In Focus by The Hindu

Ten years on, has the Paris Climate Accord delivered?

Dec 28, 2025
Dr. Monika Gupta, an Associate Professor at SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, dives into the impact of the Paris Agreement a decade later. She highlights the mixed outcomes, from rising emissions to accelerated clean energy efforts. Gupta compares its successes with the Kyoto Protocol, emphasizing the strategic diplomatic negotiations that secured major emitters' commitments. She also discusses the vital need for climate finance, India's renewable progress, and the importance of mandatory emissions disclosure to enhance corporate accountability in tackling climate change.
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INSIGHT

Bottom-Up Design Drives Participation

  • Paris shifted from a top-down to a bottom-up model where countries set Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
  • The agreement uses a ratchet mechanism and global stocktake to drive transparency and peer pressure rather than legal enforcement.
INSIGHT

Strategic Diplomacy Secured Major Powers

  • Strategic diplomacy and early country-level pledge collection helped secure broad buy-in at Paris.
  • France used careful negotiation to get major emitters like the US and China on board without legal enforcement.
INSIGHT

Progress Exists But Falls Short

  • The Paris Agreement accelerated renewables, carbon markets, and mobilised climate finance, bending the emissions curve downward.
  • Progress is real but insufficient to meet 1.5–2°C targets, so gains are partial not complete.
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