Rachel Kelley and Elizabeth Curran

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations have reached a standstill over a disagreement regarding which countries should be held to binding carbon emissions cuts.  Climate justice advocates believe the global North owes a “climate debt” to the global South based on their historical carbon emissions.  The global North refuses to acknowledge this debt and will not agree to binding emissions cuts if they are not implemented for all countries.  This North-South divide is led by Bolivia in the South and the United States in the North. Our research analyzes the official positions of the United States’ and Bolivian governments and other major North-South actors to determine if the American and Bolivian positions are representative of a broader North-South conflict and to what extent these positions are facilitating or impeding the building of an international consensus within the context of the UNFCCC. Continue reading →