For nearly three decades the UN has been bringing together almost every country on earth for global climate summits – called COPs – which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’. World leaders, alongside tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses and citizens come together for twelve days of talks. 

​

What is the Paris Agreement

COP21 took place in Paris in 2015 which lead to the forming of what is called The Paris Agreement.  The Paris Agreement is a global commitment by countries to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. 

​

 

Why is 1.5 degrees Important?

1.5 degrees is important because every fraction of a degree of warming will result in the extreme climate disasters leadnig to severe loss and damage. Under the Paris Agreement, countries committed to bring forward national plans setting out how much they would reduce their emissions – known as Nationally Determined Contributions, or ‘NDCs’. 

​

The Global Stocktake 

They agreed that every five years they would come back with an updated plan that would reflect their highest possible ambition at that time. The commitments laid out in Paris did not come close to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, and the window for achieving this is closing. We are exactly half way between 2015 and the agreement made in Paris and 2030 showing

​

The decade out to 2030 will be crucial. ​