How the flexible Paris climate accord can become a foundation for sustainable development
Lord Prescott and Andrew Hammond welcome the climate agreement’s approach that allows nations, particularly in the developing world, to meet emission-reduction targets in their own way
Moving forward with its implementation was the major point of discussion. This includes delivering on the targets decided by each country, referred to as nationally determined contributions.
The importance of these targets reflects that Paris is a flexible, “bottom-up” treaty where countries develop plans to realise emissions targets with national and subnational governments in partnerships with business.
The Paris accord created a global architecture for tackling global warming, but recognises that diverse, often decentralised policies are needed in different economies.
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This represents a breakthrough from the more rigid Kyoto Protocol framework. Kyoto worked in 1997 for the developed countries that agreed to it. But a different way is needed for the Paris deal, involving more than 170 diverse developing and developed states which agreed to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.