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Climate deal a first step towards saving earth

All's well that ends well. A climate deal has seen the light of day after protracted negotiations stretching over years. Two questions confront us. One is how good is the deal, which has been termed by many at best as a modest one? The second one is, will the nations make good on pledges made?

After a top-down approach of imposing targets on nations has failed, countries have voluntarily come forward with plans for cutting carbon footprint. All these self-declared pledges have been assembled into a pact so that no nation can now complain of unfair treatment. So far, so good. But are these pledges enough to keep the globe warming beyond 2°C when compared to pre-industrial levels. That does not seem to be the case.  Even if Paris pledges are kept in toto by all nations, the earth will be hotter by 2.7°C by 2100. But the Paris deal provides for 'ratcheting up' emission cuts at later conferences to realise the ultimate objective. The final text says every five years nations should come up with further plans of boosting their commitments. This shows the Paris deal has postponed a problem that it has failed to solve at the moment. So in a way it is not a comprehensive deal. It has to be amplified by future agreements.

The second issue is with setting up a mechanism to verify if nations are complying with the commitments made. Despite some signals that the new treaty will be legally binding, there is no clarity yet on the issue. No mechanisms have been spelt out to enforce the obligations. At the best, the document remains an eloquent expression of good intentions.

One silver lining is the developed nations' pledge to provide $100 billion a year by 2020 to help developing societies transition towards a greener economy. This should go a long way in helping vulnerable nations, especially island states, to mitigate the effects of the rise in sea levels.