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The Paris Agreement seven years on

Seven years ago, 195 countries signed a historic agreement in Paris to protect the climate, as part of attempts to combat global warming. On its seventh anniversary, discover the wealth of reports and archives held by us on the climate.

Fracturing ice cliff in Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica.
Fracturing ice cliff in Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica.

© Erwan Amice / Lemar / CNRS Images

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Signed in Paris on 12 December 2015 at COP21, the Paris Agreement is the first text ever to be drawn up by all the world’s countries. It aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, achieve carbon neutrality and limit the use of fossil energies, and it sets the ambitious target of keeping global warming below 2°C by 2100 or even, if possible, at no more than 1.5°C.

Seven years on, efforts made especially by the countries with the highest emissions and by large private groups still fall far short of the declared ambitions. But this does not in any way detract from the historic nature of the text, especially as the new US President Joe Biden brings the USA back into the Agreement. To mark this anniversary, we offer you the opportunity to discover our numerous reports on the consequences of climate change, in forests, oceans and glaciers, but also to meet the people working on a daily basis to find solutions to limit its impact.

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Pendant longtemps, les discussions sur le changement climatique n ' ont pas pris l ' océan en compte. Quel rôle l ' océan joue-t-il dans le climat et quels sont les impacts du changement climatique sur l ' océan? Trois chercheurs, Sabrina Speich, Gilles Reverdin et Benoît Meyssignac, reviennent sur deux problématiques, le réchauffement et l'élévation du niveau des océans. Les mesures effectuées par des marégraphes, puis des satellites ont démontré que le niveau de la mer est monté…

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Océans : élévation et réchauffement
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The Tonga mission takes you on board the Atalante, a French oceanographic vessel searching for shallow submarine volcanoes in order to understand and predict the effects of fluid emissions on marine life and the climate. The expedition, led by two researchers, Sophie Bonnet (oceanographer, IRD) and Cécile Guieu (oceanographer, CNRS), is analysing and studying the effects of the addition of trace elements from shallow hydrothermal springs to determine the potential impact on marine productivity…

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Mission Tonga
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An Ecotron is a device that enables scientists to simulate several climate parameters and control them to study miniature versions of given ecosystems. A team in France decided to study Arizona savannahs. Locked in hermetic climate chambers, they analyse different plants from the savannah after accurately calibrating the surrounding light, the irrigation system, and the composition of the atmosphere. Thanks to the collected data, the team will be able to forecast the ecosystem's reaction to any…

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Ecotron: a Climate Simulator
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A video clip produced in conjunction with the publication of Sylvie Joussaume's book "Climat d'hier à demain" at the 2000 Salon du Livre in Paris. Sylvie Joussaume is director of research at the Laboratoire des sciences du climat et de l'environnement (LSCE) in Gif-sur-Yvette. With its accessible style and illustrations which reflect both the current state of the world and the diversity and richness of available climate archives, as well as the most recent results from a rapidly…

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Climate, from yesterday to tomorrow
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Can human development continue at this pace without causing a loss of biodiversity? A group of researchers at the French Institute of Pondicherry believes so. By studying the impact of human activities on a biological hotspot in the South of India, they hope to find the key to a harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife.

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India: Nature under Pressure

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