Social Challenges of Climate Change

Social Challenges of Climate Change

Introduction

The United Nations set a goal for countries to limit the universal standard temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial level through their climate change agreement, which was signed within the 2015 Paris Agreement (Aronoff et al., 2019). According to Obergassel et al. (2016), this agreement will be achieved by the countries’ Intended National Determined Contributions (INDC), the primary reference to realize the target. Each country has its way of achieving its INDCs, but they can apply several ways, including reduction of carbon emission and technology transfer to developing countries.

There are three proposed ways for this agreement; technology transfer, financing, and capacity building. Technology Transfer refers to the process by which countries share knowledge and technology to reduce emissions. The idea is that wealthier countries with more developed economies can share their knowledge and technology with poorer countries in order to help them reduce their carbon footprints. It is a critical piece of the Paris Agreement, as it would allow developing countries to play a role in reducing climate change.

Financing is integral to achieving the goal of the Paris Agreement, as it will allow countries to finance climate-related projects and activities. It will be crucial for the achievement of the document’s bolder targets. The agreement states that the provision of scaled-up financial resources should aim to balance public and private finance.

On the other hand, Capacity Building is the process of building the technical and institutional capacity of countries to address climate change. The Paris Agreement uses the acronym CBDR+RC which stands for “Common But Differentiated Responsibility and Respective Capabilities.” It is a key principle of the Paris Agreement that states that developed countries must take the lead in reducing emissions while developing countries should continue to grow their economies in a sustainable way. The goal is to ensure that all countries share in the responsibility of fighting climate change while taking into account their different capacities and levels of development. (Obergassel et al., 2016). According to this theory, climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts will differ for developing and developed countries. Developed countries will need to continue to improve their institutional capacity and help developing countries strengthen theirs. Capacity building is essential for the success of the Paris Agreement.

However, according to the analysis by the Center for Climate Strategies, the technology transfer component of climate negotiations is highly uncertain in its ability to deliver results (Obergassel et al., 2016). There are no existing legal structures or financing mechanisms for this purpose, nor is there a body of experience to draw upon in developing these instruments (Sachs et al., 2019). According to the report, according to the Center for Climate Strategies, it may cause problems in terms of technology transfer. The capability to develop and deploy technologies exists primarily within industrial countries.

Conversely, developing country capabilities are highly constrained due to resource availability, capacity development needs, technical expertise, market access, and legal infrastructure (Obergassel et al., 2016). Based on this, it could not be easy to get technology to transfer smoothly and successfully, one of the critical aspects of reaching U.N. goals. Other problems come with this, such as developing countries’ capacity constraints and lack of finance. Nonetheless, international diplomacy strategy is still the best way to achieve the target despite these disadvantages.

Reasons for Selecting the Strategy and why it is Feasible

International diplomacy is the negotiation and discussion between countries to resolve disputes, agree on treaties or reach other resolutions. The international diplomacy strategy is the best way to achieve the goal because it has an extensive range of collaboration. If each country works alone, it would not be easy to achieve the target. However, countries can collaborate and exchange ideas to help reach the target with international diplomacy strategy. Obergassel et al. (2016) state that the Center for Climate Strategies report shows that Informal exchanges of information and perspectives about INDC implementation can be mutually beneficial, sharing best practices and facilitating adaptation.

Another reason why there is a need to adopt an international diplomacy strategy regarding climate change is developing a global carbon market. It would allow for both mitigation and adaptation. It could be part of future agreements made through international diplomacy (Aronoff et al., 2019).