Climate negotiations from 1992 to 2011: changing issues and new stakes

Abstract

This paper describes the main stages of the climate negotiations since the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. After recalling the main components of the Kyoto Protocol, it describes the stakes in the discussions for developing countries as well as the increasing importance taken by these countries. It finally explains how the logic of binding commitments to reduce emissions, which was at the core of Kyoto negotiations, seems to be shifting to a logic of voluntary national reduction commitments.