| In the Decision making of Paris agreement the role of environmental NonGovernmental Organizations(NGOs)remain highly remarkable.Despite the fact that global governance system does not confer any legal authority to NGOs,they played vital role in the formulation of this agreement by the use of a tool of information,education,awareness as well as training of government officials and guidance during and before the annual meeting of Conference of Parties 21(COP)in 2015 at Paris.Negotiations were launched in December 1990 by the United Nations General Assembly for the protection of environment and to address the issue of climate change.An Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee(INC)was convened to conduct these negotiations which were concluded in just 15 months.In a result,the Convention named as UN Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC)was adopted on 9 May 1992,in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil by 150 countries.It was entered into force on 21 March 1994,after receiving the requisite ratifications.Since the adoption of the Convention,parties to convention are meeting annually.Conference of the Parties(COP)and its subsidiary bodies,the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice(SBSTA)and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation(SBI)are playing their effective role in the protection of environment.The UNFCCC secretariat supports all institutions involved in the international climate change negotiations.COP is the main decision making body of UNFCCC.Its meetings are held annually.It was COP3 that adopted Kyoto Protocol that was enforced in 2005 during COP11.In 2015,Paris agreement was opted by COP21.To analyze the role of INGOs in the making of Paris agreement,I had to study their participation at the platform of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC)and annual meetings of this convention in detail.NGOs remained active in the making of Kyoto Protocol,however,at that time they failed to provoke masses to build pressure on government to take concrete measures to protect environment.Failure of Kyoto Protocol,scientific inventions,natural hazards and new as well as cheap modes of communications provided enough space and influence to INGOs that they can affect decision making of governments at national as well as international level.During the first decade of 21 st century,environmental hazards happened most frequently across the world.Many researchers and scholars wrote on this issue and it has been proved that present global warming is product of anthropogenic activities.INGOs played prominent role in highlighting these climate change problems and supported their stance with scientific knowledge and discoveries.Consequently,all local community begins to perceive this problem as their national issue.INGOs by the exchange of information and ideas,build linkage in the system that help them influence the decision making of states.For this purpose,NGOs,establish bonds with UNO,its official members,and governmental officials from developing and developed counties.Through this way,NGOs can influence the decision making of states.That is why environmental NGOs remain very active in all environmental negotiations that were held under UNFCCC.In the annual meeting of COP19,the Conference of the Parties(COP)invited all Parties to initiate or intensify domestic preparations for their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions(INDCs).These INDCs are foundation of Paris Agreement 2015.NGOs begin to raise voice during the process of the formulation of INDCs.It was the high time for NGOs to raise their voice to make INDCs more ambitious to protect environment and cut carbon emission.NGOs made strategic plan to achieve their goal of environmental protection.They began to make countries aware that through ambitious INDCs they can get technology and funds from developed countries that will help them to ensure sustainable development at national level.In short,NGOs try to persuade countries by telling them about economic incentives.Moreover,NGOs became an alternate source of information.NGOs make masses aware about the Inter Penal Climate Change's(IPCC)landmark Fifth Assessment Report,which contained two powerful concepts.Many countries were reluctant to prepare INDCs because of the lack of knowledge and information on environmental issues.To overcome these problems NGOs worked with different countries to fill the gap.NGOs arranged workshops and training sessions for government officials.They also guided government officials of the developing countries regarding their role during COP 21.Furthermore,during the years of 2014 and 2015,environmental marches were organized by NGOs in different countries.Thousands of people participated in the environmental marches.NGOs believed these marches built huge pressure on governments and compelled them to form an agreement.That mass mobilization,by NGOs,was a tool to build pressure on governments to make them accountable.Knowledge that were disseminated by NGOs and awareness that they brought among masses regarding alarming effects of natural hazards changed the perception of people towards climate change.Moreover,natural hazards that were witnessed by people and scientific discoveries regarding impacts of human activities on environment made the civil society aware of their duty towards environment.These awareness campaigns paved the way and made people vocal to speak loud enough to be heard by their governments.Consequently,INGOs convinced many government officials to join these environmental marches.INGOs brought over 30 cabinet ministers and world leaders into the marches,including the UN Secretary General and the French ministers who chaired the Paris talks later.To assess the influence of INGOs in the decision making of Paris agreement,we should analyze the situation and understand the concept of goal achievement at different levels.INGOs presented the same issue in a new way and supported their approach by the use of power of media,arranged workshops,meeting and marches.They developed link between developed and developing countries and also gained support of intergovernmental bodies and governmental officials.Through this way,they enhanced their influence.Climate Action Network(CAN)is a European Environmental NGO that represents 44 million European citizens and 20 million businesses,played effective role during the Paris conference 2015.It calls on the EU to put every effort during the climate negotiations in Paris and ensure the adoption of a comprehensive,inclusive and ambitious climate agreement.CAN raises the issue of the importance of climate finance and said that donor counties must continue to add up in public climate finance that is $100billion.According to the opinion of CAN climate fund is very crucial for the success of Paris agreement because developing countries be assured that public climate finance will be provided to them continuously in order to achieve long-term climate goals and bring sustainable development.INGOs brought hundreds and thousands of people in Paris and gathered outside the conference hall where annual meeting of COP 21 was held.It made the participants of the Paris conference to believe that new legally binding agreement is not only demands of masses but also necessary to protect the environment and it is also their obligation to achieve the 13 th goal of Sustainable Development Goals.In addition,NGOs used different means to influence countries.One of them was incentives.CAD emphasized that to make developing countries convinced to adopt mitigation and adaptation plan they should be incentivized by financial assistance and donation that will be provided by the developed countries.It shows NGOs can persuade countries by giving them incentives and building public pressure through awareness campaigns.Inactiveness on the part of governments and proactive approach of NGOs provided opportunity to them to highlight the problems of natural hazards across the globe and INGOs linked those problems with climate change.When data was supported by scientific discoveries,it made masses aware of the linkage between climate change and human health,population growth,economic and social development and natural resource exploitation as well as scarcity.The scientific knowledge regarding climate change that was supported by empirical data was used as a tool by INGOs,civil society as well as IGOs to make the whole of world community realized that climate change is their national issue.Climate change will place extraordinary strain on the earth's limited supplies of arable land,fresh water,fisheries,and forests.Consequently,it will give birth to political instability and international securityMoreover,NGOs used the tool of symbolic politics to make developed countries more proactive towards environment.For this purpose,NGOs highlighted issue of deforestation and burning of fossil fuels that are major causes of climate change in developing countries and have potential to pose grave impacts on developed countries.Through this way they were able to prove that environmental problems in developing countries would bring developed countries under the cloud.Financial assistance and guidance which were pledged under Green Climate Fund(GCF)is necessary to make developing country capable to comply with international treaties on environment.Information shows that the two major sources of motivation for developing countries to become signatory for Paris agreement were international pressure and incentives.These factors played vital role to convince developing countries because these countries lack required knowledge,technology and resources.Therefore,awareness among developing countries about climate change is a product of research and invention of scientific communities of developed countries.Moreover,the scientific knowledge regarding climate change that was supported by empirical data was used as a tool by INGOs,civil society as well as IGOs to make the whole of world realized that climate change is their national issue.Climate change emerged as a serious issue that requires attention by the whole world community because it is attached with their social and economic development.Climate change will place extraordinary strain on the earth's limited supplies of arable land,fresh water,fisheries,and forests.Consequently,it will give birth to political instability and international securityAvailability of large scale information regarding climate change and its impacts on human beings helped to transform the norms of global society towards environment.It realizes governments that human security inside the boundary of their countries is attached with their individual and collective efforts towards the protection of environment.Resultantly,every country under global and local pressure that was developed by the awareness and knowledge,disseminated by INGOs,began to perceive environmental problems as contrary their national interest and decided to take steps to ensure sustainable development.For instance,Pakistani government despite lack of resources and technological advancement is taking steps under the pressure of international community in setting norms regarding environment.Pakistani government began to believe that its national problems,for instance,famine,heat waves and,floods are due to climate change.Therefore,to address climate change,became national priority of Pakistan.Being environmental prone country,Pakistan was facing these problems at national and local level.Thus,local situation were ready to absorb foreign norms.It shows,because of the role of international community/developed countries in bringing awareness regarding climate change,developing countries began to perceive environmental issues as their national problem.In this process of norm setting,INGOs also played vital role.They cooperate with developing countries in the preparation of INDCs.With the help of developed countries,they also played role in building pressure on the largest emitters of GHGs like China and USA to convince them to play their responsibilities towards environment and to sign Paris agreement.Georgetown University's Program on Global Future Initiative is an important example in this regard.At this platform academia,government officials,environmentalists and members of UNO sat together and shared their ideas.During this program,following three points come to mind:First,current global governance architecture is simply not prepared well to curb many of the common and serious problems that are affecting the whole of world community directly or indirectly,for instance,global health emergencies,migration crises,climate change,and food insecurity.Secondly,an international governance system that based upon national governments cannot make us free from the challenges of today or of the future.The time has come to accelerate experimentation with more inclusive governance approaches that engage private sector and civil society members directly as key playersThirdly,global problem solving requires strong governance at the national level.Because fragile/poor states on the one side cannot solve problems of their own citizens and on the other side also create risks for all members of the international communityTherefore,to solve any global problem inclusive governance is prerequisite.As global problems are also local problems so to resolve such problems,involvement of local community e.g.,civil society and local NGOs is necessary because,it is choices of each of us that can make difference.Local community can develop pressure on governments to take steps in letter and spirit to resolve problems at national level and fulfill its international commitments.It can be deduced that to improve global environmental governance bottom up approach is one of the most effective tool.Now,the biggest challenge is to translate Paris agreement into effective domestic climate policy.NGOs have a potential to provide reasonable contribution in this regard.They can be instrumental not only in facilitating the achievement of the emission reduction targets set under Paris agreement,but also in monitoring,reporting and verification of actions at national level.These expectations have already been turned into reality as NGOs played highly important role in the ratification of Paris agreement.Involvement of civil society,local community and NGOs in the environmental project is a rational step and Paris agreement supports this concept.Therefore,States should provide assistance and also take on board non state actors,local communities and local NGOs during the decision making process at national level.Cooperation among all parties and inclusion of local communities and civil society is the need of hour to check environmental problems.NGOs played effective role in bringing all parties to be agreed to sign new agreement on climate change.Role played by European Union and NGOs across the globe during the last few years helped to realize countries that environmental problem is their national problem.It directly affects local community at one part of the world but its indirect impacts run to the whole globe.Therefore,integrated and collective efforts are prerequisite to get the benefit of this new climate agreement.In short,Paris Agreement supports the stance that climate governance is no longer the territory of a single global distant regime(states)but also the territory of a multiplicity of actors.It also emphasizes that climate change no longer a problem for the future but an urgent and immediate task.It also tells us that climate governance can no longer be a form of only environmental governance but also the governance of multiple forms of vulnerabilities and the enabling of innovation and opportunities.Therefore,Global environmental governance can be improved by Paris agreement because it supports the idea of inclusive approach in the global governance.Developed countries should help developing countries and civil society should play role as watchdog and contribute positively.Cooperation among all parties and inclusion of local communities and civil society is the need of hour to check environmental problems. |
PDF Full Text Request