Paris Climate Accord Adopted by 195 Nations in Historic Landmark Treaty
Delegates in Le Bourget erupt into cheers as Laurent Fabius brings down the green gavel, sealing the first legally binding global agreement to limit heating well below 2°C.
Key Archival Takeaways
- Unanimous consensus reached by 195 nations to pursue efforts limiting warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
- Established 5-year ratchet mechanism for countries to submit increasingly ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
- Mobilized $100 billion annual climate finance commitment from developed economies to aid developing nation transitions.
Archival Dispatch Excerpt
LE BOURGET, FRANCE — The world had its first universal agreement to tackle climate change on Saturday night, when 195 nations approved a historic pact committing both rich and poor countries to curb carbon emissions.
Following two intense weeks of negotiations that stretched around the clock, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius struck down an emerald-green gavel shaped like an olive branch, ending decades of diplomatic stalemate that had plagued international environmental governance since the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
"With a tiny hammer you can achieve immense things," Fabius told delegates, his voice breaking with emotion as ministers embraced and wept on the conference floor. The final treaty commits governments to hold global temperatures "well below 2°C" and to "pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C."