Just before the 2016 G20 Summit
(11th) in Hangzhou, China President Obama of the United States of
America and President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China jointly
announced that United States of America and the People’s Republic of China have
ratified COP 21. The Summit took place on September 4-5. With the United States
and China joining the Paris Agreement the total number of countries who have
joined so far comes up to 26. 55 countries representing 55% of global emissions
need to ratify the Agreement before it can enter into force. The United States
is the number one economy in the world, and China the number two.
COP21 means 21st Conference
of the Parties in Paris. In full it is United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change 21st Conference of the Parties in Paris. COP21 under
the auspices of the United Nations Organization is the world’s strategy to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.
In terms of energy-related carbon
dioxide emissions, China is number one in the world, and the United States is
number two. In 2015 China emitted 28.03% of the world total, while the United
States emitted 15.9%.
Table 1
Top ten energy-related Carbon Dioxide emitters-2015
|
NO
|
COUNTRY
|
PERCENTAGE
|
|
01
|
China
|
28.03%
|
|
02
|
United States of America
|
15.9%
|
|
03
|
India
|
5.81%
|
|
04
|
Russia
|
4.79%
|
|
05
|
Japan
|
3.84%
|
|
06
|
Germany
|
2.23%
|
|
07
|
Korea
|
1.78%
|
|
08
|
Canada
|
1.67%
|
|
09
|
Iran
|
1.63%
|
|
10
|
Brazil
|
1.41%
|
COP 21
Many experts are agreed that
Earth’s atmosphere is growing warmer due to the activities of man. The
activities of man emit a group of gases called greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere. These gases trapped in the atmosphere cause the warming. The
quantities of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are just too much. The
specific gases are carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, nitrous oxide
(natural); chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),
Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆)-man made. A gas like
carbon dioxide has a natural presence in the atmosphere but when man burns wood
for example, carbon in a solid form changes into gaseous form which accumulates
in the atmosphere.
Greenhouse gases in their right
natural proportions are good. When the sun radiates heat (short wave) the
greenhouse gases allow it to pass through the atmosphere to the Earth. When the
short wave hits the Earth there is a reradiation (long wave) back into the
atmosphere. The reradiated wave is blocked by the greenhouse gases to keep
humans warm on Earth. Through human activities greenhouse gases have increased
in the atmosphere beyond natural proportions hence global warming beyond the natural
level. There is therefore the need to eliminate the excess greenhouse gases
from the atmosphere (lower).
COP21 is culmination of previous
conferences on climate change under the aegis of the United Nations. The
agreement reached by COP21 has a main aim of reducing the emission of
anthropogenic greenhouse gases at a mean rate below 2°C for a period of time,
country by country, leading to an eventual elimination of excess greenhouse
gases in the lower atmosphere causing global warming. The way to reducing
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is by going green- tapping energy from the
sun, using windmills etc. Going green is expensive. So what COP21 Agreement is
saying is that rich countries should bear the cost for reducing the emissions
for themselves, and help poor countries to do so too.
MANIFESTATION
When the lower atmosphere of the
Earth gets so warm it causes change in climate, and it is manifested as
follows:
- 2014 was recorded as the hottest year on Earth. The next year 2015 was also recorded as the hottest year on Earth, which means it was hotter than 2014, in a matter of just one year.
- Icebergs and glaciers are melting at alarming rates.
- Sea levels are rising, resulting in the washing away of human settlements.
- Frequent occurrence of storms.
- Erratic rainfall patterns, resulting in drought and drying up of rivers.
IMPLICATIONS
- From what I have stated you could see how critically important the ratification of the COP21 Agreement by the United States and China is.
- From table 1 it is clear that the two countries emit almost 45% energy-related carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. What it means is that because these countries release so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere if they apply themselves to their commitments under COP21 a proportional amount of carbon dioxide should be removed from the atmosphere eventually.
- Besides, they are rich countries and the expectation is that they will support poor countries in going green, in keeping with the Agreement. The United States of America and China as I have indicated are the top two economies on planet Earth.
- The two countries should serve as encouragement for other countries to ratify the Agreement. 55 countries are required to ratify the agreement before it enters into force, and with the ratification by the United States and China, only 26 countries have ratified the agreement so far.
- Ratification by the two countries gives hope for the reversal of the catastrophes listed under ‘Manifestations’.
GREENEST
COUNTRIES
Some countries to look up to in
terms of greenness as a result of efficient and effective application of green
policies. The following top ten green countries in the world were named in the
Environmental Performance Index 2016 Report.
Table 2
Top 10 Greenest Countries in the World-EPI 2016 Report
|
NO.
|
COUNTRY
|
SCORE
|
10-YR. CHANGE
|
|
01
|
Finland
|
90.68
|
3.19%
|
|
02
|
Iceland
|
90.51
|
6.91%
|
|
03
|
Sweden
|
90.43
|
5.58%
|
|
04
|
Denmark
|
89.21
|
4.98%
|
|
05
|
Slovenia
|
88.98
|
12.15%
|
|
06
|
Spain
|
88.91
|
10.01%
|
|
07
|
Portugal
|
88.63
|
10.88%
|
|
08
|
Estonia
|
88.59
|
5.91%
|
|
09
|
Malta
|
88.48
|
11.62%
|
|
10
|
France
|
88.20
|
8.70%
|
PARTING SHOT
The United States of America and
the People’s Republic of China jointly ratified the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties 21 Agreement. The
announcement was made just before the G20 Summit in China.
The ratification was significant
in two ways. One because the two countries are the two top economies in the
world. The number two and more important reason is that they are the top two
emitters of carbon dioxide, at least energy-related carbon dioxide. Because
they are the top two emitters of carbon dioxide if they apply themselves to
their commitment a big step should be taken towards the reversal of global
warming. That they are the two top economies, it should not be difficult for
them to help poor countries to fight global warming.
However, if you check table number
two showing the greenest countries in the world, United States and China cannot
be traced. They cannot be traced because
they fall outside of the top ten ranking. The United States of America is 26th
on the ranking with a score of 84.72 and China is 109th on the
ranking with a score of 65.10.
This shows that the top
two countries themselves still have a lot of catching up to do. I hope the
ratification of the COP21 Agreement will provide the impetus required for them
to add yet another push towards a global effort for a clean and balanced
natural environment, sustainably.
Reference:
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