Global Climate Politics
ECTS : 6
Volume horaire : 36
Description du contenu de l'enseignement :
The Paris Agreement, reached on 12 December 2015, represents the first comprehensive global climate agreement. The treaty contains many positive provisions that aim to build a new architecture for the global climate regime under the aegis of the UNFCCC. This course will offer students an in-depth analysis of the main provisions contained in the Paris Agreement and the new climate regime it ushers in. The EU has always been a leader on environmental issues, both from a domestic and a foreignpolicy perspective, enacting some of the most far-reaching climate and renewable energy policies in the world. EU climate and energy legislation is also supplemented by extensive policies at the national level. The course will examine both internal EU policies and external relations in the field of climate change. This will include a particular focus on the new European Green Deal, other internal EU climate and energy policies, as well as how the EU negotiates within the UNFCCC. By contrast, climate politics in United States have been more volatile. While President Obama sought to launch a number of federal climate initiatives, the Republican Party has consistently demonstrated skepticism towards climate science, with President Trump taking the decision to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement. While Joe Biden';s election as President led to America re-joining the Paris Accord, his administration still faced a number of obstacles and domestic opposition for an ambitious federal climate agenda. Likewise, Trump';s return to the White House has cast a large shadow on federal efforts to tackle climate change in the US over the next few years. As a result, non-state and sub-national actors around the world including cities, states, the privatesector and civil society, have a key role to play in compensating for inadequacies at the national level. For instance, parts of the US such as California and New York, as well as cities such as Paris, have become world leaders in enacting climate policies at the local level. Hence, this course will examine the emerging framework of multi-level and polycentric governance, including the role of non-state and subnational actors as building blocks within the climate regime. Energy and climate policies in the EU will be compared with those in the US and in other countries such as China in order to highlight differences in approach, as well as contrasting perspectives on the future of the global climate regime. This course is on Moodle. 1 Introduction to the course and history of the international environmental regime, with the main institutions, actors and concepts up to the Paris Agreement 2 The architecture of the new global climate change regime post-Paris under theaegis of the UNFCCC Required reading: Savaresi A. (2016), The Paris Agreement: a new beginning?, Journal of Energy and Natural Resources Law, 34:1, 16-;26. 3 History of environmental policies in Europe, with the main institutions, actors and processes involved Required reading: Barichella A. (2017), How Europe can and should become the guardian of the Paris Agreement on climate change, European Issues n°450, Robert Schuman Foundation. 4 Internal EU environmental, climate and energy policies, including interaction with national member state policies Required reading: Wurzel R. K. W. et al. (2019), The European Council, the Council and the Member States: changing environmental leadership dynamics in the European Union, Environmental Politics, 28:2, 248-;270. 5 EU diplomacy and leadership in the global climate regime, with a network of international partnerships Required reading: Parker C. F. et al. (2017), Assessing the European Union';s global climate change leadership: from Copenhagen to the Paris Agreement, Journal of European Integration, 39:2, 239-;252. 6 History of environmental policies in the US, with the main institutions, actors and processes involved Required reading: Lisowski M. (2002), Playing the Two-Level Game: US President Bush's D
Compétence à acquérir :
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Understand the evolution of global environmental and climate governance from the 1970s to today;
- Identify key institutions, actors, and negotiation processes within the UNFCCC framework;
- Analyze the policy approaches of the EU, the US, and China toward climate governance;
- Assess the role of non-state and sub-state actors in shaping international climate outcomes;
- Critically evaluate the successes and limitations of international environmental diplomacy;
- Participate in a simulated COP negotiation, applying concepts from the course in practice.
Mode de contrôle des connaissances :
Several required readings for most sessions, which can be downloaded from Moodle. Optional readings will also be suggested. Students will need to sit an in-class final examination at the end of the semester(examen sur table), where they will choose to write an essay on a topic chosen from a proposed list of 11 subjects, based on the material covered in class during the semester. The exam will last for three hours (no notes allowed - only pen, pencil and writing paper), and will count for 50% of their final grade.
The other 50% of the grade will be based on oral participation throughout the semester. This includespreparation of an oral presentation in a group on a subject of chosen by students (around 20 minutes, 35% of the final grade), in relation to the material covered in class; oral presentations will take place at the beginning of every class. The other 15% of the oral participation grade takes into account not only
participation in classes throughout the semester, but also attendance and punctuality. In this regard, oral participation in the final class, which is organized around a simulation of the COP negotiations, isespecially important for the oral grade.
The numerical grade distribution will dictate the final grade. The passing grade for a course is 10/20.
Class participation: Active class participation - this is what makes classes lively and instructive. Come on time and prepared. Class participation is based on quality of comments, not quantity.
Exam policy: In the exam, students will not be allowed to bring any document (except if allowed by the lecturer). Unexcused absences from exams or failure to submit cases will result in zero grades in the calculation of numerical averages. Exams are collected at the end of examination periods.
Be aware of the rules in Université Paris Dauphine about plagiarism and cheating during exams. All work turned in for this course must be your own work, or that of your own group. Working as part of a group implies that you are an active participant and fully contributed to the output produced by that group.
Bibliographie, lectures recommandées :
Suggested Readings by Week
Week 1
- Gupta, J. (2014), The History of Global Climate Governance, Cambridge University Press.
- Luterbacher, U. et al. (2018), Global Climate Policy: Actors, Concepts, and Enduring Challenges, MIT Press.
Week 2
- Klein, D. et al. (2017), The Paris Agreement on Climate Change: Analysis and Commentary, Oxford University Press.
- Popovski, V. (2018), The Implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (Law, Ethics and Governance), Routledge.
- Salawitch, R. J., Canty, T. P. & Hope, A. P. (2017), Paris Climate Agreement: Beacon of Hope, Springer.
Week 3
- Delbeke, J. & Vis, P. (2015), EU Climate Policy Explained, Routledge.
- Delreux, T. & Happaerts, S. (2016), Environmental Policy and Politics in the European Union (The European Union Series), Palgrave.
Week 4
- Jänicke, M. & Wurzel, R. K. W. (2019), Leadership and Lesson-Drawing in the European Union's Multilevel Climate Governance System, Environmental Politics, 28(1), 22-42.
- Langlet, D. & Mahmoudi, S. (2016), EU Environmental Law and Policy, Oxford University Press.
- Skjærseth, J. B. et al. (2016), Linking EU Climate and Energy Policies: Decision-Making, Implementation and Reform (New Horizons in Environmental Politics Series), Edward Elgar Publishing.
Week 5
- Afionis, S. (2018), The European Union in International Climate Change Negotiations (Routledge Studies in Environmental Policy), Routledge.
- Minas, S. & Ntousas, V. (2019), EU Climate Diplomacy: Politics, Law and Negotiations (Routledge Advances in Climate Change Research), Routledge.
Week 6
- Anderson, S. et al. (2017), The America First Energy Policy of the Trump Administration, Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law, 35(3), 221-270.
- Burch, J. R. (2016), Climate Change and American Policy: Key Documents, 1979-2015, McFarland & Co.
- Hays, S. P. (2008), Beauty, Health and Permanence: Environmental Politics in the United States, 1955-1985 (Studies in Environment and History), Cambridge University Press.
- Kraft, M. E. (2000), U.S. Environmental Policy and Politics: From the 1960s to the 1990s, Journal of Political History, 12(1).
- Parker, C. F. & Karlsson, C. (2018), The UN Climate Change Negotiations and the Role of the United States: Assessing American Leadership from Copenhagen to Paris, Environmental Politics, 27(3).
- Urpelainen, J. & de Graaf, T. V. (2018), United States Non-Cooperation and the Paris Agreement, Climate Policy, 18(7), 839-851.
Week 7
- Anderson, S. et al. (2017), The America First Energy Policy of the Trump Administration, Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law, 35(3), 221-270.
- Parker, C. F. & Karlsson, C. (2018), The UN Climate Change Negotiations and the Role of the United States: Assessing American Leadership from Copenhagen to Paris, Environmental Politics, 27(3).
- Urpelainen, J. & de Graaf, T. V. (2018), United States Non-Cooperation and the Paris Agreement, Climate Policy, 18(7), 839-851.
Week 9
- Bomberg, E. (2017), Environmental Politics in the Trump Era: An Early Assessment, Environmental Politics, 26(5), 956-963.
- Hughes, S. et al. (2017), Climate Change in Cities: Innovations in Multi-Level Governance (The Urban Book Series), Springer.
Week 10
- Bulkeley, H. et al. (2018), Transnational Climate Change Governance, Cambridge University Press.
- Hickmann, T. (2016), Rethinking Authority in Global Climate Governance: How Transnational Climate Initiatives Rela
Document susceptible de mise à jour - 01/04/2026
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