At UNFCCC COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015, Parties to the UNFCCC reached a landmark agreement to combat climate change. The Paris Agreement’s central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
UN Summit adopted in 2015 document: “Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” with overarching goal to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development. “Leave Nobody Behind”. 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) with 169 associated targets (measurable outcomes) were endorsed as well.
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
Recall general information about the Paris Agreement of the UNFCCC and the UN 2030 Agenda with emphasis on the role envisaged for forestry in implementing them.
Compare the specific Sections and Goals envisaged for forests in both agreements.
Appraise the complementarities between climate change and sustainable development.
This online Discussion is related to Topic 3.1. The students will be given the subject of the discussion at the end of the online lecture, then they will participate in the discussion online the last day of the respective week. Every student will have a chance to exchange ideas about the topic in question and engage in questions and answers with other students.
Graded Assignments
No graded assignment for Topic 3.1.
Topic Summary
The Paris agreement aims to increase the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change, and at making financial flows consistent with a low GHG emissions and climate-resilient pathway.
The UN Agenda 2030 deals with world’s ambitions for all countries to achieve sustainable development by 2030.
Both accords have stated specific roles for forests and the lecture reemphasized these contributions from a practical side.
Topic Self-review (For self learning)
Please use the reflection questions below as study guide to conduct self-review for the topic.
What is the importance of the Paris Agreement in general?
How is the role that forestry can play in reducing GHG emissions according to the Agreement?
Where are Forests mention directly and indirectly in Agenda 2030?
What can the forest sector do to play its roles in achieving sustainable development world wide?