Pacific islands to kick off global climate deal, Australia yet to ratify in Parliament

PACIFIC – The United Nations has warned the world is not on track to achieve temperature goals set in the landmark Paris climate change agreement.

KEY POINTS:

- Paris agreement first came into force in the Pacific.

- UN says current projections mean emissions cut target will be missed.

- Australia has not yet ratified the Paris deal.

The agreement came into effect at midnight, with small island nations in the Pacific – many of them in danger of rising seas from global warming – kicking off the rolling start.

Australia has signed the Paris Agreement, but will not be legally bound by it until it is ratified by parliament.

But as the agreement came into effect, the United Nations was warning that greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 would exceed by 12 billion to 14 billion tonnes what is needed to keep global warming to an internationally agreed target.

The annual UN Environment report analysed countries’ current pledges for emission cuts and said they were not sufficient.

Emissions in 2030 are expected to reach 54-56 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, far above the level of 42 billion tonnes needed to have a chance of limiting global warming to 2°C this century.

Even if the pledges on cutting emissions under the Paris agreement are fully implemented, predicted 2030 emissions could put the world on track for a temperature rise of 2.9°C to 3.4°C this century, the report said.

However UN Environment’s chief scientist Jacqueline McGlade told reporters at a briefing that the emissions gap could “absolutely” be filled.

The 2015 Paris Agreement formally started on November 4 after winning support from major greenhouse gas emitters led by China and the United States, but legal texts do not specify a time zone where it begins.

As a result, it came into effect first in the Pacific region, home to low-lying island states on the front lines of storm surges, disruptions to rainfall and a creeping rise in sea levels.

The eastern islands of Kiribati were among the first, followed by countries such as Tonga, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands.

Going into effect in the Pacific “which is home to vulnerable island nations who have all ratified the agreement, makes for one of those serendipitous moments in history,” Thoriq Ibrahim, Environment Minister of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, said.

Ibrahim will chair the alliance of small island states at talks among almost 200 nations in Marrakesh from November 7 to 18 to try to find ways to implement the Paris Agreement, partly by working out rules for an often vague text.

The Paris Agreement seeks to wean the world economy off fossil fuels in the second half of the century and limit a rise in average world temperatures to “well below” 2°C above preindustrial times.

Australia’s stance on climate change and coal puts it increasingly at odds with its Pacific island neighbours, writes Wesley Morgan of the University of the South Pacific.

Australia’s government has said that it tabled the Paris Agreement at the first opportunity after the election, and the ratification is now in its final stages, with the agreement before the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties.

“It’s unlikely that Australia will have ratified the agreement prior to the global talks starting, which is unfortunate,” chief executive of the Climate Council Amanda McKenzie said.

“Part of the important thing in Australia’s contribution to the international movement on climate change is that we’re trying to establish some momentum.”

- ABC/Reuters