Last week in Paris, the world’s nations began addressing the growing problem of climate change. 196 countries met to deal with the growing problem. Because of rising temperatures throughout the world, drinking water has become harder to come about in impoverished countries.

This is just one example of how climate change is impacting people’s lives currently. With the new climate deal, countries have agreed to end the fossil fuel era to cut greenhouse gas emissions and hopefully avoid the most dangerous implications from climate change.

20 years in the making, this deal represents both a sense of hope and desperation as the global temperature has been steadily rising over the past several decades.

United States president, Barack Obama, hailed the agreement as “a tribute to strong, principled American leadership” and a vital step in ensuring the future of the planet.  

Financially stable countries agreed to raise 100 billion dollars by 2020 to help poor countries transform their economies. The overall agreement is legally binding, but some elements, including the pledges to curb emissions by individual countries and the climate finance elements, are not.

The deal was also hailed for delivering a clear message to business leaders. The International Investors Group on Climate Change, said the decision would help trigger a shift away from fossil fuels and encourage greater investments in renewable energy.

In short, this deal is not perfect, but provides some achievable goals and presents a way out of the current mess the whole world currently finds itself in.