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USA formally left Paris Agreement
Why is it in News?
- USA formally left Paris agreement on Climate Change framed in 2015.
Paris Agreement:
- USA formally left Paris agreement on Climate Change framed in 2015.
Paris Agreement:
- USA:
(1) President Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the agreement in 2017 and formally notified the United Nations in 2019.
(2) The US exited the pact after a mandatory year-long waiting period.
(3) It criticised the agreement as economically detrimental and it might cost the country 2.5 million jobs by 2025.
- Facts:
(1) Paris Agreement UNFCCC adopted in 2015 to improve upon and replace the Kyoto Protocol.
- Aims:
(1) Limit the increase of global temperatures to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C.
(2) Reach global peaking of GHG emissions & rapid reductions thereafter.
(3) Achieve a balance after 2050 between atmospheric inputs of greenhouse gases by emission sources and removal into sinks.
- Recognitions:
(1) Need of LDCs to improve their economies and reduce poverty, which made immediate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions difficult.
(2) Need for developing & developed to meet their emission reduction targets.
(3) No new funding targets but noted that developed countries should provide financial resources to help LDCs.
Issues and concerns:
(1) Little progress on finance, technology transfer and capacity development.
(2) Issue of transferring funds from developed countries to LDCs is critical as developed countries did not want to be the only ones paying the costs.
(3) Non-ambitious and not enough targets as targets might not help to limit temperature increase of 2 °C.
(4) Announcement of USA exit by November 2020.
(5) Conflict over the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" between developing and developed countries.
- Performance:
(1) India (9th Rank), for the first time, ranks among the top 10 in Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI).
(2) India received an overall medium rating in the renewable energy category.
(3) China, the largest global emitter slightly improves its ranking in the index.
- All G20 except UK (7th) & India (9th), are in the worst category of index.