30th Annual Student Research Conference
A Review of the Mechanisms for Compliance in Multilateral Environmental Treaties: Suggestions for Future Agreements
Josh M. Ellermann
Dr. Marilyn Yaquinto, Faculty Mentor
This paper analyzes states’ behavior in response to multilateral environmental agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Montreal Protocol in an attempt to gauge the effectiveness of various mechanisms for compliance. Despite the consensus within the scientific community about devastating impacts of global climate change, many international treaties are failing to coerce nations into reducing their emissions to targeted levels. It is essential to understand what mechanisms are more effective in facilitating compliance so that necessary steps may be taken to reduce global carbon emissions. By drawing on methods and theories from the disciplines of political science, environmental studies, economics, and history, this paper seeks to not only understand why states comply, but how compliance can be improved in future environmental agreements.
Keywords: environmental agreements, Kyoto Protocol, Montreal Protocol, mechanisms for compliance, carbon emissions
Topic(s):Interdisciplinary Studies Major
Political Science
Economics
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 406-3
Location: MG 2090
Time: 3:00