16 December 2015: A call to action to support the Paris Agreement has been launched, with almost 700 major cities, regions, companies and investors as initial signatories. Under the Paris Pledge for Action, or ‘L’Appel de Paris,’ these signatories commit to aid in the quick and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and to contribute to accelerating the necessary transformation to combat climate change.

The Paris Agreement was adopted on 12 December 2015 at the Paris Climate Change Conference by the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the UNFCCC. The 196 Parties that negotiated the Agreement included an objective of holding global temperature rise to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. In the accompanying decision, parties also welcome the role of non-party stakeholders and encourage their efforts.

The Pledge is open for signatures by cities, regions, business, investors and other non-party stakeholders. It welcomes “the adoption of a new, universal climate agreement at COP 21 in Paris, which is a critical step on the path to solving climate change.” The signatories pledge their “support to ensuring that the level of ambition set by the agreement is met or exceeded.” The Pledge is “a clear signal that the message sent by the negotiations has been received loud and clear,” according to a UNFCCC press release.

An initiative of the French COP 21 Presidency, the Pledge is about taking the “momentum” of COP 21 “to the next level in support of nations as they work towards raising ambition up to 2020 and well beyond,” UNFCCC Christiana Figueres stated. “It is about building ever more support by non-state actors who are aligning with government policy as never before.”

COP 21 Laurent Fabius, Foreign Minister, France, called on non-state actors to demonstrate leadership through “bold actions” and “ambitious commitments,” stressing that “the world needs you to step up and rise to the challenges of climate change and sustainable development.” [UNFCCC Press Release] [Paris Pledge for Action] [Pledge Webpage]