Paris agreement

An agreement made in Paris in December 2015 within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The objective of the Paris Agreement is to keep the increase in the global average temperature well below 2 degrees C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C. Besides the emission reduction targets, the agreement sets a long-term target concerning climate change adaptation as well as climate-sustainable development and low-carbon economies. The Paris Agreement does not include any quantitative emission reduction obligations, but the signatories must commit to their successive national emission targets that support the overall goals. By February 2020, the Paris Agreement has been ratified by 194 countries and the European Union.

The goals of the agreement are largely based on the expert opinion of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the potential effects of climate change. In practice, the goals of the Agreement set a framework for greenhouse gas emissions (see carbon budget) and challenge the signatory countries to achieve their targets of carbon neutrality. For example, Finland has made it their target to be carbon neutral by 2035.