The Paris Agreement (or Accord de Paris in French) is an international agreement made within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2015.
Aimed at combating greenhouse gas emissions, the agreement intends to limit global warming to reduce as near as possible to pre-industrial levels. Specifically, the Paris Agreement pledges to keep global temperature rise below 2°C.
Currently, 195 UNFCCC members have signed the agreement whilst 152 members have ratified it.
President Trump’s withdrawal of the US from the Paris Agreement was met with almost worldwide condemnation. Although 2020 is the earliest practicable date the US could fully detach itself from commitments on climate change, Trump’s signal of intent is disheartening for conservationists to say the least.
Each signatory has agreed to lessen their country’s emission of greenhouse gases by a certain percentage before the year 2020. As such, some countries are committed to reducing their emissions to a greater extent than others.
France’s target percentage was originally set at 1.34% whereas the United Kingdom’s was set at 1.55%.
Macron’s pledge to outlaw petrol and diesel vehicles, as well as projects using fossil fuels, would definitely reduce France’s emissions by more than its target percentage. It’s likely that the French president is using the opportunity to signal the country’s positive intent.
The agreement was met with almost universal approval. However, there have been several concerns expressed by world leaders and other bodies.
Criticism includes the following points:
General opinion is that the Paris Agreement is a step forward and serves as proof that the international community views climate change as a very real threat to global prosperity and sustainability.
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Energy efficient technology like ours represents the future of the UK’s refrigeration industry and will be fundamental if the UK is to reach our emission reduction targets in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
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