Climate Negotiations: The Science of a Big Deal?

Abstract

Why have climate negotiators failed to achieve a global climate treaty even with 3 decades’ arduous efforts? Is there a big deal on climate change in the offing? This chapter provides a wide-ranging review of the global negotiations on climate change. The negotiations on and the contents of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, the Copenhagen Accord, the Paris Agreement, and the Green Climate Fund are explained. The biggest hurdle for a global warming treaty continues to be the strong disagreements between developed country parties and developing country parties on who should bear the costly burden of abating greenhouse gases for the Planet. The Green Climate Fund is emerging as a central mechanism of the UNFCCC parties designed to bridge the two parties by transferring the funds collected from the rich countries to the selected projects proposed by the developing country parties. Considering the repeated failures for a global deal, it might be opportune to explore a novel path based on individuals’ choices that strive to adapt, do forward-looking in their choices, and continually innovate their technological options.