The Paris Agreement, the main international treaty to tackle the climate crisis, turns 10 this Friday (12). Adopted at COP21 in 2015, the global pact is considered a historic milestone, but the United Nations (UN) warns that the world remains far from meeting the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (ºC) — a critical point to avoid severe and potentially irreversible impacts.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that global emissions need to fall by 43% by 2030 for this goal to remain within reach. Countries are under pressure to strengthen their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and accelerate the transition to low-carbon economies.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that “2026 must mark the beginning of a new decade of implementation”.
“I am fully convinced: the Paris Agreement is working. And I remain as convinced as ever: climate action needs to go further and faster. The last ten years have been the hottest on record. We are witnessing human tragedies, ecological destruction and economic crises in real time, with the devastation increasing as temperatures continue to rise,” said Guterres.
“However, thanks to the Paris Agreement, we are no longer on track for warming greater than 4°C — an unsustainable scenario. Instead, the global trajectory is closer to 2.5°C,” he added.
Guterres also said that during the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP30), in Belém, countries were unanimous in recognizing the importance of limiting global warming.
“This unity gives me hope. We can control the scale and duration of this sudden rise in temperatures and reduce them again if we take serious action now. We need an acceleration plan that bridges the gap between ambition, adaptation and financing,” Guterres said.
Brasília (DF), 10/23/2025 – UN Secretary-General, Antônio Guterres, said that “thanks to the Paris Agreement, the planet is no longer” on the path to warming above 4°C. Photo: UN/Disclosure – UN/Disclosure
President of COP30, ambassador André Corrêa do Lago stated that the treaty was decisive in “unlocking” climate action at a critical moment.
“Ten years ago, climate action was stuck, with many obstacles. The Paris Agreement made it possible to give a new dynamic to the fight against climate change”, said Lago.
“At the time of the negotiations, science indicated that the world was heading towards an increase of around 4°C in the global average temperature. Now, thanks to efforts made since the Paris Agreement, we are at 2.5°C. But, we still need to avoid exceeding 1.5°C. So, there is a lot to be done”, he added.
Christiana Figueres was executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2015, when the Paris Agreement was created. She is pessimistic about achieving the goals set a decade ago.
“What I want to remind people today is this: even with the Paris Agreement, it is already very clear that we cannot solve climate change – it is too late. At the same time, we do not need to condemn ourselves to the worst impacts of climate change,” Figueres said on social media.
“The key now is to accelerate the pace: to responsibly implement the reduction of emissions and the regeneration of our natural ecosystems. In line with the Paris Agreement, so that our children, our grandchildren and all future generations can experience their own moments of joy, of unity for something greater than themselves”, he added.
Paris Agreement
Adopted by 195 States Parties and in force since 2016, the Paris Agreement established, for the first time, a global and binding commitment to contain the advance of the climate crisis.
The mechanism works in five-year cycles, in which each country presents or updates its climate plans. In addition to reducing emissions, the documents detail adaptation strategies and long-term guidelines to guide entire economies towards carbon neutrality.
International cooperation is considered a central pillar of the agreement, especially to support developing countries, which are more vulnerable to climate impacts and historically responsible for a much smaller portion of accumulated emissions. The agreement recognizes the responsibility of developed countries to lead climate finance and promote technology transfer and training.
To monitor progress, the treaty provides for the Reinforced Transparency Framework, which requires, since 2024, that all parties report actions, progress and support provided and received. The data will feed the global balance sheet, an instrument that assesses collective progress towards long-term goals.
