The Paris Agreement fundamentally alters the reach and scope of the international climate change regime. This book provides the first legal commentary to the Agreement's articles, putting them in context and detailing how they are to be understood and put into action.

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 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.

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: Foundations for the Paris Agreement A. The Legal and Policy Framework of the United Nations Climate Change Regime, Joanna Depledge Conference 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 Guérin 5: The Legal Form of the Paris Agreement and Nature of its Obligations, Ralph Bodle and Sebastian Oberthür Part II: Analysis of the Provisions of the Agreement 6: Contextual Provisions (Preamble and Article 1), María Pía Carazo 7: Objective (Article 2.1), Halldór 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 Viña and Alaya de Leon 11: Voluntary Cooperation (Article 6), Andrew Howard 12: Adaptation (Article 7), Irene Suárez 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), Jürgen 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, María Pía Carazo and Daniel Klein 24: Epilogue, Andrew Higham Selected Bibliography