the agreement aims to strengthen the ability to deal
with the impacts of climate change.119
The Paris Agreement is a show of international cooperation, and it
“sent a powerful signal to global markets, hastening the transition away from
fossil fuels and to a clean energy economy.”120
The Paris Agreement is the first environmental treaty to explicitly
acknowledge that parties should respect and promote human rights in
addressing climate change.121 The reference to human rights is found in the
preamble:
Acknowledging that climate change is a common
concern of humankind, Parties should, when taking
action to address climate change, respect, promote
and consider their respective obligations on human
rights, the right to health, the rights of indigenous
peoples, local communities, migrants, children,
persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable
situations and the right to development, as well as
gender equality, empowerment of women and
intergenerational equity[.]122
The human rights reference does not impose a “jurisdictional limit” to
respect, promote, and consider respective obligations on human rights. Also,
the preamble notes the importance of the concept of “climate justice” in
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119
UNFCCC, Press Release, Historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change 195 Nations Set Path to Keep
Temperature Rise Well Below 2 Degrees Celsius, Dec. 12, 2015, http://newsroom.unfccc.int/unfcccnewsroom/finale-cop21/ (last accessed on Apr. 19, 2016).
120
S. Goldenberg, J. Vidal, L. Taylor, A. Vaughan, and F. Harvey, Paris Climate Deal: Nearly 200 Nations
Sign in End of Fossil Fuel Era, Guardian, Dec. 12, 2015,
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/12/paris-climate-deal-200-nations-sign-finish-fossilfuel-era (last accessed on Apr. 19, 2016).
121
Press Release, CIEL, A Powerful Signal but a Weak Agreement in Paris: Global Movement for Climate
Action Must Accelerate, Dec. 12, 2015,
http://www.ciel.org/news/a-powerful-signal-but-a-weak-agreement-in-paris-global-movement-for-climateaction-must-accelerate/ (last accessed on Apr. 20, 2016).
122
Adoption of the Paris Agreement, FCCC/CP/2015/L.9/Rev.1, Dec. 12, 2015, preamble,
https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09r01.pdf (last accessed on Apr. 19, 2016).
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