When the agreement garnered enough signatures to cross the threshold on October 5, 2016, US President Barack Obama said: “Even if we achieve every goal. We will only reach part of where we need to go. He also said that “this agreement will help delay or avoid some of the worst consequences of climate change. It will help other nations reduce their emissions over time and set bolder targets as technology advances, all under a strong transparency system that will allow each nation to assess the progress of all other nations. “[27] [28] The loss and damage suffered by the Paris Agreement was one of the most controversial topics of COP21. Developed and developing countries discussed whether they should engage in the decision or agreement and whether they should be organized as part of the adaptation or as independent stand-alone articles. Faced with such disproportionate losses, LDCs and CISS prioritized securing a place for loss and damage in the Paris Agreement, where its provisions would be fully applicable. Industrialized countries have sought to be held liable for the costs of loss and damage in financially developing countries and have sought to avoid the inclusion of loss and damage in the agreement. They preferred that loss and damage appear exclusively in the decision where their text would not be binding and rather a political declaration. Achieving the overall objective of the Paris Agreement requires international and national cooperation.
Article 7 “recognizes the importance of international support and cooperation in adaptation efforts.” [26] However, it does not impose binding obligations on contracting parties. Rather, the article states that parties should “take” five listed measures concerning the exchange of policy information, the strengthening of institutional arrangements, assistance to developing countries in adaptation planning and the overall improvement of adaptation measures. Article 7 not only encourages all parties to make these efforts, but “encourages” the United Nations to “support the efforts of the parties to implement the [articulated] measures”. [27] Similarly, this language does not really require the cooperation of United Nations agencies. Loss and damage have not only a clean article in the Paris Agreement, but also an article of medium length. With five paragraphs, Article 8 on loss and damage is an average article of the Paris Agreement. [52] These five paragraphs, as well as paragraphs 47 to 51 of the decision, focus primarily on recognizing the importance of “minimizing and combating loss and damage related to the adverse effects of climate change”[53] and on establishing the existing Warsaw International Mechanism as a formal mechanism for international governance under the Paris Agreement. Article 8 states that parties must “act” cooperatively to address and minimize loss and damage related to climate change.
[54] It provides examples of “areas of cooperation and facilitation to improve understanding, action and assistance” with respect to loss and damage. [55] Examples include “early warning systems; emergency preparedness; slow events”, as well as “thorough risk assessment and management;.