Paris Agreement April 2016

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In the absence of threats such as the one currently posed by the U.S. proposal to withdraw, the Paris agreement is an essentially tool for fostering global equality. Professor McCarty asserts in the introduction to Section 16 that “The growing inequalities within and between nations are not random or racially neutral. Global inequality is structured along racial lines” (McCarty, 646). That is to say, it’s common that “developed” countries take advantages of “developing” countries. In essence, collective adherence to the provisions of the agreement would imply that no country is taking advantage of the other by for example allowing its local producers greater flexibility in relation to adoption of environmental policies. All countries would be required to adhere to standardized requirements which would in turn help in reversing the negative effects of climate change (Kennedy, 2016). On the flip side, developing countries would be forced to shoulder the negative consequences as a result of their over reliance on imports.

The Paris Agreement is one of the many efforts by the international community to strengthen global governance and establish a level ground for competition in the international arena. Like with most other agreements between international actors, the Paris Agreement is designed to ensure that no one country is taking advantage of the other in the race towards curbing climate change. The agreement establishes standards that all countries are expected to observe in order to reduce carbon emissions and by extension helps in reverse the negative consequences of climate change. The proposed withdrawal by the U.S. would on one hand give local companies a competitive edge over international companies. On the other hand, it would attract a backlash from the international community in the form of economic sanctions, a trade war that would undermine existing efforts to strengthen the global economy.

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Work Cited

Davenport, Coral. Diplomats Confront New Threat to Paris Climate Pact: Donald Trump, 2016. Web. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/us/politics/trump-climate-change.html?_r=1

Davenport, Coral. Nations Approve Landmark Climate Accord in Paris, 2015. Web. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/world/europe/climate-change-accord-paris.html

Kennedy, Merrit. Hundreds of U.S. Businesses Urge Trump to Uphold Paris Climate Deal, 2016. Web. http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/17/502425711/hundreds-of-u-s-businesses-urge-trump-to-uphold-paris-climate-deal

McCarty, Philip. "Section 12 Introduction." Integrated Perspectives in Global Studies (2017): 492. Print.

McCarty, Philip. "Section 16 Introduction." Integrated Perspectives in Global Studies (2017): 646. Print.

Monbiot, George. Trump’s Climate Denial is just one of the Forces that Points towards War, 2016. Web. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/23/donald-trump-climate-change-war

Mooney, Chris. What it would really mean if Trump Pulls the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement, 2016. Web. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/11/09/what-it-would-really-mean-if-trump-pulls-the-u-s-out-of-the-paris-climate-agreement/?utm_term=.22b30ecd121f

Pieterse, Jan Nederveen. “Neoliberal Globalization – From Globalization or Empire?” Integrated Perspectives in Global Studies (2017): 211. Print.