Iran Unable to Enact Paris Agreement for Now

A senior lawmaker said on Sunday Iran cannot enact the Paris Agreement at present due to a "legal vacuum" caused by a lack of an action plan.

Addressing the International Conference on Low-Carbon Business at Tehran's Amirkabir University of Technology, Mohammad Reza Tabesh added that despite the parliament's ratification of the landmark climate deal last month, the Paris Agreement cannot be enacted, IRNA reported.

"For it to go into force, we need an action plan but we don't have one," he said. "We hope the government devises a plan soon so we can approve it."

Darvish, who also heads the environmental group in the parliament, said devising such a plan in the developed world is not too problematic, but it poses challenges in developing countries due to a lack of infrastructure.

The 2015 Paris Agreement was agreed last December by almost 200 countries and has been described as the most complex global treaty since the Marrakesh (trade) Agreement signed in 1994.

Under the agreement, all governments that have ratified the accord, which includes the US, China, India and the European Union, now carry an obligation to hold global warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. That is what scientists regard as the limit of safety, beyond which climate change is likely to become catastrophic and irreversible.

Iran, which became the 106th country to ratify the deal on November 13, has pledged to decrease its emissions by 4% by 2030 relative to the business-as-usual scenario. The country's conditional pledge of 12% reduction requires significant financial assistance from the international community.

"For us to meet our pledge, we need to attract investment from the private enterprise as well as foreign investors," Tabesh said.

Taking on a more political tone, the legislator said the only way Iran can attract foreign investment is by establishing good relations with the international community.

"So, the critics of the nuclear deal should elaborate on how they expect the country to bring in foreign investment without good ties with other nations," he asked, referring to the historic nuclear agreement signed between Tehran and the six major world powers last year.

source: Financial Tribune