Governance & Policy
Paris Agreement
Definition
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding treaty adopted at COP21 in 2015 and in force since 2016. It commits parties to hold the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts toward 1.5°C, through nationally determined contributions updated in five-year cycles, a global stocktake, and provisions on finance, adaptation, loss and damage, and carbon markets.
References
Overview
What it means
It replaced top-down targets with a universal pledge-and-review system in which every country sets and strengthens its own climate plan.
How it is used
Governments file NDCs; companies and investors use "Paris-aligned" to describe targets consistent with its temperature goals; courts cite it in climate litigation.
Why it matters
Its temperature goals are the reference point for virtually all net-zero commitments, corporate target-setting and climate policy worldwide.
Common misconception
The Paris Agreement assigns a binding emissions quota to every company. It binds Parties to processes and goals; company obligations arise through law, standards, contracts and voluntary commitments.
Connections
Nationally Determined Contributions operationalise country commitments. 1. 5°C Pathway interprets the temperature goal. Climate Finance and Article 6 address implementation mechanisms.
A question worth asking
When your organisation says “Paris-aligned,” what exact pathway, boundary and decision rule does that phrase refer to?
Selected references
UNFCCC, Paris Agreement. UNFCCC, Global Stocktake decisions and synthesis reports. IPCC, Sixth Assessment Report.