Landing the Paris Climate Agreement: How It Happened, Why It Matters, and What Comes Next

Stern (a fellow at the Brookings Institute and the Asia Society) served as President Obama’s chief negotiator on climate change, and his connections and negotiating skills are impressive. His book provides a painstakingly detailed account of the international meetings, accords, and negotiations that led to the Paris Climate Agreement. It was 2015 when the U.S., along with 200 other countries committed to it; 2020 when the U.S. officially withdrew from it; and 2021 when the U.S. rejoined the pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which cause global warming. This history includes arguments about transparency and definitions of mandates, enforcement, and treaties. Stern describes how every country came to the table with a different agenda and a different goal, which was expected to create epic levels of tension. But Stern doesn’t elaborate about that, the high stakes involved, or expectations for the future. However, he does note the seven years of negotiations and the excruciatingly long conversations held to determine the appropriate word choices and accountability standards of every draft of the agreement before the final version.