Paris Agreement (Part II)

16

No. Of introductory paragraphs in the Paris Agreement

29

No. of articles in the Paris Agreement

Procedural articles

Type of articles that set up the framework and rules for how the Agreement functions. Basically they manage the legal machinery of the agreement

Operational articles

The type of articles that lay out what the parties must do to meet climate goals. These are the articles that drive the climate commitments

International Civil Aviation Organization

A specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth.

International Maritime Organization

A specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for regulating maritime transportation

Top-down structure

A structure where the UN imposes legal binding emission targets on the countries

Bottom-up structure

Structure where countries get to choose their own climate goals (NDCs) and have to work to achieve them.

Annex-I

Name of the category of countries given to developed countries and historically the biggest polluters, by the Kyoto Protocol and these countries were given the legally binding targets to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions

Common But Differentiated Responsibilities And Respective Capabilities

Principle that was formalized in UNFCCC in 1992. Mentioned in the UNFCCC article 3 paragraph 1, and article 4 paragraph 1.

Article 3

The part of the Paris Agreement that requires the NDCs to have:

“ambitious efforts”

“towards achieving purpose of this Agreement”

“And to represent a progression over time”

5 years

Time duration for the contributions to be set and to be registered by the UNFCCC Secretariat

Pooling

All about creating shared benefits through collaborations and making climate actions more efficient and cost-effective.

Especially allows the smaller and developing nations to leverage collective action instead of acting alone.

Talanoa Dialogue

A 2017-2018 process within the climate change discussions, designed to help countries implement and enhance their NDCs by 2020

Article 6

The part of the agreement that contains the most key provisions of the Paris Agreement:

Outlines the cooperative approaches that the parties can take in achieving their emission reductions.

Glasgow Climate Pact

First time in the UN climate negotiations, the ultimate need to reduce coal usage and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies were explicitly mentioned.

Paris Agreement Rulebook

Established clear guidelines for how countries should report their emissions reductions and progress towards climate goals.

COP26

The United Nations conference that resulted in the adoption of the Glasgow Climate Pact and finalized the Paris Agreement Rulebook.

Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMO)

Emission reductions traded between countries under the Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, allowing one country to count another’s emission cuts towards its own climate goals.

Corresponding adjustments

A system to ensure that when two countries trade an ITMO, one country subtracts the emission units from its total (a loss) and the other adds them (a gain), to avoid the double counting.

Sustainable Development Mechanism (SDM)

A system established under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement to allow countries and private entities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through projects that promote sustainable development, and to trade the resulting emission reductions internationally as carbon credits.

Adaptive capacity

In a socio-ecological social systems, it is associated with:

1) Ability of institutions and networks to learn and to store knowledge and experience

2) the creative flexibility, in decision making, transitioning and problem-solving

3) The existence of the power structures that are responsive and consider the needs of all stakeholders

Energy conservation

The effort to reduce wasteful energy consumption by using fewer energy services

Energy intensity

A measure of the energy inefficiency of an economy

Sustainable energy

The energy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)

The process in which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by deliberate human activities and durably stored in geological terrestrial or in ocean reservoirs or in products.

Energy efficiency

The process of reducing the amount of energy required to provide products and services.

Clean technology

Any process, product, or service that reduces the negative environmental impacts through significant energy efficiency improvements, the sustainable use of resources, or environmental protection activities.

International Group of Experts for the Pact (IGEP)

The group is made up of more than a 100 legal experts in environmental law and is chaired by COP21 former President Laurent Fabius.

Global Pact for the Environment

A proposed international treaty aiming to recognize the right to a healthy environment and unify key environmental principles as precaution, polluter-pays, and inter-generational equity into a single, legally binding framework

United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)

The leading environmental authority within the UN system.

Sets the global environmental agenda, promotes sustainable development, conducts scientific assessments, and supports countries in implementing environmental policies through capacity building, legal frameworks, and international cooperation.

$100 billion

The amount of money that the developed countries reaffirmed to mobilize by the year 2020

Green Climate Fund (GCF)

A fund for climate finance that was established within the framework of the UNFCCC

G7

The intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and the US.

Organized around shared values of pluralism, liberal democracies, and representative government.

Climate risk insurance

A financial tool designed to protect individuals/businesses/governments from losses caused by climate-related disasters such as flood, droughts, and hurricanes by providing timely payout to support recovery and resilience

Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS)

An international initiative that helps vulnerable countries strengthen their early warning systems for climate related hazards by providing technical support, capacity-building, and funding to reduce disaster risk and enhance preparedness

Loss and Damage

A concept referring to the negative impacts of climate change, such as destroyed homes, lost livelihoods, and cultural loss, that goes beyond through what can be prevented through mitigation or adaptation, focusing on how to address and recover from these unavoidable harms.

Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)

An intergovernmental organization of low lying costal and small island countries

Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage

An initiative established under the UNFCCC in 2013 to address loss and damage associated with the impacts of the climate change, especially in vulnerable developing countries by enhancing knowledge, supporting coordination and supporting finance and actions.

Article 13

The part of the Paris agreement that articulates an “enhanced transparency framework for action and support” that establishes harmonized monitoring, reporting, and verification

Biennial Transparency Report

A report prepared and submitted by Parties to the Paris Agreement to the Enhanced Transparency Framework that captures information on their progress in implementing the different aspects of the Agreement

Emission inventory

An accounting of the amount of pollutants discharged into the atmosphere

Urgenda Foundation v. State of the Netherlands

A landmark 2019 decision by the Dutch Supreme Court that marked first time a government was legally compelled to reduce greenhouse gas emissions based on human rights obligations

Court ruled that the Dutch government must cut emissions by the least 25% from 1990 levels by the end of 2020 to protect citizens from the dangers of climate change

Citing its duty of care under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The case that set a national precedent for climate litigation by establishing that governments can be held accountable for the insufficient climate action.

European Convention on Human Rights

Supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe.

Milieudefensie v. Royal Dutch Shell

A landmark Dutch court case where environmental groups and over 17,000 citizens sued Shell for failing to align its business practices with the Paris Agreement.

The Hague District court ordered Shell to reduce its global CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, encompassing both direct and indirect emissions.

First time the corporation was mandated to cut emissions in line with international climate goals

Supreme Federal Court of Brazil

The court that recognized the Paris Agreement as a “human rights treaty” and its ruling said that it should supersede the nation law.

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)

A United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

An international document adopted by the UN general Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

A department of the UN Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under the international law and stipulated in the universal declaration of human rights of 1948

Biome

A distinct geographical region with a specific climate, vegetation, and animal life.