COP21 is not only the venue where close to 200 countries are hammering out a strong meaningful climate Agreement. It has also become a stage for non-state stakeholders such as businesses, mayors and NGOs to announce their actions to fight climate change. These commitments have definitely contributed to the tangible optimism surrounding the two-week climate conference. By whatever standard you assess these commitments – the amount, the wide range of players who are taking responsibility, or the ambition of the actions – the results are overwhelming.

The commitments are brought together under the Lima to Paris Action Agenda (LPAA), an initiative led by France, Peru, the UN Secretary-General and secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The LPAA's objective is to showcase the commitments and partnerships of cities, regions, businesses and civil society organizations, often along with governments, which reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build greater resilience against climate change.

On Wednesday 9 December Ségolène Royal, Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy presented the cumulative result at the LPAA wrap-up briefing. So many announcements had been made prior to and during the COP that it was hard to keep track. So during the wrap-up briefing press conference the Minister Royal summed them up. The commitments are all registered on the LPAA section on the UNFCCC website.

  • More than 70 major cooperative initiatives involving almost 10,000 players from 180 countries

  • Almost 11,000 total commitments on the NAZCA platform, including 2,250 cities and 150 regions covering 1.25 billion inhabitants; 2,025 companies, 424 investors, and 235 civil society organizations

  • Hundreds of billions of dollars redirected to invest in the transition toward a low-carbon and resilient economy

  • One third of the 2,000 largest global companies committed to climate action with a market value equivalent to the combined GDP of China, Germany and Japan

  • Thousands of local leaders, business leaders and civil society figures travelled to Paris to show their commitment and present their solutions and proposals.


During the last stages of the negotiations on Thursday President of the COP, Minister Laurent Fabius, said to the gathered delegates: “We have all been aware of the fact that compromise does require us to forget the ideal solution for everybody so that we can attain what is desirable for everybody.” Should the final climate Agreement not be your ideal outcome and leave you with a sense of disappointment, go browse the LPAA website, to regain some of that sense of optimism.

Image: Ségolène Royal, Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy presenting at the LPAA press conference.