Question

Paris Climate Agreement was signed in:

• A. 2016
• B. 2015
• C. 2003
• D. 1997

Hint:

The Paris Agreement is a milestone in global climate action, showing the importance of international collaboration in fighting climate change.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Climate treaties are often confused with one another by their years, so it helps to contrast the Paris Agreement directly against the earlier Kyoto Protocol.

1. 2016: This marks the agreement coming into legal force, a milestone that comes after signing, not the signing year itself.
2. 2015: This is specifically the Paris Agreement's own year, distinguishing it from the Kyoto Protocol which came much earlier.
3. 2003: This year falls between Kyoto (1997) and Paris (2015) but does not correspond to any major global climate agreement being signed.
4. 1997: This is the year associated with the Kyoto Protocol specifically, not the Paris Agreement.

Distinguishing it from the Kyoto Protocol confirms the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015.

Therefore, the correct answer is 2015.

Answer 2

Another way to pin down the year is through the COP numbering convention itself. The Conference of the Parties (COP) has met annually since 1995 (COP1), so COP21, where the Paris Agreement was adopted, took place 20 years later. Let's check each option against this count.

1. 2016: Counting forward from COP1 in 1995, the 21st conference (COP21) lands on 2015, not 2016, so this doesn't match the COP21 count.
2. 2015: Counting 20 years forward from 1995 (COP1) lands exactly on 2015 for COP21, matching the year the Paris Agreement was adopted there.
3. 2003: This would correspond to roughly COP9 in the annual sequence, far earlier than the COP21 conference where Paris was adopted.
4. 1997: This corresponds to COP3, the conference where the Kyoto Protocol (not the Paris Agreement) was adopted.

The COP numbering sequence confirms COP21, and therefore the Paris Climate Agreement, took place in 2015.

Therefore, the correct answer is 2015.