NEWS Recently, countries marked the five year anniversary of the Paris Agreement. The international community, including the European Union (EU) and India, gathered at the Climate Ambition Summit 2020 to celebrate and recognise our resolve in working towards a safer, more resilient world with net zero emissions. 

CLIMATE AMBITION  SUMMIT 2020

• The summit was co-hosted by the United Nations, United Kingdom and France to mark the fifth year of adoption of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
• The UN General Secretary highlighted that the international community might be able to reach carbon neutrality, which is set out in the Paris Agreement, only if global emission will be reduced by 45% by 2030 compared with the levels of 2010.
• The objective of the summit was to set out new and ambitious commitments under the three pillars of the Paris Agreement that are mitigation, adaptation and finance commitments.
• It aims to bring together leaders to make new commitments to tackle climate change and deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement.
• In the summit, Indian Prime Minister highlighted that India is not only on track to achieve its Paris Agreement targets, but to exceed them beyond expectations.

PRESENT CHALLENGES

• We have the responsibility to pass on the habitable planet earth to the next generation who will have to bear  the heavier burden of climate change and pay off the debt of the recovery. 
• With the pandemic, all have been hit by a virus with a potentially long lasting impact on our society and economies. This has given rise to a dilemma- ‘During this pandemic, is it realistic to call for stronger global action to fight climate change?’

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?

• For the future prosperity, we must invest in greening the global economy.
• Recovery after Post COVID­19 needs to be a green recovery.

EFFORTS BY EUROPEAN UNION AND INDIA 

• The European Commission- launched the European Green Deal in 2019. This deal is a new growth model and roadmap to achieve climate neutrality in the EU by 2050.
• As well as the EU issued “Next Generation EU” recovery package and the EU’s next long­term budget will earmark more than half a trillion euros for climate change.
• Before the Climate Ambitious Summit, to reach climate neutrality by 2050, EU leaders have unanimously agreed on the 2030 target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% compared to 1990 levels.
• The cost of solar photovoltaics has already declined by 82% between 2010 and 2019.
• India has started many flagship initiatives such as International Solar Alliance, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and the Leadership Group for Industry Transition.
• India and EU are also engaged to make a success of the forthcoming COP 26 in Glasgow on climate change and COP 15 in Kunming on biodiversity.

WAY FORWARD

• Good public policies are good but not sufficient. Hence, it is more important to come forward with clear strategies for net-zero emissions and to enhance the global level of ambition for 2030.
• No government can never alone tackle climate change. 
• There is a need to foster small individual actions to attain a big collective impact.
• The world should mobilise its best scientists, business people, policymakers, academics, civil society actors and citizens to protect together our planet.

The need of the hour is to make joint global efforts to foster cooperation with partners from all around the world. There is a sense of global momentum which is increasing towards keeping the promise of the Paris Agreement, this momentum needs to be continued till the goal is achieved. Our global, regional, national, local and individual recovery plans are an opportunity for ‘build back better’.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/five-years-since-paris-an-opportunity-to-build-back-better/article33396510.ece