The Paris Agreement is one of the most well-known international treaties designed to address climate change. It was adopted in 2015 by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) after years of negotiations between countries around the world.
The agreement`s main goal is to limit the increase in global temperatures to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, while striving to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The agreement also aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change, and to encourage the flow of financial resources and technology from developed to developing countries.
The Paris Agreement is significant for many reasons. First, it represents a global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Second, it marks a shift in the approach to climate change from a top-down regulatory approach to a bottom-up approach where countries voluntarily set their own targets and report their progress.
Another important aspect of the Paris Agreement is that it is legally binding, meaning that countries are obligated to take action to reduce emissions and meet their targets. This is a departure from previous agreements, such as the Kyoto Protocol, which only applied to developed countries and did not have binding targets for all countries.
To date, 197 countries have signed the Paris Agreement, and 189 have ratified it. The United States, under the Obama administration, played a key role in negotiating the agreement and was one of the first countries to ratify it. However, in 2017, under the Trump administration, the US announced its intention to withdraw from the agreement. The withdrawal process is expected to be completed in November 2020.
Despite the setback of the US withdrawal, the Paris Agreement has continued to gain support from countries around the world. Many countries have set ambitious targets for reducing emissions and transitioning to renewable energy sources, and there has been a growing recognition of the urgency of addressing climate change.
Overall, the Paris Agreement represents a significant step forward in the global effort to address climate change. While there is still much work to be done, the agreement provides a framework for countries to work together and take meaningful action to protect the planet for future generations.
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