Paris Agreement: what it consists of, countries and objectives

The Paris Agreement was presented during the XXI Conference on Climate Change (commonly known as COP 21), held in the French capital on December 15, 2015. In this agreement, numerous countries around the world presented their desire and commitment to do reality the different objectives that were proposed within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. They recognized the need and emergence of a progressive and effective response to the threat of climate change and the repercussions that it entails (and will entail) in both developed, developing and less developed countries.

In addition, they were very aware of the priority of protecting food security worldwide, placing special emphasis on those food production systems that suffer the adverse effects of climate change, such as agriculture, beekeeping, livestock and fishing.

In the next sections we present both the different countries that signed the Paris Agreement , as well as the important objectives that they set as action goals.

A total of 174 countries and the European Union signed, through their political representatives and / or permanent representatives at the UN, the Paris Agreement.

The official list of countries participating in the Paris Agreement includes numerous African countries such as Somalia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger, Namibia, etc; as well as countries in North America (USA), South America (Peru, Paraguay, Argentina) and Central America (El Salvador, Cuba, etc.), numerous Asian countries (Singapore, Cambodia, India, Mongolia, United Arab Emirates, etc.) .) and Australia and New Zealand, representing the continent of Oceania, also signed the Paris Agreement.

By signing, each and every one of the countries that participated in the Paris Agreement presented their consent and commitment to the measures and objectives presented in said agreement. In the next section of this article we will delve into the main objectives of the Paris Agreement, thus detailing its environmental characteristics and approaches.

The different countries participating in the Paris Agreement confirmed their support and response to the threat that climate change poses worldwide. Thus, in a context oriented towards sustainable development and poverty eradication, the main objectives of the Paris Agreement are:

• Maintain the increase in global average temperature below 2 ºC, trying to limit said increase to 1.5 ºC (with respect to the existing temperature levels in the pre-industrial period). In this way, the possible effects of climate change will be reduced, such as the rise in the temperature of marine and oceanic waters, the melting of the poles and consequent rise in sea level, as well as sudden changes in the environmental phenomena associated with the seasonal changes.
• Promote resilience to climate change, that is, increase the capacity to adapt and react to the possible effects (present and future) that climate change will bring.
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure healthy and optimal food production.
• Orient financial flows towards sustainable economies (circular, blue and green economies), always focused on sustainable development.

These ambitious objectives presented by the Paris Agreement would be applied reflecting the equity and common responsibilities of the parties participating in said agreement, thus differentiating the various capacities and development circumstances of each nation, since they do not have the same level of contamination. and greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, nations as developed as the Chinese or American mega-industry, compared to small, poorer countries, such as Haiti or Ghana.

To expand the information on the great environmental problems of accelerated climate change, we advise you to read this other article by AgroCorrn on Causes and consequences of climate change .