UG event series: Small islands, big players: Small island states and the UN climate negotiations

In 2025, the annual climate COP, or Conference of the Parties, will meet for the 30th time. What has happened in these 30 years of negotiations? Why is it so difficult to make progress? And how do the most vulnerable countries navigate the negotiations and make themselves heard? 

This presentation traces the evolution of the UN climate negotiations from the perspective of small (island) states. Despite their often very small size and limited human, financial and diplomatic resources, small states have been able to influence the negotiations. We will examine their engagement in the process, discuss the specific challenges of small states to participate and look at strategies to overcome these challenges. 

This session will be held by Carola Klöck.  Carola Klöck is a Assistant Professor of Political Science at Sciences Po. Before coming to Sciences Po in 2018, Carola held positions at the Universities of Gothenburg, Antwerp and Göttingen. She obtained her PhD from ETH Zurich in 2013 and her habilitation (venia legend) from the University of Göttingen in 2020. Carola researches the politics of climate change adaptation and global climate change negotiations with a focus on small (island) states. She is both interested in global climate politics, especially the UN climate negotiations, and in local adaptation, especially in response to coastal erosion and flooding in island contexts.

Registration will close two hours before the event begins