On The Construction Of The Compliance Mechanism Of The Paris Agreement

The law will not be enforced by itself.How to ensure the effective compliance of international law has always been a matter of concern to the international community.The mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of international treaties developed after the Second World War have been playing an active role in promoting the implementation of treaties.Among them,the Compliance Mechanism in the field of international environmental protection set a symbolic example.The Compliance Mechanism of the Paris Agreement,which is currently under negotiation by its states parties,reflects the latest development of this kind of mechanism.The purpose of this dissertation is,through reviewing the development of mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of international treaties and the process of international negotiations on climate change and in light of the unique institutional design of the Paris Agreement and China's position and concern on climate change,to offer suggestions on the architectural design of the future Compliance Mechanism of the Paris Agreement and on the strategy of China's participation in the negotiations in this regard.The dissertation firstly examines the domestic and foreign academic research on compliance of international law and mechanisms for monitoring implementation,which lays a theoretical foundation for the whole dissertation.At the same time,it clarifies the research methodology,structural arrangements and research methods of the dissertation.Then the dissertation introduces the practical basis of the negotiation on the Compliance Mechanism of the Paris Agreement,that is,the development of the monitoring mechanisms for the implementation of international treaties.This part summarizes the general characteristics and future trends of the monitoring mechanism for the implementation of international treaties,by reviewing the development of the mechanisms in various fields,such as human rights,arms control,environmental protection,and so on.It also emphasizes that although the monitoring mechanism for the implementation of international treaty is not a fundamental solution to the problem of compliance,it can play a unique role in facilitating implementation and promoting compliance.After that,the dissertation presents the legal basis for the negotiation on the Compliance Mechanism of the Paris Agreement,namely the evolution of the international legal framework on climate change.Through panoramic review of the international process on climate change,it points out that the international legal framework of climate change is constantly adjusted and reformed in response to the fierce political game of the countries,and its main theme of transformation is from idealization,absolutism,coercionandconfrontationtopragmatism,comprehensiveness,flexibility and cooperation.The conclusion of the Paris Agreement marks a significant transformation in global goals,guiding principle,emission reduction mode,implementation facilities and governance pattern in the field of climate change.Then the dissertation analyses the subject of the Paris Agreement Compliance Mechanism,namely,the Paris Agreement's unique arrangements for such elements as mitigation,adaptation,finance,technology,capacity-building,Nationally Determined Contributions,Transparency,Global Stocktake and etc.The dissertation points out that the"bottom-up"emission reduction model based on the national autonomy is the core of the institutional design of the Paris Agreement,which should also be the fundamental consideration of the Compliance Mechanism of the Agreement.In addition,the dissertation examines the historical experience that the Compliance Mechanism of the Paris Agreement can draw upon,that is,the practice of the compliance mechanisms of the Montreal Protocol and the Kyoto Protocol.This paper makes a comparative analysis of the compliance mechanisms of the two treaties,emphasizing that the design of an effective compliance mechanism must be adapted to the legal framework of the treaty it serves to meet the need to promote compliance.Based on the above-mentioned analysis,the dissertation presents the basic framework of the Compliance Mechanism of the Paris Agreement.In the light of the latest negotiation progress,it points out that three key issues,namely the functional orientation,the overall structure and basic elements of the Compliance Mechanism and its relationship with other mechanisms of the Paris Agreement,need to be addressed while the dissertation makes an in-depth exploration in this regard.Focusing on the situation and interest concerns that China faces in the field of climate change,the dissertation offers suggestions on China's position in the negotiations of the Compliance Mechanism of the Paris Agreement,and analyzes the implications for China's participation in negotiations of compliance mechanisms of other treaties in the future.The concluding part summarizes the views of the whole dissertation.It stresses that China should actively participate in the negotiations on the Compliance Mechanism of the Paris Agreement to promote that relevant rules reached are in line with the concerns of China and the common interests of the international community.At the same time,China should further study and guide the development of compliance mechanisms by offering solutions and proposals in various fields,so as to accumulate more resources and experience for achieving the goals of becoming“a global leader in terms of composite national strength and international influence”and creating“a Community of Shared Future for Mankind”contained in the report of the 19~thh CPC National Congress.