The Environmentalism and Politics of Climate Change

2017 ◽  
pp. 77-108
Author(s):  
Moses Metumara Duruji ◽  
Duruji-Moses Favour Urenma
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Kyoto Protocol ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Leadership ◽  
Global Community ◽  
United Nations Framework Convention ◽  
Major Powers ◽  
Political Interests

This study examined the environmentalism and politics of climate change by undertaking a study of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) focusing on the Kyoto Protocol document and the UNFCCC conferences held after Kyoto that has centered on how to garner consensus on the way forward for the global community. The study also probed why the agreement at Kyoto, Japan started having problems when a change of government occurred in the United States with a Republican President that leaned towards the interests of big business most of whom would bear the most costs if the policies as articulated in the Kyoto protocols were to be executed and why the Democratic presidency of Barrack Obama has been slow in pushing forward the agreement at Kyoto. The study concluded that national political interests of the major powers seem to have stalled the implementation of the Kyoto protocol but a change in the dynamics of global leadership spectrum can have a significant impetus in producing an agreement on climate change.

The Environmentalism and Politics of Climate Change

2016 ◽  
pp. 398-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moses Metumara Duruji ◽  
Duruji-Moses Favour Urenma
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Kyoto Protocol ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Leadership ◽  
Global Community ◽  
United Nations Framework Convention ◽  
Major Powers ◽  
Political Interests

This study examined the environmentalism and politics of climate change by undertaking a study of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) focusing on the Kyoto Protocol document and the UNFCCC conferences held after Kyoto that has centered on how to garner consensus on the way forward for the global community. The study also probed why the agreement at Kyoto, Japan started having problems when a change of government occurred in the United States with a Republican President that leaned towards the interests of big business most of whom would bear the most costs if the policies as articulated in the Kyoto protocols were to be executed and why the Democratic presidency of Barrack Obama has been slow in pushing forward the agreement at Kyoto. The study concluded that national political interests of the major powers seem to have stalled the implementation of the Kyoto protocol but a change in the dynamics of global leadership spectrum can have a significant impetus in producing an agreement on climate change.

Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law

1993 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-111
Author(s):  
Marian Nash
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
The United States ◽  
George Bush ◽  
Environment And Development ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Contemporary Practice

On September 8, 1992, President George Bush transmitted to the Senate for advice and consent to ratification the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, adopted at New York on May 9, 1992, by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Framework Convention on Climate Change and signed on behalf of the United States at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro on June 12, 1992.

Russia and the Kyoto Protocol: Seeking an Alignment of Interests and Image

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 47-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura A. Henry ◽  
Lisa McIntosh Sundstrom
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Kyoto Protocol ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
International Negotiations ◽  
Emissions Reductions ◽  
United Nations Framework Convention ◽  
The Russian Federation

On November 5, 2004, the Russian Federation ratified the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, effectively saving the treaty. Battling domestic interests, in which a majority of pro-Kyoto voices were countered by a small but powerful minority of Kyoto opponents, had little influence on the decision due to the centralized institutional environment in Russia which allows the President great autonomy in foreign policy. President Putin ratified the treaty because Russia would likely gain leverage in other international negotiations and contribute to an image of itself as a good member of the club of advanced industrialized states. He delayed ratification to clarify evidence about gains versus losses from Kyoto provisions and to secure concessions from other Kyoto ratifiers in other international negotiations. Existing implementation efforts are slow but indicate that Russia's strategy will emphasize maximizing profits through treaty mechanisms over maximizing emissions reductions.

scholarly journals The Evolution of the UNFCCC

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 343-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Kuyper ◽  
Heike Schroeder ◽  
Björn-Ola Linnér
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Kyoto Protocol ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Industrial Country ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Voluntary Contributions ◽  
Top Down ◽  
United Nations Framework Convention ◽  
Climate Action

This article takes stock of the evolution of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) through the prism of three recent shifts: the move away from targeting industrial country emissions in a legally binding manner under the Kyoto Protocol to mandating voluntary contributions from all countries under the Paris Agreement; the shift from the top-down Kyoto architecture to the hybrid Paris outcome; and the broadening out from a mitigation focus under Kyoto to a triple goal comprising mitigation, adaptation, and finance under Paris. This review discusses the implications of these processes for the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of the UNFCCC's institutional and operational settings for meeting the convention's objectives. It ends by sketching three potential scenarios facing the UNFCCC as it seeks to coordinate the Paris Agreement and its relationship to the wider landscape of global climate action.

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