Your Perfect Assignment is Just a Click Away
We Write Custom Academic Papers

100% Original, Plagiarism Free, Customized to your instructions!

glass
pen
clip
papers
heaphones

Obstacles to Implementation of the Paris Agreement

Obstacles to Implementation of the Paris Agreement

Obstacles to the Implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement and Coordination of Substantial International Action Regarding Climate Change Issues Thephenomenon of “global weirding” represents unforeseeable weather patterns andextreme weather events influenced by climate change which affect the wholeworld.[1] Asa result, unpredictability is perhaps the most important dimension of climatechange, transcending economic, political, and social differences that dividethe globe today. However, to fully understand the dangers climate change posesto the world, it is first important to examine its dimensions in the differentcommunities that share one planet: developing countries, developed countries,and on a more systematic level, governments. Indeveloping countries, the dimensions of climate change affect people’s qualityof life and the living conditions they face. Food security is one of the majordimensions, since agriculture-dependent economies, common in developingcountries, are heavily affected by climate change-related extreme weatherevents which destroy crops and harvests. In fact, “droughts and heat wavestypically cut a country’s cereal production by 10%,” a stark figure fordeveloping countries which often have large numbers of subsistence farmers whorely on bountiful harvests to survive through non-growing seasons.[2]Furthermore, climate change causes a loss of biodiversity within ecosystems,which has implications for populations that rely on hunting and gathering theirfood such as artisanal fishers or individuals in rural areas.[3] Accessto clean and drinking water is another dimension of climate change threatening individualsin developing countries. Frequent floods and droughts are both implications ofclimate change which can lead to contamination of water sources or force peoplein rural communities to have to travel farther in dangerous conditions tocollect water. Access to water also has stability implications for developingcountries. Over 25 years, “some 28,000 Chinese rivers have disappeared” and watersharing has caused nearly violent conflicts in India, Pakistan, as well asseveral African countries surrounding the Nile.[4] Indeveloping countries, climate change has had serious effects on public healthin terms of air pollution and epidemics of disease. With regards to airpollution, “98% of urban areas in low and middle income countries withpopulations of more than 100,000 fall shy of the [WHO’s] air quality standards,”signifying that air pollution is an issue that majorly affects developingcountries and therefore poses grave threats to the respiratory health of theindividuals in these countries.[5] Changingseasons as a result of global warming affect and expand risk seasons forcertain diseases making epidemics longer and more severe. In the case ofmalaria, “warmth accelerates the biting rate of mosquitoes and speeds up thematuration process of the parasites they carry,” contributing to anacceleration of the mosquito lifecycle and more resilient species that canpotentially spread malaria to new areas.[6] Developedcountries, those that often have the potential to combat climate change throughmultilateral actions are blind to their abilities and instead choose tocontinue on paths that exacerbate climate change but are more convenient. Whilethere is not such an imminent threat to quality of life for people in developedcountries, these countries are not immune to the extreme weather patterns thatcome with climate change, and therefore they are often found scrambling toreact to disastrous events rather than taking proactive measures. In both theUnited States and Europe, rising sea levels and extreme weather patterns due toclimate change have disastrous implications.  Wildfires such as those in California happenedbecause of changing seasons and an unexpected dry spell, both of which reflect theunpredictability of climate change. On the opposite side of the spectrum areextreme weather events, and “when it does rain, too often it is all at once ashappened in Houston with Hurricane Harvey.”[7]Rising sea levels exacerbate “normal high-tide events” and cause disastrousflooding that proves destructive to coastal communities and “necessitates theinstallation of storm water pumping systems at the cost of hundreds of millionsof dollars,” as was proven to the United States in the wake of Hurricane Sandy,which ravaged the densely populated states of New York and New Jersey.[8] InEurope, the abnormally hot summer of 2018 was a result of climate change and isset to “become the norm for summers by 2060.”[9] Bythat point, “heat-related deathscould reach about 200,000,” demonstrating the impending mortality threatimposed by climate change.[10]Recent droughts have wreaked havoc in Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands,destroying coastal infrastructure in the Netherlands, harming saplings andtrees in Germany that work to sequester carbon, and causing water shortages inthe Swiss Alps which depleted hay stocks and left livestock without water.[11]This last point brings into concernthe food security of developed nations, as the impacts of climate change onagriculture are “8-11% more severe in developed countries.”[12] Developedcountries are most affected by climate change in terms of food security becauseof different farming cultures that focus on “maximizing profit with bigmonoculture farms.”[13] Thisis important because many developing countries rely on developed countries forimports of basic staple crops, so affected harvests in developed countries canpotentially cause instability in developing countries which will be furtherdiscussed in the dimensions of climate change for governments. Climate change has implications for national security in both developed and developing nations, the governments of which are tasked with its dimensions in spurring intra-state conflict, potential inter-state aggression, and massive human displacement.  In developing countries such as Syria, prior to the Arab Spring, droughts and fires ruined the Russian wheat crop and forced Russia to cease exports to Syria which was highly dependent on Russian wheat for food supply. “Then, a four-year drought in Syria caused crop failures there, leading to massive internal migration and social unrest.”[14] Terrorists were able to capitalize on this instability, dealing a massive blow to Syrian national security. Although it can be argued that Arab Spring happened as a result of mass uprisings, the root cause of the social unrest was people’s suffering from climate-related events. As for developed countries, rising sea levels threaten coastal Naval bases in the United States, where “fifty-six naval installations across the country could be affected by a sea-level rise of at least 1 meter,” and Naval bases experience floods 10 times every year.[15] This poses a threat to US national security because of weakened defense capabilities and diminishing space to store ships since they can only be kept on the coastlines. Since “the Arctic is warming at a rate approximately twice as fast as the global average,” in recent years it has become an important dimension of climate change for governments and national security. With “Russia [planning] to open or reopen six Arctic military facilities,” Russian military presence in the Arctic could pose a threat to other governments both in terms of defense and economy, with worries that Russia is making “efforts to take control of shipping lanes at the top of the globe.”[16] Finally, climate change causes increased rates of human migration, which then exacerbate the negative effects it has on the environment and surrounding ecosystems, not limited to “vast changes in land use, physical modification of rivers or water withdrawal from rivers”[17] This has implications for national security because large numbers of displaced people and constantly shifting populations affect government ability to regulate resources and ensure that there is enough being allocated for all people. Additionally, migration due to climate events can also cause instability and ethnic tensions between different intra-state groups that share the territory of that state. Inaddition to dimensions of climate change for developing countries, developedcountries, and their governments, they also face a variety of obstacles toprogress that prevent each one of them from taking action to reduce the effectsof climate change. Developing countries are arguably the most affected by theimplications of climate change, but in terms of obstacles to progress, thereare not that many simply because of the limited actions developing countries areable to take to curb climate change, as well as the exclusion these countriesface from the rest of the global community. In developing countries, it is largelytheir internal conditions that create the greatest obstacles to progressingwith climate change adaptation policy. “More than half of global populationgrowth between now and 2050 is expected to occur in Africa,” a continentdominated by developing countries.[18]Rapid population growth causes increasing difficulty in managing already scarceresources in developing countries. Furthermore, dependence on unsustainableeconomic and energy practices such as deforestation in Brazil and coal andfossil fuel burning in India, Turkey, and Indonesia present an obstacle toprogress simply because the fragile economies of developing countries cannotwithstand a drastic change to their status quo.[19]In addition, the wording of the Paris agreement states that “developedcountries “shall” report on support provided; developing countries “should” reporton support received.”[20]In this manner, developed countries are portrayed as less significant and needierin the scopes of international agreements such as the Paris accords. This createsa stigma that they are incapable of helping and must only be dependent on developedcountries for aid. While this is true to some extent, it provides no motivationfor developing countries to join the overall global effort to cut back on emissionsor set and meet goals.  Moreover, “thebottom 100 countries on the emissions list account for only 3.5% of overallglobal emissions,” and these are all developing countries.[21]The Paris agreement “requires approval by at least 55 countries accounting forat least 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions,” which is a stipulationtargeted at developed and rapidly industrializing countries that make up thelist of top emitters, and delegitimizes the voice of developing nations innegotiating and enforcing the Paris agreement.[22]For developed countries, obstacles revolve more around political unwillingness to adopt climate change adaptation measures. One of the main obstacles thus far has been the withdrawal bid of the United States from the Paris Agreement. This issue obviously brings up problems of burden-sharing across the remaining countries in the agreement. The U.S. is the second top-emitter in the world and is responsible for 14.36% of global greenhouse gas emissions.[23] U.S. withdrawal places more responsibility on the rest of the countries in the agreement to reduce emissions and fill the gap created by the U.S. decision to cede responsibility for its emissions-reduction efforts. While this is beneficial to other high-emissions countries such as China since they are given the opportunity to take initiative on such a pertinent issue and “fill a leadership vacuum” in the field of climate change policymaking, this hardly seems compliant with the development trajectories of rapidly industrializing and growing countries such as China.[24] Lack of willingness or ambition to switch to renewable sources of energy and concerns over “political feasibility and acceptance of adaptation policies” are another obstacle to progress for developed countries.[25] Given the partisan nature of the US government, Trump’s withdrawal from Paris and rollback of Obama era Clean Power Plan has made climate change into a political perspective, with action to prevent it being based on party platforms rather than factual information or willingness to cooperate internationally.[26] With “many Republicans [being] openly hostile to the idea of the state responding to climate change,” it is difficult to portray climate change as a bipartisan issue in the United States, and this is further complicated by President Trump’s controversial yet influential views on the issue further delegitimizing it.[27] In Switzerland, similar to the United States, adaptation is not seen as a vital interest that will “be important for the Swiss economy or for the energy supply.”[28] As a result, Switzerland is struggling to pass legitimate legislation regarding climate change policymaking, and is falling behind the rest of Europe in terms of making progress towards not only its Paris goals, but towards adapting to the dimensions of climate change that have wreaked havoc on Switzerland’s agricultural industry and water accessibility. Similarly, in Germany, emissions are rising despite ambitious goals to switch to 80% renewable energy and cut emissions by 40%.[29] Germany has the most ambitious plan in the entire EU, which is also falling behind on its goals. These statistics present obstacles to progress because they show that the Paris agreement has not encouraged developed countries to think seriously about the long-term dangers of climate change, and as a result this has not prompted countries to take immediate action to reduce their own contributions to climate change. Themain obstacle faced by governments is the weakness of the Paris agreement as alegitimate, multilateral accord that actually commits all of its parties totaking substantial action to prevent the effects of climate change fromdeteriorating. At its core, the Paris agreement simply “endorsed the policy ofmost countries to proceed on their pre-existing emissions trajectories.”[30] However,its fundamental flaw is that the system of pledges by which the Paris agreementoperates creates a lack of ambition and rigor in the pledges that countriesactually make. Being purely voluntary implies that there are no concreterequirements in the agreement, only general goals that it hopes to achieve, themost important being to limit the global temperature increase to “well below 2degrees Celsius.”[31] Theagreement also creates multiple dichotomies between developed and developingcountries which affects its legitimacy by creating an imbalance in expectationsbased on countries’ economic status. One of these dichotomies is regarding transparencyand accountability. Essentially, developing countries wished to report lessfrequently on progress, whereas developed countries wanted more stringent requirements.As a consequence of this conflict, accountability measures defined in the Parisagreement “are less detailed and exacting in their reporting requirements,”thus eliminating any urgency or need for commitment on behalf of signatories tothe agreement. Another dichotomy regarded finances. At Paris, developedcountries went into negotiations “calling for [financial] contributions [toclimate funding] from all countries that were in a position to do so.”[32]However, developing countries viewed this as too strict of a requirement, andthe final agreement ended up stipulating only “voluntary contributions” whichdoes not set any goals, nor does it serve to relieve the financial burden offunding technology advancements and compensating countries with infrastructuresaffected by climate change-influenced weather events. Finally, there have beena variety of non-state actors such as individual cities, NGOs, billionaires,and businesses which have taken it upon themselves to contribute financially toclimate change adaptation, or which have promised to contribute to the globalemissions-reductions challenge by first reducing their own emissions andcommitting to the use of renewable energy.[33] Whilethis is helpful in the overall global effort to mitigate and adapt to climatechange, the involvement of non-state actors takes responsibility away from thestates themselves and reduces already low levels of ambition in stategovernments, shifting the burden instead to non-state actors who are limitedboth in scope and resources.This alsoleads to a general sense of disorganization in the global effort to cope withclimate change, since non-state actors do not share interests with states, norare they fully addressed within the Paris agreement. The increased action of non-state actors ultimately serves todelegitimize the Paris agreement and is an obstacle to progress becausenon-state actors were not present in the negotiations of the agreement and yetthey are doing more to meet its goals than the actual states who signed it are.There are three main concerns for the future in terms of progressing with climate change policymaking: one for developing countries, one for developed countries, and one for governments. Together, these concerns point out the main flaws in the Paris agreement. First, the greatest concern for developing countries is the lack of representation within international efforts to combat climate change. This ultimately alienates developing countries based on their economic status and fragments the international community into those who can help with climate change and those who cannot. The stigma that results from such a fragmentation essentially strips developing countries of any motivation or ambition to join international efforts, and if it continues, these efforts will devolve into gridlock. Furthermore, for developed countries, a substantial concern is the fact that climate change is not a politically bipartisan issue. Domestic politics have prevented developed countries from meeting the commitments they made at Paris. Unless states make an active effort to detach their political views from an issue that affects the whole planet, any international efforts to cooperate on issues of climate change policymaking will ultimately be undermined by states’ own interests. Finally, a concern for governments is their lack of understanding regarding what constitutes an effective multilateral agreement. As seen at Paris, governments often resort to solutions that please everyone because of inherent conflicts between negotiating parties. However, the issue is that such compromises are rarely specific enough to merit being taken seriously. In turn, there is a great deal of ambiguity that results in a lack of action on behalf of states, which portrays the agreement and therefore its negotiating governments as weak.  Inorder for the world to be able to make progress towards mitigating thedisastrous effects of climate change, as well as adapting to the damage it hasalready inflicted on the planet, unification is needed across all affectedparties. It is vital to the survival of international agreements such as theParis accord to eliminate societal, cultural, economic, and political barriersbetween people and countries of the world, and to not think of the world simplyin terms of developed or developing countries. Adopting this mindset will facilitatenegotiations which are inclusive and transcend state borders into a discussionthat incorporates all voices, since climate change does, indeed, affecteveryone. As discussed earlier, issues such as food security, access to water,and dependence on unsustainable energy sources are dimensions of climate changein both developing and developed countries. International agreements should notdifferentiate between countries which are facing fundamentally the same issues,because ultimately, it is their people that suffer most. A widely accepted notionis that countries’ abilities to contribute financially or implement renewableenergy differ due to economic development. Therefore, multilateral agreements shouldfocus less on establishing requirements and suggested contributions, and more onestablishing more specific solutions and goals for the community to worktowards. Such an approach will first instate climate change policymaking as acommon goal of the global community. Once a goal is presented and all partiesare made aware of it, rather than inviting the creation of individual pledgesand goals, negotiating parties should agree upon common solutions which areaccessible and attainable. This will in turn create a framework for actionrather than establishing a series of vague goals which will not be followed upon, as is the case with the current agreement. However, it remains cruciallyimportant to consider the substantial financial cost of implementing potentialsolutions. A pledge system would be optimal for financial contributions onbehalf of both state and non-state actors, as it is not so imposing that economicallydisadvantaged states feel threatened, and it allows for a degree of freedomthat encourages openness and burden-sharing rather than restrictions andrequirements. Overall, the Paris agreement currently lacks a sense ofinclusion, and if this is introduced in further negotiations, progress inclimate change policymaking has the potential to become an attainable goalbefore the effects of climate change become irreversible. BibliographyBusby, Joshua. “After Paris: Good Enough Climate Governance.” Current History, January 2016.Busby, Joshua. “Warming World: Why Climate Change Matters More Than Anything  Else.” Foreign Affairs, July 2018.Cass, Oren. “Is Trump’s Paris Withdrawal a Major Climate Setback?” Foreign Affairs, August 14, 2017 https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ask-the-experts/2017-08-14/trumps-paris-withdrawal-major-climate-setback.Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. “Outcomes of the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris.” Arlington, VA: Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, 2015.Dennis, Brady, and Chris Mooney. “Countries made only modest climate change promises in Paris. They’re falling short anyway.” The Washington Post, February 19, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/its-not-fast-enough-its-not-big-enough-theres-not-enough-action/2018.Dennis, Brady, and Chris Mooney. “WHO: Global air pollution is worsening, and poor countries are getting hit the worst.” Our World, May 12, 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/05/12/who-global-air-   pollution-is-worsening-and-poor-countries-are-being-hit-the-hardest/.Dupuis, Johann. “Political Barriers to Climate Change Adaptation.” Our World, August 8, 2011. European Commission. Impacts of Climate Change. Ispra, Italy: Joint Research Centre, 2014. https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/research-topic/impacts-climate-changeFlorini, Ann, and Karen Florini. “It’s Not Just About Paris: International Climate Action Today.” The Foreign Service Journal, July 2017.   Friedrich, Johannes, Mengpin Ge, and Andrew Pickens. “This Interactive Chart Explains World’s Top 10 Emitters, and How They’ve Changed.” World Resources Institute, April 11, 2017. https://www.wri.org/blog/2017/04/interactive-chart-explains-worlds-top-10-emitters-and-how-theyve-changedGillis, Justin. “Climate Change Is Complex. We’ve Got Answers To Your Questions.” The New York Times, September 19, 2017.McDonnell, Tim. “Climate Change Could Have a Bigger Impact on Developed Countries’ Food Systems.” Grist, January 6, 2016. www.grist.org.Rubin, Alissa J. “Scorching Summer in Europe Signals Long-Term Climate Changes.” The New York Times, August 4, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/world/europe/europe-heat-wave.htmlSivaram, Varun. “Is Trump’s Paris Withdrawal a Major Climate Setback?” Foreign Affairs, August 14, 2017 https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ask-the-experts/2017-08-14/trumps-paris-withdrawal-major-climate-setback.United Nations. “Population.” United Nations, 2015. http://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/population/.Wanlund, William. “Climate Change and National Security.” CQ Researcher 27, no. 33,             September 22, 2017. http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher.“Women, Gender Equality, and Climate Change: Fact Sheet.” UN WomenWatch (2009). https://womenwatch.unwomen.org/.[1] Busby, 2018, 50[2] McDonnell, 2016, 2[3] Women, Gender Equality, and Climate Change: Fact Sheet,2009, 2[4] Busby, 2018, 53[5] Dennis/Mooney, 2016, 1[6] Women, Gender Equality, and Climate Change: Fact Sheet,2009, 4 [7] Busby,2018, 50 [8] Ibid. [9] Rubin, 2018, 2[10] Impacts of ClimateChange, 2014, 1[11] Rubin, 2018, 4[12] McDonnell, 2016, 2[13] Ibid.[14] Wanlund, 2017, 1[15] Ibid., 6[16] Ibid., 3[17] Women, Gender Equality, and Climate Change: FactSheet, 2009, 4[18] Population, 2015, 1[19] Dennis/Mooney, 2018, 3[20] Outcomes of theUN Climate Change Conference in Paris, 2015, 4[21] Friedrich/Ge/Pickens,2017, 1 [22] Outcomes of theUN Climate Change Conference in Paris, 2015, 5[23] Friedrich/Ge/Pickens,2017, 1[24] Wanlund, 2018, 6[25] Dupuis, 2011, 3[26] Sivaram, 2017, 11[27] Dupuis, 2011, 4; Gillis,2017, 2[28] Dupuis, 2011, 3[29] Dennis/Mooney, 2018, 3[30] Cass, 2017, 4[31] Florini/Florini, 2017,27[32] Busby, 2016, 7[33] Florini/Florini,2017, 28Get Help With Your EssayIf you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!Find out more

Order Solution Now

Our Service Charter

1. Professional & Expert Writers: Topnotch Essay only hires the best. Our writers are specially selected and recruited, after which they undergo further training to perfect their skills for specialization purposes. Moreover, our writers are holders of masters and Ph.D. degrees. They have impressive academic records, besides being native English speakers.

2. Top Quality Papers: Our customers are always guaranteed of papers that exceed their expectations. All our writers have +5 years of experience. This implies that all papers are written by individuals who are experts in their fields. In addition, the quality team reviews all the papers before sending them to the customers.

3. Plagiarism-Free Papers: All papers provided by Topnotch Essay are written from scratch. Appropriate referencing and citation of key information are followed. Plagiarism checkers are used by the Quality assurance team and our editors just to double-check that there are no instances of plagiarism.

4. Timely Delivery: Time wasted is equivalent to a failed dedication and commitment. Topnotch Essay is known for timely delivery of any pending customer orders. Customers are well informed of the progress of their papers to ensure they keep track of what the writer is providing before the final draft is sent for grading.

5. Affordable Prices: Our prices are fairly structured to fit in all groups. Any customer willing to place their assignments with us can do so at very affordable prices. In addition, our customers enjoy regular discounts and bonuses.

6. 24/7 Customer Support: At Topnotch Essay, we have put in place a team of experts who answer to all customer inquiries promptly. The best part is the ever-availability of the team. Customers can make inquiries anytime.