Tuesday 29 December 2015

COP21 – Preventing a ‘Cop out’?

By Kithmina Hewage
Research Assistant, IPS 

On the 12th of December, 195 countries achieved what many regarded as the impossible by agreeing on a framework to tackle climate change. The 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) committed to a deal to limit the rise in global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius. The countless rounds of negotiations that failed to achieve universal approval magnify the significance of this agreement. Therefore COP21 is a major victory for multilateralism and especially the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). However, as the saying goes, “the devil is in the details” – which appear thin for now about its implementation. This blog post briefly discusses the political-economy challenges and opportunities presented by the Paris Agreement, with particular emphasis on developing countries.