Will we always have Paris?

Will we always have Paris?

By: Garry Knox

A giant step has been made by the signing of the Paris agreement.  On Earth Day (22nd April) 171 national signed the agreement at the UN in New York; a record number for a new international treaty.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: “Paris will shape the lives of all future generations in a profound way – it is their future that is at stake.”

Speaking at the opening ceremony, he said the planet was experiencing record temperatures: “We are in a race against time. I urge all countries to join the agreement at the national level. Today we are signing a new covenant for the future.”

But how air tight is this agreement?  Most countries need to now take the agreement back to their homeland and have it ratified; this in itself could involve parliamentary discussion and debate.  This as you all know can take time.  And time is not something that we have a lot of if the prevention of rising temperatures is going to be effective.

Ratification is just one of the challenges ahead of us.