Bandung (ANTARA) \u2013 The flash flood on the Nepal-China border on 26\nAugust is further evidence that people on Earth are now living in a new\nclimate. The Earth\u2019s climate has truly changed.<\/p>\n
Experts from various disciplines have long predicted that rising\nsurface temperatures would bring more disasters, from floods and\ndroughts to fires far larger than those seen when the climate was still\nconsidered normal.<\/p>\n
A \u201cnormal\u201d climate refers to the Earth\u2019s surface temperatures before\nindustrialisation. The global climate agreement currently in force is\nthe Paris Agreement, under which the aim is to keep the rise in the\nEarth\u2019s surface temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius, the safe limit.\nAt the very least, it should not exceed two degrees, to prevent the\nplanet from reaching a critical state.<\/p>\n
The incident on the Nepal-China border once again shows that efforts\nto keep global temperatures within the ideal range have already been\nlost. Or, in more optimistic terms, it should serve as a reminder that\nthe campaign to improve the climate must be pursued with far greater\ndetermination.<\/p>\n
The long journey of global climate policy began with the 1992 Earth\nSummit in Rio de Janeiro. That historic meeting produced the United\nNations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).<\/p>\n
Its main goal was to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the\natmosphere to prevent dangerous disruption to the climate. The initial\ncommitments were voluntary, with few penalties for countries that\nincreased their emissions.<\/p>\n
In 1997, world leaders tried to strengthen climate protection through\nthe Kyoto Protocol, which required developed countries to cut emissions.\nBut the effort fell apart after the United States rejected it.<\/p>\n
When the Kyoto Protocol was adopted, the US accounted for 25 per cent\nof global greenhouse gas emissions. Without its participation, the\nprotocol was effectively powerless.<\/p>\n
The rejection weakened political commitment and prompted developing\ncountries such as India and China to resist curbing their emissions.<\/p>\n
The breakdown of the agreement\u2019s idealised plan was compounded by the\nfrequent misuse of carbon-market mechanisms as little more than a means\nof trading pollution permits.<\/p>\n
Major industrialised countries continued using fossil fuels without\nmeaningful energy transformation. They bought carbon credits as though\nbuying permission to pollute.<\/p>\n
After the Kyoto period ended, global emissions instead soared to new\nrecord highs. This failure showed that past climate diplomacy\nprioritised each country\u2019s economic interests over the safety of the\nplanet.<\/p>\n
The fears have become reality. The Earth has entered a hotter new\nclimate.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/living-in-a-new-climate-1791967897", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }