Context :- 

Mostly because of human actions, the concentration of gases like Carbon dioxide, Methane etc has increased in earth’s atmosphere and has resulted in phenomena called Green House Effect. Because of Green House Effect, the average global temperature has increased, which is known as Global Warming. The 2016 average temperatures were about 1.3 °C (2.3 degrees Fahrenheit) above the average in 1880 when global record-keeping began. It is estimated that the difference between today’s temperature and the last ice age is about 5°C. Global Warming is dangerous all life on earth. The only way to deal with the change in climate is to reduce the emission of Green House Gases (GHGs) like Carbon dioxide and Methane.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released a special report on global warming of 1.5°C over pre-industrial temperatures. IPCC provides details on how the global response to climate change needs to be strengthened within the broader context of sustainable development and continuing efforts to eradicate poverty. The impacts of 1.5°C of warming and the possible development pathways by which the world could get there are its main focus. It was in 2015, at the Paris climate conference, that the global community made a pact to pursue efforts to limit warming to within 1.5°C — half a degree below the previous target of 2°C. With the increase in extreme events and the very survival of small islands at stake, the lower limit was greeted then with surprise and enthusiasm.

Features of the agreement :- 

The Paris Agreement acknowledges the development imperatives of developing countries. The Agreement recognizes the developing countries’ right to development and their efforts to harmonize development with environment, while protecting the interests of the most vulnerable. The Paris Agreement recognizes the importance of sustainable lifestyles and sustainable patterns of consumption with developed countries taking the lead, and notes the importance of ‘climate justice’ in its preamble

The objective of the Agreement further ensures that it is not mitigation-centric and includes other important elements such as adaptation, loss and damage, finance, technology, capacity building and transparency of action and support. Commitment to reduce emissions to limit rise of temperature well beyond 2 degree and trying for 1.5 degree
Five year review mechanism to check progress on nationally declared goals (INDCs) Funding to the tunes of additional 1 million USD per year in GCF up till 2020, further establishing a mechanism. The agreement also includes a provision requiring developed countries to send $100 billion annually to their developing counterparts beginning in 2020. This figure is expected to increase with time. The agreement gives countries considerable leeway in determining how to cut their emissions but mandates that they report transparently on those efforts. Every five years nations will be required to assess their progress towards meeting their climate commitments and submit new plans to strengthen them. Some elements in the agreement are binding-like reporting requirements.

For most people, the difference between 1.5°C and 2°C may seem trivial when daily temperatures fluctuate much more widely. However, the reference here is to global average temperatures. Different regions of the earth will warm at different rates. For instance, the Arctic is already experiencing warming that is many times higher than the global average.

Positives of the agreement :- 

• Shared responsibilities: - Unlike previous agreements which put all the responsibility for reducing emissions on rich countries, in the Paris Agreement, all 196 signatories agreed that every country must take action, while acknowledging that richer countries should start immediately and cut emissions more steeply, while poorer countries’ contributions will depend on their individual situations.
• Ratchet mechanism:- This is the technical term for the agreement to submit new pledges by 2020. It’s the most important victory within the agreement, as many large developing nations, like India and Indonesia, were reluctant to agree to a system that would pressure them to up their ambition within the next decade. The ratchet mechanism requires countries to return to the table in 2020 and spell out their plans for 2025 to 2030. This creates the opportunity for the world to potentially put itself on a course to stay below 2 C.
• Ambitious abstract goals: - The Paris Agreement includes the goal of keeping warming below 2 degrees C. But at the behest of the most vulnerable countries, such as the small island states, it also goes further, calling for efforts to stay below 1.5 C. It even requests that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change produce a report on how we could stay below 1.5 C.

Challenges before the agreement :-  

• There is a risk that U.S. Congress may reject agreement that the U.S. administration has signed, like it did with Kyoto Protocol. Other countries may withhold ratification since the U.S. is the second largest emitter of GHGs after China will not happen.
• Several major concepts and provisions were deliberately left ambiguous and open to differing interpretations in order to reach consensus. Further negotiations are necessary to reach a common understanding to enable implementation
• The Paris Agreement provides for a five-yearly “stocktake” which would enable an estimation of how much progress is being made in the implementation of the various contributions pledged by Parties in respect not only of mitigation but also adaptation, finance, technology transfer and capacity building. How each of these contributions will be measured and evaluated still needs to be worked out. This will be both a political and technical challenge
• On technology transfer, there is already an offensive by the U.S. corporate sector to ensure that in the post-Paris negotiations there is no concession on intellectual property (IP) issues

Way Forward and Conclusion :- 

The developed countries whose emissions have peaked and their per capita emissions are way beyond other nations. They need to fulfil their pledge of giving $100 billion to developing nations for mitigation of climate change. Though funds have been promised but no commitment has been made for time bound transfer. A tough balancing act is required to reduce emission and also satisfy environmental justice. Developing nations like India and China who contribute 35% of the global emissions and their growing energy, infrastructure needs which further add to their emissions. Their INDC’s and how they plan their urban future play important role. How MNC’s and their influence on overall policies of countries effect the transition from non-renewable to renewable source of energy. Naming and shaming as legally binding KYOTO did not work well as is evident from examples of Russia, Canada, Japan, etc. So an active civil society which is also international in its outlook is a must. The next INDCs must be more ambitious. Role of small island nations to continually keep pressure mounted in others to work for achieving targets and also seek loss and damage compensation due to asymmetry of the effects.

The IPCC report identifies two main strategies.

• The first stabilises global temperature around the 5°C mark with limited overshoot and
• The second permits temperatures to exceed 1.5°C temporarily before coming back down. The consequences of the temporary overshoot would cause worse impacts than the first approach.

To limit warming to around 1.5°C with no or limited overshoot, global net carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions need to decline by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 and reach net zero around mid-century. To limit warming to the lower temperature goal, the world needs “rapid and far-reaching” changes in energy systems, land use, city and industrial design, transportation and building use. Emissions of other greenhouse gases, such as methane, also will have to drop. Switching away rapidly from fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas to do this could be three to four times more expensive than the less ambitious goal, but it would clean the air of other pollutants. And that would have the side benefit of avoiding more than 100 million premature deaths through this century, the IPCC report mentioned this also. In comparison, to limit warming to just below 2°C, the reductions needed are about 20% by 2030 and reach net zero around 2075.