ABSTRACT
This chapter determines the implications of the second international agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on European climate and energy policy. However, the meaning of the Paris Agreement for the host country of the 21st Conference of the Parties clearly lies in a window of opportunity for the French energy transition, with a high level of international attention guaranteed. The Paris Agreement of 12 December 2015 has been celebrated widely as a landmark event in international climate policy formulation. At the political level, beginning with the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (2008–2012), the first round of climate and energy policy formulation at European Union (EU) level concluded at the end of 2008 with the adoption of the Triple 20 by 2020 goals. The German coal phase-out will also be an important contribution to reducing EU-wide emissions, because cheap coal power is smutching the power mix in Germany's neighbouring countries.
