January 31, 2024
News Story
by Tara Malhotra
According to experts from the University of California San Diego (UCSD), the 2015 Paris Agreement goal will likely not be achieved with any solutions that are currently in use.
This United Nations agreement aimed to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than preindustrial levels by 2100. Despite being signed by 195 parties, Reuters reported in summer 2023 that global temperatures had already surpassed preindustrial levels by 1.5 degrees Celsius. The Nature Journal communicated that this number will reach 2 degrees Celsius in the 2030s at the latest. Furthermore, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared 2023 the hottest year ever.
David Victor and Veerabhadran Ramanathan are professors at UCSD and experts on the correlation between climate change and public policy. To the professors, this data shows that current solutions are not fully solving the climate crisis. To combat increasing environmental issues, they have proposed a unique approach: a national adaptation strategy.
Victor and Ramanathan believe that adaptation strategies can form plans that adjust to changing conditions. Nations would develop specific policies to approach and recover from environmental issues. This strategy would create new infrastructure along with crisis warning systems. Furthermore, the Los Angeles Times explained that this strategy would educate the public about the importance of reversing global warming and preparing for climate-related incidents.
Victor and Ramanathan highlighted the need for cooperation with adaptation strategies while writing an opinion story in the Los Angeles Times.
“Adaptation to the consequences of global warming doesn’t come just from singular activities, like flipping a switch; it’s processes that will affect all of society and can easily go awry. We need a national approach that assesses how local efforts fit together,” the researchers said in the article.
While the United States has allocated funding toward climate change in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, these efforts aim to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Victor and Ramanathan noticed a lack of laws that prioritize adaptation and stability, and they expect their strategy to fill this gap in our climate policies. With national adaptation strategies, the researchers hope to effectively improve climate change by targeting a greater piece of the issue.
An image of palm trees. Image taken by me, Tara Malhotra.
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