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17.12.2015 Feature Article

Three Countries Holding Key For After-Paris Climate Actions

Three Countries Holding Key For After-Paris Climate Actions
17.12.2015 LISTEN

While efforts from all the 196 countries who appended their signatures at global climate change Agreement in Paris, three are significant. China, the United States and India hold the key for global cooling not only through reducing greenhouse gas emissions but also through remaining true to their ‘leadership.’

These three leaders together cause roughly 40% of global carbon emissions – big enough to become global leaders in the right way towards a new and more sustainable energy future. As hosts for gigantic industries and huge populations, the three faced matchless challenges and opportunities to alter their own national energy trajectories while changing the entire world.

Notwithstanding the just concluded Paris climate assembly that reunited environmental leaders from all walks of life, China and US have even had bilateral talks over the past two years to embrace the goals for reducing emissions, raising energy efficiency standards and expanding renewable energy deployment in the near and long terms.

China is the world’s biggest polluter and despite recent emission reduction pledges, between China’s Xi and US’s Obama, the International Energy Agency (IEA) still see China’s carbon emissions continuing to mount in the scenario of Business As Usual (BAU).

However with China’s promises to steer away from a heavily industrial, carbon-intensive path to a more diversified, sustainable model, moreover with “incentivises of belting the streets of Beijing with electric vehicles, a significant impact will not only be created upon the lives of its 1.357 billion people (2013 statistics) but could reduce tons of carbon gushing into the skies of China, throughout the global atmosphere.

Analysis indicates that more than 13 million cars were sold in china in 2014 alone. This is a hundred times more than cars bought in the whole of Africa for five years. Unlike most developing countries cities, Beijing solely greets its creative dwellers throat-choking air pollution owing to large number of cars.

This is akin to India; the world’s third largest emitter whose 300 million people live without a glimpse of electricity cables at the horizon. However, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the just concluded Paris talks unveiled the Solar Alliance scheme, a group of more than 120 countries led by India to spread cheap solar technology across the globe by pooling policy knowledge and technology.

If implemented, the Indian’s energy ideology will create an enormous opportunity to drive smarter and more energy-efficient investment, including in the world’s best, low-carbon infrastructure and energy technologies. Working closely with the rest of the world, China and India could significantly increase renewable electricity deployment especially in Africa, due to their strong trade ties.

Paris having created a perfect rendezvous for ‘leading polluters’ also clinches as meet-up among them. Among them, U.S.A. who deliberated actively on the effective energy technologies, and the importance of short term goal adaptation. Such a move was also a boon to the global clean energy business which will imply automatic carbon cuts, a prerequisite to restoring the natural cooling system of our planet.

To make progress towards attaining a 100% renewable future by 2100, the US, China and India must direct more public and private resources to the climate challenge. Currently less than 2% of global public research and development dollars are spent on renewable energy – a paltry $5bn in total, a far cry from the ambitions expected in the post Paris era.

The experience shared between India, US and China during COP21 will remain critical in developing a global climate framework to keep temperature increases within the currently stipulated 1.5 degrees. But more critical again will be what happens after Paris and what will ensure a more unified effort to curb the universal pandemic in pace speedier than climate change’s.

If the US, China and India maintain the cooperative atmosphere through robust climate change strategies – including strong financing models – the “big three” can help unlock opportunities among poor countries and act as curtain raisers as they always do in polluting.

AUTHOR: Boaz Opio

Climate Tracker, Kampala Uganda

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