So COP21 resulted in an agreement. What’s a poor in-the-trenches lawyer to make of it? I think it’s pretty clearly a major step forward and reflects much more substantive progress than might have been expected. For a very helpful summary as to why the Paris Agreement was a success, check out Rob Stavins’s post. As good as Rob’s summary is, Elizabeth Kolbert in the New Yorker (subscription required) had a slightly more concise explanation why the Paris Agreement is a good thing:
It changes the presumption that carbon emissions will continue to grow to the presumption that they must soon start coming down. And it probably is “the best outcome we could have hoped for.” Certainly, it’s a lot preferable to the alternative, which, realistically speaking, wasn’t a better accord but no accord at all.
Besides, optimism is good for you. Please click here for video.
