Page 12 - aruba-today-20201105

A12 science
Thursday 5 November 2020
U.S. formally exits Paris pact aiming to curb climate change

By FRANK JORDANS and said he favors signing the
SETH BORENSTEIN U.S. back up to the Paris
Associated Press accord. Because it was set
BERLIN (AP) — The United up as an executive agree-
States on Wednesday for- ment, not a treaty, con-
mally left the Paris Agree- gressional approval is not
ment, a global pact it required, Purvis said.
helped forge five years ago White House spokesman
to avert the threat of cata- Judd Deere said the ac-
strophic climate change. cord "shackles economies
The move, long threatened and has done nothing to
by U.S. President Donald reduce greenhouse gas
Trump and triggered by emissions." Should the U.S.
his administration a year continue to remain out-
ago, further isolates Wash- side the pact, it's likely that
ington in the world but has other countries will try to im-
no immediate impact on pose tariffs on U.S. imports
international efforts to curb — paving the way for fresh
global warming. trade wars.
Still, the U.N. agency that The European Union is cur-
oversees the treaty, France rently debating a package
as the host of the 2015 of proposals, known as the
Paris talks and three coun- EU New Green Deal, that
tries currently chairing the In this April 4, 2013, file photo, a mechanized shovel loads a haul truck with coal at the Spring would include a so-called
body that organizes them Creek coal mine near Decker, Mont. Associated Press carbon border adjustment,
— Chile, Britain and Italy aimed at preventing com-
— issued a joint statement The next planned round Paris is likely to reduce ef- vis, a former U.S. climate panies from dodging emis-
expressing regret at the of U.N. climate talks takes forts to mitigate, and there- negotiator in the admin- sions reduction efforts in the
U.S. withdrawal."There is no place in Glasgow, Scot- fore increase the number istrations of Presidents Bill 27-nation bloc by manu-
greater responsibility than land, in 2021. At present, of people who are put into Clinton and George W. facturing goods in places
protecting our planet and 189 countries have rati- a life-or-death situation be- Bush. "They're not negoti- without stringent measures.
people from the threat of fied the accord, which cause of the impacts of cli- ated. They're accepted." Germany, which current-
climate change," the said. aims to keep the increase mate change: this is clear The United States is the ly holds the EU's rotating
"The science is clear that in average temperatures from the science," said Cor- world's second biggest presidency, said it was im-
we must urgently scale up worldwide "well below" 2 nell University climate sci- emitter after China of heat- portant for Europe to lead
action and work together degrees Celsius (3.6 de- entist Natalie Mahowald, a trapping gases such as car- by example now that the
to reduce the impacts of grees Fahrenheit), ideally co-author of U.N. science bon dioxide and its contri- United States had left the
global warming and to en- no more than 1.5C (2.7 F), reports on global warming. bution to cutting emissions pact. German government
sure a greener, more resil- compared to pre-industrial The Paris accord requires is seen as important, but it's spokesman Steffen Seibert
ient future for us all. The Par- levels. A further six coun- countries to set their own not alone in the effort. In noted Wednesday that the
is Agreement provides the tries have signed, but not voluntary targets for reduc- recent weeks, China, Ja- EU aims to became the first
right framework to achieve ratified the pact. The world ing greenhouse gases such pan and South Korea have climate neutral continent
this." has already warmed 1.2 as carbon dioxide, and joined the European Union by 2050. Mahowald said
"We remain committed degrees Celsius (2.2 de- to steadily increase those and several other countries she worries that with the
to working with all U.S. grees Fahrenheit) since goals every few years. The in setting national dead- U.S. out, China which initial-
stakeholders and partners pre-industrial time, so the only binding requirement is lines to stop pumping more ly agreed to emission curbs
around the world to accel- efforts are really about pre- that nations have to accu- greenhouse gases into the in a two-nation agreement
erate climate action, and venting another 0.3 to 0.7 rately report on their efforts. atmosphere than can be with the Obama adminis-
with all signatories to ensure degrees Celsius (0.5 to 1.3 "The beauty of this system removed from the air with trations, and other nations
the full implementation of degrees Fahrenheit) warm- is that nobody can claim trees and other methods. may decide they don't
the Paris Agreement," they ing from now. they were bullied into some Democratic presidential have to do as much to cut
added. "Having the U.S. pull out of sort of plan," said Nigel Pur- candidate Joe Biden has carbon pollution.q
Iceberg floats toward South Georgia,

puts wildlife at risk

LONDON (AP) — A giant plies and returning to their young in time to prevent
iceberg the size of the U.S. offspring. them starving to death in
state of Delaware is floating Professor Geraint Tarling, an the interim,” he said.
toward the sub-Antarctic is- ecologist with the Antarctic The giant iceberg, named
land of South Georgia, rais- Survey, said it is the time of A68, has been floating
ing fears it could indirectly year when seals and pen- north since it broke off from
endanger young wildlife. guins are tending to pups the Larsen C ice shelf in July
The British Antarctic Sur- and chicks. The distance 2017, the Antarctic Survey
vey said Wednesday it is penguin and seal parents said.
concerned the iceberg have to travel to find food South Georgia, located
may run aground near the is important. in the southern Atlantic
island, preventing land- “If they have to do a big Ocean, is a British overseas
based marine predators detour, it means they’re not territory, q
from reaching food sup- going to get back to their