Conference Agenda

Ten years on since the landmark Paris Agreement, limited progress has been achieved in terms of curbing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting global warming. Predicted 2030 greenhouse gas emissions still must fall by 28 per cent for the Paris Agreement 2°C pathway and 42 per cent for the 1.5°C pathway.

According to the UNEP Emissions Gap Report (2023), fully implementing unconditional Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) made under the Paris Agreement would put the world on track for limiting temperature rise to 2.9°C above pre-industrial levels this century. Fully implementing conditional NDCs would lower this to 2.5°C.

Accelerated transformation towards a low-carbon economy is essential to avoid climate tipping points. However, in the current political climate of geopolitical tensions and rising protectionism, achieving progress on climate action is fraught with uncertainty.

In January 2025, the United States announced their exit from the Paris climate agreement and heralded an era of environmental deregulations and of a mercantilist approach to international trade. This has raised concerns about international competitiveness across the world. For example, some countries like Argentina are considering an exit from the Paris agreement and the European Commission is facing rising pressure, from businesses and national governments, to cut back on its sustainability agenda. At the same time the future of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero is highly uncertain after the exit of American and Canadian banks from the Net-Zero Banking alliance and in the face of growing concerns about antitrust rules.

The proposed session is timely and will consider the future of the green agenda in the face of political turbulence and economic uncertainty driven by changes in global politics that are eroding the previous consensus on climate action. The speakers will discuss pathways for achieving a green transition for both developed and developing countries including (1) the impact of regulatory stringency on competitiveness, (2) the impact of potential cuts to climate finance on adaptation and mitigation plans, and (3) how the new wave of climate hesitancy may change the trajectory of current and future green growth strategies.

This session will be of particular interest to policymakers and environmental economists looking to understand whether and how the discipline needs to adapt to the rising political and economic uncertainty surrounding the green agenda and the diffusion of green technologies.