2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement. With the finalisation of its guiding principles and procedural frameworks nearly complete, the Agreement is set to become fully operational, and its implementation is shifting into gear.
The anniversary arrives amidst troubling times for international climate cooperation, with escalating global trade tensions, a strained macroeconomic environment, and yet another reversal in US climate policy.
The first Global Stocktake in 2023, and the expected update of National Determined Contributions at COP Belém in November 2025, mark interim tests for the Paris Agreement. The core question is whether the Agreement’s institutional design has succeeded in addressing the ‘effectiveness trilemma’ – the challenge for any international climate regime of simultaneously securing universal participation, high climate ambition, and strong compliance. Is the Agreement equipped to withstand mounting geopolitical and economic pressures? Where do further roadblocks to effective delivery lie, and how can they be overcome? Finally, is there still space for the EU to leverage its capacities in advancing the Paris Agreement’s objectives?
This CEPS roundtable is organised as part of ENSURED, will feed into a forthcoming report to support EU climate policy-making.
Photo: Hajue Staudt / WikiCommons (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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