Green for the Right Reasons? Ideology and Climate Change in the Global South

• In Event: Domestic Politics and Foreign Policy

Abstract

What is the effect of governments' ideology on foreign policies regarding climate change? Research on the drivers of foreign policy regarding climate change negotiations has extensively delved into the effects of the balance of risks and mitigation costs, as well as the relevance of interest groups such as civil society organizations or carbon-intensive industries. However, the role of ideological orientation has been neglected in most quantitative studies. Building upon an original dataset consisting of 1194 statements from 2010 to 2020 at the Conference of the Parties within multilateral climate change negotiations, this paper addresses the impact of government ideology on the negotiating position of developing countries. Despite previous academic work that assert that left-wing government coalitions are more likely to adopt pro-environment stances, the findings in this paper suggest that this is only the case in developed countries. Results suggest that the effect of ideology is different in the Global South, where right-wing pluralist coalitions are more likely to adopt ambitious positions in climate change negotiations.

Author

• Patricio Yamin, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella