Good COP, Bad COP: Climate Reality after Paris

Abstract

The twenty‐first Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris was a good COP in contrast to COP15 in Copenhagen, which will remain in history as the low point in climate policy. COP21 demonstrated unprecedented global collaboration when divisions were deep and stakes were high and resulted in the Paris Agreement, the first legally binding document to articulate a clear global temperature goal and a commitment to reach global net‐zero emissions after 2050. The agreement is also universal, with developed and developing countries alike expected to act. This article outlines key outcomes and explains what led to the shift from a bad to a good COP. It also examines the threats and opportunities as the world moves from making commitments to implementing them and draws parallels to the global agenda‐setting process on sustainable development that is also unfolding in the United Nations at the same time.

Recent Advances in Nanostructured Vanadium Oxides and Composites for Energy Conversion

“…Many methods have been proposed to fabricate VO 2 (M) thin films, including chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD) and solution-based deposition. CVD methods are mainly based on the use of vanadium-based organometallic precursors such as VO(acac) 2 , [42] V(acac) 3 , [43] VO(OC 3 H 7 ) 3 , [44] and halides such as VOCl 3 , [45] VCl 4 . [45] CVD methods have been subdivided into metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), [46] atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD), [45] aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD), [43] and so on, depending on the variation of fabrication conditions such as precursor compositions, humidifying methods and deposition conditions.…”

“…Bilayered V 2 O 5 nanobelts with a thickness of 45 nm were fabricated by hydrothermal reaction using VCl 3 and pyridine. [85] Solvothermal synthesis has been conducted using NH 4 VO 3 and ethylene glycol (EG), [86] 50-nm-thick nanobelts could be prepared. Nanosheets, especially for those with a small thickness of a few nanometers, have high degrees of chemical functionality.…”

“…[2] In 2015, 195 nations signed ambitious commitments in Paris to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gasses, indicating emerging requirement for alternative ways to minimize the usage of fossil fuels. [3] Thus, exploring new materials and innovative strategies for energy conversion is of vital importance. Many achievements have been made in recent decades.…”

International ENGOs in China: a Significant Presence and a Fast-Changing Reality

“…In contrast to the low-point in history of climate change reached at the COP15 (Savaresi, 2016), COP21, held in Paris in 2015, represented an unprecedented global collaboration in producing a universal legally binding agreement (Ivanova, 2016) and the phase of role-consistent behaviour. Paris Agreement's (2015) most important outcomes are the set of a longterm goal of "holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels" (article 2.1) and the aim to global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, to undertake rapid reductions thereafter achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century (article 4.1).…”

The role of college and university faculty in the fossil fuel divestment movement

“…As a result of pressure from divestment campaigns, a growing discussion of the role of fossil fuel companies at the United Nations negotiations is emerging, as well as more significant coverage and scrutiny of industry presence at COP meetings (Arguedas Ortiz and Yona 2014). Pressure and momentum emerging from fossil fuel divestment campaigns may have contributed to the success of the Paris Agreement, signed by 195 nations and entered into force on November 4, 2016 (Ivanova 2016). In the lead up to the Paris talks, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon lauded fossil fuel divestment as an important tool for climate action (Carrington 2015).…”