Less than 1 min.Read

The Paris Agreement and COP25: Let’s Resolve To Overcome the US Withdrawal

December 14, 2019

Published in Mainichi Shimbun
(Japan) on 2 December 2019
by (link to original link to original)

Translated from by Eric Stimson. Edited by Arielle Eirienne.

The 25th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change begins today in Spain. Ahead of next year’s start of the Paris climate greement, which was signed by more than 190 countries and regions, COP25 demonstrates concrete action by many countries.

Ahead of the conference, the forecast announced by the United Nations Environment Program was brutal.

It said that global greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, and even if every country reaches its target reductions, the rise in temperature from before the Industrial Revolution will reach 3.2 degrees by midcentury. The Paris climate agreement set 1.5 degrees as its target, but this would be far above that. Negative effects would markedly increase if there were a 2-degree rise.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is requesting that countries bump up their target reductions. He has also requested net zero emissions by 2050.

There will likely be countries at the COP25 that respond to this call. But the most eager countries at present are mostly developing countries and small island nations, and their contribution to total emissions is limited. To ramp up effectiveness, it is imperative that big emitters contribute more ambitiously.

Japan is the world’s fifth largest emitter. Yet the government’s target is an 80% reduction by 2050, which is hardly ambitious. The termination of nuclear power is being prolonged, and our electricity supply depends on coal-fired power plants; as long as no resolve for emissions reduction is shown, international criticism will only increase.

The Paris climate agreement was finalized in 2015. It is a historic international promise to equalize the burden shared by developed and developing countries. It expresses action for the planet’s future that goes above individual national interests and conflict.

And yet, among the big emitters, there is a strengthening tendency to put one's own country first. The attitude of the U.S., which is the world’s second biggest emitter yet formally announced its withdrawal from the agreement, is the worst.

On the other hand, some American cities, financiers, investors and educational institutions that do not agree with their government joined together and will make an appeal at the COP25. Their slogan is “We Are Still In.”

While it is certain that America’s departure is fraught with difficulties, there is a powerful grassroots movement that shares a sense of crisis. It is time for people from all walks of life to take the first step toward rewriting a harsh future. COP25 will be a venue to confirm that resolve.

温暖化対策を話し合う国連気候変動枠組み条約の締約国会議（ＣＯＰ２５）が、きょうスペインで始まる。１９０を超える国・地域が参加する「パリ協定」の始動を来年に控え、各国が具体的な行動を表明する。

　開幕に先立ち、国連環境計画（ＵＮＥＰ）が公表した将来予測は厳しいものだった。

　世界の温室効果ガス排出量は増え続けており、各国が削減目標を達成しても、産業革命前からの気温上昇は今世紀中に３・２度に達するという。パリ協定は「１・５度」に抑えることが努力目標だが、その倍以上だ。２度の上昇で悪影響の程度が格段に増すとされる。

　国連のグテレス事務総長は各国に対し、削減目標を引き上げるよう求めている。２０５０年の排出量を実質ゼロにすることも求めた。

　ＣＯＰ２５では、呼びかけに応じる国も出てくるだろう。だが、現時点で意欲的な国々は途上国や小さな島国が中心で、削減量での貢献は限定的だ。実効性を高めるには、大排出国の野心的な関与が欠かせない。

　日本は世界第５位の排出国だ。ところが政府の目標は「５０年までに８０％削減」と、野心的にはほど遠い。原発の停止が長引き、電力供給を石炭火力発電に頼る現状があるにせよ、削減への覚悟を示さない限り、国際的な批判は高まるばかりだ。

　パリ協定は、１５年に合意された。先進国も途上国も公平に削減への責任を担うという歴史的な国際約束だ。一国の利害や対立を超え、地球の未来のために行動することをうたっている。

　だが、大排出国ではむしろ自国第一主義の傾向が強まっている。世界第２の排出国でありながら、協定からの離脱を正式通告した米国の態度は最たるものだ。

　その一方で、政府に同意しない米国内の都市や財界、投資家、教育機関などが連携し、ＣＯＰ２５でアピールする動きもある。「ウィ・アー・スティル・イン（我々はまだ残っている）」が合言葉だ。

　米抜きの多難な船出であることは確かだが、危機感を共有する草の根の活動は力強い。あらゆる立場の人が、過酷な未来を書き換える一歩を踏み出すときだ。ＣＯＰ２５は、その決意を確認しあう場になる。

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .