MIDDLE SCHOOL COMMITTEE 

 

Topic Summary:

 

It has been more than two years since the Paris Climate Agreement was signed by 196 nations. Yet, its goal to prevent the rise of Earth’s global temperature above 2 degrees Celsius in this century appears to be out of reach. Every year, UNEP releases an Emission Gap Report that evaluates the climate commitments nations have agreed upon to the actions they are actually taking. According to the UN 2017 Emission Gap Report, there continues to be a notable gap between nation’s pledges and actions.

 

In order to actually meet the goals of this climate agreement, Nations will have to suppress their greenhouse gases emission reduction pledges. The pledges nations currently have taken only account for one-third of the efforts needed in order to prevent the rise of Earth’s global temperature above 2 degrees Celsius in this century. If all countries actually met their pledges, Earth’s global temperature would still rise more than 3 degrees Celsius. 

 

On a worse note, not all nations are taking the correct measures to meet their pledges. According to the Climate Action Tracker, no industrialized country is on the right track to meet its pledge. The Paris Climate Change Agreement is characterized by allowing its participant members to choose how they will meet their pledge. This system impedes the UN from effectively evaluating each nation's advance toward their goal.

 

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