Don't Go Climate Changing

Since the 1970s, the climate community has worked tirelessly to establish a credible scientific basis for anthropogenic climate change. Though climate change deniers still exist, ever since the International Panel for Climate Change (the IPCC) declared that “observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations,” there has been increasing global recognition of the issue.1 Yet, this global consensus has not directly led to the implementation of a singular global climate policy, but rather to several fragmented international agreements each varying in degree of success. These agreements have all failed to adequately address the entire issue, and with the absence of significant international action, the planet is now on track to warm by at least 2.5 degrees this century.2 Thus, I seek to investigate the conditions that explain this drastic variation in success. After examining the cases of both a successful climate deal, the Montreal Protocol, and a widely considered failed climate deal, the Kyoto Protocol, I will argue that there is one key method for obtaining a successful climate deal: a “carrots and sticks” approach, including binding emission reductions as well as an enforcement mechanism to incentivize them.