The Paris Climate Change Agreement: text and contexts

Abstract

When French foreign minister Laurent Fabius brought down the gavel on the Paris Agreement on 12 December 2015, the international community reached a goal that had eluded it for six years: an updated and universal climate change agreement. It owed much to France’s diplomacy over the preceding 12 months, together with efficient, firm and innovative handling of the conference itself. Fundamental to the success of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) was the commitment at all levels from President Hollande down to engage with the broadest range of parties and non-state actors. The fruits of France’s engagement were nowhere more apparent than in the small island states’ comment in the final plenary that this was the first time they felt they had been listened to at a COP.

The atmosphere, the Paris Agreement and global governance

“…Many countries wanted to avoid any leakage of negotiations from the UNFCCC, whose CBDR principle (see below) would not apply in the Security Council. 3 For the history of the negotiations from 2005 to the Paris Agreement see Macey (2012Macey ( , 2016. 4 The term 'protocol' would have made it more difficult for the US administration to classify it as an executive agreement, and hence avoid the need for Senate approval.…”

Policy framework for New Zealand to transition to a low-carbon economy

“…The main provisions of the Paris Agreement have been discussed in a previous issue of Policy Quarterly (Macey, 2016). This article examines what policies are now required in New Zealand.…”