Reflections From Davos: Leaders Deliberate What's Next for Climate Action After Paris Deal

Arriving home after a whirlwind week in the snowy Swiss mountain village of Davos at the World Economic Forum, those of us engaged in the climate change discussions are feeling positive but pragmatic about the challenges ahead. Just over a month after a global climate agreement was reached in Paris, what happens next was one of the key issues discussed by the public and private sector leaders huddled in Davos.

The Paris Agreement heralds a new era of political will, with nations agreeing unanimously that the global economy needs to undergo a transformation that is urgent. To decarbonize the economy to the extent intended under the Agreement will require widespread sectoral reforms - from finance and energy to technology, agriculture and infrastructure. While many are still celebrating the success that was Paris, the reality is that the real work is just about to start. The pace set by the Paris Agreement requires global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions in the next five to ten years. That's a rapid shift from business as usual. The national plans put forward by countries that sit behind the Agreement only deliver half of the decarbonization needed, even if they are successful (PwC). Governments have been asked to increase ambition and revise plans in 2018, and the periodic five year ratcheting will continue from there. It's a process that allows nations to choose the speed of travel. But we now need to ask what would it take to get nations and business to move faster?

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