The Paris climate change agreement

“India has been a strong advocate of the principle of differentiation and operationalisation of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR)…”

In the months leading up to the United Nations climate change summit in Paris, which concluded on Saturday with a landmark deal putting 195 countries on a path to cut their greenhouse gas emissions, Republicans in Congress vowed to block USA climate aid.

Businesses and other bodies signing up to the agreement are invited to publicly report on the action they are taking to tackle climate change through the UN’s NAZCA and Lima-Paris Action Agenda (LPAA) initiatives, which encourage organisations to promote their climate change efforts. Representative Lamar Smith, chairman of House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, said, “The Obama administration’s Paris climate deal will increase the control of the federal government over the lives of Americans, all for little environmental benefit”.

Meanwhile, in terms of India, the organization believes that the nation has neither lost nor won in the short term.

CSE analyses say India will be under constant pressure to take more burden for mitigating climate change by 2020 and beyond, especially when the next review of all the nationally determined contributions of countries take place.

“We were proactive, positive and friendly”, he said. As our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) said, we are all winners in the Paris outcome.

Today, approaching 700 major cities, regions, companies and investors-400 businesses, 120 investors and 150 cities-from around the globe promised to quickly and effectively help implement the Paris agreement and accelerate the transformative changes needed to meet the climate change challenge.

“Our call for climate justice was based on the centrality of equity, historical responsibilities and the right to development for the world’s poorest”, he said.

“Non-state actor leadership is key to the success of COP21 and to the effective transition to a low-emissions and climate-resilient future”, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, president of COP21, said. As stated by the agreement’s regulations, developed countries should continue to offer financial support to help developing countries reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.

The Paris agreement acknowledges the development imperatives of developing countries.

Though considered to be a welcome development, the effectiveness of the Paris Agreement depends on the determination of nations to achieve the national emission cap they have set for themselves and how stringently they follow the same. While the overall agreement is legally binding, some of its elements – including individual states’ pledges to curb emissions as well as certain climate finance elements – are not. It recognises the right of developing countries to development and their efforts to harmonise development with environment, while protecting the interests of the most vulnerable, he added.