Climate talks have gone smoothly so far so the climate conference in Paris set for the end of the year holds a lot of promise. However, some months before leaders of the world gather to discuss climate goals, that promise appears to be fading.
The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been holding talks and negotiating with countries, seeking pledges to help achieve the climate conference's goal of preventing the global temperature from rising beyond 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) of levels set during pre-industrial times. According to climate scientists, the two-degree target is the world's limit. Beyond that, the higher temperature will cause more severe climate change effects like rising seas, storms, floods and droughts.
Carbon emission cuts have been proposed for 2020, complemented by promises to strive for more over the years. However, prospects appear to be fading, with experts pointing out that pledges made are still not enough to meet the two-degree goal.
David Victor from the University of California, San Diego, refers to Paris as "a funeral without a corpse." Oliver Geden from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs adds that the goal is just not feasible, saying the two-degree goal may be at the center of the climate debate but it's not the focus of political action.
The UN, however, is adamant that the goal is still within reach.
Top climate change official for the organization, Christiana Figueres, acknowledges that current pledges and other national plans will not be enough to meet the goal but is optimistic that the next round of pledges will hit the mark.
"You don't run a marathon with one step," she added.
To help in furthering the two-degree goal, Figueres suggested governments have to change how they see low-carbon economies by focusing instead on what they can earn with clean energies instead of what they will lose. For instance, adopting solar or wind power cuts pollution alongside creating jobs that can contribute to economic growth.
The two-degree goal is rooted in 1992's Earth Summit, in which participants pledged to avoid human interference with the climate. It was then adopted in 1996 by the European Union and the United States in 2009. In 2010, it was formally declared as the central principle to guide climate talks.
According to studies carried out by the UN, the rise in temperature may already be resulting in irreversible changes in the environment. Since 1880, the world's temperature has already rise by 0.85 degrees Celsius (33.8 degrees Fahrenheit).
Photo: John Englart | Flickr
