Nicaragua didn't sign the Paris Accord because they didn't think it was strong enough

[oberliner]

When you hear folks singling out Nicaragua as one of the two countries (with Syria) that did not sign the Paris Accord, please note the following:

As world leaders gathered in the French capital in November 2015 to reach an agreement on fighting climate change, Nicaragua's lead envoy explained to reporters that the country would not support the agreed-upon plan as it hinged on voluntary pledges and would not punish those who failed to meet them. That was simply not enough, Paul Oquist argued.

“We’re not going to submit because voluntary responsibility is a path to failure,” Oquist told the website Climate Home on Nov. 30. “We don’t want to be an accomplice to taking the world to 3 to 4 degrees and the death and destruction that represents.”

Oquist, who was in Paris representing Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, said rich countries should pay more for climate change, as they were historically responsible for causing more damage to the environment and developing nations such as his own would be the worst hit.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/05/31/why-nicaragua-and-syria-didnt-join-the-paris-climate-accord/?utm_term=.1a68b6614d4e

[Lee-Lee]

1. Out of curiosity how much progress have they made as a nation since?

That will point to if that was their true belief or a talking point.

If their beliefs were so strong one would expect them to have made great strides toward lowering carbon emissions in the years since of their own accord.

[oberliner]

2. They have

In spite of being one of the poorest countries in the world and representing only 0.03 percent of global emissions, they have made substantial progress in moving towards renewable energy.

In fact, they have been called "A Renewable Energy Paradise" in Latin America.

There are countless articles about how much they have done and are doing to that end - just Google the topic and you can find quite a few of them in English.

[riversedge]

3. 2017 Global Climate Risk Index, Nicaragua is the fourth-most at-risk nation in the world due to chan

.....Nicaragua is particularly vulnerable to climate change. According to the 2017 Global Climate Risk Index, Nicaragua is the fourth-most at-risk nation in the world due to changing climates — behind only Honduras, Burma and Haiti. Syria is not included in the index because of the problem of collecting data during the conflict there. However, droughts potentially caused by climate change are commonly cited as a contributing factor that led to war in the country, although there is significant debate about this theory.

[geek tragedy]

4. That was their excuse, which is bullshit.

Real reason: they were trying to get China to build a carbon-intensive canal there.

[oberliner]

5. Where does this information come from?

Can you link to a source? I'd be interested in learning more about this.

[geek tragedy]

6. Can you think of a carbon neutral way to build a canal

that also happens to be an ecological catastrophe?

Common sense.

Costa Rica has a better eco record and had zero issues making a plan.

[oberliner]

8. Check out this article

Don’t compare Trump’s Paris decision to Nicaragua’s — they’ve embraced renewable energy

Excerpt:

Meanwhile, the Central American nation of 6 million is en route to becoming a “green energy powerhouse,” according to NPR.

Blessed with 19 volcanoes, high winds and plenty of water, Nicaragua, for more than a decade, has been gradually transforming its economy to try to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil, NPR reported. That dependence meant that market fluctuations led to 12-hour blackouts that paralyzed the country and brought the economy to a halt.

“The decision was made that we had to begin shifting toward renewable energy,” Gabriel Sánchez, who works for the business promotion agency ProNicaragua told NPR. “A set of policies was put in place that would allow renewable energy projects to be developed in Nicaragua.”

By 2015, renewables were generating about half of Nicaragua’s electricity, but government officials say that number is on track to reach 90 percent by 2020, according to the World Bank. Renewables constitute 13 percent of the United State’s energy production.

“In the region, Nicaragua is second only to Costa Rica in terms of the share — 21 percent — of renewable, non-hydraulic energy in the region,” the Bank reported. “The energy output of its geothermic resources is considered the best in Central America.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/05/31/dont-compare-trumps-paris-decision-to-nicaraguas-theyve-embraced-renewable-energy/?utm_term=.04f7d0960877

That suggests Nicaragua has actually taken some real steps in a positive direction on this front.

[geek tragedy]

10. Yes it has taken some steps but that doesn't obviate

the mega ecocatastrophe they were/are trying to create.

[delisen]

7. Unfortunately Nicaragua under Ortega is a human rights hell hole

for women and girls. To get back into power Ortega made an alliance with the Church. and half the population is suffering.

Nicaragua has been referred to as a renewable energy paradise due to its untapped renewable energy reserves, not because the the progress it has been making in renewables

While the progress is real, I think the statement on why they won't sign on is strongman bs.

Nicaragua is quite capable of developing its renewable industry

There is no good reason to subsidize the misery Ortega has created for women and girls. It sounds so righteous for them to claim they won't be an accomplice to death and destruction while conveniently ignoring their abuse of half their population.

Trump and Ortega have a lot in common.

[oberliner]

9. This is from NPR

Nicaragua's Renewable Energy Revolution Picks Up Steam

http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/03/11/392111931/nicaraguas-renewable-energy-revolution-picks-up-steam?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social

[delisen]

11. Yes I reviewed several articles before I posted

Nicaragua has high renewable reserves and is developing these.

I don't see that they need be subsidized to continue their work to achieve their goals.

Saudi Arabia is another country that is massively developing it renewable potential.

I think Nicaragua claiming a moral high road by not signing on to Paris accord because it does not go far enough is bs.

[oberliner]

12. Understood

But it's still different from Trump pulling the US out of the Paris Accord by saying that climate change is a hoax.