During the last decades, climate change appeared at the centre of the academic, political, and societal debate as it is a phenomenon that occurs to be increasingly urgent, given the existence of...Show moreDuring the last decades, climate change appeared at the centre of the academic, political, and societal debate as it is a phenomenon that occurs to be increasingly urgent, given the existence of environmental degradation and extreme weather events. Although developed states from the global north have contributed to climate change significantly, emerging economies that previously were part of the global south, cause rising greenhouse gas emissions as well. The problem requires a collective approach in terms of shared responsibility and multilateral cooperation; however, the architecture of global climate governance portrays to be fragmented. Resulting from the fact that the topic has not received much scholarly attention, this research seeks – by means of a thematic content analysis – to investigate how the trend towards centralised global climate governance through the Paris Agreement has changed the perspective on environmental policy. The research builds on the theoretical approach of liberalism, as well as the spectrum model that explains the degree of centralisation in climate cooperation. Based on the case of China as the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitter, it can be concluded that after the Paris Agreement entered into force, the nation’s perspective on environmental policy shifted politically/strategically and ideologically/socially.Show less
The 2008 US presidential election was notable for many reasons. Concerning environmental issues, both candidates, Barack Obama for the Democrats, and John McCain for the Republicans, took distance...Show moreThe 2008 US presidential election was notable for many reasons. Concerning environmental issues, both candidates, Barack Obama for the Democrats, and John McCain for the Republicans, took distance from the Bush administration. Obama’s victory more than ever brought a sparkle of hope for change. Environmentalists both in the United States and worldwide were pleased from his first actions as president, that looked up to what he campaigned the months before. This thesis analyses Obama’s rhetoric and practice on energy and climate change from his first presidential campaign trail in 2008 until the end of his second mandate in 2016, in order to assess whether he ‘walked the talk’ on environmental matters. Moreover, it considers Obama’s position as an environmentalist, by looking at the energy security discourse and at its implications for climate change and global security.Show less
