On Saturday 12 December 2015, delegates from 195 countries and the European Union approved an agreement at the COP21 climate conference in Paris that sets, from 2020, a universal and binding framework to contain rising global temperatures.

The Kyoto Protocol set emission reductions for only so-called 'developed countries' which were at the time the main carbon emitters, and the Protocol today therefore only covers 12% of global emissions. The new treaty covered all countries and all emissions.

US President Barack Obama cited the agreement as "the best chance we have to save the one planet that we've got", with the Luxembourg government praising it as "ambitious and realistic, but also fair" and the best possible balance between the 196 parties. It was deemed a real success for the European Union under the Luxembourg Presidency, with a number of European demands taken into account at the end of a laborious but inclusive process under the chairmanship of conference host France and its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Laurent Fabius.

Aspects of the agreement include:

- Confirmation of the target of a limit of global warming to 2°C, with an aim for 1.5°C and the recognition of the devastating effect for some areas, encouraging the world to contain the temperature below this threshold
- The setting of a more long-term operational objective
- The provisions of periodic revision cycles every five years to enable countries to strengthen their objectives, in particular to take stock of the state of scientific and technological advances.
- The establishment of methodology to ensure the effective implementation of these objectives
- The request that countries report, every five years and in a collective and transparent manner, on the progress of efforts made and the compatibility with the objectives.

The agreement finally endorsed solidarity with the most vulnerable countries, guaranteeing those in need of financial, technological and human resources support in achieving their reduction objectives and the transition to a low-carbon economy. It also provides the means to support such countries in their efforts to adapt to climate change and to help them cope with the devastating consequences of extreme weather events.

The Paris Agreement gives a strong signal to parties concerned - national leaders, investors, companies and civil society, combining a vision, concrete actions and the means.

Before and during the climate conference, countries announced plans to reduce greenhouse gases that cover over 95% of global emissions and investments to the tune of several billion.

The agreemtn seeks to reduce air pollution and instigate the development of clean and efficient energy and will bring more stability by promoting sustainable and equitable development in all regions of the world.

"This agreement combines concrete actions of solidarity and transparency," commented Carole Dieschbourg, Luxembourg Minister for the Environment and President of the Council of Environment Ministers. "It is a credible and ambitious agreement, guaranteeing healthy development. The agreement is certainly not perfect, we would have liked it to be even more ambitious, but it is the result of very difficult discussions and above all it is approved by all countries."

She continued: "The climate conference is a culmination but also and above all a beginning of a process. We must build on the commitment of our citizens and the business community to continue to raise our ambition and make this agreement our manifesto for a better world."

 


Photo by ME (L-R: Luxembourg PM Xavier Bettel; Minister of the Environment, Carole Dieschbourg)