What's Necessary for an Effective Climate Regime?

Synthesis article: UNFCCC before and after Paris

  • Publications 01.12.2015

What can reasonably be expected from the UNFCCC process and the climate conference in Paris 2015? To achieve transformative change, prevailing unsustainable routines embedded in socio-economic systems have to be translated into new and sustainable ones. The synthesis article "UNFCCC before and after Paris - what's necessary for an effective climate regime?" by Wuppertal Institute's Lukas Hermwille, Wolfgang Obergassel, Hermann E. Ott and Christiane Beuermann conceptualises the UNFCCC and the associated policy processes as a catalyst for this translation by applying a structurational regime model. This model provides an analytical distinction of rules (norms and shared meaning) and resources (economic resources as well as authoritative and allocative power) and allows to conceptualise agency on various levels, including beyond nation states. The analysis concludes that the UNFCCC's narrow focus on emission targets, which essentially is a focus on resources, has proven ineffective. In addition, the static division of industrialised and developing countries in the Convention's annexes and the consensus-based decision-making rules have impeded ambitious climate protection. The article concludes that the UNFCCC is much better equipped to provide rules for climate protection activities and should consciously expand this feature to improve its impact.

The article was published in the journal "Climate Policy" and is available for download.


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