Paris — a historic agreement

Pakistan, along with 194 other countries is a signatory to the legally binding deal on climate change signed in Paris

Pakistan, along with 194 other countries great and small, is a signatory to the legally binding deal on climate change signed in Paris on December 12. Negotiations had been going on for a fortnight and were complex in the extreme. Much credit has to go to the French who both hosted and facilitated the conference and it is a waypoint along a road the world started to travel 20 years ago. The last conference on climate change in Copenhagen was a failure and we may never know how close the Paris conference was to failure but no matter, it is a significant success.

Success it is but, as many have observed in the hours since the conference ended, this is but a beginning, and for some a small beginning at that. The aim is to hold global temperatures to a rise of 1.5 degrees centigrade, below the two degree centigrade red line defined by some very cautious climatologists. There is a promise to raise $100 billion per year by 2020 in order to help poorer and less developed countries, one of which is Pakistan, to adapt their economies to the needs of the deal. Given the rolling energy crisis we face and the slow development of alternative power sources other than coal, honouring our commitment to the deal is going to be easier said than done. The deal envisages the ultimate phase-out of the use of fossil fuels, a massive growth in renewables and new ‘carbon markets’ that will enable countries to trade emissions and thus protect the vital forestation that is part of the ‘lung’ of planet Earth.



None of the delegates or the leaders present at the final session saw the agreement as perfect. Climate change is not some myth put about by conspiracy theorists, it is very real and Pakistan is among the top 10 countries likely to suffer from its worst effects. Extreme weather events are already more frequent and not a year passes now without loss of lives and economic ruin coming to the people of Pakistan. We warmly welcome this agreement and trust that the incumbent and successive governments work for its implementation.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th,  2015.

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