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Environment Minister Alan Kelly today welcomed the agreement by all 196 parties at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC on a new ambitious legally-binding, global agreement on climate change. 

The agreement provides a framework for a global response on climate change to hold the increase in global temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to keep the more stringent target of below 1.5 degrees in sight.

"This historic deal ensures a truly multilateral response to one of the largest challenges facing humanity”, said Minister Kelly who attended the negotiations during the High-Level Session and also spoke on behalf of the EU team in specific Ministerial level negotiations.

This Paris Agreement puts in place the necessary framework for all countries to take ambitious action, as well as providing for a transparency system that ensures we can all have confidence in each other’s progress. It also puts in place the supports necessary – funding as well as technical assistance - for the most vulnerable countries....

The EU worked as an incredibly effective team, supporting the French COP Presidency, who conducted the negotiations in an open and transparent manner, ensuring all Parties were brought along with the process.

Today, I’m proud to call myself a European, acknowledging the leadership and ambitious role that we played in building bridges between Parties and in reassuring all of our continued commitment and support to realise the objectives of this Agreement.

This Paris Agreement ensures that Parties will continue their support for developing countries, focusing particularly on Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States to ensure they can adapt, build resilience and contribute to the global effort to combat climate change. It signals to all actors – the private sector, citizens, and civil society that all Governments are serious about this challenge and about taking the steps necessary to meet it together.

The full text of the legal agreement and the associated decisions of COP21 can be found on the UNFCCC website: www.unfccc.int