Paris climate accord and setting up of a collaborative governance regime at the level of the United Nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC)
- IIPA Digest
- 3(2), Apr-Jun, 2021: p.4-18
Climate change is a global problem, one that cannot be solved by any one nation or state actor alone. By learning from the failures of recent international climate change action, specifically the failures of the Paris Accord, and best practices of collaborative governance, we recommend creating a Collaborative Governance Regime (CGR) at the level of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The proposed CGR will differ from the Paris Accord, most notably: (i) focus on key actor nations representing the largest CO2 emitters (to the tune of 64% of the total emissions)(China, United States, India, European Union, Russian Federation and Japan), as opposed to the full international community; (ii) focus on one specific facet of climate change, CO2 emissions, as opposed to the entire scope of contributing factors to climate change; (iii) increased emphasis on collaboration for ambitious, yet realistic goals, and finally; (iv) increased emphasis on sanctioning to prevent any unilateral withdrawal undermining the collective spirit. In this backdrop, the role of India in terms of the Paris Accord is quite significant. India being one of the leading contributors to the greenhouse gases including CO2, also has made rapid strides in utilizing renewable sources of energy in pretty quick time. Further, India has an important role to play in the geopolitics and climate sustainability of the South Asian region as a key driver. – Reproduced
Paris climate accord, Collaborative governance regime, United Nations framework convention, Climate change , UNFCCC