Kyoto, Paris and what the world agreed
Three big moments: Rio in 1992, Kyoto in 1997 and Paris in 2015.
Rio, 1992
The process goes back to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, where countries joined the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Paris Agreement
The Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997, aimed to cut emissions of six greenhouse gases. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Kyoto Protocol It came into force in February 2005. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Kyoto Protocol
It asked 41 countries plus the European Union to cut those gases to 5.2% below 1990 levels in 2008–12. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Kyoto Protocol
The Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement was adopted in Paris in December 2015, and was meant to improve on and replace the Kyoto Protocol. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Paris Agreement France hosted representatives from 196 countries at the conference, from 30 November to 11 December 2015. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement came into force on 4 November 2016 and is a legally binding international treaty. United Nations: The Paris Agreement
Its goal is to keep warming well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, and to try to limit it to 1.5 °C. United Nations: The Paris Agreement
195 Parties (194 States plus the European Union) have joined the Paris Agreement. United Nations: The Paris Agreement
In 2015 almost every country in the world signed up to cut greenhouse gas emissions, aiming for 2 °C and, if possible, 1.5 °C. Met Office: What is climate change?
How it works
Every five years each country is expected to send an updated climate plan, called a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). United Nations: The Paris Agreement
The detailed rules, nicknamed the Paris Rulebook, were agreed at COP24 in Katowice, Poland, in 2018 and finished at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021. United Nations: The Paris Agreement
The first “global stocktake” of progress finished at COP28 in 2023, with a call to speed up the move from fossil fuels to renewables such as wind and solar. United Nations: The Paris Agreement
How close is 1.5 °C?
The IPCC has said 1.5 °C was likely to be reached sometime between 2030 and 2052 if emissions carried on at the rate of its 2018 report. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The IPCC expects the global average temperature to reach or pass 1.5 °C within the next few decades. NASA Science: Effects
For 2024, the World Meteorological Organization’s estimates of the current warming level ranged from 1.34 °C to 1.41 °C. Met Office: What is climate change?
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