
The Energy Collective Group
This group brings together the best thinkers on energy and climate. Join us for smart, insightful posts and conversations about where the energy industry is and where it is going.
Post
The Paris Agreement and the Trump Effect
Easier said than done:
Last week, Taryn Fransen and Kelly Levin of the World Resources Institute published an informative analysis on the “Trump Effect” on the Paris Agreement, signed in Paris at COP21 in December 2015. It was historic in many respects, not least of which was that it was the first time the whole world agreed on anything so ambitious.
Even so, it wasn’t ambitious enough. The Paris Agreement turns on the phrase “increased ambition“.
In other words, save for a handful of countries (North Korea, Syria, Nicaragua), the world of nations agree to decarbonize the economy by the last half of the century. We know it’s unimaginably easier said than done, and just saying it was hardly easy. It took 20 years.
The Paris Agreement is gooey and loose enough to get everyone on board. It’s the first step.
The unraveling
Even with all of Obama’s policies in place, including the Clean Power Plan, the United States will fall short of its NDC target of 4.8 to 4.9 GtCO2e in total emissions (gigatons of CO2 equivalent). In 2015, the U.S. economy emitted 5.8 GtCO2e. We knew we had work to do, but there was a plan to do it.
Obviously, it gets worse under Trump. Or better, I suppose, if you think the whole thing is a hoax. Whichever, it’s time to make up your mind.
Isolated Trump
The irony is almost comically tragic. The handful of countries that refused to sign on in Paris now have. It is the United States that has pulled away and stands alone and isolated.
But we aren’t Trump. The president abdicates his administration’s authority, not U.S. leadership.
Others must now lead.
Photo by Aral Tasher on Unsplash
The post The Paris Agreement and the Trump Effect appeared first on Global Warming is Real.
Discussions
No discussions yet. Start a discussion below.
Get Published - Build a Following
The Energy Central Power Industry Network is based on one core idea - power industry professionals helping each other and advancing the industry by sharing and learning from each other.
If you have an experience or insight to share or have learned something from a conference or seminar, your peers and colleagues on Energy Central want to hear about it. It's also easy to share a link to an article you've liked or an industry resource that you think would be helpful.
Sign in to Participate