Ten years of the Paris Agreement: Has the world kept its climate promises?
Summary
The Paris Agreement has helped countries adopt climate policies and expand clean energy, but global emissions remain near record highs and warming continues. The world has reduced projected warming since 2015, yet current policies still fall short of the agreement’s goals, and the chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C without an overshoot has been lost, according to the UN Environment Programme.Key Facts
- The legally binding Paris Agreement was adopted by 196 parties in 2015 and took effect on November 4, 2016.
- The agreement aims to keep warming well below 2°C above preindustrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.
- Countries set their own emissions and adaptation targets, called nationally determined contributions, and are expected to submit stronger targets every five years.
- The agreement does not require countries to meet their targets; it relies on transparency and international pressure.
- The planet exceeded 1.5°C of warming over a full calendar year for the first time in 2024, and 2023–2025 were the three hottest years on record.
- Climate Action Tracker estimates that warming projections for 2100 fell from about 3.6°C in 2015 to about 2.6°C, but progress has stalled since 2021.
- China, the United States and India produce more than half of annual global emissions; the United States has the largest historical emissions total.
- Clean-energy investment is now almost twice investment in fossil fuels, but emissions cuts have not been fast enough to keep the 1.5°C limit within reach.
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