The historic unwillingness of the global North to cooperate with the global South 13 to reduce carbon emissions can be further explained by the factors that
determined states’ responses to climate change. Paterson suggests that states
adopted their positions to climate change based on three factors: their
relationship to energy resources, their position within the global economy and their vulnerability to potential climate impacts 14 . When states within the global
North use these criteria to determine their position, it is unlikely that they would
respond strongly to calls to curb their production of carbon emissions.
Firstly, states like the US in the global North are heavily invested in fossil
fuel extraction, refinement and exportation, not just within their borders but also overseas 15 . The multinational corporations (MNCs) that are involved in the
energy sector hold significant influence and are integral to the economies of
many states within the global North and as a result can powerfully lobby against partaking in international climate agreements 16 . The influence of the fossil fuel lobbyists can be seen with the Canadian government’s subsidisation of MNC’s exploiting Canada’s vast oil sand reserves 17 . Between 1996 and 2002, the Canadian government spent $1.19 billion in tax breaks, research and development for the oil sands industry alone 18 . This level of funding from the
Canadian government was despite Canada’s environmental commitments to
reduce emissions made under the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. This shows the historic
strength of the energy lobby over governments even in one of the more
13 Joshua P. Howe, Behind the Curve : Science and the Politics of Global Warming , (Washington: University of Washington Press, 2014) p.177. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/swanseaebooks/detail.action?docID=3444576 [accessed 12/11/2022] 14 Paterson, p.160.
15 Weart, p.211. 16 Paterson, p.13.
17 Amy Taylor et al., Government Spending on Canada’s Oil and Gas Industry: Undermining Canada’s Kyoto Commitment . (Calgary: Pembina Institute, 2005) p.53. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep00157 [Accessed 13/11/2022] 18 Taylor et al., pg.53.
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