Brazil in the context of global governance politics and climate change, 1989-2003

What is it about?

The paper discusses the evolution of the Brazilian standing in its relation with the world during the last decade: moving from a more nationalist toward a more liberal and globalist standing in many issues related to the governance of the world. Also, the paper analyses the evolution of the Brazilian stance in the negotiations of the Kyoto Protocol: strong defense of the principle of common/differentiated responsibility, proposal of Clean Development Fund, alliance with USA for transforming the Clean Development Fund in the Clean Development Mechanism, moving from opposition to supporting of flexibility mechanisms, making bridge between developed and developing countries in many negotiations, supporting the European Union in the opposition to the inclusion of carbon sinks, opposition to emergent countries voluntary commitments, opposition to the eligibility of primary forest protection for the Clean Development Mechanism, strong criticism of the withdraw of USA in March 2001, leading role among developing countries in supporting the reaching of a final agreement in Bonn (July 2001) and Marrakech (November 2001), and leading role in trying to achieve the ratification of the Protocol in 2002. Finally, the paper shows how the reluctance of Russia to ratify the Protocol during 2003 was producing a combination of despair and disengagement in the Lula administration.

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Why is it important?

The climate regime is the more comprehensive and ambitious of all environmental regimes, linking in a very direct way one the most crucial economic issue, the use of energy and energy efficiency with one of the stronger environmental threaten. For this reason, the climate regime is one of the most important examples of the impasses of building up some limited global governance in a unipolar anarchic world.

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