The Paris Framework

The Paris Agreement of 2015 represents the most ambitious international climate effort in history. Nearly every country committed to limiting warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, with an aspirational 1.5-degree target.

Despite its limitations, Paris changed the global trajectory. Before the agreement, projections showed 4 to 5 degrees of warming. Current pledges have bent that curve sharply downward, though they still fall short of the 1.5-degree target.