Concluding years of difficult negotiations and an intense two-week final summit, representatives from nearly 200 countries today adopted a historic agreement intended to avert some of the worst effects of global warming and shift economies around the world to cleaner energy sources.
Reporters Chris Megerian, in Le Bourget, and Alexandra Zavis, in Paris, are covering the summit.
This will be our final round of live updates. Catch up on the entire summit by reading our first updates, last week's events and what California's large delegation did while they were abroad.
With the Paris Agreement, the world has come together to affirm that clean energy is the future. As we move toward more ambitious action in the decades ahead, we must ensure that America is equipped to lead in the clean energy economy. We will continue to advance the landmark Clean Power Plan that reduces carbon pollution, lowers energy bills, and protects the air our children breathe.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco)The historic climate agreement reached outside Paris on Saturday for the first time commits virtually every nation to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
The deal comes more than 20 years after world leaders first began meeting to see whether such an agreement could be achieved. It also comes as the sometimes harsh effects of climate change are becoming apparent: Fourteen of the 15 warmest years in recorded history have come in the past two decades. The warming is forecast to continue, and the agreement reached outside of Paris promises that efforts to address it — including more conferences in the years ahead — also will continue.
But what does the text actually say about how the world will meet these ambitious goals? What does the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius really mean, and can it be achieved? How will it all be paid for?
Here's our best assessment on that.
At a pivotal moment in history, the world's nations stepped up to address an enormous threat to our planet that, if unchecked, would leave our children and grandchildren devastated. I congratulate all the participants at the conference, in particular Secretary of State John Kerry, for their resolve, their cooperative spirit, and their determination to ignore the naysayers. Clean energy will not only stall and then reverse global warming, but it will create millions of jobs throughout the world.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)“Despite this administration’s desperate effort to demonstrate an international agreement on climate change, some in the international community and some developing nations hope to be flooded with financial resources. The announcement of a final climate deal from Paris is no more significant to the United States than the Kyoto Protocol announcement 18 years ago. While the Clinton administration also signed that agreement, it was never submitted to the U.S. Senate for ratification, and instead, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution against the agreement by a vote of 95-0.
“The news remains the same. This agreement is no more binding than any other ‘agreement’ from any Conference of the Parties over the last 21 years. Senate leadership has already been outspoken in its positions that the United States is not legally bound to any agreement setting emissions targets or any financial commitment to it without approval by Congress. China, the largest carbon dioxide emitter, will continue to emit for the next 15 years before even considering taking any action. India, the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide, continues to condition its commitments on getting trillions of dollars from developed nations.
“The ‘agreement’ calls for different standards of transparency between developed and developing countries and even expects that developed countries will set economy-wide emission-reduction targets while developing countries like China and India can play it by ear. What is significant for the United States is that we can expect the administration to cite this ‘agreement’ as their excuse for establishing emission targets for every sector of the U.S. economy, not only including utilities, but petroleum refining, all manufacturing, agriculture and others…
“Once again, this administration is all too eager for the international community to review its commitments before even revealing those commitments to the American people.”
— U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
After decades of debate, the battle over the reality of climate change is over. Countries from every region of the world and every stage of development have committed to act because they recognize that it is in their self-interest and in humanity’s common interest. The commitment to act by countries including Brazil, China, India, and the United States is a clear sign that countries are no longer focused on whether they should act, but how.
UN Foundation“The Paris agreement is testament to America’s ability to lead the world in building a clean energy future where no one is left out or left behind. And it was made possible in part by every person, business owner and community in the United States and around the world that stepped up to prove we don’t have to choose between growing our economy and protecting our kids’ health and future — we can do both.
“But we will only succeed if we redouble our efforts going forward to drive innovation, increase investment and reap the benefits of the good-paying jobs that will come from transitioning to a clean energy economy. The next decade of action is critical — because if we do not press forward with driving clean energy growth and cutting carbon pollution across the economy, we will not be able to avoid catastrophic consequences.”
We have written a new chapter of hope in the lives of 7 billion people on the planet Indian environment minister Prakash JavadekarThe speech from Venezuela’s delegate after the approval of a new climate deal was a sign of how much has changed since the disastrous Copenhagen convention in 2009.
“Everybody remembers me,” Claudia Salerno said coyly during her speech. Indeed, she was hard to forget – during a contentious meeting, she banged her hand so hard on the table that it started to bleed.
But on Saturday, Salerno said, Venezuela would support a new agreement to fight global warming, a major step for the oil-rich South American state.
Referring to the recent terrorist attacks in France, she said, “We can fill Paris once again with life and hope.”
“The Paris agreement is a turning point for humanity. For the first time in history, the global community agreed to action that sets the foundation to help prevent the worst consequences of the climate crisis while embracing the opportunity to exponentially grow our clean energy economy.”
— Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club
“The agreement reached in Paris today will be remembered as a transformative moment in the long struggle to get serious about climate change. It sends a powerful, immediate signal to global markets that the clean energy future is open for business. It makes a moral call for dramatic action that leaves no one behind, and moves us closer to the crucial turning point when global carbon emissions, which have been rising for more than two centuries, finally begin to decline.”
— Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp
“It sometimes seems that the countries of the United Nations can unite on nothing, but nearly two hundred countries have come together and agreed [to] a deal. Today, the human race has joined in a common cause, but it’s what happens after this conference that really matters. The Paris Agreement is only one step on long a road, and there are parts of it that frustrate and disappoint me, but it is progress. This deal alone won’t dig us out [of] the hole we’re in, but it makes the sides less steep.”
— Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo
“This is a pivotal moment where nations stepped across political fault lines to collectively face down climate change. … For decades, we have heard that large developing nations don’t care about climate change and aren’t acting fast enough. The climate talks in Paris showed us that this false narrative now belongs in the dustbin of history. In Paris, there were no heroes or villains — all countries moved from their positions in the end. For its part, the United States has come a long way toward bridging the trust gap that’s hung over these talks through direct engagement with emerging economies like India, China and Brazil.”
— World Wildlife Fund Vice President Lou Leonard
Xie Zhenhua, China’s top climate negotiator, echoes the comments of many other delegates: This isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough.
“There are some areas in need of improvements. However, this does not prevent us from marching historic steps forward.”
The agreement will unlock innovation and investment to reduce emissions and help our communities adapt to climate change. We are far from done, however. Cities generate 80% of the world’s GDP, produce 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, and house more than 50% of the world’s population. The agreement's ultimate success will depend on local leadership.
As mayors, we will redouble our efforts to protect our communities from diminishing air quality, flooding, fires, extreme weather, famine, drought, economic downturn and other profound risks posed by climate change. Last week in Paris, more than 500 mayors and municipal representatives from 115 countries gathered at Paris's City Hall to make clear that cities can and will lead on climate by increasing the energy efficiency of our buildings, expanding renewable energy, adding electric vehicles to our fleets, and leading the search for other solutions besides.
“Our work here is done, and now we can return home to implement this historic agreement. . We are committed to taking action together in a truly global response.”
Julie Bishop, Australian foreign ministerRepresentatives from nearly 200 countries made common cause in the fight against climate change Saturday, adopting an agreement they hope will avert some of the worst effects of global warming and shift economies around the world to cleaner energy sources.
The agreement reached at a United Nations conference outside Paris, the culmination of years of difficult negotiations, will mark a “historic turning point,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said when a final draft was unveiled earlier in the day.
Negotiators had been struggling to overcome deep divisions on key issues, including the pact’s long-term goals, how to address the costs of dealing with climate change, how to define the responsibilities of countries in different stages of development and how to ensure that nations fulfill their commitments.
The text adopted Saturday aims to limit the average global temperature rise since pre-industrial times to well below 2 degrees Celsius this century, while endeavoring to achieve a 1.5-degree target.
That is a more ambitious goal than organizers had set at the outset of the conference and represents a win for countries already suffering the damaging effects of global warming, including rising sea levels, prolonged droughts and extreme storms.
A concern about a line in the text stalled the beginning of what could be the final meeting at the United Nations summit.
But the issue was ironed out.
Delegates are filing into one of the largest halls here for what could be the final meeting of the summit. U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry and the top Chinese negotiator are among the major players in the room right now, and former Vice President Al Gore also is making an appearance.
The meeting will be an opportunity for countries to share their thoughts on the text of a new international agreement for fighting global warming. If there are significant concerns, delegates could go back to work to modify the text.
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont was the first candidate to share an opinion Saturday as climate negotiators prepared to consider the final draft of a compromise plan at COP21.
“While this is a step forward, it goes nowhere near far enough. The planet is in crisis. We need bold action in the very near future, and this does not provide that,” Sanders said.
The self-labeled “Democratic socialist” used his statement to criticize GOP leaders in America as being “more interested in contributions from the fossil fuel industry” than the planet’s future.
Sanders also touted his own legislation to cut U.S. carbon pollution by 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050 from 1990 levels.
Should the deal be approved at the conference, expect other contenders to have their say. And the topic is sure to come up in next Saturday’s Democratic presidential debate.
It sounds like some of the sticking points from the first draft of the climate agreement have been resolved.
After years of difficult negotiations, representatives of nearly 200 countries have concluded what they hope will be the final draft of a landmark global agreement to fight climate change, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced Saturday at a United Nations conference outside Paris.
The new text is ambitious, fair, legally binding, and if adopted, will mark a “historic turning point,” Fabius told delegates, his voice cracking with emotion after nearly two weeks of marathon talks that stretched into overtime Saturday.
Negotiators will gather again shortly before a final vote is called. Our story is here .
—Alexandra Zavis and Chris Megerian
This historic moment gives young people hope that a safe climate future is still within reach and the era of fossil fuels is ending. But we’re still on track for a 3-degree warmer world, which paints a bleak future for vulnerable communities. We now have a structure to increase ambition to stay below 1.5, and young people will lead the call to use it.
Jaden Harris, Australian Youth Climate CoalitionWe need to take swift and bold action if we are to have any chance of preventing the worst impacts of climate change, yet this agreement does not contain the mandates and funding to make this happen. It doesn’t mention the words ‘oil’, ‘gas’ or ‘fossil fuels’ at all — all of which we must swiftly transition away from to avert climate crisis.
Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water WatchThis deal puts the fossil fuel industry on the wrong side of history . This deal alone won’t dig us out of the hole we’re in, but it makes the sides less steep. To pull us free of fossil fuels we are going to need to mobilize in ever greater numbers.
Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi NaidooReaction came swiftly once the final text of the global climate agreement was released, with supporters for an ambitious pact urging national leaders to adopt it but also to consider revisions in the hours ahead.
“Today, countries must come together to respond to the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced,” Alden Meyer, strategy and policy manager at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a written statement. “While there will be more work to do, if adopted, the Paris Agreement would give the world hope that we can come to grips with the mounting climate change crisis and leave our children and grandchildren with a habitable planet.”
"The agreement’s temperature goal, net zero emissions objective, and processes to steadily increase the ambition of national emissions reduction commitments combine to send a clear message to the fossil fuel industry: after decades of deception and denial, your efforts to block action on climate change are no longer working. Growing public concern about climate impacts, and the availability of cost-effective efficiency and renewable energy solutions are giving leaders the political will to stand up to fossil fuel polluters and put us on a path to create the global clean energy economy needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change."
Lou Leonard, vice president of the World Wildlife Fund, said the final text “contains strong signals that would commit the world to a temperature goal that’s in line with science. The key to making that meaningful is how countries agree to strengthen commitments on an accelerated time frame that keeps that temperature goal in sight. Some of these opportunities are built into the current draft agreement. Most importantly, parties are called back to the table in 2018 to take stock of progress and submit stronger commitments. To make this 2018 political moment effective, both the finance and emissions reductions pledges must be scaled up before 2020 to provide any chance of limiting warming to well below 2 [degrees Celsius] or 1.5 [degrees Celsius]. Our biggest concern at this point is that there’s currently no guarantee of assistance for those who will suffer the most from the impacts of climate change.”
Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, declared in a statement that it was "a transformative moment in the long struggle to get serious about climate change."
"While the Paris commitments won’t deliver all the emissions reductions that are needed, the agreement provides a framework to ratchet up ambition over time: a transparent system for reporting and review, regular assessments of progress, and strengthening of commitments every five years beginning in 2020," he said.
Not everyone was pleased, with Wenonah Hauter,executive director of Food & Water Watch, saying it "falls far short of what is needed to actually address our climate crisis."
"The science is clear: We need to take swift and bold action if we are to have any chance of preventing the worst impacts of climate change, yet this agreement does not contain the mandates and funding to make this happen," he said in a statement. "It doesn’t mention the words ‘oil’, ‘gas’ or ‘fossil fuels’ at all — all of which we must swiftly transition away from to avert climate crisis. There is overwhelming support across the United States and throughout the world for bold action to address our planetary crisis. Communities need to continue organizing and holding their elected officials accountable so that they ultimately deliver the solutions we all need.”
