Keywords:

INTRODUCTION:

On 12th Dec 2015, at Conference of Parties (COP) 21 in Paris, 196 members of UNFCCC
reached a landmark Paris Agreement to combat climate change and to accelerate and
intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future. Under this
agreement aim is to keep global temperature rise well below 2oC above preindustrial levels in
this century and also efforts need to be taken to limit the temperature rise further below 1.5
o
C. Also agreement’s aim is to increase the ability of countries to deal with climate change
impacts and make consistent financial flows with low emission of greenhouse gases.

All parties need to submit their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) or
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) which embody each party’s efforts to reduce
GHG emissions and this contribution need to be strengthened in coming years. Parties need
to implement measures to reduce emissions, monitor them and report regularly. Globally
collective progress towards achievement in reduction of GHG emissions and temperature rise
will be monitored in 5 years interval and further targets given to member parties.

Paris agreement was signed on 22 April 2016 at UN Headquarters in Newyork and came into
force on 4 November 2016, 30 days after the so-called “double threshold” (ratification by 55
countries that account for at least 55% of global emissions) had been met. USA and China
were first two countries to ratify Paris Agreement on 3 August 2016. India ratified Paris
Agreement on 2 October 2016 and is 62nd country to ratify.UK ratified the agreement on 24
November 2016. Brazil ratified the agreement on 9 November 2016. Till now186 parties have
ratified out of 197 parties to the UNFCCC. The contribution of various countries to CO2
emissions is shown in the figure below:

Ever since the Paris Agreement of 2016 the member countries have taken pro-active steps to
curb greenhouse gas emissions. It is interesting to study the steps taken in developed and
developing countries after ratifying Paris Agreement of 2016 to bring down the greenhouse
gas emissions because of their disparity in finances, technologies and other challenges. In this
paper, two developed countries viz. USA & UK and two developing countries viz. India &
Brazil have been studied for their implementation of Paris Agreement. The paper helps to
analyse the efforts taken by international leaders in regard to climate change as compared to
the claims made. Also drastic change in climate has lead to flash floods, severe draughts,
forest fires, change in season cycles, rise in rate of submergence of coastal area and various
other adverse impacts in all parts of the world. Therefore the control of emissions needs
immediate attentions and efforts. It is imperative upon developed countries to lead this
change and encourage developing countries by technological transfer and financial support.
The ranking of the above four countries under study in global greenhouse gas emissions are
given in the table below:

Total carbon dioxide Per capita carbon

Total emissions
Country emissions from fuel dioxide emissions
country rank
combustion from fuel combustion
2 United States 4833.1MT 15.0T
3 India 2076.8MT 1.6T
13 Brazil 416.7 MT 2.0 T
16 United Kingdom 371.1 MT 5.6 T

Note: India ranks 20th position in per capita carbon dioxide emissions from fuel combustion

MT = Metric megatons
T = Metric tons

METHODOLOGY:

The study includes collection of information, analysis and comparison of various initiatives
and schemes undertaken by the countries under study for implementation of the Paris
Agreement.

Selection of Countries

Gathering of baseline information from available

Literature

Analysis of policies and initiatives taken by respective

countries for implementation of Paris Agreement

Comparison in implementation of Paris Agreement in the

IMPLEMENTATION IN USA:

History of Treaties and agreements entered by United States Treaties /agreements

1. Kyoto Protocol

In the mid 1990s, the UNFCCC signatories realised that stronger provisions were needed to reduce
emissions. In 1997, they agreed the Kyoto Protocol, which introduced legally binding emission
reduction targets for developed countries.The Kyoto Protocol now applies to only around 14% of the
world's emissions. The United States has never signed up to the Kyoto Protocol, Canada pulled out
before the end of the first commitment period and Russia, Japan and New Zealand are not taking
part in the second commitment period.

2. Copenhagen Agreement

The Copenhagen Agreement is a document that delegates at the 15th session of the Conference of
Parties (COP 15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change agreed to "take
note of" at the final plenary on 18 December 2009. The U.S. officially committed in writing yesterday
to the greenhouse gas emission cuts proposed by President Obama in Copenhagen—4 percent
below 1990 levels by 2020.

3. Paris Agreement

The Paris climate conference took place from 30 November to 11 December 2015. On 12
December, the parties reached a new global agreement on climate change. The agreement presents
a balanced outcome with an action plan to limit global warming 'well below' 2°C. US is one the
countries which has officially ratified to the agreement.

USA Paris agreement commitments.

 The United States proposed to achieve an economy-wide target of reducing its greenhouse
gas emissions by 26%-28% below its 2005 level in 2025 and to make best efforts in order to
achieve target of 28%.
Figure 1 US projected target for Paris agreement.

 Green Climate Fund was formed to help fight climate change as per which advanced
economies had agreed to jointly mobilize an amount of 100 billion US dollars per year by
2020 to help environment protection needs of developing countries. The US pledged an
amount of 3 billion US dollars towards Green Climate Fund.
 The country projected its long-term goal as “Mid-Century Strategy for Deep
Decarbonization” (The White House, 2016). This aims to reduce emissions by 80% or more
below 2005 levels in 2050, incl. LULUCF which is equivalent to 68–76% below 2005 levels
(63–73% below 1990), excl. LULUCF.

Scope and coverage taken into account for Paris agreement

Gases and emissions targeted

As per its commitments at United Nations the U.S. target covered all types of greenhouse gases
included in the Inventory of United States Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks (2014). The gases
include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), nitrous oxide (N2O),
hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3).
Scope
The U.S. target covers its entire financial budget and all its IPCC sectors.

Positive Actions taken by USA for Paris agreement implementation and their effect

Several U.S. laws, as well as existing and proposed regulations thereunder, are relevant to the
implementation of the U.S. target, including the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. §7401 et seq.), the
Energy Policy Act (42 U.S.C. §13201 et seq.), and the Energy Independence and Security Act
(42 U.S.C. § 17001 et seq.).
 Under the Energy Policy Act and the Energy Independence and Security Act, the United
States Department of Energy has finalized multiple measures addressing buildings sector
emissions including energy conservation standards for 29 categories of appliances and
equipment as well as a building code determination for commercial buildings.
 Under the Clean Air Act, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has approved
the use of specific alternatives to high-GWP HFCs in certain applications through the
Significant New Alternatives Policy program.
 EPA can regulate emissions from motor vehicles if the agency finds that such emissions
cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public
health or welfare. Of the GHG emission standards promulgated by EPA, four sets of
 standards, which have had the broadest impacts, are discussed below: those for power
plants, the oil and gas industry, trucks, and light-duty vehicles.
 Improvement in Standards for Power Plants (Clean Power Plan and NSPS) - The electricity
sector accounts for largest amount U.S. CO2 emissions followed by transportation. The Clean
Power Plan (CPP), which is the rule for existing units, would set state-specific goals for CO2
emissions or emission rates from existing fossil-fueled power plants. EPA established
different goals for each state based on three “building blocks”: improved efficiency at coal-
fired power plants; substitution of NGCC generation for coal-fired power; and zero-emission
power generation from increased renewable energy, such as wind or solar. The goals would
be phased in, beginning in 2022, with final average emission rates for each state to be
reached by 2030. Coal-fired power plants have been retired in record numbers and cleaner
sources of electric power (both renewable and natural-gas-fired) have taken their place.
Coal, which accounted for 39% of electric power generation in 2014, declined to 28% of the
total in 2018; natural gas generation rose from 28% to 35% of the total, and wind and solar
from 7% to 11% in the same period.
 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for new and modified power plants,
promulgated at the same time as the CPP, would affect fewer plants, but they too are
controversial, because of the technology the rule assumed could be used to reduce
emissions at new coal-fired units. As promulgated in 2015, the NSPS would have relied in
part on carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology to reduce emissions by about
20% compared to the emissions of a state-of-the art coal-fired plant without CCS.
 Standards for the Oil and Gas Industry On June 3, 2016, EPA promulgated a suite of New
Source Performance Standards (NSPS) under CAA Section 111 to set controls for the first
time on methane emissions from sources in the crude oil and natural gas production sector
and the natural gas transmission and storage sector. States on track to achieve the
Administration’s goal to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40%-45%
from 2012 levels by 2025, and to reduce all domestic GHG emissions by 26%-28% from 2005
levels by 2025.
 Improvement in Standards for Motor Vehicles - The second round of GHG (Green House Gas)
standards for cars and light trucks is being phased in over model years (MY) 2017-2025. It
would reduce emissions from new light-duty vehicles by about 50% as compared to 2010
levels, and average fuel economy will rise to 21.25 km per liter, in the year 2025. EPA and
DOT have also promulgated joint GHG emission and fuel economy standards for medium-
and heavy-duty trucks, which have generally been supported by the trucking industry and
truck and engine manufacturers. This rule was finalized on August 16, 2016.47 The new
standards cover MYs 2018-2027 for certain trailers and MYs 2021-2027 for semi-trucks, large
pickup trucks, vans, and all types and sizes of buses and work trucks. According to EPA, In
EPA’s analysis, fuel consumption of 2027 model tractor-trailers will decline by 34% as a
result of the rule.49

Contrary actions to Paris agreement

 Under the Trump Administration, EPA has reviewed both the CPP and the NSPS. This review
concluded, among other things, that the CPP exceeded EPA’s statutory authority by using
measures that applied to the power sector as a whole rather than measures carried out
within an individual facility. The agency therefore proposed repeal of the CPP on October 16,
2017 and a rule to replace it (the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule) on August 21, 2018.
The ACE rule would apply a narrower interpretation than the CPP of the best system of
emission reduction (BSER), defining it as on-site heat rate improvements for existing coal-
fired units.
  Rules regarding standards for Oil and gas industry and Motor vehicles have been made
lenient in 2018 as compared to 2016 rules.
 The Trump Administration has removed the mid-century strategy from all government
websites.
 Under President Donald Trump, the US is set to leave the Paris accord in 2020 while his
administration has ended many existing environmental protections.

Analysis of overall implementation of Paris agreement.

 According to Climate Action Tracker the US NDC of 26–28% below 2005 levels by 2025 (incl.
LULUCF), it would be rated “Insufficient.” The “Insufficient” rating indicates that the US’s
NDC in 2025 is not consistent with holding warming to below 2°C, let alone limiting it to
1.5°C as required under the Paris Agreement, and is instead consistent with warming
between 2°C and 3°C. If all countries were to follow this approach, warming would reach
over 2°C and up to 3°C. This means the US’s NDC is at the least stringent end of what would
be a fair share of global effort, and is not consistent with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5˚C limit,
unless other countries make much deeper reductions and comparably greater effort.
 The above fact makes it clear that the Climate Change Goals as set by US are not sufficient to
help make a significant Environmental Impact. , considering the US’s high historical
emissions, high per capita emissions and high capability to act (approaches that focus on
equality, equal cumulative emissions and historical responsibility) the NDC is highly
inequitable and much more stringent reductions would be required and partially result in
negative emission allowances in all years.
 Under the present government schemes there is not much focus on climate change and
environmental concerns.
 In 2017 US emitted about 6.5 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases. The following
charts shows contribution and source percentage of green house gases.
  The US carbon dioxide emissions rose by 3.4% in 2018 after three years of
decline. America’s carbon dioxide emissions rose by 3.4 percent in 2018, the biggest
increase in eight years.
 The data shows the US is unlikely to meet its pledge to reduce emissions by 2025
under the Paris climate agreement.
 The data shows the US is unlikely to meet its pledge to reduce emissions by 2025
under the Paris climate agreement.
 Under President Donald Trump, the US is set to leave the Paris accord in 2020 while
his administration has ended many existing environmental protections.
 The US is the world's second largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Strikingly, the
sharp uptick in emissions occurred even as a near-record number of coal plants
around the United States retired last year, illustrating how difficult it could be for the
country to make further progress on climate change in the years to come, particularly
as the Trump administration pushes to roll back federal regulations that limit
greenhouse gas emissions.Total U.S. emissions for 2017 totaled 6,457 million metric
tons of CO2e and net emissions, taking sinks into account, totaled 5,743 million
metric tons CO2e

IMPLEMENTATION IN INDIA:

India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC)

  To put forward and further propagate a healthy and sustainable way of living based on
traditions and values of conservation and moderation
 To Reduce GHG Emissions Intensity of India's GDP by 33 to 35 Per Cent by 2030
from 2005 Level
 To create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tons of CO2 equivalent through
additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
 To adopt a climate friendly and a cleaner path than the one followed hitherto by
others at corresponding level of economic development.
 To achieve about 40 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from no
fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030 with the help of transfer of technology and
low cost international finance including from Green Climate Fund (GCF).
 To better adapt to climate change by enhancing investments in development
programmes in sectors vulnerable to climate change, particularly agriculture, water
resources, Himalayan region, coastal regions, health and disaster management.
 To mobilize domestic and new & additional funds from developed countries to
implement the above mitigation and adaptation actions in view of the resource
required and the resource gap.
 To build capacities, create domestic framework and international architecture for
quick diffusion of cutting edge climate technology in India and for joint collaborative
R&D for such future technologies.

Actions planned or taken by INDIA towards achieving INDC:

1. Transportation System:

In addition to existing 585 kms metro lines in operation as on 10 February 2019,

around 622 kms metro line is under construction in various cities of India. Many more
metro rails are under proposal stage. Delhi Metro which is India's first MRTS (Mass
Rapid Transport System) has a potential to reduce CO2 emissions by 0.63 million
tonnes annually. DMRC is first metro rail system in the world to get carbon credits for
reduction GHG emissions and helped in reducing global warming. UN Body credits
Delhi metro 6.3 lakh carbon credits for this modal shift project. Around 18 lakh
people using Delhi metro on daily basis which is completely non-polluting and
environment friendly.By traveling with metro, every passenger can contribute to
reduce emission of approx. 100gm of CO2 for every 10 km trip. By encouraging
people to use MRTS rather than personal vehicles will result in significant reduction
of emissions.

Recently, Government of India, announced switch from Bharat Stage IV (BS IV) to
Bharat Stage VI (BS VI) to improve fuel standards across the country by 1 April
2020. Major difference between BSIV norms and BSVI norms is sulphur content. In
BS IV grade fuel sulphur content is 50ppm whereas sulphur content in BS VI grade
fuel is 10ppm. Also in diesel cars harmful NOx (nitrogen oxides) can be brought
down by nearly 70% and they can be reduced by 25% in petrol cars by shifting to
BSVI grade fuel. Additionally cancer causing particulate matter like PM 2.5 and PM
10 from diesel cars can be reduced by 80%.

Government of India’s National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020

targets to achieve 6-7 million sales of hybrid and electric vehicles by the year 2020.
Indian Government also aims for 30 % of its public transport to be electric by 2030.
 To promote electrical mobility in country various initiatives like lower GST rate to
12% (with no cess) for electrical vehicles against the 28% GST rate with cess up to
22% for conventional vehicles and issued Expression of Interest (EoI) to deployment
5000 electric buses by State Transport Departments.

2. Renewable energy

In India renewable energy share in electricity sector is about 35% as on 31 Mar 2019.
Of which 13% contributed by large hydro (45.4 GW) and remaining renewable
energy sources accounted for 22% (77.6 GW). Renewable energy growth in India
from past 3 financial years is as follows:

Total
Installed Hydro Power Other Renewable Total Renewable
Capacity
Capacity As
%
on GW GW GW GW
% share % share share
31 March 2017 44.48 14% 57.26 18% 101.14 31% 326.84
31 March 2018 45.29 13% 69.02 20% 114.32 33% 344.00
31 March 2019 45.40 13% 77.64 22% 123.04 35% 356.10

Renewable power capacity (excluding large hydropower) as of 30 June 2019 and 2022
targets

Total Installed 2022 target

Source
Capacity (MW) (MW)
Wind power 36,368 60,000
Solar power 29,549 1,00,000
Biomass power
(Biomass & Gasification and 9,806
*10,000
Bagasse Cogeneration)
Waste-to-Power 138
Small hydropower 4,604 5,000
TOTAL 80,467 1,75,000

India initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA) with 121 countries located in
between of Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn region. Main aim of ISA is to
exploit solar energy efficiently and reduce use of fossil fuels. This Alliance will help
India in achieving 100GW Solar energy and 175GW renewable energy targets by
2022. World bank will mobilise around US $1000 billion in investments required by
2030, to achieve ISA goals for massive deployment of affordable solar energy. In
January 2018, at World Future Energy Summit (WFES) held in Abu Dhab, the
government of India announced the establishment of a $350 million solar
development fund to enable financing of solar projects.

Under the scheme Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs and Appliances for All (UJALA)
around 320 million covered as on 12 February 2019. Around 63 million households
below poverty line has received clean cooking stoves under UJJWALA scheme.
 3. Forest and Tree Cover

India’s total forest and tree cover is 802,088 square km, accounts to 24.39 % of the
geographical area of the country. According to India State of Forest Report (ISFR)
2017, India’s forest and tree cover has increased by 1% (approx. 8021 sqkm) between
2015 and 2017 by adding 6,778 square km of forest cover and extending 1, 243
square km of tree cover. Also, central government of India is planning a 1400 Km
long and 5 Km wide green belt along Aravali hills range and it would span Gujarat,
Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi. This idea was proposed at COP14 of United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) held in India in September 2019 and
its approval is still pending. This proposal will be part of India’s goal in restoring 26
million hectares of degraded land by 2030. At present India contains 96.4 million
hectares of degraded land which is around 30% of total geographical area of country.

4. Adaptive Measures

For developing countries like India adaption should be more focused to protect from
inevitable effects of climate change which has already occurred and which can lead to
flash floods, nasty storms and severe droughts. So India’s focus should be on both
mitigation and adaption. Agriculture and water resources are two key sectors which
are having adverse effect due to climate change. Following two ways can be
suggested to adapt to existing climate. One is Inter linking of rivers (ILR),
government should give priority to ILR projects in light of climate action because
severe droughts and flash floods are likely to occur in different parts of country in
upcoming years. Secondly usage of genetically modified crops. Draught resistant
crops or crops which produce high yield in same patch of land should be adopted to
reduce impact due to climate change in country.

A central sector scheme, National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change

(NAFCC) was set up in 2015-16 with aim to support adaptive measures taken to
mitigate or resist adverse impacts of climate change. As on 5 February 2018, INR
236.32 Crs sanctioned to different states of India.

5. Other Measures

National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), State Action Plan on Climate
Change (SAPCC), Single use plastic ban ,Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban
Transformation (AMRUT) – for Smart Cities, Swachh Bharat Mission etc. are few
other measures taken by government of India to combat climate change.

Even though few measures are taken by India to combat climate change, the emission of
GHG in India increased by 4.7% in 2016, 4.6% in 2017 and 4.8% in 2018.

IMPLEMENTATION IN BRAZIL :

Brazil accounts for a significant 2.48 percent of global emission making it the globe’s 7th highest
emitter, and also a rather unique one in that so many of its emission are due to deforestation of the
Amazon, rather than the burning of fossil fuels.
Earlier in 2015 Brazil aimed to reach zero illegal deforestation by 2030 and restore 12 million
hectares of its forest, but the initiatives did not go far enough. the country has reduced
deforestation by 80% since 2004 but significant portions of the vast Amazon rain forest are
disappearing every year, and after a steady decline in deforestation rates from 2005 onwards,
deforestation rose in both 2013 and 2015, following which the country decided to sign the Paris
agreement. The Paris agreement was ratified and approved on 9th November 2016.

The long-term goals of Brazil in order to achieve the Paris agreement aims were as following

 Brazil intends to commit to reduce GHG emission by 37% below 2005 levels in 2025 and by 43%
below 2005 levels in 2030.
 The absolute target in relation to the base year is 100% of coverage of the territory, economy-
wide, including co2, CH4, N2O, perfluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons and SF6.
 Zero illegal deforestation in Brazil amazon by 2030.
 Restoring and reforesting 12 million ha of forest by 2030.
 Enhancing native forest management.
 Strive for transition towards energy systems based on renewable sources and decarbonisation of
the global economy by the end of the century.

All policies, measures and actions to implement Brazil’s iNDC are carried out under the National
Policy on Climate Change (Law 12,187/2009), the Law on the Protection of Native Forests (Law
12,651/2012, hereinafter referred as Forest Code), the Law on the National System of Conservation
Units (Law 9,985/2000), related legislation, instruments and planning processes.
Brazil has formulated certain policies and strategies at times to meet the Paris agreement goals, but
the core of Brazil’s adaptation strategy is the social dimension, bearing in mind the need to protect
vulnerable populations from the negative effects of climate change. Besides REDD+ initiative the
south-south initiative is taken on the bases of solidarity and common sustainable development
priorities. Brazil has undertaken best efforts to enhance cooperation initiatives with other
developing countries, particularly in the areas of: forest monitoring systems; biofuels capacity-
building and technology transfer; low carbon and resilient agriculture; restoration and reforestation
activities; management of protected areas; increased resilience through social inclusion and
protection programmes;

Besides these life cycle engineering is suggested as a tool to be implemented in order to reduce ris
to environment and human life. These tools include eco-design and lifecycle assessment, clean
production techniques, reverse logistics, disassembly,3R and GIS.

Brazil is one of the world’s leading biofuel producers and importers. Brazil’s environmental minister
Izabella Teixeir claims that “biofuel production in Brazil is driven by public policies that seek to
increase its production in a sustainable manner, conserving nature, creating jobs and sharing the
benefits among the population”. And she also claims “biofuel production in Brazil is driven by
public policies that seek to increase its production in a sustainable manner, conserving nature,
creating jobs and sharing the benefits among the population”.

Results and suggestions

Deforestation reduction strategies

 Act on primary causes: reduce need for new land
Free up pasture for crop expansion by increasing livestock productivity.
 Complementary forest protection against illegal cuts.
Challenges
Technically feasible despite serious implementation challenges such as financing, extension
services, innovative designs.

The advantage will be that the native forests will be recovered to some extent.

Alternatives for mitigation of GHG emission

 Improvement of forage quality

 Genetic improvement of the cattle herd
 Expansion of the feedlot sector
 Recovery of degraded pastures
 Increased stocking rates
 Decreased demand for grazing lands
 Improvement of performance indices
 Decreased age at slaughter
 Adoption of integrated systems(crop-livestock)
 Decrease in GHG emission
GHG emissions from agricultural systems

Mitigation options for energy sector

Electricity

 Supply
Wind Energy
Biomass Cogeneration
 Demand
Energy Efficiency, Demand Side Management

Oil and Gas

 Supply
Refineries design and Flared Gas to Liquid (GTL)
 Demand
Energy Efficiency in the Industry Fuel switch and Substitution for Biomass
Charcoal from Renewable Biomass

Industrial Consumption of Energy from Fossil Fuels

Technical options cover the following five main areas:

 Energy Efficiency (optimization of combustion, heat recovery in industrial processes, steam

recovery, furnace heat recovery, implementation of new technologies and processes, and
other measures)
 Recycling and Reducing Materials Used
 Inter-energy substitution 1 (Fossil Fuels for Fossil Fuels)
 Inter-energy substitution 2 (Fossil for Renewable Alternatives)
  Reduction in the Use of Non-renewable Biomass (charcoal from renewable biomass from
native forests)
 Sub-sectors from considered industries: Cement, Iron and Steel, Minerals, Chemicals, Non-
Iron Metals, Textiles, Food and Drink, Celluloses and Paper, Ceramics and other (based on
the National Energy Balance – BEN 2008)

Mitigation Options for the Transport Sector

Most of the current concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is a result of emissions
since the industrial revolution (the post-1750 period). Current generations are bearing the costs
of past interference with the global climate system, resulting from human activities and
consequent greenhouse gas emissions, primarily by developed countries, during the last two
centuries. Similarly, current human activities around the world will affect the climate system over
the next centuries

In order to build a fair and equitable global response to climate change, it is therefore of central
importance to link cause (net anthropogenic GHG emissions) and effect (temperature increase
and global climate change).

Brazil´s mitigation efforts are of a type, scope and scale at least equivalent to the iNDCs of those
developed countries most responsible for climate change. In view of the above, and based on
available tools, it is evident that Brazil’s iNDC, while consistent with its national circumstances
and capabilities, is far more ambitious than what would correspond to Brazil´s marginal relative
responsibility for the global average temperature increase.

All policies, measures and actions to implement Brazil’s iNDC are carried out under the National
Policy on Climate Change (Law 12,187/2009), the Law on the Protection of Native Forests (Law
12,651/2012, hereinafter referred as Forest Code), the Law on the National System of Conservation
Units (Law 9,985/2000), related legislation, instruments and planning processes.

IMPLEMENTATION OF PARIS AGREEMENT IN UK:

The net emission of green-house gasses in UK is 364.1 Million Tonnes as per a report published in
2018. The emissions at present are 43.5 % lower than the emissions of 1990 (Department for
Bussiness, 2019) . In line with the Paris Agreement of 2015, the UK had set an ambitious goal to
reduce the net emissions by 80 % upto 2050. This goal of 80 % reduction has been modified to a net
zero emission target by 2050 according to the Climate Change Act 2008(2050 Amendment Target)
Order 2019. The per capita greenhouse gas emission of UK is 6.50 MT. The major contributor to the
greenhouse gas emissions in UK is CO2 accounting for 81% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Coal
usage in turn is the leading contributor for such huge CO2 emissions. Reduction in coal usage
between 2017 & 2018 lead to a decrease in CO2 emissions by 9.9 % (Department for Bussiness,
2019). To comply with the goal of Paris Agreement of 2015, UK has taken ambitious steps to keep
the global temperature rise in check upto 1.5 to 2 °C to avoid dangerous repercussions of global
warming. Some proactive steps to achieve this target include proposal for making all buildings smart
by 2030 since residential sector contributes about 18% to the total emissions. According a report by
Committee on Climate Change, which is a governmental body advising the UK about how to tackle
and adapt to the climate change, if other countries were to take the cue from UK about net-zero
emissions the chance of checking the 1.5 °C rise in global temperature will be 50% (2).The cost
implications of this ambitious target are quite huge and have been as estimated to about 1 Trillion
Euros(3bbc). Experts have been sceptical of the some of the claims made by the UK government to
reduce the emissions. In 2019 UK has given a green signal for a deep coal mine in Cumbria. It has
also not put forward any concrete plan for the replacement of petrol and diesel cars with electric
vehicles as the contribution of emissions from vehicles is about 121 Million Tonnes in 2018. There
has been no significant decrease in CO2 emissions from transport sector even from 1990 being
about 125.4 Million Tonnes in 1990 and 121.4 in 2018. The contribution of different sectors to
emissions is represented in the table below:

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2017 2018

Energy Supply 242.1 210.3 204.0 219.1 197.3 137.6 106.0 98.3
From power 203.0 163.0 158.7 173.1 157.3 104.1 72.4 65.2
stations
From other Energy 39.1 47.3 45.3 46 40.0 33.4 33.5 33.1
Supply
Business 111.9 108.9 108.7 96.9 78.2 69.5 66.1 65.9
Transport 125.4 126.8 131.0 134.3 123.4 122.2 124.6 121.4
Public 13.4 13.2 12.1 11.1 9.4 7.9 7.8 8.1
Residential 78.3 79.6 85.6 82.5 84.5 64.5 64.1 65.9
Agriculture 6.5 6.5 5.5 6.1 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.6
Industrial Process 19.4 17.7 16.9 16.3 10.6 12.1 10.2 10.0
Waste 1.3 1.0 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3
Management
LULUCF -2.0 -3.9 -6.0 -8.9 -10.7 -11.2 -11.3 -11.3
Total CO2 596.3 560.1 558.3 557.9 498.3 408.3 373.2 364.1
Other Greenhouse 794.4 745.6 707.5 683.7 600.9 498.0 460.2 448.5
Gases
Table 1: UK annual greenhouse gas emissions, 1990-2018, headline results
Source: Table 1, Provisional UK greenhouse gas emissions national statistics 1990-2018 Excel data
tables

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) is responsible for tracking the compliance of UK to Paris
Agreement-2015. It monitors the progress of UK to achieve the ambitious goal of net-zero emissions
by 2050. It employs various indicators to quantify the progress such as (refCCC Website)

1. Emissions in an average unit of electricity – and how low this could go if we used our existing
power infrastructure differently.

2. Size of onshore and offshore wind farms at various stages of the project cycle.

3. Emissions from new cars and the rate of development in electric vehicles market.

4. The number of lofts and walls being insulated and boilers upgraded, including moves to low-
carbon heat such as ultra-efficient heat pumps.

Also according to a report on UK’s progress on a target of net-zero emissions by 2050, UK is not well
prepared for the climate change. 12 out of 33 contributing sectors have no plans to achieve a zero-
emissions target. Therefore to bring the net-zero emissions on track , the existing policies need to be
strengthened.