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Re: Key points of the landmark Paris climate agreement

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Sam Wormley <swormley1@gmail.com> wrote:
> Key points of the landmark Paris climate agreement
>> http://phys.org/news/2015-12-key-landmark-paris-climate-agreement.html
> 
>> ?LONG-TERM GOAL: 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). Temperatures have
>> already increased by about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit)
>> since pre-industrial times. To achieve that goal, governments pledged
>> to stop the rise in heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions "as soon
>> as possible." By some point after 2050, the agreement says, man-made
>> emissions should be reduced to a level that forests and oceans can
>> absorb.
>>
>> ?EMISSIONS TARGETS: In order to reach the long-term goal, countries
>> agreed to set national targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions
>> every five years. More than 180 countries have already submitted
>> targets for the first cycle beginning in 2020. Only developed
>> countries are expected to slash their emissions in absolute terms;
>> developing nations are "encouraged" to do so as their capabilities
>> evolve over time. Until then, they are expected only to rein in the
>> growth of emissions as their economies develop.
>>
>> ?REVIEWING TARGETS: The initial targets won't be enough to put the
>> world on a path to meet the long-term temperature goal. So the
>> agreement asks governments to review their targets in the next four
>> years and see if they can "update" them. That doesn't require
>> governments to deepen their cuts. But the hope is that it will be
>> possible for them to do so if renewable energy sources become more
>> affordable and effective.
>>
>> ?TRANSPARENCY: There is no penalty for countries that miss their
>> emissions targets. But the agreement has transparency rules to help
>> encourage countries to actually do what they say they will do. That
>> was one of the most difficult pieces to agree on, with China asking
>> for softer requirements for developing countries. The agreement says
>> all countries must report on their emissions and their efforts the
>> reduce them. But it allows for some "flexibility" for developing
>> countries that "need it."

Or in other words, no one has to do anything other than perhaps a report,
if they feel like it.
 

-- 
Jim Pennino

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Key points of the landmark Paris climate agreement Sam Wormley <swormley1@gmail.com> - 2015-12-12 18:17 -0600
  Re: Key points of the landmark Paris climate agreement jimp@specsol.spam.sux.com - 2015-12-13 01:08 +0000
    Re: Key points of the landmark Paris climate agreement benj <none@gmail.com> - 2015-12-12 20:52 -0500
  Re: Key points of the landmark Paris climate agreement gilber34 <fafa@invalid.com> - 2015-12-12 20:49 -0600
    Re: Key points of the landmark Paris climate agreement Poutnik <poutnik4nntp@gmail.com> - 2015-12-13 09:58 +0100
      Re: Key points of the landmark Paris climate agreement benj <none@gmail.com> - 2015-12-13 06:09 -0500

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