Abstract
International negotiations on climate change control are moving away from a global cooperative agreement (at least from the ambition to achieve it) to adopt a bottom-up framework composed of unilateral pledges of domestic measures and policies. This shift from cooperative to voluntary actions to control GHG emissions already started in Copenhagen at COP 15 in 2007 and became a platform formally adopted by a large number of countries in Paris at COP 21. The new architecture calls for a mechanism to review the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of the various signatories and assess their adequacy. Most importantly, countries’ voluntary pledges need to be compared to assess the fairness, and not only the effectiveness, of the resulting outcome. This assessment is crucial to support future, more ambitious, commitments to reduce GHG emissions. It is therefore important to identify criteria and quantitative indicators to assess and compare the NDCs.
Highlights
Last December, the long-awaited Paris Conference on Climate Change (COP 21) approved a new, comprehensive deal that will guide international action to control climate change from 2020
This shift from cooperative to voluntary actions to control GHG emissions already started in Copenhagen at COP 15 in 2007 and became a platform formally adopted by a large number of countries in Paris at COP 21
A key pillar of the Paris agreement are the so called nationally determined contributions (NDCs) (Nationally Determined Contributions), that are a new type of instrument under the UNFCCC, through which both developed and developing countries declare the actions they intend to undertake to tackle climate changes at the national level
Summary
Last December, the long-awaited Paris Conference on Climate Change (COP 21) approved a new, comprehensive deal that will guide international action to control climate change from 2020. The Paris agreement is just a first step: countries need to find common ambitions on mitigation objectives, and on adaptation measures, financing to support developing countries plans, as well as technology transfers. The Paris agreement is an important step: for the first time, all the most important GHG emitters are committed to keep their own GHG emissions under control. A key pillar of the Paris agreement are the so called NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions), that are a new type of instrument under the UNFCCC, through which both developed and developing countries declare the actions they intend to undertake to tackle climate changes at the national level.
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