Paris — The 21st annual Conference of Parties (COP21) started today in Paris. During the gathering, close to 150 world leaders reunited to talk about what measures would be taken to slow down the pace of climate change.
The rise of the average temperature on Earth is already 0.85 degrees Celsius above the average present before mass gas emissions started. Researchers fear climate change might bring consequences such as a mega-drought that will last two decades -which would dry out around eight states of the U.S.- disproportionate forest fires, the extinction of a large quantity of animal and plant species, and the rise of sea levels driving people out of their homes.
Scientists believe the average global temperature will finally rise to 2 degrees Celsius in about 35 years, which would make the previous scenarios every time more plausible.
Since most scientists agree that carbon emissions are the main cause of global warming, representatives who attended the meeting in Paris are working on an agreement to diminish them.
The agreement was discussed last year in Lima, Peru, during the previous Conference of Parties. It contemplated that the demands of cutting gas emissions would be different for each nation.
This arrangement was made in consideration of those countries which are poor or still in developing process. It was stated that rich nations would help the ones with fewer resources to achieve the goals set in the conference, and also assist them if any natural catastrophe caused by climate change occur.
The details of the arrangement were left open, and they may be signed this year in the French capital.
Since China and the U.S. happen to be the nations responsible for most of greenhouse gas emissions, Chinese president Xi Jinping and U.S. mandatary Barack Obama held a meeting on Monday, after which Obama and Jinping agreed on the issue.
“Nowhere has our coordination been more necessary or more fruitful than the topic that we’re here to discuss during the Paris conference, and that is how the world can come together to arrest the pace of climate change,” the American leader said.
China has already announced a plan to cut down their greenhouse gas emissions, which imposes an extra cost to those companies that emit more gas than it is established; although some critics think that the country can’t keep up with its pledge, arguing that they have no certain way of measuring the emissions and law enforcement might be soft on the new requirements.
The COP21 will end next month on December 11.
Source: CNN