International climate agreements since Paris: state of play
Since the Paris Agreement of 2015, international climate negotiation has become largely a matter of implementation. Each climate summit adds building blocks: rules for carbon markets, arrangements on finance, a mechanism for loss and damage and a periodic review. The broad picture of implementation is by now clear. The arrangements are largely in place, the plans submitted fall short of the temperature goal, and the centre of gravity is shifting towards national and European legislation.
The short answer
- On 27 January 2026 the Paris Agreement had 194 parties.
- Countries submit a nationally determined contribution (NDC) every five years, which must be more ambitious than the previous one.
- The first global stocktake was completed at COP28 in Dubai in December 2023.
- COP28 produced the first agreement to transition away from fossil fuels.
- COP29 in Baku (2024) set a new finance goal and finalised the rules for Article 6.
- COP30 in Belém (2025) produced no roadmap for fossil fuels in its final text.
- COP31 will take place in November 2026 in Antalya, Turkey.
The foundation: the Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement was adopted on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016. It lays down a collective temperature goal: holding warming well below two degrees, with efforts directed at 1.5 degrees.
Unlike the Kyoto Protocol, the agreement contains no imposed reduction figures. It works through a cycle of pledges, accountability and ratcheting up. How that cycle fits together in legal terms is set out in our article on the international climate framework. This page deals with implementation.
The ambition cycle in practice
The national contributions
Each party submits an NDC every five years. In 2025 the round covering the period to 2035 was due. By the time of COP30 more than 120 countries had submitted a new plan, together accounting for roughly 80 per cent of global emissions.
The European Union submitted its updated contribution on 5 November 2025. It contains an indicative reduction of 66.25 to 72.5 per cent by 2035 compared with 1990.
The global stocktake
The first global stocktake was completed at COP28 in Dubai. Its outcome, often called the UAE Consensus, found that collective efforts were falling short of the goal.
The second global stocktake runs from 2026 to 2028 and will be completed in November 2028. Its outcome is to feed into the next round of NDCs.
The main agreements since Paris
| Summit | Year | Main outcome |
|---|---|---|
| COP24 Katowice | 2018 | Largely completed the Paris Rulebook |
| COP26 Glasgow | 2021 | Glasgow Climate Pact; phase-down of unabated coal power; sectoral declarations on forests and energy |
| COP27 Sharm el-Sheikh | 2022 | Decision to establish a fund for loss and damage |
| COP28 Dubai | 2023 | First global stocktake; transition away from fossil fuels; tripling of renewable energy and doubling of energy efficiency by 2030 |
| COP29 Baku | 2024 | New finance goal; completion of the rules for Article 6 |
| COP30 Belém | 2025 | Belém package; adaptation indicators; just transition mechanism |
Climate finance
Finance is the most contested file. The old goal of USD 100 billion per year was replaced at COP29 by a new collective goal. That goal has two layers. Developed countries take the lead on at least USD 300 billion per year by 2035. Around that sits a broader mobilisation of USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035, from public and private sources.
COP30 agreed to aim for a tripling of adaptation finance by 2035. That undertaking was given no base year and no fixed amount, which limits how far it can be tested.
Carbon markets
After years of negotiation, COP29 finalised the rules for Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Two routes are involved: direct cooperation between countries and a central UN mechanism under supervision. This creates an international basis for trade in emission reductions.
That matters for companies too. The European Climate Law allows up to five percentage points of the 2040 target to be met with international credits. The quality and the provenance of those credits therefore become a legal issue.
The state of implementation
Three observations can be made at this point.
There is a structural gap between the goal and the plans. The contributions submitted do not yet add up to 1.5 degrees. COP30 saw the first acknowledgement in a final text that a temporary overshoot of 1.5 degrees is likely.
The hard commitments are moving to the regional level. The UN texts are to a large extent political. The legally enforceable obligations sit in EU law and national law. Examples are the European Climate Law with its target of 90 per cent by 2040, the emissions trading system and the Dutch Climate Act (Klimaatwet).
The legal weight of the agreements is growing by another route. The International Court of Justice held in July 2025 that states have obligations outside the climate treaties as well. That gives the political agreements greater significance in proceedings. See our overview of climate litigation.
What is on the table now
COP31 will take place in November 2026 in Antalya, Turkey. The format is new: Turkey hosts the summit and supplies the president, while Australia chairs the negotiations.
The agenda includes the elaboration of the just transition mechanism, the adaptation indicators and the finance arrangements. The second global stocktake also gets under way in this period.
For Dutch companies the direct relevance is limited. Translation into obligations runs through Brussels and The Hague. It returns in permits, in environmental and planning law and in reporting under the CSRD and ESG reporting.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if a country misses its NDC?
The Paris Agreement has no sanctions mechanism. It does have a transparency framework with reporting and review. The pressure is primarily political. National courts can, however, review conduct on the basis of national law or the ECHR.
Are the declarations made at climate summits legally binding?
Usually not. Many initiatives are voluntary declarations by a group of countries or companies. They may nonetheless carry weight in the interpretation of open standards and in the assessment of sustainability claims.
What does the withdrawal of a major party from the Paris Agreement mean?
The agreement continues to apply to the remaining parties. As at 27 January 2026 it had 194 parties. Nothing changes for EU obligations.
Contact
Would you like to know what the international and European climate agreements mean in practice for your permits, contracts or reporting? Our environmental law solicitors advise on environmental law and sustainability law. Law & More has offices in Eindhoven and Amsterdam and works in Dutch and English. Please feel free to contact us.
