International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics > Vol 19 > Issue 1

Are Climate Negotiations Making Any Progress?

Thomas Sterner, Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, thomas.sterner@economics.gu.se , Samson Mukanjari, International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics, Lund University, Sweden, samson.mukanjari@iiiee.lu.se
 
Suggested Citation
Thomas Sterner and Samson Mukanjari (2025), "Are Climate Negotiations Making Any Progress?", International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics: Vol. 19: No. 1, pp 59-116. http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/101.00000174

Publication Date: 10 Mar 2025
© 2025 T. Sterner and S. Mukanjari
 
Subjects
Carbon regulation,  Environmental economics,  Climate change,  Environmental politics,  International political economy,  Public policy,  Regulation
 
Keywords
JEL Codes: Q52Q54
Fairnessclimate negotiationsConference of the PartiesUNFCCC
 

Share

Download article
In this article:
1 Introduction 
2 International Climate Negotiations 
3 National Climate Policies and Technical Development 
4 Assessing Progress Made to Date 
5 Conclusions 
References 

Abstract

This paper provides a historical overview of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties meetings and reviews the major outcomes of the meetings up to the most recent, which took place in Dubai. We describe how climate negotiations, agreements and policies have evolved, summarise the main points reached, and highlight the key concerns of low-income countries relating to distribution and fairness — a key obstacle for many countries. We then discuss the progress made to date to address fairness issues and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In particular, we discuss the Just Energy Transition Partnerships and the loss and damage initiatives, which provide funds to developing countries to finance the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy and to compensate for climate damages, respectively.

DOI:10.1561/101.00000174

Online Appendix | 101.00000174_app.pdf

This is the article's accompanying appendix.

DOI: 10.1561/101.00000174_app