If the Paris Climate Deal Didn’t Exist, We’d Have Dead Crops and Intense Heat

By: Jacqueline Arias - 8 years ago

The thing about Donald Trump is that you don’t know what he’ll do next. One minute he’s proposing a (failed) travel ban, the next he’s uniting people through “covfefe.” But as of recent, he’s once again angered everyone when he announced that he’s pulling the US out of the Paris climate accord.

Back in December 2015, 196 nations signed this agreement to cut down greenhouse emissions and adopt more sustainable energy sources. Even our president Rodrigo Duterte signed this pact earlier this year despite expressing doubts that it’ll affect economic growth.

With Trump’s recent decision, many are citing how it’ll affect US citizens and the global economy. But can you imagine what would happen if the Paris accord didn’t exist to cap the effects of climate change? Allow us to count the horrible possibilities.

#1 Longer heat waves and rise in sea level

All the nations who signed the pact vowed to limit the increase in global temperature to no more than 2 degrees. According to NASA, the rise might cause heightened heat waves and more rainstorms. Sea levels are also expected to rise “long after air temperature has been stabilized.” This will be because the oceans will be too hot and will continuously melt ice sheets.

#2 Crops won’t fluorish

The rise in temperature would also bring major drought, which would cause a grave impact on basic crops like corn and wheat. Dave Schimel of JPL’s Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems group told NASA, “There are places in the world where, for these important breadbasket crops, they are already close to a thermal limit for that crop species.” He also noted how pests and pathogens would significantly increase when it gets hotter.

#3 Corals won’t last long

Another devastating effect of climate change is the destruction of coral reefs via “coral bleaching.” Scientists say that climate trends continue, almost all of the world’s reefs would dry up and die by 2043. That means many sea creatures would lose their homes and food.

#4 Increase in fossil fuel usage

In relation to the previous point, increased heat is attributed by carbon dioxide emitted by fossil fuel. The US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) noted that 65 percent of greenhouse gases comes from CO2. Another bad element that contributes to global warming is black carbon, which comes from aerosol. All this will happen if countries won’t adopt greener energy sources like solar or renewable gas. This is also why the United Nations and other developed countries provided $100 billion to help third-world countries switch from fossil fuel.

#5 Many wouldn’t have jobs

When the Paris climate accord began, several people found jobs in natural gas industries. Vox cited that solar industries had twice the number of employees than coal jobs in the US and other countries. CNN Money reported that coal workers have been in the decline as of recent due to stricter rules in air pollution and more affordable natural gas.

#6 Global poverty would reach an all-time high

According to a study by the Climate Impact Lab, “hot, poor countries” will be the most affected by climate change. With Trump’s withdrawal, The World Bank estimates that 100 million people worldwide will lose their jobs and go into poverty by 2030. These are mostly people from Southeast Asia, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

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