Editorial: The road from Paris

At the UN climate conference in December 2015 in Paris, 196 countries will hopefully adopt a new global agreement for strong greenhouse gas reductions. Back in 1992 all the UN countries agreed that rich countries should take the first step to stabilize GHG emissions by the year 2000. This was unfortunately not a legally binding agreement and it failed. The USA refused for more than 20 years to fulfil this agreement, refused to join the Kyoto Protocol for modest GHG reductions of five per cent and instead increased CO₂ emissions by nearly 10 per cent between 1990 and 2013. Under the leadership of the European Union, in a legally binding agreement process under the Kyoto Protocol (adopted in 1997), some industrialized countries stabilized and started to reduce GHG emissions, by almost 20 per cent between 1990 and 2013.

Lessons should be learned from this and it is therefore important that key parts of the new Paris agreement are legally binding. The agreement has also to confirm the principle of common but differentiated capabilities based on equity. A balance must be achieved in the agreement between mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology transfer, capacity building and transparency. The industrialized countries must also agree to establish a mechanism that will enable the poorest and most vulnerable countries to deal with the loss and damage caused by climate change. By 1 October, more than 110 countries had submitted their national targets for GHG reductions to the UN. Different assessments of these targets suggest that the combined efforts from all these proposals would still lead to a global temperature increase of 3–4 ˚C by 2100. This should be compared with IPCC business-as-usual scenarios, which predict a global temperature increase of more than 5–6 ˚C by 2100, and the targets submitted by countries at the Copenhagen and Cancun UN conferences in 2009 and 2011, which add up to 4–5 ˚C by 2100.

The Paris agreement will only be the first step and must be strengthened soon after. The road from Paris therefore demands serious ratcheting up of CO₂ reduction commitments so that the target of below 1.5 ˚C can be achieved. The 1.5 ˚C target is already demanded by more than 100 countries, and the UN Review on the adequacy of a 1.5 or 2 ˚C target in 2015 came to the same conclusion (see cover article). For the Paris agreement, Climate Action Network is demanding an “ambition-accelerating mechanism”, which includes a regular review of countries’ commitments and most importantly that the first commitment period should be only five years, from 2020 to 2025, and not as presently suggested until 2030. The proposed mechanism would also allow countries to regularly upgrade reduction targets and immediately add them to the Paris agreement.

Reinhold Pape

In this issue

1.5°C target adequate for Paris agreement

The 2°C goal for global warming is inadequate. Risks increase significantly between 1.5 and 2°C, a UN review of climate targets concludes.

Editorial: The road from Paris

At the UN climate conference in December 2015 in Paris, 196 countries will hopefully adopt a new global agreement for strong greenhouse gas reductions.

Environment MEPs want stricter air pollutant caps

Member states should meet stricter 2025 and 2030 air pollution reduction targets and mercury should also be included in the National Emission Ceilings directive, says the Parliament’s Environment Committee.

A future based on 100 % renewable energy for all is achievable

Greenpeace has launched the new edition of the popular Energy [R]evolution report “How to Achieve 100% Renewable Energy for All by 2050”.

Film:1.5 Stay Alive

AirClim has co-published a 50-minute documentary and Caribbean music film about climate change in the coastal zones of the Caribbean Region.

Exposing the role of coal in Europe – launch of European Coal Map

There is now a comprehensive overview of existing and planned coal power plants that also displays key information on pollution and health impact, presented by the Climate Action Network (CAN).

Deal on pollution from medium combustion plants

While EU-wide application of readily available emission abatement techniques would reduce NOx emissions from these plants by more than 80 per cent by 2025, the new directive will deliver less than half of this reduction.

Weak EU coal pollution standards carry high costs

Draft new EU emission limits for coal-fired power stations are so weak that they could result in health damage, including the loss of over 23 million working days, which would cost over €52 billion between 2020 and 2029.

140 000 life-years lost each year in London because of air pollution

Inclusion of the impact of nitrogen dioxide for the first time suggests that more than twice as many people as previously thought die prematurely from air pollution in London.

Lower speed – less emissions?

Ships in the Mediterranean Sea have reduced their speed by more than 30 per cent since 2008, which has led to a 45 per cent cut in average ship NOx emission factors.

Emissions keep on slowly shrinking

Air pollutant emissions from land-based sources are continuing to fall slightly, but considerably slower than before. Some of the reductions on land are also countered by rising emissions from international shipping.

Pledges for the 2015 UN climate agreement

South Korea plans to cut emissions by 37 percent by 2030, and China plans to boost renewables. As the Paris conference approaches, countries are submitting their plans for greenhouse gas reductions.

Dirty diesel cars tested

Emissions tests on 32 Euro 6 diesel passenger cars from ten different manufacturers and with different abatement technologies show that most cars fail to meet the NOx emissions standards under more realistic driving conditions.

Lignite villages have been needlessly destroyed

Lignite has a low energy output and requires huge quantities to be mined, which has a devastating impact on landscapes and settlements. Even so, many countries are still committed to the fuel.

EU air pollution emissions still exceeded

Ten EU countries breached at least one of their air pollutant emission ceilings in 2013, preliminary data from the European Environment Agency (EEA) shows.