UNFCCC
All You Need to Know About the Paris Agreement
Five posts About the Paris Agreement in One Place
Today we will finally know whether Donald Trump will make good on his campaign promise to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. As background, here are five posts I’ve written since the agreement was adopted in December of 2015. First, Thoughts on the Accomplishments of the Paris COP , which explains why Paris is such a big …
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CONTINUE READINGConfronting the “Emissions Gap”
Long-term thinking and short-term deficiencies in climate change mitigation
With the Paris Agreement now ratified by 86 countries, and entering into force this Friday, countries have defined their first targets—the first round of nationally determined contributions (NDCs). The United States has pledged to reduce GHG emissions 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025. This initial round of NDCs is significant, but represents only a short timeframe and …
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CONTINUE READINGStudent Guest Blogger Terra Laughton: Perspectives on COP21
Terra Laughton, UCLA School of Law JD class of 2017, shares her perspective on attending the Paris climate negotiations
I am a second-year student at UCLA School of Law. I recently returned from two weeks in Paris attending COP21. My classmates and I had already boarded our plane at Charles De Gaulle when the Paris Agreement was officially adopted—we learned of the news upon landing in Los Angeles. While it would have been exhilarating …
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CONTINUE READINGStudent Guest Blogger Sarah Kozal: India, Technological Innovation, & the Energy Sector
Sarah Kozal, UCLA School of Law JD class of 2016, shares her perspective on attending the Paris climate negotiations
For students, much of the excitement of attending the COP as part of a country’s delegation comes from the opportunity to sit in multi-party negotiations. But when nearly the entire second week in Paris turned into bilateral negotiations, a break from the crazy schedule of article-focused meetings gave us a chance to explore the multitude …
CONTINUE READINGNEWSFLASH: Paris Agreement Adopted
FINALLY, a global agreement to move forward.
The Paris agreement has now been adopted. As the Washington Post reports: “Negotiators from 196 countries approved a landmark climate accord on Saturday that seeks to dramatically reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases blamed for a dangerous warming of the planet. The agreement, adopted after 13 days of intense bargaining in a Paris suburb, puts …
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CONTINUE READINGHow are negotiators building text at the climate talks?
Paris, the micro view
Ted has been posting on the proceedings at the Paris climate conference, explaining some of the central conflicts playing out here and the often-counterproductive processes being employed. He’s given the talks an appropriately large context, stretching all the way back to Charles Lindbergh’s landing at Le Bourget. I hope to complement his posts with a …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy Paris won’t be Copenhagen
Christiana Figueres, head of the UN climate convention, makes the argument at UCLA
As Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change since 2010, Christiana Figueres jokes that it has been her job to “put 195 countries in a better mood” after the overhyped Copenhagen talks in 2009. The Emmett Institute hosted a lunch at UCLA with Ms. Figueres earlier this week, in which she assured California stakeholders that this year’s Paris …
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CONTINUE READINGLooking Back at COP20: How Should We Feel?
The Lima Accord lets countries name their own price to address climate change. But that doesn’t mean it failed.
As you’ve probably heard by now, this year’s UN climate change conference has produced an agreement, the “Lima Accord.” The Accord invites each of the nearly 200 negotiating countries to develop an “intended nationally determined contribution” (INDC) to reduce its GHG emissions. INDCs represent some step forward from each country–in the words of the Accord, “a progression …
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CONTINUE READINGProgress at the UN?
A view from the Lima climate COP
The annual Conference of Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change opened this week in Lima, Peru, drawing delegates from around the world, including a few from UCLA Law. I am in Lima along with Legal Planet blogger Jesse Lueders and three students from our UCLA Environmental Law Clinic, Sarah Kozal ’16, Jacob …
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CONTINUE READINGCOPs: The Erratic Evolution of Global Climate Policy
The latest Conference of the Parties (COP) in Warsaw didn’t make headlines — more like footnotes. Two things have become clear. First, the formal UN negotiations are only part of the transnational development of climate policy. And second, the UN negotiations are moving slowly and fitfully, but they are making progress. Neither of these things …
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