold that Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change thinks is a tipping point on a major climate change.)

According to Westward Group Alternatives, the draft highlights the divide between developing countries and their wealthier counterparts. So another concern is directed to the developing nations: should they also be required to make a carbon-reduction pledge? Also, there’s the question of whether developed nations ought to compensate them for losses related to climate change.

During a UN press interview, the European Union negotiator said, “We are concerned the targets set in Paris may fall short of what is required by science, that it will not be exactly what is required to remain within the 2 degrees.”

The US itself has committed to decreasing their emissions by 27% in the next 10 years along with creating another more ambitious international climate change accord. Westward Group Alternatives has previously reported that the US considers climate change as a risk to national security, so much so that it considers postponing the reductions could turn out to be more expensive in the long run.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Noemi Hafter .