The Paris climate change summit COP21 ended last week with the signing of a ‘historical’ agreement, to much acclaim worldwide. Prisca Merz argues that the deal is, in fact, bitterly insufficient, even though there are some encouraging signs: solutions are known and what is needed is political courage. The necessity of a paradigm shift is being voiced by an increasing number of organisations. Merz writes that legal tools are crucial to bring about this shift.
The agreement struck by world leaders in Paris on Saturday has been widely hailed as a success of historical significance. However, while it is a necessary step, the deal was far from sufficient to achieve the change we need and includes a number of worrying provisions which illustrate that world leaders have failed to understand the systemic issues underlying the ever-accelerating process of climate change.
While the goal of the agreement – namely ‘holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels’ – is to be commended, it remains entirely unclear how it is to be achieved. This is particularly the case given that we have already reached 1°C warming and the intended nationally determined contributions submitted by countries in advance of the summit only amount to a limit of 2.7°C warming. Such a growth in temperatures is well beyond anything considered safe by climate scientists, and would almost certainly lead to the disappearance of small island states, as well as the flooding of coastal cities, impacting on millions of people.
Rather than committing to an end of the use of fossil fuels outright, the signatories of the agreement simply ‘aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible… to achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century’. This will be insufficient to avoid hazardous climate change, and the most vulnerable communities will be the ones to suffer. Even worse, it opens a dangerous path for humanity to engage not only in carbon capture and storage, a technology which carries significant risks and remains untested at the scale necessary, but potentially also a variety of other so-called ‘geoengineering’ technologies.
The agreement also further promotes the highly contested practice of carbon offsetting, where industrialised countries can ‘offset’ their emissions through conservation projects in the Global South. This has been criticised by some indigenous rights groups on the grounds that it reduces the Paris accord to little more than a trade agreement: commodifying land and allowing those responsible for climate change to buy their way out of compliance.
A word count of the agreement illustrates the point: while the word ‘economic’ appears 24 times in the text and ‘financial’ or ‘finance’ 47 times; ‘earth’ is found only once, the word ‘ecosystems’ is mentioned on 5 occasions and ‘fossil fuels’, the key factor in the climate change problem, is not mentioned at all. The limited attention paid to shipping and aviation is also notable, given these sectors are responsible for 8 per cent of global emissions and are predicted to grow substantially. The same could be said for the lack of focus on industrialised agriculture.
The need for a paradigm shift
If the Paris agreement is insufficient, what is actually required to tackle the root causes of climate change? Undoubtedly we require a paradigm shift: a shift to a world where we recognise the intrinsic value of nature and the interdependence between different living beings, ecosystems and humanity – a perspective many indigenous communities have understood for centuries.
This will require shifting to a world that relies to a greater extent on decentralised energy production, with democratic oversight and local self-determination reducing the power of multinational corporations over agriculture, energy and transport. By empowering local communities with a say over their energy, water and food supplies, and by ensuring those responsible for environmental crimes are held to account, a more sustainable approach can be implemented, with human health and well-being placed above economic growth.
To tackle the systemic issues underlying climate change, we also need to understand the link between fossil fuel extraction and human rights violations and the link between our current economic system and climate change. Through biodiversity loss, ocean acidification, chemical pollution of the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles we are close to crossing other planetary boundaries.
Attention needs to be kept high also on the link between climate change and food security, on the increasing spread of antimicrobial resistance, infectious disease and conflict. All these issues are linked with climate change and only a holistic perspective can tackle them all at once, delivering benefits in multiple areas. The need for a paradigm shift which goes much deeper than just addressing carbon emissions through a number of market-based mechanisms is profiling itself with increasing clarity.
As part of this shift, legal tools are important and necessary. The Netherlands has recently made headlines with their supreme court finding the government guilty of failing to act on climate change, and ordering a reduction of CO2 emissions by 25% within 5 years, arguing this is necessary to protect their citizens’ human rights.
In the same spirit, the grassroots movement ‘End Ecocide’ is requesting the adoption of the crime against nature as an international Crime against Peace. Should the initiative be successful, individuals with superior responsibility within firms – or even the corporations themselves – could be held accountable for great natural damage caused by them. ‘Any act or failure to act which causes significant and durable damage to any part or system of the global commons, or which threatens ecosystem services essential to the safety of humankind’ would become an international crime. The aim is to introduce the necessary legal tools for communities across the world to defend their homes, water, soils, and ecosystems.
And yet, the themes of liability and rights are notably absent from the Paris agreement. The only reference to human rights, the right to water and development, and the rights of indigenous people, local communities, migrants, and children are found in the non-binding preamble. The agreement explicitly states that ‘Article 8 of the Agreement [on loss and damage] does not involve or provide a basis for any liability or compensation’. This is highly problematic, as it precludes any liability of those countries with the largest responsibility for climate change (both historically through emissions and today through consumption) for the damage done to those least to blame, but hit worst.
Some encouraging signs: solutions are known
There were a number of encouraging signs at the COP21 that an increasing number of leaders actually understand the need for this paradigm shift. Bolivia had requested the establishment of an ‘International Court for Climate Justice and Mother Earth’, protecting the integrity of Mother Earth and its rights to regeneration. Ecuador had referred to its concept of ‘Buen Vivir’ (good living) or ‘Sumak Kawsay’, ‘a new societal paradigm that places human beings and nature above capital, based on a principle that economic growth in a planet with limited resources cannot be boundless’.
Canada’s Trudeau said that the world has much to learn from indigenous people and Prince Charles delivered an inspiring speech to delegates, linking climate change to food security, extreme weather, migration, conflict and the rights of future generations. Unfortunately, none of these suggestions survived the negotiations on the draft text.
The good news is that the solutions are clear, starting with complete divestment from fossil fuels and a moratorium on extraction well before the middle of the century. It is also necessary to strengthen the rights of indigenous people and guarantee the human right to a healthy environment, as well as the right to participation in environmental decision-making at the local level, and to provide the legal, financial, and technological tools that communities need to adapt and mitigate climate change. All this requires bold action, commitment, and political will.
Political leaders need to be bold enough to put life, well-being, intergenerational and social justice over the protection of selected economic interests. The outcome of the Paris convention is far from ideal, but there are a number of signs that an increasing number of individuals and organisations are re-considering the systemic issues causing climate change and our relationship with nature and future generations.
In five years, when world leaders meet to review their commitments, these voices will be stronger. Paris sent an important signal that together we can protect the basis of life on Earth – but the real work starts only now. It will require everyone – politicians, lawyers, investors, universities, business, environmental defenders, indigenous peoples, NGOs, grassroots movements, and the citizen on the street – to be successful.
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Note: This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of EUROPP – European Politics and Policy, nor of the London School of Economics. Featured image: Pairs of shoes are symbolically placed on the Place de la Republique, after the cancellation of a planned climate march following shootings in the French capital, ahead of the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21), in Paris, France, November 29, 2015. Reuters / Eric Gaillard.
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Prisca Merz – Imperial College London
Prisca Merz is Senior International Relations Officer at Imperial College London. She was the initiator of the European Citizens’ Initiative ‘End Ecocide in Europe’, which advocated criminal liability for those responsible for large-scale damage or destruction of ecosystems and collected over 185,000 signatures.
Despite any “conclusions” drawn from the Paris conference, most of these efforts will be pointless as long as the politicians keep avoiding the most significant issue regarding the environment/climate change, which is that the planet is over-populated. According to estimates, the global population grew from being approximately 2 billion in the 1920’s, to approximately 7 billion in the current decade. It is predicted that the population will reach 8 billion in 2024, and 9 billion in 2037. People have needs, which require more use of energy, which requires clean water, which requires clearing forests to build homes, which requires more vehicles, etc…. So as long as the population is growing, regardless what conservation efforts are done, the environment/climate change will be the biggest victim (and thus people will be the victims). So if the politicians are serious on helping the environment/climate change, then there must also be policies promoting population decline (in addition to the issues currently being discussed). Until that occurs, then the Paris conference was nothing more than a feel-good measure (and a free 14 day holiday) for the politicians.
John – there is no need for any action to promote population decline. Many countries are already there and the earth as a whole is also heading in that direction.
We have already passed the moment of “peak baby” – the year when the highest number of new babies were born. It is only a matter of time until the demographic bump passes through the system, and the inevitable global population decline sets in.
I hope your statement is accurate, but according to your source, when is the projected year the population begins declining? How high will the population be when the decline begins? What are the projected population sizes in random future years according to your source?
I ask these questions because most projections I read predict continued growth. I do acknowledge that projections are like predicting the weather, so I can only take them “with a grain of salt” and a little bit of doubt.
There are multiple sources and they give a range of answers to your questions. However, to pick what seems to be a fairly solid source, the UN World Population Prospects shows a range of peak date that could be as soon as 2080, with a total population of £9.8bn, with a median prediction of about 12bn in about 2150.
http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Graphs/Probabilistic/POP/TOT/
However, there are commentators who think the UN’s population projections are significantly overstated. There are also some interesting TEDtalks on this topic, if you have time to view:
http://10billion.dannydorling.org/
https://www.ted.com/talks/pete_alcorn_s_vision_of_a_better_world
https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_on_global_population_growth
However, aside from projections about the future – about which there will always be significant uncertainty – it’s worth looking at the “lead” indicators that reliably predict future activity. “Peak baby” happened decades ago now. The growth rate – number of net additional people per year – is now falling (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population_milestones). For what it’s worth, my own view is the peak will be around 12-13bn, but it depends to a large degree on what happens with the death rate (think world wars, civil wars, pandemics, climate change). Either way, I think the signs of slowing down will become unmistakable in our lifetimes.
If your projections are accurate, the thought of 12-13 billion people on this planet is quite discomforting. I am surprised that this issue has not become a higher priority to the U.N.
I entirely agree that the agreement does not in any way live up to its hype. An empty aim to limit warming to 2%, and a reference to 1.5% that it in all reality pretty meaningless, is far less important than the actual INDCs which, even if they are met, will certainly not limit the temperature rise to 2%.
I was interested in your contention that the INDCs will lead to a 2.7 degree rise. Do you have a source for this?
You also made a alarmist claim that 2.7 degrees would “almost certainly lead to the disappearance of small island states”. I fail to see how you can be “almost certain” about anything when it comes to climate change, given the substantial model risks involved. Perhaps you could back up this claim with a source? Particularly given that warming to date has actually resulted in a _drop_ in sea levels, rather than a rise.
Finally, you go on to call for a “paradigm shift” moving, among other things, to localised energy generation. Where is your evidence that this would in any way reduce carbon emissions? Putting aside the prejudiced swipe at multinationals and a trendy love of localism and democracy (whatever that means in this context), all the evidence I have seen indicates that large scale energy production is the most efficient and most renewable energy sources (think geothermals, offshore wind, the sahara desert etc) are a long way from population centres. That would indicate that a focus on local energy generation would, if anything, increase emissions and distract attention.
Thank you very much for your comments. Let me clarify a few of the points you raised:
– Rise in temperatures: Actually 2.7 degrees is the most optimistic scenario resulting from the different models. In summary, these put the world on a track between 2.7 and 3.7 degrees warming (median), depending on the modelling assumption. This article provides a very good overview and analysis of the different models, including IEA, UNEP, MIT: http://www.wri.org/blog/2015/11/insider-why-are-indc-studies-reaching-different-temperature-estimates
– Rising sea levels: This report (http://sealevel.climatecentral.org/research/reports/mapping-choices-carbon-climate-and-rising-seas-our-global-legacy) and map illustrate that with 2°C warming 4.7m sea level rise will be locked in and with 4°C warming up to 8.9m. You can check out the map for each coastal city here: http://choices.climatecentral.org/ As you can see, even with 2°C warming Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands will disappear. Of the Maldives, only a few rocks will remain under the 2°C scenario and nothing under the 4°C scenario, and not much will remain of Palau and the Seychelles under either scenario.
o This article shows some pictures of 11 islands likely to disappear: http://www.techinsider.io/islands-threatened-by-climate-change-2012-10#kiribati-1
o This National Geographic map shows the economic costs of flooding in different coastal cities: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/02/climate-change-economics/coastal-cities-map
o This map illustrates the flooding risk and damage just for Europe: http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=e62d2cd4ad1b48eaa1eb3cd50a97bce1
o Could you please provide a source supporting that sea levels have actually dropped to date rather than risen?
– Localised energy production: Could you please share some evidence why localised energy generation would increase emissions? I also would like to clarify that I’m not saying that this would necessarily be more efficient in a purely economic or emissions-reductions sense but what I was trying to advocate for was to take a holistic perspective, looking at the impacts on the entire system, and taking sustainability in all its dimensions (economic, environmental, and social). From that point of view, localised energy production has much to offer as it helps people to connect more with their environment, understand where energy comes from, change their behaviour to waste less, etc. It also creates local jobs and can help foster a sense of community, for example through projects where citizens share ownership of a local source of energy generation (social dimension). It further impacts less on the environment, allowing the ecosystem to restore and continue living next to the production site where large-scale renewable energy projects such as large-scale hydro or huge solar farms do not allow for this continuation and are therefore not sustainable, even though they are renewable. To tackle climate change, we need to look not only at emissions but also a range of other issues, such as soil quality, desertification, deforestation, so again underlining the need to take a holistic perspective.
– Paradigm shift: The paradigm shift I’m arguing for is that the way of thinking where we look at one issue in an isolated fashion (e.g. energy in this case) has brought us into the mess we are in, so we need to totally change perspective and embrace the different problems in a linked and systemic way. This also applies to other areas, such as food production, where again, fertilisers can increase productivity in the short run but in the long run, create increasing soil erosion (decreasing the capacity of soil to capture carbon), nutrient loss, loss of pollinators, bacteria, and other species, and pollution of waterways and other ecosystems with the excess fertilisers applied. We need to come away from a binary and issue-based perspective where we only look at one variable which we try to optimise but rather need to employ a holistic and systemic view, taking into account the interaction between all the different elements in the Earth’s complex global system.
The extra moneys spent to keep the mooted rise in temperatures below a certain level, which cannot be substantiated, btw, will cause extra greenhouse gasses to be released.No matter where or how money is being spent, it moves through the world economy without hindrance.To make a difference in terms of greenhouse gas output, money supply would have to be curtailed, rather than expanded as it is everywhere at the moment.Look what the ECB is doing.