How to Improve the Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement provides a sustainable framework that guides global efforts for decades to come. The aim is to increase countries` climate ambitions over time. To this end, the agreement provides for two review processes, each to be carried out in a five-year cycle. There are many ways to improve energy efficiency in all sectors of the economy. Since the 1990s, the growth rate of electricity consumption has steadily declined and decoupled from overall economic growth, showing that investments in energy efficiency have been effective in buildings, industry, commercial and residential appliances and other applications. Options to further accelerate the deployment of energy efficiency include: 1) improving fuel efficiency standards for vehicles and other equipment in the sector; (2) progress in the area of the “smart grid” (application of digital technologies to the electricity grid) that would make it possible to measure end-user activity; and (3) improving tariff structures through decoupling policies to better align utility incentives with emission reduction targets. Sustainable development has significant benefits associated with increased mitigation efforts and ambitions in line with the Paris Agreement. For example, switching to renewable energy and phasing out fossil fuels can reduce air pollution and related health effects, improve access to energy in rural areas and create jobs. In addition to the flexibility of a comprehensive domestic policy, one of the characteristic strengths of the Paris Agreement is its long-term orientation towards greater emission reductions. Article 3 of the Paris Agreement states that “the efforts of all parties will represent progress over time,” which can be interpreted as reflecting the understanding that technology will continue to improve and enable higher ambitions. Greater transparency, clarity and integrity in the 2020 updates would make it easier to assess collective progress and identify opportunities for improvement. But more transparency and integrity cannot be traded for more ambition in mitigation goals – the two should go hand in hand. As a contribution to the objectives of the agreement, countries have submitted comprehensive national climate protection plans (nationally defined contributions, NDCs).

These are not yet sufficient to meet the agreed temperature targets, but the agreement points the way for further action. Electricity markets can also better integrate electricity storage resources with the two-way current flow, such as . B electric vehicles. With regard to conventional vehicles, maintaining the Cafe (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards developed under Article 202(a) of the Clean Air Act44 would ensure safety for the planning of additional products and the development of technologies in the fields of advanced aerodynamics, engines, transmissions, lightweight construction, Improved accessories and air conditioning systems, and rolling resistance tires to increase the fuel efficiency of light commercial vehicles. In August 2017, the government announced a public comment period to reconsider greenhouse gas emission standards for light commercial vehicles for the 2022-2025 model years. The government also announced that it will review phase 2 greenhouse gas emission and fuel efficiency standards for medium and heavy engines due to concerns in the trailer and glider industry. It should be stressed that the key to maintaining technological progress lies in the definition of stable political signals and the modernisation of the rules of the wholesale electricity market. Solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies have seen an equally dramatic drop in costs due to economies of scale and improved manufacturing and performance.

The cost of solar energy in the utility sector has fallen by 85% since 2009. The efficiency of all photovoltaic cells improved steadily between 1975 and 2010, supported by decades of research and development programs. The Supreme Court has always recognized the power of presidents to enter into international agreements without Senate approval when the agreement falls under the constitutional authority of the president or the authority arising from previous actions of Congress. The Paris Agreement does not create legally binding emission reduction commitments for the United States. The president had ample authority to finalize the agreement based on the Senate`s approval of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992 and the legal authority to protect Americans` health and our environment found in basic U.S. air quality laws and other environmental laws. And almost all of the procedural requirements of the agreement to provide information can be implemented under the constitutional authority of the president. With the federal government in the U.S.

moving away from action on climate change, a wave of support for the Paris Agreement in the U.S., showing that businesses, cities, states, universities, and other organizations continue to push for climate action. Federal policy is necessary and a necessary element to achieve the agreement`s deeper decarbonisation objectives, but in the short term, businesses, cities and other sub-national actors can support selected policies and continue to act on their own. Critics have often cited “draconian financial and economic burdens,” interference in U.S. sovereignty, and “massive legal responsibility” as urgent reasons to withdraw from the deal. In fact, the Paris Agreement represents a carefully negotiated combination of approaches: the “top-down”, differentiated and implementation-oriented approach to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and the voluntary bottom-up parallel framework created by the 2009 Copenhagen Accords and the 2010 Cancun Accords. The end result is a common framework that commits all parties to do their best and strengthen them over time. It can at any time declare its intention to withdraw the United States from the agreement, but the withdrawal of the United States cannot take legal effect before November 4, 2020. (Trump announced on June 1, 2017 that he would withdraw the United States from the climate agreement.) The agreement also reflects an important signal for the international market, which is already shifting from reliance on coal and oil to natural gas and renewable energy sources. Such a change encourages investment in new and innovative technologies that promote energy efficiency, reduce the cost of renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, climate diplomacy provides fertile ground for cooperation between governments on a variety of related issues: energy, trade, and technology.

In the run-up to the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the United States concluded and enhanced bilateral agreements with China and India focused on clean energy research and clean energy financing. ==References=====External links===The media and government worked in a fog of misunderstandings about the nature and responsibility of the international agreement adopted at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) in Paris, France. From President Obama`s signing in September 2016 to President Trump`s inauguration in January, confusion has fueled a number of myths about the Paris Agreement. The president`s June 1 announcement about the U.S. planned withdrawal from the agreement was preceded by government officials, congressional officials and other opponents who argued that the Paris Agreement was not in the U.S. interest. The agreement contains commitments from all countries to reduce their emissions and work together to adapt to the effects of climate change and calls on countries to strengthen their commitments over time. The agreement provides a way for developed countries to assist developing countries in their mitigation and adaptation efforts, while providing a framework for transparent monitoring and reporting on countries` climate goals. The Paris Agreement is the first universal and legally binding global climate agreement adopted at the Paris Climate Change Conference (COP21) in December 2015. Adapting NDCs to the 1.5°C limit will require a transformative increase in ambition for the period up to 2030 and beyond. .