Environment
What to Expect at the Paris Climate Talks
Fairness, finances, and local action will all play a part in the COP21 talks.
Heads of state from around the world gathered in Paris on Monday for the kickoff of COP21, the UN climate change talks. Over the next two weeks, representatives from 195 countries will work towards a legally binding universal agreement to reduce carbon emissions and keep global warming to 2 degrees Celsius.
COP21 has been called the “last chance saloon” to save the planet. Scientists largely agree that heating beyond that two-degree threshold equates to catastrophic climate change: higher sea-level rise; more pervasive droughts, storms, and floods; and more dramatic divides in access to food and water. The world’s poor are, and will be, particularly vulnerable to these shocks, especially in countries that lack the resources to adapt.