Paris Agreement on climate change

Paris Agreement on climate change
Name	Paris Agreement
Date signed	12 December 2015
Location signed	Paris
Parties	196 parties
Deposited	United Nations Secretary-General

Paris Agreement on climate change is an international treaty adopted in 2015 under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C. The Agreement establishes a framework for mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology transfer and transparency, and builds on outcomes from the Conference of the Parties process, including the Copenhagen Accord and Durban Platform negotiations. Negotiated at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Le Bourget, the Agreement opened for signature at the United Nations Headquarters and entered into force in November 2016 after rapid ratification by a wide range of states and regional entities such as the European Union.

Background

The Paris Agreement emerged from decades of multilateral diplomacy under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that included landmark moments like the Kyoto Protocol and the outcomes of successive Conference of the Parties sessions such as COP15 in Copenhagen and COP17 in Durban. Key scientific inputs came from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, notably the Fifth Assessment Report and later the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C, which informed negotiators from states including the United States, China, India, Brazil, and members of the African Union. Civil society actors such as Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, and 350.org and subnational actors including the C40 Cities network and the Compact of Mayors influenced ambition, while private sector coalitions like the We Mean Business coalition engaged finance and industry stakeholders.

Key Provisions

The Agreement sets a long-term temperature goal, a global emissions peaking pathway, and mechanisms for transparency and global stocktaking. Central provisions include Article 2 (purpose and temperature goal), Article 4 (mitigation and peaking of emissions), Article 7 (adaptation), Article 9 (climate finance), Article 10 (technology development and transfer), Article 11 (capacity-building), and Article 13 (enhanced transparency framework). The Agreement also created processes for the five-year global stocktake cycle and the facilitation of voluntary cooperative approaches, referencing concepts applied under mechanisms such as the Clean Development Mechanism and linking to market and non-market approaches debated between parties such as Small Island Developing States, Least Developed Countries, and major emitters like the European Union and the Russian Federation.

Nationally Determined Contributions

The Agreement introduced the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) paradigm, replacing top-down targets with country-driven pledges submitted by parties, exemplified by early submissions from China, the United States, the European Union, and India. NDCs cover mitigation and may include adaptation components, and are subject to five-year cycles of submission and enhancement, with an expectation of increasing ambition. Transparency obligations and the global stocktake aim to create a dynamic of progressive ambition across NDCs, affecting contributions from parties such as Brazil, Japan, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Implementation and Compliance Mechanisms

Implementation relies on institutions and processes under the UNFCCC and the Agreement’s own provisions, including the enhanced transparency framework, the mechanism for implementation and compliance, and the facilitative dialogue and global stocktake. The Agreement established a committee on implementation and compliance with a facilitative, non-punitive approach, drawing procedural models from international instruments such as the Montreal Protocol’s mechanisms and the compliance arrangements under the Kyoto Protocol. Participation of international financial institutions like the World Bank and multilaterals such as the Green Climate Fund supports implementation in developing parties including Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Indonesia.

Finance, Technology and Capacity Building

Article 9 frames finance commitments, building on the goal set at COP16 in Cancún for developed countries to mobilize USD 100 billion annually by 2020, a target championed by blocs including the European Union and Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries critiques. The Agreement calls for scaled-up financial flows from public and private sources, involving institutions such as the Green Climate Fund, the Global Environment Facility, and multilateral development banks like the Asian Development Bank and African Development Bank. Technology transfer and collaborative research initiatives engage actors like the International Renewable Energy Agency, the International Energy Agency, and university consortia, while capacity-building efforts target Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States through partnerships with entities like the United Nations Development Programme.

Criticisms and Challenges

Critics point to shortcomings including the non-binding nature of NDCs, perceived insufficiency of pledged ambition to meet the 1.5 °C goal as assessed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and tensions over finance pledges between developed parties and developing parties such as China and India. The Agreement’s flexibility and reliance on domestic policy tools raises concerns about enforcement compared to treaties like the Montreal Protocol. Political shifts in major parties such as the United States presidential election outcomes have produced oscillations in participation and ambition, while debates persist over cooperative approaches under Article 6, involving controversies around carbon markets, double counting, and linkage with mechanisms like the European Union Emissions Trading System.

Impact and Effectiveness

Since entry into force, the Agreement has catalyzed national climate planning, corporate net-zero commitments, and subnational initiatives across networks such as C40 Cities and financial coalitions like the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance. Independent assessments by research institutions including the World Resources Institute, Climate Action Tracker, and academic centers at University of Oxford and Columbia University indicate that current NDCs are insufficient to meet the 1.5 °C pathway without rapid and deep additional measures in energy, land-use, and industrial sectors. The Agreement’s procedural mechanisms—global stocktakes, transparency, and finance mobilization—remain central to closing the ambition gap as observed in outcomes of subsequent Conference of the Parties sessions, bilateral diplomacy between major emitters, and multilateral initiatives linking climate action to sustainable development goals championed by the United Nations.

Category:International environmental treaties