The main objectives inspiring the Paris agreement: limiting the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C, as this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts due to climate change; increasing the capacity to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change, promoting resilience and adaptation investments in developing countries, in particular to reduce threats to food production; making adequate financial resources available to support a climate-resilient and low-carbon economic development.
The recognition given to the role of adaptation, defined as a multi-level global challenge, from local to international, as well as a key component of the response to climate change in the long term. The importance of technological cooperation and transfer of technology in favor of developing countries while continuing to provide financial support to them.
A review process of the agreement’s implementation.
Carlo Carraro comments all the outcomes of the COP21 in an article just published on his blog: “the Paris Agreement has formalized a new approach consisting on the one hand of a legally binding part that establishes common rules to promote a transparent process and to ensure an assessment of its objectives, supported by elements left to the national legislation of each State, for example the INDCs. This ‘hybrid’ solution was dictated by the need to obtain a large consensus on the final document and thus provide a tool that is receivable in national legislations without much difficulty […]Overall, the Paris Agreement is an important step in the right direction. A realistic step, which will enable governments to work together within a robust process of review and growth in commitments. The Paris conference has therefore closed one cycle, that of the Kyoto Protocol, and opened up another, larger one in terms of participation based on past achievements, but open to future improvements. It is now up to the individual countries to adopt concrete mitigation and adaptation measures”.

Read the full article ” The Paris Agreement: key points and future prospects”.