Understanding ambition in global climate governance: Commitments, transparency, and implementation

Abstract

Ambition as a key term in the climate change negotiations. It lays at the heart of the Paris Agreement itself, where ‘ambition mechanisms’ are designed to pull the collective efforts towards climate change mitigation. The language of ambition has been used to push for specific negotiation goals, such as the 1.5-degree target, and to create alliances (see: the High Ambition Coalition). The term is also used to describe actor’s current actions and make ‘empty’ statements. The Paris Agreement relies upon a pledge and review (P&R) mechanism to induce states to first promise, then report on, and ultimately deliver climate action. Pressure is centered on nationally determined contributions (NDCs), where parties to the UNFCCC pledge their individual input towards the joint effort. These pledges are subject to different forms of assessment, with the goal of their continuous upgrading and ratcheting up individual and collective climate action ambition in new NDC submissions. Papers in this panel will look at the concept of ambition, as well as the determinants of increasing climate policy ambition as well as ambitious climate action. They will analyze both the pledges made as part of the P&R process, and the role of other social mechanisms on ambitious climate policy.

Title	Details
The Ambition Trap: Why Overpromising on Climate Action Could Undermine Progress	View Paper Details
Does the Paris Agreement's Pledge and Review Process Ratchet up Climate Ambition? A Peer Group Spatial Analysis of Nationally Determined Contributions	View Paper Details
Democracy, peer review, and the civilizing force of climate hypocrisy	View Paper Details
Minor leaders of major importance: explaining informal climate leadership to accelerate decarbonisation and green energy transitions	View Paper Details