On December 12, over 190 countries adopted an agreement at the Paris climate change talks (COP-21) to keep global temperatures from rising 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times. The agreement also acknowledges that 1.5°C is a more appropriate goal to protect island nations from sea level rise and pursues efforts to meet this more ambitious goal.
The White House press release says the “historic Paris agreement” is an ambitious vision, in that it establishes a universal approach for all countries and sets an expectation that countries will communicate their climate change goals every five years, beginning in 2020. In advance of the Paris talks, countries submitted their climate targets for 2020. With funding for investment toward clean energy, support for a growth in resilient infrastructure and the protection of forests that serve as carbon sinks, the White House says the Paris agreement puts the world on a pathway to a low-carbon future. The press release also acknowledges the support of the agreement by cities, companies and citizens who made commitments of their own in Paris.
The agreement includes a commitment to convene a meeting in 2018 of the Conference of the Parties (i.e., the nations involved in the climate talks) to assess the efforts of the parties working to meet the goals of the agreement. The agreement also asks the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to provide a special report in 2018 on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C.
The 32-page Paris agreement is described by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) as a hybrid agreement, in that it provides binding commitments from countries on their contributions but also allows for flexibility in how countries decide to shape their own participation. A summary analysis of the outcomes of the Paris meeting is available on the C2ES website.