Addressing the problem of climate change is associated with significant barriers. In 1997, the United Nations’ 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change ratified Kyoto Protocol, which set the limits for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for every country (Bernauer, 2013). While the majority of nations agreed to the terms, the US, the largest GHG emitter at that time, decided not to join the agreement (Bernauer, 2013). The central problem was that the US experienced a significant disbalance in contribution and benefits. While all the nations agree that climate change is a source of substantial harm to the economy, the environment, and public health, not all countries have similar incentives for addressing the problem. The largest economies usually are the largest emitters of GHG, which implies that they need to contribute the most to the reduction of emissions. However, larger economies are less likely to suffer from climate change, as they have a greater opportunity to adapt to the changes, which costs less (Bernauer, 2013). At the same time, developing economies do not need to contribute much to the decreases in emissions, while they are likely to suffer the most from climate change (Bernauer, 2013). Moreover, governments are often afraid that some countries will be free riders, which implies that they will benefit from the changes without any investments.
Another issue associated with climate change is the need for large-scale changes. The problem is that achieving the required level of emissions requires changing from fossil fuel to renewable energy, which will disproportionately hurt different countries, as many countries depend on the export of fossil fuel. Additionally, when giving priority to different issues, policy-makers are likely to give less attention to climate change problems, as their short-term and medium-term implications are acceptable. It is the long-term implications everyone fears (Bernauer, 2013). Finally, the collective action problem is associated with instability in the priorities of different countries. Addressing the problem of climate change is a long-term commitment. Since governments’ opinions on the prioritization of the problems may change, ensuring long-term collaboration is close to impossible (Bernauer, 2013).
References
Bernauer, T. (2013). Climate Change Politics. Annual Review of Political Science, 16(1), 421-448. Web.