Page 42 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 1

Global Problem: Climate Change

and special conditions of each party, the UNFCCC principle of “common but
differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities” was adopted and
was added to the agreement as annexes with country limitations.
The developed countries listed in Annex 1 are countries with historical
responsibilities, and thus, are supposed to restrict greenhouse gas emissions,
improve greenhouse gas sink areas, and report the relevant country data. The
countries in Annex 2 belong to a subset of Annex-1, and in addition to the
responsibilities of Annex 1 countries, they have financial responsibilities and
they are responsible for finance and technology transfer to developing countries
outside the Annexes. The countries outside the Annexes are encouraged,
but not obligated with any responsibilities. UNFCCC is a framework contract
and covers only a common approach, general responsibilities and guiding
principles. However, the agreement has final goals, binding restrictions and
commitments.
For the efficient application of the agreement, every year a “Conference of
the Parties” (COP) is held. The first held in Berlin in 1995, the most important
decision made during the the third (COP3) of these conferences was the Kyoto
Protocol, which is a tool to determine the extent of mitigation and financial
demands for each country. Again, in the 21st COP (COP21) held in Paris,
witnessed the emergence of Paris Climate Agreement, which determined the
course of action concerning the climate regime after 2020 for the Framework
Contract (UNFCCC, 2020a,b).
From Kyoto to Paris

Different from Kyoto Protocol, which called for emission mitigation in
developed nations, Paris Climate Agreement called for all countries to
take responsibility within the scope of conditions and capabilities. Another
innovation that came with Paris Agreement was the specification of an
average global temperature increase goal as opposed to individual goals
towards emission mitigation. This goal is to keep temperature increase below
20°C as long as possible compared to pre-industrial period, and to limited
to maximum 1,5°C. Having a voluntary basis, this system aims to promote
each party to concentrate their efforts within their capacities to fight climate
change with a transparent approach through their Nationally Determined
Contributions (NDCs). Thus, the agreement is far from a framework based on
punishment.
Another innovation that came with the Paris Agreement is related
to the implementation mechanisms. The Kyoto Protocol involved three
different mechanisms, namely, the Clean Development Mechanism, Joint
Implementation, and Emission Trading Systems. Paris Agreement, on the

Year 1 / Issue 1 / Jan 2022 27