The problem of global warming is so often considered at various levels that it ceased to be something frightening for ordinary people. Many do not understand and do not realize the catastrophic situation that has developed with the Earth. Perhaps that is why for some a very serious event was passed by, which concerned the settlement of issues related to minimizing the amount of harmful emissions resulting from anthropogenic activities.
It took place in 2015 in France, its result was an agreement known to the world as the Paris Agreement. This document has a rather specific wording, which is why it has been criticized more than once by environmental activists. Let's see what kind of agreement this is and why the United States, one of the main initiators of the conference, during which the discussion of the treaty took place, refused to participate in this project.
Invisible atomic attack
In 2017, scientists made a shocking conclusion - over the past twenty years, as a result of human activities, so much energy has been released into the atmosphere as multiple explosions of atomic bombs would release it. Yes, it is the explosions - not one, but many, very many. To be more precise, atomic bombs equivalent to those that destroyed Hiroshima would have to be detonated every second for 75 years on the planet, and then the allocated amount of heat would be equal to what a person produces, “only” doing his business.
All this energy is absorbed by the waters of the oceans, which simply can not cope with such a load and heats up more and more. And at the same time, our long-suffering planet itself is heating up.
It seems that this problem is far from us, residents of safe regions where tsunamis are not terrible, because there are no oceans nearby, where there are no mountains, and therefore there is no risk of landslides, powerful floods and destructive displacements of tectonic plates. Nevertheless, we all feel unstable, atypical weather, and breathe nightmarish air and drink dirty water. We have to live with this and hope that the will of the politicians is enough for serious accomplishments. The Paris climate agreement could be one of them, because it is based on the voluntary consent of the powers that be to preserve our planet for posterity.
Ways to solve the problem
Perhaps the most serious problem for purifying the atmosphere is the release of carbon dioxide. Its sources are people themselves, and cars, and enterprises. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change aims to support a convention similar to the one previously signed at the UN.
The difficulty with CO 2 condensation is that it hardly dissipates by itself. This gas does not decompose, it cannot be liberated artificially, and, according to scientists, the amount that is already in the atmosphere will reach a normal level that does not affect the planet’s climate if a person stops producing it completely. That is, factories, factories should stop, cars and trains should stop traveling, and only then will the process of negative emission of the CO 2 budget begin. It is unrealistic to carry out such a scenario, because the Paris Agreement was adopted at the Paris forum, according to which the participating countries undertake to reach such a level of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, at which its amount would gradually decline.
This can be achieved by creating high-quality barrier systems that clean CO 2 emissions from enterprises, replacing fossil fuels (gas, oil) with more ecological ones (wind, air, solar energy).
Conventionally significant event
The Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015, in December. Six months later, in April 2016, it was signed by the countries participating in the consensus. The entry into force of the treaty occurred at the time of its signing, but it will enter into force a little later, although not in the not too distant future - in 2020, until then, the international community has time to ratify the agreement at the state level.
According to the agreement, the states participating in this project should strive to keep the global warming growth at the level of 2 degrees at the local level, and this value should not become the limiting threshold of decline. According to Laurent Fabius, who was the host of the meeting, their agreement is a rather ambitious plan, because ideally it is necessary to reduce the rate of global warming to 1.5 degrees, which is the main goal that the Paris climate agreement promotes. USA, France, Russia, Great Britain, China - countries that initially took the most active part in the project.
The essence of the Paris conclusion
In fact, it is clear to everyone that achieving outstanding results in reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere is almost impossible. Nevertheless, the Paris Agreement was adopted both by politicians and some scientists with a bang, because it should push the world community to stabilize the environmental situation, as well as to suspend the process of climate change.
This document is not about reducing the concentration of CO 2 , but at least maximizing its emission and preventing further carbon dioxide accumulation. 2020 is a reference point when countries will need to demonstrate real results to improve the environmental situation in their territories.
The governments of the participating countries must report on their progress every five years. In addition, each state may voluntarily submit its proposals and material support to the project. However, the contract is not declarative (compulsory and binding). The withdrawal from the Paris Agreement until 2020 is considered impossible, nevertheless, in practice, this item turned out to be ineffective, as U.S. President Donald Trump proved.
Goals and Perspectives
As we have already said, the main purpose of this treaty is to enact the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, adopted back in 1992. The problem of this convention was the unwillingness of the parties to take real and effective measures to prevent global warming. The words once declared in the stands were only loud rhetoric, but in fact, until the moment the Paris Agreement was approved, the countries that have the greatest economic activity in every possible way slowed down the processes to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.
Nevertheless, the climate problem cannot be denied anywhere in the world, and therefore a new agreement was signed. His fate, however, remains as vague as the previous treaty. The main confirmation of this point of view is the statement of environmental critics that the new convention will not be effective, because it does not prescribe absolutely no sanctions against those who violate the recommendations adopted under the Paris Agreement.
Member countries
The initiators of the conference on climate change were several countries. The event was held in France. Its leader was Laurent Fabius, who at that time held the post of prime minister in the country - the hostess of the conference. The direct signing of the convention took place in New York. The text of the original document is stored in the United Nations Secretariat and has been translated into several languages, including Russian.
The main activists were representatives of countries such as France, Britain, China, USA, Japan and Russia. In total, 100 parties officially participated in the discussion of this convention.
Treaty Ratification
In order for the Paris Agreement to fully enter into force, it had to be signed by at least 55 countries, but there was one reservation. Signatures were needed from states that, in total, emitted at least 55% of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This item is fundamental, because, according to the UN, the greatest environmental hazard is only 15 countries, with Russia in third place in this list.
At the moment, it has already done more than 190 countries (total number - 196), including the United States. After the inauguration of the new president, the Americans announced a Paris agreement, a solution to which no one had previously allowed themselves, having made a lot of noise in the global political elite. In addition, Syria did not sign the treaty; Nicaragua became one of the last countries to ratify it. The president of this state, located in Central America, did not want to sign an agreement earlier, explaining the refusal by the fact that his government would not be able to fulfill the requirements set for him.
Harsh reality
Alas, no matter how many signatures are on the contract form, they alone will not be able to correct the catastrophic situation in the ecological system of our planet. The implementation of the Paris Agreement is entirely dependent on the political will of the officials responsible for monitoring compliance with legal regulations by enterprises. In addition, as long as oil and gas production is lobbied at the state level, it is impossible to hope that climate change will decline or even decrease.
Russian opinion
Russia ratified the Paris Agreement far from immediately, although it agreed immediately. The catch was largely due to the fact that businessmen had a strong influence on the president of the country. In their opinion, our state has already reduced the amount of harmful substances emitted into the atmosphere, but the signing of the contract itself will entail a serious economic recession, because for many enterprises the implementation of new standards would be an unbearable burden. However, Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Sergey Donskoy has a different opinion on this subject, believing that by ratifying the agreement, the state will push enterprises to modernize.
US exit
In 2017, Donald Trump became the new president of America. He considered the Paris Agreement a threat to his country and its stability, emphasizing that it was his direct duty to protect it. Such an act caused a storm of indignation in the world, but did not force other world leaders to stumble on the goals proclaimed in the document. Thus, French President E. Macron convinced both his electorate and the entire world community that the treaty would not be amended, and that countries that wished to withdraw from the agreement would always have doors open.