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As if to emphasize the importance of the 21st United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris (December 2015), the year 2014

was the hottest recorded since 1880. According to the Fifth Assessment Report produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),

global warming is both factual and inevitable.

The concentration of green- house gases and ozone deple- tion are the major factors of global warming produced by human activity. If CO2 emissions continue to increase at the current rate, the average temperature increase of the surface of the planet could reach 4.8°C by 2100 (IPCC Climate Change 2014 Synthesis Report).

FROM KYOTO TO PARIS Twenty years after the signing of the Kyoto Protocol, its green- house gas reduction objectives are far from being met. Indeed, worldwide emissions have since grown by more than 30%. The Climate Change Conference, dubbed COP21, coincides with the expiration of the Kyoto Protocol. In December 2015, government representatives will meet in Paris to decide how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining worldwide economic growth and

the development of national econ- omies. While an intergovernmental agreement is essential to provide direction and create momentum, civil society must also do its part by getting involved and proposing concrete solutions. In 2014, Rexel demonstrated its commitment by joining the found- ing members of the Solutions COP21 network, which brings

CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY ISSUES

CLIMATE CHANGE

BUILDINGS account for approximately 40% of annual energy consumption and up to 30% of all energy-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) - Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative)

40%

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