World faces 'impossible' task at COP24 climate talks
146 views · Published 4 December 2018 · 5:42 · Indexed 23 September 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(28 Nov 2018) Three years after sealing a landmark global climate deal in Paris, world leaders will be gathering again to agree on the fine print in Katowice, Poland from 2 December. The euphoria of 2015 has given way to sober realisation that getting an agreement among almost 200 countries, each with their own political and economic demands, will be challenging, as evidenced by President Donald Trump's decision to pull the United States out of the Paris accord, citing his mantra "America First." "Looking from the outside perspective, it's an impossible task," Poland's deputy environment minister, Michal Kurtyka, said of the talks that he will preside in Katowice from December 2-14. Top of the agenda will be finalising the so-called Paris rulebook, which determines how countries had to count their greenhouse gas emissions, transparently reporting them to the rest of the world and reveal what they are doing to reduce them. Seasoned negotiators are calling the meeting, which is expected to draw 25,000 participants, 'Paris 2.0' because of the high stakes at play in Katowice. Forest fires from California to Greece, droughts in Germany and Australia, tropical cyclones Mangkhut in the Pacific and Michael in the Atlantic: scientists say this year's extreme weather offers a glimpse of disasters to come if global warming continues unabated. A recent report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that time is running out if the world wants to achieve the most ambitious target in the Paris agreement, keeping global warming at 1.5 Celsius. The planet has already warmed by almost 1 degree since pre-industrial times and it is on course for another 2-3 degrees of warming by the end of the century unless drastic action is taken. The Katowice conference will have "quite significant consequences for humanity and for the way in which we take care of our planet," Kurtyka told the Associated Press ahead of the talks. Experts agree that the Paris goals can only be met by cutting emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050. But the Paris agreement let countries set their own emissions targets. Some are on track, others are not. Overall, the world is heading the wrong way. Last week, the World Meteorological Organization said globally averaged concentrations of carbon dioxide reached a new record in 2017, while the level of other heat-trapping gases such methane and nitrous oxide also rose. 2018 is expected to see another 2 per cent increase in human-made emissions, as construction of coal-fired power plants in Asia and Africa continue while the number of carbon-absorbing forests are felled faster than they can regrow. "Everyone recognised that the national plans, when you add everything up, will take us way beyond 3, potentially 4 degrees Celsius warming," said Johan Rockstrom, the incoming Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. "We know that we're moving in the wrong direction," said Rockstrom. "We need to bend the global carbon emissions no later than 2020, in two years' time, to stand a chance to stay under 2 degrees Celsius." Convincing countries to set new, tougher targets for emissions reduction by 2020 is a key challenge in Katowice. Doing so will entail a transformation of all sectors of their economies, including a complete end to burning fossil fuel. Poor nations want rich countries to pledge the biggest cuts, on the grounds that they're responsible for most of the carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Rich countries say they are willing to lead the way, but only if poor nations play their part as well. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/363ac9397277f1c1f2cd36391fe3f2ef
