The inaugural Earth Summit was staged in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to discuss pressing environmental problems. Since then, numerous major conventions have been staged and international agreements have been signed, notably the Cancun Agreements, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement.

1. A N D W H Y I S I T S O I M P O R T A N T ?
WHAT IS THE
PARIS AGREEMENT

2. M A R K L Y T T L E T O N
2
The inaugural Earth Summit was staged in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to discuss pressing
environmental problems. Since then, numerous major conventions have been staged and
international agreements have been signed, notably the Cancun Agreements, the Kyoto Protocol
and the Paris Agreement.

3. When the Industrial Revolution
started in 1880, the average global
temperature was around 14°C.
However, this has been rising at an
alarming rate of 0.18°C per decade
over the last 40 years.
3
M A R K L Y T T L E T O N
Entered into by 197 countries, the Paris
Agreement was the first legally binding
international conservation agreement. It
was ratified during COP 21 on the 12th of
December 2015. World leaders, including
the heads of the world’s biggest emitting
countries – namely the EU, the US and China
– all reached a consensus that serious action
was needed to counter climate change and
mitigate and adapt to its effects.
The parties to the Paris Agreement
identified three principal goals:
• To support developing nations by
providing climate finance
• To review each country’s commitment to
lowering carbon emissions every five years
• To limit global temperature rises to 2°C
this century, and preferably 1.5°C if at all
possible
When the Industrial Revolution started in
1880, the average global temperature was
around 14°C. However, this has been rising
at an alarming rate of 0.18°C per decade over
the last 40 years. With the effects of climate
change being felt with increasing frequency
and ferocity over the last decade, The Paris
Agreement is vital in terms of staving off
poverty created by floods, draughts and
unstable weather; halting sea-level rises; and
protecting the earth for future generations.

4. To learn about companies created to
effect a positive planetary impact, visit
the blog of Mark Lyttleton.