Social Safeguards and Equity in the Provisions of Payment for Environmental Services in the Paris Agreement

Abstract

The Paris Agreement, in force since 2016, stipulates the new multilateral foundations for climate actions under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change. This Agreement incorporated Payment for Environmental Services (PES) and Markets for Environmental Services (MES) among its strategies to combat climate change. However, abundant literature has outlined economic, social and environmental equity concerns regarding the implementation of PES and MES under the Kyoto Protocol. How have these concerns been taken into account in the establishment of PES and MES in the Paris Agreement? How can equity considerations be comprehensively assessed in this regard? Through the triangulation of methodologies including literature review, participant observation and interviews with key informants, this thesis explains the consideration of equity in the newly established PES and MES in the Paris Agreement.