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The top goal of COP-21 is the signing of a universal agreement on how to keep global warming less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels.  (The Copenhagen Accord, an outcome of COP-15, stated that the goal of limiting average global temperatures to 2°C above pre-industrial levels was paramount to keeping the risk of severe climate-related global consequences at bay, although no agreement was reached on how to realize the goal.)

Much of the work to secure an agreement has been accomplished over the past year, as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has hosted three meetings to hammer out a draft negotiating text for COP-21. And on November 8-10, representatives from 70 countries, including the United States, met with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who will preside over COP-21, to continue negotiations and “generate political momentum” on four key issues in advance of the official COP-21 meeting. These issues included financial assistance for certain countries, the inclusion of “ratcheting up mechanisms” in the final agreement, the responsibilities of developing countries and the identification of steps that countries can take prior to 2020, which is the year the agreement reached at COP-21 will take effect. Recent reports indicate a climate agreement may also include energy goals for 2050 and beyond.

In advance of the Paris meeting, countries that are parties to COP-21 are submitting climate action plans, known officially as Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC). The U.S. submitted its INDC on March 31. It states an intention to achieve an economy-wide target of reducing the country’s green house gas emissions by 17 percent below the 2005 level by 2020.