The Paris Agreement and the era of climate change

The Paris Agreement and the era of climate change

Climate change is a global emergency that transcends national borders, and an issue that requires coordinated solutions at all levels and international cooperation to help countries pursue a low-carbon economy. This is to confront those negative effects resulting from climate change, and hence 197 countries adopted theParis Agreement at the Conference of the Parties (COP) 21 (COP21) in Paris on December 12, 2015.

Less than a year later, the agreement entered into force, to effectively limit global greenhouse gas emissions, and also to limit the global temperature increase in this century to 2 degrees Celsius, in addition to limiting the increase to 1.5 degrees.

The agreement included commitments from all countries to work to adapt to the effects of climate change and reduce their emissions, as those countries called for strengthening their commitments over time. This agreement is an open way for developed countries to support developing countries in the field of efforts to adapt toclimate changes and mitigate their severity, while establishing a framework for transparent reporting and monitoring of countries’ climate goals.

The Paris Agreement has a contribution to providing a permanent framework to guide global efforts for decades to come, and its goal is to raise the level of ambition of all countries – with regard to climate – as days pass; In order to strengthen this, the agreement stipulated the implementation of two review processes, each over a period of five years. The Paris Agreement represents a turning point to a low-carbon world, and much remains to be done. Implementing the agreement is crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It provides a roadmap for climate action that helps reduce emissions, and also builds resilience to climate change.

The Road to Paris

We can point to two important turning points in climate action. The first was in 1992 in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, which hosted the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. The second turning point came at the Paris Summit in 2015.

The Rio Summit gave birth to three important international agreements, as these agreements turned into approaches to action, which are: the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, and the United Nations Climate Change Convention, and from the latter emerged the “Conferences of the Parties – COP” series.

In 1997, at the Third Conference of the Parties (COP) (COP3) in Kyoto, the participating countries adopted the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and eight years later – that is, in 2005 – the protocol entered into force.

The “Kyoto Protocol” – which obligated developed countries to reduce emissions – had two commitment periods, the first from 2008 to 2012, then the second commitment period from January 1, 2013 to 2020, but before the end of the second commitment period, the world was caught in a complex network – geographically and politically – of failure to achieve the goals of the protocol, increasing emissions, as well as the rate of increase in global warming. So Paris was the scene of one of the most prominent climate summits (COP21).

Objectives of the Paris Agreement

The goals of the Paris Agreement can be described as ambitious goals in the field of climate action, as they strengthened commitments to limit the average rise in global temperatures in this century to less than 2 degrees Celsius, while making further efforts to limit the increase to only 1.5 degrees Celsius, and this is compared to the average temperatures in the pre-industrial era, with the extent of countries’ commitment being reviewed every five years.

 The agreement sought to increase countries’ ability to adapt to climate change, and established a shift towards low-emission and climate change-resistant development models, with the goal of achieving low-carbon economic development.

The necessity of the commitment of developed countries is important, and therefore it was emphasized for the second time in the “Paris Conference”. For their part, these countries mobilized $100 billion annually to support climate crises until 2020, and continued to mobilize financing at another level until 2025, at a value of $100 billion per year. A commitment like this indicates ready-made plans capable of supporting developing countries to confront climate change adaptation work, as well as to mitigate its impacts.

The goals of the Paris Agreement can be summarized in four goals: First: Striving to stop the increase in the average global temperature below two degrees above pre-industrial levels. This is a new goal of its kind, as it is the first time that an agreement stipulates limiting the increase in global temperatures, something that was not destined for success in previous agreements. The second: searching for ways to adapt to climate changes. Third: Encouraging companies to adopt clean, climate-friendly practices, and highlighting the importance of investing in technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Fourth: Establishing mechanisms that help organize volunteer work, to serve the objectives of the agreement.

Legal Issues

The legal nature of the “Paris Agreement” is a subject of controversy, as there have been many questions about the legal form of the agreement. Because European countries – as well as a number of non-governmental organizations – insisted that the document represents a legally binding treaty, while some countries did not consider it so.

The “Paris Agreement” is a necessary path to achieving development goals and making further progress towards the 2030 Agenda. This is consistent with the agreement’s interest in human rights, women’s empowerment, intergenerational equality, the rights of indigenous and local peoples, activating “ecological safety” and sustainable development of human society, and protecting Biodiversity, in addition to its interest in the people of Disability.

What the “Paris Agreement” was interested in explaining: How to avoid the harmful effects resulting from climate change, proposing to this end subjecting the provisions of the “Warsaw Agreement” concerned with the harmful effects of climate changes, whereby measures to combat climate change are as needed, in a cooperative manner that helps support the following areas:

1. Early warning systems.
2. Emergency preparedness.
3. Phenomena are slow to occur.
4. Accidents with permanent damage.
5. Risk assessment and comprehensive management.
6. Risk insurance facilities.
7. Non-economic losses.

Feasibility of the agreement inChanging climate policies

The “Paris Agreement” is a promising future for the climate, as it provides global effort for decades to come, by conducting two review processes, each one five years apart. Let the world shift towards low carbon; Therefore, the agreement was drafted in a way that could send a strong message to the international community, and it would not have entered into force without the seriousness and diplomatic skill that characterized the efforts of the French government. The agreement gave a political impetus to the participating parties, after they benefited from the Conference of the Parties (COP) in Copenhagen. It did not leave the final decision in the hands of heads of state, and it was able – skillfully – to apply best practices from other conferences of the parties, such as the system “Open Ministerial Round Table – Indaba”, which was used in South Africa; Despite this, reactions to the “Paris Agreement” varied, as some reactions tended to say that the agreement was weak, and that it did not punish violating countries in the climate fields, although some reactions were positive, confirming the validity of the agreement and its being on the right track.

Doesachieve the desired goal?

There is international agreement on the danger of a temperature rise of more than two degrees, and while the sea surface rise is estimated at about 20 metres, the average temperature rise is currently estimated at about 0.8 degrees Celsius. Hence the goal of the Paris Agreement, which is to create legal policies. To re-evaluate inappropriate actions that exacerbate the climate change crisis; Therefore, more than 180 countries – representing 90% of harmful emissions – submitted on the eve of the “Paris Conference” worthy national contributions. Based on the expected temperature rises, it is estimated that the amount of emissions will reach 55 gigatons by the year 2030. If the agreement seeks to reduce two degrees Celsius, it is possible to reduce harmful emissions up to 40 gigatons, and this is with commitment to all contributions. But they are potential contributions that do not rise to the level of certainty; That is: the agreement moves the world towards a rise of 2.7 degrees at the very least. Especially since countries were not asked to review their national contributions to comply with the goal.

In the end, one commentator’s statement seems very expressive of the agreement’s evaluation: “The Paris Agreement – compared to what could happen – is a miracle, but compared to what is required, it is a disaster!”