< Previous | Contents | Next >
The 21st Conference of Parties (COP 21) under the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) took place in Paris by December 2015. The Paris Agreement on post-2020 actions on climate change will succeed the Kyoto Protocol. Unlike the Kyoto Protocol, it provides a framework for all countries to take action against climate change. Placing emphasis on concepts like climate justice and sustainable lifestyles, the Paris Agreement for the first time brings together all nations for a common cause under the UNFCCC. One of the main focus of the agreement is to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre- industrial level and on driving efforts to limit it even further to 1.5°C.
The Agreement comprises of 29 articles and is supported by 139 decisions of the COP. It covers all the crucial areas identified as essential for a comprehensive and balanced agreement, including mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, finance, technology development and transfer, capacity
building and transparency of action and support.
A marked departure from the past is the Agreement’s bottom-up approach, allowing each nation to submit its own national plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, rather than trying to repeat a top-down approach advocated by the Kyoto Protocol, giving each country an emission reduction target. Salient features of the Agreement3:
(i) It acknowledges the development imperatives of developing countries by recognising their right to development and their efforts to harmonize it with the environment, while protecting the interests of the most vulnerable.
(ii) It seeks to enhance the ‘implementation of the Convention’ while reflecting the principles of equity and CBDR-RC (Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities), in the light of different national circumstances.
(iii) Countries are required to communicate to the UNFCCC climate action plans known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) every five years. Each Party’s successive NDC will represent a progression beyond the Party’s then current NDC thereby steadily increasing global effort and ambition in the long-term.
(iv) It is not mitigation-centric and includes other important elements such as adaptation, loss and damage, finance, technology development and transfer, capacity building and transparency of action and support.
(v) Developed countries are urged to scale up their level of financial support with a complete road map towards achieving the goal of jointly providing US$ 100 billion by 2020. At the same time, a new collective quantified goal based on US$ 100 billion floor will be set before 2025.
(vi) It mandates that developed countries provide financial resources to developing countries. Other Parties may also contribute, but on a purely voluntary basis.
(vii) Developed countries are urged to take the lead in mobilization of climate finance, while noting the significant role of public funds in the mobilization of finance which should represent a progression beyond their previous effort.
(viii) It includes a robust transparency framework for both action and support.
(ix) Starting in 2023, a global stock-take covering all elements will take place every five years to assess the collective progress towards achieving the purpose of the Agreement and its long-term goals.
(x) It establishes a compliance mechanism, overseen by a committee of experts that operates in a non-punitive way, and is facilitative in nature.
The Paris Agreement entered into force on 4th November 2016. The “22nd Session of the Conference of Parties” (COP 22) to UNFCCC was held from 7-19 November 2016 in Marrakesh, Morocco. The main thrust of COP 22 was on developing rules and action framework for operationalizing the Paris Agreement4 and advance work on pre-2020 Actions. At COP 22, a deadline of 2018 for the rule book was agreed upon. Detailing exercise will include accounting of the NDCs, adaptation communication, building a transparency framework, global stock take every five years, etc.
The key decision adopted at COP 22 was Marrakesh Action Proclamation for our Climate and Sustainable Development which captured the “sense of urgency” to take action on climate change. It also emphasized the need to strengthen and support efforts to eradicate poverty, ensure food security and enhance resilience of agriculture. Mobilization of US $ 100 billion per year is a key element of the Proclamation.