In the light of the Paris Agreement, it is important that governments take notice of other nations' efforts to reduce and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. It is crucial that all countries take proactive, practical changes to ensure cleaner, healthier air.
In 2005, Ireland's objective was to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in 2020. However, it was reported by Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that they were only on track to cut emissions by 1%. Ireland quickly began to change their strategy; to fix these implications, Ireland called A Citizen's Assembly, where each question regarding the environment "...attained at least 80% agreement. Most attained close to unanimous agreement." At this assembly, citizens unanimously voted an act similar to the UK Climate Change Act, which "ensures that the net UK carbon account for all six Kyoto greenhouse gases for the year 2050 is at least 80% lower than the 1990 baseline..." It was evident in the assembly that a majority of citizens in Ireland have a desire to improve air quality, which is crucial for the continuity of environmental improvement.
Earlier this year, Scott Pruitt, the United States EPA administrator, announced that he would repeal standards that required most vehicles sold in the United States to average more than 50 miles per gallon by 2025. He also announced that he would rewrite other carbon limits on vehicles. Mary Nichols, head of the California Air Resources Board, stated that, "...EPA’s action, if implemented, will worsen people’s health with degraded air quality and undermine regulatory certainty for automakers." To many, this change in regulation is frightening, since it's overhauling the very essence of the Clean Air Act, and the opportunity of a healthier future.
Although the EPA changed this Obama-Era standard, states such New York and California, are doing their own part in the fight against air pollution. Also, the future looks more optimistic, as the Paris Agreement will be adopted by nearly 196 parties, including Ireland.
EDAR would be exceedingly helpful in the Paris Agreement, by continually monitoring emissions in Europe. Through the adaptation of EDAR, governments could identify similar types of vehicles repeatedly, which can help identify pattern failures within the same model of a vehicle, or those vehicles that share similar emissions platforms. In Scotland, EDAR was successfully deployed as the system proved to measure vehicle exhaust in the challenging Scottish weather conditions. The system identified diesel cars that were above the industry standards, in some cases six times higher than the baseline provided by EU regulations.
Ultimately, time will tell to see how countries will react to air quality and the Paris Agreement. In fact, we already see European countries utilizing revolutionary technology, such as EDAR, in their fight against air pollution.
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