Carbon commitments by nations attending the United Nations Conference on Climate Change won’t keep temperatures from rising, but Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz says they will create an atmosphere that could help meet climate change challenges.

Moniz acknowledged the efforts of the 150 countries attending the Paris talks are projected to limit the increase in global temperatures to 2.7 degrees Celsius. Scientists widely predict anything more than a 2 degrees Celsius rise in global temperatures would lead to devastating consequences.