Preface; Acknowledgments; 1. Introduction Henrik Jepsen, Magnus Lundgren, Kai Monheim and Hayley Walker; 2. The Paris negotiations: Background and context Pamela Chasek; 3. The French COP21 Presidency Laurence Tubiana; 4. Mission: Adoption with Ovations. The contribution of the UNFCCC secretariat to the achievement of the Paris agreement Richard Kinley; 5. Paris agreement and China's imprint Xie Zhenhua; 6. The EU's role in the Paris agreement Pete Betts; 7. The United States: Interesting processes and techniques lined the road to Paris Susan Biniaz, with commentary from Jonathan Pershing; 8. COP21 complaints and negotiation. The role of the like-minded developing countries group (LMDC) and the Paris agreement Rene Orellana Halkyer; 9. The staircase of Paris Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu; 10. The battle for small island developing states James Fletcher; 11. The high ambition coalition Farhana Yamin; 12. The power of civil society Jennifer Morgan; 13. Business: Creating the context Stephen Howards, with Tim Smedley; 14. Why did they finally reach agreement? John S. Odell; 15. Conclusion: The landscape of multilateral agreement in Paris and beyond Hayley Walker, Kai Monheim, Frauke Ohler, Henrik Jepsen and Magnus Lundgren.