This paper summarizes the gradual development of international environmental protection with the beginning in 1972 when the first global conference on the human environment was held in Stockholm. Due to the width and complexity of the area of nature's preservation, the focus of the paper is on global climate protection and its stabilization. Numerous conferences, held hearings and international instruments aimed at encouraging co-operation of states with a common goal are some of the main motives elaborated in the paper. The legal nature of the hitherto achieved results in the last 43 years is one of the biggest obstacles to achieving the desired goal. The introduction, with a brief overview of some of the historically relevant events, places the timeframe, theme and legal framework of the paper. The second chapter refers to the beginning and development of international environmental law with the closing chapter on the Kyoto Protocol from 1997. The third chapter is devoted to the concept of sustainable development, its significance and efforts made for its realization.The fourth chapter represents a special review of the Paris Agreement, the consequences of its commencement and the impact it has had on the further work of national climate protection policies. The last part of the paper provides an author's assessment concerning previously elaborated chapters.