The Climate Has Changed

The news channels were a breath of fresh air today, reporting on a positive milestone that would give us hope for the future: 195 nations accepted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development aka the Paris Agreement.

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It was not just that this agreement to take climate change seriously had been agreed upon, but also that it gained plenty of mainstream coverage. Whether the Agreement will be completely legally binding or not, it's already effected change: mindsets have altered, setting off a chain reaction for more (good) changes to take place.

Some of the highlights of the Agreement are:

That it acknowledges that climate change is a common concern of humankind. Parties are encouraged to, when taking action to address climate change, respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights, the right to health, the rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, children, persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable situations and the right to development, as well as gender equality, empowerment of women and intergenerational equity
To keep the global temperature rise this century to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, 1.5 degrees Celsius if possible
That participating countries should do a global stocktake every five years (Article 14)
The countries will be sharing information, good practices, experiences and lessons learned, including, as appropriate, as these relate to science, planning, policies and implementation in relation to adaptation actions

In case you'd like to read more, there are also a lot of sound reports and analysis on the Agreement, as well as plenty of supporting information:

Sustainability, PoliticsCeline AsrilDecember 14, 2015Sustainability, Climate Change, GreenComment

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The Climate Has Changed