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Paris Agreement edit

The Paris Agreement was agreed upon on in December of 2015 as the UNFCCC's latest response to global climate change[1]. Ratified in 2016 after receiving signatures from 195 countries as well as the EU that, when combined, make up a large majority of current GHG emissions, the agreement is planned to go underway in 2020[2]. China, the world leader in GHG emissions[3], as well as the U.S., who withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol[4], both initially joined the agreement. This effort is a new and aggressive method to reduce these emissions, as a step up from the Kyoto Protocol with more up to date incentives, and a more active role being undertaken by the UNFCCC in reaching their goal.

Goals of the Agreement edit

A main point of distinction between the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement is that the new agreement is not abandoning the previous one, as it is attempting to build off of it.[1] Several seeds were planted by specialists while the Kyoto Protocol was in effect that would suggest that more action was needed to reach the goal of 2 degrees celsius or less[5]. The Paris Agreement is, unlike Kyoto, calling upon all countries (developed and developing) to equally aid in their goal of keeping the global temperature from rising by 2 degrees celsius pre-industrial standard, while actively following efforts to keep that number to below 1.5 degrees celsius[1]. The UNFCCC aims to accomplish this with aid to all countries, through financial assistance, a new technological framework, among other measures of assistance, while remaining accountable with the implementation of their transparency framework[6]. The Paris Agreement does not give specified instructions on a country-by-country basis, instead opting to have countries propose their own NDCs, or Nationally Decided Contributions, every five years, as to not force or restrict countries efforts[6]. As a result, the UNFCCC (in collaboration with willing developed countries) has to adjust for financial compensation as well as other methods of assistance for developing countries, or countries that require specific forms of assistance.[2]

Although China is the leading producer of CO2 emissions in the world with the U.S. second, per capita the U.S. leads China by a fair margin.

The U.S. Withdraws from the Paris Agreement edit

In 2017, a year after the US was a member of the over 200 countries that ratified the Paris Agreement, President Trump announced that the US would be exiting the deal.[7] The reasoning behind the decision was tied to potential issues with the U.S. economy, as well as the President believing the deal to be unfair for the U.S.[8] President Trump has a complicated history with climate change, quoted as saying that he does not believe in it, while at the same time acknowledging the severity and importance of it.[9] The U.S. decision to withdraw, however, is not official as the process to leave the agreement will take a calendar year by the standards set by the UNFCCC, and will essentially allow for the winner of the 2020 presidential election to have the final say.[7] Some argue that the decision for the US to leave the Paris Agreement will be beneficial to the remaining countries goal by motivating these countries to step-up in the place of the US, while others argue the US would not have reached its targets regardless if it had elected to stay.[10]


Carbon Pricing edit

A carbon price is a system of applying a price to carbon emissions, as a method of emissions mitigation.[11] Potential methods of pricing include emission trading, results-based climate finance, crediting mechanisms and more.[12] Carbon pricing can also lend itself to the creation of carbon taxes, which would allow for governments to tax GHG emissions, as a method to benefit the government with a large increase in funding.[11]

Carbon Tax edit

Once a government has decided on the price of GHG emissions, they can take that number and use it to set tax rates for businesses (and households, if necessary).[13] Carbon taxes are considered especially useful because, once a number has been created, it will benefit the government either with currency or with a lowering in GHG emissions or even both, and therefore benefit the environment.[13] It is almost a worldwide consensus that carbon taxing is the most cost-effective method of having a substantial and rapid response to climate change and carbon emissions.[14] However, backlash to the tax includes that it could be considered regressive, as the impact from the tax would be damaging disproportionately to the poor who spend much of their income on energy for their homes.[15] Still, even with the near universal approval, there are many questions that are unanswered regarding both the collection and redistribution of the taxes. One of the central questions being how the newly collected taxes will be redistributed.[16]

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c unfccc.int https://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/convention/application/pdf/english_paris_agreement.pdf. Retrieved 2020-03-12. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ a b Bodle, R., Donat, L., & Duwe, M. (2016). The paris agreement: Analysis, assessment and outlook. Carbon & Climate Law Review : CCLR, 10(1), 5-22. Retrieved from https://www.ecologic.eu/sites/files/event/2016/ecologic_institute_2016_paris_agreement_assessment.pdf
  3. ^ Blossom, Thomas C. Frohlich and Liz. "These countries produce the most CO2 emissions". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  4. ^ Library, C. N. N. "Kyoto Protocol Fast Facts". CNN. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  5. ^ "World Energy Outlook 2011". World Energy Outlook. 2011-11-09. doi:10.1787/weo-2011-en. ISSN 2072-5302.
  6. ^ a b Miller, S. (2016). 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change : Elements and Related Matters. Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
  7. ^ a b Friedman, Lisa (2019-11-04). "Trump Serves Notice to Quit Paris Climate Agreement". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  8. ^ Chakraborty, Barnini (2017-06-01). "Paris Agreement on climate change: US withdraws as Trump calls it 'unfair'". Fox News. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  9. ^ Cheung, Helier (2020-01-23). "What does Trump actually believe on climate change?". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  10. ^ Symons-Brown, Bonny (2017-06-02). "Could Trump's exit from the Paris deal actually be a win for the environment?". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  11. ^ a b "What is a carbon price and why do we need one?". Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  12. ^ "Understanding carbon pricing". Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  13. ^ a b "Which is better: carbon tax or cap-and-trade?". Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  14. ^ Implementing a US carbon tax : challenges and debates. Parry, Ian W. H. (Ian William Holmes), 1965-, Morris, Adele Cecile, 1963-, Williams, Roberton C., 1972-. New York. ISBN 978-1-138-81415-8. OCLC 891001377.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. ^ "Pros and cons of a carbon tax » Yale Climate Connections". Yale Climate Connections. 2016-07-20. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  16. ^ Chen, Zi-yue; Nie, Pu-yan (2016-12-01). "Effects of carbon tax on social welfare: A case study of China". Applied Energy. 183: 1607–1615. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.09.111. ISSN 0306-2619.
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