Is international cooperation to address climate change a matter of sharing a common burden between countries or of maximizing the benefits of preventing climate change damages? The perspective taken determines to a large extent the shape of international agreements. This chapter discusses the current international arrangements and how they work. The Climate Change Convention and its Kyoto Protocol in particular. It tries to make the complex international negotiation process and its outcomes understandable for non-specialists. It also discussed the ongoing negotiations on arrangements for the period after 2012, when the agreed actions under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions expire.

Will these negotiations result in aggressive action to curb emissions worldwide, so that the worst impacts can be avoided? Or will political differences and North–South tensions lead to a delay in ambitious action and serious damages in the long term? What are the key issues and what are the prospects for agreement? These are issues discussed in this chapter.