15 December 2015: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Mogens Lykketoft briefed UNGA Member States on the outcomes of the Paris Climate Change Conference and its Paris Agreement adopted on 12 December 2015. They urged Member States to continue to act with collective responsibility, leadership and unity to implement action on climate change, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and outlined next steps on implementation.

“The Paris Agreement is a triumph for people, the planet and for multilateralism,” Ban declared. He said, “Together, the countries of the world have agreed that, in minimizing risks of climate change, the national interest is best served by pursuing the common good,” an example that could be emulated across the political agenda.

Ban highlighted key points of the Paris Agreement, including: agreement to work to limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to strive for 1.5 degrees; the submission of 188 Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs); agreement to review national climate plans every five years to increase ambition in line with science; inclusion of balanced adaptation and mitigation support for developing countries, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable; and scaled up efforts to address and minimize loss and damage. He praised the business community and civil society for their roles, and called for immediate steps to implement the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Ban announced that he will convene a high-level signing ceremony of the Paris Agreement on 22 April 2016, in New York, the US.

Lykketoft encouraged governments to take inspiration from the Paris Agreement, at a time of “great division in our world often linked to matters of resources, poverty, exclusion and climate stresses.” He called for early implementation, building on momentum and maximizing synergies between action on climate change and the SDGs.

Lykketoft also reminded delegations of the high-level thematic debate he will convene on implementation of the Paris Agreement and the SDGs, in April 2016. The debate will bring together governments, civil society and the private sector to discuss connections between the Paris Agreement, the INDCs and SDG implementation, and integration of climate action into sustainable development strategies. Lykketoft said the debate will also discuss: UN system actions to support national actions, including capacity building; means of implementation (MOI), including financing and information and communications technology (ICT), particularly for resilient, sustainable and climate-smart infrastructure; and accountable, transparent multi-stakeholder partnerships. [UN Press Release] [UN Secretary-General Statement] [UNGA President Statement] [UNGA President Letter on Briefing] [Briefing Webcast] [IISD RS Coverage of COP 21]