The Politics of Interstate Climate Negotiations

A great deal of the politics of interstate climate negotiations can be described, following Mathew Paterson, in terms of ‘two great conflicts’ (Paterson 1996, 73). One is the conflict between the USA and the rest of the world over the nature of commitment and type of governance instruments that should be used in limiting greenhouse gas emissions (Biermann 2005; Paterson 1996). The other and more pervasive is the North-South conflict that is implicated in virtually every aspect of the development of an international climate regime (Anand 2004; Biermann 2005; Okereke 2008a; Paterson 1996). The objective of this chapter is to provide a shorthand account of the climate politics of nation-states from the optic of these ‘two great conflicts’. The narrative here focuses on the development of the international climate regimethe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol-but also touches on issues that are defining interstate climate politics in the run up to a post-Kyoto agreement. Unlike the account of Schroeder (Chapter 2), the specific emphasis here is on the key issues in the negotiations and the positions/influences of nation-states and their negotiating blocs. The account indicates that the development of the global climate regime is characterized by a series of trade-offs and compromises amongst three key actors-the USA, the European Union (EU) and the developing countries under the aegis of G77/the People’s Republic of China. These tradeoffs and compromises might be considered necessary in a bid to ensure that a functional global climate agreement subsists. However, ultimately, it is doubtful that the process would lead to the development of a regime robust enough to propel deep emission reductions by states and other autonomous actors. The chapter proceeds as follows. First, I provide a brief account of states’ involvement in the politics of climate change at the international level starting from the 1980s when global warming first became an international political issue. Second, I sketch the key questions that have confronted states in their effort to design an effective and equitable global climate regime and indicate the influences of specific nation-states and their coalition groups. Finally, I look at the negotiating dynamics of both the developed and developing countries going forward to future negotiations before making some concluding remarks.