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2018 | Book

Introduction: The Politics of Climate Change in the Pacific Read chapter Read first chapter

Combatting Climate Change in the Pacific

The Role of Regional Organizations

Authors: Prof. Marc Williams, Dr. Duncan McDuie-Ra

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik"

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About this book

This book analyses the regional complexes of climate security in the Pacific. Pacific Island States and Territories (PICTs) have long been cast as the frontline of climate change and placed within the grand architecture of global climate governance. The region provides compelling new insights into the ways climate change is constructed, governed, and shaped by (and in turn shapes), regional and global climate politics.

By focusing on climate security as it is constructed in the Pacific and how this concept mobilises resources and shapes the implementation of climate finance, the book provides an up-to-date account of the way regional organizations in the Pacific have contributed to the search for solutions to the problem of climate insecurity.

In the context of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris in 2015, the focus of this book on regional governance offers a concise and innovative account of climate politics in the prevailing global context and one with implications for the study of climate security in other regions, particularly in the developing world.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction: The Politics of Climate Change in the Pacific
Abstract
The introductory chapter makes the case that within the grand architecture of global climate governance, analysing regional complexes in the Pacific provides new insights into the ways climate change is constructed, governed, and shaped by—and in turn shapes—regional and global climate politics. Three claims are made. First, the Pacific is not just ‘any region’, rather the Pacific has been constructed as the frontline of climate change. Second, climate change reinforces the notion of regional solidarity in the Pacific institutionalized in regional organizations; however, these organizations have become heavily dependent on external donors in combatting climate change. Third, Pacific states have advocated for important changes to the global architecture of climate finance, yet contestation over key elements of climate finance leaves the region poorly served.
Marc Williams, Duncan McDuie-Ra
Chapter 2. Organizing a Regional Response to Climate Change in the Pacific
Abstract
The origins of contemporary regionalism in the Pacific are explored to understand the degree of regional interdependence, the strength of regional identity or regional awareness, and the creation of regional organizations that reflect and in some cases create this identity. The first part of the chapter provides a brief overview of regional governance, and analyses the sense of shared identity articulated as the ‘Pacific Way’. Though difficult to define, the Pacific Way is the ideational underpinning of key regional organizations and a way of structuring decision-making in a manner that reinforces distinctiveness and a shared way of approaching cooperation and contention. The second part of the chapter maps the mandates, resources, and competencies of the various regional organizations concerned with climate change in the Pacific, illustrating both the complexity and coherence in the regional architecture.
Marc Williams, Duncan McDuie-Ra
Chapter 3. Constructing Climate Change in the Pacific
Abstract
The prominence of climate change in the global arena has reconfigured the Pacific and its place in the world. Climate change has constructed the Pacific as the frontline of climate change. The first part of this chapter traces the emergence of climate change narratives and how they have been contextualized in the region and have established hegemony in political arenas. This is followed by an analysis of critical voices—many from within the region—that challenge climate hegemony and its impact, especially on other environmental and development problems faced in the region. The final section analyses the persistence of the frontline construction at the global level and the boost it offers to small island states in international climate politics.
Marc Williams, Duncan McDuie-Ra
Chapter 4. Constructing Climate Security in the Pacific
Abstract
Derived from the concept of environmental security, climate security has shaped understandings of climate change in the Pacific in the last decade. Climate security has also brought the future of the Pacific into discussions about regional stability, failed states, and refugee crises. However, climate security is not a singular narrative and different discourses of climate security create differing political conditions for action and resource mobilization. Two competing constructions are the focus here: climate change and conflict, and climate change and vulnerabilities. While constructing climate security as vulnerabilities offers the most promise for addressing issues faced in the region, many actors, including governments in the Pacific, draw from both of these competing discourses where necessary.
Marc Williams, Duncan McDuie-Ra
Chapter 5. Organizing Climate Finance in the Pacific
Abstract
The demand for climate finance by Pacific states to combat climate change is derived from their inability to finance adaptation and mitigation projects from their own resources. However, climate finance is donor-driven and is entwined with development assistance, often using the same language, frameworks, and norms. The chapter begins by examining the global architecture of climate finance. The Pacific is a subset of this global architecture and operates under many of the same mechanisms and norms. The second part engages with the institutional framework for climate finance in the Pacific. The third part explores the normative implications of an emerging climate finance regime in the Pacific and the impact of a fragmented, diverse, and complicated regime in the region where it matters most of all.
Marc Williams, Duncan McDuie-Ra
Chapter 6. Conclusion: The Future of Climate Politics in the Pacific
Abstract
The COP 21 meeting in Paris held high hopes for global climate governance. Pacific states—among others—pushed very hard for a global commitment to 1.5 °C temperature rise. The resulting Paris Agreement fell short of expectations for Pacific states. The concluding chapter begins by analysing the implications for the Pacific following the landmark Paris Agreement and what the future of regional climate politics may look like. This is followed by a brief summary of the content and main arguments presented in the book and a consideration of future research possibilities.
Marc Williams, Duncan McDuie-Ra
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Combatting Climate Change in the Pacific
Authors
Prof. Marc Williams
Dr. Duncan McDuie-Ra
Copyright Year
2018
Electronic ISBN
978-3-319-69647-8
Print ISBN
978-3-319-69646-1
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69647-8