Paris Climate Accord essay

It also is aiming at maintaining the constant finance flow while doing so in an eco-friendly manner. There is alarming scientific evidence on global warming. Alarming in the sense that, the world can have a temperature of below 1. 5 degrees Celsius over the pre-industrial times. The only hope being a rapid energy transition. The agreement was signed on 22 April 2016 in Paris, but a significant blow in the meeting was the withdrawal of world superpower United States. Seeing that the US was the second most pollutant in the world after China, many were left wondering whether the accord would be put into implementation if such a significant contributor did not believe in the effects of global warming. From the late 1980s, the European Union had pushed for easy emission targets, but the US was firmly rejecting such agreed on the Kyoto protocol which stated the need for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse emissions before third world countries.

This protocol, however, came at a price as the European Union was forced to abide by the trading emissions principle. Which stated that nations would be able to purchase emission rights from other countries if they financed projects in developing countries that would reduce emission. They should prioritize on safety for the future generations ahead that may be affected by the ongoing peril. Soon after the US backed out of the accord, some significant corporations became disappointed by this decision and decided to continue venturing on with their environmental efforts. Many large companies had high expectations of the united states but after its sudden exit had to argue their case through the media, i. e. , Tesla, Facebook, Google. However, researchers identified an opportunity for companies to mix up their energy sources and have technology improvements as well.

The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, for example, gained its weakest return in over four years after withdrawing its funds from environmentally destructive companies. This move occurred after the government ordered the fund to divest from companies involved in coal production and also pulled out of 11 companies that were involved in tropical forests destruction. The Paris Agreement together with the 2030 Agenda provides the best guidelines for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. These goals include protecting our planet, eliminating extreme poverty and reducing inequality. They have pledged to a 28% annual commitment in climatic investments to see them achieve their goal of $3. 5billion a year by 2020. There are countless opportunities for investors, from innovative financing, advisory services, and investments. Businesses can grow through developing new business models that offer climate solutions regarding energy storage, waste management, and transport systems (Friedman,2015).

The question of inequality and its relationship with environmental degradation, does climate change have anything to do with bias? The answer is more transparent than one would have thought. The developed countries come off as unfair to the developing nations. We are used to refuges borne from local disasters, war or political instability, but we have entered the era of climate refugees. These are people who flee from their homes that are no longer hospitable due to the effects of climate change. From research, the prediction is that climate change will displace about 250 million people. The agricultural industry is much affected by climate change. According to the United Nations climate science panel, the achievement of zero net emissions must happen by 2070 to avoid adverse effects of warming.