One concerning the reality of the Anthropocene is that climate change has only now become recognised as one of humanity’s most challenging global environmental issues; and although it seems to be a global scale issue, it is of local concern as well. However, there are various reasons as to why the control of climate change has become increasingly difficult. One of the biggest challenges seen today is encouraging world leaders to play critical leadership roles in the mitigation of climate change. An outstanding and historical moment for the mitigation of climate change was the commencement of the Paris Agreement in 2015. The Paris agreement, for the first time in history, had all the world’s nations address...
One concerning the reality of the Anthropocene is that climate change has only now become recognised as one of humanity’s most challenging global environmental issues; and although it seems to be a global scale issue, it is of local concern as well. However, there are various reasons as to why the control of climate change has become increasingly difficult. One of the biggest challenges seen today is encouraging world leaders to play critical leadership roles in the mitigation of climate change. An outstanding and historical moment for the mitigation of climate change was the commencement of the Paris Agreement in 2015. The Paris agreement, for the first time in history, had all the world’s nations address the pressing issues of climate change at once, which had targets to maintain global temperatures well below 2.0C. The reality of having global temperatures above 2.0C might sound good, if living in a colder climate, however, a global rise in temperature may correspond to an average land-based temperature rise of 3.0C.
This would trigger marked changes in temperature and precipitation patterns meaning the repercussions of an average 2.OC warming would reach deeper than imaginable. Although the Paris Agreement showed signs of progress, there are still today political leaders who will not recognise the urgency that climate change needs, for example; The United States President, Donald Trump, revealed in June 2017 that the U.S. would not be a part of the Paris Agreement accord any longer. His reason for this was that ‘The Paris accord will undermine the economy’ and put the U.S at a ‘permanent disadvantage’. This was totally ridiculous as the U.S have shocking results for their contribution towards Green House Gas emissions, for example, producing 4997.5 million metric tons of CO₂ in 2015, compared to the UK which produced 389.75. Although most agree that climate change is a serious issue that requires sustained attention and action, without the involvement at an international level, it could lead many to dismiss climate change as a lost cause. Therefore, a lack of global response poses a threatening reality for the age of the Anthropocene.
