Using spatial regression analysis, this paper analyses whether countries’ climate ambition levels are related to those of their peers. It finds that countries’ ambition levels converge with that of countries with similar levels of democracy, geopolitical affinity, and region, whereas ambition levels diverge between peer groups based on level of development.
Since 2019, EU trade agreements have included a commitment to ’effectively implement the Paris Agreement’ in their trade and sustainability chapter. This article unpacks what this actually entails, highlighting how the commitment within the trade agreements has evolved over time from a non-binding statement of shared intent, into a legally binding obligation. The article shows that, with sufficient political backing, the commitment can significantly strengthen the climate regime.
2020 and 2021 saw a veritable boom in net zero targets. This article explores this phenomenon, using the norm life cycle theory of Finnemore and Sikkink to investigate the emergence and diffusion of net zero as a global climate norm.