CEENRG Thursday seminars: 'Strengthening the Paris Agreement through trade? The potential and limitations of EU trade agreements for climate governance'

Speaker: Dr Caroline Bertram (Carlsberg Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Land Economy)

The Cambridge Centre for Environment, Energy, and Natural Resource Governance (C-EENRG) is hosting a seminar series throughout the 2024- 25 academic year.

As the Paris Agreement faces growing challenges in delivering the necessary level of ambition needed to address the climate crisis, scholars are increasingly exploring economic instruments as tools to enhance the binding nature of international climate obligations. Since 2019, a commitment has been included in the European Union’s (EU) preferential trade agreements to effectively implement the Paris Agreement. This commitment now exists in 9 ratified or pending trade agreements, including with the Mercosur countries. I argue that the EU’s latest trade agreements significantly increase the cost of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement and bolster the Paris Agreement’s obligations of conduct, namely parties’ procedural duties, the expectation of progressively more ambitious climate pledges (NDCs), and the commitment of all parties to realise these to the best of their efforts. I also dive into the enabling and constraining political factors that have determined its design.

Seminars take place as hybrid meetings (in person seminars in the DAB - David Attenborough Building + online in Zoom) every Thursday (please check precise time as may vary) during the term. Please register online to receive the Zoom link on the day of the seminar. Everyone is welcome!