The Evolution and Governance Architecture of the United Nations Climate Change Regime

Abstract

This book chapter provides an historical and legal introduction to the UN climate change regime. It reviews the development of the regime, from the emergence of the climate change issue in the 1980s through the adoption of the 1992 UN Framework on Climate Change, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the 2001 Marrakech Accords, the 2007 Bali Action Plan, the 2009 Copenhagen Accord, the 2010 Cancun Agreements, the 2011 Durban Platform, and the 2015 Paris Agreement. The chapter outlines the principal elements of the legal regime, and concludes with some brief observations about the future direction of the UN climate change regime.

Keywords: climate change, global warming, international law, UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol

JEL Classification: K32, K33