This Briefing Paper explores the key human rights and environmental and social principles set forth in the preamble of the Paris Agreement, including the linkages to existing international obligations, and how these principles can be integrated into four key elements of the Paris Rule Book: Nationally Determined Contributions, Adaptation Communications, the Transparency Framework, and the Global Stocktake (without precluding the relevance of other aspects of the work of the APA or work under other bodies in the UNFCCC).
The first section of this briefing provides information on the key principles and obligations, many of which overlap that are included in the preamble of the Paris Agreement. In particular, we highlight the linkages between these principles and effective climate action, including identifying the key international frameworks that define the related commitments and obligations of governments in other fora. The second section explains how these principles and obligations could be integrated in key aspects of the modalities for the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement, focusing in particular on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Adaptation Communications, the Transparency Framework, and the Global Stocktake. This focus does not preclude however the relevance of these principles to other elements discussed in relation to the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The briefing concludes with a set of recommendations aimed at decision-makers and other stakeholders involved in the ongoing climate negotiations.
Authors: Sébastien Duyck & Erika Lennon (CIEL – Center for International Environmental Law / coordinating authors), Lapka Nuri Sherpa (AIPP – Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact), Tonya Rawe (CARE), Anabella Rosemberg (ITUC – International Trade Union Confederation), Kathrin Wessendorf & Lærke Marie Lund Petersen (IWGIA – International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs), Monica Camacho (Rainforest Foundation Norway) (The “Ecosystem Integrity” part is based on a paper written by REDD+ Safeguards Working Group 2015), and Juliana Vélez Uribe (WEDO).
