Bridging the divide in global climate policy

While climate change is a global challenge facing all humankind, every attempt to negotiate a common response has been fraught with division – a rift born out of the widely divergent interests of nation states and regions engaged in multilateral diplomacy. Still, as our understanding of the climate threat improves and lends substance to an increasingly urgent call for action, traditional dividing lines are beginning to shift; in many areas, formerly entrenched positions are giving way to a discussion about compromise. Yet even so, the road to an agreed solution will be long and filled with obstacles. Offering new perspectives on this evolutionary process, the essays collected in this volume describe the current state of negotiations and highlight the political realities guiding central actors in the diplomatic arena. More importantly, their value goes beyond providing an updated assessment of the present debate to helping understand the dynamics that have shaped past and existing divisions.