From The Nature Conservancy:
After two intense weeks of negotiations reflecting twenty years of climate discussions, representatives from nearly 200 countries reached accord on the Paris Agreement.
The Conservancy’s Andrew Deutz, director of international government relations said, “This landmark agreement signals the turning point in the road to a low-carbon economy, a road paved by continued innovation in the technology, energy, finance, and conservation sectors. Years in the making, the agreement affirms a new paradigm of global cooperation to address climate change which points towards a future that is more prosperous, healthy and secure.
“Over the last year, countries have produced the most ambitious and comprehensive set of emissions reductions ever on offer. These are an essential down payment on global action. The Paris Agreement now ensures a formal process to continually ratchet up those offers every five years until we solve the climate challenge. The agreement also includes essential provisions to enhance accountability, environmental integrity, and scaled-up financing to help poor countries.
Duncan Marsh, director of international climate policy said, “The Paris Agreement ensures a role for market mechanisms, which should accelerate the deployment of private capital for climate action. In fact, the Paris Agreement signals that the world is on an irreversible path to a low carbon economy, which should shape investment for decades to come.
The agreement also affirms the important role that ecosystems, biodiversity, and land use can play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping communities and countries reduce risks and adapt to climate change impacts. It also promotes sustainable management of land, which can range from conserving and restoring forests to improving agriculture.”
“Beyond the agreement itself, we commend France’s President Hollande and the French hosts, who masterly mobilized their considerable diplomatic capacity around the world for the last year to make this moment happen,” noted Deutz. “The agreement reached today, when combined with the unprecedented collection of announcements of new investments and far-reaching actions by the private sector and sub-national governments, signals that the world is on a historic new path towards protecting the planet for future generations. Tomorrow we will roll up our sleeves again and continue to dedicate ourselves to accelerating the transition to a low carbon future.”