COP21: The Paris Deal
COP21 (21st Conference of Parties) held in Paris, France, comes 6 years after the previous climate conference in Copenhagen that ended in failure and acrimony. Most leaders and delegates at the beginning of this conference admitted that it would not be a walk in park to get countries to fulfil the pledge of giving priority to issues of combating climate change. However, the Paris deal seems to have rebuilt much of the trust that is required for a concerted global effort that would aid combat climate change. US president Barrack Obama stated that “this should not just be an agreement to reverse the pollution filling our skies, but it should be an agreement that would help lift people out of poverty without condemning the next generation to a planet that is beyond the capacity to repair”. After 2 weeks of intense negotiations (from 30th November to 11th December 2015) at COP21, the Paris deal has been hailed as the world’s first true global climate deal. The accord commits both rich