The alliance of small island states and least developed countries, whose economies and livelihoods are most affected by the negative effects of climate change, has taken the initiative to address losses and damage as a particular theme of the Paris Agreement. [33] However, developed countries were concerned that looking at the issue as a separate issue that goes beyond adaptation would create additional climate funding or imply legal responsibility for catastrophic climate events. The EU and its member states are individually responsible for ratifying the Paris Agreement. There was a strong preference for the EU and its 28 Member States to simultaneously table their ratification instruments to ensure that neither the EU nor its Member States commit to commitments that belong exclusively to the other[71] and there was concern that there was a disagreement on each Member State`s share of the EU-wide reduction target. just as Britain`s vote to leave the EU could delay the Paris pact. [72] However, on 4 October 2016, the European Parliament approved the ratification of the Paris Agreement[60] and the EU tabled its ratification instruments on 5 October 2016 with several EU Member States. [72] Unlike the Kyoto Protocol, which set legally binding emission reduction targets (and penalties only for non-compliance) for industrialized countries alone, the Paris Agreement requires all countries – rich, poor, developed and developing – to take their share and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. To this end, the Paris Agreement provides for greater flexibility: commitments that countries should make are not included, countries can voluntarily set their emissions targets and countries will not be penalized if they do not meet their proposed targets. But what the Paris agreement requires is to monitor, report and reassess, over time, the objectives of individual and collective countries, in order to bring the world closer to the broader objectives of the agreement. And the agreement stipulates that countries must announce their next round of targets every five years, contrary to the Kyoto Protocol, which was aimed at this target but which contained no specific requirements to achieve this goal. The Paris Agreement provides a sustainable framework that guides global efforts for decades to come. The aim is to increase countries` climate ambitions over time. To achieve this, the agreement provides for two review processes, each in a five-year cycle.
President Obama was able to formally enshrine the United States in the agreement through executive measures because he did not impose new legal obligations on the country. The United States already has a number of instruments on the books, under laws already passed by Congress to reduce carbon pollution. The country officially joined the agreement in September 2016, after submitting its request for participation. The Paris Agreement was only able to enter into force after the formal accession of at least 55 nations representing at least 55% of global emissions. This happened on October 5, 2016 and the agreement came into force 30 days later, on November 4, 2016. Hare notes that the world`s poorest nations cannot make deep emission reductions without the long-promised funding and technical support of the world`s rich nations.