Strengthening the Paris Agreement Through Collective Decisions: Achievements and Limitations

ABSTRACT Due to its bottom‐up architecture, the Paris Agreement succeeded in securing broad participation but remained vulnerable to challenges concerning both the adequacy of national mitigation commitments and their implementation. This paper assesses the extent to which Parties to the Paris Agreement have succeeded in ensuring the effective functioning of the Paris framework through their collective decisions. It analyses two dimensions: the operationalisation of the Paris mechanisms and rules and the coordination of national efforts in the areas of mitigation pathways and climate finance. The analysis shows that collective efforts to strengthen cooperation within the Paris framework have produced mixed results. Although negotiations led to the adoption of detailed and largely common rules in some areas, they also failed to ensure the comparability of NDCs and preserved transparency loopholes. Similarly, collective coordination of national mitigation policies and the mobilisation of climate finance have remained limited. The analysis of Parties' broader preferences regarding climate cooperation suggests that the main obstacle to strengthening the Paris framework through collective efforts lies in divergent views on collective coordination, national discretion and equity. While some outstanding rule‐related issues may be addressed through upcoming review processes, persistent divergences among Parties are likely to constrain institutional reform.