Understanding the details of the signing of the Paris Agreement
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It is no coincidence that on April 22nd - Earth Day - more than 160 countries will join together at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York to sign the Paris Agreement and thus consolidate the global fight to protect the planet. State representatives will support the commitment made by 195 countries at the end of the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) in December last year, to develop mitigation and adaptation strategies to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) and step by step achieve the decarbonization of the economy.
The role of Latin America and the Caribbean - a region that does not emit large emissions but is one of the most vulnerable - will be important in making it known that the fight is global. According to Marcela Jaramillo, a policy advisor at E3GIn the meantime, most of the countries in the region will sign the Agreement and the next step must be to translate it into tangible actions as soon as possible.
"Since Paris we have seen the undeniable action of global decarbonization, which is also unstoppable. Latin America and the Caribbean must continue to make steady progress in implementing the Paris Agreement to effectively manage our climate risks and harness the benefits of clean development for our economic, social and environmental stability and prosperity."he said.
Learn the 5 keys to the signing of the Paris Agreement to understand the details of the event:
No legal consequences: According to Article 18 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, signature does not oblige a state to comply with the contents of the document and only entails an obligation not to go against the general objective of the treaty, in this case the one subscribed to in the Paris Agreement.
Jimena Nieto Carrasco, who was Colombia's legal advisor in the negotiations that led to the Agreement and legal affairs coordinator for the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC), explains that the signature is also a clear manifestation of the State's willingness to seriously consider ratification at the national level. "In my opinion it is also an endorsement at the highest level, of the negotiating teams in each country, and also a very powerful signal," she says.
Who signs the Agreement: If the person attending the signing ceremony in New York is not the Head of State or Government, the representative of the country must have full powers - a document prepared by the foreign ministries of each country - whereby a minister or ambassador is empowered to sign the treaty.
During the ceremony, more than 160 country representatives are expected to attend, and according to Marcela Jaramillo, this is a historic figure because never before have so many governments gathered to sign an international agreement. "This is one more sign of overwhelming support for the Paris Agreement and its translation into accelerated climate action," she explains.
3. One year to sign: The book containing the Paris Agreement in the six official languages of the United Nations will be opened for signature during the ceremony on April 22 and will remain open until April 22, 2017. After that date, countries will no longer be able to sign, however this does not mean that they cannot ratify the Agreement at a later date, in which case the legal term is "accession".
4. What happens to countries that do not sign the Paris Agreement: Nicaragua was a country that generated controversy during COP21, by stating in the adoption plenary What would happen if Nicaragua does not sign the Agreement? Jimena Nieto Carrasco explains that those who do not sign by the deadline would be sending a negative message to the world and a strong rejection of the Agreement.
"In the case of Nicaragua, which contributes very little in terms of GHG emissions, the impact would be mainly political. In any case, it should be borne in mind that the Agreement is binding on those countries that ratify it, i.e. the number of ratifications achieved in the future should be monitored. A country that does not ratify, although it may be present at meetings held within the framework of the Agreement, will have a limited capacity to participate in decision-making, in accordance with Article 16, paragraphs 2 and 3.", he explains.
5. Next steps: Unlike signature, there is no peremptory deadline for ratification, accession, acceptance or approval, which are the acts that legally bind a State to comply with the Paris Agreement.
The internal process for treaty ratification may vary according to each country's legal system. For example, in civil law countries, such as the AILAC member countries, the first step is usually an internal consultation with the various relevant governmental and non-governmental stakeholders on the advisability for the country to ratify the treaty.
For this new treaty to enter into force, i.e. for it to enter into international legal life, 55 countries or organizations of countries responsible for at least 55% of global emissions must ratify the Agreement. This document shows the percentage of GHG emissions of each country worldwide. It is important to note that this list is only for the purpose of accounting and reporting when the 55% emissions threshold is reached.
UN officials expect the Agreement to enter into force in 2018. The faster the entry into force is achieved, the greater the chances of achieving a carbon neutral world in the second half of the century, a goal set by countries in the Paris Agreement.
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