The United Nations climate conference in Poland reached consensus over the weekend on a list of checks and balances meant to implement the Paris climate accord, but it fell short in gaining support from countries to up their commitments under the deal.
Although there were many who applauded the U.N.’s ability to find consensus on the so-called “Paris Rulebook,” there were also groups who thought the conference failed to raise the bar for emissions reductions.
“COP24 is ending without delivering what the world needs,” said Patti Lynn, executive director of Corporate Accountability, a global climate justice campaign to hold energy companies accountable for reducing emissions.
“Governments fell far short of crafting a just and equitable roadmap to Paris’ implementation,” she added, blaming the fossil fuel industry’s interference that she said has been evident at these U.N. meetings for decades.
Many blamed the Trump administration, working in concert with Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Kuwait to keep the Paris deal from becoming more strict.
Specifically, they worked to block consensus on applying the findings of a new U.N. report that would require stricter emissions reductions under the Paris accord. The October U.N. report calls for a rapid phaseout of fossil fuel use by 2050 to prevent the Earth’s temperature from rising 1.5 degrees. The 2015 Paris deal seeks to avert global warming by 2 degrees.
Environmentalists had hoped for a strong endorsement by all countries of the report. But that failed to occur this year, pushing out a decision on whether countries will up their emission cuts until 2020.
“The countries did commit to raising their commitments in two years, around the time of the U.S. presidential elections,” said Carol Werner, executive director of the nonpartisan Environmental and Energy Study Institute. “But that doesn’t mean action couldn’t have come this year.”
Werner said the Saturday decision does not get the world on the right path to reducing emissions in line with the October U.N. climate study.
She said that next year’s freshman class in Congress gives hope that the movement will continue to push for increased action on the Paris Agreement. In addition, she pointed out that states, cities, and local governments are also pulling resources in meeting the goals of the climate deal.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who chairs a special select committee on climate change, said the U.S. is still part of the Paris deal, despite the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw. Under U.N. rules, the U.S. cannot withdraw until November 2020.
Markey and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., on Monday issued a report from the select committee, detailing 114 actions the administration has taken to rollback Obama-era regulations meant to reduce emissions to address climate change.
