The Paris Agreement came into force on 4 November 2016 after completing the ratification requirement by at least 55 countries, representing at least 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions. All EU countries have ratified the agreement. President Obama was able to formally enshrine the United States in the agreement through executive measures because he did not impose new legal obligations on the country. The United States already has a number of instruments on the books, under laws already passed by Congress to reduce carbon pollution. The country officially joined the agreement in September 2016, after submitting its request for participation. The Paris Agreement was only able to enter into force after the formal accession of at least 55 nations representing at least 55% of global emissions. This happened on October 5, 2016 and the agreement came into force 30 days later, on November 4, 2016. It is rare that there is a consensus among almost all nations on a single subject. But with the Paris agreement, world leaders agreed that climate change was driven by human behaviour, that it was a threat to the environment and to humanity as a whole, and that global action was needed to stop it. In addition, a clear framework has been put in place for all countries to make commitments to reduce emissions and strengthen these measures over time.
Here are some main reasons why the agreement is so important: although mitigation and adaptation require more climate funding, adjustment has generally received less support and mobilized less private sector action. [46] A 2014 OECD report showed that in 2014, only 16% of the world`s financial resources were devoted to adaptation to climate change. [50] The Paris Agreement called for a balance between climate finance between adaptation and mitigation, highlighting in particular the need to strengthen support for adaptation from the parties most affected by climate change, including least developed countries and small island developing states. The agreement also reminds the parties of the importance of public subsidies, as adjustment measures receive less public sector investment. [46] John Kerry, as Secretary of State, announced that the United States would double its grant-based adjustment funding by 2020. [33] The Paris Agreement provides a sustainable framework that determines global efforts for decades to come. The aim is to create a continuous cycle that prevents countries from increasing their ambitions over time. In order to encourage increased ambitions, the agreement defines two interconnected processes, each with a five-year cycle.
The first is a « comprehensive state of affairs » to assess the collective progress made in achieving the long-term goals of the agreement. The parties will then submit new NDCs « informed of the results of the global inventory. » While the enhanced transparency framework is universal and the global inventory is carried out every five years, the framework must provide « integrated flexibility » to distinguish the capabilities of developed and developing countries. In this context, the Paris Agreement contains provisions to improve the capacity-building framework. [58] The agreement recognizes the different circumstances of some countries and notes, in particular, that the technical review of experts for each country takes into account the specific capacity of that country to report. [58] The agreement also develops a capacity-building initiative for transparency to help developing countries put in place the necessary institutions and procedures to comply with the transparency framework. [58] Dutch Environment Minister and Council President Sharon Dijksma and European Commission Vice-President Maroé Efsovic sign the agreement on behalf of the EU at a high-level ceremony in New York, USA.