Climate Change Governance after the Paris Agreement

The research evaluates climate governance across 12 intergovernmental fora, including the G7, G20, ASEAN, and AU, using a framework of five functions: Guidance and Signal, Rules to Guide Collective Action, Transparency and Accountability, Means of Implementation, and Knowledge and Learning. The analysis of 1,412 references reveals that while most fora have adopted long-term decarbonization visions and medium-term targets, the strength of these signals varies. Informal groups, particularly the G7 and G20, provide the most significant contributions. Key strengths include commitments to the Paris Agreement and joint R&D, while critical weaknesses are found in transparency and accountability mechanisms, as well as a lack of actionable policy coordination. Some signals, such as the promotion of gas as a transition fuel or the image of coal, are noted as potentially contradictory to Paris Agreement goals.

• Multilateral fora have generally advanced global climate governance functions, but the distribution of political signals is asymmetrical, with the G7 and G20 being the most prominent contributors.
• Guidance and Signal and Rules to Guide Collective Action are the most frequent functions identified, accounting for approximately 67% of all references, while Transparency and Accountability are the least prominent at 3%.
• Long-term decarbonization objectives are widely adopted across all evaluated fora, though few use strong, actionable language. The G7 has committed to net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.
• Medium-term targets are common in half of the fora, with 66% of quantitative targets being simultaneously explicit, exclusive, and actionable. The G7 is the most active in setting these targets across various sectors.
• Rules to Guide Collective Action are primarily driven by agreements to promote renewable energy, with ASEAN being particularly active in developing sectoral definitions and standards.
• Transparency and Accountability mechanisms are the weakest area of global governance among the studied fora, with very few strong references and a general lack of explicit reporting or verification processes in the consulted texts.
• Means of Implementation are frequently referenced, particularly regarding joint R&D for technologies like hydrogen and CCUS, with the AU showing high strength in requesting financial and technical assistance.
• Knowledge and Learning functions are often used as platforms for cooperation, with the G20 and G7 leading in creating spaces for sharing best practices in energy and finance.
• Some political signals within the fora may contradict the goals of the Paris Agreement, specifically references to fossil fuels as transition fuels or efforts to improve the image of coal.
• Approximately 27% of all identified references are classified as 'stronger' (explicit, exclusive, and actionable), suggesting significant room for improvement in the quality of political signals from multilateral fora.

APA

Amaya-Arias, A. M., Forner, C., & Solano-P., A. (n.d.). Climate Change Governance after the Paris Agreement. Transforma. https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/8624-CLIMATE-CHANGE-GOVERNANCE_FV.pdf

Chicago

Amaya-Arias, Angela María, Claudio Forner, and Adriana Solano-P. Climate Change Governance after the Paris Agreement. Transforma, n.d. https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/8624-CLIMATE-CHANGE-GOVERNANCE_FV.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Amaya-Arias |first1=Angela María |last2=Forner |first2=Claudio |last3=Solano-P. |first3=Adriana |title=Climate Change Governance after the Paris Agreement |publisher=Transforma |url=https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/8624-CLIMATE-CHANGE-GOVERNANCE_FV.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{amayaariasndclimate, author = {Amaya-Arias, Angela María and Forner, Claudio and Solano-P., Adriana}, title = {{Climate Change Governance after the Paris Agreement}}, institution = {Transforma}, url = {https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/8624-CLIMATE-CHANGE-GOVERNANCE_FV.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }