2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference — international climate change conference in Paris, France in November–December 2015
COP21 produced the Paris Agreement, committing 196 parties to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
Key Facts
- Conference dates
- 30 November – 12 December 2015
- Attending parties
- 196
- Countries signed on Earth Day
- 174 countries signed on 22 April 2016
- Entry into force date
- 4 November 2016
- Warming limit target
- Well below 2°C, pursuing 1.5°C
- INDCs submitted before conference
- 146 national climate panels
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Decades of rising greenhouse gas emissions and the perceived inadequacy of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol prompted renewed international effort. Prior to COP21, 146 national panels submitted Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, and preparatory meetings including the October 2015 Bonn Climate Change Conference produced a draft agreement text.
The 21st Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC convened in Paris from 30 November to 12 December 2015, gathering representatives of 196 parties. Through multilateral negotiation, delegates reached consensus on the Paris Agreement, setting goals to limit warming to well below 2°C and to pursue efforts toward 1.5°C, with net-zero anthropogenic emissions targeted for the second half of the 21st century.
On 22 April 2016, 174 countries signed the Paris Agreement in New York. The treaty entered into force on 4 November 2016 after the threshold of 55 countries representing 55 percent of global emissions was met. A five-year global stocktake mechanism, beginning in 2023, was established to review and strengthen national commitments over time.