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UBC Theses and Dissertations
Canada's participation in climate clubs Or, Ka Lai
Abstract
Delivering concrete intergovernmental agreements and actions to achieve the Paris Agreement goals remains a tough challenge as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change requires consensus among its 198 Parties. Climate clubs, initiatives that involve voluntary participation by a smaller group of countries, have been proposed to advance ambitious climate actions. The climate club literature is marked by heterogenous interpretations, limited empirical studies and scattered discussions on the connection between motives of different countries and the corresponding types of climate clubs that they are more likely to join. Among all country types, fossil fuel-producing and -exporting countries are a particularly intriguing subset—Why would they join or lead clubs that advocate a transition away from fossil fuels? Could they be driven by a genuine belief in climate action, or selectively joining climate clubs that do not require additional and actual effort? This research investigates Canada, a country that aspires to be a climate leader under the federal Liberal government’s leadership over the past decade and has significant economic interest in fossil fuel production and exports. This research asks (1) What has motivated Canada to participate in some climate clubs, but not others? (2) What insights might be drawn for the success of climate clubs, specifically their ability to accelerate greenhouse gas emissions reduction across countries? Through reviewing scholarly literature, government documents and press articles, and five interviews with officials at Environment and Climate Change Canada, I argue that Canada’s selective leadership in the Powering Past Coal Alliance and the Global Carbon Pricing Challenge and its non-participation in the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance exemplified the federal Liberal government’s cautious effort to advance international and domestic climate action without infringing upon the provinces’ constitutional authority or hindering Canada’s prosperity from oil and gas production and exports. Regarding international climate mitigation, I contend that climate clubs offer a channel for first-mover countries to build political momentum, prospective members to seek support, other stakeholders to voice their demand onto governments. However, the extent to which member countries can fulfil their commitments is volatile and subject to government changes and domestic political shifts.
Item Metadata
Title |
Canada's participation in climate clubs
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Creator | |
Supervisor | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
2025
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Description |
Delivering concrete intergovernmental agreements and actions to achieve the Paris Agreement goals remains a tough challenge as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change requires consensus among its 198 Parties. Climate clubs, initiatives that involve voluntary participation by a smaller group of countries, have been proposed to advance ambitious climate actions. The climate club literature is marked by heterogenous interpretations, limited empirical studies and scattered discussions on the connection between motives of different countries and the corresponding types of climate clubs that they are more likely to join. Among all country types, fossil fuel-producing and -exporting countries are a particularly intriguing subset—Why would they join or lead clubs that advocate a transition away from fossil fuels? Could they be driven by a genuine belief in climate action, or selectively joining climate clubs that do not require additional and actual effort? This research investigates Canada, a country that aspires to be a climate leader under the federal Liberal government’s leadership over the past decade and has significant economic interest in fossil fuel production and exports. This research asks (1) What has motivated Canada to participate in some climate clubs, but not others? (2) What insights might be drawn for the success of climate clubs, specifically their ability to accelerate greenhouse gas emissions reduction across countries? Through reviewing scholarly literature, government documents and press articles, and five interviews with officials at Environment and Climate Change Canada, I argue that Canada’s selective leadership in the Powering Past Coal Alliance and the Global Carbon Pricing Challenge and its non-participation in the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance exemplified the federal Liberal government’s cautious effort to advance international and domestic climate action without infringing upon the provinces’ constitutional authority or hindering Canada’s prosperity from oil and gas production and exports. Regarding international climate mitigation, I contend that climate clubs offer a channel for first-mover countries to build political momentum, prospective members to seek support, other stakeholders to voice their demand onto governments. However, the extent to which member countries can fulfil their commitments is volatile and subject to government changes and domestic political shifts.
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Genre | |
Type | |
Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2025-08-01
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0449566
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Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
2025-11
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Citations and Data
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International