The Paris Agreement on Climate Change Analysis and Commentary

The most important climate agreement in history, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change represents the commitment of the nations of the world to address and curb climate change.Signed in December 2015, it entered into force on 4th November 2016. Countries are moving into implementation, and efforts at all levels will be needed to fulfill its ambitious goals.

The Paris Climate Agreement: Commentary and Analysis combines a comprehensive legal appraisal and critique of the new Agreement with a practical and structured commentary to all its Articles. Part I discusses the general context for the Paris Agreement, detailing the scientific, political, and social drivers behind it, providing an overview of the pre-existing regime, and tracking the history of the negotiations. It examines the evolution of key concepts such as common but differentiated responsibilities, and analyses the legal form of the Agreement and the nature of its provisions. Part II comprises individual chapters on each Article of the Agreement, with detailed commentary of the provisions which highlights central aspects from the negotiating history and the legal nature of the obligations. It describes the institutional arrangements and considerations for national implementation, providing practical advice and prospects for future development. Part III reflects on the Paris Agreement as a whole: its strengths and weaknesses, its potential for further development, and its relationship with other areas of public international law and governance.

The book is an invaluable resource for academics and practitioners, policy makers, and actors in the private sector and civil society, as they negotiate the implementation of the Agreement in domestic law and policy.

Daniel Klein, Legal Officer, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat,Maria Pia Carazo, Professor, University for Peace, Costa Rica,Meinhard Doelle, Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Research, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Canada,Jane Bulmer, Legal Officer, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat,Andrew Higham, Chief Executive, Mission 2020

Daniel Klein is an international environmental law expert, currently working as Legal Officer at the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC). He worked for seven years in the central unit of the UNFCCC's Executive Direction and Management Programme responsible for coordinating the substantive support to the international negotiations, first, under the Bali Road Map process (2009-2012), and second, on the Paris Agreement (2013-2015).

Maria Pia Carazo is a member of the faculty of the Department of International Law at the UN-mandated University for Peace. Her current research focuses on harmonization of international legal regimes, human rights and climate change. Among others, she worked as a researcher at Max-Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg, Germany.

Meinhard Doelle is a professor at the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, where he teaches climate change, energy and environmental law, and serves as Associate Dean, Research. His current research focusses on the UN climate regime, energy governance, and environmental impact assessments.


Jane Bulmer is an expert in international environmental law. She has worked as a lawyer for the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat since 2009, where she was a key member of the secretariat team that supported negotiations for the Paris Agreement. In particular, she worked on issues relating to the global stocktake and provided legal and procedural advice.


Andrew Higham is Chief Executive of Mission 2020, an initiative aimed at driving down global emissions at the pace required for full decarbonization by 2050. He was in charge of driving the strategy for reaching a universal, legally binding agreement within the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat from 2011-2016: managing the formation of the Durban Mandate and later on the team that supported the drafting of the Paris Agreement.

Foreword, Christiana Figueres
Part I: Introductory Chapters
1. Introduction: Scientific and Political Drivers for the Agreement
A. Background and the Role of Science, Andreas Fischlin
B. Politics, Economics, and Society, Maria Ivanova
2. The Current United Nations Climate Regime: The Convention and its Kyoto Protocol
A. The Legal and Policy Framework on the Eve of the Paris Conference, Joanna Depledge
B. Pre-2020 Climate Action and teh Emergent Role of Non-party Stakeholders, Andrew Higham
3. The Negotiating History of the Paris Agreement, Jane Bulmer, Meinhard Doelle, and Daniel Klein
4. Central Concepts in the Paris Agreement and How They Evolved, Lavanya Rajamani and Emmanuel Guerin
5. The Legal Form of the Paris Agreement and Nature of its Obligations, Ralph Bodle and Sebastian Oberthur
Part II: Analysis of the Provisions of the Agreement
6. Contextual Provisions (Preamble and Article 1), Maria Pia Carazo
7. Objective (Article 2.1), Halldor Thorgeirsson
8. Guiding Principles and General Obligation (Article 2.2 and Article 3), Lavanya Rajamani
9. Mitigation (Article 4), Harald Winkler
10. Conserving and Enhancing Sinks and Reservoirs of Greenhouse Gases, including Forests (Article 5), Antonio La Vina and Alaya de Leon
11. Market and Non-Market Approaches to Enhance Mitigation (Article 6), Andrew Howard
12. Adaptation (Article 7), Irene Suarez and Angela Churie
13. Loss and Damage (Article 8), Linda Siegele
14. Climate Finance (Article 9), Jorge Gastelumendi and Inka Gnittke
15. Technology Development and Transfer (Article 10), Heleen de Coninck and Ambuj Sagar
16. Capacity-Building (Article 11), Crispin D'Auvergne and Matti Nummelin
17. Education, Training, Public Awareness, Participation and Access to Information (Article 12), Jeniffer Hanna Collado
18. Transparency (Article 13), Yamide Dagnet and Kelly Levin
19. Global Stocktake (Article 14), Jurgen Friedrich
20. Facilitating Implementation of and Promoting Compliance (Article 15), Yamide Dagnet and Eliza Northrop
21. Institutional Arrangements and Final Clauses (Articles 16-29), Christina Voigt
Part III: Concluding Reflections
22. Assessment of Strengths and Weaknesses, Meinhard Doelle
23. Implications for Public International Law, Maria Pia Carazo and Daniel Klein
Prologue
Appendices
Paris Agreement
Decision Adopting the Paris Agreement
Bibliography