Paris Agreement

Speech – The Paris Agreement and the Current Situation

Opening chant: We are here, we are many—stick to the climate goals! The 31st International Climate Conference is currently taking place in Antalya, Turkey. It was at a conference like this, 11 years ago, that the Paris Agreement was adopted— a milestone in international climate policy. After more than five years of negotiations, the world managed to reach an agreement—an agreement signed even by nations such as Australia, the United States, and Russia. Other treaties failed to achieve this. I don’t know how much you know about previous agreements, but those specific countries, for instance, never ratified the Kyoto Protocol; they repeatedly raised concerns regarding international climate policy and sought to negotiate "opt-out" clauses. The agreement established a commitment to keep global warming well below 2°C—ideally, below 1.5°C. It was intended to serve as the foundation for climate-related action. The agreement acknowledged that nations in the Global North bear a greater responsibility for the climate crisis than other countries. Throughout the process, input was sought from civil society and the scientific community. Every nation set its own targets—known as "Nationally Determined Contributions"—and committed to meeting them. Furthermore, the agreement included provisions for regular monitoring to ensure that countries were adhering to their stated goals and to track the status of their emissions. One might assume, then, that nothing stands in the way of a fair and effective climate policy—at least, that is the impression one gets when reading the Paris Agreement. However, looking at the current reality, the picture is quite different. It is already clear that the 1.5°C limit is no longer within reach. The IPCC currently estimates global warming at 2.8°C. The consequences of the climate crisis are more palpable than ever before—droughts, wildfires, floods—all of which have already become a part of daily life in many regions across the globe. And here in Germany, too, we are increasingly feeling the impacts of the climate crisis. Yet, instead of developing strategies to phase out fossil fuels, there is still debate over whether such a phase-out is even necessary. It seems that politicians still do not truly take the climate crisis seriously. Our own Federal Chancellor does not even consider it necessary to attend the COP summit. Under Donald Trump, the USA withdrew from the Paris Agreement—not once, but twice. Political action is driven by economic profit rather than climate justice. Within the EU, there are moves to roll back the ban on internal combustion engines. In Germany, domestic flights are seeing a resurgence, and new gas-fired power plants are being built in Bavaria. This leads me to ask: are the Paris Agreement and the climate crisis even being taken seriously in the political sphere anymore? Time and again, it becomes clear that decision-makers seemingly have no concern for the consequences of their inaction—or perhaps I should say, their anti-action. They appear indifferent to who suffers, or will suffer, as a result of their policies. Those who suffer under these policies are the very ones who have no voice or say—people and animals alike. They are those whose very existence is threatened by the climate crisis. They are future generations who will bear the brunt of these policies. For God’s sake, this is about livelihoods—about life itself. I often wonder how anyone can be so ignorant as to not take this seriously. And yes, I believe it would do some politicians good to at least attempt to put themselves in the shoes of these people. Perhaps then they would grasp why it is so vital to take the Paris Agreement seriously and to advocate for a climate-just future. But as long as that doesn’t happen, we must keep taking to the streets; we must keep making our voices heard. In the meantime, we must continue to fight for every tenth of a degree. Because every tenth of a degree means fewer people and fewer animals having to suffer from the climate crisis. Every tenth of a degree means the climate crisis will be slightly less catastrophic. So, let’s be loud together today—even if things have gone quiet around the climate crisis lately. Let’s show up in great numbers; let’s be the light, even when the hope for climate-just policy seems slim.