The deal was signed in Paris on December 12, at the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21), after two weeks of negotiations. The deal sets the goal to limit temperature increase by 2 degrees Centigrade. Also, the summit members pledge to make every effort to keep the warming under 1.5 degrees Centigrade. The countries have agreed to go carbon neutral in the second half of this century. This means that the greenhouse gas emissions may not exceed the amount absorbed by ecosystems.
So far, concrete plans to reduce emissions, drafted by each member country in the run-up for the conference, restrict the warming to 3 degrees Celsius. Yet the new climate deal envisages a revision of commitments to reduce emissions every five years. That is why by 2020 the countries have to submit the new enhanced goals.
At the COP21 the developed economies confirmed their readiness to allocate costs for measures aimed at adaptation to climate changes in the developing countries. The fund charged with solving these issues will dispose of over 100 billion dollars. The money will be allocated to the poorest countries battered by climate change, first of all, in Africa and Asia. Those which do not classified as “developed,” but are responsible for quite a considerable share of atmosphere pollution and are also able to help (in particular, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Singapore), can render assistance on the voluntary basis.
Iryna STAVCHUK, head of climate policy department at the National Ecological Center of Ukraine, who followed the COP21 in Paris, shared about practical effects of the conference for the world in her interview to The Day.
How effective can this deal be in terms of countering climate change?
“The deal is made, and this is the best that could happen. The negotiations at the conference went with difficulty. The odds for agreement remained under question till the very last moment. Most of the participants are satisfied with the results of the conference, including the representatives of environmental organizations. First of all, the long-term goal is set to limit global warming to 2 degrees Centigrade and do everything to restrict the increase by 1.5 degrees. We have guidelines, which oblige us to reduce emissions and incineration of fossil fuels to zero by mid-century. It is an ambitious goal, but a right one.
“There are a number of countries which show that their emissions will be larger than allowed. In particular, the goal submitted by Ukraine does not envisage the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The conference did not debate the reduction of emissions by individual countries, what was discussed is a general agreement about the structure of the climate deal. The common decision to revise the goals every five years demonstrates the countries’ awareness of inefficiency of the submitted goals, so they will work to fix it.”
How did political relations between countries affect the course of the talks at the COP21?
“All environmental organizations were worried about Russia’s behavior, which might try to block or object to things. Yet Russia behaved in a very constructive manner, there were no problems with anything. Making the deal is a great progress in establishing political contacts between the US President Barack Obama and the President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping. Past year they met for the first time and reached an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as agreed in a range of other issues of the international protocol. This facilitated the progress of the Paris negotiations, as China and the US together are responsible for nearly 50 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.”
What will be the practical global effects of the deal signed in Paris?
“The international accord needs to be translated into national contexts. Clearly, investing in fossil fuels-related projects will become much more complicated. Even during the conference several big international funds declared they were going to disinvest in such projects in favor of others. The risks of financing fossil fuels projects will be growing. This is already happening, but passing the climate deal sends a message that this tendency will increase. The countries must develop and implement energy-efficient policies.”
Which measures in this context should Ukrainians expect?
“Firstly, we need to intensify energy conservation. It is necessary to insulate buildings and reform the public heating system. Secondly, we need to implement energy-efficient technologies in business, which will increase our economy’s competitiveness. It is also worthwhile to develop the public transportation system and implement a civilized recycling of waste. All climate protection measures are necessary and advisable for Ukraine’s economy.”
