Ban Ki-moon commemorates a decade since the Paris Climate Change Agreement

Ban Ki-moon reflects on 10 years since the Paris Climate Change Agreement was signed, a pivotal step in the fight against the climate crisis.

VIENNA , AUSTRIA, December 12, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Marking ten years since its adoption, the Paris Climate Change Agreement’s credibility and impact are being tested, but there is a broad consensus that the Agreement raised ambition and action, and the world made important strides. All the Member States of the United Nations put climate at the top of their agenda. Ban Ki-moon reflects on the moment in Paris at COP21: “My proudest achievement as UN Secretary-General is signing the 2015 Paris Agreement. I was proud, hopeful and filled with appreciation for all the nations that negotiated in good faith and ultimately signed onto the Paris Agreement.”

Over the past ten years, climate impacts have only intensified human and environmental catastrophes. Record-breaking heatwaves, floods, hurricanes, and droughts are becoming a new reality, destroying homes, livelihoods, and lives. The Paris Agreement remains the only universal framework to confront the climate crisis. Without it, global emissions were projected to rise 20 to 48 percent above 2019 levels by 2035. The recent Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) synthesis report, which includes all 86 NDCs submitted to date, shows that global emissions in 2035 are projected to be around 12 percent lower than 2019 levels. This confirms a critical truth: the Agreement is working. It has helped bend the global emissions curve and demonstrated that multilateral cooperation can deliver real-life results. Yet, the world is still far from a livable future. With 2025 set to be the second hottest year on record, even a temporary overshoot of 1.5°C could trigger severe and widespread impacts. Immediate action and adaptation have never been more critical for our planet’s survival.

At COP30, countries recognized the importance of adaptation by calling to triple adaptation finance and urging developed countries to increase the trajectory of their climate finance commitments. While this represents a crucial political signal, it will remain little more than words on paper unless matched by bold, concrete action.

Today, nearly 90 percent of global climate finance is still directed toward emission reductions. This imbalance, compared to mitigation, leaves adaptation and resilience dangerously underfunded. The window to act is rapidly closing. World leaders’ promises must now be translated into real protection for people on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Investments in climate resilience must accelerate immediately. “The climate crisis does not care where you live. We need world leaders to put all hands on the deck together” says Ban Ki-moon, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations and Co-chair of the Ban Ki-moon Foundation, emphasizing that “every dollar we spend today must build assets capable of withstanding tomorrow’s climate impacts. Every fraction of a degree is a choice between resilience and ruin."

The Paris Climate Change Agreement was the beginning, not the end. To leave behind a livable planet for generations to come, global leaders must make adaptation a true global priority and recognize resilience as the defining investment agenda of the 21st century.

About the Ban Ki-moon Foundation
The Ban Ki-moon Foundation’s mission is to foster leadership for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement by inspiring current leaders and empowering young changemakers. Working with governments, civil society, academia, and international organizations, we have so far reached more than 2.5 million people around the world.

Katharina Choe
Ban Ki-moon Foundation
+43 664 9163287
katharina.choe@bankimoon.org
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