Earlier this month, the Trump administration formally notified the United Nations (UN) that it would withdraw the United States (US) from the Paris Agreement, which strives for an international framework to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).
While taking this decision, it, of course, overlooked increasingly vital appeals and requests from establishments and stakeholders to take significant steps on the issues related to the global ecological crisis, and, at the same time, also coined a leadership and guidance vacuum in tackling the urgent concerns related with this global ecological crisis. The crisis poses a threat to humanity and scientists advise that it is necessary to limit the life-threatening harm from global warming such as increased famines, intensified droughts, forest fires, sea level rise and accelerating floods.
During the years since the accord was formed, several significant countries, including Brazil, China, Japan as well as India, have undergone fiscal, governmental, or political concerns, but none of these nations has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement on climate change, and, in fact, other notable emitters, such as, China and the European Union, have made it very evident that they still favour the pact.
US withdrawal from the pact won’t legally take affect until after the next US Presidential election. However, the Trump administration already has begun rolling back the emission reduction commitments made to the Paris Agreement by the Obama administration. This means that other countries will need to compensate for the gap in global climate change mitigation and adaptation caused by US policies.To ensure needed reductions in greenhouse gas emissions other foremost emitters like China and India will need to step up their efforts.
America’s exit from the accord also reflects the Trump administration’s trend towards non-compliance with global treaties. This attitude of non-collaboration is affecting America’s status, stature and eminence in the world..
In the future, even if America comes back to the Paris Agreement, the US status as a dependable and trustworthy global associate has already undergone impairment that will require time to restore and refurbish.
Photo by Alexander Kagan