UN climate conference gives big boost to sustainability

THE 2016 UN climate conference ended last Friday, with reaffirmation by nearly 200 countries of their "highest political commitment" to combating global warming. With the landmark Paris agreement now ratified, and climate sceptic Donald Trump elected as US president, the conference delivered what former US vice-president Al Gore called a "bold vision that sets the pace for the world's efforts to implement the deal".

This reflects the fact that a highlight of the conference was a presentation by individual countries of their plans to achieve agreed national greenhouse gas targets. This is a key step and reflects the fact that Paris is a flexible, "bottom-up" approach, through which countries develop bespoke plans to realise emissions targets with national and sub-national governments working in partnership with business.

In other words, while Paris created a global architecture for tackling global warming, it recognises that diverse, often decentralised policies will be required by different types of economies to meet climate commitments.