The Paris climate agreement finalised in December last year heralded a new era for climate action. For the first time, the world’s nations agreed to keep global warming well below 2°C.

This is vital for climate-vulnerable nations. Fewer than 4% of countries are responsible for more than half of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. In a study published in Nature Scientific Reports, we reveal just how deep this injustice runs.

Developed nations such as Australia, the United States, Canada, and European countries are essentially climate “free-riders”: causing the majority of the problems through high greenhouse gas emissions, while incurring few of the costs such as climate change’s impact on food and water. In other words, a few countries are benefiting enormously from the consumption of fossil fuels, while at the same time contributing disproportionately to the global burden of climate change.

On the flip side, there are many “forced riders”, who are suffering from the climate change impacts despite having scarcely contributed to the problem. Many of the world’s most climate vulnerable countries, the majority of which are African or small island states, produce a very small quantity of emissions. This is much like a non-smoker getting cancer from second-hand smoke, while the heavy smoker is fortunate enough to smoke in good health.

The Paris agreement has been widely welcomed as a positive step forward in addressing climate change for all, although the details on addressing “climate justice” can be best described as sketchy.

The goal of keeping global temperature rise “well below” 2℃ is praiseworthy but the emissions-reduction pledges submitted by countries leading up to the Paris talks are very unlikely to deliver on this.

More than $100 billion in funding has been put on the table for supporting developing nations to reduce emissions. However, the agreement specifies that there is no formal distinction between developed and developing nations in their responsibility to cut emissions, effectively ignoring historical emissions. There is also very little detail on who will provide the funds or, importantly, who is responsible for their provision. Securing these funds, and establishing who is responsible for raising them will also be vital for the future of climate-vulnerable countries.

The most climate-vulnerable countries in the world have contributed very little to creating the global disease from which they now suffer the most. There must urgently be a meaningful mobilisation of the policies outlined in the agreement if we are to achieve national emissions reductions while helping the most vulnerable countries adapt to climate change.

And it is clearly up to the current generation of leaders from high-emitting nations to decide whether they want to be remembered as climate change tyrants or pioneers.

More affordable electricity would transform Africa.

It's no surprise that economies around the world need electricity for economic growth and job creation — not just for keeping the lights on. But Liberia, a West African nation of 4 million people, has installed electricity of just 126 megawatts.【小题1】If this isn't bad enough, Liberians pay more than three times the average rate for electricity than Americans. This lack of affordable energy dooms the country to poverty and unemployment.

Liberia is not alone. In fact, systemic power problems are chronic across Africa: Nearly every economy on the continent is constrained by energy gaps and high costs.

Africa's power future has largely been framed around access. People who rely on wood or kerosene for lighting and heat all deserve to have electricity at home, whether it is delivered through the national grid or by new off-grid home systems. But power for lighting and basic appliances is not enough.【小题2】

That's why all countries need energy for growth. In addition to access, availability is necessary. If Africa's economies are going to create jobs for the 12 million young people who enter the job market every year. The majority of the world's electricity is used, not in homes, but on farms, in factories, mines and office buildings. 【小题3】 The energy systems being deployed today across Africa must be large enough to support economic growth and competitiveness.

Affordability is a third big issue.【小题4】We need to find ways of making energy available to low-income consumers while also ensuring that the markets encourage long-term investment in the power sector. Cost is crucial to the competitiveness of business, especially in energy-intensive industries, like steel or concrete, or those that depend on uninterrupted supply, such as banking, cold storage and IT.

If the aim of Africans is, like everyone else on the planet, to permanently escape poverty and achieve prosperity, then every country needs energy for growth.

For decades, India’s time zone has been a hotly debated issue. Back in 1884 when time zones were officially established, two time zones were used — Bombay Time and Calcutta Time. Indian Standard Time (IST) was introduced in 1906, but Calcutta Time and Bombay Time continued to be maintained after

India’s independence in 1947, until 1948 and 1955 respectively. The current single time zone, though a legacy of British rule, is often viewed as a symbol of unity. Yet, not everyone thinks it is a good idea. India stretches 3,000 km from east to west, spanning roughly 30 degrees longitude. This corresponds to a two-hour difference in mean solar time, based on the position of the sun in the sky. Thus, the sun rises nearly two hours earlier in the east than in India’s far west. In Northeastern states, sunrise can be as early as 4 a.m. in summer and sunset by 4 p.m. in winter, much earlier than the official working hours. This results in great loss of daylight hours and more consumption of electricity, and often reduced productivity.

Meanwhile, recent studies point out that the current system leads to a serious problem in education for some students. Nationwide, the school day starts at roughly the same time; thus, children go to bed later and have reduced sleep in west India, where the sun sets later. Such sunset-induced sleep deprivation is more pronounced among the poor, mostly due to their noisy environment and lack of sleep-inducing facilities like window shades or indoor beds. On average, an hour’s delay in sunset time reduces children’s sleep by 30 minutes, and an hour’s delay in annual average sunset time reduces education by about 0.8 years. As a result, children living in locations with later sunsets are less likely to complete primary and middle school education.

Despite various requests and proposals for multiple time zones, the government is keen to retain the current system. Reasons provided include prevention of confusion and safety issues regarding railway and flight operations.

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