German politicians, climate activists, scientists and the media celebrated the «historic» Paris climate agreement. Some business associations as well as activists have pointed out the shortcomings of the agreement, and most commentators have agreed that action needs to be taken. Below is a collection of reactions from Germany. Read the article here. The coalition agreement contains the general declaration of intent to strengthen the EU`s emissions trading scheme, but does not specify the measures to be taken on how it is to be implemented. Instead, an effective cross-sectoral CO2 pricing system is conditional on «being global to the extent possible, but in any case involving G20 countries.» This leaves a big door open: compliance with this condition is highly unlikely, as some G20 states such as Saudi Arabia or Russia are far from pursuing a climate policy. The Paris Agreement provides for a complete elimination of greenhouse gas emissions and, in particular, a phase-out of coal, the type of electricity generation with the highest CO2 emissions per kWh. Setting a date for the phasing out of coal in the course of 2018, as foreseen in the coalition agreement, is an essential step for a successful but long-awaited climate policy. It remains to be seen what date will be chosen. 2025 to 2030 would be compatible with the Paris Agreement, but not later, unless measures to remove CO2 from the atmosphere are implemented in parallel. On June 1, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the agreement. [24] Pursuant to Article 28, the earliest possible date for the effective withdrawal of the United States is November 4, 2020, with the Agreement having entered into force in the United States on November 4, 2016.
If it had chosen to withdraw from the UNFCCC, it could enter into force immediately (the UNFCCC entered into force for the United States in 1994) and a year later. On August 4, 2017, the Trump administration sent an official notice to the United Nations stating that the United States intended to withdraw from the Paris Agreement as soon as it was legally allowed to do so. [25] The formal declaration of withdrawal could only be submitted once the agreement would have been in force for the United States for 3 years in 2019. [26] [27] What do you think of the German plan to combat climate change? Your voice is also important! The 2050 Climate Action Plan will continue to be reviewed and updated in the future through public dialogue with the broad participation of civil society groups and the public. Discuss these and other topics with other alumni of the Alumniportal Deutschland community! The question of whether there is a «safe» level of greenhouse gas concentrations cannot be resolved directly, as this would require a value judgment on what poses an acceptable risk to human well-being and ecosystems in different parts of the world, as well as a more quantitative assessment of the risks and costs associated with the various effects of global warming. In general, however, the risk increases with the speed and magnitude of climate change. This would require the supply of electricity to be 100% renewable by 2030-2040, as the phasing out of nuclear power has been agreed and there are no activities for carbon capture and storage. Achieving a 100% renewable electricity sector at a later date would only be compatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement if the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere is developed in parallel.
However, these technologies are not yet mature and their availability uncertain and should be supported today to be available at scale when needed. This is not the case in Germany: the technology is highly controversial and is not included in the coalition agreement. The changes observed in recent decades are probably mainly due to human activities, but we cannot exclude that a significant part of these changes also reflect natural variability. Human-induced warming and associated sea-level rise are expected to continue into the 21st century. The IPCC`s conclusion that most of the warming observed over the past 50 years is likely due to rising greenhouse gas concentrations accurately reflects current thinking in the scientific community on the subject. [62] The new coalition agreement raises the current target for the share of renewable energy in the electricity mix from 50% to 65% in 2030. Compared to previous measures, this is a step in the right direction, but still not enough to be truly compatible with the Paris Agreement. In its statement to the twelfth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of 15 November 2006, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed the need to «prevent dangerous anthropogenic interventions in the climate system».
WMO agrees that «scientific assessments have increasingly confirmed that human activities are indeed changing the composition of the atmosphere, in particular by burning fossil fuels for energy production and transport». WMO agrees that «the current atmospheric concentration of CO2 has never been exceeded in the last 420,000 years»; and that IPCC assessments «provide the most reliable and up-to-date scientific advice». [101] However, one crucial point is missing: the coalition agreement does not contain a time horizon for the end of the internal combustion engine, as is currently being discussed in India (2030), France (2040), the Netherlands (2030) and Norway (2025). .