Climate change mitigation framework: Difference between revisions

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=== Paris Agreement ===

[[File:The Eiffel Tower Is Illuminated in Green to Celebrate Paris Agreement's Entry into Force.jpg|thumb|'''The [[Eiffel Tower]] Is Illuminated in Greengreen to Celebratecelebrate the Paris Agreement's Entryentry into Force'''force]]More recently, the 2016 [[Paris Agreement]] has come out with [[Intended Nationally Determined Contributions|Nationally Determined Contributions]] (NDCs), which are determined by countries and must be ambitious and progressive with every 5 years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement|title=The Paris Agreement {{!}} UNFCCC|website=unfccc.int|access-date=2019-10-23}}</ref> Since the NDCs are determined by each individual country, there is a potential problem of countries not being stringent enough with themselves, misreporting, or simply not setting goals<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Robiou du Pont|first1=Yann|last2=Jeffery|first2=M. Louise|last3=Gütschow|first3=Johannes|last4=Rogelj|first4=Joeri|last5=Christoff|first5=Peter|last6=Meinshausen|first6=Malte|date=2016-11-19|title=Equitable mitigation to achieve the Paris Agreement goals|journal=Nature Climate Change|language=en|volume=7|issue=1|pages=38–43|doi=10.1038/nclimate3186|issn=1758-6798|url=http://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/14181/1/Equitable_mitigation_to_achieve_the_Paris_Agreement_goals.pdf}}</ref> that will meet the under 2°C increase in temperature requirement set out by the [[Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C|2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report]] that is deemed necessary to meet in order to mitigate detrimental effects on hundreds of millions of lives.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm/|title=Summary for Policymakers — Global Warming of 1.5 ºC|access-date=2019-10-23}}</ref>

== History of climate change frameworks ==

As a result of the historical precedent that international consensus and decision making can be accomplished under the threat of a global environmental issue, with the depletion of the ozone layer, there has been a tendency towards a top-down, consensus-based approach to addressing climate change through the [[United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change|UNFCCC]]. This approach is the dominant one where all world governments are engaged, which makes sense as the entire population of the world is affected by this issue. The top-down approach is that of strong central oversight by a majority of world governments in determining how various approaches to [[climate change mitigation]] should be implemented.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sépibus|first1=Joëlle de|last2=Sterk|first2=Wolfgang|last3=Tuerk|first3=Andreas|date=2013-06-01|title=Top-down, bottom-up or in-between: how can a UNFCCC framework for market-based approaches ensure environmental integrity and market coherence?|journal=Greenhouse Gas Measurement and Management|volume=3|issue=1–02|pages=6–20|doi=10.1080/20430779.2013.798782|s2cid=219598938|issn=2043-0779|url=https://boris.unibe.ch/90362/1/Top-down%2C%20bottom-up%20or%20in-between%2C%20how%20can%20a%20UNFCCC%20Framework%20for%20Market-based%20Approaches%20Ensure%20Environmental%20Integrity%20and%20Market%20Coherence.pdf}}</ref> This approach has been the largest route to tackling the goal of solving climate change, however the world is not on track to reach the under 2°C warming in average temperature that would help hundreds of millions of people.<ref name=":1" />

Thus, the top-down framework of only utilizing the UNFCCC consensus approach has been proposed to be ineffective, with counter proposals of bottom up governance and decreasing the emphasis of the UNFCCC.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Cole|first=Daniel H.|date=2015-01-28|title=Advantages of a polycentric approach to climate change policy|journal=Nature Climate Change|language=en|volume=5|issue=2|pages=114–118|doi=10.1038/nclimate2490|issn=1758-6798|url=https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facpub/1415}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Sabel|first1=Charles F.|last2=Victor|first2=David G.|date=2017-09-01|title=Governing global problems under uncertainty: making bottom-up climate policy work|journal=Climatic Change|language=en|volume=144|issue=1|pages=15–27|doi=10.1007/s10584-015-1507-y|s2cid=153561849|issn=1573-1480}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Zefferman|first=Matthew R.|date=2018-01-01|title=Cultural multilevel selection suggests neither large or small cooperative agreements are likely to solve climate change without changing the game|journal=Sustainability Science|language=en|volume=13|issue=1|pages=109–118|doi=10.1007/s11625-017-0488-3|s2cid=158187220|issn=1862-4057}}</ref> There is a lack of consensus leading to various frameworks being proposed with varying levels of involvement of the UNFCCC and other intergovernmental actors, with proposed local-level approaches, emphasis on innovation and competition, enforcement mechanisms, and minilateral forums.

== Polycentric approach ==

The polycentric approach is a proposition to look at the relationships between cities, smaller and larger governments, and private actors when unconstrained by a mandated{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}} plan from the top (UNFCCC).<ref name=":2" /> The shared interests of furthering action on climate change leads to a form of competition between various actors, but also forces them to look to each other to find out what practices are most effective.<ref name=":2" /> This can be seen at city-wide levels on taxation, where one city starts a tax on an unsustainable good and others can observe the effects of the tax, and adopt the policy if it's found to be effective. This experimentation also results in trust building, as various private and governmental actors increasingly communicate with each other and rely on each other's successes.<ref name=":2" /> This approach favors individual, low-level actors working with each other to achieve a common goal, with some integration into higher levels of governance for support, but whose integration is unnecessary and perhaps unhelpful.<ref name=":2" /> The polycentric approach allows a significant space for nongovernmental organizations and nonprofits to participate in furthering the cause, which is uniquedifferent from the top-down approach of the UNFCCC.

== Bottom-up approach ==