Skip to Content

The Paris Climate Pact Is in Effect, but It’s Not Enough

Emissions goals put forth by most nations will come up short of saving the planet, unless governments double down on their commitments.
November 4, 2016

Less than a year after its inception, the Paris climate change agreement is officially in force—but the United Nations has warned that governments must dramatically reduce carbon emissions to meet its goals.

The agreement, drawn up last December, was formally ratified by enough nation-states last month. As of November 4, it’s binding for the countries that decided to sign up, which includes the U.S., China, and the members of the EU. Those countries must now endeavor to reduce their fossil-fuel use in order to limit average global temperature rises to less than 2 °C above preindustrial levels.

“This is a moment to celebrate,” said the United Nations’ climate chief Patricia Espinosa in a statement. She’s right: such large-scale international agreements are notoriously difficult to engineer. While negotiations were painful, the agreement is a beacon of hope for humankind, signaling that efforts will be made to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, urged "sober assessment" over the task still ahead.

But Espinosa also warned that now is not a time for complacency. “It is also a moment to look ahead with sober assessment and renewed will over the task ahead,” she said. “In a short time … we need to see unprecedented reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and unequaled efforts to build societies that can resist rising climate impacts.”

In fact, a new UN report warns that the emissions pledges put forward by the countries to date don’t go far enough. It suggests that the emissions targets between now and 2030 will actually put the world on track to warm 3.4 °C by 2100. The report says that a further 25 percent reduction in emissions will be required to keep warming below 2 °C.

If officials seek a visceral reminder of how big an impact carbon dioxide emissions have on the planet, they have one in the shape of a new study published in Science about the impact of the gas on Arctic ice. Calculations suggest that three square meters of ice are lost for every ton of carbon dioxide emitted. That means the addition of another 1,000 gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere—about the amount that can be emitted before temperature rises exceed 2 °C—would render the Arctic ice-free during the summer.

As Espinosa says, the Paris agreement is good news. But we’re still a long way from where we need to be.

(Read more: Reuters, UN (PDF), Science, “The Paris Climate Pact Is Officially Go,” “Paris Climate Agreement Rests on Shaky Technological Foundations”)

Keep Reading

Most Popular

Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.

And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.

OpenAI teases an amazing new generative video model called Sora

The firm is sharing Sora with a small group of safety testers but the rest of us will have to wait to learn more.

Google’s Gemini is now in everything. Here’s how you can try it out.

Gmail, Docs, and more will now come with Gemini baked in. But Europeans will have to wait before they can download the app.

This baby with a head camera helped teach an AI how kids learn language

A neural network trained on the experiences of a single young child managed to learn one of the core components of language: how to match words to the objects they represent.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.