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The role of trust in the international climate negotiations

Schroeder, Heike ; Beyers, Felix ; Schäpke, Niko Alexander ; Mar, Kathleen A. ; Wamsler, Christine LU orcid ; Stasiak, Dorota ; Lueschen, Tim ; Fraude, Carolin ; Bruhn, Thomas and Lawrence, Mark (2024) In Environmental Policy and Governance
Abstract

In this paper, we examine the role of trust in the international climate negotiations. We (1) identify forms of trust inferred from institutional designs, (2) analyse effects of institutional design on social and political trust and (3) describe the relationship between social and political trust in international climate change negotiations. We do this by combining document analysis, literature review and interviews. We find that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement imply different forms of trust and thereby produce different levels of trust. Social trust is generally medium to high, political trust rather low. Our analysis illustrates tensions and contradictions... (More)

In this paper, we examine the role of trust in the international climate negotiations. We (1) identify forms of trust inferred from institutional designs, (2) analyse effects of institutional design on social and political trust and (3) describe the relationship between social and political trust in international climate change negotiations. We do this by combining document analysis, literature review and interviews. We find that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement imply different forms of trust and thereby produce different levels of trust. Social trust is generally medium to high, political trust rather low. Our analysis illustrates tensions and contradictions between human agency and intention, on the one hand, and political agency and process, on the other. These tensions and contradictions are such that, although delegates at the international climate conferences do at least partly trust each other, they meet in an institutional context that is marked by lack of political trust. Moving forward, we discuss whether this lack of trust is well-founded or not given the current institutional and organisational structures of the UNFCCC and its subsequent agreements and what it is highlighting in terms of specific flaws or omissions in the UNFCCC's design.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
climate change negotiations, political trust, social trust, UNFCCC
in
Environmental Policy and Governance
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • scopus:85210988696
ISSN
1756-932X
DOI
10.1002/eet.2144
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
17b9b61e-7ba9-4d9f-ba78-4abbe9373146
date added to LUP
2025-01-31 15:29:36
date last changed
2025-04-04 15:02:44
@article{17b9b61e-7ba9-4d9f-ba78-4abbe9373146,
  abstract     = {{<p>In this paper, we examine the role of trust in the international climate negotiations. We (1) identify forms of trust inferred from institutional designs, (2) analyse effects of institutional design on social and political trust and (3) describe the relationship between social and political trust in international climate change negotiations. We do this by combining document analysis, literature review and interviews. We find that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement imply different forms of trust and thereby produce different levels of trust. Social trust is generally medium to high, political trust rather low. Our analysis illustrates tensions and contradictions between human agency and intention, on the one hand, and political agency and process, on the other. These tensions and contradictions are such that, although delegates at the international climate conferences do at least partly trust each other, they meet in an institutional context that is marked by lack of political trust. Moving forward, we discuss whether this lack of trust is well-founded or not given the current institutional and organisational structures of the UNFCCC and its subsequent agreements and what it is highlighting in terms of specific flaws or omissions in the UNFCCC's design.</p>}},
  author       = {{Schroeder, Heike and Beyers, Felix and Schäpke, Niko Alexander and Mar, Kathleen A. and Wamsler, Christine and Stasiak, Dorota and Lueschen, Tim and Fraude, Carolin and Bruhn, Thomas and Lawrence, Mark}},
  issn         = {{1756-932X}},
  keywords     = {{climate change negotiations; political trust; social trust; UNFCCC}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{Environmental Policy and Governance}},
  title        = {{The role of trust in the international climate negotiations}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eet.2144}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/eet.2144}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}