The Foreign Service Journal, March 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2016 17 Climate Breakthrough in Paris A fter more than two decades of on-again, off-again negotiations, failed treaties and international discord, the world witnessed the near-impossible become reality on Dec. 12. The United States and 194 other countries reached the first-ever deal on a way forward for limiting global warming. Most scientists agree that warming beyond 2 degrees Celsius will result in catastrophic weather events such as droughts, floods, heat waves and sea level rises, causing irreversible damage. With the world already nearly halfway toward that 2-degree mark, negotiators representing all 195 countries descended on Paris in December for the United Nation’s 21st Conference of the Parties— a two-week session that many believed would be the last real opportunity to tackle climate change at the international level. Prior to the COP, countries submitted individual pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions—known as intended nation- ally determined contributions (INDCs)— but only enough to limit warming to 2.7 degrees Celsius, at best. Nonetheless, these INDCs are a critical starting point toward an agreement that represents a truly global pact. For the first time, parts of the pact are legally binding, including a requirement that countries come together every five years to set more ambitious targets as dictated by science. Experts believe that the roadmap adopted in Paris may limit the increase in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Countries also agreed to report to each other and the public on how well they are doing to implement the targets in their respective INDCs. Developed countries pledged to mobilize $100 TALKING POINTS billion annually for adaptation and resilience measures and to help reduce emissions in developing countries. The ultimate goal is to limit the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity to the same levels that trees, soil and oceans can absorb natu- rally, hopefully by some time between 2050 and 2100. While there is much to pick apart in the fine print of this agreement (e.g., provisions for voluntary withdrawal of parties, no legal requirements for caps on emissions, etc.), it’s hard to dispute the significance of this diplomatic achieve- ment. Secretary of State John Kerry called it “a remarkable global commitment”; The Guardian deemed it “the world’s greatest diplomatic success.” The Paris Agreement will enter into force after 55 countries accounting for at least 55 percent of global emissions ratify it. —Maria C. Livingston, Associate Editor American Hostages Held in Iran Finally Compensated F ifty-two American Foreign Service and military personnel were taken hos- tage at Embassy Tehran on Nov. 4, 1979, and were not released until Jan. 20, 1981. Now, 35 years later, Congress has finally approved compensation for the physi- cal and psychological hardships they endured during those 444 days. Their reparation was included as a line item in the Consolidated Appropria- tions Act, Fiscal Year 2016, under the Vic- tims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund. For decades, many of the former hostages had pursued legal proceedings to secure collective compensation from the U.S. or Iranian government. Much of their case emphasized adverse effects on their post-crisis quality of life: some of the hostages have experienced post-trau- matic stress disorder and psychological disturbances leading, in some cases, to suicide, substance abuse, mental illness I’ve always felt that we are better off trying diplomacy first, and if we don’t succeed we can always resort, if necessary, to the use of force. It will not be easy for [Iran] to cheat and trim on this deal—they may try, but the world is going to be watching as they do that. We’re going to have the sup- port of our European allies, of the Russians and Chinese, of most of the Arab countries. But the problemwe are going to have is that when we implement the nuclear deal we’re also going to have to contend with a very aggressive, very negative Iran in the region. … I think that Secretary Kerry has been right to say, ‘Look, we’ll challenge Iran to work more productively and constructively on the Syrian civil war or on Yemen, but we’ll have our guard up to defend against Iran in the region.’ I think that’s the only proper thing for the U.S. to do. —Former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, now a professor of diplomacy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, in a Jan. 18 interview with Robin Burr on “Here & Now,” a program on WBUR, Boston’s NPR station. Contemporary Quote