Marrakech meeting key to success of Paris Agreement

The UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Marrakech, Morocco, brings together the Conference of the Parties (COP 22), the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 12) and the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA 1) to make the roadmap for the implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement that entered into force on November 4. In so doing, all parties commit to accelerate and amplify the immediate response to the challenges recognised in the Paris Agreement. Broadly speaking, the Paris Agreement encapsulates all key components related to abatement of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere as originally laid down in the United Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Currently, 105 of the 197 parties have ratified the Paris Agreement. This column will specifically focus on the parties’ obligations with regard to the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as set forth in Article 4 of the Paris Agreement. In the NDCs, all parties have the following obligations: “(1) preparing, communicating and maintaining nationally determined contributions (NDCs) every five years, (2) pursuing domestic mitigation measures with the aim to achieve those NDCs, (3) providing clear, transparent and understandable information on the NDCs, (4) accounting for anthropogenic emissions and removals, and (5) providing information, no less frequently than biennially, on a national inventory as well as on progress in implementing and achieving the NDCs”. Although the Agreement commits the Parties to pursue domestic measures with the aim of achieving the objectives of the NDCs while using a soft language, it binds Parties to the Agreement. To put it in a legal perspective, this Agreement is now part of international law. It is an international treaty, i.e. an international agreement concluded between states in written form and will be governed by international law as set out in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. As a matter of principle, parties to the treaty must do it in good faith. Good faith suggests that parties need to take the necessary steps to comply with the object and purpose of the treaty. Neither can parties invoke restrictions imposed by domestic law as reason for not complying with their treaty obligations. Developed countries are reminded of their pre-existing obligation under the UNFCCC to provide financial resources to assist developing countries. It goes without saying that developing countries, especially African states, face severe financial constraints which might make it difficult to live up their commitments. Therefore, as developing countries are also required to meet their NDCs, developed countries, as pledged, need to do their best to avail funds to support domestic mitigation measures of developing countries. However, developing countries need to take into account the principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibility’. The principle of common but differentiated responsibility includes two fundamental elements: The first element is the common responsibility of States for the protection of environment, individually or collectively. The second element is the need to take into account the different circumstances, particularly each State’s contribution with respect to its capability to prevent, reduce and control anthropogenic environmental threats. As such, developed countries should continue taking the lead by undertaking economy-wide absolute emission reduction targets, while developing countries should continue to enhance their efforts and are encouraged to move, over time, to economy-wide emission reduction or limitation targets. Less developed countries need to prepare strategies, plans and actions for low greenhouse gases emission. Indeed, Article 4, paragraph 3, of the Paris Agreement spells out the requirement that Parties shall deploy their best efforts in setting their national mitigation targets and in pursuing domestic measures to achieve them. That said, each Party should adopt, with a due diligence standard, all adequate and appropriate measures at its disposal. At the same time, at the minimum, Parties to the Paris Agreement need to set their highest possible mitigation target at a level that is not economically disproportionately burdensome or impossible to achieve. It also requires Parties to have domestic measures in place that are necessary, meaningful and, indeed, effective means to achieve that target. In order for these normative precepts in the Paris Agreement to be achieved, governments should take a pivotal role in integrating them in policy-making, legal framework and legal education so as to shape the mindset of the citizens toward sustainable development model. With entering into force of the Paris Agreement, the NDCs become the benchmark against which information on progress of implementation and achievement shall be submitted as may be required. This information will feed into the transparency framework established under the Agreement, and will be publicly available. As the starting year for NDCs implementation is 2020, the information obligation only starts to apply from then onwards. In closing, all Parties need to be committed to pursuing domestic measures with the aim of achieving the objective of the NDCs. Such measures need to be put in place now. In order to save our generation as well as future generation, the Parties need to understand that intended nationally determined contributions (INDC) tenet is a golden rule. The writer is an international law expert

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Marrakech meeting key to success of Paris Agreement