Paris Agreement Sets The Stage For Global Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions

On December 12, 2015, 195 countries adopted the first global agreement addressing climate change. The Paris Agreement was adopted following two weeks of negotiations during the 21st Conference of the Parties ("COP21") to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ("UNFCCC"). The Agreement marks the first time that developed and developing countries have joined together to address what the Parties consider "an urgent and potentially irreversible threat to human societies."ⁱ

The Agreement's goals are lofty. First, the Agreement seeks to limit the increase of the global average temperature to well below 2°C over pre-industrial levels.ⁱⁱ The Parties also committed to "pursue efforts" to limit warming to only 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.ⁱⁱⁱ Second, each Party aims to reach peak greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible.^iv Finally, the Agreement endeavors to reach "net zero" emissions by 2050, taking into account the balance of anthropogenic