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International Cooperation: Key to Combating the Climate Crisis
From devastating wildfires to unprecedented floods, the climate crisis is reshaping life on Earth as we know it. But there’s one thing that’s clear: climate change doesn’t respect borders. Whether it’s rising sea levels or unpredictable storms, these challenges affect us all, and no nation can escape the consequences alone. As we face this global emergency, the need for international cooperation has never been greater.
👉 In this article, we’ll explore why working together is the only viable solution to combating climate change. We’ll uncover how global partnerships, shared technologies, and joint climate policies are already making an impact - and why isolationist approaches fall short in addressing the scale of the crisis.
Why international cooperation is essential in the climate crisis
Climate change is a global crisis affecting every nation, from wildfires in Canada to floods in Pakistan. What makes this issue particularly pressing is that no country can tackle it alone.
Climate change does not respect borders. Greenhouse gas emissions produced in one part of the world contribute to rising global temperatures and altered weather patterns everywhere. The atmosphere, oceans, and ecosystems are interconnected. The effects - whether melting glaciers leading to rising sea levels or intensified storms caused by warming oceans - are felt globally. This makes international cooperation not just important but absolutely essential.
For vulnerable nations, this cooperation is critical. Africa, for example, contributes only 3.8% of global emissions, yet it bears some of the most severe consequences, from droughts to floods. International partnerships are needed to provide these nations with the support and resources necessary to adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Without international cooperation, efforts to combat climate change would be fragmented and ineffective. Global agreements like the Paris Agreement offer a framework for nations to collaborate, share knowledge, and coordinate strategies. These collective efforts provide the best chance of limiting global warming and building resilience to its impacts.
The scale of the climate crisis demands a unified global response. Through partnerships that pool resources, share technologies, and create coordinated policies, we can begin to address this immense challenge.
How effective is international cooperation?
International cooperation has already proven to be a powerful tool in addressing global environmental challenges. The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, is perhaps the most significant example. This landmark accord brought together almost every nation on Earth with a commitment to limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C, while pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C. The Paris Agreement is built on a simple truth: climate change is a global problem that requires a global solution.
One of the greatest strengths of the Paris Agreement is its inclusivity. Unlike previous agreements, it is designed to involve both developed and developing countries, recognising that while some nations have contributed more to global emissions, all must play a part in the solution. It also fosters collaboration across borders by encouraging nations to share technologies, provide financial support, and develop joint strategies to meet emission reduction targets.
Other international frameworks have also made significant strides. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) continues to be a cornerstone in coordinating global climate action. Through this platform, countries negotiate, refine, and strengthen their climate commitments. Such international mechanisms create the conditions for collective action, ensuring that nations are working together toward common goals.
However, international agreements are only as strong as the commitments they foster. The Montreal Protocol, for example, which successfully phased out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) to protect the ozone layer, stands as a testament to what can be achieved through genuine collaboration.
International cooperation provides the framework for countries to pool their resources, share technologies, and coordinate efforts on a global scale. Without these agreements, the fight against climate change would be disjointed, and the progress we have made so far would be at risk.
The problem with isolationism
In the context of the climate crisis, isolationism is not only ineffective, it’s counterproductive. While some political movements promote a focus on national interests over global collaboration, the reality is that climate change is not confined by borders. Isolationist policies fail to recognise the interconnectedness of the climate system, as well as the economic and environmental interdependence of nations.
Countries acting alone may be able to make some progress, but without the collective strength of international partnerships, these efforts will never match the scale of the challenge. Take emissions reductions as an example: the largest emitters of greenhouse gases - such as China, the United States, and the European Union - cannot meaningfully combat climate change without coordinating their efforts.
Beyond these global powers, the developing world is crucial to the fight. Nations with fewer resources need the technology transfers, financial support, and knowledge sharing that only global cooperation can provide. Isolationism leaves these countries behind, worsening their vulnerability to climate impacts and threatening global stability.
What’s more, is that isolationism ignores the economic benefits of global cooperation. Countries that embrace green technologies are creating new markets and jobs, as seen with the rise of renewable energy industries. Collaboration enables countries to scale clean technologies more efficiently and reduce costs, from low-carbon hydrogen to electric vehicles. Without cooperation, these advancements would take much longer, putting the global transition to a net-zero economy at risk.
Consider the interconnected nature of global trade. Many of the world’s supply chains - especially for key climate solutions like renewable energy infrastructure - are spread across multiple countries. A solar panel assembled in Europe might use materials sourced from Africa and Asia, with technology developed in North America. Restricting international cooperation disrupts these supply chains, making climate solutions more expensive and harder to deploy at scale.
In short, isolationist approaches not only slow down the fight against climate change, but they also hinder economic growth, technological innovation, and resilience building. The climate crisis is a global challenge that demands a unified global response. Only through international cooperation can we achieve the level of transformation needed to safeguard the future of our planet.
Why the sharing of knowledge and technology is essential
One of the most significant advantages of international cooperation in addressing the climate crisis is the ability to share both technology and knowledge across borders. No single country has all the solutions to the complex problems posed by climate change. Collaboration enables nations to pool resources, exchange innovations, and learn from each other’s successes and failures, accelerating progress toward a more sustainable future.
The Breakthrough Agenda, launched at COP26 by world leaders, is a perfect example of how global cooperation is driving real action. This initiative focuses on critical sectors - power, road transport, steel, hydrogen, and agriculture - that account for over 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The goal is to make clean technologies in these sectors the most affordable and accessible options by 2030. Led by organisations like the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, the Breakthrough Agenda aligns efforts across governments, businesses, and civil society to accelerate the global shift to net-zero emissions.
One of the key components of this initiative is technology transfer. Countries leading in renewable energy, energy storage, and decarbonisation technologies share their breakthroughs with others, lowering the costs of adoption and speeding up implementation globally. For example, Germany's advances in solar energy or Norway’s expertise in electric vehicles have benefited other nations, ensuring that renewable energy solutions can be scaled faster and more efficiently across borders.
However, it’s not just about technology. Knowledge sharing is equally critical. Developing countries, which are often the most vulnerable to climate impacts, need access to both the technologies and the expertise that more developed nations can provide. This includes strategies for adaptation, such as flood-resistant infrastructure, drought-tolerant crops, and coastal defenses, which can significantly improve resilience in the face of worsening climate impacts.
The Breakthrough Agenda facilitates this exchange by encouraging nations to share research, innovations, and lessons learned. It also helps build the policy frameworks and financial structures necessary to deploy these technologies and strategies on a global scale. This ensures that the benefits of technological advancements are not confined to a few, but are spread across regions and sectors, particularly to countries that may otherwise lack the resources to act quickly.
Technology and knowledge sharing are the twin pillars of international climate cooperation. Without these, the world would struggle to meet the scale and speed of the transformation required.
International cooperation and climate finance
While technology and knowledge sharing are critical in addressing the climate crisis, financial cooperation is the foundation that underpins global efforts. The reality, however, is that developed nations - those most responsible for the bulk of historical greenhouse gas emissions - have fallen far short of their commitments to support the countries most affected by climate change. Without significant financial investment, even the most innovative technologies and strategies will be unable to mitigate the growing impact of the crisis.
Industrialised countries in the Global North, including the United States and European Union members, are historically responsible for around 79% of global carbon dioxide emissions since the 19th century. In contrast, Africa, a continent contributing only 3.8%, bears a disproportionate share of climate impacts, from extreme droughts to devastating floods. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that individuals in developing countries are 15 times more likely to be a victims of climate-related disasters than those in wealthier nations.
Recognising this imbalance, several international financial mechanisms have been established. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Adaptation Fund (AF), created under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), were designed to provide essential support to developing countries. The GCF, for example, has mobilised over $10.3 billion in pledges to help finance renewable energy projects, climate-resilient infrastructure, and adaptation strategies.
Yet, despite these efforts, developed nations have been slow to meet their financial promises. A $100 billion annual commitment, set at COP15 in 2009, aimed to provide much-needed climate finance to developing nations by 2020. However, this goal has consistently fallen short with the target not being met in 2020 or 2021. It was only in 2022 that nations finally reached this goal. This consistent underfunding undermines trust between developed and developing nations, complicating negotiations at international summits like COP28.
The Loss and Damage Fund, created at COP27, represents an important milestone in addressing this disparity. Designed to help vulnerable nations recover from climate-induced disasters such as floods, wildfires, and rising sea levels, the fund is critical for countries already experiencing irreversible climate impacts. However, much like the other climate finance mechanisms, the Loss and Damage Fund is severely underfunded. Current pledges amount to just $661 million, a fraction of the $400 billion needed annually to address the actual damage caused by climate change.
These financial mechanisms - the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund, and Loss and Damage Fund - form part of a larger global framework for climate finance, but their inadequacies highlight a troubling reality. Even as the world faces increasing climate-related disasters, wealthier nations are not providing the level of financial support required to meet these challenges. The gap between the promises made and the funds delivered continues to grow, particularly as developed countries prioritise their own clean energy transitions while neglecting the needs of the world’s most vulnerable populations.
Private sector investment is often touted as the solution to this financial shortfall. The idea is that public funds can be used to de-risk projects in developing countries, encouraging private investors to step in. Yet, progress on this front has been slow. Development banks and international institutions have struggled to unlock the trillions needed from private investors.
The situation is even more frustrating for developing countries when contrasted with the record subsidies for fossil fuels seen in 2022, where the world's 20 largest economies provided over $1 trillion in subsidies. This stark imbalance between funding fossil fuels and financing climate action in vulnerable nations has led to growing tensions at international summits like COP28, where developing countries continue to push for greater accountability from wealthier nations.
👉 The scale of the climate challenge demands far greater cooperation and commitment from developed nations, particularly those that have benefited from centuries of industrialisation. Without this, the global community risks further entrenching the inequalities that climate change has exposed.
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Examples of where international cooperation is working
Despite the many challenges of climate action, there are significant success stories that demonstrate how international cooperation can lead to real progress. In key sectors like energy, agriculture, and industrial emissions, collaborative efforts are making a real difference, proving that a unified approach can accelerate the transition to a sustainable future.
Breakthrough Agenda Success Stories
The Breakthrough Agenda, launched at COP26, is a good example of how international cooperation is driving forward climate solutions across critical sectors. By aligning standards and pooling resources, nations are collectively advancing key technologies that are vital to achieving net-zero emissions.
One of its most promising initiatives is the progress made in near-zero emission steel. Steel production is responsible for a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions, and decarbonising this industry is essential for meeting global climate goals. Through the Breakthrough Agenda, countries have begun to align standards for green steel, making it easier for producers to adopt low-carbon technologies. This cooperation has the potential to significantly reduce emissions in one of the world’s most energy-intensive sectors.
Similarly, the electric vehicle (EV) market is growing rapidly due to international efforts to standardise regulations, share research, and scale production. In 2023, electric vehicles accounted for 18% of total car sales, thanks in part to coordinated efforts between countries to lower costs, invest in infrastructure, and create demand. This shows how global partnerships can accelerate the shift away from fossil fuel dependence in the transport sector, a critical step toward reducing global emissions.
Agriculture and Food Security
In the agriculture sector, international cooperation is crucial for improving food security and promoting sustainable farming practices. Climate change threatens to disrupt food production, particularly in regions already grappling with hunger and poverty. Without coordinated action, the global food system could face severe challenges in the coming decades.
Countries are working together to develop climate-resilient crops, share agricultural technologies, and promote sustainable land management practices. For example, initiatives like the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture bring together governments, NGOs, and the private sector to support farmers in adopting sustainable methods that reduce emissions and increase resilience to climate impacts.
Moreover, by addressing issues like soil degradation and water scarcity through shared technologies and strategies, international cooperation can help safeguard the livelihoods of millions of farmers worldwide. Isolationism, on the other hand, could severely limit the ability of countries to access the innovations and resources they need to ensure food security in a warming world.
Recommendations for strengthening international cooperation
To ensure that the world is on track to meet its climate goals, international cooperation must be strengthened, with a focus on more ambitious, legally binding commitments and enhanced global governance. Here are several key areas for improvement:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Call for Stronger Agreements | While international agreements like the Paris Climate Agreement have been essential in uniting countries around the goal of limiting global warming, many of the pledges made under these frameworks remain voluntary. To ensure real progress, the world needs to move towards legally binding commitments for emissions reductions. Countries must be held accountable for their targets, with mechanisms in place to enforce compliance and raise ambitions over time. Stronger agreements will ensure that nations follow through on their promises and that climate action remains a top priority, even in the face of political or economic changes. |
| Increase Investment in Green Technologies | For international cooperation to be effective, developed nations must take the lead in increasing investment in green technologies, particularly in developing countries. These investments should focus on providing financial and technical support to help less-developed nations transition to clean energy and sustainable practices. Developed nations, which have contributed the most to global emissions, bear a responsibility to provide the resources necessary for an equitable transition. This includes not only funding but also sharing expertise and technology to ensure that all countries, regardless of economic standing, can achieve their climate goals. |
| Global Governance and Trade Cooperation | A coordinated global approach to trade and governance is essential for accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy. Establishing global standards for emissions-heavy industries, such as steel and cement, would help drive down emissions across borders. These standards must be enforced through international agreements, ensuring that countries align their industrial practices with the goal of reducing global emissions. Additionally, improving trade conditions for climate-friendly products—such as renewable energy technologies and electric vehicles—can help lower costs and increase access to sustainable solutions. Trade policies should support the global exchange of green technologies, enabling faster deployment of climate solutions worldwide. |
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