A Study on North-South Rule Conflicts in the Global Climate Governance System

Abstract

Frequent extreme climate events across the globe underscore the urgency of the global climate governance system. Within the current global climate governance system centered on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), several principles and mechanisms coexist: differentiated responsibilities, Kyoto flexibility mechanisms, and the Paris Agreement’s Global Stocktake. Nevertheless, divergences persist between developed and developing countries regarding the delineation of historical responsibilities, guarantee of financial inputs, transfer of green technologies, and the right to development. Some unilateral climate measures have prompted debate about their compatibility with multilateral frameworks, which may widen the North-South trust gap and fragments the global climate governance system. After analyzing the dilemmas embedded in the existing governance regime, this paper proposes three pathways for reforming the global climate governance system: accelerating the establishment of a more equitable accounting system, strengthening the coordination and binding force of existing rules, and promptly addressing the shortfalls in finance and technology transfer.