INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS, CLIMATE CHANGE EXPACTATIONS AND THE REALITY OF INSTITUTIONALIZATION - AN ANALYSIS OF THE UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE (UNFCCC)

Environmental protection constitutes arguably the most important field in international law, where common cause requires adjustment of the international cooperation paradigm based upon the sovereign equality of states. Corrective measures and differentiation of treatment are required, as substantial inequalities between states would otherwise hinder effective cooperation. But any provisions aimed at reintroducing equilibrium between parties to a Convention need to be very carefully drafted, so that environmental protection provisions are not overshadowed by political claims. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the normative ground for international cooperation in climate protection, risks breaking that balance, with the disproportionate economic claims of developing countries putting common environmental goals in peril