Climate change on the basis of the Paris climate agreement and its effects on developing country economies

Abstract

Economic growth rates have increased in the World countries since the early 20th century. The increasing growth rates of countries' economies worldwide have also increased the need for energy and raw materials. However, governments have made severe mistakes in meeting their energy and raw material needs. As a result of the mistakes made, nature was unconsciously destroyed. This process was accompanied by rapid population growth, and many environmental problems, especially water and air pollution, emerged. Environmental issues initially spread nationally and then regionally. Nowadays, with the introduction of technology into production processes in the following years, environmental problems have reached global dimensions like a snowball. Environmental problems have reached even more severe levels, especially after the 1970s, with the thinning and depletion of the ozone layer, increased acid rain, and the destruction of tropical forests. Subsequent studies have shown that industrialization processes significantly affect the environment and raise environmental problems. At this point, the effects of climate change have reached a level that threatens not only the country and region but also the humanity of the whole World. This shows how important this issue has become and reveals the necessity of serious policy recommendations and implementation by conducting academic studies at this level. "Global climate change" is now one of the environmental problems that humanity has ever faced, perhaps the most significant and severe crisis. With industrialization, which started after the Industrial Revolution and brought about intense carbon production, greenhouse gas accumulations have occurred in the atmosphere, and the adverse effects have reached an irreversible level due to the destruction of natural vegetation that absorbs greenhouse gases. Thus, we have entered a process in which human-induced factors intervene in the natural change of the climate, which has a dynamic structure. On the other hand, it should not be forgotten that the environment has a system that has a slow development process over many years but can change naturally. In other words, the fact that the climate changes spontaneously and that humans do not influence this process represents climate variability. In this sense, it is essential to distinguish the concepts of climate variability and climate change. Climate change includes both the natural variability of the climate observed in specific periods and the changing atmospheric composition through indirect and direct human activities and intervention. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, held in 2010, emphasized that human activities cause climate change. Therefore, there needs to be more conceptual clarity on the subject, and more clarifying studies are seriously needed. Today, studies show that climate change has completely changed and disrupted the ecological system of the environment due to human activities. Interest in these studies is increasing day by day. The main event in climate change is the consumption of fossil fuels and its increase, causing the greenhouse effect. Climate change severely threatens plants, animals, people, all living things, countries, national economies, and the whole World. As a result of these developments, interest in the subject has gradually increased in scientific and political circles in recent years. Efforts to reveal the current and possible effects of climate change have increased in studies. Sectors such as agriculture, tourism, and energy are significantly affected. In addition, countries' labor productivity, employment, and economic growth, especially in these sectors, are negatively affected. Climate change profoundly affects people's lives around the World. Taking precautions against climate change and adapting to this change will only be possible by transitioning to a sustainable and low-carbon economy. In this situation, significant economic investments and coordinated actions become increasingly necessary. The Paris Climate Agreement appears as one of these cooperation initiatives. As a matter of fact, considering that the global economy continues to be primarily dependent on oil, gas, and coal, it seems that countries have made adhering to the Paris Agreement more than a matter of choice by reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions and following a long-term path to complete decarbonization. This study aims to determine the reflections of greenhouse gas emissions between 2010 and 2020, reported explicitly for developing countries, on the agriculture, tourism, and energy sectors in these countries' economies and to make evaluations for the next ten years. In this study to be carried out, many purposes are pursued, such as revealing the current and possible negativities in the sectors most affected by climate change, examining labor productivity and employment in these sectors, and revealing the impact of all these developments on the country's economic growth. As a result of this study, the effects of recent natural disasters such as floods, tsunamis, and hurricanes that have occurred within the framework of the climate crisis, especially on the economies of developing countries, will be presented as examples. While the negativities of the climate crisis are discussed from a global perspective, it will be possible to examine the issue for developing countries in particular. As a result of revealing the current situation, suggestions can be made to policymakers for possible future impacts. The magnitude of the global crisis induced by climate change has been the focus of numerous academic, political, and societal discussions in recent decades. As overwhelming evidence demonstrates that anthropogenic activities are primarily responsible for this pressing issue, the urgent need for international cooperation and decisive action cannot be overemphasized (IPCC, 2014).