The Paris Agreement on climate change was adopted in COP21 and reflects a collective vision by 95 countries on ways to curb global warming and other undesirable climate changes. The agreement lays a framework of essential goals and important milestones to achieving a green environment. However, the success of the agreement depends on the rules, guidelines, and processes that are adapted to making the agreement work. An ad hoc Working Group on Paris Agreement (APA) that is made up of the parties that ratified and adopted the agreement is putting these rules and processes in place. The group is supported by such organizations as UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA)

Much of the work should have been completed before the full implementation of the agreement and well before 2020 when parties to the agreement meet and go through the progress.

 Here are key areas that parties have to focus on to ensure that the agreement works and within the set timelines

There must be guidance for states to increase their ambition

There are critical processes that have been put into the agreement to help companies increase their ambition in enhancing their climate plans. Countries are expected to come up with Nationally Determined Contributions every five years to achieve long-term goals of the agreement. 

Ensure accountability and transparency

 The backbone of the Paris Agreement is a transparency framework to help track how governments are progressing with the commitment to enhance a green environment. However, there must be rules to hold the parties accountable while enhancing the understanding among these countries. A key item towards the achievement of this goal is the enhancement of UNFCCC current Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) system by 2018.

Climate finance must be tracked

The core challenge for the international climate control regime is to ensure that climate finance is flowing towards the intended recipients and meeting the intended objectives The SBSTA is tasked with the role of developing the accounting rules for the parties, which should be done by 2018. The goal of the agreement is to encourage reporting every two years for easy reviewing.

Create New Technology Framework

The long-term vision of the agreement is the development of new technologies and the transfer of these technologies from the developed parties to the developing countries to aid them in mitigating the effects of climate change and adapting to it. The challenge in this is that the timelines have not been set and some parties do not want to share their technologies.

A committed focus in these four areas will keep each country and entity that is collaborating accountable to each other for the long term common good.