What is the Paris Agreement? The Paris Agreement is an international treaty which legally binds its signatories to act to fight climate change. For the first time ever, in 2015, governments jointly agreed on a major collective effort to limit global warming and address its impacts. The agreement was opened for signature on 22 April 2016 in New York. On 5 October 2016, the threshold for entry into force was achieved and the Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016. The Paris Agreement’s hybrid approach to the issues of prescriptiveness, legal form, and differentiation allowed it to achieve virtually universal acceptance and hence be global in scope. After years of often contentious negotiations, the consensus adoption of the Paris Agreement represented a considerable achievement. 7) – The Paris Agreement establishes a global goal on adaptation – of enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change in the context of the temperature goal of the Agreement. It aims to significantly strengthen national adaptation efforts, including through support and international ...
