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17 Geo. J. Int'l Aff. 47 (2016)
Climate Change, Human Rights, and COP 21: One Step Forward and Two Steps Back or vice versa?

handle is hein.journals/geojaf17 and id is 184 raw text is: Climate Change, Human Rights, and COP 21 One Step Forward and Two Steps Back or Vice Versa? Sumudu Atapattu December 12 was in many ways a historic day for climate nego- tiations. After months of antici- pation, the president of the Twenty-First Conference of Parties (COP 21), Laurent Fabius, announced that the Paris Agreement on Climate Change had been adopted.' The reactions were generally positive; the French president applauded the ambitious agree- ment, the UN secretary general was of the view that it was a resounding success for multilateralism,2 and the executive secre- tary of UN Framework Conference on Cli- mate Change (UNFCCC) stated, We have made history together.3 However, although many were relieved that the meeting did not end with a debacle similar to that in Copen- hagen in 2009, there is reason to be skepti- cal of the efficacy of a heavily diluted final agreement. Much anticipation surrounded the Twenty-First Conference to the UNFCCC in Paris, as many thought that it was the last opportunity to address climate change in a meaningful manner. Scientists have spoken: the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)-the body of scientists appointed by the UN to synthesize research on climate change-en- dorsed unequivocally (beyond 95 percent certainty) that climate is changing, it is changing now, and that it is a man-made problem particularly due to our use of fossil fuels, ending years of debate surrounding the issue.4 While deniers will continue to ques- tion this conclusion for their own personal and political gains, scientific uncertainty no longer provides a viable excuse. The IPCC concluded that if the emissions of green- house gases resulted in an increase in the global temperature of more than 2 degrees Celsius, the consequences on people and the planet would be catastrophic.5 Furthermore, a World Bank report issued an urgent plea to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, noting that the commitments made by the interna- tional community are not sufficient to limit the temperature rise to not more than 2 de- grees Celsius.' Previous attempts at adopt- ing a binding agreement as a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which was set to expire in 2012, were unsuccessful, including the much publicized Copenhagen Accord.7 The parties finally extended the Kyoto Protocol to another commitment period but pledged to adopt an agreement that would become operational in 2020 by 2015.8 Thus, much was riding on the Paris Conference, which became the site of action and anticipation in many ways. SUMMER/FALL 2016, VOLUME XVII, NUMBER II 47 Sumudu Atapattu is the director of research centers at the University of Wisconsin Law School. She is also the lead counsel on human rights at the Center for International Sustainable Development Law.

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