Negotiating the Paris Agreement

The Insider Stories

Henrik Jepsen, Magnus Lundgren, Kai Monheim, Hayley Walker

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781108840507
• eBook ISBN:
  9781108889490
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: International Relations
• Index: Politics & International Relations

The 2015 Paris Agreement represents the culmination of years of intense negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Designed to curb climate change, it was negotiated by almost 200 countries who came to the table with different backgrounds, perceptions and interests. As such, the Agreement represents a triumph for multilateralism in a period otherwise characterized by nationalist turns. How did countries reach the historical agreement, and what were the driving forces behind it? This book paints a full picture by providing and analysing multifaceted insider accounts from high-level delegates who represented developed and developing countries, civil society, businesses, the French Presidency, and the UNFCCC Secretariat. In doing so, the book documents not only the negotiation of the Paris Agreement but also the dynamics and factors that shaped it. A better understanding of these dynamics and factors can guide future negotiations and help us solve global challenges.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Editors
• List of Contributors
• Acknowledgments
• Foreword
• 1 Introduction
• 2 The Paris Negotiations: Background and Context
• 3 The French COP 21 Presidency
• 4 Mission: Adoption with Ovations: The Contribution of the UNFCCC Secretariat to the Achievement of the Paris Agreement
• 5 The Paris Agreement and China’s Imprint
• 6 The EU’s Role in the Paris Agreement
• 7 The United States: Interesting Processes and Techniques Lined the Road to Paris
• 8 COP 21 – Complaints and Negotiation: The Role of the Like-Minded Developing Countries Group (LMDC) and the Paris Agreement
• 9 The Staircase of Paris
• 10 The Battle for Small Island Developing States
• 11 The High Ambition Coalition
• 12 The Power of Civil Society
• 13 Business: Creating the Context
• 14 Why Did They Finally Reach Agreement?
• 15 Conclusion: The Landscape of Multilateral Agreement in Paris and Beyond
• Afterword
• Appendix: The Paris Agreement
• References
• Index