A Time of Transition: Why Lamenting the Lack of Political Will at COP18 Misses the Point

The author contends that COP18 achieved modest but real progress, including the EU's acceptance of a second Kyoto Protocol commitment period and the continuation of the Durban Platform. The text posits that the period following the 'disastrous failure' of COP15 has been a transitional phase used to clarify political positions and move toward a more flexible system where emerging economies like China, India, and Brazil also commit to emission reductions. The author argues that 'political will' is insufficient for breakthroughs; instead, 'enabling conditions'—such as social stability and the mitigation of income inequality—are required for national leaders to build domestic support for bold international climate action.

• The author characterizes the period following COP15 as a 'transitional phase' intended to clarify the political positions of major actors and move away from the Kyoto Protocol's strict division between Annex I and non-Annex I countries toward a system where emerging economies like Brazil, China, and India are also bound to reduce emissions.
• COP18 is assessed as having made modest progress, specifically through the EU's agreement to a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol (extending provisions to 2020), the maintenance of the Durban Platform, the conclusion of the Bali Action Plan, and the creation of a path for negotiations on loss and damage for small island states.
• The author argues that 'political will' is an incomplete explanation for negotiation failures, asserting that 'enabling conditions'—socio-economic factors including the strength of the social fabric and levels of income and wealth inequality—determine whether national leaders have the political capacity to support bold international action.

APA

Kjellén, B. (2013). A Time of Transition: Why Lamenting the Lack of Political Will at COP18 Misses the Point. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-db-2013-kjellen-unfccc-transition.pdf

Chicago

Kjellén, Bo. A Time of Transition: Why Lamenting the Lack of Political Will at COP18 Misses the Point. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2013. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-db-2013-kjellen-unfccc-transition.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kjellén |first1=Bo |title=A Time of Transition: Why Lamenting the Lack of Political Will at COP18 Misses the Point |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2013 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-db-2013-kjellen-unfccc-transition.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kjelln2013time, author = {Kjellén, Bo}, title = {{A Time of Transition: Why Lamenting the Lack of Political Will at COP18 Misses the Point}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2013}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-db-2013-kjellen-unfccc-transition.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }