In the know: Paris Agreement

PARIS MEET COP21, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, was held on Dec. 7, 2015, in Paris to seek a solution
among countries to climate change. —AP

The Paris Agreement aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 C.

It also aims to strengthen the ability of vulnerable countries to deal with the impact of climate change through appropriate financial flows, a new technology framework and an enhanced capacity building framework.

Parties are required to report regularly on their emissions and on their implementation efforts.

On Dec. 12, 2015, 197 parties to the convention adopted the Paris Agreement during the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris. Ninety-four parties have ratified the agreement to date.

The Philippines, last year’s chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum comprising 43 developing countries, has yet to ratify the accord.

The agreement enters into force today. The first session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Agreement (CMA 1) will be convened in Marrakech, Morocco, on Nov. 7-18. —INQUIRER RESEARCH

Source: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change