- The Paris Agreement of 2015, adopted by 195 parties, stands out as a milestone in climate solidarity. It set a shared goal to keep global temperature rise well below 2°C and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C, while recognizing common but differentiated responsibilities and creating mechanisms like climate finance to support developing nations.
December 20 is Human Solidarity Day. The United Nations (UN) uses this day to remind us that our future depends on how well we work together.
Solidarity, to mean standing together, has always been part of the UN’s mission to promote peace, human rights, and development. But climate change is the biggest test of this idea. Rising seas, long droughts, and extreme weather do not stop at borders. How we respond shows how connected we really are.
In 2005, the UN General Assembly declared solidarity a universal value and officially made December 20 International Human Solidarity Day. This built on earlier efforts like the World Solidarity Fund, created in 2002 to fight poverty and support human development.
These steps laid the foundation for major climate agreements based on solidarity, such as the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, and newer initiatives like the Climate Solidarity Alliance.
The Paris Agreement of 2015, signed by 195 countries, is a landmark example. It set a shared goal to keep global warming well below 2°C and to aim for 1.5°C. It also recognized that while all nations must act, some have more resources than others, so richer countries should help poorer ones through climate finance and technology.
Read More
UN Secretary‑General António Guterres has called the Paris Agreement a “pillar of hope.” He points out that it sparked a clean energy revolution, with solar and wind power growing quickly, creating jobs, and transforming economies.
He has noted that science warns that the world will temporarily go above 1.5°C by the early 2030s, but solidarity gives us a way forward. Guterres says we can control how high temperatures rise and how long they stay there if we act seriously now.
“We can manage the scale and duration of that overshoot and bring temperatures back down – if we take serious action now,” he emphasizes.
He urges nations to speed up ambition, adaptation, and finance, so the next decade brings clean energy, stronger infrastructure, better health, and new jobs.
“More countries must have access to the finance and technology that will power their just energy transitions. And more leaders must choose cooperation over conflict, solidarity over short-term interest, and science over denial and disinformation,” he has said.
Solidarity works in climate action because it spreads responsibility fairly, strengthens resilience, and protects justice. It ensures that those least responsible for emissions are not left to suffer the worst impacts. In the end, solidarity is more than a value—it is the strategy that allows humanity to rise together against the greatest challenge of our time.
Follow us on TikTok for real-time updates, community voices, and stories that matter.
