CivAtlasHistory reader

December 12, 2015 CE / Europe

The Paris Agreement and Global Climate Cooperation

The Paris climate conference adopted an agreement through which parties respond to climate change using mechanisms such as nationally determined contributions; reaching an agreement and putting it into practice remain distinct stages.

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Era
Modern World
Region
Europe
Theme
Exchange
An imagined early twenty-first-century city: a tram passes a plaza where people walk, cycle and gather by trees and streetside shops.
An AI-generated imagined historical panorama suggests everyday life. It is not evidence for reconstructing a specific event or archaeological site.

The story

On December 12, 2015, the United Nations climate change conference in Paris adopted the Paris Agreement, which entered into force on November 4, 2016. It set the goal of keeping the rise in global average temperature well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. Parties propose actions through nationally determined contributions, update them regularly, and review progress. Adoption, entry into force, countries' commitments, and the implementation of those commitments are different steps; signing the agreement cannot be presented as having solved the climate problem. The map marks the conference area at Le Bourget in the northern suburbs of Paris, while climate impacts and cooperation extend across the world.

Elsewhere in the world

From the founding of the United Nations to climate governance, the agenda of international cooperation has continued to expand; economic development, energy use, and environmental risks need to be examined within the same historical context.

Dates and precision

December 12, 2015 CE Documented date

Positioned by the documented year, month or day; missing months and days are not inferred.

Representative map location

Representative coordinates · 48.957°, 2.437°

Coordinates locate a representative point for the story. They do not mean the event happened only here and do not represent historical borders.

Bibliography

  • UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat | The Paris Agreement
  • UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat | The 2015 Conference Venue at Le Bourget

Sources are listed as bibliography titles, without external links. A reference does not mean every sentence or interpretation has been independently verified.

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Read this era · Modern WorldRead this region · Europe

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