Paris Agreement [fr]

Adopted on December 12, 2015, in Paris and signed on April 22, 2016, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the Paris Agreement – which entered into force on November 4, 2016, after being ratified by 96 States (188 to date) – reflects the resurgence of strong international ambitions with respect to the climate. As president of the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21), France has mobilized for rapid ratification of the Paris Agreement and has made the fight against global warming a priority of its diplomatic agenda.

Former UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon during the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change in September 2016

© UN Photos

International climate negotiations, from Rio to Paris

The adoption of the Paris Agreement is part of a longstanding effort, under the leadership of the scientific community, to combat climate change.

International climate negotiations are organized by the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Adopted in 1992 at the Earth Summit to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, the UNFCCC came into force in 1994, while in 1992 the Rio Declaration established the fundamental principles of inter-state environmental negotiations (a precautionary approach, the “polluter-pays” principle, common but differentiated responsibilities).

In 1995, the Parties to the Climate Convention adopted texts whose effects were limited and, while not binding, established fundamental principles and goals. The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997 and weakened by the non-ratification of the United States and the withdrawal of Canada, Russia, Japan, and Australia, established specific binding goals, including figures for industrialized nations, without quantifying the commitment of developing countries. The Copenhagen Conference (COP15) recognized the need to limit temperature increases to within 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and called for increased funding from developed nations.

The Paris Agreement marks the culmination of a positive dynamic that got under way in Durban in 2011 (COP17), favoring innovative approaches inspired by individual countries’ experiences.

What is the Paris Agreement?

The Paris Agreement is a binding international treaty on the climate tailored to the ambitions and capabilities of all nations. Adopted at the end of the COP21, it is also an additional protocol to the UNFCCC. While its main goal is to limit average temperature increases to within 2°C above preindustrial levels, and to less than 1.5°C above those levels whenever possible, the Paris Agreement also aims to strengthen adaptive capacities and resilience to the effects of climate change and to implement financial flows adapted to those goals.

Its adoption by 196 States in December 2015 followed three international conferences held that year: in Sendai, on reducing disaster risks; in Addis Ababa, on development funding; and in New York, on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Characterized as a historic agreement as soon as it was adopted, the Paris Agreement does not owe its success only to the return of a favorable context for climate action and sustainable development, but also to the effort to revamp the management of international climate negotiations. The Paris Agreement is backed by new initiatives, all of them adaptations to difficulties identified at previous COPs. This innovative approach is based on four elements:
 The adoption of a universal agreement.
 Each State’s determination of national contributions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While the text of the agreement does not mention the content of these contributions, it obligates signatory States to establish a contribution plan, to implement it, and to raise amounts every five years.
 The involvement of civil society in the negotiating process, through the Action Agenda adopted in November 2016, which combines civil society initiatives from 180 countries. In 2015, members of civil society were appointed as high-level champions to facilitate civil society involvement in the interstate process.
 The financial commitment of developed countries to contribute $100 billion per year from 2020. This funding should give priority to the states that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change

The Paris Agreement is a binding international treaty on the climate tailored to the ambitions and capabilities of all nations

© FranceONU

France’s role: innovative climate diplomacy

Within the framework of the presidency of COP21, France’s strategy involves a broad range of high-level actors (French president, special envoy for the planet, minister of foreign affairs, climate ambassador), supported by a multi-disciplinary interministerial team.

Starting in 2015, the incoming French presidency organized informal meetings between governments and increased its collaboration with think tanks and international organizations, leading to an initial exchange of ideas and the development of relations of trust that were beneficial to the Paris discussions.

At the start of the negotiations in November, the French presidency underscored this approach by establishing the Paris Committee, a negotiating forum open to everyone, and by appointing minister facilitators to represent all regions, making it possible to involve all state and non-state actors.

France, a key stakeholder in the ratification of the Paris Agreement, facilitated its entry into force less than a year before the holding of COP22 in Marrakesh in 2016.

Implementation of the Paris agreement and France’s long-term commitment to climate

Although the Paris Agreement has entered into force, its implementation still needs to be clarified by numerous implementing decisions. These are shaped by the publication by each party of its long-term climate strategy. The launch of the Climate Plan by then Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition Nicolas Hulot in July 2017 therefore ensured the implementation of the Paris Agreement at the national level.

The Paris Agreement also provides for the renewal of national contributions at least once every five years. This allows states to take stock of their progress and to set increasingly ambitious goals.

Lastly, a global assessment will enable states to collectively evaluate the results of the mitigation and adaptation strategies, and to draw conclusions regarding the effectiveness of the methods used. This meeting, which will take place every five years beginning in 2023, should facilitate the convergence of national strategies toward emission trends compatible with the 1.5-2°C target.

As part of its commitment to implementing a coherent international policy, France has developed effective tools to incorporate its climate ambitions into its development strategy. France was one of the countries that volunteered to present its strategy for implementing the SDGs in 2016, less than a year after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; it affirmed its vision of a climate policy integrated into the national strategy for sustainable development.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for the fight against climate change.

In order to promote the integrated approach that it is implementing, France remains committed to maintaining the momentum created by COP21. It was therefore actively involved in COP23 held in Bonn (Germany) in November 2017. The states came together to work on formulating the rules for implementing the Paris Agreement and to discuss raising the level of ambition of the national climate commitments.

France jointly hosted with the UN and the World Bank a climate summit on December 12, 2017, two years to the day after the adoption of the Paris Agreement. The One Planet Summit will focus in particular on injecting fresh momentum into countries’ efforts in the area of climate funding.

France then continued to act internationally, notably with the organization of the second One Planet Summit held in New York in 2018 to take stock of the 12 commitments announced at the first event and to accelerate climate action by mobilizing decision-makers at the highest level.

The One Planet Summit coalitions also met in Nairobi in 2019. This 3rd edition brought together committed African leaders, entrepreneurs, international organizations and other actors from all spheres of society. It helped to strengthen and accelerate actions for the climate to achieve significant results for African people and biodiversity.

Finally, in 2019, the first One Planet Event took place in Paris on the occasion of the replenishment of the Green Climate Fund to seek synergies to scale up innovative climate financing to help communities and countries on the front line of climate change.

The fourth edition of the "One Planet Summit" will be held in Paris on 11 January 2021. It will be an opportunity to take action for biodiversity and to raise the level of ambition of the international community on nature protection and climate, while responding to the new challenges raised by the current crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the perspective of this summit, 4 themes have been identified: protected land and sea areas, agroecology, the mobilization of financial resources for biodiversity, and tackling deforestation, the protection of ecosystems and species.

“Links between biodiversity, climate change and human health are now well established. Thus we will organize in the coming month a One Planet Summit on biodiversity, alongside the United Nations and the World Bank, where we will build an agenda for concret action.”

Emmanuel Macron