CC Strategies with Bernard Lonergan's Method contrasted with CCP of Trump.

This is a brief Essay Contrasting the Salients of Our Book Titled” Empowering Climate Change Strategies With Bernard Lonergan’s Method” With the Climate Change Policy of the newly elected President of US Mr. Donald Trump .

Paris Agreement: At the Paris climate conference ( COP21) in December 2015, 195 countries adopted the first ever universal , legally binding global climate deal. The agreement sets out a global action plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2⁰ C. The Paris agreement is a bridge between today’s policies  and climate neutrality before the end of the end of the century.

Governments agreed:

1-    A long term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2⁰ C above pre-industrial levels.

2-     To aim to limit the increase to 1.5⁰C, since this would significantly reduce risks and the impacts of climate change.

3-    On the need for global emissions to peak as soon as possible , recognizing that this will take longer for developing countries.

4-    To undertake rapid reductions thereafter in accordance with the best available science.

Before and during the Paris conference , countries submitted comprehensive national climate action plans ( (http://unfcc.int/focus/indc_portal/items/8766/.php). These are not yet enough to keep global warming below 2⁰C, but the agreement traces the way to achieving this target.

Governments agreed to:

1-    Come together every 5 years to set more ambitious targets  as required by science.

2-    Report to each other and the public on how well they are doing to implement their targets.

3-    Track progress towards the long term goal through a robust transparency and accountability system.

Governments agreed to:

1-    Strengthen society’s ability to deal with the impacts of climate change.

2-    Provide continued and enhanced international support for adaptation to developing countries .

The agreement also:

1-    Recognizes the importance of averting , minimizing  and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change.

2-    Acknowledges the need to cooperate and enhance the understanding , action and support  in different areas such as early warning systems , emergency preparedness and risk insurance.

Reference: https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/international/negotiations/paris/index_en.htm

How  a 2⁰C temperature increase could change the planet?

The projections are dire: glaciers will continue to shrink , heat waves will be more frequent and the oceans will get warmer and more acidic. A large majority of environmental scientists warn that if global temperatures  rise by more than 2⁰ C above preindustrial levels , the consequences will be severe , and in some cases irreversible. Before the International Conference on Climate Change set in Paris in December , the UN  recently released a series of sobering forecasts that project what physical , social and economic change can be expected at the end of the 21^st CE if we cross the 2⁰C and perhaps even 4⁰ C thresholds. There will be a severe, pervasive and irreversible impact if average temperature rise by 2⁰C. Two degrees , at first glance , might seem an unremarkable , modest uptick in the temperature scale. But climate scientists warn that , in an increasingly warming world , this measure in fact represents a magic number –a crucial tipping point.   Glaciers will melt , ocean levels will rise and crop yields will falter.

Reference: http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/2degrees/

President Elect Donald Trump’s Climate Change Policy:

Many in the environmental community are in despair about the prospect of a Trump presidency . Trump has promised to withdraw the US from the  Paris climate agreement , scrap President Obama’s Clean Power Plan  and Climate Action Plan , roll back environmental regulations and increase dirty energy. Former Vice President Al Gore is extending an olive branch to Trump to collaborate with him and his administration to ensure that the US Climate Change Policy remains in place. Otherwise , Trump’s presence in the WH could spell gloom and doom for the IPCC.  If Gore isn’t successful at convincing Trump of the catastrophic consequences of climate inaction , perhaps the Pentagon can get through to the next US’ next Commander in Chief . The US military calls climate change a ‘threat multiplier’  and is integrating climate change into its national defense strategies . The Pentagon is prioritizing climate change partly because of concerns that it could create conditions that foster extremism and terrorism ---an issue that Trump said he wants to address. Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel wrote in the forward to the Pentagon 2014 climate report  that’ while scientists are converging toward consensus  on future climate projections, uncertainty remains. But this cannot be an excuse for delaying action.’

Reference: http://inhabitat.com/al-gore-reaches-out-to-work-with-donald-trump-on-climate-change/

 Ijaz Durrani.