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. 2012;41 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):46-55.
doi: 10.1007/s13280-011-0240-7.

The legitimacy of leadership in international climate change negotiations

Christer Karlsson  1 , Mattias Hjerpe, Charles Parker, Bjorn-Ola Linner
Affiliations

The legitimacy of leadership in international climate change negotiations

Christer Karlsson et al. Ambio. 2012.

Abstract

Leadeship is an essential ingredient in reaching international agreements and overcoming the collective action problems associated with responding to climate change. In this study, we aim at answering two questions that are crucial for understanding the legitimacy of leadership in international climate change negotiations. Based on the responses of the three consecutive surveys distributed at COPs 14-16, we seek first to chart which actors are actually recognized as leaders by climate change negotiation participants. Second, we aim to explain what motivates COP participants to support different actors as leaders. Both these questions are indeed crucial for understanding the role, importance, and legitimacy of leadership in the international climate change regime. Our results show that the leadership landscape in this issue area is fragmented, with no one clear-cut leader, and strongly suggest that it is imperative for any actor seeking recognition as climate change leader to be perceived as being devoted to promoting the common good.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Importance of factors for leadership support 2009 and 2010 among delegates (percentage). For each factor the first column displays the Copenhagen results and the second the Cancún results. The importance of the factors for supporting a particular leader are measured on a scale from 1 (respondents disagree strongly) to 7 (respondents agree strongly). In the figure, the share of “1” and “2” responses is displayed in red at the top of the column while the share of “6” and “7” responses is displayed in deep green at the bottom. The number of respondents was 151 in Copenhagen and 270 in Cancún
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
There is a strong need for a climate change leadership that is devoted to meaningful action. Photo by Helena Davidsson
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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