The Impact of National Interests on Cooperation in Global Environmental Policy

This study examines the interplay between national interests, domestic politics, and international climate cooperation, focusing on the Paris Climate Agreement as a landmark in global environmental policy. The agreement marked a potential shift toward enhanced multilateral cooperation. However, nearly a decade since its adoption, persistent compliance challenges have raised concerns about its effectiveness in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Employing an analytical-descriptive approach combined with a chronological analysis to evaluate states' compliance with the agreement's commitments. The analysis is grounded in a dual theoretical framework: institutional neoliberalism to assess the agreement's institutional achievements and realism to interpret how national interests and domestic pressures impede compliance. Findings indicate that domestic priorities significantly shape adherence, revealing a disparity between ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and their practical implementation.