2015 Paris Agreement

2015 Paris Agreement
Name	Paris Agreement
Date signed	12 December 2015
Location	Paris
Parties	196
Effective	4 November 2016
Depositor	United Nations
Languages	English, French, Spanish

2015 Paris Agreement The 2015 Paris Agreement is a multilateral United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change accord concluded at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris on 12 December 2015, intended to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change. The accord brought together European Union members, the United States, the People's Republic of China, the Brazil, the India, the Russia, the South Africa, and many other Parties in a cooperative framework to limit greenhouse gas concentrations and enhance resilience. Negotiations were shaped by contributions from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, advocacy by Greenpeace International, policy proposals from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and diplomacy involving the G77 and China, the Alliance of Small Island States, and the Least Developed Countries group.

Background and Negotiation

The Agreement emerged from a sequence of multilateral processes including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations, the Kyoto Protocol, the Cancún Agreements, and the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action. Major diplomatic milestones involved bilateral engagements between the United States and the People's Republic of China, the European Union diplomatic bloc, and summit-level coordination at the G20. Negotiators from delegations such as France as host, negotiators from Canada, Australia, Japan, Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and representatives from non-state actors like World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations Environment Programme, and World Wildlife Fund contributed to text drafts. Civil society inputs included submissions by Sierra Club, 350.org, Friends of the Earth, and indigenous groups from Papua New Guinea and Alaska.

Key Provisions and Commitments

The core aim sets a long-term goal to hold the increase in global average temperature well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts toward 1.5 °C, referencing assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Parties commit to peak greenhouse gas emissions, undertake rapid reductions thereafter, and achieve net-zero emissions in the second half of the 21st century. The Agreement establishes a global stocktake process, a framework for adaptation including national adaptation plans linked to work by United Nations Development Programme and Green Climate Fund, and provisions for loss and damage articulated alongside the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage.

Implementation Mechanisms and Transparency

Implementation relies on nationally determined pathways combined with an enhanced transparency framework drawing from modalities developed under the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation. Reporting requirements, technical expert review, and facilitative compliance procedures mirror practices seen in Montreal Protocol reporting and draw on institutional support from United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat, Inter-American Development Bank, and regional development banks. Mechanisms to cooperate internationally include voluntary cooperative approaches and an international carbon market architecture built upon lessons from the Clean Development Mechanism and regional schemes such as the European Union Emission Trading Scheme.

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

Parties submit successive Nationally Determined Contributions through whose aggregate effect the long-term goals are to be achieved; initial NDCs were filed by actors including the United States, China, European Union, Brazil, Japan, Canada, South Africa, and New Zealand. NDCs encompass mitigation targets, adaptation planning, and support needs; they are subject to a five-year cycle informed by the global stocktake and guidance from the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties. Non-state actors such as C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, and corporations like Siemens and Tesla, Inc. announced parallel initiatives to align with NDC ambitions.

Finance, Technology Transfer, and Capacity Building

The Agreement reaffirmed commitments to mobilize climate finance involving institutions such as the Green Climate Fund, the Global Environment Facility, the World Bank, and multilateral development banks. Developed Parties agreed to continue mobilizing finance, targeting mobilization of US$100 billion per year as advocated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and requested by the G77 and China. Provisions promote technology transfer through collaborative platforms and capacity building for implementation in countries including Bangladesh, Kenya, Ethiopia, Philippines, and Vanuatu, leveraging expertise from United Nations Industrial Development Organization and regional technology centers.

Legal Status, Ratification, and Compliance

The Agreement is an instrument under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and entered into force after ratification thresholds were met, with early ratifiers including the European Union, France, Germany, China, and the United States (later withdrawal and re-entry events involved the Trump administration and the Biden administration). Ratification processes varied across Parties, invoking national constitutional procedures in jurisdictions such as Australia, Brazil, India, and South Africa. A non-punitive compliance mechanism was established, distinct from dispute settlement under other treaties like the World Trade Organization.

Criticism, Impact, and Subsequent Developments

Critiques from scholars at institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oxford University, Columbia University, and NGOs such as Friends of the Earth focused on insufficient ambition in initial NDCs, reliance on voluntary mechanisms, and equity concerns raised by the Climate Justice Movement. Empirical analyses by International Energy Agency, NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicate mixed progress toward temperature goals, prompting enhanced NDCs and regional policies in the European Union, China, United States, India, and collaborative initiatives like the Mission Innovation and the Powering Past Coal Alliance. Subsequent Conferences of the Parties including sessions in Marrakesh, Katowice, Madrid, and Glasgow further operationalized rules, and litigation in national courts such as those in Netherlands and Pakistan tested enforcement and ambition dynamics.

Category:Climate change treaties