“A day of hope”: The UN celebrates the official return of the United States to the Paris Agreement after four lost years

The North American country officially rejoined the international agreement that seeks to avoid the increase in the temperature of the planet to catastrophic levels, and promote an energy transition towards renewables and nature-friendly alternatives. The U.S. Special Envoy for Climate expressed the commitment of president Joe Biden’s administration to neutralize emissions, invest in the green economy and ensure a better future for generations to come.

“For the past four years, the absence of a key player created a gap in the Paris Agreement, a missing link that weakened the whole,” the Secretary-General said Friday during an event that marked the official return of the United States to the Paris Agreement.

The country had made effective its withdrawal in 2020 during the administration of former President Donald Trump, who had also decided to dissociate himself from the Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization. Those measures have been reversed by the new administration of Joseph R. Biden.

“We rejoin the international climate effort with humility and ambition. Humility in knowing that we lost four years in which the United States was off the table, humility in knowing that no country or continent is doing what it should do, but also ambition, knowing that the Paris Agreement alone will not do what science asks us to do now,” said John Kerry. the now U.S. Special Envoy for Climate and who was tasked with officially signing the Paris Agreement at the United Nations headquarters in New York in 2016 when he was Secretary of State.

Kerry signed the pact with his little granddaughter, in an emblematic act that was captured in a photograph. For the head of the UN, the Agreement is precisely a “pact” with our descendants and all humanity.

“It’s the race of our lives. We must go much faster and further,” he said, assuring that countries have the power to build a renewable and green energy future with infrastructure that protects people and the planet and ensures prosperity for all.

Kerry said it was “absolutely possible” to still keep the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, determined at most to avoid catastrophic consequences by international scientists.

“We need to cut global emissions in half by 2030; we need to make coal obsolete, 5 times faster; we need to increase tree cover, 5 times faster; we have to increase renewable energy, 6 times faster; we need to transition to electric vehicles at a rate 22 times faster. Do you understand what I mean? Everything has to be done with the greatest sense of urgency and determination that we need to win this battle,” the special envoy said.

Unfulfilled commitments

“When we celebrate the re-entry of the United States into this treaty, we also recognize its restoration, in its entirety, as its creators intended,” said António Guterres.

Guterres stressed that although the Agreement is a historic achievement, the commitments made so far are not even being fulfilled and warning signs are everywhere.

“The six years since 2015 have been the six hottest years on record; carbon dioxide levels are at record levels; Fires, floods and other extreme weather events are worsening in all regions. If we don’t change course, we could face a catastrophic temperature rise of more than 3 degrees this century. This year is fundamental,” he said.

This year will be the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow, United Kingdom. The head of the UN has called it a “definitive” meeting.

“Governments will make decisions that will determine the future of people and the planet,” he said.

For his part, Kerry said the U.S. can’t do it alone either, but that China, the biggest emitter, as well as India, Russia, Japan and the 17 countries that produce the most greenhouse gas emissions must come together and come up with real plans in Glasgow.

“We have to go with real plans for every step we’re going to take in the next ten years… 17 nations really need to step up and reduce emissions. This means that we will all have to create ambitious and achievable targets, and increase investment in climate solutions and innovations,” he said.

The special envoy said his country, under President Biden, will take advantage of 2021, which he also called a definitive year echoing the Words of the Secretary-General.

“We will benefit from the meetings of the G7, the G20, the Arctic Council and the General Assembly. This is a very busy year but the most important in many ways. We’re betting everything, and we’re grateful to have a collaborator like Guterres. Glasgow is our last and best chance to put ourselves on a safer path.”

The three main objectives

António Guterres explained that both the United States and the other members of the G20 group have a decisive role in making the Paris Agreement meet its objective, through three main actions.

“First, the long-term vision. A central goal of the United Nations this year is to create a net-zero emissions coalition by 2050,” he explained.

Last year, countries that account for 70% of the global economy and 65% of global carbon dioxide emissions committed to “net zero.”

“I hope that the United States will formally join this coalition very soon, as President Biden promised, and present its concrete plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050,” Guterres said.

Second, he added, a decade of transformation must be achieved as science shows that exponential progress in reducing emissions is needed. The Secretary-General stated that he hoped that all Governments would submit more ambitious, concrete and credible plans in this regard for COP26.

“I congratulate all the U.S. states, cities, businesses and financial institutions that have demonstrated impressive leadership since 2015 by committing to the goals of the Paris Agreement through the statement ‘We Still Are.’ We trust the United States to build on this with the announcement of an ambitious and credible Nationally Determined Contribution by 2030.””

A Nationally Determined Contribution is each country’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit the increase in average global temperature to less than 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times and in line with the UN Convention on Climate Change.

Third, according to the UN head, immediate action is needed to ensure that recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity to build back better and stronger.

“To do that, we must invest in a green economy that helps heal the planet and its people, and create stable, well-paying jobs to ensure greater equity and sustainable prosperity,” he said.

That means eliminating coal; support a just transition, with training and opportunities for people whose jobs are impacted; stop investing in fossil fuel projects that ruin people’s health, destroy biodiversity and contribute to climate catastrophe; and shifting the tax burden of revenue to carbon.

Kerry said companies around the world are realizing that investing in the green economy requires no spending, but investment, and that’s going to generate profits that fund new projects.

“This is going to generate the greatest economic transformation, creating millions of jobs, creating an incredible increase in the quality of life, with less cancer, less asthma in children, and with more security in our countries, because we will not be threatened with going to war for energy sources. We will be much better off with this transition and it is completely proven in all models that we will pay more taxes if we don’t, it is much cheaper to face the climate crisis since doing it later,” he concluded.

Closing the financial gap

Guterres said it is also necessary to close the financial gap by supporting countries that are suffering the devastating impacts of the climate crisis.

“That support must reach the countries and people most affected like women and girls. 80% of those displaced by climate change are women,” she said.

The Secretary urged all G7 countries to deliver concrete results on finance at their summit in July.

“Those who have not yet done so must commit to doubling their funding for climate issues. All developed countries must honour their commitment to contribute $100 billion annually to developing countries. I also call on all donors to commit to increasing the proportion of climate finance allocated to adaptation, to 50%; and I call on all financial institutions and banks to align their investments with the Paris Agreement by 2024,” he said.

Joe Biden’s Commitment

On Friday, the U.S. president also reiterated his country’s commitment to the climate fight during the Security Conference in Munich, Germany.

“We cannot delay any longer or do the bare minimum to tackle climate change. It is a global crisis that puts our existence at risk and, if we fail, we will all suffer the consequences,” he said.

Biden announced that on April 22, International Earth Day, he will host a Leaders’ Summit that will aim to promote more ambitious actions among the main carbon emitters, “including the national climate action of the United States.”

The president thanked world leaders for their continued work on behalf of climate change adaptation and mitigation over the past four years and called for multilateral action to sustain and redouble those efforts.

Source: UN News