Frank Bainimarama is prime minister of Fiji.
MADRID — When the world agreed to the landmark Paris climate agreement in 2015, there was a surge of optimism that we had finally found a blueprint for tackling climate change on a global level.
In reality, a lot of the hard work lay ahead. We left much to be decided in terms of the how the agreement would work in practice.
Now, as leaders meet in Madrid for the U.N. Climate Change Conference, we are finally on the verge of establishing a full set of rules that will help countries reach the ambitious climate targets we set in the Paris Agreement and reduce their emissions.
But we’re not there yet.
If done right, these rules could also incentivize and scale up the protection and restoration of forests and ecosystems.
Depending on how those rules are designed, they will either protect the environmental integrity of the Paris Agreement or severely undercut it.
One contentious issue in particular could severely hamper our ability to respond effectively to climate change: double counting.
If carbon markets are put in place, countries that struggle to meet their emission-reduction target will be able to purchase credits from other nations that have already cut their emissions deeper than they had promised.
The result can be a win-win for everyone involved — both countries meet their climate commitments, the overachiever is financially rewarded for going above and beyond, and the world moves a step closer to avoiding catastrophic climate change.
While the forest and land sector can deliver about a third of the climate solutions we need through 2030, it only receives a tiny amount of funding compared to other areas Christophe Gateau/dpa/AFP via Getty Images
But what if the rules were manipulated so that both countries get credit for the same emission reductions? This kind of double counting makes both countries look good on paper, but you can’t fool Mother Nature; giving both countries credit for one reduction wouldn’t result in a true reduction to the amount of greenhouse gases warming the atmosphere.
Such creative accounting practices would be a poison pill for the Paris Agreement, letting countries off the hook from taking meaningful climate action.
Our collective ambition still falls well short of what’s needed to limit global warming to the bounds we all agreed to in Paris. We owe it to ourselves and the future generations to be frank about this. If we allow the numbers to be fudged, we would be setting ourselves on a dangerous path to seriously under-deliver on the action we need.
However, if we insist on designing these rules well, they could help reduce emissions at lower cost while at the same time generating the financing that is desperately needed across the developing world to support the transition to renewable energy and cleaner technologies.
If done right, these rules could also incentivize and scale up the protection and restoration of forests and ecosystems. While the forest and land sector can deliver about a third of the climate solutions we need through 2030, it only receives a tiny amount of funding compared with other areas. A robust carbon market can also offer a valuable source of financing for vulnerable countries to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
We can’t put the fate of the world on their shoulders just yet. Today’s leaders need to pull their weight first.
The whole purpose of the Paris Agreement is to inspire greater action so we can sufficiently tackle the climate crisis and limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial age. If we carry on spewing carbon pollution into the air, we will steal the world’s beauty — and guarantee a much more difficult life for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
To protect future generations, we must first protect the Paris Agreement. In Madrid, countries must ensure that the rules they negotiate do not water down the accord, but rather, motivate countries to step up climate action and create a future full of hope for everyone.
Young people’s activism in response to the climate emergency has inspired many of us. But we can’t put the fate of the world on their shoulders just yet. Today’s leaders need to pull their weight first.