On 12 December, 195 nations adopted an historic, legally binding agreement to combat climate change and unleash actions and investment towards a low carbon, resilient and sustainable future.? The Paris agreement for the first time brings all nations into a common cause based on their historic, current and future responsibilities.
The overarching aim of the agreement is to limit temperature rise in this century to two degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The 1.5 degrees Celsius limit is a significantly safer defence line against the worst impacts of a changing climate. Additionally, the agreement seeks to strengthen the ability to deal with the impacts of climate change.
To reach these ambitious and important goals, appropriate financial flows will be put in place that will help developing and the most vulnerable take stronger action against climate change in line with their own national objectives.
The Paris Agreement allows each delegation and group of countries to go back home with their heads held high. Our collective effort is worth more than the sum of our individual effort. Our responsibility to history is immense, said Laurent Fabius, President of the COP 21 UN Climate change conference and Foreign Minister of France.?
French President Francois Hollande told the assembled delegates, You've done it, reached an ambitious agreement, a binding agreement, a universal agreement. Never will I be able to express more gratitude to a conference. You can be proud to stand before your children and grandchildren.
We have entered a new era of global cooperation on one of the most complex issues ever to confront humanity, noted UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. For the first time, every country in the world has pledged to curb emissions, strengthen resilience and join in common cause to take common climate action. This is a resounding success for multilateralism.
One planet, one chance to get it right and we did it in Paris. We have made history together. It is an agreement of conviction. It is an agreement of solidarity with the most vulnerable. It is an agreement of long-term vision, for we have to turn this agreement into an engine of safe growth, said Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).?
The Paris Agreement and the outcomes of the UN climate conference (COP21) cover all the crucial areas identified as essential for a landmark conclusion:
- Mitigation - reducing emissions fast enough to achieve the temperature goal
- A transparency system and global stock-take ¨C accounting for climate action
- Adaptation ¨C strengthening ability of countries to deal with climate impacts
- Loss and damage ¨C strengthening ability to recover from climate impacts
- Support ¨C including finance, for nations to build clean, resilient futures
As well as setting a long-term direction, countries will peak their emissions as soon as possible and continue to submit national climate action plans that detail their future objectives to address climate change. This builds on the momentum of the unprecedented effort which has so far seen 188 countries contribute climate action plans to the new agreement, which will dramatically slow the pace of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The new agreement also establishes the principle that future national plans will be no less ambitious than existing ones, which means these 188 climate action plans provide a firm floor and foundation for higher ambition.
Countries will submit updated climate plans ¨C called nationally determined contributions (NDCs) ¨C every five years, thereby steadily increasing their ambition in the long-term. ?
Climate action will also be taken forward in the period before 2020. Countries will continue to engage in a process on mitigation opportunities and will put added focus on adaptation opportunities. Additionally, they will work to define a clear roadmap on ratcheting up climate finance to USD 100 billion by 2020.
Following the adoption of the Paris Agreement by the COP (Conference of the Parties), it will be deposited at the UN in New York and be opened for one year for signature on 22 April 2016-- Mother Earth Day.
The agreement will enter into force after 55 countries that account for at least 55% of global emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification.
See the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moons closing remarks .?