Despite Slow Start, Paris Climate Accord Is Alive and Kicking On 5th Birthday
Five years into the landmark agreement, governments and companies are pledging to cut emissions.
By Megan Rowling
BARCELONA, Dec 10 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) As the gavel went down on Dec. 12, 2015, signalling the adoption of the Paris Agreement on climate change, 5,000 people in the room jumped to their feet crying, embracing, clapping, and stomping, then UN climate chief Christiana Figueres remembers. I have never heard as much ruckus as there, from people who usually protect their public decorum, she said. It was just the most amazing moment.
Five years on, ahead of a Climate Ambition Summit to mark the anniversary of the deal, the Costa Rican diplomat said she remained optimistic about the chances of meeting the accord s goals to curb global warming.