Technical steps will vex post-Paris climate agenda

Significance

The Paris Agreement will enter into force on November 4, ahead of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) annual Conference of Parties (COP22) meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, which begins the following week. The two thresholds for entry into force -- more than 55 countries ratifying, accounting for 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions -- were met in early October.

Impacts

• Activist states will continue to advance Paris-complementary measures in non-UNFCCC settings.
• The Paris Agreement's entry into force means that a signatory government can only withdraw in four years' time.
• However, a national leader willing to bear the diplomatic fallout could nevertheless undermine the pact through inaction and backsliding.
• The natural gas sector is a likely beneficiary of incremental international emissions reduction efforts.