Governments adopt Paris climate agreement

The Paris Agreement was adopted at the UN climate conference on 12 December 2015. The treaty set a goal of holding warming well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. Its structure combines a shared objective with climate commitments submitted by individual countries.

National policies carry the burden

The treaty’s shared temperature goals depend on decisions made by individual governments. National commitments link the international framework to choices over energy, investment and emissions. The structure makes implementation decisive: the strength of the agreement rests on the policies and resources brought to bear on its common objectives.