Suriname’s climate promise, for a sustainable future

(United Nations) Suriname has become the second nation globally to outline updated plans to fight climate change in the hope of ensuring that any future increase in the temperature of the planet does not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The South American country describes its new national plan as a “cost-effective pathway to decarbonization of substantiable economic development.”

But what does this all mean in terms of global efforts to reverse the warming of the planet? Read on for an explanation.

What are these plans and why are we hearing about them now?

Globally, 196 countries, plus the European Union, originally signed up to the Paris Agreement in 2015 which commits the international community to restrict global warming to “well below 2 degrees Celsius” and aim, if possible, for 1.5C.

It’s hoped that these ambitious targets will be met collectively by countries by setting distinct, individual or national goals known as Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs. These NDCs are a key part of the Paris Agreement and are reviewed and updated every five years by the countries themselves. It’s now 2020, so all countries are expected to declare their amended NDCs. The Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean was the first nation to do so, Suriname is the second.

Is Suriname a big emitter of the greenhouse gases which lead to climate change?

Read more at: United Nations News

Source: CARICOM TODAY