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Climate change is one of the biggest challenges in the world. Scientists have urged immediate action to tackle the global commons problem. However, little climate action has been taken at the global level. Why is it so difficult to make an agreement on an effective response to climate change? This course introduces politics in climate change with an emphasis on international cooperation. After introducing basic scientific knowledge about climate change, this course discusses key climate policies, international organizations and agreements. It then employs concepts, theories and models to analyze positions of different countries and difficulties in global climate negotiation. The role of China in the global climate regime, its climate policies and interaction with other economies will also be examined.
This book concerns climate politics. After an introductory chapter, Chapter 2 draws on relevant theories to offer a strategic framework that considers power relations broadly. Chapters 3, through 5 focus on the mobilizations of state actor coalitions in the negotiations, and argue that states or well-designed international institutions alone show very little promise of arriving at a sustainable, effective, and equitable climate treaty. Chapters 6 through 8 argue that the interests of fossil fuel actors continue to reign supreme. Chapter 9 outlines six potential scenarios in a warming world. The concluding chapter argues that a transformed approach to civil society is our best hope for achieving global climate justice.
This book provides a comprehensive assessment of relevant topics for mitigating climate change through limiting or preventing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as activities that reduce their concentrations in the atmosphere. It consists of four parts. Part 1 introduces the working group contribution and describes past lessons and current challenges. Part 2 deals with framing issues and underlying concepts including the relevant value judgments for the detailed assessment of climate change mitigation polices and measures. Part 3 provides an integrated assessment of possible mitigation pathways and the respective sectoral contributions and implications. Part 4 assesses policies across governance scales.
