AMBITION and DIFFERENTIATION in the 2015 Paris AGREEMENT: INTERPRETATIVE POSSIBILITIES and UNDERLYING POLITICS

International and Comparative Law Quarterly

Volumn 65, Issue 2, 2016, Pages 493-514

  Rajamani, Lavanya ^a  

^a CENTRE FOR POLICY RESEARCH   (India)

Author keywords

climate change regime; Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC); global stocktake; nationally determined contributions; obligations of conduct; Paris Agreement; transparency

Indexed keywords

EID: 84961206932     PISSN: 00205893     EISSN: 14716895     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0020589316000130     Document Type: Article

References (93)

1. 'COP21: UN chief hails new climate change agreement as "monumental triumph"' (UN News Centre, 12 December 2015) .
2. 150 Heads of State and Government attended the leaders event, see 'Leaders Event and High Level Segment' (Paris COP Information Hub) .
3. Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (adopted 10 December 1997, entered into force 16 February 2005) FCCC/CP/1997/7/Add.1 (Kyoto Protocol) art 3.
4. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (adopted 29 May 1992, entered into force 21 March 1994) 1771 UNTS 107 (FCCC).
5. UNFCCC, 'Decision 1/CP.17 Establishment of an Ad Hoc Working Group on a Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, 2011' (15 March 2012) FCCC/CP/2011/9/Add.1 (Durban Platform).
6. L Rajamani, 'The Durban Platform for Enhanced Action and the Future of the Climate Regime' (2012) 61(2) ICLQ 501
7. D Bodansky, 'The Durban Platform Negotiations: Goals and Options' (Harvard Project on Climate Agreements, Massachusetts July 2012) .
8. Durban Platform (n 5) para 2. 8 ibid.
9. L Rajamani, 'The Devilish Details: Key Legal Issues in the 2015 Climate Negotiations' (2015) 78(5) MLR 826.
10. Durban Platform (n 5) para 5.
11. UNFCCC, 'Decision 1/CP.19 Further Advancing the Durban Platform' (31 January 2014) FCCC/CP/2013/10/Add.1 (Warsaw Decision) para 2(b).
12. UNFCCC, 'Decision 1/CP.20 Lima Call for Climate Action' (2 February 2015) FCCC/CP/2014/10/Add.1 (Lima Call for Climate Action) para 11.
13. UNFCCC, Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, Second session, part eight, Geneva (8-13 February 2015) Agenda item 3: Implementation of all the elements of decision 1/CP.17 Negotiating text (25 February 2015) FCCC/ADP/2015/1 (Geneva Negotiating Text).
14. See eg Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, 'Non-paper: Note by the Co-Chairs' (5 October 2015) ADP.2015.8.
15. InformalNote; and Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, 'Non-paper on elements for a draft negotiating text: Updated non-paper on Parties' views and proposals' (11 November 2014) ADP.2014.11.NonPaper.
16. See UNFCCC, Synthesis report on the aggregate effect of the intended nationally determined contributions: Note by the secretariat (30 October 2015) FCCC/CP/2015/7. 'INDCs as communicated by Parties' .
17. Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, Draft agreement and draft decision on workstreams 1 and 2 of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action Work of the ADP contact group (6 November 2015, reissued on 11 November 2015) ADP.2015.11. InformalNote.
18. UNFCCC, 'Decision 1/CP.21 Adoption of the Paris Agreement' (29 January 2016) FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1, Annex (Paris Agreement) art 2(1).
19. See G Ananthakrishnan, '1.5°C target is a tall order', The Hindu, 9 December 2015.
20. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 4(1)
21. 24 See Informal note (n 20) art 3.
22. See, K Levin, J Morgan and J Song, 'Insider: Understanding the Paris Agreement's Longterm Goal to Limit Global Warming' (World Resources Institution, 15 December 2015) .
23. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 4(19).
24. See Submission by Swaziland on behalf of the African Group on adaptation in the 2015 Agreement (8 October 2013) .
25. See contra, R Falk, "Voluntary" International Law and the Paris Agreement' (16 January 2016) .
26. eg United States' Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (31 March 2015), all INDCs at .
27. India's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (2 October 2015) 28-9.
28. eg Brazil's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (28 September 2015) 2.
29. Decision 1/CP.21 (n 21) para 26.
30. Decision 1/CP.21 (n 21) para 29.
31. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 4(11).
32. See eg for a similar provision, Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (adopted on 4 August 1995, entered into force 11 December 2001) A/CONF.164/37, art 10(c).
33. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 4(13).
34. See also Decision 1/CP.21 (n 21) paras 31 and 32.
35. COP decision may be considered as a 'subsequent agreement between the Parties regarding the interpretation of the treaty or the application of its provisions', Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (adopted 23 May 1969, entered into force 27 January 1980) 1155 UNTS 331 (VCLT) art 31 (3)(a).
36. See Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan: New Zealand intervening) (Judgment) [2014] ICJ Rep 226, 248 (para 46).
37. The enabling clause in the relevant treaty may authorize a COP decision to be binding as in the case of Article 2(9), Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (adopted 16 September 1987, entered into force 1 January 1989) 1522 UNTS 3
38. J Brunnée, 'COPing with Consent: Law-Making under Multilateral Environmental Agreements' (2002) 15 LJIL 1, 24.
39. See, Brunnée (n 52) 32.
40. FCCC (n 4) art 4(1).
41. Art 7(1) read with art 7(4), Kyoto Protocol, and Decision 15/CMP.1. UNFCCC, 'Decision 15/CMP 1 Guidelines for the preparation of the information required under Article 7 of the Kyoto Protocol' (30 March 2006) FCCC/KP/CMP/2005/8/Add.2.
42. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 4(3).
43. Lima Call for Climate Action (n 13) para 10.
44. See 'Views of Brazil on the Elements of a New Agreement under the Convention Applicable to All Parties' (6 November 2014) .
45. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 3.
46. Communication of Information under FCCC (n 4) Article 12
47. UNFCCC, 'Decision 1/CP.16 The Cancun Agreements: Outcome of the work of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Longterm Cooperative Action under the Convention' (15 March 2011) FCCC/CP/2010/7/Add.1 (Cancun Agreements (LCA)) paras 40 and 44 (Annex I Parties) and paras 60 and 63 (non-Annex I Parties).
48. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 13(1) and 13(2).
49. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 13(5).
50. Cancun Agreements (LCA) (n 68) paras 44 and 63.
51. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 13(12).
52. Decision 1/CP.21 (n 21) paras 99-101.
53. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 14(1).
54. Decision 1/CP.21 (n 21) para 99 identifying sources of input 'including but not limited to'.
55. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 14(1).
56. See, Submission by Swaziland on behalf of the African Group Under Workstream I of the ADP (8 October 2013) .
57. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 14(3).
58. Decision 1/CP.21 (n 21) para 20.
59. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 15(3)
60. Decision 1/CP.21 (n 21) paras 102 and 103.
61. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 15(2).
62. Durban Platform (n 5) para 5.
63. FCCC (n 4) preambular recital 3.
64. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 2(1) chapeau.
65. FCCC (n 4) art 2.
66. See eg Paris Agreement (n 21) arts 1, 4(14), 5, 7(7), 9(1), 9(8) and 9(10).
67. FCCC (n 4) arts 2, 7(2) and 14(2).
68. For instance the financial mechanism of the Convention serves as the financial mechanism of the Agreement, Paris Agreement (n 21) art 9(8).
69. VCLT (n 51) art 31(1).
70. International Law Commission, Fragmentation of International Law: Difficulties Arising from the Diversification and Expansion of International Law (13 April 2006) A/CN.4/L.682, 25
71. See UNFCCC, 'Decision 1/CP.18 Agreed outcome pursuant to the Bali Action Plan' (28 February 2013) FCCC/CP/2012/8/Add.1, recital to Part I; and Warsaw Decision (n 11) preambular recital 9.
72. Lima Call for Climate Action (n 13) para 3.
73. See the White House, US-China Joint Announcement on Climate Change, Beijing, China, 12 November 2014 (Office of the Press Secretary, 11 November 2014) para 2.
74. Paris Agreement (n 21) preambular recital 3.
75. As reflected in Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, Draft Paris Outcome: Revised draft conclusions proposed by the Co-Chairs (5 December 2015) FCCC/ADP/2015/L.6/Rev.1.
76. As reflected in the Non-paper of 5 October 2015 (n 18).
77. Paris Agreement (n 21) preambular recital 3, arts 2(2), 4(1) and 14(1).
78. FCCC (n 4) preambular recital 21. 139 ibid, art 4(7).
79. See eg Paris Agreement (n 21) arts 2(1), 4(1) and 6(8).
80. See Warsaw Decision (n 11) para 2(b).
81. See text accompanying nn 30-32.
82. J Vidal, 'How a 'typo' nearly derailed the Paris climate deal' (The Guardian, 16 December 2015) .
83. D Bodansky, 'Legal Options for U.S. acceptance of a new Climate Change Agreement' (Centre for Climate and Energy Solutions, May 2015).
84. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 13(1) and (2).
85. FCCC (n 4) art 12
86. Cancun Agreements (LCA) (n 68) para 40 (Annex I Parties) and para 60 (non-Annex I Parties).
87. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 9(1).
88. Decision 1/CP.21 (n 21) para 53.
89. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 9(5).
90. See FCCC (n 4) art 4(3).
91. Paris Agreement (n 21) art 9(2).
92. See eg Paris Agreement (n 21) art 4(5), 7(13), 10(6) and 13(14).
93. Draft Text on COP 21 agenda item 4 (b) Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (decision 1/CP.17) Adoption of a protocol, another legal instrument, or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention applicable to all Parties, Version 1 of 9 December 2015 at 15:00, Draft Paris Outcome, Proposal by the President fn 7.