Everything you need to know about the climate summit

196 countries endorsed an unprecedentedly tough agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions in Paris. It became clear when the agreement will come into force, how much it will cost the world economy and what results it may lead to.

1. Universal unanimity

Many experts stress that regardless of the results achieved by the implementation of the ambitions declared by the Paris Agreement, the main result has already been achieved.

Such can be considered the total unity of all countries of the world in relation to the fact that global warming is really happening, and that it is a consequence of the negative impact of man on the Earth’s climate.

Earlier, the authorities of many states openly expressed doubts that global warming does take place, or that it is a consequence of human activity.

2. Great expectations

To the middle XXI century, the growth of average annual temperature should not exceed two degrees Celsius, and the optimal task is the figure 1,5 degrees. Stop the rise in temperature on Earth now is not possible. But to make the temperature rise no more than this figure is quite possible. At least that’s what the 19 chapters say.6 world states that have approved the agreement.

In order to achieve this, it is required to remain in the ground, and not burn in the atmosphere 7,04 billion tons of carbon dioxide.

In general, this should lead to the fact that in the second half XXI For centuries, the emissions of greenhouse gases produced by mankind will be brought back to the volume that nature is capable of processing without harming itself.

According to the Paris Agreement, this will be considered an acceptable result.

3. Big Money

The agreement provides developing countries with an incredible amount of $100 billion to combat harmful emissions into the atmosphere. Annually. Moreover, this figure is defined as the “floor” and not the “ceiling” in the area of ​​financing the fight against global warming.

These funds will be used to help developing countries translate their energy from fossil fuels to "green" energy sources.

It is expected that real cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by third world countries will begin in 2020. Every five years, the terms of the Paris Agreement will be revised to clarify the figures, including adjustments to the financial assistance of the developed world to developing countries.

4. Radical measures

In addition to the traditional and long-discussed measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (environmental industrial technologies, alternative energy sources, mass transition to electric vehicles), serious consideration is being given to the so-called negative emission.

This term refers to the increase, using artificial methods, of nature’s ability to process more greenhouse gases than humanity produces. The two most promising methods involve increasing the area of ​​the “lungs of the planet” - forests - and using technologies that imitate their work. Simply put, they “suck” carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and pump it into underground storage facilities. These technologies are still far from perfect, but according to some experts, they can be brought to fruition in the foreseeable future, and the cost of removing one ton of greenhouse emissions from the atmosphere can drop to $ 100.

5. Pending signatures

The Greens of the entire planet greeted the Paris Agreement with enthusiasm. However, it is too early to rejoice. The agreement still has to go a long and thorny path of ratification in the legislative bodies of the signatories.

However, the UN decided to toughly fight with bureaucracy and chicane, bearing in mind that some countries did not hurry to ratify the Kyoto Protocol almost until the moment when its action was completed.

The UN gave signatories to the term up to April 21 of 2017. If by that time the agreement is ratified by at least 55% of the states that signed it in Paris, it will officially enter into force.

Previously "Forum" described expectations from the climate summit in Paris and called it more political than climatic.