Paris Agreement: how it happened and what next

The report examines the shift in global climate governance from the top-down targets of the Kyoto Protocol to the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of the Paris Agreement. It highlights the 'ambition gap' in current pledges and argues that the success of the agreement depends on integrating the actions of non-state actors—such as cities, regions, and businesses—into national frameworks. The document details specific subnational initiatives like the C40 network and Brazil's CB27, while providing a case study of Singapore's role in the negotiations.

• The Paris Agreement replaces the top-down enforcement system of the Kyoto Protocol with a bottom-up architecture based on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), reflecting a shift toward 'variable geometry' where parties contribute based on their specific circumstances.
• Current Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) are insufficient to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius or 1.5 degrees Celsius, with civil society estimating an ambition gap of 11-15 GtCO2e for 2025.
• Non-state actors, particularly cities, are critical to climate action as urban areas are responsible for 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• The Lima-Paris Action Agenda (LPAA) and the NAZCA platform have successfully mobilized non-state actors, involving approximately 180 countries in 11,000 projects.
• The private sector is a major driver of climate finance and implementation, with over 2,000 international companies making commitments and climate-related investments totaling around €217 billion.
• Subnational networks such as the C40 (over 80 major cities) and the Covenant of Mayors (over 6,400 signatory cities) demonstrate the ability of local leaders to implement mitigation and adaptation goals faster than national governments.
• Brazil's CB27 initiative, which brings together the environmental departments of all Brazilian state capitals, serves as a model for regional cooperation that the authors suggest replicating across Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Singapore played a key facilitative role in the COP21 negotiations, specifically in bridging differences regarding transparency, mitigation, and finance through the Comité de Paris and the ADP.
• A significant risk to the Paris Agreement is the 'voluntarism' of the system and the lack of clarity regarding how non-state contributions will be measured and integrated into official NDCs.

APA

Derwent, H., Błachowicz, A., Hügel, J., Blanco, L. F., Xing, M. L. Y., & Franco, N. M. (2016). Paris Agreement: how it happened and what next. Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Paris-Agreement-what-next-designed-FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Derwent, Henry, Andrzej Błachowicz, Johannes Hügel, Luis Fernando Blanco, Melissa Low Yu Xing, and Nelson Moreira Franco. Paris Agreement: how it happened and what next. Climate Strategies, 2016. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Paris-Agreement-what-next-designed-FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Derwent |first1=Henry |last2=Błachowicz |first2=Andrzej |last3=Hügel |first3=Johannes |last4=Blanco |first4=Luis Fernando |last5=Xing |first5=Melissa Low Yu |last6=Franco |first6=Nelson Moreira |title=Paris Agreement: how it happened and what next |publisher=Climate Strategies |date=May 2016 |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Paris-Agreement-what-next-designed-FINAL.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{derwent2016paris, author = {Derwent, Henry and Błachowicz, Andrzej and Hügel, Johannes and Blanco, Luis Fernando and Xing, Melissa Low Yu and Franco, Nelson Moreira}, title = {{Paris Agreement: how it happened and what next}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2016}, month = may, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Paris-Agreement-what-next-designed-FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }