Abstract

The next UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP 21), to be held in Paris from 30 November to 11 December 2015, is expected to deliver a new global climate deal to be implemented after 2020. Taking stock of the results of the recently concluded COP 20, the articles explores some key issues left unanswered by the Lima event and mainly concerning the architecture of the future agreement. These include the legal nature of the deal, the way "Intended Nationally Determined Contribution" (INDC) will be anchored to it and if (and how) adaptation efforts will be given equal relevance compared to mitigation. A crucial, but likely to be neglected, issue also concerns the same democratization of the UNFCCC process, which is needed to make dialogue among policy makers, science and civil society truly constructive and capable to add value to climate talks.