What is the 1.5 Degree Celsius goal ?

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Written By Aadhi, India

The 1.5c goal or the 1.5c Paris Agreement Goal is an international treaty on climate change. 

This agreement was adopted in Paris by a total of 196 countries on 12th December 2015 and came into effect less than an year later on 4th November 2016. 

This agreement aims to limit global greenhouse gas emissions and to limit the global increase in temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius and then to limit the increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius within the year 2100. 

The Paris Agreement marks the beginning of a multilateral shift towards a low carbon world. 

How does the agreement work ? 

The Paris Agreement is the first-ever universal global climate change agreement, adopted at the Paris climate conference (COP21) in December 2015. 

This agreement works on the basis of a 5 year cycle. Every 5 years, all the countries are required to submit their plans and reports for climate action called Nationally Determined Contributions or NDC’s. 

In their NDCs, countries communicate actions they will take to reduce their Greenhouse Gas emissions in order to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement. Countries also communicate in the NDCs actions they will take to build resilience to adapt to the impacts of rising temperatures. 

They report to each other and to the public on how they are implementing climate action. 

How does this agreement help ? 

The Paris Agreement recognizes the importance of averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change. 

It creates a systematic framework for all the countries to reduce their carbon emissions. 

Developed countries currently produce 63 per cent of global emissions. The Agreement recognizes this and it specifies that developed nations take the lead in reducing emissions ie; it lays an emphasis to transition to renewable energy sources. 

How much has it achieved so far ? 

Since this pact came into effect, it has been lauded by many countries. 

There are signs that the temperature spikes predicted for later this century are easing slightly because of The Paris Agreement. Before the Paris Agreement, global emissions were on course to push temperatures up by 3.5°C by 2100. 

According to Michael Oppenheimer, a climate scientist, “This pact has made a real difference by helping make climate change a top concern of all countries