The international climate change legal regime subsequent to the copenhagen accord

Abstract

This work sets forth the present situation of the international climate change legal regime, specially focusing on the events of the last Meeting of the Parties held in December 2009 and on the scenarios that might arise as of 31 December 2012, once the first period of the commitment established in the "Kyoto Protocol" expires. This document proposes a critical approach in relation to the actual international scenario. Considering the weak results of the "Copenhagen Accord", we conclude that it would be necessary to assess whether it is appropriate to keep the discussion centralized under the present regime and to think about the legal architecture to face the problems of climate change.