Climate change threats
by Weekend desk
On November 30, nearly 140 world leaders will meet in Paris, France to chalk out a global climate deal to keep the Earth liveable.
The 12-day conference will aim to fix a problem that threatens the very well-being of our species: global warming and the target of capping it at two degrees Celsius.
After six years of preparatory negotiations, the 195 nations gathering under the UN flag remain sharply divided on intertwined issues.
There are at least three areas where the talks could stumble. As always, the first is money.
In Copenhagen in 2009 -- the last time countries sought to craft a universal pact and failed -- it was agreed that poorer nations vulnerable to global warming impacts would receive $100 billion per year from 2020.
The money is to help them give up fossil fuels, and to shore up defences against climate-driven food scarcity, heat waves and storm damage.
But developing nations want assurances that the flow of money will be recession-proof, come from public sources, and be earmarked for boosting resilience.
Some 50 nations -- home to a billion people -- federated in the Climate Vulnerable Forum, meanwhile, are also pushing for funds for loss and damage from climate change impacts that can no longer be avoided.
Rich nations are willing to discuss the issue, but have drawn a line in the sand.
A second thorny issue is defining a long-term goal.
All nations have embraced the target of limiting global warming at two degrees Celsius (3.6F) over pre-industrial levels. The world has already warmed 1 C.
Some 170 nations accounting for more than 90 percent of the worlds greenhouse gas output have filed carbon-cutting plans ahead of the Paris meeting.
But these voluntary commitments are not enough to get the job done, and place Earth on a dangerous 3 C trajectory.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, will propose limiting global warming to 1.5C, Environment and Forest Minister Anwar Hossain Manju said recently.
It is important to keep temperature rise under 1.5C to reduce global warming gradually, although proposals by developed countries will increase it by 4C, said Manju.
The challenge -- and the yardstick for success in Paris -- will be to agree on an action plan that eliminates the gap over time.
A third sticking point is the agreements legal status.
The United States has consistently said it will not inscribe its emissions reduction targets -- 26-28 percent from 2005 levels by 2025 -- in a legally-binding international treaty.
At the same time, host country France has said the outcome must have legal force. There has been some progress since Copenhagen, based on growing scientific evidence of the threat we face, and renewable energy becoming cheaper.
Meantime, environmental groups in Bangladesh have demanded that the country push for a legally binding agreement, an international court on climate justice, a deal on climate migrants and an institutional mechanism to compensate for loss and damage.
Bangladesh is ranked 6th among the 10 countries most affected by climate change in the last decade, according to the Long-Term Climate Risk Index (CRI) developed by Germanwatch.
South Asia, which is home to about a third of the worlds population, suffers from various impacts of climate change.
While Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are vulnerable to sea level rises, salinisation, and frequent floods and cyclones, India and Pakistan face droughts, black carbon, glacial melt and floods. Nepal has black carbon and deforestation, while heavily forested Bhutan is a carbon-neutral nation.
Source: Agencies
