Environment & Ecology
Paris Agreement
2015 international treaty regarding climate change
Overview
The Paris Agreement is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was negotiated by 196 parties at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference near Paris, France. As of January 2026, 194 members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are parties to the agreement. Of the three UNFCCC member states which have not ratified the agreement, the only major emitter is Iran. The United States, the second largest emitter, withdrew from the agreement in 2020, rejoined in 2021, and withdrew again in 2026.
Source: Wikipedia — Paris Agreement (CC BY-SA)
Key concepts
How Paris Agreement connects to the ideas, people and events around it.
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. In a broader sense, climate change also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate.
Climate change mitigation, also called decarbonisation, is an action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include conserving energy and replacing fossil fuels with clean energy sources.
Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to the effects of climate change, both current and anticipated. Adaptation aims to moderate or avoid harm for people, and is usually done alongside climate change mitigation.
Climate finance is an umbrella term for financial resources such as loans, grants, or domestic budget allocations for climate change mitigation, adaptation or resiliency. Finance can come from private and public sources.
A party is an individual or group of individuals that compose a single entity which can be identified as one for law purposes.
The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21 or CMP 11 was held in Paris, France, from 30 November to 12 December 2015.
Paris is the capital and largest city of France, with an estimated city population of 2.04 million in an area of 105.4 km2 (40.7 sq mi), as of January 2026, and a metropolitan population of 13.3 million (2023).
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the UN process for negotiating an agreement to limit dangerous climate change. It is an international treaty among countries to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system".
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Questions about Paris Agreement
What is Paris Agreement?
The Paris Agreement is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was negotiated by 196 parties at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference near Paris, France. As of January 2026, 194 members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are parties to the agreement.
What are the key concepts related to Paris Agreement?
The main concepts connected to Paris Agreement include Climate change, Climate change mitigation, Climate change adaptation, Climate finance, Party (law), 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Paris, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Each is linked on the map above with its own summary.
Which exams cover Paris Agreement?
Paris Agreement is part of Environment & Ecology, which appears in the syllabus of UPSC CSE, UPSC CAPF, SSC CGL, SSC CHSL, SSC MTS, SSC GD and 43 more exams.