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Pacific leaders seek U.S. return to Paris climate pact

 

FILE PHOTO: Attendees applaud at the conclusion of remarks at the opening ceremonies of the Paris Agreement on climate change held at the United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

 

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Pacific island nations declared climate change to be their "single greatest threat", urging Washington to return to the Paris Agreement on climate, just as Western powers seek to check China's rising influence in the region.

 

Australia, which has backed away from its own commitment to Paris without exiting the pact, was among the 18 nations of the Pacific Islands Forum that made the call at a meeting of leaders on the tiny island state of Nauru.

 

"Climate change presents the single greatest threat to the livelihood, security and well-being of Pacific people," the leaders said in a communique, asking the United States to return to the climate pact.

 

Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga told a news conference: "The aspiration is for the U.S. to be in the Paris Agreement again because we cannot have comprehensive robust emission reduction unless the biggest emitter of greenhouse gas is there in the process, we cannot leave the U.S. out."

 

However, participants said one country would not agree to even stronger language in the communique and Sopoaga made clear which it was, although he stopped short of naming it.

 

"The name of the qualifier (started with) alphabetical A, capital A," Sopoaga told Wednesday's news conference, held after the leaders' meeting.

 

No forum member's name, apart from Australia's, begins with the letter 'A'.

 

Australia's representative at the meeting, Foreign Minister Marise Payne, declined to answer questions about Sopoaga's comments.

 

"It is not appropriate to discuss the internal talks of the private Leaders' Retreat," Payne said in an emailed statement.

 

"Australia understands the importance that Pacific Countries place on effective global action to combat climate change," she said.

 

The demand for action over the low-lying islands of the Pacific, seen as the front line of global climate change, comes as rising sea levels and other climate-related crises force residents to move to higher ground.

 

Against this backdrop, China's vocal support for tackling global warming aids its drive to win allies and influence in the strategically significant and resource-rich area.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement in 2017, saying it favored other countries and put the United States at a disadvantage.

 

Climate change is domestic political dynamite in Australia, one of the world's largest coal exporters which has also sought to push back against China's influence in the Pacific.

 

Wednesday's communique endorsed "with qualification" a separate, stronger statement from seven small Pacific Island states seeking "urgent resolution" of Paris rules to cap the rise in global temperatures at 1.5 degrees Celsius.

 

"If that cap is not reached, there are going to be serious problems on islands like Tuvalu," Sopoaga said, citing an estimate of island submergence by 2030 from the U.S. Geological Survey.

 

"2030 is not far away, our grandchildren would still be growing up and the islands of Tuvalu and Kiribati and, maybe, part of Nauru would be submerged," he said.

 

(Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Colin Packham; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-09-07

[thaibeachlovers]

LOL. The biggest threat to humanity is overpopulation, and was anything said about that?

Far as I understand it, China and India got a pass at the Paris accord, which makes the whole thing, IMO, a sham.

Not surprising that Australia doesn't want to play anymore, given if they can't sell coal, they are in the deep doo doo.

 

Never mind, I'm sure that as they all jet away with their entourages, polluting the stratosphere, they'll be able to remember what a jolly good jaunt they had, even if they achieved zilch.

[jimmyyy]

No the US won't be participating in any of this Climate Change Sham.  We are not paying a dime to you people.  Get over it.  Drill baby drill......

[RickBradford]

Quote

"The aspiration is for the U.S. to be in the Paris Agreement again because we cannot have comprehensive robust emission reduction unless the biggest emitter of greenhouse gas is there in the process, we cannot leave the U.S. out."

 

China emits almost twice as much greenhouse gas as the US, and has been the top emitter for several years. These nimrods can't even get their insults right.

[bristolboy]

33 minutes ago, RickBradford said:

 

China emits almost twice as much greenhouse gas as the US, and has been the top emitter for several years. These nimrods can't even get their insults right.

What you fail to note is that China has been engaged in a massive program of building solar and wind capacity. And it is also by far the biggest manufacturer and consumer of electric vehicles. It's ridiculous to expect an economy the size of China's to turn on a dime and go 100% renewable overnight. But they are heading in that direction. And oddly enough, so is the US despite Trump's best if pathetic efforts to thwart that.

[jimmyyy]

Its ridiculous to think that the US taxpayer is going to let one dime go towards this crapola. You all are on your own. 

[riclag]

7 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

LOL. The biggest threat to humanity is overpopulation, and was anything said about that?

Far as I understand it, China and India got a pass at the Paris accord, which makes the whole thing, IMO, a sham.

Not surprising that Australia doesn't want to play anymore, given if they can't sell coal, they are in the deep doo doo.

 

Never mind, I'm sure that as they all jet away with their entourages, polluting the stratosphere, they'll be able to remember what a jolly good jaunt they had, even if they achieved zilch.

Remember when B.Sanders said the biggest threat to security was Climate change!These countries who want to support this and have America foot a large chunk of the monies,  will have to wait until 2024 to push this

[attrayant]

7 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Far as I understand it, China and India got a pass at the Paris accord, which makes the whole thing, IMO, a sham.

 

Assuming your understanding is correct (it's not, but let's just humor you for a moment), the logic is therefore this: Since a few other countries aren't pulling their weight, then nobody should?

 

Imagine if we apply this "reasoning" locally.  Since there are a couple of houses in my neighborhood that throw their garbage out into the street, let's all do it!

 

No, it's not a sham.

 

Now, as far as your understanding of the situation, China has been surging ahead in the renewable energy sector since 2013.  As a moment's though will make clear, this development will be hampered by air pollution.  

 

"Looking at over 200 monitors throughout China, a recent analysis found that Chinese cities have cut concentrations of fine particulates — often considered the deadliest type of pollution — by 32% on average since 2013. The city of Xingtai saw the largest pollution decline at 52.2%."

[Srikcir]

8 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Far as I understand it, China and India got a pass at the Paris accord

Do you have a source for that claim?

The source I found with the statement "The Paris climate pact did not hold countries like India and China accountable on greenhouse emissions" actually comes from the White House:

 

Scott Pruitt, administrator of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told reporters at a White House news conference: "As you know, China did not have to take any steps of compliance until 2030. India had no obligations until USD 2.5 trillion of aid was provided,"

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/paris-didnt-hold-india-china-accountable-on-co2-emissions-white-house/articleshow/58972466.cms

 

So far as getting a "pass" let's look at what is actually happening with China and India:

• Both China and India are set to overachieve on their Paris Agreement climate pledges
• India may pull back on plans to build more coal-fired power plants.
• declining coal consumption the last three years in China is seeing a drop that’s expected to continue.

https://e360.yale.edu/digest/china-india-to-pass-u-s-on-paris-climate-promises

So if there is truly a "pass" for China and India, it's likely because they're ahead of their commitments for reducing CO2 emissions. On the other hand Trump's energy policy to increase emissions.

 

 

[IAMHERE]

It was 'fixing' the Ozone Hole that caused this climate change. Bring back Chlorofluorocarbons.  

[bristolboy]

19 minutes ago, IAMHERE said:

It was 'fixing' the Ozone Hole that caused this climate change. Bring back Chlorofluorocarbons.  

Well, that's a piece of lunacy I haven't seen before. Quite refreshing.

[Tug]

Gonna have to wait for the failing trump administration to vacate the white House (watch they don’t steal everything)before anything will change 

[RickBradford]

3 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Do you have a source for that claim?

The source I found with the statement "The Paris climate pact did not hold countries like India and China accountable on greenhouse emissions" actually comes from the White House:

 

Scott Pruitt, administrator of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told reporters at a White House news conference: "As you know, China did not have to take any steps of compliance until 2030. India had no obligations until USD 2.5 trillion of aid was provided,"

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/paris-didnt-hold-india-china-accountable-on-co2-emissions-white-house/articleshow/58972466.cms

 

So far as getting a "pass" let's look at what is actually happening with China and India:

• Both China and India are set to overachieve on their Paris Agreement climate pledges
• India may pull back on plans to build more coal-fired power plants.
• declining coal consumption the last three years in China is seeing a drop that’s expected to continue.

https://e360.yale.edu/digest/china-india-to-pass-u-s-on-paris-climate-promises

So if there is truly a "pass" for China and India, it's likely because they're ahead of their commitments for reducing CO2 emissions. On the other hand Trump's energy policy to increase emissions.

 

 

There's so much nonsense there it's hard to know where to start.

 

* The US is the only major economy to have reduced CO2 emissions over the last several years. Emissions peaked in 2007 and have been falling pretty much ever since, largely thanks to fracking for natural gas. China's emissions have all but doubled over the same period.

 

* It may well be that China and India are set to "overachieve" on their Paris climate commitments, because the bar was set so absurdly low for those commitments.

 

China, for example, committed to stopping its emissions growth by 2030; given the new technologies now available, it would be a miracle if they couldn't meet that commitment, even if they double their power output.

 

China's commitment was not invented by the White House; it was clearly written down in their NDC document.

 

http://www4.unfccc.int/ndcregistry/PublishedDocuments/China First/China's First NDC Submission.pdf

[bristolboy]

36 minutes ago, RickBradford said:

There's so much nonsense there it's hard to know where to start.

 

* The US is the only major economy to have reduced CO2 emissions over the last several years. Emissions peaked in 2007 and have been falling pretty much ever since, largely thanks to fracking for natural gas. China's emissions have all but doubled over the same period.

 

*

False:

Unless you count the EU as not being a major economy: Depending on how you evaluate it, it's either the 2nd or third largest economic unit in the world. Does that seem not major to you?

From 1990 through 2017 emissions declined by 22%.

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Greenhouse_gas_emission_statistics_-_emission_inventories

During that same time the GDP of the EU more than doubled:

EU reductions outpaced the USA even though started from a much lower base.

https://tradingeconomics.com/european-union/gdp

And of course on a per capita basis the USA hugely outpaces the EU in greenhouse gas emissions. In fact there is no country in the EU that produces as much greenhouse gas per capita.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_greenhouse_gas_emissions_per_capita

EU reductions outpaced the USA even though started from a much lower base.

 

 

[bristolboy]

43 minutes ago, RickBradford said:

 

 

* It may well be that China and India are set to "overachieve" on their Paris climate commitments, because the bar was set so absurdly low for those commitments.

 

China, for example, committed to stopping its emissions growth by 2030; given the new technologies now available, it would be a miracle if they couldn't meet that commitment, even if they double their power output.

 

China's commitment was not invented by the White House; it was clearly written down in their NDC document.

 

http://www4.unfccc.int/ndcregistry/PublishedDocuments/China First/China's First NDC Submission.pdf

As for China. 

China leads in global shift to renewable energy

Investment in renewable energy continues to grow at a record pace as countries look to move away from fossil fuel-based power production to eco-friendly generation. Over half of world's new solar capacity is in China.

https://www.dw.com/en/china-leads-in-global-shift-to-renewable-energy/a-43266203

And from that same article re: solar energy:

 It accounted for about 57 percent of last year's total investment for all renewables (excluding large hydro) of $279.8 billion. 

The number far outstripped new investment in coal and gas generation capacity, estimated at a lowly $103 billion.

 

 

[9KPhalak]

12 hours ago, RickBradford said:

 

China emits almost twice as much greenhouse gas as the US, and has been the top emitter for several years. These nimrods can't even get their insults right.

True, you can't see much less breath in China.  China and India have no obligations to reduce emissions until 2030.  By then they will have rewritten the agreement to push that date out even farther.  Not to mention you can't trust them.  Also, the US is basically paying for the accord with China, Russia, and India paying little or nothing.  Those are two of the reasons the US got out of the agreement. 

[RickBradford]

11 hours ago, bristolboy said:

Unless you count the EU as not being a major economy: Depending on how you evaluate it, it's either the 2nd or third largest economic unit in the world. Does that seem not major to you?

From 1990 through 2017 emissions declined by 22%.

Oh, the EU's a major economy, all right, but I was referring to the "past several years", not ancient history.

 

Every developed economy gained the ability through new technology to drastically cut emissions from coal plants from the 1990s onwards. Germany, for example, cut CO2 emissions from coal by 43% over the period, France by 68%, and even Poland cut back by 49%.

 

That's the easy bit. But if you look at CO2 emissions in the EU over the past few years, they are going back up again. EU28 emissions have risen by about 1% since 2014; US emissions have dropped by 4.6% over the same period.

As the Germans publicly lamented in 2016:

That’s the second annual rise in a row and means the country has not reduced its emissions in 9 years. Despite tens of billions of euros earmarked for green energies over the past years, the country’s CO2 greenhouse gas emissions refuse to fall. Germany’s target for 2020 is 40% [reduction], a level that the government has already abandoned.

 

Ah, well, we'll always have Paris.