Other Voices: Paris Plus One

A (follow up) conversation with Christopher Field and Katherine Mach
Carnegie Science Department of Global Ecology
Former Members, UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The historic Paris Climate Change Agreement, agreed to at an international conference last December, will become a legal reality far earlier than experts had dared even hope. Thanks to its ratification by 81 countries (as of October 19), it will enter into force on November 4.

Now comes the hard part … The goals outlined in the agreement must be met. It is one thing to sign an agreement. It is far more difficult for any country to actually institute the policies required to reduce its carbon-dioxide emissions. Indeed, the global community will actually have to exceed what was promised at the Paris Conference if the world is to limit the warming of the planet to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, as the Paris agreement calls for.

One hopeful sign came with the recent signing of an international agreement to reduce the use of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, which are potent greenhouse gases notably used in air conditioners. Nearly 200 countries signed the agreement, slated to take effect in 2019.

At this month’s Other Voices forum we’ll look at the myriad challenges still facing us at the one-year anniversary mark. And the prospects for success.

We are honored to be joined for this discussion by two leading authorities on climate change, expert scientists who have participated directly in critical international bodies involved in the global climate change debate. Christopher Field and Katharine Mach were our guests last year just before they left to take part in the Paris Conference.