Many of the world's leading climate scientists and activists are reacting favorably to the COP21 climate agreement, with the consensus being that it is truly historic and a huge step forward, yet only the beginning.
Joe Romm is the Founding Editor of Climate Progress:
In a literally world-changing deal that was almost unthinkable just a year ago, some two hundred leading nations unanimously embraced a plan that will leave most of the world’s fossil fuels unburned.
As part of a concerted effort to avoid catastrophic climate change, the world unanimously committed to an ongoing effort of increasingly deeper emissions reductions aimed at keeping total warming “to well below 2°C [3.6°F] above preindustrial levels.” The full text of this Paris Agreement goes even further, with the parties agreeing “to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change.”
Already, global coal use appears to be plateauing, and global oil use will likely follow suit in the next decade as countries ratchet up their CO2 targets.
Katherine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist and associate professor of political science at Texas Tech University, where she is director of the Climate Science Center. She coined the term "global weirding" and was a breakout star in climate communication, for her participation in the Emmy Award-winning documentary on climate change, Years Of Living Dangerously.
Michael Mann is director of Penn State University's Earth System Science Center, and fearless against those who not only deny the science but would destroy scientists:
Though the resulting agreement is modest in scale, by bringing the world together, it sends a clear signal to global energy markets: The age of fossil fuels is ending, and a new clean global energy economy is taking its place. While past agreements left the door open for continued reliance on fossil fuels by emerging economies like those of China and India, the Paris agreement makes it clear that we must all join together in a common goal -- averting dangerous climate change.
Finally, global energy policy is beginning to reflect the clear message of climate change research. We have only one atmosphere, shared by developed and developing countries. We have only one planet, and the steady upward march in greenhouse gas concentrations and the consequent warming of the planet and attendant rise in sea level, expansion of drought and increase in destructive extreme weather events will spare none from its impacts. With the Paris summit, we finally have an agreement that holds all countries accountable for taking action on climate.
Al Gore sees it as transformational while also emphasizing the need to build on it :
“This universal and ambitious agreement sends a clear signal to governments, businesses, and investors everywhere: the transformation of our global economy from one fuelled by dirty energy to one fuelled by sustainable economic growth is now firmly and inevitably under way,” the former senator said in a statement.
“No agreement is perfect, and this one must be strengthened over time, but groups across every sector of society will now begin to reduce dangerous carbon pollution through the framework of this agreement,” said Gore.
Gore was joined by Paul Polman, Unilever’s chief executive, who said investors would now have more confidence to address the risks of having fossil fuel assets on their books.
Stefam Rahmstorf is Head of Earth System Analysis at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research:
Tim McDonnell and James West wrote in Mother Jones:
"Countries have united around a historic agreement that marks a turning point in the climate crisis," said Jennifer Morgan, global director of the climate program at the World Resources Institute. "This is a transformational long-term goal that should really send clear signals into the markets" about the imminent decline of fossil fuel consumption. Delegates agreed to keep warming "well below" 2 degrees C—but the actual emissions cuts promised by countries won't be enough to do that.
The deal is expected to be a boon for the clean energy industry, as developing and developed countries alike increase their investments in wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources. Early in the talks, a high-profile group of billionaire investors, including Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, promised to pour money into clean energy research, and a critical component of the agreement is a commitment for developed countries to transfer clean technologies to developing countries.
"If we needed an economic signal from this agreement, I think this is rather remarkable," said Michael Jacobs, a senior advisor at New Climate Economy.
Simon Donner is Associate Professor of Climatology at the University of British Columbia:
Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo see it as inadequate but a clear step forward:
It sometimes seems that the countries of the United Nations can unite on nothing, but nearly two hundred countries have come together and agreed a deal. Today the human race has joined in a common cause, but it’s what happens after this conference that really matters. The Paris Agreement is only one step on long a road, and there are parts of it that frustrate and disappoint me, but it is progress. This deal alone won’t dig us out the hole we’re in, but it makes the sides less steep.
Robert Stavins is Professor of Business and Government at Harvard’s Kennedy School, University Fellow at Resources for the Future, and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research:
The Paris Agreement, a truly landmark climate accord, which was gaveled through today, December 12, 2015, at 7:26 pm (Paris time) at the Twenty-First Conference of the Parties (COP-21), checks all the boxes in my five-point scorecard for a potentially effective Paris Agreement, described in my November 17th blog essay, Paris Can Be a Key Step. The Agreement provides a broad foundation for meaningful progress on climate change, and represents a dramatic departure from the Kyoto Protocol and the past 20 years of climate negotiations.
Eric Holthaus is a meteorologist who writes about climate change at Slate:
The Paris agreement ensures that the 1.5 degree target, and the effort it would take to get there, will be at the center of discussions over climate change ambition for years to come—which is much better than the alternative: soul-crushing despair. To provide clarity, it commissions a fresh scientific synthesis, to be completed in 2018, to determine the scale and scope of emissions reductions necessary to hit that bold goal, as well as the climate impacts that may result if it is not achieved.
It all amounts to much more than close watchers of the process had hoped from the meeting. As 2015 winds down, latest temperature reports show it is all but guaranteed to become the hottest year in recorded history. But, a fresh analysis also shows that global greenhouse gas emissions also decreased, the first time that’s ever happened during a year in which the overall economy grew. That’s huge, and with the added push from the Paris agreement, it seems like the worst-case scenario for climate change may remain the stuff of science fiction, not fact.
Brendan DeMelle is Executive Director and Managing Editor of DeSmogBlog:
World leaders reached an historic agreement in Paris moments ago, capping off the COP21 climate talks with a unanimous deal among 195 countries to curb global warming pollution and hasten the clean energy transition. The gavel just fell on the Paris Agreement, and it's time to celebrate.
Is it enough to please everyone? No. Will people continue to suffer from climate-charged extreme weather events? Yes. But today is a welcome change from previous summit failures.
It’s a big deal whenever 195 countries agree on anything, and that’s exactly what’s happened here today. 195 nations, from the richest to the poorest, agreed to pave the road to the end of fossil fuels.
Andy Skuce is a geoscientist and contributor to Skeptical Science:
This is what a turning point looks like. This is what a first step in the right direction looks like. We have waited for a long time for this, too long of course, but now that it has happened we should cheer this agreement. It brings together all of the governments of the world, in a diplomatic agreement focussed on the monumental problem of climate change. The French convenors deserve our thanks and praise for their stamina and patience in herding all of these cats to a common goal.
Now it’s up to the national governments to implement their promises.
Bill McKibben isn't thrilled, but sees it as potentially giving us breathing room— if we make the best of the opportunity:
He focuses on the goal:
With the climate talks in Paris now over, the world has set itself a serious goal: limit temperature rise to 1.5C. Or failing that, 2C. Hitting those targets is absolutely necessary: even the one-degree rise that we’ve already seen is wreaking havoc on everything from ice caps to ocean chemistry. But meeting it won’t be easy, given that we’re currently on track for between 4C and 5C. Our only hope is to decisively pick up the pace.
In fact, pace is now the key word for climate. Not where we’re going, but how fast we’re going there. Pace – velocity, speed, rate, momentum, tempo. That’s what matters from here on in. We know where we’re going now; no one can doubt that the fossil fuel age has finally begun to wane, and that the sun is now shining on, well, solar. But the question, the only important question, is: how fast.
And emphasizes that it’s up to us:
But the powers that be won’t be left to their own devices. Think of the ever-growing climate movement as personal trainers – for the next few years our job is to yell and scream at governments everywhere to get up off the couch, to put down the chips, to run faster faster faster. We’ll fan out around the world in May to the sites of all the world’s carbon bombs; we’ll go to jail if we have to. We’ll push. And if “personal trainer” doesn’t sound fierce enough, then think of us as a pack of wolves. Exxon, we’re on your heels. America, China, India – that’s us, getting closer all the time. You need speed. It’s our only chance.
The Guardian’s climate writer Graham Readfern summarized:
The Paris deal shows that the world wants to close the book on fossil fuels. The question now is, can almost 200 countries deliver on their promises back home?
As UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said: “The work starts now.”
It’s up to us.