What is Climate Change Policy Now Trying to Achieve?
Almost all advocates of international climate change policy hope and expect that the Climate Change Conference to be held in Paris in November–December 2015 will reach an agreement to reduce global anthropomorphic greenhouse gas emissions. Yet more than 25 years of international climate change policy has failed to reach such an agreement; emissions, far from having been reduced, have greatly increased. In the author's view, no such agreement will be reached in Paris. Anticipating this, Lord Stern, a highly influential figure in international climate change policy, has restated the case for continuing with this policy while relinquishing the objective of reaching such an agreement, though it had previously been claimed that this was essential to ‘save the world’. Advocating the continuation of climate change policy while disavowing a formerly acknowledged condition of its success seems to represent a further stage in the abandonment of rationality in climate change policy formulation.
Social environmental vulnerability approach on the COVID-19 epoch: a case study in Blumenau (SC), Brazil
There is a strong correlation between poverty indicators and the occurrence of diseases associated with environmental inequalities; therefore, it is highly necessary to explore the linkages between these inequalities and COVID- 19. This article describes a research designs made to study aspects of social environmental vulnerability that underlies the linkages between inequalities and COVID-19. This article aims to address this linkage. The objective is to explore aspects of social environmental vulnerability that underlies a case study at Blumenau, Brazil. The analysis is based on the critical question: Is there a relationship between social environmental vulnerability and COVID-19 at Blumenau? In Blumenau, where the study was carry out, the poor people are more likely to be affected from the risks arising out of the location of their homes, and this situation increases their vulnerability to floods, landslides, lack of water and exposure to open sewage. The methodology was divide into two steeps: (i) analysis of multi-temporal spread pattern of COVID-19 around the site; and (ii) analysis of the social environmental vulnerability and COVID-19 relationship. Results have shown that in Blumenau, there is a relationship between social environmental vulnerability and COVID-19. It can be said that COVID-19 emphases’ the social environmental situation in Blumenau. Based on our experience, we contend that an effective way to examine the linkages between inequalities and COVID-19 is to employ concepts and theories drawn from existing research to support guidelines, indicators and methods.
The road to Paris and beyond
Headline issue: Effective international cooperation can help the world develop along a 2°C pathway and adapt to the climatic changes already locked-in as a result of past and ongoing greenhouse gas emissions. It can also help countries seize the many opportunities and benefits associated with the transition to a low-carbon economy. The United Nations climate change conference in Paris at the end of 2015 is an important opportunity to advance toward those objectives. The French Government, which will host the Paris summit, has indicated that it will seek a ‘Paris Climate Alliance’ as an outcome, based on four aspects: A universal legal agreement, applicable to all countries National commitments covering control and reduction of emissions A financial and technology aspect aimed at scaling up finance and technology for climate change mitigation and adaptation while guaranteeing international solidarity with the most vulnerable countries An ‘Agenda of Solutions’ aimed at implementing accelerators to ensure more ambitious progress, above and beyond binding commitments. The legal agreement that is emerging is a hybrid agreement, involving a mix of centralised and decentralised, binding and non-binding elements. The agreement will be associated with ‘intended nationally determined contributions’ (INDCs) by countries to restrain and reduce emissions, the achievement of which will be non-binding internationally. The agreement is also likely to involve centralised, common processes to ensure the transparency of countries’ efforts and. It is widely hoped, that the agreement will also include a review-and-revision process for countries to increase the ambition of their commitments regularly over time (e.g. every five years). Yet, many obstacles remain on the road to Paris, and on the longer pathway toward an effective and equitable response to climate change. Key findings: International climate cooperation should be organised around: The long-term objective of achieving net zero emissions within the second half of this century Associated medium-term goals including the decarbonisation of electricity by mid-century and, well before mid-century, the phasing out of unabated coal-fired electricity generation It is appropriate to interpret the principle of equity (contained in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) of “common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities” (CBDR) in a dynamic, collaborative, and opportunity-focused way. The Paris agreement should contain dynamic elements that enable ambition to be raised over time, including a regular (e.g. five-yearly) review-and-revision process. Countries should be encouraged and assisted to develop domestic institutions, laws, policies, and political configurations that are conducive to: Increasing ambition Seizing opportunities for better growth Implementing commitments effectively Around US$6 trillion per year will need to be spent globally, and mostly in developing and emerging market countries, on infrastructure over the next 15 years. The climate finance being mobilised through the UNFCCC’s Paris process should be structured in a way that is complementary to the Sustainable Development Goals finance. International coordination on low-carbon innovation should include: Coordinated scale-up of national expenditure on research and development New public-private regional networks for the development and demonstration of new and locally-adapted technologies and processes Scaled-up public venture capital for innovative clean technology firms Better global coordination of clean energy deployment support