International | The Paris agreement on climate change

Green light

What to expect after a deal that exceeded expectations

Dec 19th 2015|PARIS

“WE’VE shown what’s possible when the world stands as one,” declared Barack Obama after UN climate talks in Paris ended with an agreement on December 12th. “Our collective effort is worth more than the sum of our individual effort,” said Laurent Fabius, France’s foreign minister, who oversaw the talks. “I can go back home to my people and say we now have a pathway to survival,” said Tony de Brum, the Marshall Islands’ foreign minister, voicing an opinion shared in other low-lying spots where people are terrified of rising sea levels.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Green light”