scholarly journals Inequity in International Climate Change Negotiations

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-177
Author(s):  
Serge Silatsa Nanda ◽  
Omar Samba ◽  
Ahmad Sahide
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Kyoto Protocol ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Climate Change Negotiations ◽  
Climate Agreements ◽  
Climate Negotiations ◽  
International Climate Agreements ◽  
International Climate

The adoption of international climate agreements requires thorough negotiation between parties. This study aims to analyse the inequities between developed and developing countries in climate negotiations. This was done through a scrutiny of the main stages of these negotiations from the Rio Conference to the advent of the Paris Agreement. Our analysis has shown pervasive inequities along the climate negotiations over time. The UNFCCC made a qualitative separation between developed and developing countries in the principle of common but differentiated responsibility. Furthermore, the Kyoto Protocol emphasized this with the commitment of developed countries to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 5%. The Kyoto Protocol by introducing flexibility mechanisms such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) contributed to increase inequalities. The Paris Agreement has increased inequity by requesting each country to submit nationally determined contributions (NDCs) even though the global emission of developing countries remains very low. The negotiation style of developing countries is mostly limited to compromise and accommodation to the desires of the powerful states, as is the case in most international cooperation. The reality of the climate change negotiations mirrors the inequalities between developed and developing nations.

scholarly journals Present at the Creation

2019 ◽  
pp. 142-156
Author(s):  
Chandrashekhar Dasgupta
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Kyoto Protocol ◽  
Emission Reduction ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Developed Country ◽  
The Creation

In this chapter, India’s lead negotiator for the framework convention recalls that the negotiations were marked by deep differences between developed and developing countries (though there were also significant divergences within these groups). Developing countries pressed for an equity-based agreement, maintaining that developed countries should accept their responsibility for precipitating climate change. They called on industrialized countries to accept time-bound emission reduction obligations and to transfer finance and technology to support voluntary mitigation actions by developing countries. The Convention recognized that voluntary obligations agreed upon by developing countries were conditional on receipt of financial resources to cover all incremental costs. However, developed countries accepted only an ambiguously worded emission stabilization commitment. This deficiency was rectified by the Kyoto Protocol 1997, which prescribed time-bound emission reduction targets for each developed country. The Paris Agreement 2015 halted this line of progress, marking a reversal to the ‘pledge and review’ approach rejected in 1991.

scholarly journals Climate Finance Shadow Report 2020: Assessing progress towards the $100 billion commitment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Carty ◽  
Jan Kowalzig ◽  
Bertram Zagema
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Climate Finance ◽  
Critical Part ◽  
The Third ◽  
Strong Focus ◽  
International Climate ◽  
Weather Risks

International climate finance is vital to global cooperation on climate change. As many developing countries reel from the effects of coronavirus, the prospect of climate-induced extreme weather risks compounding crises and poverty. Climate change could undo decades of progress in development and dramatically increase global inequalities. There is an urgent need for climate finance to help countries cope and adapt. Over a decade ago, developed countries committed to mobilize $100bn per year by 2020 to support developing countries to adapt and reduce their emissions. The goal is a critical part of the Paris Agreement. As 2020 draws to a close, Oxfam’s Climate Finance Shadow Report 2020 offers an assessment of progress towards the $100bn goal. The third in a series, this report looks at the latest donor figures for 2017–18, with a strong focus on public finance. It considers how climate finance is being counted and spent; where it is going; how close we are to the $100bn goal; and what lessons need to be learned for climate finance post-2020.

Climate agenda on the eve of COP-26: experience of Latin America

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikhail G. Troyansky ◽  
Oleg G. Karpovich ◽  
Alina V. Davydova
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Environmental Problems ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Climate Agreements ◽  
International Climate Agreements ◽  
International Climate

The newest world history has been marked by economic crises, environmental disasters an increase in intrastate and interstate armed conflicts, as well as an escalating confrontation in the field of energy resources. Among these risks, environmental problems such as global warming, sea level rise, soil erosion and shortages of food and fossil fuels have become unprecedentedly visible. This article focuses on a new climate agenda in the light of COP-26, taking place in Glasgow, and the regional experience of Latin America in confronting climate threats and adapting to climate changes since the ratification of the 2015 Paris Agreement. The authors consider the main international climate instruments, as well as those achievements on the way to greening national economies, which were undertaken by the LAC states within the mechanisms of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Since the ratification of the Paris Agreement, every Latin American state has made progress in implementing the environmental agenda and developing legislation aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change. The conclusion highlights the need for broad state participation on the base of proven instruments for solving major environmental problems, further developing early warning systems and consistent implementation of the planned action plans to reduce the risk of disasters and their consequences. Primary importance is attached to interstate dialogue to tackle the environmental challenges, commitment to the responsible fulfillment of international climate agreements and further development of international framework in the field of environmental law. Joint initiatives among the states of the region are expected to have significant effect on reducing emissions of these gases. Moreover, the market-based instruments proposed by the Paris Agreement are known to be an important complement to the ongoing efforts to comply with the overall UNFCCC climate agenda.

scholarly journals The risk of carbon leakage in global climate agreements

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Nielsen ◽  
Nicolai Baumert ◽  
Astrid Kander ◽  
Magnus Jiborn ◽  
Viktoras Kulionis
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Kyoto Protocol ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Carbon Leakage ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Climate Agreements ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Nationally Determined Contributions

Abstract Although climate change and international trade are interdependent, policy-makers often address the two topics separately. This may inhibit progress at the intersection of climate change and trade and could present a serious constraint for global climate action. One key risk is carbon leakage through emission outsourcing, i.e. reductions in emissions in countries with rigorous climate policies being offset by increased emissions in countries with less stringent policies. We first analyze the Paris Agreement’s nationally determined contributions (NDC) and investigate how carbon leakage is addressed. We find that the risk of carbon leakage is insufficiently accounted for in these documents. Then, we apply a novel quantitative approach (Jiborn et al., 2018; Baumert et al., 2019) to analyze trends in carbon outsourcing related to a previous international climate regime—the Kyoto Protocol—in order to assess whether reported emission reductions were offset by carbon outsourcing in the past. Our results for 2000–2014 show a more nuanced picture of carbon leakage during the Kyoto Protocol than previous studies have reported. Carbon outsourcing from developed to developing countries was dominated by the USA outsourcing to China, while the evidence for other developed countries was mixed. Against conventional wisdom, we find that, in general, countries that stayed committed to their Kyoto Protocol emission targets were either only minor carbon outsourcers or actually even insourcers—although the trend was slightly negative—indicating that binding emissions targets do not necessarily lead to carbon outsourcing. We argue that multiple carbon monitoring approaches are needed to reduce the risk of carbon leakage.

scholarly journals Better predictions, better allocations: scientific advances and adaptation to climate change

2015 ◽  
Vol 373 (2055) ◽  
pp. 20150122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark C. Freeman ◽  
Ben Groom ◽  
Richard J. Zeckhauser
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Consumption Smoothing ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Climate Agreements ◽  
International Climate Agreements ◽  
International Climate ◽  
Informative Signals

Climate science initially aspired to improve understanding of what the future would bring, and thereby produce appropriate public policies and effective international climate agreements. If that hope is dashed, as now seems probable, effective policies for adapting to climate change become critical. Climate science assumes new responsibilities by helping to foster more appropriate adaptation measures, which might include shifting modes or locales of production. This theoretical article focuses on two broader tools: consumption smoothing in response to the risk of future losses, and physical adaptation measures to reduce potential damages. It shows that informative signals on the effects of climate change facilitate better decisions on the use of each tool, thereby increasing social welfare.

scholarly journals Shifting Traction: Differential Treatment and Substantive and Procedural Regard in the International Climate Change Regime

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 427-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Huggins ◽  
Md Saiful Karim
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Differential Treatment ◽  
Cautionary Tale ◽  
Common But Differentiated Responsibilities ◽  
International Climate ◽  
Treaty Implementation ◽  
Robust Framework ◽  
International Climate Change

AbstractThe Paris Agreement to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) signifies a shift in how the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) manifests in the international climate change regime. Unlike the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement does not enshrine differentiated substantive mitigation obligations for developed and developing countries. However, an increasingly proceduralized variant of the CBDR principle, which facilitates regard for the interests of developing countries with respect to treaty implementation yet does not guarantee favourable substantive outcomes for these states, is evident in the emerging regime. The experience of the International Maritime Organization’s climate change regime provides a cautionary tale with respect to procedurally oriented differentiation that is not reinforced by effective processes to ensure that developed states honour their finance and technology transfer commitments. Accordingly, this article posits that strong accountability mechanisms are required to transform opportunities for procedural differentiation in the Paris Agreement into a robust framework for procedural regard for the interests of developing states.

scholarly journals Market responses to global governance: International climate cooperation and Europe's carbon trading

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Federica Genovese
Keyword(s):  
Global Climate ◽  
Emission Trading ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Environmental Cooperation ◽  
Climate Agreements ◽  
Climate Negotiations ◽  
International Climate Agreements ◽  
International Climate ◽  
International Climate Negotiations

Abstract International environmental cooperation can impose significant costs on private firms. Yet, in recent years some companies have been supportive of international climate agreements. This suggests that under certain conditions environmental accords can be profitable. In this paper, I seek to explain this puzzle by focusing on the interaction between domestic regulation and decisions at international climate negotiations. I argue that global climate cooperation hurts the profits of polluting firms if domestic governments do not shield them from international compliance costs. Vice versa, if firms are subject to protective (i.e., insufficiently severe) policy instruments at home, firms can materially gain from international climate agreements that sustain expectations about their profitability. I test the argument with an event study of the effect of decisions at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on major European firms that received free carbon permits in the early stages of the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS). The analysis suggests that financial markets carefully follow the international climate negotiations, and reward the regulated firms based on the outcome of UNFCCC decisions. The evidence also indicates the advantageous interplay between certain types of domestic regulations and international regimes for business. More generally, the results show the perils of privately supported policy for the effectiveness of international public good provision.

The Media and the Major Emitters: Media Coverage of International Climate Change Policy

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 67-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandra Lal Pandey ◽  
Priya A. Kurian
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Study ◽  
News Frames ◽  
Climate Change Negotiations

News media outlets are crucial for the dissemination of information on climate change issues, but the nature of the coverage varies across the world, depending on local geopolitical and economic contexts. Despite extensive scholarship on media and climate change, less attention has been paid to comparing how climate change is reported by news media in developed and developing countries. This article undertakes a cross-national study of how elite newspapers in four major greenhouse gas emitting countries—the United States, the United Kingdom, China and India—frame coverage of climate change negotiations. We show that framing is similar by these newspapers in developing countries, but there are clear differences in framing in the developed world, and between the developed and developing countries. While an overwhelming majority of these news stories and the frames they deploy are pegged to the stance of domestic institutions in the developing countries, news frames from developed countries are more varied.

scholarly journals Compensating for Climate Change Loss and Damage

2016 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 356-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward A Page ◽  
Clare Heyward
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Anthropogenic Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Negotiations ◽  
Normative Framework ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Loss And Damage ◽  
International Climate ◽  
Compensatory Justice

With the adoption of the Warsaw International Mechanism in 2013, the international community recognised that anthropogenic climate change will result in a range of adverse effects despite policies of mitigation and adaptation. Addressing these climatic ‘losses and damages’ is now a key dimension of international climate change negotiations. This article presents a normative framework for thinking about loss and damage designed to inform, and give meaning to, these negotiations. It argues that policies addressing loss and damage, particularly those targeting developing countries, should respect norms of compensatory justice which aim to make victims of unwarranted climatic disruptions ‘whole again’. The article develops a typology of different kinds of climate change disruption and uses it to (1) explain the differences between ‘losses’ and ‘damages’, (2) assign priorities among compensatory measures seeking to address loss and damage and (3) explore a range of equitable responses to loss and damage.

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