The Five Key Decisions Made in the UN Climate Deal in Paris

Envoys to the United Nations climate talks handed down a 31-page document on Saturday outlining their boldest steps yet to rein in global warming. Here are the key points of the text, along with comment on why the decisions made in Paris matter:

The deal calls for nations to work toward capping global temperature increases since pre-industrial times to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). The text acknowledges the need to strive for 1.5 degrees, a key demand of the countries most vulnerable to warming, including island states imperiled by rising seas. Nations will reduce emissions as soon as possible to “achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks” like forests that absorb greenhouse gases.