Part I Introductory Chapters, 1 Introduction: Scientific and Political Drivers for the Paris Agreement

Subject(s):

Since World War II — Climate change — Environmental disputes — General principles of international law

This introductory chapter describes how science and politics have influenced the Paris Agreement. While science had played a fundamental role for the United Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or ‘the Convention’) from the start, its role became particularly significant during the preparation of the Paris Agreement. Here, a new science-policy interface enabled improved collaboration between the scientific community spearheaded by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the policy community generally and negotiators more specifically. The structured expert dialogue of the 2013–2015 review of the UNFCCC was pivotal in this regard, and it was effectively synchronized with the negotiation process for the 2015 Paris Agreement. The second half of this chapter then traces the political and socio-economic changes that affected the climate regime and ultimately led to the successful Paris Agreement.