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Post-Paris Climate Agreement UNFCCC COP-21: Perspectives on International Environmental Governance

Document Cited authorities 1 Cited in Related
Vincent
DOI10.3366/ajicl.2018.0235
Date01 August 2018
Published date01 August 2018
Pages309-338
Author
INTRODUCTION

Science and technology innovation are key assets towards sustainability and a renewable global energy economy. Current knowledge can already discern the difference. The adaptation investment burden is bearable in developed countries and in developing countries through the mechanisms of international cooperation. Indeed, the wealth of the world in terms of green investment potential is enough to shift the current fossil global economy to a renewable energy global economy for the future we want. This article presents the Paris Climate Agreement as a key normative milestone on the road to a renewable global energy economy. However, the Paris Climate Agreement has a number of weak points. Among these is the incapacity of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP) to establish measurable targets throughout the implementation process of the Agreement. The current international environmental governance dynamic is unable to ensure a shift from the current fossil energy global economy to a renewable energy global economy on the road to the future we want. The UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the COPs of the three Rio Environmental Conventions on Biodiversity (CBD), on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and on Desertification (UNCCD) have shown their limits in this regard. In order to switch to a renewable energy global economy, this research suggests the resumption and conclusion of recent negotiations on international environmental governance reform within the United Nations system with the goal of creating a suitable institution able to take decisions, to adopt environmental indicators and standards and to implement these in full autonomy for the sake of the preservation of life on earth for the generations to come. The articulation of the presentation will follow these points.

 RECONCILING WEALTH GROWTH AND SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: TOWARDS GLOBAL ECONOMY SHIFTING

The UNFCCC COP-21 which adopted the Paris Agreement on Climate in December 2015 was hosted by an international community considering the innovative concept of a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication adopted at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development of 2012 (also known as the Rio+20 Earth Summit or the Future We Want). The green concept raises the challenge of reconciling wealth growth with sustainable development. The Paris Agreement on Climate shows a potential to help in overcoming such a challenge. In this chapter we will highlight the potential contribution of science and technology in this regard. We will also show the challenges for both developing and developed countries.

When Science and Technology Show the Path to a Global Renewable Energy Economy

One of the key assets in reconciling wealth growth and sustainability through building climate resilience is an appreciable level of scientific knowledge. Scientific knowledge and technology can help in the understanding, restraining and even reversing the adverse effects of global warming due to the unsustainable ways we human beings have adopted around the world and throughout the ages. Societies have indeed adopted patterns of use of materials and energy that are simply unsustainable.1 In fact, dependence on fossil fuels since the industrial revolution about two centuries ago is the main root of the current global degradation of life on earth. The correlative threat of climate change to these unsustainable production processes has negative impacts worldwide and will require us to make fundamental changes from current high-carbon economies to low-carbon economies.2 The international community in the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and its Montreal Protocol have adopted mechanisms to phase out chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting substances. This crucial global warming agenda has been handled multilaterally up to the twenty-first climate rendezvous under the UNFCCC in Paris. Innovation in renewable technology has the potential to boost the achievements of Paris throughout the implementation process of the Paris Agreement along with the whole global sustainable development agenda. Solar, wind and water energies are able to help the shift from the current fossil economy to a renewable energy economy while research activities generate green investment and green employment. Lee and Card (2012) have stated that research into the long-term economic and employment strategies of new technologies must consider the development of new technologies such as the construction of hydrogen-powered vehicles, more efficient solar power generation and nanotechnology.3 Investors at the Paris UNFCCC COP-21 agreed to use their capital to complement the financial efforts announced by banks and development institutions with, for example, long-term funds for infrastructure to improve the efficiency of real estate. Investors were comforted by the Paris Agreement which has in their judgment reinforced their global investment strategy and their personal and professional commitment to avoiding climate catastrophe through our investments.4 This reiterates that technology, innovation, sustainable investment and political goodwill are the key characteristics of a society ready to shift from a fossil economy to a climate resilient one. Our society is facing a crisis, the challenge being the current economic model of Take-Make-Use-Waste which is no longer viable since it exceeds the carrying capacity of the earth and generates more inequality.5 The European Greens have formulated a Green New Deal (GND) as an integrated answer to the crises at the European and national level.6 Cities have been targeted to implement Europe climate mitigation efforts.7 For better results the building of a network of European cities and urban regions is suggested to gather and share knowledge and innovation to reach an ecological economy.8 There is surely nowadays compatibility between growth and environmental protection.9 The energy system can evolve dramatically with the emergence of renewable energy, electric vehicles and the development of smart grids.10 Surely, the greening of industry improves our ability to combat climate change and to maintain prosperity. However, there is a need for a whole new relationship with the environment11 and both developed and developing countries are standing together against the threat. First there has been driving growth and innovation in clean technology markets and recently, emerging economies and developing world markets are increasingly powering the clean economy sector.12 Clean technology investment rose by 19 per cent in developing countries to $112 billion per year compared with an overall decline of 12 per cent globally to $244 billion per year. This suggests that clean technology investment is shifting towards developing economies in the near term.13 The industrial sector is already a key player in the improvement of resource productivity and in the two last decades CO2 emissions have decreased by 25.1 per cent in manufacturing and construction and by 12.1 per cent in residential, tertiary and agriculture sectors. However, it grew by 23.8 per cent in the transport sector.14 Also, the chemical industry produces a wide range of products and operates within a variety of industrial and market dynamics in five general categories which are particularly important, namely commodity chemicals, specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals and consumer products produced directly by the chemical industry.15 Another component is bio-industrial greening. According to the European Commission, bio-industry is a branch of the bio-economy which uses renewable biological resources in innovative industrial processes for manufacturing biomass-derived products and services.16 The author mentioned that the European Commission believes that the bio-economy will be the main driving power to generate smart growth and inclusive growth, to reduce fossil fuel dependence and to create green jobs and support sustainable development. The move towards bio-industry is indeed being smoothly taken generally by the mixed energy strategy approach worldwide both in developing and developed countries. The availability of the main renewable energies such as solar power in developing tropical countries is a huge asset to overcome the challenges related to the transition of their modest industries to bio-industries. Multilateralism encourages more and more developed countries to fund substantially the greening transition in developing countries since developed countries have more responsibility in the current global warming than developing countries. The industrialised world has overused coal and other unsustainable energies since the industrial revolution to accumulate wealth and development. Developing countries now want to accumulate wealth to solve urgent developmental needs with renewable energies but are unable to mobilise alone the necessary funds to this end and consider it fair to require funding from rich countries as a compensation for greenhouse and other undesirable industrial gas emissions. Russian President Vladimir Putin affirmed in his opening speech at the Paris COP-21 the capacity of nations to reconcile wealth growth and preservation of life on earth.17 Current knowledge and potential in science and technology are indeed able to shift the current global fossil economy to a resilient global economy which shows that we are on our way to the future we want for generations after us. There is a price to pay but the good of it is ahead.18 For instance, Asian countries will pay a high price to achieve 2°C and 4°C climate change targets but can ease the negative impacts by decrease the usage of fossil fuel gradually and developing bio-economy aggressively.19 In Canada, fossil fuels burned in homes, businesses and factories, plus those combusted in various forms of...

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