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ABSTRACT: This update reflects upon the outcomes of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) negotiations held in Paris in December 2015 (COP21). As the dust settles, this update explores the temperature targets, loss and damage, climate justice and what the agreement might mean for small island states.
Keywords: climate finance, climate justice, COP21, global temperature, loss and damage, small island developing states (SIDS)
© 2016 - Institute of Island Studies, University of Prince Edward Island, Canada
Introduction
In the November 2015 issue of Island Studies Journal, I wrote about the hopes, expectations and background to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) negotiations to be held in Paris in December 2015 (COP21). In summary, I suggested that the negotiations marked a last chance, perhaps a make or break moment, for many small island states vulnerable to the effects of climate change (Hoad, 2015). This update reflects upon the outcomes of the Paris negotiations and, as the dust settles, explores the temperature targets, loss and damage, climate justice and what the agreement might mean for small island states.
The outcomes of the so-called Paris Agreement (COP21) have been described in various political quarters as 'historic', a 'landmark', a 'turning point' and 'pivotal'. At a meeting of the Pacific Island Development Forum (PIDF) in February 2016, Prime Minister Sopoaga of Tuvalu suggested it was a sipikana (beautiful) Agreement and that it would save Tuvalu and the world (PIDF.org, 2016). However, for a range of NGOs and environmental groups, it has been described as 'too weak', a 'mixed bag', 'clearly not strong enough' and a 'huge disappointment' (Guardian, 2015).
When the ceremonial gavel fell on the agreement on December 12, 2015, it was in sharp contrast to the failure and rancour of COP15 in Copenhagen back in 2009. Considering where international climate negotiations were, it is hardly surprising that any agreement might be thought of as an achievement. To a degree, this relief coloured much of the post-agreement analysis. As one commentator noted "The relief and self-congratulation with which the final text was greeted, acknowledges the failure at Copenhagen six years ago" (Monbiot, 2015).
The Paris Agreement: key principles
Relief aside, the Paris agreement was notable for creating a unanimous, legally binding...