Project

Multilevel accountability in global climate (and/or biodiversity) governance

MSc Thesis Vacancy

Have you ever wondered how the global agreements on the big challenges of our time such as the Paris Agreement on Climate Change or the Convention on Biological Diversity work in practice? Or have you wondered how states can be held to account for the goals they adopted in those agreements?

This project is linked to an international research project on the ambition mechanism of the Paris Agreement. The core of this mechanism is the global stocktake the first iteration of which was finalized in 2023 and the subsequent national climate plans (NDCs) that have to be submitted by February 2024 (but many will be delayed). Your research would focus on how the NDC in one or more countries (to be selected) use the outcome of the stocktake (if at all), what kind of process is used to developed the NDCs etc. You could also do a comparative study of the similar mechanism that exist under the Convention on Biological Diversity. Another angle for your thesis can be how (transnational) NGOs use the ambition mechanism for holding states to account for their moral and legal obligations under the Paris Agreement. If your interest is more on international negotiations, and you are not interested in doing field work or interviews, there is a possibility to analyze the negotiations of the global stocktake focused on understanding the expectations of states on how it should or would work, ex-ante and ex post its first iteration.

Requirements

  • Strong affinity with qualitative research methods, such as literature review, case study research, policy document analysis, and interviews
  • Prior knowledge and interest in international law, international and national politics, climate change, policy-making, accountability

Interested candidates can send a CV and motivational letter to sylvia.karlsson-vinkhuyzen@wur.nl