In the year 2100 the average temperature of the planet could increase between one and a half and five degrees Celsius if the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere doubles. A difference that seems subtle, but that would have catastrophic consequences for the planet and its biodiversity. That is what 195 countries agreed to try to avoid in the Paris agreement against climate change , signed in December 2015. Specifically, that it does not rise more than 2 degrees Celsius .
But in June 2017, the president of the United States, Donald Trump , announced the withdrawal of said agreement, and the decision had a great impact on the scientific community, taking into account that the United States is one of the powers that produces the most greenhouse gases. greenhouse emits into the atmosphere.
“The United States will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, but will begin negotiations to re-enter the Paris agreement or a completely new transaction under conditions that are fair to the United States and its companies, workers and taxpayers, ” are the words that President Trump has chosen to justify his departure from the historic agreement. The decision has concerned scientists around the planet , not only because of its consequences for the climate, but also for the development of policies aimed at curbing an unsustainable planetary situation at the end of this century.
Trump already mentioned during his election campaign that, for him, global warming “is a tall tale” and his decision fulfills what was promised. While it will satisfy many Republicans, it will turn against businesses vital to the economy. 25 companies, including tech giants Apple, Facebook and Google, announced on June 1 of that year that exiting the Paris agreement would harm the United States’ economic competitiveness.
For many scientists, Trump’s decision appears to have more political than climate consequences. Far from protecting the United States, withdrawing from Paris will make the United States more vulnerable and diminish its global leadership . “It is terrifying that the individual who should be the leader of the rest of the world is so arrogant and irresponsible,” in the words of Jane Lubchenco, a marine ecologist at Oregon State University in Corvallis, for the journal Nature . In addition, its position as a world leader could drag other powers to relax in their environmental commitment. “Trump’s decision could give some countries the political cover to reduce their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ,” Niklas Höhne, founding partner of the NewClimate Institute in Cologne, Germany , told Nature.
For his part, the researcher on climate change at the University of Helsinki, Atte Korhola, describes the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris agreement as ” very disappointing and unfavorable for the United States and the rest of the world .” Many climate scientists consider the Paris agreement insufficient to limit warming to two degrees Celsius , making the task even more difficult. Despite this, during the Obama administration , the measures were aimed at reducing greenhouse gas levels by 10% from 2005 to 2015, a target that was still well below what was promised, of 26%, according to a analysis carried out by the Climate Action Tracker consortium of researchers.
Other countries, on the other hand, are aware of their responsibility and their actions accompany what is agreed in the agreement. China’s efforts and India to shift from coal to renewables are gaining momentum and could reduce projected emissions of two to three gigatons of CO2 by 2030. However, it appears that countries’ progress in halting their polluting emissions would hardly be enough to reverse the situation . Joeri Rogelj, energy researcher at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria has told Nature magazine: ” To stop climate change, it is necessary to limit global carbon dioxide emissions and reduce annual emissions to zero. “.
Since the 1980s, the Earth’s temperature has risen inexorably as greenhouse gas emissions have skyrocketed into the atmosphere as a result of human industrial activity. The consequences of climate change are well known to scientists. Two more degrees of temperature by the end of the century would accelerate the rise in sea level, the desertification of vast areas of land, the extinction of species, the destruction of ecosystems and, in the long run, that life as we know it ends up not being possible. on Earth.
