Now, the challenge is to bring the agreement into force.
Ultimately, the world’s two biggest polluters joined hands to address the most challenging problem, the world is facing: the climate change when the U.S. and China signed the Paris climate deal which isn’t a soothing tune for Donald Trump’s ears!
Chinese President Xi Jinping, and U.S. President Barack Obama shook hands as the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon looked approvingly at the West Lake State Guest House in Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016, signing the Paris climate change agreement .
But, the deal is not yet final as it still needs to be signed and delivered by at least 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions to become legally into force.
Still, it is a big step forward towards curbing the climate change looking large, “As the world’s two largest emitters and economies, if we can come together we can help the world move forward on combating climate change,” says Brian Deese, senior adviser to Obama.
This is also a significant political move for as he could make the Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump to look dumbfounded as he has vowed to scrap the deal if he is elected, but if Hillary Clinton is elected in November, she will, most probably, follow Obama’s climate policies and will begin implementing the Paris climate agreement immediately. And, once the agreement enters into force, that a party cannot then withdraw for three years—by when it would be the last year of the next US president in Office!
Now, the challenge is to bring the agreement into force. And, the Americans are quite hopeful as Deese said that we expect another 35 countries with emissions contributing as 55.83 percent, will to join the agreement with the United Nations by the end of the year as Brazil, Argentina, South Korea, India and Japan—the significant emitters—will soon sign the agreement .
“We say that you need to put your money where your mouth is and that’s what we’re doing.’” Obama said.
The US has put the money in the world’s mouth to deal with this unprecedented anthropogenic environmental crisis, but others yet have to lose their strings including include Russia (7.5 percent of emissions), India (4.1 percent), Japan (3.79 percent), Germany (2.56), Brazil (2.48 percent), Canada (1.95 percent), South Korea (1.85 percent), Mexico (1.7 percent), the U.K. (1.55 percent), Indonesia (1.49 percent), South Africa (1.46 percent) and Australia (1.46 percent). But, observers are optimistic about them also joining the bandwagon and the U.N. Secretary General Ban has invited the world’s leaders to the United Nations headquarters in New York on Sep 21 for it.
Hopefully, by then, other ‘sinners’ will also fall in line!
2 Comments
Sorry, the President cannot bind the US to other countries without ratification by the US Senate. What Obama has done is nothing more than an Executive Order that President Trump can revoke on his first day in office. Actually, on his first day in office President Trump should revoke every single Executive Order signed by Obama during the past
8 years. The whole idea that the US is bound for three years is even more ludicrous.
Sorry, the President cannot bind the US to other countries without ratification by the US Senate. What Obama has done is nothing more than an Executive Order that President Trump can revoke on his first day in office. Actually, on his first day in office President Trump should revoke every single Executive Order signed by Obama during the past 8 years. The whole idea that the US is bound for three years is even more ludicrous.