The year 2023 was a record-breaking year for global temperatures and climate extremes. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), 2023 set to be the warmest year on record, with average temperatures approximately 1.40 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial baseline. This surpasses the previous warmest years, 2016 and 2020, and continues the trend of the past nine years being the warmest on record.
The WMO’s provisional State of the Global Climate report highlights several alarming climate records:
- Greenhouse gas levels are 50% higher than in the pre-industrial era.
- Record high global temperatures and sea level rise.
- Record low Antarctic Sea ice, with the maximum extent for the year being over 1 million km² less than the previous record low.
- Glaciers, particularly in North America and Europe, experienced extreme melt seasons, with Swiss glaciers losing about 10% of their volume in the past two years.
The report underscores the socio-economic impacts of climate change, including threats to food security and population displacement. The U.N. weather agency has issued a ‘red alert’ on climate change, emphasizing the urgent need for effective action to reverse these trends.
For more detailed information, you can refer to the full reports and findings from the WMO and other climate agencies.
What is the Paris Agreement?
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change, adopted by 196 parties at COP21 in Paris, France, on December 12, 2015, and entered into force on November 4, 2016. Its main goal is to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5°C. This is crucial because exceeding the 1.5°C threshold could result in severe climate impacts, including extreme weather events.
To achieve these temperature goals, countries must peak their greenhouse gas emissions before 2025 and reduce them by 43% by 2030. The agreement works on a five-year cycle of increasingly ambitious climate action carried out by countries through their nationally determined contributions (NDCs). These NDCs are plans that outline how each country intends to reduce its emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
The Paris Agreement represents a collective effort to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with a framework for financial, technical, and capacity-building support for countries in need. It’s a significant step towards a sustainable future, requiring economic and social transformation based on the best available science.
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What is the difference between the Paris Agreement and Kyoto Protocol?
The Paris Agreement and the Kyoto Protocol are both international treaties aimed at addressing climate change, but they differ in several key aspects:
Kyoto Protocol:
- Adopted in 1997 and entered into force in 2005.
- Legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Set emission targets for the periods 2008 to 2012 and 2013 to 2020.
- Did not require developing countries, including major emitters like China and India, to reduce emissions.
Paris Agreement:
- Adopted in 2015 and entered into force in 2016.
- Not legally binding but requires all countries, developed and developing, to submit nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
- Aims to limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, above pre-industrial levels.
- Works on a five-year cycle of increasingly ambitious climate action.
In summary, the Kyoto Protocol imposed binding emission reduction targets on developed countries only, while the Paris Agreement includes all countries and encourages them to set their own emission reduction goals.
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Sources are extensive including: Wikipedia, Greenpeace, UNFCCC, Green Coast, Clearias.