Negotiating the Paris Agreement: The Insider Stories

Cambridge University Press, 10/7/2021
EAN 9781108814171, ISBN10: 1108814174

Paperback, 440 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English

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.

Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction Henrik Jepsen, Magnus Lundgren, Kai Monheim and Hayley Walker
2. The Paris negotiations
Background and context Pamela Chasek
3. The French COP21 Presidency Laurence Tubiana
4. Mission
Adoption with Ovations. The contribution of the UNFCCC secretariat to the achievement of the Paris agreement Richard Kinley
5. Paris agreement and China's imprint Xie Zhenhua
6. The EU's role in the Paris agreement Pete Betts
7. The United States
Interesting processes and techniques lined the road to Paris Susan Biniaz, with commentary from Jonathan Pershing
8. COP21 complaints and negotiation. The role of the like-minded developing countries group (LMDC) and the Paris agreement Rene Orellana Halkyer
9. The staircase of Paris Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu
10. The battle for small island developing states James Fletcher
11. The high ambition coalition Farhana Yamin
12. The power of civil society Jennifer Morgan
13. Business
Creating the context Stephen Howards, with Tim Smedley
14. Why did they finally reach agreement? John S. Odell
15. Conclusion
The landscape of multilateral agreement in Paris and beyond Hayley Walker, Kai Monheim, Frauke Ohler, Henrik Jepsen and Magnus Lundgren.