In this paper, you will select one of the countries listed below and craft a paper that asserts its position in relation to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. You will consider the role of national interest in whether or not countries seek to adhere to climate change treaties such as this one.
To flesh this out, your paper will need to:
Explore the country’s historical political understanding and action on climate change.
Identify the country’s current national policies and discourse around climate change.
Provide a critical assessment of how, and in what ways, national interest and global commitment has been mobilized in the country’s position with regard to the Paris Agreement—Are they aligned? Are they in tension?
Answering these questions will allow you to make a broader argument about the role of national interest in global environmental diplomacy, and how this may be used to ensure that treaties succeed. This is the ‘so what’ of your paper.
Countries to choose from:
Brazil
Canada
China
France
India
Indonesia
Nicaragua
United States
