Early Sunday morning in Lima, Peru, officials from 196 countries agreed to voluntarily reduce fossil fuel emissions that are blamed for climate change, Coral Davenport
reports for
The New York Times. "But the driving force behind the new deal was not the threat of
sanctions or other legal consequences. It was global peer pressure. And
over the coming months, it will start to become evident whether the
scrutiny of the rest of the world is enough to pressure world leaders to
push through new global warming laws from New Delhi to Moscow or if, as
a political force, international reproach is impotent."
As part of the deal, countries pledge to enact domestic laws to reduce emissions at home by March 31, 2015, Davenport writes. But the deal "does not include legally binding requirements
that countries cut their emissions by any particular amount." That means that countries can put together weak plans that do little to nothing to help the environment, or they can refuse to submit a plan at all, without fear of punishment.
(Global Carbon Project graphic)
The Obama administration "
has pledged that U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions will be 26 to 28 percent lower in 2025 than they were in 2005," Brad Plumer
reports for Vox. Meanwhile, the European Union plans to reduce its emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, and China
also intends to stop its emissions from rising past 2030 or so—and plans to ramp up its share of renewable energy."
But since the reductions are voluntary, each country can choose to do whatever they want, Plumer writes. "The
final Lima deal
simply says that countries 'may include' detailed information on how
and when they intend to cut emissions. (Or they may not.) There will be
no formal assessment of each country's plans. All that will happen is
that, in November 2015, the UN will tally up all the national pledges
and estimate how they stack up to the broader goal of preventing more
than 2°C of global warming. Otherwise, there's little monitoring or
verification."
It all came down to a simple word change that softened requirements, Rebecca Leber reports for
New Republic. "Now, most of the information for these plans will be voluntary,
rather than mandatory, because the text says countries 'may' include
detailed information, rather than 'shall.' At the core of the questions is whether the world will commit to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the century
—crucial
to limiting the worst effects of global warming. Other questions, like
how countries plan to increase climate change financing to $100 billion
annually, will be important to reaching a Paris agreement." (
Read more)
More than 150,000 surveys were recorded in 217 counties and 76 cities using data from November 2011. Among the questions asked were: How often do you discuss politics with your friends?; Do you trust people in your neighborhood?; Have you ever bought or boycotted a product or service because of the social or political values of the company that provides it?; Have you participated in a church, mosque, synagogue or other religious institution in the last year?; How much confidence do you have in the media?; How much confidence do you have in corporations?; How much confidence do you have in public schools?
