Climate Change and the Global Political Response.

Byline: Owais Khan

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that our planet has entered a new era of global boiling. This is supported by recent findings from the Climate Change Institute (CCI), which show that the average global air temperature has increased by 0.89AoC (1.60AoF) since 1979. NASA has also confirmed this, declaring July 2023 as the hottest month ever recorded since 1880. It is a major threat to the survival of our species and the planet. Greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 50%.

As a result, Economic losses are recorded in billions of dollars, and more than 3.6 billion people around the globe are affected. The Conference of the Parties (CoP) initiated discussions that proposed a division between developed and developing nations. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol introduced carbon quotas, with 37 countries exceeding their quotas and 160 emitting less carbon than allowed. The Global North, led by the United States, argues that climate change is a global problem since the Earth's environment is a shared resource polluted by carbon emissions from both developed and developing countries.

Major contributors include the US (25%), the European Union (22%), Canada (4%), China (35%), and India (9%). Consequently, they advocate for collective global responsibility in reducing carbon emissions. The Global South, led by China and India, has argued that the responsibility for addressing climate change should be shared by all countries. However, the United Nations Climate Change Conferences (UNCCC) have found that developed countries are responsible for more than 79% carbon emissions. This is because developed countries industrialized first and used fossil fuels to power their economies.

COP21 witnessed a historic agreement where major carbon-emitting countries committed to carbon reduction plans. The Global North pledged a 55% reduction, while the Global South committed to a 35% reduction within 15 years, aiming to limit global temperature rise to 1.5AdegC by 2030. COP21 also secured $100 billion in financial aid for the most affected countries, with the US contributing 28% and other major emitters making up the rest. President Obama declared climate change a national security threat, leading the US to reject new coal projects and invest in clean energy, marking a turning point. China, under President Xi Jinping's vision, became increasingly global-minded. China expanded its solar industry, constructed thousands of...