Debate about UN climate conferences has intensified in recent years. The negotiations have been criticised for being slow, overly dependent on consensus, and open to excessive influence from various special interests.
鈥淭here are many proposals for how the process could be changed. However, there has been a lack of systematic knowledge about what the people who actually take part in the negotiations think,鈥� says Faradj Koliev, Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science at Stockholm University.
In a new study, he, together with Professor Bj枚rn-Ola Linn茅r and Associate Professor Naghmeh Nasiritousi, both at the Department of Thematic Studies 鈥� Environmental Change and the Centre for Climate Science and Policy Research at Link枚ping University, together with Dr Alexandra Buylova at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, examines the changes government delegates and observers would like to see in international climate cooperation.
鈥淭he debate on the UN climate negotiations often focuses on which reforms would be desirable. Instead, our study shows which reforms can actually gain support among participants in the climate negotiations from different parts of the world, which is particularly important at a time of growing geopolitical tensions,鈥� says Bj枚rn-Ola Linn茅r.
COP29 participants responded
The study is based on a survey experiment involving government delegates and observers who attended COP29 in Baku in November 2024. The observers represented different types of non-state actors.
鈥淭his is the first study to systematically examine attitudes towards different reforms among people who themselves participate in UN climate negotiations,鈥� says Faradj Koliev.
There are a number of proposals for reforming the UN climate negotiations, but any reform requires broad support among countries. This study is the first of its kind to measure the preferences of countries and non-state actors, showing which proposals have the potential to attract broad consensus, notes Naghmeh Nasiritousi.
Greater focus on implementation
One of the clearest findings is that participants want less focus on new climate agreements and greater focus on implementing commitments that have already been agreed upon.
鈥淲hat many of the participants have in common is a desire to strengthen the monitoring of climate commitments and place greater emphasis on implementation. This is where we see the clearest common ground for how the climate negotiations can begin to be reformed,鈥� says Bj枚rn-Ola Linn茅r.
The study also shows strong support for increased transparency.
鈥淭his could involve more clearly tracking how countries are fulfilling their pledges and making information about implementation more accessible,鈥� says Faradj Koliev.
Many participants are also open to changing how decisions are made during climate conferences.
According to the study, one option supported by participants is to retain consensus for the most important issues while using majority voting for other matters. Such a model could make it easier to reach decisions without completely abandoning the principle of consensus.
Different views on representation and influence
At the same time, the study reveals clear differences between government delegates and non-state actors.
These differences mainly concern which groups should be represented and how much influence different actors should have in the negotiations. The results therefore show broad support for certain reforms, but also identify issues on which participants鈥� interests and perspectives diverge.
More information about the study
The study, Reform Preferences of Key Actors in the UNFCCC Process, is published in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change.
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