On Earth Day (April 22), representatives from 171 countries gathered in New York to participate in a signing ceremony for the Paris Climate Agreement. The agreement was adopted by all 196 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December 2015. It has been described as “a landmark climate agreement,” because in it nearly every country in the world has promised actions (called “intended nationally determined contributions” or INDCs) to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The goal of the agreement is to keep the global increase in temperature below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, and the key to this succeeding largely depends on how countries follow through with their commitments, particularly the largest emitters, like the U.S., China, India and Russia. A key component of the U.S. goal of reducing its GHG emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2020 is the U.S. EPA’s Clean Power Plan, although other policies and incentives, including tax credits for wind and solar power. The Supreme Court put a hold on implementation of the Clean Power Plan pending the outcome of the lawsuit challenging the rule’s validity brought by 29 states and many corporations and industry groups.
The cornerstone of the Paris accord is the global temperature goal, but other key components include GHG targets for countries (the INDCs) and transparency reporting rules to motivate countries to meet target pledges, since there are no penalties for countries that miss their own goals. However, the agreement is not a treaty and therefore is non-binding. The rules require GHG targets to be reported every five years beginning in 2020. Developed countries have hard targets; developing countries are encouraged to cut emissions as they are able. It is possible to withdraw from the agreement, but not until after a four-year period, which includes a one-year notice period to the other parties.
The Earth Day signing ceremony on Friday does not mean that the agreement is in effect. Signatories still must present formal ratification documents. The Paris Agreement will be effective once 55 countries representing 55 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions have ratified the documents.