The Paris Agreement and Implications for Climate Finance

Abstract

The Paris Agreement was adopted on December 12, 2015 after two weeks of negotiations at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The new climate agreement is considered a historic outcome replacing the Kyoto Protocol, leading all Parties in the UNFCCC to reduce greenhouse gas emissions based on their intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs). Climate finance is a major means of implementing the agreement to support developing countries with respect to both mitigation and adaptation. In addition, scaling up climate finance plays a key part in enhancing capacity building and technology development and transfer in developing country Parties. It was not surprising to see negotiations on the agenda of climate finance continue on until just before the closing of the COP21 in Paris, France.