The Paris Agreement: Reflections on an International Law Odyssey
The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, is a landmark in the history of international environmental law. The agreement, which aims to limit the global average temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, has been signed by 195 countries and territories, making it one of the most widely supported treaties in the world.
The road to the Paris Agreement was long and winding, marked by numerous obstacles and setbacks. It started with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was adopted in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit. The UNFCCC established the basic principles for international action on climate change, but it did not include binding emission reduction targets.
The first attempt to negotiate a binding international agreement on climate change was at the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol set binding targets for industrialized countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5.2% below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. However, the United States, the largest emitter at the time, did not ratify the agreement, and several other countries failed to meet their targets.
The failure of the Kyoto Protocol led to a decade of stagnation in international climate negotiations. The breakthrough came at the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Conference, where countries agreed to work towards a new treaty that would be applicable to all countries and would include binding emission reduction targets.
The negotiations that followed were contentious and complex. Countries had different views on how to share the burden of reducing emissions, and there were concerns about the impact of a climate agreement on economic growth and development. Nevertheless, after years of negotiations, the Paris Agreement was finally adopted in 2015.
The Paris Agreement is a bottom-up approach, where countries pledge their own emission reduction targets, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs). The agreement also includes provisions to enhance transparency and accountability, and to provide support to developing countries for adaptation and mitigation measures.
The Paris Agreement has been hailed as a historic achievement in international environmental law, but its success depends on the ability of countries to implement their NDCs and to increase their ambition over time. The agreement also faces challenges from political developments, such as the withdrawal of the United States under the Trump administration, and from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In conclusion, the Paris Agreement is an important step towards a sustainable and climate-resilient future, but it is not the end of the journey. The implementation of the agreement requires ongoing commitment and cooperation from all countries, and the continued development of innovative and effective solutions to address the challenges of climate change.