Paris agreement has maintained CBDR : Javadekar

The new commitment welcomes the Paris Agreement, which this weekend saw over 190 countries commit to keeping global temperatures well below 2C, ensuring emissions peak as “soon as possible”, delivering net zero emissions this century, and backing a system of national climate action plans that will be reviewed every five years. Nonetheless, the agreement won’t actually force countries to hit their emissions-reduction targets.

On December 12, 2015, the Paris Agreement, touted as the “single most important collective action for addressing climate change ever agreed upon”, was adopted by 195 countries. The Paris Agreement calls for a “transparency framework” to achieve uniformity among reporting countries.

Firstly, as a long-term goal, all countries will try to keep the rise in global temperature to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius, the level that is likely to eliminate the worst effects of climate change, and to pursue efforts to limit the increase in temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius. He said that the climate agreement mandates developed countries to provide financial resources to developing countries. However, the agreement has declared no penalty for countries missing targets. By 2020, developed countries should jointly provide $100 billion per annum for developing countries.

There is also a very important link between the Climate Agreement and the United Nations 2030 Agenda concerning the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goals 7 and 14 with commitments relating to the Oceans, Energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The Paris Agreement takes a two-track approach to its legally binding status.

The Paris Agreement has garnered mixed reactions from scientists, environmentalists and researchers from across the globe.

“The phrase “historical responsibility” has been erased from the agreement and this weakens the obligations of developed countries to take actions due to their past emissions”, said Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general at Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Dr Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics, says the objective is “remarkable”. Steven Guilbeault, Senior Director of the Quebec environmental group Équiterre, said: “Countries will be legally bound to put forward targets, but these targets will not be legally binding in the sense that the United Nations can not go into Washington or Ottawa or Paris and police what countries are doing”. It recognises the right of the developing countries to development and their efforts to harmonise development with environment while protecting the interests of the most vulnerable, he said.

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