Nations ramp up climate efforts after latest U.S. Paris Agreement withdrawal
WASHINGTON — As the United States retreats from participation in global efforts to combat climate change, other nations are ramping up their actions.
What You Need To Know
- As the United States retreats from participation in global efforts to combat climate change, other nations are ramping up their actions
- Bard Harstad, a professor of business and sustainability at Stanford University, told Spectrum News that the agreement was designed to be flexible, allowing countries to decide on their own emission cuts
- Nevertheless, President Donald Trump made the decision to withdraw from the agreement on his first day back in office, echoing what he did in his first term
- The European Union, Australia and China are among the countries stepping up their climate actions
In November 2015, then-U.S. President Barack Obama spoke at the annual climate change conference, referred to as COP21, signing on to the Paris Climate Accords, a global agreement to cut emissions. Bard Harstad, a professor of business and sustainability at Stanford University, told Spectrum News that the agreement was designed to be flexible, allowing countries to decide on their own emission cuts.
Nevertheless, President Donald Trump made the decision to withdraw from the agreement on his first day back in office, echoing what he did in his first term.
“A country doesn’t need to pull out,” Harstad said. “They can just adjust the target. … I think that the withdrawal of the U.S. is more symbolic.”
But as the U.S. steps back from cutting emissions, other countries have stepped up their efforts to combat climate change. For example, the European Union has set an ambitious target of being carbon neutral in 2050, pledging to cut emissions by 55% by 2030.
And earlier this month, Australia set a new target of reducing its emissions by over 60% of 2005 levels by 2035.
Harstad said even China, the world’s biggest carbon emitter, has increasingly invested hundreds of billions into alternative energies.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Tuesday that China’s “resolve and actions to actively respond to climate change have been consistent.”
At last year’s climate conference, nearly 200 countries gathered in Azerbaijan, agreeing to triple the financing for developing countries to face climate change.
“The sound you hear is the ticking clock,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said then. “Time is not on our side.”
The next U.N. climate change conference will be held in Brazil, kicking off on Nov. 10. It will mark 30 years of the annual gathering, which brings together nearly 200 countries.
The United States is not expected to have an official presence at the event.