On Fri, Dec 12, 2025 at 2:37 PM National Security Archive <[email protected]> wrote:
> Declassified Record Begins to Detail U.S. Negotiating Strategy in Paris > Agreement. > Secretary of State John Kerry Pursued Legal Accountability for Other > Nations Without Constraining U.S. > Options. > > > > > > > *The Paris Climate Agreement at 10 Years* > > <https://default.salsalabs.org/T7bbd8801-d7b4-4c60-8b16-84a0c8241203/12238b38-d371-4bc9-b2b2-ab5a3bdb144f> > Declassified Record Begins to Detail U.S. Negotiating Strategy in Paris > Agreement Secretary of State John Kerry Pursued Legal Accountability for > Other Nations Without Constraining U.S. Options > > *Washington, D.C., December 12, 2025* - Ten years ago today, 195 > countries adopted the historic Paris Agreement and committed to cutting > greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. > A decade later, the documentary record of that groundbreaking accord is > beginning to emerge, offering a window into the complex process of how > exactly the U.S. agreed to such an “ambitious” climate deal. > > For example, a State Department cable from Secretary of State John Kerry > on March 12, 2015, confirms the Obama administration was pursuing multiple > ends: privately, the U.S. delegation favored an agreement with “some > legally binding provisions” to hold other nations accountable. “Publicly,” > however, “we are not saying we want a ‘legally binding agreement.’ This > would be misunderstood by countries to indicate we want a fully legally > binding set of obligations.” > > Effectively, the United States was pursuing an agreement that blurred the > lines between developed and developing nations so that all countries, > including major emitters like China, had to submit proposals for emissions > reductions. But this also allowed the U.S. to skirt any mandatory cuts, > which was in its own unilateral interests. > > Ultimately, the language of the draft negotiating text evolved from being > “lengthy and duplicative” with “not one word agreed” to a proposal that > made U.S. officials feel “cautiously optimistic” about moving forward with > an “ambitious” Paris Agreement. > > To mark the anniversary of the Paris Agreement, the National Security > Archive today posts 12 declassified documents on the negotiations, > featuring four never-before-seen State Department records detailing U.S. > views, questions, and “redline[s]” during climate negotiations ahead of > COP21 in Paris. Obtained through targeted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) > requests, the documents include declassified State Department cables on > roadblocks encountered and progress made in drafting the agreement’s > negotiating text, strategy points for dealing with country coalitions, and > rough projections of globally averaged surface temperature increases to the > year 2300. > https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/climate-change-transparency-project/2025-12-12/paris-climate-agreement-10-years > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#39700): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/39700 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/116756478/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
