The Paris Agreement

A diplomatic achievement - but will it save the world?

On December 12, 2015, 196 countries at the 21st Conference of the Parties negotiated what eventually became the Paris Agreement, a landmark agreement to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future.

The agreement opened for signature on April 22, 2016. Within six months, 17 countries ratified the agreement.

By October 5, 2016, over 55 countries in total accounting for 55% of total greenhouse gas emissions ratified the agreement as well, enough for the Paris Agreement to enter into force.

Within a year after being open for signature, a total of 117 countries ratified the agreement.

Two years later, an additional 53 countries joined.

As of September 22, 2018, a total of 180 out of 197 countries have ratified the Paris Agreement. These countries account for over 90% of total global greenhouse gas emissions.

Nearly all of the nations of the world have ratified the agreement. Another 17 have signed but not yet ratified.

However, the Paris Agreement is notable not only for the number of countries that have joined but the speed at which they did.

In contrast, the Kyoto Protocol, another climate-related international agreement, took 5 years for 192 countries to join while the Doha Amendment took 6 years for 115 countries to sign on.

But will the Paris Agreement help mitigate the impacts of climate change?

While total greenhouse gas emission has been increasing, emissions per person has remained relatively constant over the past 25 years. Indeed, many countries have been exhibiting a slight downward trend prior to the Paris Agreement being created.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions per Capita, 1990 - 2014

While there is no way to see what the future holds, various models have been built to forecast how greenhouse gas emissions may change over the next century.

See what emissions may look like under different scenarios for select regions in the world.

No policy
Low policy
Paris - Continued ambition
Paris - Increased ambition