UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) & Paris Agreement 2016
The agreement in which every country sets its own climate plan: NDCs, the temperature goal and the stocktake
In one minute
The Paris Agreement was adopted at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) on 12 December 2015. It came into force on 4 November 2016. Its goal is to hold warming well below 2 degrees Celsius and to pursue 1.5 degrees.
Unlike Kyoto, every country makes its own plan, called a Nationally Determined Contribution. India ratified the Agreement on 2 October 2016.
Exam focus
- Frequency: No data
- Usually asked as: No data
Legal provision
- Adoption: at COP21, Paris, on 12 December 2015, under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
- Entry into force: 4 November 2016, once at least 55 countries representing at least 55 per cent of emissions had ratified.
- Article 2: hold the rise in global average temperature well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees.
- Article 4: each Party prepares, communicates and updates its Nationally Determined Contribution, and each new one should show progression.
- Article 14: a global stocktake assesses collective progress. The first concluded at COP28 in Dubai in 2023.
Meaning and definition
The Paris Agreement is a treaty adopted under the Climate Change Convention. A Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) is a Party's own plan to cut or limit its greenhouse gas emissions. COP21 is the name of the conference, the 21st Conference of the Parties, where the Agreement was adopted.
Detailed explanation
Step 1: why a new agreement
Kyoto bound only Annex I countries. Large and fast-growing emitters outside that group had no binding target, and the United States never ratified it. The world needed a successor that brought in every major emitter without a top-down split.
Step 2: the temperature goal
Article 2 sets the goal: well below 2 degrees Celsius, with efforts towards 1.5 degrees. The goal guides all national plans. It is stated as a collective aim, not as a quota for one country.
Step 3: bottom-up plans
Each Party decides its own contribution according to its own circumstances. Developed and developing countries alike must submit one. This design won universal participation, which Kyoto never had.
Example. India submits a plan that sets its own goals for cleaner power and lower emissions per unit of output. No other country negotiated those figures for India.
Step 4: progress and review
Each Party prepares, communicates and updates its NDC, and each new one should show progression. A global stocktake under Article 14 assesses collective progress and informs the next round. This is the Agreement's way of raising ambition over time.
Step 5: the trade-off
The duties to prepare, report and take part in the stocktake are procedural duties. The content of each NDC is chosen by the Party. The Agreement accepts weaker control in return for wider participation.
Step 6: India's position
India signed on 22 April 2016 and ratified on 2 October 2016. As a developing country, it keeps the right to set the content of its own NDC. Parliament may legislate to implement the Agreement under Article 253.
Don't confuse: Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement
| Point | Kyoto Protocol, 1997 | Paris Agreement, 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Top-down targets | Bottom-up NDCs |
| Coverage | Annex I countries only | Every Party |
| Main goal | Cut emissions to set figures | Well below 2 degrees, pursue 1.5 degrees |
| Review tool | Commitment periods | Global stocktake and updated NDCs |
Inside the concept. A developing country files an NDC with its own clean-energy goal. That is how Paris works.
Just outside it. A developed country is assigned a fixed percentage cut for 2008 to 2012. That was Kyoto.
Common mistakes
- Saying COP21 is the Agreement. COP21 is the conference. The Agreement is the treaty it adopted.
- Saying Paris replaced the Climate Change Convention. It was adopted under it.
- Saying an NDC is a binding cap like a Kyoto target. The content is the Party's own choice.
- Mixing the dates. Adopted on 12 December 2015, in force on 4 November 2016.
Leading case laws
No case page in this subject turns on the Paris Agreement. Questions on it are answered from the Agreement's structure.
How to write this answer in the exam
5-mark answer
- Adoption at COP21 and entry into force.
- Temperature goal.
- NDCs.
- India's ratification.
10-mark answer
- Weaknesses of Kyoto that led to Paris.
- Adoption, entry into force and Article 2.
- NDCs: bottom-up design and Article 4.
- Global stocktake under Article 14.
- The trade-off between participation and control.
- India's position; comparison table; conclusion.
Key points to remember
- Adopted at COP21 on 12 December 2015; in force 4 November 2016.
- Goal: well below 2 degrees, pursue 1.5 degrees.
- Every Party files its own NDC; each new one should show progression.
- Global stocktake under Article 14; first concluded at COP28, Dubai, 2023.
- India signed 22 April 2016 and ratified 2 October 2016.
Quick self-test
1. When was the Paris Agreement adopted?
12 December 2015, at COP21.
2. What is an NDC?
A Party's own plan to cut or limit its greenhouse gas emissions.
3. When did India ratify the Agreement?
2 October 2016.