Paris Agreement: The power of ingenuity with collaboration is insurmountable

Five years after the Paris Agreement, there has been a significant increase in net-zero commitments from major economies and businesses, though current pledges only limit temperature rise to 2.1ºC. The author argues that green recovery plans provide better economic and employment benefits than traditional stimulus and calls for mandatory climate-related financial disclosures and the removal of fossil fuel subsidies to unlock further private investment.

• Since 2015, business commitment to science-based targets has grown to over 1,000 companies, with more than 325 aligning with a 1.5ºC trajectory to reach net-zero by 2050 and over 270 committing to RE100.
• Major economies have increased their climate ambition, with the EU, Japan, and South Korea committing to net-zero by 2050, and China aiming for carbon neutrality before 2060. Analysis from Climate Action Tracker indicates that updated pledges could limit the global temperature rise to 2.1ºC by the end of the century.
• Green recovery plans are found to be more effective at boosting GDP, employment, and income than 'return-to-normal' stimulus measures, while simultaneously reducing emissions.
• To finance the zero-carbon transition, the author recommends that governments implement mandatory climate-related financial disclosures based on TCFD recommendations, establish a meaningful carbon price, and permanently remove fossil fuel subsidies.
• Low-carbon technologies are seeing rapid growth, specifically electric vehicle sales, which recorded a 40% year-on-year increase in 2019.

APA

Mendiluce, M. (2020). Paris Agreement: The power of ingenuity with collaboration is insurmountable. We Mean Business Coalition. https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/paris-agreement-the-power-of-ingenuity-with-collaboration-is-insurmountable/

Chicago

Mendiluce, María. Paris Agreement: The power of ingenuity with collaboration is insurmountable. We Mean Business Coalition, 2020. https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/paris-agreement-the-power-of-ingenuity-with-collaboration-is-insurmountable/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Mendiluce |first1=María |title=Paris Agreement: The power of ingenuity with collaboration is insurmountable |publisher=We Mean Business Coalition |date=7 December 2020 |url=https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/paris-agreement-the-power-of-ingenuity-with-collaboration-is-insurmountable/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{mendiluce2020paris, author = {Mendiluce, María}, title = {{Paris Agreement: The power of ingenuity with collaboration is insurmountable}}, publisher = {We Mean Business Coalition}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/paris-agreement-the-power-of-ingenuity-with-collaboration-is-insurmountable/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }