Climate Change, Environmental Crises and the International Community’s Response
- The Earth & I Editorial Team
- 4 days ago
- 11 min read
Updated: 17 hours ago
Trendlines Show Climate Change an Urgent Threat—NDCs and International Cooperation Key to Turnaround
The following article is based on a presentation by Professor Soonchang Yoon (professor emeritus of Seoul National University) and a commentary by Professor Suh-Yong Chung (Korea University) given at an environmental conference themed “Climate Change, Environmental Crises and the Future of the Earth,” part of the World Summit 2025 held in Seoul, South Korea, on April 12, 2025. Prof. Yoon and Prof. Chung deliberated on the first topic of the conference, “Climate Change, Environmental Crises and the International Community’s Response.”
The industrial revolution, which began in England around the mid-1700s, had a profound impact on societies worldwide, leading to industrialization and urbanization on an unprecedented scale. The increased use of fossil fuels and industrial processes led to pollution and environmental crises that threaten the sustainability of the planet.
Today, air pollution, primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels and industrial activities, is responsible for millions of premature deaths each year.
Also, climate change, driven by the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, is causing global temperatures to rise, leading to more frequent and intense extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, floods, and typhoons/hurricanes.
Environmental Crises
Air Pollution. According to the World Health Organization, the number of premature deaths caused by air pollution was estimated to be 6.7 million in 2019, of which 4.2 million were from ambient (outdoor) air pollution. This mortality is due to exposure to fine particles smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5).
According to the World Health Organization, the number of premature deaths caused by air pollution was estimated to be 6.7 million in 2019, of which 4.2 million were from ambient (outdoor) air pollution.
Meanwhile, some “68% of outdoor air pollution related premature deaths were due to ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke, 14% were due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 14% were due to acute lower respiratory infections, and 4% of deaths were due to lung cancers.”
Household (indoor) air pollution was also responsible for an estimated 3.2 million deaths per year, including over 237,000 deaths of children under the age of 5. Among these deaths, 32% were due to IHD, 23% were due to stroke, 21% were due to lower respiratory infection, 19% were due to COPD, and 6% were due to lung cancers.
Contemporary research indicates that ultra-fine particulate matter, particles smaller than 0.1 μm (PM0.1), can penetrate the blood-brain barrier and induce neuroinflammation. This neuroinflammation is potentially associated with the development and progression of various neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, clinical depression, and may even contribute to juvenile suicide.
Climate Change and Emerging Risks. Imagine Earth without an atmosphere that traps heat—no greenhouse gases. In this scenario, the planet's equilibrium temperature would plummet to approximately -18°C (0°F). This stark temperature is a direct result of the balance between incoming sunlight and the unrestricted escape of infrared radiation.
However, the atmosphere contains greenhouse gases, which are transparent to incoming solar radiation, allowing sunlight to reach the Earth’s surface. But they act as a thermal blanket, absorbing the terrestrial radiation emitted from the Earth. This absorption traps heat within the atmosphere, preventing its escape into space and causing the surface temperature to rise. This greenhouse effect elevates Earth's average temperature to a comfortable 15°C (59°F).
In 1958, Charles D. Keeling, PhD, former atmospheric chemist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California, San Diego, initiated a pioneering work to measure CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. His observations revealed two key trends: a seasonal fluctuation in CO2 levels and a consistent annual increase in the average concentration. This long-term monitoring, which continues to this day at Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii, provides invaluable data on the global rise of CO2. The resulting graph, depicting the continuous increase in CO2 at Mauna Loa, is now widely recognized as the Keeling Curve.
The Keeling Curve reveals a consistent annual increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, averaging approximately 2 parts per million (ppm) over the past 30 years. And this rate of increase is accelerating.
The Keeling Curve reveals a consistent annual increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, averaging approximately 2 parts per million (ppm) over the past 30 years. And this rate of increase is accelerating.
Ice core data shows that CO2 concentration in Antarctica has never exceeded 300ppm during the past 800,000 years. This means that for the first time, human activities are the dominant driver of CO2 increase and global temperature rise. The global average temperature increased by approximately 1.1°C above 1850–1900 levels in 2011–2020, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) AR6 Report.
Satellite data show ice sheets in Antarctica have been losing mass, approximately 200 gigatons (Gt) each year during the past 20 years.
The sea level has risen by about 20 cm (~7.8 in) since 1900, which is caused by thermal expansion of sea water due to global warming and by melting of glaciers and ice sheets on land. The rate of sea level rise has accelerated also in recent decades and is now 3.3 mm (~0.13 in) per year.
All this evidence clearly shows that climate change is real.
International Cooperation to Mitigate Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). As the evidence for CO2 increase and global warming became increasingly clear since after 1960s, the IPCC was created in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The IPCC's work is essential for informing global efforts to address climate change. Its assessments provide a scientific foundation for international climate negotiations and policymaking, and its reports help raise public awareness and understanding of this critical issue.
The IPCC's work is essential for informing global efforts to address climate change. Its assessments provide a scientific foundation for international climate negotiations and policymaking, and its reports help raise public awareness and understanding of this critical issue.
Its key activities are:
Preparation of Assessment Reports (AR): The IPCC produces comprehensive assessment reports on climate change every five to seven years. These reports synthesize the latest scientific knowledge and provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of climate change. The IPCC has published six ARs so far, and is now in its seventh assessment cycle after the Sixth Assessment Report in 2021–2023.
Development of Special Reports: The IPCC also produces special reports on specific topics related to climate change, such as the impacts of 1.5°C of global warming or the relationship between climate change and land.
Refinement of Methodologies: The IPCC develops and refines methodologies for calculating and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and removals, providing guidance for countries to develop national greenhouse gas inventories.
The Paris Agreement 2015 (COP21). The Paris Agreement is a landmark international climate accord that was adopted by nearly every nation in 2015 at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris to address climate change and its negative impacts.
The agreement aims to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit global warming to “well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels” while pursuing efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century.”
One of the key aspects of the Paris Agreement is Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that embody each country's commitment to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The requirement for countries to update their NDCs every five years ensures that climate action is dynamic and progressively ambitious. The principle of “progression” within NDCs means that each updated NDC should be more ambitious than its predecessor. This mechanism encourages countries to continuously ratchet up their efforts and strive for the highest possible ambition in tackling climate change.
The requirement for countries to update their NDCs every five years ensures that climate action is dynamic and progressively ambitious. The principle of “progression” within NDCs means that each updated NDC should be more ambitious than its predecessor.
Another key aspect is climate finance, that developed countries commit to providing financial resources to developing countries to assist them in their mitigation and adaptation efforts. This is a critical aspect of the Paris Agreement, recognizing the historical responsibility of developed nations and the need for equitable climate action. The agreement also emphasizes the mobilization of climate finance from various sources, including public and private, bilateral and multilateral channels.
According to the IPCC report, to limit global warming to 1.5°C, greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 at the latest, and require a reduction of global net anthropogenic CO2 emissions by about 43% from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching net zero around 2050.
However, global carbon emissions from fossil fuels reached a record high in 2024 and there is still “no sign of decreasing emissions in the recent decades, apart from in the most recent decade,” according to new research by the Global Carbon Project—one of the contributors to WMO’s United in Science reports.
The 2024 Global Carbon Budget projects fossil CO2 emissions of 37.4 billion tons, up 0.8% from 2023. With projected emissions from land-use change (such as deforestation) of 4.2 billion tons, total CO2 emissions are projected to be 41.6 billion tons in 2024, up from 40.6 billion tons in 2023.
With over 40 billion tons released each year at present, the level of CO2 in the atmosphere continues to rise—driving increasingly dangerous climate change.
Therefore, immediate and substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are essential to meet the 1.5°C target. This requires the urgent need for global cooperation to cut emissions to slow climate change.
International Cooperation is Urgently Needed
Parties to the Paris Agreement are required to submit updated national climate plans or NDCs every five years to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat since 2020. However, as of the February 10, 2025 deadline, only 13 out of 195 countries have submitted updated NDCs. Even among the submitted NDCs, the planned emission reductions fall far short of what is required to meet the Paris Agreement's goals. This underscores the urgent need for countries to significantly increase their ambition and implement more aggressive policies and measures to achieve the necessary emission cuts.
The explosive increase in electricity demand anticipated in the AI era also necessitates a rapid shift away from fossil fuels and towards clean energy sources, including renewables and nuclear energy. This transition is crucial not only to meet the growing energy needs but also to mitigate the environmental impact of increased electricity consumption.
The window of opportunity to limit climate change to safe levels is rapidly closing. Delaying action will only increase the risks and costs of climate change.
International collaboration is far more crucial now than ever before in tackling the urgent threat of climate change and accelerating the transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient future.
Characteristics of the Paris Agreement and Response to the Climate Crisis
Not a Cost Burden or Hindrance to Development if Implemented Correctly
In his comments to Professor Yoon’s presentation, Professor Suh-Yong Chung (of the Division of International Studies at Korea University) stated that a proper understanding of the Paris Agreement and its implementation are crucial in resolving the global climate crisis. He emphasized the development of renewable energy technologies and implementation of nationally determined contributions toward this goal.
The danger of climate change is not limited to Korea but is a global phenomenon that can be seen from the Los Angeles wildfires past January, the heightened sense of danger of national extinction due to rising sea levels in Pacific Island countries, and the threat of the recession and death of Arctic glaciers.
The international community is a system composed of more than 200 sovereign states, which are based on territorial sovereignty. The Paris Agreement, which is the most important foundation for responding to the global climate crisis, can only be participated in by sovereign states. Responding to climate change requires the cooperation of all stakeholders—including local governments, international organizations, businesses, and civil society—as well as sovereign states. But the current reality is that such cooperation must be done through the central governments of sovereign states.
The Paris Agreement is a universal system in which almost all countries in the global society participate. Article 2 of the Paris Agreement states that the purpose is to not only reduce and adapt to greenhouse gas emissions, but also secure a good flow of financial resources. The approach of the new Paris Agreement is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by ensuring sustainable economic development through the deployment of low-carbon or carbon-neutral technologies that provide opportunities for promoting national interests, while considering the characteristics of those countries.
In other words, the Paris Agreement requires all countries to establish and implement their own climate change response plans, called Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), in order to limit the global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius as in the Paris Agreement. Such NDCs must include implementation plans, including financial resources, technology, and (in the case of developing countries) capacity building.
Depending on the country, the international community's carbon market (or Article 6 mechanisms) can be used to achieve national goals cooperatively. These NDCs are to be resubmitted every five years to ensure that they continue to be developed and improved, and to ensure this, a five-year reviewing procedure called the global stocktake is in place. For this implementation and review, the state submits an implementation report, called the biennial transparency report, every two years, and conducts a technical review by a third party.
Currently, if the Paris Agreement is implemented well, various clean energy technologies such as energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies are expected to be commercialized around the world, creating new markets that account for about 2~8 percent of the world's GDP.
Currently, if the Paris Agreement is implemented well, various clean energy technologies such as energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies are expected to be commercialized around the world, creating new markets that account for about 2~8 percent of the world's GDP. It is expected that such innovative opportunities will be created in various fields such as electric power, forestry, industrial processes, transportation, and buildings.
One reason interest in the electric vehicle industry is increasing in the US is that its transportation sector is a major greenhouse gas emitter. There are thus efforts by the government to achieve a large-scale reduction of national greenhouse gas emissions through the electrification of the transportation sector.
Since the private sector has already formed a real market as a result of these efforts to some extent, it is expected that it will be difficult to completely change the trend of forming new markets through climate change response, even under the current Trump administration.
There is a common misunderstanding that responding to climate change is a matter of cost burden and hinders social development, but if the Paris Agreement is correctly understood, new opportunities can be created for sustainable development through job creation from the discovery of new growth engines as part of climate change response.
In the case of the Republic of Korea (South Korea), it is necessary to prepare an effective national climate change response plan in the context of a very energy-intensive industrial structure that serves as an important production plant of the global economic order in modern times and processes. South Korea, which has a large population and scarce resources in a small land area, has developed its economy through international trade.
Therefore, it is necessary for South Korea to actively utilize Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This includes the carbon market and legal ground to engage in international cooperation to implement NDCs, securing financial resources for our climate change response technologies through various methods such as ODA (official development assistance) and private investment, and promoting cooperation with developed countries as well as developing countries. This will help achieve Korea's greenhouse gas reduction goals, preempt new international climate markets, and consolidate global leadership through climate change.
Soonchang Yoon, PhD, is a professor emeritus at Seoul National University and current chair of the National Committee of Future Earth. With a PhD in atmospheric sciences from Oregon State University, he specializes in research in atmospheric aerosols and their impact on regional climate, the long-range transport of air pollutants, and numerical modeling of Asian dust.
Suh-Yong Chung, JSD, is a professor of the Division of International Studies at Korea University. He is also the director of the Center for Global Climate and Marine Governance, affiliated with Korea University, and director of the Center for Climate and Sustainable Development Law and Policy in Korea.
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