COP21: The sweet reward after many hardships.

(Baonghean) - After nearly two weeks of intense work and the most challenging marathon negotiations ever, the 21st Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris, France, finally adopted an agreement on climate change. The path to achieving this "historic" agreement was extremely arduous. The participating countries and territories understood that they had to overcome all disagreements because this was the last chance for humanity to work together to "save" the Earth.

"I'm so happy I could cry."

The final agreement of COP21 was adopted by 195 countries and territories on the night of December 12 (Vietnam time), more than a day later than originally planned. When French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius – President of COP21 – declared the negotiations concluded, applause in the conference room lasted for several minutes, with many cheering and shedding tears of joy as the tireless efforts after many days of tense negotiations finally yielded "sweet fruit".

French Foreign Minister and COP21 President Laurent Fabius presents the draft final agreement at Le Bourget. Photo: Reuters.

With 31 pages and 29 articles, the Paris Agreement set a ceiling on the Earth's temperature by 2100 at no more than 2°F.^oC, accompanied by the recommendation "be determined to reach level 1.5"^oC”. To achieve this goal, the agreement calls for a balance between human-generated emissions and the Earth's absorption capacity, thus requiring countries to transition to cleaner energy sources such as solar and wind power and improve energy efficiency.

Some countries are also stepping up their pursuit of nuclear energy, which produces no greenhouse gas emissions. Countries are required to review their emissions reduction commitments every five years, with each subsequent commitment being higher than the previous one. The first review will take place in 2025.

Another important point in the Paris Agreement is that developed countries must provide financial support to other developed countries to combat climate change. Specifically, developed countries are obligated to mobilize $100 billion per year to help developing countries from now until 2020, and this level of support will be maintained until 2025.

Next, a new target will be set with a floor support level of $100 billion. In addition to financial support, developed countries must also take the lead in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Regarding the balance of responsibility between developed and developing countries, the issue of “losses and damages” has been included in the agreement for the first time. Accordingly, wealthy countries will have to compensate poorer countries for the consequences of climate change, in the spirit of “enhanced exchange, action, and mutual assistance.”

Set aside differences for the common goal.

Every negotiating team that arrived in Paris brought with them calculations aimed at ensuring both the fulfillment of common obligations and the safeguarding of their own national interests. This was the root of the three biggest points of contention during nearly two weeks of negotiations: the goal of limiting temperature increase, the sharing of efforts to reduce emissions between developed and developing countries, and financial contributions.

Regarding the goal of limiting temperature increase, about 100 countries demanded that the Earth's temperature rise not exceed 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels, especially island nations threatened by rising sea levels. However, this goal was strongly opposed by some major oil-exporting countries such as Saudi Arabia and Russia. Ultimately, the 1.5°C figure was decided.^oC is just a recommendation, the official target is 2.^oC.

Regarding the sharing of efforts to reduce emissions, developing countries assert that wealthy nations must bear the majority of the responsibility because they have emitted most greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. The US and other wealthy nations, however, argue that emerging economies also bear responsibility because these countries also emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, and French President Francois Hollande expressed their delight at the results achieved at COP21. Photo: Reuters.

However, it is encouraging that the two leading nations in the developed and developing blocs, the United States and China, made quite strong commitments at this conference. Specifically, China committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65% before 2030, while the United States promised to reduce CO2 emissions by 26-28% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. This can be seen as a "boost" for countries on both sides to make their final commitments.

Financially, poor countries argue that global warming is caused by industrialized nations. Therefore, those countries should support climate change mitigation efforts in poorer nations. However, the US and Western European countries oppose this view. According to them, the biggest polluter today is China, not the industrialized nations.

However, in the end, the wealthy nations conceded and accepted the commitment made in 2009 to provide $100 billion per year. Notably, to ensure the mobilization of the full $100 billion, developed countries no longer wanted to be the sole financial contributors but needed additional support from countries such as China, South Korea, Singapore, and oil-producing nations.

An opportunity to "save" the Earth.

If the COP21 conference had failed to reach an agreement, what would have happened to the Earth? The prospect would have been ever-expanding deserts, droughts, floods, wildfires, battles over clean water, crop failures, and the disappearance of many islands and densely populated coastlines. Therefore, the Paris climate change meeting was seen as the last chance to change this grim scenario. And fortunately, the negotiators successfully seized this opportunity.

COP21 committed to keeping global temperature rise below 2°C.oC. Photo: Reuters.

COP21 adopted a new agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol in 2020, and what fueled high hopes for this new agreement was its legal binding nature, bringing all countries into the fight against climate change. Compared to the original 54-page draft, the final agreement at COP21 was only 31 pages long, with many provisions removed. US President Barack Obama – representing one of the world's highest emitters of greenhouse gases – also acknowledged that "no agreement is perfect, including this climate agreement."

Nevertheless, reaching this agreement is still seen as a "victory for the entire planet and for future generations"—as stated by US Secretary of State John Kerry. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon did not hesitate to use effusive language to praise the agreement: "The Paris Agreement on climate change is a great success for the planet and its people. Today, we can finally tell our children that we have joined hands for a better world for future generations." Future generations will look back on December 12, 2015, as a milestone marking the birth of a historic treaty born from the determination of today's generation to "save" the Earth.

Thuy Ngoc