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Governing Climate Change: General Principles and the
Paris Agreement
Jolene Lin
Associate Professor, NUS Law
Director, Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law (APCEL)
+Outline
General Principles
1. Common Concern of Humankind
2. Common but differentiated responsibilities and respective
capabilities
3. Equity
The Paris Agreement (PA)
1. Objective
2. Key Provisions
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
+Common Concern of Humankind
Framework for approaching global environmental concerns
Need for international cooperation/collective action
Related to, but distinct from, the principle of the common heritage of mankind
Common heritage of mankind: generally applies to geographic areas or shared natural resources
Common concern of humankind: generally applies to specific issues (eg: climate change, biological diversity)
General Principles - Paris Agreement - Clean Development Mechanism
+Common Concern of Humankind
Preamble, Convention on Biological Diversity: “Affirming that the
conservation of biological diversity is a common concern of
humankind.”
Preamble, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change:
“Acknowledging that change in the Earth's climate and its adverse
effects are a common concern of humankind....”
Preamble, PA: “Acknowledging that climate change is a common
concern of humankind, Parties should, when taking action to address
climate change, respect, promote and consider their respective
obligations on human rights, the right to health, the rights of
indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, children, persons
with disabilities and people in vulnerable situations and the right to
development, as well as gender equality, empowerment of women and
intergenerational equity.”
General Principles - Paris Agreement - Clean Development Mechanism
+Common but differentiated responsibilities and
respective capabilities
Core idea: Leadership from developed countries + differential treatment for developing countries is the fair and appropriate basis for structuring the international climate change legal regime
Contestation: Nature and Extent of Differentiation
Kyoto Protocol-style “developed versus developing” bifurcation rejected
CBDRRC is operationalized differently in the Paris Agreement:
1. Additional phrase: “in light of different national circumstances” –increases the range of factors that can serve as basis for differentiation
2. Each PA article takes a slightly different approach to differentiation
3. Core obligations for all parties
General Principles - Paris Agreement - Clean Development Mechanism
+Equity
Often used interchangedly with CBDRRC
Difference: Equity is a wider concept
Includes arguments based on justice, fairness and
redistribution
Inter-generational equity
Intra-generational equity
Paris Agreement: first time human rights are recognized
in a climate treaty
General Principles - Paris Agreement - Clean Development Mechanism
+Objective of the PA (Art. 2)
Holding temperature increase to “well below” 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while making efforts to stay below 1.5°C
Increasing the ability to adapt
Transform finance flows towards low-GHG emissions and climate-resilient development
General Principles - Paris Agreement - Clean Development Mechanism
+Article 3
All Parties to take and
communicate “ambitious efforts” and demonstrate “progression
over time”
Mitigation
(Art.4)
Adaptation
(Art. 7)
Finance
(Art. 9)
Technology
(Art. 10)
Capacity
(Art. 11)
Transparency (Art. 13)
General Principles - Paris Agreement - Clean Development Mechanism
Key Provisions
+Article 4 (Mitigation)
Opens with the long-term goal for mitigation: achieve the Article 2 temperature goal with net zero carbon emissions by 2050
Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are central to the PA
An NDC is a state’s climate action plan
Legal expectation that an NDC reflects a state’s “highest possible ambition” and that the NDC “will represent a progression” over time
All parties to submit NDCs every 5 years and to formulate long-term low GHG emission development strategies
Relationship with the global stock take (Art 14)
General Principles - Paris Agreement - Clean Development Mechanism
Key Provisions
+Article 7 (Adaptation)
PA gives adaptation new level of prominence
“[G]lobal goal on adaptation”: “ensuring an adequate adaptation
response in the context of” the Art. 2 temperature goal
Parties’ adaptation actions should be country-driven, gender-
responsive, transparent, based and guided by best available science
and traditional knowledge
Arts. 7.2 and 7.4: Recognition of the relationship between mitigation and
adaptation
Adaptation communication, inclusion of adaptation actions in NDCs
Global Stocktake shall recognize adaptation efforts and review
adequacy of adaptation and support provided for adaptation
General Principles - Paris Agreement - Clean Development Mechanism
Key Provisions
+Article 13 (Transparency)
Purpose of the transparency framework for action: “to build
mutual trust and confidence”, track progress towards
achieving NDCs, and inform global stocktake
Purpose of the transparency framework for support: track the
amount of support provided and received; provide overview of
aggregate financial support
Each party shall provide national GHG emissions inventory
report on regular basis (Art. 13(7)(a))
Each party shall provide information necessary to track
progress in implementing and achieving NDC (Art. 13(7)(b))
Developed country parties shall provide information on
financial, technology transfer and capacity-building support
General Principles - Paris Agreement - Clean Development Mechanism
Key Provisions
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Article 13 (Transparency)
Differentiation: “Support shall be provided to developing
countries” to implement this Article and for building
transparency-related capacity
Differentiation: transparency framework “with built-in
flexibility which takes into account Parties’ different
capacities”
Detailed guidance (“common modalities, procedures and
guidelines”) currently under development
General Principles - Paris Agreement - Clean Development Mechanism
Key Provisions
+Kyoto Protocol’s Clean
Development Mechanism
Developing Country (Non- Annex I)
Developed Country
(Annex I; emissions
reduction target)
Carbon credits (CERs)
Money
General Principles - Paris Agreement - Clean Development Mechanism
+Article 6(4) of Paris Agreement
Main idea: Country X hosts a mitigation activity that
supports sustainable development and accrues carbon
credits, which may be used by Country Y to achieve its NDC.
Some differences between Art 6(4) mechanism and Kyoto
Protocol’s CDM:
1. Both developed and developing countries may host
projects and use mitigation outcomes to achieve their
NDCs
2. Art (4) provides for different levels of aggregation of
activities (eg: individual projects grouped as a program;
economic sectors)
General Principles - Paris Agreement - Clean Development Mechanism
+Article 6(4)
General Principles - Paris Agreement - Clean Development Mechanism
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The End