Paris Agreement

The 2015 climate treaty holding warming well below two degrees

Overview

The Paris Agreement, adopted by nearly two hundred parties in December 2015, aims to hold warming well below two degrees while pursuing 1.5, through nationally determined contributions renewed on five year cycles with transparency and stocktake machinery. It binds procedure, not targets, wagering that naming and shaming plus ratcheting ambition will do the work. American participation has shifted across administrations under its withdrawal and reentry design. It is the standing experiment in treaty governance without hard obligations. Loss and damage funding gained a dedicated fund at later conferences, advancing the regime third pillar.