UN - CLIMATE CHANGE COP 21 2015

  THE CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCES OF THE PARTIES ARE SUPPOSED TO UNITE THE PLANET AGAINST GLOBAL WARMING - BUT ARE THEY WORKING?

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DAILY MAIL EARTH DAY 2016 - Leonardo DiCaprio told world leaders at the United Nations on Friday that they are the 'last best hope' for saving the planet from the disastrous effects of global warming.

The Academy Award winner urged them to leave fossil fuels 'in the ground where they belong' as he spoke before the Paris Agreement for Climate Change Signing.

'We can congratulate each other today, but it will mean absolutely nothing' if you return to your countries and don't take action to implement the deal, DiCaprio said.

The 41-year-old actor's impassioned speech at the UN Headquarters in New York fell on Earth Day.

'Our planet cannot be saved unless we leave fossil fuels in the ground where they belong,' DiCaprio said. 

DiCaprio, who was designated a UN Messenger of the Peace in 2014, called on the countries to do more than they have agreed upon. 

'Now is the time for bold, unprecedented action. My friends, look at the delegates around you, it is time to ask each other, which side of history will you be on?' 

Last year was the hottest on record and average temperatures have already climbed by almost 1 degree Celsius. Scientific analyses show the initial set of targets that countries pledged before Paris don't match the agreement's long-term goal to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial times.

'No more talk, no more excuses, no more 10-year studies,' DiCaprio said.

'This is the body that can do what is needed, all of you sitting in this very hall,' he added. 'The world is now watching. You will either be lauded by future generations or vilified by them.' 

DiCaprio opened his speech with a comparison to former president Abraham Lincoln and his stance on Slavery.

He said: 'President Abraham Lincoln was also thinking of bold action 150 years ago when he said: "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present, as our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves and then we shall save our country".

'He was speaking in front of congress to discuss slavery. Everyone knew it had to end, but no one had the political will to stop it. Remarkably his words ring as true today when applied to the defining crisis of our time: climate change.'

He said an 'upheaval, a massive change' is required by everyone in order to save the planet from its current state.

'One that leads to a new collective consciousness, a new collective evolution of the human race, inspired and enabled by a sense of urgency from all of you,' he said. 

When he finished his speech, he brought climate change back to the words Lincoln said so many years ago.

'Lincoln's words still resonate to all of us here today: "We will be remembered in spite of ourselves,' he said. 

'"The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the last generation. We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of Earth",' DiCaprio added as he continued to quote Lincoln. 'That is our charge now.

'You are the last, best hope of Earth. We ask you to protect it. Or we and all living things we cherish, are history.'

The Paris Agreement, the world's response to hotter temperatures, rising seas and other impacts of climate change, was reached in December as a major breakthrough in UN climate negotiations, which for years were slowed by disputes between rich and poor countries over who should do what. Under the agreement, countries set their own targets for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The targets are not legally binding, but countries must update them every five years.

The agreement will enter into force once 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions have formally joined it. Maros Sefcovic, the energy chief for another top emitter, the 28-nation European Union, has said the EU wants to be in the 'first wave' of ratifying countries.

French President Francois Hollande, the first to sign the agreement, said Friday he will ask parliament to ratify it by this summer. France's environment minister is in charge of global climate negotiations. Leaders from 171 countries congregated at the United Nations Headquarters to sign the landmark agreement on Friday.

It is unknown how DiCaprio traveled to the UN conference, having been spotted at Coachella in California just last week. The actor is known for his private-jet travels.

2015: COP 21/CMP 11, Paris, France - United Nations Climate Change Conference and Paris Agreement

The COP 21 was held in Paris from 30 November to 12 December 2015. Negotiations resulted in the adoption of the Paris Agreement on 12 December, governing climate change reduction measures from 2020. The adoption of this agreement ended the work of the Durban platform, established during COP17. The agreement will enter into force (and thus become fully effective) on November 4, 2016. On October 4, 2016 the threshold for adoption was reached with over 55 countries representing at least 55% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions ratifying the Agreement.

THE PARIS AGREEMENT

The Paris Agreement (Accord de Paris), Paris climate accord or Paris climate agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020. The language of the agreement was negotiated by representatives of 196 parties at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Paris and adopted by consensus on 12 December 2015. As of November 2017, 195 UNFCCC members have signed the agreement, and 170 have become party to it. The Agreement aims to respond to the global climate change threat by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

In the Paris Agreement, each country determines, plans and regularly reports its own contribution it should make in order to mitigate global warming. There is no mechanism to force a country to set a specific target by a specific date, but each target should go beyond previously set targets.

In June 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw the United States from the agreement, causing widespread condemnation both internationally and domestically. Under the agreement, the earliest effective date of withdrawal for the U.S. is November 2020.

In July 2017, France’s environment minister Nicolas Hulot announced France’s five-year plan to ban all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 as part of the Paris Agreement. Hulot also stated that France would no longer use coal to produce electricity after 2022 and that up to €4 billion will be invested in boosting energy efficiency.

COP - What’s it all about?

The international political response to climate change began at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, where the ‘Rio Convention’ included the adoption of the UN Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This convention set out a framework for action aimed at stabilising atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to avoid “dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.” The UNFCCC which entered into force on 21 March 1994, now has a near-universal membership of 195 parties.

The main objective of the annual Conference of Parties (COP) is to review the Convention’s implementation. The first COP took place in Berlin in 1995 and significant meetings since then have included COP3 where the Kyoto Protocol was adopted, COP11 where the Montreal Action Plan was produced, COP15 in Copenhagen where an agreement to success Kyoto Protocol was unfortunately not realised and COP17 in Durban where the Green Climate Fund was created.

1995 COP 1, BERLIN, GERMANY
1996 COP 2, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1997 COP 3, KYOTO, JAPAN
1998 COP 4, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
1999 COP 5, BONN, GERMANY
2000:COP 6, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS
2001 COP 7, MARRAKECH, MOROCCO
2002 COP 8, NEW DELHI, INDIA
2003 COP 9, MILAN, ITALY
2004 COP 10, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
2005 COP 11/CMP 1, MONTREAL, CANADA
2006 COP 12/CMP 2, NAIROBI, KENYA
2007 COP 13/CMP 3, BALI, INDONESIA
2008 COP 14/CMP 4, POZNAN, POLAND
2009 COP 15/CMP 5, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
2010 COP 16/CMP 6, CANCUN, MEXICO
2011 COP 17/CMP 7, DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA
2012 COP 18/CMP 8, DOHA, QATAR
2013 COP 19/CMP 9, WARSAW, POLAND
2014 COP 20/CMP 10, LIMA, PERU
2015 COP 21/CMP 11, Paris, France
2016 COP 22/CMP 12/CMA 1, Marrakech, Morocco
2017 COP 23/CMP 13/CMA 2, Bonn, Germany
2018 COP 24/CMP 14/CMA 3, Katowice, Poland
2019 COP 25/CMP 15/CMA 4, Santiago, Chile - Madrid, Spain

2020 COP 26/CMP 16/CMA 5, Glasgow, Scotland

2021 COP 26/ Glasgow, Scotland 1-12 November

2022 COP 27/ Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, 6-18 November

2023 COP 28/ Expo City, Dubai, UAE, 30 Nov - 12 Dec

2024 COP 29/ Absheron, Baku, Azerbaijan 11 - 24 November

DESERTIFICATION COP HISTORY

BIODIVERSITY COP HISTORY

COP OUT - Was all the hard work of John Kerry a feint during the Obama administration to cajole an international commitment that the USA had no intention of following through? We doubt that very much. More likely is that Hicksville greed took hold as US citizens during the last election as they grasped this opportunity to preserve their oil guzzling, fast food, lifestyles for another four (or maybe eight) years, at the expense of the more responsible countries who made pledges they believe in. In our view that is short term-ism that is likely to rebound on the United States in terms of energy security in particular, but may also have a world trade deficit if such a thing as Carbon Tax Analysis Certificates were applied to goods produced anywhere in the world, such that energy used in production became a buying and transportation license issue. If that were the case, the US might have difficulty exporting cars such as Jeeps, and munitions. Not that that would be a bad thing for the arms trade. Anything produced in such a high carbon emitting country could become difficult to sell internationally - with potential bans on transporting climate unfriendly products.

CONTACTS

The UNFCCC secretariat is located at two different locations.

Main office
UNFCCC secretariat
UN Campus
Platz der Vereinten Nationen 1
53113 Bonn
Germany

Haus Carstanjen Office
Martin-Luther-King-Strasse 8
53175 Bonn
Germany

Mailing address
UNFCCC secretariat
P.O. Box 260124
D-53153 Bonn
Germany

Phone: (49-228) 815-1000
Fax: (49-228) 815-1999
Web: http://unfccc.int 

info@climateactionprogramme.org
http://www.climateactionprogramme.org