ABSTRACT

The negotiations for the successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol have been undertaken at a time when the community, industry and governments largely accept the reality of climate change. Many stakeholders, including private sector entities, are also demonstrably contributing on their own initiative, as exemplified by the global retailer Ikea’s pledge to clean energy and climate action, 1 and shareholder and investor groups’ pledges to isolate fossil fuel-dependent activities. 2

The Paris Conference of the Parties (COP) in December 2015 adopted the framework of the Lima Paris Action Agenda (LPAA) and its four pillars: the binding Paris Agreement, voluntary country contributions (INDCs), finance and an enhanced role for non-state actors. The Paris Agreement introduces a management model to ensure transparency in the reporting of voluntary undertakings, which will operate in concert with the binding Paris Agreement, and a modified system for monitoring and evaluation. 3 These arrangements will be integral to the effectiveness of the LPAA and are relevant to the governance and integrity framework presented in this volume.