At 18.27 GMT, a global climate change deal was agreed. It appears that world leaders have pulled us back from the abyss by striking a good deal to avoid catastrophic climate change. Here, in his final postcard from Paris, the RSPB's Principal Climate Change Advisor, John Lanchbery, offers his verdict on the deal.
------------------Au revoir Paris by John LanchberyThis afternoon in Paris, 196 nations concluded a new global climate change agreement (here). It will come into effect in 2020.There is much to welcome in the agreement, especially its target which is to hold the global average temperature “well below 2 degrees C” and to try to limit the increase to less than 1.5 degres C above pre-industrial levels. It also aims to increase the ability to adapt to the adverse climate change and make financial flows “consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development”. All good stuff especially when you remember that with every degree rise in temperature 10% of world's species could be committed to extinction.The deal recognises the importance of the conservation and enhancement of sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases, or forests and peatlands to you and me. Especially welcome in the climate agreement is that it stresses the importance of “ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, including oceans, and the protection of biodiversity”.As with all agreements, however, the devil is in the detail. It is not clear, for example, that the provisions laid down in the agreement are strong enough to ensure that the world really will stay below the temperature targets that it sets. Neither is it clear that enough money will flow to help poorer nations to both reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.As always, the RSPB and BirdLife have been focussed obtaining sound provisions on land use and forests - because that it where the wildlife is (74% of the world's threatened birds are found in tropical forests). The agreement has a good section on the need for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests, etc., so-called REDD+. This should help to ensure that more money is available to conserve forests, especially tropical forests.
Another outcome from Paris is that negotiations will begin on new (and hopefully better) rules for accounting for emissions and removals from land use and forests. We have been banging on about this for several years now and things are going to happen, at last.So, the agreement is far from perfect but there is some good stuff in it. Importantly, it sets up processes that can make it better over time, such as the work on land use rules.Whilst the agreement was being concluded, all of the theatre that makes major climate change meetings so spectacular has closed down. Everyone is tired and many of the 20,000 or so people who filled the place for two weeks have already left.The huge and spectacular country pavilions, such as the US, French, Indonesian and Moroccan ones have been taken down like stage sets, together with BirdLife’s slightly less spectacular stand and the traditional catering booth selling raclette and mulled wine. Le Bourget has returned to being a normal Paris suburb on the RER line to Charles de Gaulle airport – although the Christmas lights have gone up now.
John returns from Paris tomorrow, and I want to take this moment to thank him and the Birdlife International community for ensuring the voices of nature were heard in these negotiations.
For now, félicitations et au revoir.