The recently concluded COP-21 has been hailed as a historic step towards tackling climate change through reduction in emissions and collective responsibility. The conference witnessed intensive negotiations and it was widely speculated that the agreement would get shelved but it was on the very last day of the conference that all the countries came together and by consensus, agreed to the final global pact. The Paris Agreement of the COP was but a culmination of the efforts of the UNFCCC over a period of almost 25 years to address the challenge of global warming and its impact on the environment.
Article 2 defines the objectives of the Paris Agreement which states that the Agreement aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty, including by:
Article 4 explains in detail the responsibilities of the developed and the developing countries and how to proceed in the direction of economy-wide emission reduction. Developing countries have been given more breathing space regarding peaking time and mitigation efforts. Article 4(5) says that 'support shall be provided to developing country parties for implementation of this Article, in accordance with Articles 9, 10 and 11, recognising that enhanced support for developing countries will allow for higher ambition in their actions'. In this context Article 9 states that the developed country parties will provide financial assistance to developing country parties with respect to mitigation and adaptation, while Article 11 emphasises 'capacity-building' by enhancing the capacity and ability of developing countries and least developed countries, to take effective climate change action like mitigation, technology development etc.
The Agreement also establishes a 'global stocktaking process' where the parties will take 'stock of the implementation of this agreement to assess the collective progress towards achieving the purpose of this Agreement'. The first global stocktake will be undertaken in 2023 and will be repeated every 5 years.
Since the beginning of the conference, India had pitched for CBDR (Common But Differentiated Responsibilities). The developed countries have long argued for the dilution of this principle saying that the world has changed since 1990 when convention was negotiated, particularly referring to the rise of China. Statistics show that China, US, the European Union, India and Russia top the list when it comes to carbon dioxide emissions but if per capita emissions are compared India is much much behind than all these countries. India has contributed very little to the problem and has limited capacity to address it, and it did not want to be placed under pressure to limit emissions prematurely. One can say that CBDR was the best option that India could root for. Critics point out that the Paris Agreement is toothless as it does not bind countries to actual emission limits, no mechanisms to enforce actions and therefore will have very little impact. But international actions have influenced policy making at domestic levels and countries cannot afford to ignore the problem for long especially when it could have disastrous effects on the world.
Sources: Wikipedia and unfccc.int.
History
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The UNFCCC was an international environmental treaty negotiated at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 and entered into force on 21 March 1994. The objective of UNFCCC is to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic influence with the climate system. The Framework sets no binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual countries and contains no enforcement mechanisms. Instead the framework outlines how specific international treaties are to be negotiated in the future. As of now the UNFCCC has 196 parties. Parties to the convention have been meeting annually from 1995 in the Conference Of Parties (COP) to assess the progress in dealing with climate change.Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol was proclaimed in 1997 and went into effect in 2005. It was ratified by 141 nations. It bound the 35 industrialized countries to reduce their emissions by year 2012 to 5% less than levels prevalent in 1990. Kyoto protocol set emission targets for developed countries which were binding under international law. It had two commitment periods, 2005-2012 and 2012-2020. The US did not participate in the Kyoto protocol.Bali Action Plan
The Bali Action Plan was adopted in 2007. As per the Bali Action plan all developed countries agreed to "quantified emission limitations and reduction objectives, while ensuring comparability of efforts among them, taking into account differences in their national circumstances". 42 developed countries, 57 developing countries and the African Group submitted their mitigation targets to UNFCCC.Copenhagen Negotiations
A number of countries produced the Copenhagen Accord in the year 2009. It states that global warming should be limited to below 2.0 degree C (3.6 degree F) relative to pre-industrial temperatures. 114 countries agreed to the accord. The developed and developing countries submitted their respective mitigation plans as part of the Cancun Agreements.Durban Platform
In 2011, parties adopted the 'Durban Platform for Enhanced Action' and agreed to develop a protocol, an agreement with legal force under the Convention applicable to all parties. This paved the way for the Paris Agreement which got adopted at COP-21.Conference of Parties-21 (COP-21)
The COP-21 took place in Paris, France from 30 November to 12 December, 2015. The Conference negotiated the Paris Agreement, a global agreement on climate change, the text of which represented a consensus of the representatives of the 196 participating countries. The agreement will not become legally binding on its members until it is ratified by 55 countries which account for 55% of global emissions all over the world. Each country that ratifies the agreement will have to set a target for reduction in emission but amount will be voluntary. There will be a mechanism to force a country to set the emission target by a specific date but no enforcement if set target is not met. After every five years a party country will choose the most ambitious target that can be met as its target and continue in the direction of mitigation and reduction to achieve that target.Article 2 defines the objectives of the Paris Agreement which states that the Agreement aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty, including by:
- Holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degree C above pre industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit temperature increase to 1.5 degree C above pre industrial levels, recognising that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change.
- Increasing ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development, in a manner that does not threaten food production.
- Making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate resilient developments.
Article 4 explains in detail the responsibilities of the developed and the developing countries and how to proceed in the direction of economy-wide emission reduction. Developing countries have been given more breathing space regarding peaking time and mitigation efforts. Article 4(5) says that 'support shall be provided to developing country parties for implementation of this Article, in accordance with Articles 9, 10 and 11, recognising that enhanced support for developing countries will allow for higher ambition in their actions'. In this context Article 9 states that the developed country parties will provide financial assistance to developing country parties with respect to mitigation and adaptation, while Article 11 emphasises 'capacity-building' by enhancing the capacity and ability of developing countries and least developed countries, to take effective climate change action like mitigation, technology development etc.
The Agreement also establishes a 'global stocktaking process' where the parties will take 'stock of the implementation of this agreement to assess the collective progress towards achieving the purpose of this Agreement'. The first global stocktake will be undertaken in 2023 and will be repeated every 5 years.
How does the Paris Agreement affect India?
India's main concern regarding the Paris Agreement has been the undue limits that could have been placed on India's energy options. India will be requiring a great deal of energy in the coming decades for commercial cooking, fuels, electricity, and industrial and commercial purposes. It is very difficult to ascertain how much energy will be consumed in the coming years and that is one of the reasons why India was apprehensive to commit too much.Since the beginning of the conference, India had pitched for CBDR (Common But Differentiated Responsibilities). The developed countries have long argued for the dilution of this principle saying that the world has changed since 1990 when convention was negotiated, particularly referring to the rise of China. Statistics show that China, US, the European Union, India and Russia top the list when it comes to carbon dioxide emissions but if per capita emissions are compared India is much much behind than all these countries. India has contributed very little to the problem and has limited capacity to address it, and it did not want to be placed under pressure to limit emissions prematurely. One can say that CBDR was the best option that India could root for. Critics point out that the Paris Agreement is toothless as it does not bind countries to actual emission limits, no mechanisms to enforce actions and therefore will have very little impact. But international actions have influenced policy making at domestic levels and countries cannot afford to ignore the problem for long especially when it could have disastrous effects on the world.
Sources: Wikipedia and unfccc.int.
