The Paris Agreement on Climate Change, adopted in December 2015 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is one of the most significant international treaties aimed at addressing the global threat of climate change. It was signed by nearly all nations of the world, signaling a collective recognition that climate change is a pressing challenge requiring cooperative solutions. The agreement seeks to strengthen the global response to climate change by limiting global warming and enhancing the resilience of countries to its adverse impacts. Its features make it a unique milestone in international environmental diplomacy, balancing ambition with flexibility to ensure widespread participation. A central feature of the Paris Agreement is its long-term goal of limiting the rise in average global temperature. Specifically, it commits countries to keeping the increase in global temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, while also pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The inclusion of the 1.5 degrees target marked a major victory for vulnerable small island nations and developing countries, which are at greater risk of sea level rise, extreme weather events, and other climate-related impacts. This ambition reflects a scientific understanding that even half a degree of warming can significantly worsen climate consequences, including biodiversity loss, food insecurity, and public health risks. Another defining feature is the bottom-up approach of nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Unlike previous agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol, which imposed legally binding emission reduction targets on developed countries alone, the Paris Agreement allows all parties to determine their own climate action plans according to national circumstances and capabilities. These NDCs must be submitted every five years, with the expectation that each successive submission will represent a progression beyond the previous one. This creates a mechanism of continuous improvement and accountability, while respecting national sovereignty. Although the NDCs are not legally binding in terms of achieving specific emission cuts, the process of submitting, updating, and reporting them is mandatory, ensuring transparency and international scrutiny. Transparency and accountability mechanisms form another key element of the Paris Agreement. The treaty established an enhanced transparency framework, which requires countries to regularly provide information on their greenhouse gas emissions, progress toward their NDCs, and climate finance contributions. This reporting is subject to technical expert review and a facilitative, multilateral consideration of progress. By standardizing how information is shared and assessed, the transparency framework builds trust among nations and ensures that all parties can monitor collective progress toward the agreement’s goals. The principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities” (CBDR-RC) is embedded in the Paris Agreement, reflecting both equity and fairness. While all countries are expected to contribute to the global effort, developed nations are required to take the