Simone Borg, Ambassador for Malta on Climate Change
Under the Paris Agreement, each party, including the US, submitted an initial pledge to curb greenhouse gases (GHGs). These pledges, which are legally binding, are nationally determined and so each party has the flexibility to reach the targets that are tailor-made to suit its domestic potential. The EU submitted a pledge to reduce at least 40 per cent of its GHGs collectively by the 28 member states, by 2030. The US domestic climate programme to implement the Paris Agreement centres around the Clean Power Plan.
The Paris Agreement came into force on November 4, 2016, less than a year after it was signed by 195 states in Paris and to date has 148 parties that have ratified it. The agreement garnered so much support because it allows each party to forge its own path towards contributing to the goals that curb GHGs and combat climate change. The Paris Agreement is the multilateral approach that would protect our planet from a temperature increase that would be catastrophic, according to the IPCC reports. It would also usher in much needed economic growth due mainly to technological innovation and job opportunities and investments in renewable energy generation, energy efficiency in all sectors including transport.
Furthermore, it is an unprecedented multilateral partnership because it does not only involve states but is also supported by companies and communities across the world, through the Global Climate Action Agenda to address a problem that threatens us all. The Paris Agreement is the first of its kind because the involvement of the private sector and civil society is institutionalised. It demonstrates our generation’s responsibility towards this and future generations.
The decision of the US to withdraw from the agreement, although expected because it was announced by President Trump during his electoral campaign, was met with dismay. It appears that this halts the US Clean Energy Plan to reduce GHG emissions in the US by 32 per cent from 2005 levels within 25 years. So far, however it is unclear which pathway the US will take and consequently it is difficult to predict what will happen within the US, as the withdrawal process from a treaty is complex and it is still far too early to pre-empt it. As Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete has said, there is room for the US to chart its own course within the Paris Agreement. So more clarity will be needed on the US position at this stage.
The US position will not affect the agreement from coming into effect in 2020
At any rate, the US position will not affect the agreement from coming into effect in 2020 because even without the US, the other parties’ emissions still constitute more than the required 55 per cent of global GHG emissions to set the agreement in motion. Even more significant is the other parties’ resolve that the agreement is irreversible and non-renegotiable, a sentiment expressed also by a vast number of multinationals and representatives of the private sector and civil society.
The EU has together with other parties, notably the People’s Republic of China, which is the world’s biggest GHG emitter, showed leadership and its commitment to forge ahead with reducing its emissions and in building a climate resilient society, according to its pledges under the agreement. It is a long process but one where all sectors of society are involved and where governments, the private sector and civil society will work in partnership to achieve the targets together.
Malta will be developing its Low Carbon Development Strategy in the coming months and a vision for this strategy is currently undergoing public consultation. Malta has the necessary legal framework under the Climate Action Act to address its obligations under the EU collective target as well as the institutional set-up through the Climate Action Board and Climate Action Fund to involve the private sector and civil society in the process.
Karol Aquilina, Opposition spokesman on The Environment and Climate Change
Malta is part of a community of nations especially vulnerable to climate change. Rising sea levels provide an existential threat to island communities and increased acidity in oceans would all but obliterate island economies, which rely heavily on tourism. Furthermore, clean renewable energy is no longer an expensive alternative to fossil fuels. Solar and wind energy innovations have advanced tremendously and are now cost-effective solutions.
The Paris Agreement marked a watershed in the global fight against climate change. It is crucial because it sets out a global action plan to keep global average temperatures from rising 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Considering the challenges we face as a global community, Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement was hugely disappointing and shortsighted. Yet, Malta’s reaction must be to rally around the international community and hold strong to the commitments it made in Paris in December 2015. No single man or country, however powerful, will deter the drive to combat climate change.
There are countless reasons why this position makes sense. First and fundamental is the science, which provides compelling evidence that our climate has been severely impacted by human activities. It is therefore incumbent on us to take measures to reduce such impact. Irreversible damage to our climate will not only impact us negatively during our lifetime but will hand down a truly hostile environment to our children and future generations.
No single man or country, however powerful, will deter the drive to combat climate change
It is therefore ironic, almost embarrassing, that the fight against climate change is being led primarily by our children, who return from school every day with renewed vigour to persuade us to take small actions to change the way we treat energy and water use. Our teaching community and NGOs, like Nature Trust, are doing a fantastic job in imparting climate education.
In light of all this, Trump’s rejection of the Paris Agreement must be seen for what it is: an attempt to pander to a powerful but waning fossil fuel lobby and a shortsighted political decision to temporarily appease American communities in the Rust Belt and western plains that have been hit hardest by the decline in fossil fuel extraction. Rather than finding long-term alternatives for these communities, Trump has sought a quick fix that does not address the root cause of the problem. Yet, for all Trump’s grandstanding, 13 US states and more than 200 cities have already pledged to abide by the goals set out in the Paris Agreement independently.
Closer to home, Malta has a very positive legacy to uphold in this field. Through key proponents like UN Ambassador Michael Zammit Cutajar, IMLI director David Attard, and former presidents Ċensu Tabone and Eddie Fenech Adami, Malta attracted international attention to the issue in the 1980s, when climate change was considered a fiction.
Malta was one of the first EU member states to ratify the Paris Treaty. We cannot let our guard down now. The 2016 edition of the European Environment Agency Trends and Projections in Europe Report highlights that Malta is not on track to achieve its targets with respect to greenhouse gas emission reductions, renewables and energy efficiency.
It needs to pull up its socks and adopt forceful measures to deal with climate change. Short-term political posturing by the government will get us nowhere. Malta needs a long-term action plan enjoying bipartisan support and the commitment of civil society to achieve the targets set out in the Paris Agreement.
Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement was undeniably a blow to decades of hard work. But the manner in which the rest of the global community has reacted gives cause for comfort. We can and should do much better than the US.
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