The 2015 Paris Agreement is an international treaty addressing what global issue?

The 2015 Paris Agreement is an international treaty addressing climate change.

It was adopted at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP21, in Paris on December 12, 2015. The agreement entered into force on November 4, 2016, after enough countries formally joined it.

Its central goal is to keep the rise in global average temperature well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels while pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C. Countries submit national climate plans called nationally determined contributions, or NDCs, and are expected to strengthen them over time.

A common mix-up is treating the Paris Agreement as a treaty about only carbon dioxide or one specific environmental problem. It addresses climate change broadly, including emissions reduction, adaptation, climate finance, technology, and support for developing countries. Ocean acidification and ozone depletion are related environmental concerns, but they are not the agreement’s defining subject.