A new era of ambitious global climate action

The Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016, with 100 countries representing 67% of global greenhouse gas emissions having ratified it. COP22 and the first meeting of the CMA are tasked with developing operational rules for transparency, progress monitoring, and ramping up ambition to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius. Key points of contention include the verification of national commitments and the insufficiency of pledges to meet the $100 billion climate finance goal for developing countries by 2020. South Africa has ratified the agreement and set an emissions reduction target of 398–614 MtCO2e for 2025–2030, though this is largely conditional on external assistance and complicated by a continued reliance on coal and budgetary restraints.

• The Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016, with 100 countries—including the US, China, India, and South Africa—having ratified it, collectively representing 67% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• COP22 and the first meeting of the CMA (CMA1) are required to establish rules and processes for implementing the Paris Agreement, specifically regarding transparency, the process for taking stock of progress, and the scaling up of finance to keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius.
• Significant challenges at COP22 include disagreements over how national commitments are monitored and verified, as well as a shortfall in pledges to reach the $100 billion climate finance target for developing countries by 2020.
• South Africa's national plan targets an emissions reduction of 398–614 MtCO2e between 2025 and 2030, but this is largely dependent on external assistance and faces obstacles due to the country's reliance on coal and current budgetary constraints.

APA

Aardenburg, E. (2016). A new era of ambitious global climate action. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/research/a-new-era-of-ambitious-global-climate-action/

Chicago

Aardenburg, Elizabeth. A new era of ambitious global climate action. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2016. https://saiia.org.za/research/a-new-era-of-ambitious-global-climate-action/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Aardenburg |first1=Elizabeth |title=A new era of ambitious global climate action |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=7 November 2016 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/a-new-era-of-ambitious-global-climate-action/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{aardenburg2016new, author = {Aardenburg, Elizabeth}, title = {{A new era of ambitious global climate action}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2016}, month = nov, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/a-new-era-of-ambitious-global-climate-action/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }