That the main road leading to the protection of our planet has not yet been taken in Paris is absolutely true, but it is not a failure. The agreement approved by the UN climate conference is a partial and perhaps only potential success. The definition shared by everyone on the roof to be set for global warming (below 1.5 – 2 degrees Celsius), after for many years this request had been rejected by many countries, can be seen as an important result. On this and other points, the final document certainly takes an important step.
After these negotiations, however, it will not automatically lead to a reduction in global warming below the set degrees, given the weak promises made by some governments, and consequently the loyalty in the execution of the measures are not discounted, indeed in some cases there is precisely to doubt. In addition, limiting global warming by 1.5 – 2 degrees over the next 85 years will not avoid making many areas of our planet less habitable, with consequences also on agriculture and food supply. The agreement does not specify dates and percentages to be respected for each country and the commitment is certainly vague when it is stated that “the global peak of greenhouse gas emissions must be reached as soon as possible”, in addition until the governments undertake to leave where fossil fuels are, the deal will be in vain.
So what is the positive side of the agreement? We can consider two non-negligible effects as real, even if they only have a cultural impact, namely: the awareness of all the rulers that the climate problem is a serious matter for everyone, and that directly or indirectly it will involve all mankind; that the use of fossil fuels must be progressively but drastically reduced. However, these two awarenesss will lead to positive trends in most countries with consequences that are also important as regards the revitalization of their economies.