Mitigating global warming

In efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change, the common man too plays a huge role. By SATHYA PRAKASH VARANASHI

July 14, 2017 03:48 pm | Updated 03:48 pm IST

A girl reads a book on her balcony as smoke rises from chimneys of a steel plant, on a hazy day in Quzhou, Zhejiang province in this April 3, 2014 file photo. The Beijing municipal government has proposed new rules that will set tight restrictions on offsets in its carbon market, aiming to avoid the fate of schemes in other countries where a glut of offsets has undermined carbon prices. The capital is one of six Chinese cities and provinces that have launch CO2 trading markets to help the world's biggest-emitting nation slow its rapid growth in climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions.  REUTERS/Stringer (CHINA - Tags: ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY BUSINESS POLITICS) CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA

A girl reads a book on her balcony as smoke rises from chimneys of a steel plant, on a hazy day in Quzhou, Zhejiang province in this April 3, 2014 file photo. The Beijing municipal government has proposed new rules that will set tight restrictions on offsets in its carbon market, aiming to avoid the fate of schemes in other countries where a glut of offsets has undermined carbon prices. The capital is one of six Chinese cities and provinces that have launch CO2 trading markets to help the world's biggest-emitting nation slow its rapid growth in climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions. REUTERS/Stringer (CHINA - Tags: ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY BUSINESS POLITICS) CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA

What is the major shift in the market produces that we can buy today compared to a decade ago?

When we buy LED bulbs, energy star-marked electrical fittings, packaging that suggests it be recycled or pick up paints with low VOC (volatile organic compounds), we may not bother to think what made them available today. The story behind them is the growing awareness and global action about environment.

In the new millennium, there have been a plethora of research, reports and meetings across the world, both at global and local levels. Even small towns and colleges in India today host discussions on the environmental crisis, with the participants releasing press statements. All these have been made possible, indirectly, by the deluge of information and the annual gathering of world leaders happening since then.

It all started in 1995 at Berlin when the first UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCC) was held, being held annually since then. Popularly named as COP (Conference of Parties, nations who are a party to the protocols), the last one held in 2016 at Marrakesh was the 22nd in line.

Responsibilities

These meetings are attended by heads of nations or the seniormost officials dealing with climate change issues to discuss progress in reduction in greenhouse gases by the rich nations under the Kyoto Protocol. This protocol was among the major international resolutions until then, adopted in 1997 by 192 nations as the signatory parties placing common but differentiated responsibilities on each nation to fight global warming – mainly placing obligations on developed nations since they are more responsible than others in causing higher levels of greenhouse gases.

COP 17 held at Durban, South Africa, marked another milestone in binding all nations to limit carbon emissions by 2015 and create a Green Climate Fund of $100 billion per year to distribute to poor nations. Accordingly, each nation committed to specific reductions in emissions, which were ratified by the Paris Agreement signed in 2015 by 195 UNFCCC members, which sets 2020 as the year to start major contributions towards adaptation, mitigation and financing. Each signatory develops programmes, action plans, funds and executes to control global warming.

COP has become an annual ritual at exotic places, sometimes failing like at The Hague (2000) or often producing no major results like at Nairobi (2006) or Warsaw (2013). We can take pride in the COP New Delhi (2002), though it too was not a big success. In between, some of them like those held at Copenhagen (2009), Cancun (2010) or Doha (2012) arrive at far reaching conclusions, keeping the hopes alive.

However recently, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that his country is quitting the Paris Agreement, to shock the world which has been struggling to arrive at consensus towards climate action. It reminded one of the days when the then U.S. President George Bush had rejected the Kyoto Protocol in 2001.

We need to realise that leaders and Presidents matter in mitigating climate change, but people like us matter even more.

(The writer is an architect working for eco-friendly designs and can be contacted at varanashi@gmail.com)

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