What is the Paris agreement?

It’s a climate change accord agreed by nearly 200 countries in December 2015, which came into force on November 4, 2016.

The agreement commits world leaders to keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, seen as the threshold for safety by scientists, and pursuing a tougher target of 1.5C. The carbon emission curbs put forward by countries under Paris are not legally binding but the framework of the accord, which includes a mechanism for periodically cranking those pledges up, is binding. The agreement also has a long-term goal for net zero emissions which would effectively phase out fossil fuels.