Page 7 - Major climate issues Commitments and financing

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, the difficult construction of global climate diplomacy

- 2009: The failure of Copen- - 2015: The Paris Agreement,
hagen the historic turning point
COP15 C O P 2 1
in Copen- marked a his-
h a g e n , toric milestone,
Denmark, with the adop-
h a d r e - tion of the Paris
vived great A g r e e m e n t ,
hopes, but ratified by 195
its failure countries. This
was stri- international
king. It did recognition of
not result the concept of
in any commitment from the va- climate change
rious States. The only agreement inaugurated for the first time a legal-
found, without a timetable or quan- ly binding international treaty whose
tified objectives, was the wish to Opening of the World Climate Conference, February 1979 goal was to limit global warming to
limit global warming to 2 degrees (Source: World Meteorological Organization) a level below 2 degrees Celsius, pre-
Celsius. -2011: Durban prepares the ferably 1.5 degrees, compared to the
Paris Agreement pre-industrial level. The promise of
- 2010: Cancun A legal- 100 billion US dollars made to poor
A f t e r ly binding countries at the Copenhagen COP
twelve days treaty still was also reaffirmed. This ambitious
of stormy failed to be agreement laid the foundations for
n e g o - imposed. commitment period, imposing a tar- international climate policy for
t i a t i o n s , However, get of reducing global greenhouse years to come.
C O P 1 6 the Durban gas emissions from developed
m a n a g e d roadmap countries by at least 18% from 2013 - 2016: The COP for Action
to salvage forebode to 2020 compared to 1990 levels. was born in Marrakech
what remai- the Paris Agreement. The Kyoto The final compromise was driven The chal-
ned of the Protocol was extended. A “green by the European Union, which was
lenge of COP22
legitimacy fund” intended to help developing the first to communicate in April
was to be part
of the COPs, after years of pro- countries deal with global warming 2012 its goal of reducing its green-
of the conti-
crastination. Rather than imposing was created. Similarly, a negotia- house gas emissions by 20% for the
nuity of the
contentious joint resolutions, each tion procedure, baptized the Dur- second commitment period. Tossed
Paris agree-
country was asked to notify what it ban Platform, will have to draw up about from all sides, the Protocol ment, with the
was prepared to do. a legal commitment applying to all ended up showing its limits. Four aim of obtai-
The 2-degree Celsius target the signatory States. countries withdrew: Russia, Japan, ning commitments from countries
remained unchanged. The summit New Zealand, and Canada. Once on concrete actions, managing fun-
notably marked the creation of a - 2012: Doha and the limits of again, to replace and succeed the ding and ensuring a real conversion
committee for adaptation to climate the Kyoto Protocol Protocol, it was necessary to find a of economic models. At the end of
change, supposed to help the poo- The Protocol was extended at the binding legal instrument applicable the Summit, 111 countries ratified
rest countries. 2012 Doha conference for a second to all. the Paris Agreement underlining its
historic importance. Some of them
have also started to postpone their
long-term decarbonization strate-
Understanding the four main themes of COP27 gies.
In Marrakesh, the so-called
- Adaptation: Adaptation to climate change in- renewable energies, or of enhancing «sinks» such as "COP for action" accelerated the
volves making adjustments to ecological, social, and forests and soils which store these gases. progress made under the Paris
economic systems, as well as to processes and prac- Agreement in terms of finance, new
tices to adapt to both the actual effects of climate - Climate finance: climate finance allows initiatives, ambition, and solidarity
change and potential future damage. In addition, countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, for between nations and continents.
adaptation is also about making the most of all the example by financing renewable energies such as At the initiative of the King of
potential beneficial opportunities associated with wind or solar energy. With this funding, communities Morocco, the first African Action
climate change. can also adapt to the effects of climate change. Summit was held, which enabled
the continent to act on its firm desire
- Mitigation: Mitigation of climate change refers - Loss and Damage associated with climate to take care of its destiny, to speak
to all actions or efforts undertaken to reduce the le- change: extreme events and slow-onset events in with one voice, and to join forces to
vels of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere developing countries that are particularly vulnerable fight climate change and strengthen
in order to prevent further warming of the planet. Mi- to the adverse effects of climate change.o its resilience. Similarly, one of the
tigation can consist of reducing the sources of these great advances of Marrakesh is the
gases, for example by using new technologies and Source: United Nations participation of non-state actors and

November-December 2022