Air and Water
Robert Jamerson
Rasmussen College
The Paris Agreement is an agreement which was formed on 12th December, 2015 by parties of United Nation Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC) to fight climate change and accelerate and increase the activities and investments required for a maintainable low greenhouse gas emission to the environment. The Paris Agreement brings together all nations to fight climate change and develop adaptation measures to its effects and support developing countries to also combat climate change (Dimitrov, 2016). The goal is to intensify global response to climate change threat. In addition, the agreement focuses on increasing the capacity of countries to combat the effects of climate change and ensuring that there are finances for controlling the greenhouse gas emission and create climate resistant pathways.
US should commit to Paris Agreement as climate change can only be minimized through global action. It is important for US to commit to Paris Agreement because it is part of ensuring that other countries remain committed to the agreement. This agreement is for the best interest of Americans at it creates business opportunities and minimizes the financial risks associated with climate change. Staying in this agreements supports business interests. US business could be disadvantaged I foreign markets if other countries committed to Paris Agreement decide to take actions balance the scales by trading with businesses in countries which do not regulate carbon. Leaving Paris Agreement could risk business interest of the country in the global market. It also advances the strategic interests of the country by enhancing diplomacy with the other countries.
In the 21st century there is more air pollution which I believe will cause significant global warming. This is because there is a lot of air pollution due to aerosols and smoke released to the environment by industries. Carbon dioxide which is one of the greenhouse gases released to the environment continue to increase. Before the industrial revolution carbon dioxide level was around 280 parts per million. In the early 21st century the gas had increased its level to 384 parts per million and it is said to continue to rise at the rate of 2 parts per million each year (Hansen, Sato, Ruedy, Lacis & Oinas, 2000). Global warming takes place when carbon dioxide and other air pollutants accumulate in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation which has bounced back to the earth surface. These pollutants absorb the heat and cause the earth to become very hot.
Paris Agreement will have a significant impact because it has regulations which member countries should follow to control climate change. Its main goal is to prevent the global temperatures form raising above 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times (Hulme, 2016). Scientist have indicated that the world temperatures have to remain below 2 degrees Celsius in order to avoid catastrophic climate impacts. Also the Paris Agreement increases the ability to adopt to adverse effects of global warming and creating a resilient climate promoting low greenhouse gas emission. It also has a significant impact as it mobilizes funds to ensure that there is flow of finances to ensure that the policies of climate control are implemented.
As the earth’s temperatures rise, evaporation of water to the atmosphere increases, which increases the atmosphere’s ability to hold water. This may make some areas to dry while other it falls as precipitation. The rise in temperatures makes the glacier ice to melt at an extraordinary rate. Glaciers are important sources of fresh water in the globe. The glaciers are at high risk of disappearing in this century and once they disappear they cannot be restored and hence no water resource in areas which dependent on them. In areas where there is high precipitation high amount of rainfall occur which will lead to floods and this causes excess water runoff making the area to have less amount of water resources (Vörösmarty, Green, Salisbury & Lammers, 2000). Finally global warming has adverse impact on the hydraulic cycle which affects the water resources available on the earth’s service leading to low amounts of water level.
References
Dimitrov, R. S. (2016). The Paris agreement on climate change: Behind closed doors. Global Environmental Politics, 16(3), 1-11.
Hansen, J., Sato, M., Ruedy, R., Lacis, A., & Oinas, V. (2000). Global warming in the twenty-first century: An alternative scenario. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 97(18), 9875-9880.
Hulme, M. (2016). 1.5 C and climate research after the Paris Agreement. Nature Climate Change, 6(3), 222.
Vörösmarty, C. J., Green, P., Salisbury, J., & Lammers, R. B. (2000). Global water resources: vulnerability from climate change and population growth. science, 289(5477), 284-288.