The Paris Climate Agreement and Global Ecological Cooperation

The Effects of the Paris Climate Agreement on Global Ecological Cooperation

Last month I was happy to attend the Protect our Planet (POP) movement and the World Sustainable Development Forum’s (WSDF) conference in New Delhi, where I presented the paper which I share with you below. After the abridged version that you can use to skim the article, there is a link to the full paper. I was inspired by the environmental concern and sincere energy of the people in the POP movement and the WSDF, and of the conference panelists and attendees. The spirit of ecology is truly strong in New Delhi, and their enthusiasm was easy to adopt. I also had the pleasure of visiting the famous Baháʼí Lotus Temple in New Delhi, which is magnificent in its beauty, both spiritual and physical. I hope the article will be interesting to fellow IEF members.

The Paris Climate agreement was an unprecedented event for global cooperation related to Ecology. It was the catalyst for increased coordination and an inspiration for change. This article attempts to assess the influence of the agreement on the level of global ecological cooperation, and to evaluate the role of the UN in the global promotion of international ecological governance. I will attempt to estimate the effect of the agreement both on the character of future UN climate conferences (referred to as COP) and on the behavior of the signatory governments, in the framework of liberal institutionalism in a globalized world. The article examines the effect that the Paris Climate agreement in 2015 had on ecological- political cooperation at the global level. Climate cooperation is a positive element of international relations where the various states of the world have a common pressing problem, and have to work together and coordinate to solve it. The article’s goal is not only to illuminate what effect the agreement had, but also to analyze the possible effects of such cooperation on the general level of friendship and mutual respect between states. Such landmark agreements improve international relations and decrease tension, creating a solidarity that can spill over into other spheres of diplomatic practice. As there is only one planet, the ecology of which is threatened, all states in the global system share the same main interest of protecting our common environment, and as such this perspective could ease the management of other international problems. The measurement of this effect is done by examining UN Climate Change conferences (including the COP summits) before and after the Paris Agreement, as this is the highest international forum for cooperation and consultation on ecological questions. The article observes the periods before and after 2015, in order to examine the quality and extent of the agreements made, the difference in discourse during the conferences, and the difference in the level of understanding and cooperation before and after the agreement. We take into account the theoretical framework of Conventional Constructivism and Liberal institutionalism, to analyze how climate cooperation shapes the identities and interests of states within the bounds of the world’s largest international organization, and how norms related to environmentalism are diffused through international organizations.

After the methodological and theoretical introductions, we divide the article in two main parts. The first is a critical review of available literature regarding international environmental cooperation, especially through the UN. The second is our empirical analysis of the datasets. This is followed by a discussion of the results and a conclusion.

Conclusion

The Paris Agreement was truly a watershed event in recent history. The UN has proven itself as an effective facilitator of cooperation in the field of ecology, and the world came together in solidarity to coordinate on a problem affecting everyone. As our analysis showed that the agreement significantly improved the level of understanding and cooperation, we argue for an expansion of the agenda of COP summits, and an expansion of the format to regional summits. We found a modest practical increase in carbon emissions, but a decisive increase in solidarity and normative change towards international cooperation. A continuation in this direction is expected also to spill over to other fields of international relations, and improve the overall mood in the international community, and as such the importance of the Paris agreement, Climate change conferences, and COP cannot be overstated.

Links: https://worldsdf.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The-Effects-of-the-Pari… at https://worldsdf.org/research/