Top 11 facts from the Paris climate agreement that will blow your mind
How do we grasp what the world needs to do from a climate perspective? Often when a climate scientist communicates their findings they never reach the general public. And actually, such information is probably not for everyone. However, the climate crisis is here for the long run. So we made this list of the top 11 facts from the Paris climate agreement that we hope you and others will gain from and tell the world about!
Today much is being said about the climate in general and specifically the Paris climate agreement, also known as COP21, and more recently, the COP24 in Poland. If you haven’t already heard too much about it, you may need a few basic facts. Links to follow below.
COP is short for ‘Conference Of the Parties’, which are UN’s climate summits to mitigate and adapt societies to global warming. The 21st ‘COP’, COP21, most commonly referred to as the Paris climate agreement, is the agreement that was adopted by most states in the world to achieve climate action. The COP24 is now in its second and last week in Katowice, Poland. This is being described as the most important COP since COP21 in Paris. Many scientists even say it’s our last hope to save humanity from climate chaos.
COP24 has been described as a platform that could help save us from the worst effects of global warming. The United Nations and the COP’s can be an enormous force for good. But in order for COP24 to come into effect and reach acceptance, we also need to accept and adapt to a new low-carbon lifestyle and a green future. The heads of states who signed the Paris agreement and those who will hopefully leave Katowice having signed an ambitious rule book for how to implement the Paris agreement may be our last hope.
So We Don’t Have Time asked Mattias Goldmann, a Swedish expert on the Paris climate agreement negotiations, to make it easier to understand the COPs climate summits and the agreements. Mattias is the CEO of the Swedish thinktank Fores, and acts as our eyes and ears on the ground in Katowice in the second week of COP24.
Let’s face it: it’s practically impossible for a normal person to understand and be deeply engaged in global warming famously known as climate change, and under more recent terms of the climate crisis and climate emergency.
We believe #wedonthavetime NOT to have all hands on deck to steer humanity’s gigantic ship to calmer waters and possibly to a safe haven. So we have taken the unorthodox stance of sharing a 140-characters Twitter-style guide to the pros and cons of the Paris climate agreement.
The reason for this approach of this article is that we need global awareness of the basic science processes and rationale behind climate agreements and carbon mitigation.
In short, this means two top lists: 5 positive things about COP21 and 6 negative things about COP21 and the Paris Agreement. This means you can use the following tweets to quickly get a better understanding of why it’s taking so long to ‘bend the curve’; i.e. to decrease global emissions of greenhouse gases. And why it’s right to demand climate action. Since the COP21 negotiations, we need to increase climate action at COP24.
This list consists of 5 positive and 6 negative facts. Here we go:
Top 5 positive facts about the Paris climate agreement
- The speed at which the agreement has been nationally acknowledged:
2. The agreement includes almost all UN member states, including the USA:
3. The unlikely positive side of being joined by major polluting big oil:
4. Is not performing in line with the agreement shaming enough? We hope so:
5. The agreement is binding but questions remain about the NDCs:
Top 6 negative facts about the Paris climate agreement
1. Climate justice is not defined:
2. The illusion of the term Small Island Developing State (SIDS):
3. Fossil fuel companies allowed as sponsors of the climate talks:
4. Confusion about the baseline for the industrial revolution/pre-industrial:
5. The chair matters. Having the cake and eating it means a risk of falling between two stools:
6. The Paris climate agreement is not yet into force. What we need is action:
Why 11 tweets matter to the world and to COP24
Since #wedonthavetime to NOT have ‘all hands on deck’ to steer humanity's gigantic ship to calmer waters and possibly to a safe haven. We must have global inclusion in the basic knowledge of the science behind the Paris climate agreement.
As of 14 December 2018, the closing day of COP24 in Katowice, it is hoped that 190-something countries will have agreed on the terms and the ‘roadmap’ and ‘rule book’ for the transition to low-carbon societies.
We hope this guide to COP and the Paris climate agreement by Mattias Goldmann has been a new way to understand the basics, the hurdles and the big gains of COP21 and COP24.
The tweets were written by Mattias Goldmann, the CEO of Swedish thinktank Fores. Follow Mattias on Twitter @MattiasGoldmann.
Website: http://fores.se/about-fores/
Written by Mårten Thorslund
Proofread by Jane Davis
Facts about COPs and the Paris climate agreement
What is a Conference Of the Parties (COP)? Read the definition by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC), here.
COP 24 in Katowice
What is COP24? You can get the programme and read more here, including news and webcast, agenda and more.
The Paris climate agreement (COP21)
Read more about COP21 here in the article “6 must-know facts about the Paris climate agreement”.
If you are interested in learning more about the Paris climate agreement, we recommend this article that debunks myths surrounding COP21: “Debunking Myths With Facts About COP21: The Paris Climate Agreement”
About We Don’t Have Time
We Don’t Have Time are currently building the world’s largest social network for climate action. Together we can solve the climate crisis.
But we are running out of time.
Website: www.wedonthavetime.org
