Almost three decades since the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change has been signed, but that was only the beginning of a long journey to strengthen the global response to climate change that resulted in adoption of Kyoto Protocol in 1997. Each agreement of world’s nations on climate change led to further commitments, where the Kyoto Protocol was amended in Doha Conference 2012.
“In Doha, we have crossed the bridge from the old climate regime to the new system. We are now on our way to the 2015 global deal,” said Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action commenting on the achievement of Doha Conference 2012.
The two-week Doha conference introduced a “second commitment” period from 2013 to 2020 which legally binds developed countries to emission reduction targets of at least 18%. Doha agreement was a significant step towards greater target achieved in Paris 2015 after very intense negotiations.
The withdrawal of the United States from the Paris deal in 2017 was great blow to the global response to climate change, but the arrival of the new administration corrected the course, as US is an influential power and one of the countries producing these emissions.
On Friday, the US officially rejoined the Paris Climate agreement; a step widely welcomed by scientists and foreign diplomats, and the UN; and this move is expected to reinvigorate the global fight against climate change and push towards drastic emissions cuts over the next decades.
Scientists have repeatedly stressed that global emissions need to drop by half by 2030 to prevent the most devastating impacts of global warming, a fact agreed on by nearly 200 countries which signed the 2015 pact to prevent catastrophic climate change. Therefore the withdrawal of Trump administration was a big backlash against the global campaign for cutting emissions.
Biden administration’s plan to chart a path toward net-zero US emissions by 2050, will speed up the deployment of clean energy and transition from fossil fuels.
The US policies and measures in this regard will remain the backbone of global fight against climate changes, as it represents world’s largest economy and major provider of climate aid to poorer nations. Some success in climate change mitigation, reduction in global emissions of greenhouse gases is there and Qatar which hosted the 18th Conference on Climate Change that contributed to the Paris agreement will remain committed to addressing the phenomenon of climate change.
Qatar has implemented several projects and initiatives to contribute to the efforts aimed at curbing air pollutants and reducing carbon dioxide emissions and increasing reliance on renewable energy sources.
