Domestic Pressure and International Climate Cooperation

In the wake of 25 United Nations Climate Change Conferences Parties (and counting), international cooperation on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions to avoid substantial and potentially irreversible climate change remains an important challenge. The limited impact Kyoto Protocol curbing emissions, gap between ambitions its successor Paris Agreement's lack sanctioning mechanisms for addressing noncompliance, demonstrates both difficulties in negotiating ambitious environmental agreements reluctance countries comply with their agreed emission targets once they have joined treaty. Therefore, a better understanding obstacles opportunities that interactions domestic policy pose design successful is utmost importance. To shed light roots stalemate suggest possible ways out), this article reviews draws lessons from growing theoretical, experimental, empirical literature accounts hierarchical interplay political pressure policy.