CRS welcomes the COP-21 Paris Agreements

CRS welcomes the Paris Agreement and sees it as a crucial step in global efforts to address climate change. It is the culmination of six years of efforts by nations to reach a new agreement, during which efforts deployed by all stakeholders – governments, business and civil society – have intensified and contributed to reaching an ambitious outcome. All parties had called for an effective and clear agreement in the run-up to the conference. The agreement is an important milestone that will send a strong signal going forward, but more work and action by all stakeholders will be needed going forward. CRS will continue to play its role as a learning provider, encouraging maximum action by our training participants around the world.

What is the Paris agreement?

The Agreement reached at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP-21) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), committed all countries to undertake action on climate change and report on their progress for the first time.

The agreement:

• “Aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change… by holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels”
• Aims to peak greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as soon as possible and reach net-zero in the second half of the century
• Commits all countries to regular reporting, including on mitigation, adaptation and finance
• Agrees 5-yearly cycles for increasing national plans and targets starting in 2020, supported by global stock-takes (from 2018) to assess progress and review any new information
• Makes commitments in climate finance, setting $100 billion per annum as the floor for financial transfers from developed to developing countries from 2020
• Introduces the foundation to support the development of global carbon emissions markets through trading mitigation actions, and incentivises mitigation through the creation of a CDM like mechanism for post-2020

A pathway to a low-emission future

CRS supports and encourages governments in their efforts to reduce GHG emissions. Meeting the climate change challenge will require actions from all parts of society, including governments, civil society and the private sector. We believe it is possible to address climate change risks whilst also meeting growing global energy demand and supporting economic development. Much more needs to be done to address climate change. With the right policy frameworks and enablers to encourage investment in transforming technology, the public and private sectors and civil society can cooperate to achieve effective solutions.

What is CRS doing?

We are the only provider of the IEMA Full and Associate Member Certificates by Applied Learning.  Our participants study and provide evidence of their performance in climate-related matters, relevant to their work and sector. In particular, we provide this training to the oil and gas sector through our partner, PetroSkills. The oil and gas industry’s history of innovation, global reach, knowledge and technical expertise positions it to help develop and provide credible future energy solutions. We believe that this industry is already playing a part in this transition and will continue to do so, by improving the efficiency of existing technologies and resources, and contributing to the development of new ones.

For over ten years, CRS has been 100% carbon-free - see http://www.carbonfund.org/partners/item/corporate-risk-systems We see the role of natural gas, government–led market mechanisms, CCS, and the use of lower carbon fuels, together with effective policy mechanisms, as the necessary components in any practical response to address GHG emissions, to deliver on the goals set by the Paris agreement.

In 2016 and beyond, you can be sure that CRS will continue to demonstrate our commitment to meeting the challenge by working with our employees, clients and partners to take these these issues.