13.3.3.9 Negotiating process

It is important that several technical issues be taken into consideration when an agreement is negotiated and implemented. Since the international negotiation process under the UNFCCC is based on decisions by consensus, an approach that is simple and requires a small number of separate decisions by international bodies most likely has a higher chance of being agreed upon. This may be true of any agreement that engages multiple countries.

It has been reported in the literature that ownership of an instrument – and hence its commitment and effectiveness – is linked to the manner in which the agreement was negotiated, and that the leadership (directional, instrumental and structural) demonstrated in a regime may stimulate its effectiveness. Kanie (2003) concludes that in the EU, the introduction of policies and measures and institution building changed the dynamics of the climate change negotiation process by enhancing leadership capacity.

The role and influence of non-State actors in the process of negotiation also increase the legitimacy and compliance-pull of a regime, both because such participation promotes the broader acceptability of the agreement and because it may increase knowledge about the regime. Agreements are also more likely to be effective when they are negotiated in accordance with established rules of procedure, when the negotiators of key countries have been able to adequately prepare themselves for the negotiation and when the subject matter of the negotiations is designed to address the problem and has not been artificially limited to make the solutions more attractive to the more powerful countries (Andresen and Wettestad, 1992; Benedick, 1993; Sebenius, 1993; Greene, 1996; Gupta and Grubb, 2000; Gupta and Ringius, 2001). The attention of the regular media to climate negotiations can also mobilize awareness of the issue which then increases pressure on the negotiators to achieve a result (Newell, 2000).