Paris, Ten Years On: Climate Promises, Progress, and the Path Ahead


 Paris, Ten Years On: Climate Promises, Progress, and the Path Ahead

🎂 Ten Years Since Paris — So, Did It Work?

In December 2015, nearly every country on Earth gathered in Paris and said:

“We’ll try to stop frying the planet.”

Ten years on, it’s tempting to roll our eyes.

  • Emissions are still rising.

  • 1.5°C warming is now a lived reality.

  • Oil giants are raking in record profits.

But that’s only half the story.

✅ What the Paris Agreement Did Achieve

It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t binding. But let’s give credit where it’s due.

Here’s what has changed in 10 years:

  • 🌐 Universal commitment: 195 countries signed. That’s unprecedented.

  • 🧮 Climate accounting: Most nations now track and report emissions.

  • 📉 Peak coal: Global coal use is slowing. Investment has shifted.

  • ☀️ Renewables boom: Wind and solar are now cheaper than fossil fuels in most places.

  • 🚗 EV revolution: Nearly every carmaker now has a net-zero roadmap.

  • 🏢 Net Zero is mainstream: Cities, banks, universities, even fashion brands have climate pledges.

The Paris Agreement didn't solve the climate crisis.
But it rewired the global economy to start thinking greener.

🌡️ The 1.5°C Target: Missed or Motivator?

Let’s be honest — we’re on track to overshoot 1.5°C.

But here's the nuance:

  • Paris didn't promise we'd avoid 1.5°C, just that we'd try.

  • And without Paris? We’d be headed for 3.5°C–4.5°C by 2100.

Current projections? About 2.5°C — and falling.
Not good enough, but not hopeless either.

🛠️ The Work Left to Do

To actually deliver on the promise of Paris, we still need:

  • Fossil fuel subsidies to end

  • Rich nations to pay for loss and damage

  • Faster climate finance for the Global South

  • Nature-based solutions to scale (and not just in brochures)

  • Accountability for net-zero pledges

  • Behaviour change, infrastructure reform, and political will

🧠 Final Thought

“Paris was never meant to be the finish line.
It was the starting gun.”

We’re ten years in. The clock’s ticking.
But the race isn’t over — and we’re still in with a chance.

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