COP21 - The ultimate breakthrough deal for the planet

(Baonghean.vn) - On December 12, after two weeks of intense negotiations, 195 countries adopted the Paris Agreement - a universal and binding agreement addressing global warming and marking a new milestone in climate negotiations.

At 11:30 a.m., the plenary session marking the formal adoption of the agreement, seen as a breakthrough, took place under the chairmanship of Conference President Laurent Fabius.

The entire historic session on December 12, 2015 at Bourget, Paris. Photo: Le Monde

In his opening remarks at this historic meeting, French President Francois Hollande once again assured that “France will do its utmost to implement the agreements and to promote the movements” and concluded that “December 12, 2015 will be a great day for the planet. In Paris, many revolutions have taken place, but today’s revolution for climate change is the most beautiful and the most peaceful”.

The final text of the Paris Climate Agreement is 31 pages long with 29 articles, which Mr. Fabius described as five chapters with “differentiated responsibilities of countries” in efforts to combat global warming.

The document maintains the global warming threshold “below 2⁰C and strive to reach the 1.5 limit⁰C”. The provisions also call for “necessary cooperation on loss and compensation” with a total of $100 billion pledged by developed countries by 2020 and a “floor” amount for after 2020, with the specific figure to be set by 2025.

At the end of the session, Mr. Fabius, President Hollande and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon all expressed strong emotions at the "ambitious and balanced draft" that "is applicable immediately, long-lasting, dynamic and legally binding."

The Paris climate agreement was concluded with the approval of 195 countries. Photo: Le Monde

According to Mr. Fabius, the above text is “the best balance between hard and soft positions, allowing the negotiating teams of each country to return with their heads held high with important achievements.” Mr. Fabius declared, “The world recognizes your role.”

As for Mr. Hollande, he said, “December 12, 2015 can be considered a great day for humanity. Personally, I feel happy, almost relieved, proud to deliver a message from Paris, which was attacked not long ago. We ask you to accept the first global climate agreement in our history. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the world, for the planet, for humanity and for life.”

Although considered a historic document, the Paris Agreement still has some points of disagreement between countries and has been criticized by many non-governmental organizations. However, negotiators promise to bring these issues up for discussion at the next COP22 Climate Change Conference taking place in Marrakech from November 7 to 18, 2016.

Chu Thanh

(According to Le Monde)