What’s In a Name? Paris Agreement's Legal Form Explained in 7 Questions

This briefing from the World Resources Institute explains the legal structure and terminology surrounding the expected outcome of the COP 21 climate negotiations in Paris, clarifying that the legal force of the agreement is determined by its content rather than its name.

• The outcome of COP 21 is expected to be a "package" comprising various instruments with different legal forms, including a core legal agreement, political declarations, and decisions of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• The legal force of the Paris agreement is determined by its specific content and language—such as prescriptive requirements for activities, results, or procedural reporting—rather than whether it is titled a treaty, protocol, convention, accord, or agreement.
• International agreements often combine binding and non-binding provisions; for example, the UNFCCC contains general provisions that do not create legal rights and obligations for countries, yet it remains a legal agreement.
• While a treaty is broadly defined under international law as a binding agreement between countries, U.S. domestic law defines it more strictly as a subtype requiring the "advice and consent" of the U.S. Senate. The U.S. domestic classification does not affect the agreement's status as a treaty under international law.
• Countries will formally become parties to the agreement by depositing an "instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval" following their own unique domestic legal processes.

APA

World Resources Institute (2015). What’s In a Name? Paris Agreement's Legal Form Explained in 7 Questions. https://www.wri.org/insights/whats-name-paris-agreements-legal-form-explained-7-questions

Chicago

World Resources Institute. What’s In a Name? Paris Agreement's Legal Form Explained in 7 Questions. 2015. https://www.wri.org/insights/whats-name-paris-agreements-legal-form-explained-7-questions.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=What’s In a Name? Paris Agreement's Legal Form Explained in 7 Questions |date=4 December 2015 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/whats-name-paris-agreements-legal-form-explained-7-questions |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2015whats, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{What’s In a Name? Paris Agreement's Legal Form Explained in 7 Questions}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2015}, month = dec, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/whats-name-paris-agreements-legal-form-explained-7-questions}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }