Climate change - Resetting targets

There are many conflicting opinions about how much more can the average temperature of the planet increase and the problem remain manageable.

Quantitative targets were set for the first time in the climate change conference that took place in Paris in 2015. It was agreed that a 2οC increase above pre-industrial levels should be the maximum acceptable target, or even better an increase of up to 1.5oC. Most were committed to take the necessary measures to limit the increase of temperature based on the aforementioned target, however they didn’t go any further.

In December 2018 at Katowice, Poland, the representatives of the countries met in order to determine the measures that would implement the Paris agreement.

There are usually two sides in these climate change conferences. On the one hand countries that pollute, i.e. industrialized countries represented primarily by China and the US, which usually dispute climate change. On the other hand, countries that suffer the results of said pollution, such as the nations of the Pacific Ocean, which will be covered by the sea in the near future, if the increase of the planet’s temperature doesn’t stop.

Generally, the shift to more environmentally friendly modes of energy production entails a big financial burden that will be incurred by countries with industrial production.

Furthermore, technical issues that needed clarification were hiding many traps.  Therefore, the conference in Katowice started under the worst omens.

The Katowice conference managed to set specific guidelines with the measures that must be taken and at the technical lever to provide answers to approximately 3,000 open issues.

China, being the world’s biggest “polluter”, was once again under the spotlight and was forced to some concessions, which led the other developed countries, who lost their biggest ally, to reluctantly accept some measures. Israel, Australia and several other countries set specific targets for the reduction of emissions. On the other hand, the US declared that the climate change issue does not concern them.

In conclusion, the overall outcome of the conference was disappointing and it was described by many as the beginning of the end of the Paris Agreement.

Earth’s glaciers have lost more than 10,000 billion tons of ice since 1960, increasing sea levels by 3 centimeters. In 2017, the Alps had 100 cubic kilometers of glaciers. Based on the 2οC temperature increase above pre-industrial levels scenario set at Paris, the Alps’ glaciers will lose one third of their current volume by 2100. Based on a pessimistic scenario of a greater temperature increase, only 5% of the glaciers will remain by 2100.

Since the pre-industrial era the planet’s average temperature has increased by 1oC. The 2οC target set in Paris seems already lost, not to speak of the 1.5oC target.

The target is reset at 3οC with many Pacific Ocean islands being already a thing of the past.