The agreement is just the start. There has to be the will to put it into practice – but stranger things have happened.
Kate Taylor, Hampshire
Oh yes. The grass will be greener, the sky bluer, the flowers more vivid in colour, and the pigs flying overhead will stay a wonderful pink with no sooty streaks at all.
Graeme Hughes, Rhayader
I truly hope that this agreement accelerates action. However, with so many nations relying on the exploitation of their mineral wealth to underpin government budgets and economic performance, I fear vested interests will trump the long-term progress on this issue.
Ian Williams, Derby
Yes. It may take a while before a significant number of countries do as they said but no one can continue pointing fingers as all countries have committed to doing their bit. I live in hope.
Joachim Neff, Dundee
Yes I do, but it will be a marginal gain initially and take time, as the education process takes effect. We need to be wary of extreme views on either side of the debate distorting what is reasonably practicable to achieve.
Richard Hulmes, London
Let’s hope so. Like everything global, this will take a long time to implement and feel the benefits of. It’s a good start and one that is in the right direction.
Robert Rourke, Melton Mowbray
I think it shows intent, integrity, far-sightedness and common sense. Unfortunately it’s not binding so, in summary, no.
Gary Lock, Dorking, Surrey
We are still labouring under the view that there is a lack of definite proof that climate change is man-made. As long as that is the case, there will always be those that use the doubt to their own advantage.
Richard Duffell, Kendal, Cumbria
It is the first genuinely global agreement on climate change which requires action by all parties. It sets a commitment to limit global temperature rise to 2°C with further efforts to limit the rise to 1.5°C. The Paris agreement appears to represent the strongest desire to reduce world carbon emissions to date.
Sid McFarland, Cheltenham
No! The “agreement” was simply an attempt to show that “we are doing something”, but there are too many vested interests, and too many unknowns, for it to have any impact. The whole exercise is based on a sort of modern-day appeasement of the gods.
Gib FitzGibbon, West Kilbride, Ayrshire
Call me a cynic but from my experience history is littered with ‘historic’ meetings attended by politicians. Sadly I can see no reason for this one to be any different.
Paul France, Telford, Shropshire
Very regrettably no, given the existing massive investment in carbon-emitting sources and the non-enforceable nature of many elements of the Paris agreement. It is only when governments and company boards finally realise that power generation via real renewables actually improves their balance sheet bottom line that we will see the required reduction in carbon emissions.
Richard Young, Manchester
Political agreement alone is worthless. Investment and incentives are essential to implement engineering solutions to this global challenge.
Eric King, Lincoln
I do think that there is a growing awareness and urgency at a political level (at last) amongst the greater and more intransigent polluters that we began to see in this summit that was absent before. I think that there is a will to make a difference this time, before the ‘urgency’ becomes desperation.
Peter Ingamells, Hook, Hampshire
I think it was just a lot of hot air.
Trevor Etherington, Bracknell, Berkshire
Yes, but the approach to a more open setting of goals by individual countries will take a long time, but if it can stimulate them to make improvements it is worth doing. Hard targets have not worked so hopefully soft ones will go some way to achieving an improvement.
Kevin Waterfall, Dorset
It will be noted in history as one of many agreements made to justify a week out of the office at taxpayers’ expense with the target so far in the future as to be meaningless.
Richard Tomlins, Farnham
Positive result, but too little too late? The West must try harder; the East must reduce its dependence on coal.
Stefan Mikolajczyk, Mansfield, Notts
Probably not a lot. The trouble with this and other agreements is that they merely push up the cost base in the UK and open the door for our competitors to take advantage. So-called environmental surcharges are a killer for this country.
Malcolm Tilley, Edinburgh
No. No one will profit from it, so why would it?
Craig McInerney, Staffordshire