--- title: Paris Climate Summit: 5 Facts to Know description: Climate change is being overshadowed by more immediate threats like terrorism, but a UN summit could finally make a difference canonical: https://time.com/4135637/these-are-the-5-facts-you-need-to-know-about-the-paris-climate-summit/ author: Ian Bremmer article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-04T16:09:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:02:00.273Z article:section: Science og:title: Paris Climate Summit: 5 Facts to Know og:description: Climate change is being overshadowed by more immediate threats like terrorism, but a UN summit could finally make a difference og:url: https://time.com/4135637/these-are-the-5-facts-you-need-to-know-about-the-paris-climate-summit/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d28c8d4c2d25d0c/698873d42dce01078b9e6c75/paris-climate-summit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4096 og:image:height: 2304 og:image:alt: COP21 Climate Change Conference - Mayors Summit in Paris og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Paris Climate Summit: 5 Facts to Know twitter:description: Climate change is being overshadowed by more immediate threats like terrorism, but a UN summit could finally make a difference twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d28c8d4c2d25d0c/698873d42dce01078b9e6c75/paris-climate-summit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # These Are the 5 Facts You Need to Know About the Paris Climate Summit > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Global Risks You Should Care About Right Now [Watch (HLS stream): Global Risks You Should Care About Right Now](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PqXWqYtA.m3u8) (4:20)  _Published 2015-01-13. A yearly look ahead about what you should—and shouldn’t—worry about in the geopolitical and economic landscape for 2015_  by [Ian Bremmer](https://time.com/author/ian-bremmer/)  ## Ian Bremmer Dec 4, 2015 4:09 PM UTC  Francois Hollande poses with the Mayors of Paris, London, New York, Seoul, Dakar and Rio de Janeiro during the Mayors Summit, as part of the COP21 in Paris on Dec. 4, 2015. Francois Hollande poses with the Mayors of Paris, London, New York, Seoul, Dakar and Rio de Janeiro during the Mayors Summit, as part of the COP21 in Paris on Dec. 4, 2015. Stephane de Sakutin—EPA  by [Ian Bremmer](https://time.com/author/ian-bremmer/)  ## Ian Bremmer Dec 4, 2015 4:09 PM UTC We live in a G-Zero world, one with a lack of true global leadership. Just consider climate change—the 250 million people set to be displaced by unchecked warming in the next few decades alone will make Syria’s humanitarian crisis look like a blip. And yet the hopes for a unified global response are slim. Still, negotiators at the UN climate change conference in Paris seem likely to find ways to move the needle even in a leadership vacuum. Here’s what you need to know. ([UN](http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48201#.VmBmvL8YEYp)) **1\. Where We Are Today** The world is now more than halfway toward exceeding the 2 degree Celsius threshold scientists have warned could make global warming catastrophic and irreversible. The World Health Organization estimates that climate change is already responsible for 141,000 deaths annually—by 2050, that number is projected to rise to 250,000\. The World Bank expects global warming to push 100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030. As ocean temperatures rise and glaciers melt, weather-related disasters will grow in both frequency and severity. In the last two decades, floods have hit 2.3 billion people, mostly in Asia. Droughts have affected more than 1 billion people, primarily in Africa. Heat waves have killed nearly 148,000 people, the majority of them in Europe. Wildfires have affected 108,000 people and have cost more than $11 billion dollars in damages to the U.S. No part of the world is immune. ([Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/09/us-climatechange-summit-temperatures-idUSKCN0SY1F220151109#dY8G4wDV5Y7o1J2U.97), [Wall Street Journal](http://www.wsj.com/articles/trade-offs-for-global-do-gooders-1442589938), [Associated Press](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/5c79600a71b846568681d6200b6a22d3/world-bank-climate-change-could-result-100-million-poor), [The New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/24/world/europe/extreme-weather-disasters-united-nations-paris.html?rref=collection%2Fnewseventcollection%2Fun-climate-change-conference)) **2\. Prior Conferences** Those are terrifying numbers—terrifying enough to bring the world’s leaders to the negotiating table multiple times before, but not quite bad enough to get them to agree on anything substantial. The push to address climate change at a global level began in the 1990s with the Kyoto Protocol, which aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 5 percent below 1990 levels. But without ratification by the U.S., among other problems, Kyoto was dead on arrival. The next serious attempt was the Copenhagen conference in 2009, this time with developing powers China, India, Brazil and South Africa taking lead roles. But talks went nowhere substantial. It turns out that while plenty of countries want to fix climate change, they don’t want to be legally bound to do so. The Paris conference tries to fix this problem by having each country make its own national pledge rather than sign up to a collectively enforced goal. The current pledges, if fulfilled, would reduce the growth rate of the world’s carbon footprint from 8 percent a year to 5 percent. To have a 50-50 shot at keeping the global temperature below the 2 degree Celsius mark, CO2 levels must stop growing by 2020 and then be halved by 2050\. We’re not remotely on track. ([CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/30/europe/france-paris-cop21-climate-change-conference/), [The New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/04/opinion/the-tough-realities-of-the-paris-climate-talks.html), [The Guardian](http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/dec/12/durban-climate-change-conference-2011-southafrica)) **3\. China** But the world has to start somewhere. China overtook the U.S. as the world’s lead carbon polluter in total volume in 2007 and has held the title ever since. In 2013, China churned out 28 percent of the world’s CO2\. But where other countries are actively trying to ratchet back their emissions below current levels, China has simply pledged to reach its peak CO2 emissions by “around 2030,” which is when experts predict that China’s emissions would naturally peak anyway thanks to economic and demographic changes. China is also pledging to reduce emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65 percent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels, essentially becoming much more carbon efficient. According to Bloomberg, though, that goal is actually less ambitious just continuing business as usual. Of course, it makes sense for China to offer such weak pledges. Beijing is busy trying to transition from a manufacturing-based economy to a consumer-oriented one, which will impact economic growth. Meanwhile, China’s growing middle class is demanding basics like clean air and water. It’s easy to see why: air pollution kills 1.4 million Chinese people each year. Beijing needs to show that it’s making progress toward delivering the quality lives it’s promised, without comprising the economic growth that underpins them. It’s a tough needle to thread. ([Global Carbon Project](http://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget/14/hl-full.htm), [Vanity Fair](http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/01/china-worlds-largest-economy), [POLITICO](http://www.politico.eu/article/paris-climate-deal-is-meaningless-cop21-emissions-china-obama/), [Council on Foreign Relations](http://www.cfr.org/china/chinas-environmental-crisis/p12608), [Huffington Post](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/33-million-die-every-year-because-of-air-pollution%5F55fb1ad3e4b00310edf64af4)) **4\. U.S.** Right behind China comes America, responsible for 14 percent of global CO2 emissions. But on a per capita basis, the U.S. emits far more. Each American produces 17 metric tons of CO2 each year on average, compared to 6 tons for the average Chinese. For the Paris meetings, America has promised to cut its carbon emissions between 26 and 28 percent by 2025 compared to its 2005 baseline. That’s pretty impressive when you consider that a full 25 percent of Americans still don’t believe there’s solid evidence for global warming. Only 42 percent of Americans say they are very concerned about global warming. The only international issue that’s less worrying for Americans is territorial disputes between China and its neighbors, which polls at 30 percent. And then there’s the matter of a Republican-controlled Congress. Within hours of Barack Obama’s arrival in Paris, Congress passed resolutions gutting EPA rules designed to limit carbon emissions. It’s tough to project solidarity with the world on climate change when you can’t even muster it in your own country. ([Global Carbon Project](http://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget/14/hl-full.htm), [The New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/04/opinion/the-tough-realities-of-the-paris-climate-talks.html?rref=collection%2Fnewseventcollection%2Fun-climate-change-conference&%5Fr=0), [Carbon Brief](http://www.carbonbrief.org/us-climate-pledge-promises-to-push-for-maximum-ambition), [Pew Research Center](http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/07/14/climate-change-seen-as-top-global-threat/?beta=true&utm%5Fexpid=53098246-2.Lly4CFSVQG2lphsg-KopIg.1&utm%5Freferrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pewglobal.org%2F2015%2F11%2F05%2Fglobal-concern-about-climate-change-broad-support-for-limiting-emissions%2F%3Fbeta%3Dtrue) (a), [Pew Research Center](http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/06/16/ideological-divide-over-global-warming-as-wide-as-ever/) (b)) **5\. E.U.** Europe, which is responsible for 10 percent of global man-made CO2 emissions, has taken a more proactive approach to climate change. European leaders have signed a climate change pact among themselves to cut the E.U.’s greenhouse gases 40 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, mirroring their proposal in Paris. If things break right, Germany may even be able to reduce its own CO2 emissions 40 percent by 2020, 10 years ahead of schedule. But cracks among the 28-member union are beginning to show. Poland’s new government is pushing back against the pact that was signed by the previous government, arguing that the country’s coal-dependent economy will suffer disproportionately. Of course, between terrorism, tensions with Russia and a refugee crisis, spats over climate are the least of Europe’s worries at the moment. And that’s the crux of the issue. There’s always a clear and present danger that supersedes climate change concerns. The goal in Paris is not to solve global warming, but to help the world keep its eyes on the prize. Let’s hope these next two weeks can achieve that much. ([Global Carbon Project](http://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget/14/hl-full.htm), [The Guardian](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/24/eu-leaders-agree-to-cut-greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-40-by-2030), [Euractiv](http://www.euractiv.com/sections/energy/germanys-co2-emissions-decrease-first-time-3-years-313430)) ### Top 10 New Species for 2014  Tinkerbell Fairyfly Tinkerbella nana Jennifer Read  Skeleton Shrimp Liropus minusculus SINC  Domed Land Snail Zospeum tholussum Jana Bedek  Leaf-tailed Gecko Saltuarius eximius Conrad Hoskin—Reuters  Olinguito Bassaricyon neblina Mark Gurney—Smithsonian/Getty Images  Kaweesak's Dragon Tree Dracaena kaweesakii Dr. Paul Wilkin  ANDRILL Anemone Edwardsiella andrillae Dr. Frank R. Rack—ANDRILL Science Management Office/ University of Nebraska-Lincoln  Clean Room Microbes Tersicoccus phoenicis NASA/JPL-Caltech  Amoeboid Protist Spiculosiphon oceana Manuel Maldonado—CEAB-CSIC  Orange Penicillium Penicillium vanoranjei Cobus Visagie—CBS-KNAW ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] The global economy has four engines, US Europe, Japan, China / Emerging Markets. Of these four engines, the only one that was really humming along fine. Is probably US slash United Kingdom, Canada. Euro zone is stalling. They're one step away from deflation and other recession. China is slowing down. Other emerging markets are slowing down. So the, one of the [ UNKNOWN ] question is will the US be able to decouple from the rest of the world. In a world in which actually other country are slowing down, the dollar is becoming stronger and so on. So far looks like yes. But if the shocks from the rest of the world would become worse. Then when have to ask the question whether that's gonna have an impact on the United States. [ MUSIC ] The US is absolutely becoming much more unilateral. In 2015 I think is the first year. Where we really are starting to see the United States employ really so much more of the 21st century tools of national security to get what America wants. It's not boots on the ground. That sounds almost quaint. And everybody opposes these days, it's drones, it's surveillance, and access to US markets as both a carrot and a stick, what I call the weaponization of finance. The United States is saying a lot more, hey, Afghanistan, Iraq. Speaker: [ MUSIC ] Syria. We know you have serious problems. But those problems are gonna be resolved, first and foremost, by you, on the ground. Not by the United States. [ MUSIC ] Speaker: I wanna ask you about your thoughts in the Middle East, and sectarian conflict. And where are we in this curve? I mean, are we at the apex of ISIS? Are we, are things going to get better, are they gonna get worse? Speaker: I think we are at the apex. Of the Islamic state and its capacities in Iraq and even Syria. I think the amount of international effort militarily being deployed against them supported by, military on the ground from the Syrian government, Syrian Army as well as from the Kurds and from the Iraqi government absolutely is turning the tide. Won't wipe them out. Taking them out of Mosul I don't see happening for maybe years. But generally speaking I don't think that they're they're not going they're not gonna have something that really looks like an effective state anytime soon. The downside in Russia might be the biggest surprise. US policy towards Russia is really oriented towards not punishing the Russian people but punishing Putin. It's going after the oligarchs that are around him. It's trying to change his behavior by undermining his support. He understands that. He calls it regime change. He will hit back. The United States historically has not had to pay attention to people that we didn't like, because if we punished them and they didn't like it, they couldn't do much to damage us. That's changing. And I absolutely worry about a major Russian cyber attack against let's say an American financial institution. I absolutely worry about an accident or a European commercial airliner over European air space. And a Russian military jet. Those kinds of things I think in 2015 are becoming a very live concern. Xi Jinping leader of China is consolidating power and there's a couple of story lines about what this means. One is that he's the new Deng and this is all part of this sort of greater strategy to. Take China through the next wave of reforms that it needs to make the jump to a middle income country. The other story line is that he's Mao. And it's interesting. [ LAUGH ] That you know, the, there is Maoist rhetoric emerging in China right now. Which is he, and what does it mean for the Chinese economy, [ INAUDIBLE ]? well, my view as a combination of both I, I think on China, there's two extreme views. Either there's gonna be a soft landing, 7 % plus growth, or 3 % growth and hard landing. I think it's gonna be something between because he's gonna have to do reforms. But because of the political constraints, the reform are gonna be more slowly. Than is desirable and optimal, and eventually there will be a slow down of growth in China. Consequences of now the second largest, or maybe the first largest, economy in the world slowing down to 5 1 / 2 % is gonna be significant, for China, for Asia, for commodity exporters, for the global economy. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4135637/these-are-the-5-facts-you-need-to-know-about-the-paris-climate-summit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4135637/these-are-the-5-facts-you-need-to-know-about-the-paris-climate-summit/"},"headline":"These Are the 5 Facts You Need to Know About the Paris Climate Summit","datePublished":"2015-12-04T16:09:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:02:00.273Z","description":"Climate change is being overshadowed by more immediate threats like terrorism, but a UN summit could finally make a difference","url":"https://time.com/4135637/these-are-the-5-facts-you-need-to-know-about-the-paris-climate-summit/","keywords":["climate change","Environment","Economy","global warming","China","Pollution","U.S.","E.U.","paris"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d28c8d4c2d25d0c/698873d42dce01078b9e6c75/paris-climate-summit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ian Bremmer","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/ian-bremmer/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d28c8d4c2d25d0c/698873d42dce01078b9e6c75/paris-climate-summit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"COP21 Climate Change Conference - Mayors Summit in Paris","caption":"COP21 Climate Change Conference - Mayors Summit in Paris","creditText":"Stephane de Sakutin—EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/climate-change/","name":"climate change"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4135637/these-are-the-5-facts-you-need-to-know-about-the-paris-climate-summit/","name":"These Are the 5 Facts You Need to Know About the Paris Climate Summit"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Global Risks You Should Care About Right Now","description":"A yearly look ahead about what you should—and shouldn’t—worry about in the geopolitical and economic landscape for 2015","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/PqXWqYtA/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-01-13T22:16:32.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PqXWqYtA.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4135637/these-are-the-5-facts-you-need-to-know-about-the-paris-climate-summit/","duration":"PT4M20S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4135637/these-are-the-5-facts-you-need-to-know-about-the-paris-climate-summit/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```