To contribute to the goals of the agreement, countries presented comprehensive national climate change plans (national fixed contributions, NDC). These are not yet sufficient to meet the agreed temperature targets, but the agreement points to the way forward for further measures. While the agreement has been welcomed by many, including French President Francois Hollande and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,[67] criticism has also emerged. James Hansen, a former NASA scientist and climate change expert, expressed anger that most of the agreement is made up of „promises“ or goals, not firm commitments. [98] He called the Paris talks a fraud with „nothing, only promises“ and believed that only a generalized tax on CO2 emissions, which is not part of the Paris agreement, would force CO2 emissions down fast enough to avoid the worst effects of global warming. [98] Countries most affected by the effects of climate change will be nations deeply vulnerable to sea level rise and developing countries that do not have the resources to adapt to changes in temperature and precipitation. But prosperous nations like the United States are also increasingly vulnerable. In fact, millions of Americans – especially children, the elderly and the poor – are already suffering from the wrath of climate change. Since November 2020, 194 states and the European Union have signed the agreement. 188 countries and the EU, which account for about 79% of global greenhouse gas emissions, have ratified the agreement or have joined the agreement, including China and India, the countries with the first and third CO2 emissions among UNFCCC members.

[12] [13] [14] All 197 UNFCCC members have signed or joined. Climate scientist and founder of Germany`s New Climate Institute, Niklas Huhne, said Turkey was „reseming“ the list of countries that do not yet need to ratify the agreement. While the Paris Agreement ultimately aims to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius this century, many studies evaluating the voluntary commitments of some countries in Paris show that the cumulative effect of these emission reductions will not be significant enough to keep temperatures below that ceiling. Indeed, the targets set by the target countries should limit the future increase in temperature between 2.7 and 3.7 degrees Celsius. At the same time, recent assessments of countries` developments in the framework of their climate targets in Paris indicate that some countries are already not meeting their commitments. In the end, all parties recognized the need to „prevent, minimize and address losses and damages,“ but in particular any mention of compensation or liability is excluded. [11] The Convention also takes up the Warsaw International Loss and Damage Mechanism, an institution that will attempt to answer questions about how to classify, address and co-responsible losses. [56] After ratification, the agreement requires governments to submit their emission reduction plans.

Ultimately, they must play their part in keeping global temperatures well below 2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial period and making „efforts“ to keep them at 1.5 degrees Celsius. This provision requires the „link“ between different CO2 emission trading systems – since measured emission reductions must avoid „double counts,“ the transferred mitigation results should be considered as a gain on emission units for one part and as a reduction in emission units for the other party. [36] Due to the heterogeneity of NDCs and national emissions trading systems, ITMOs will provide a format for global connections under the aegis of the UNFCCC. [38] This provision also puts pressure on countries to implement emission management systems – if a country wants to use more cost-effective cooperative approaches to achieve its NPNs, they need to monitor carbon units for their economies. [39] The Eiffel Tower in Paris, illuminated in green on November 4, 2016 to celebrate the entrance to the vigue