COP21: 195 nations in landmark deal to cut carbon emissions

A landmark deal to tackle climate change was agreed at the COP21 summit in Paris over the weekend is a “monumental triumph”, United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon has said.

The agreement, which was reached on Saturday following two weeks of talks, commits all 195 signatories to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to cutting emission for the first time.

All countries have agreed to work to reduce their emissions in order to hold global temperature rise this century to well below 2 degrees celsius, with an aim for a maximum increase of 1.5 degrees.

The agreement also sets out a roadmap to increase funding for climate change adaptation and mitigation and clean energy generation to $100bn by 2020.

This will include “appropriate financial flows” from developed to developing countries to enhance the implementation of their own climate change strategies.

The agreement also promises “adequate and predictable financial resources, including for results-based payments” for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

Countries are also committed to “encourage the coordination of support from, inter alia, public and private, bilateral and multilateral sources, such as the Green Climate Fund, and alternative sources in accordance with relevant decisions by the conference of the parties”.

Hailing the agreement Ban said negotiators had reached “solid results on all key points,” and the pact was ambitious, flexible, credible and durable.

“All countries have agreed to hold global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees celsius. And recognising the risk of grave consequences, you have further agreed to pursue efforts to limit temperature increase to 1.5 degrees,” Ban said.

“Governments have agreed to binding, robust, transparent rules of the road to ensure that all countries do what they have agreed across a range of issues. With these elements in place, markets now have the clear signal they need to unleash the full force of human ingenuity and scale up investments that will generate low-emissions, resilient growth.”

Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister who has been chairing the talks, said every delegation could return home with their heads held high.

“Our collective effort is worth more than the sum of our individual effort. Our responsibility to history is immense,” he stated.