The Age of Climate Change, as a Challenge for States, and IR Theories

Abstract

There is a question, if States as the signatories of the Paris Agreement are seriously trying and capable to reach the goals that average temperatures will not rise more than +1.5 degrees Celsius. Or, is there political inability in the implementation, in particular when taking into consideration huge infrastructure investments of mega-projects for the post-COVID-19 recovery? From the point of view of climate change (mitigation) and environmental protection the situation does not look promising, though climate change is well known today there is neither holistic understanding of the dynamics of the combination of climate change, pollution and loss of biodiversity, nor state policies or coordinated international programs for an existing global crisis. Instead there is a contradiction between rhetoric and deeds. Behind is that environmental issues, in particular climate change and biodiversity, are neither explicitly discussed in main IR theories, nor examined and analyzed enough in Political sciences research, but mostly in light of critical research in alternatives and critical theories. This article discusses environmental issues, including climate change, in IR and Political sciences theories and research, as well as a challenge for States and state policies. First, the paper briefly describes how environmental issues were brought onto political agenda of States; secondly, it discusses environmental issues in IR/Political sciences research based on a review of twelve textbooks (in 1990–2019); and finally, conclusions and brief discussion about hesitation of States to prioritize climate change mitigation in their policies.KeywordsClimate changeEcologyDiscourseStateIR theoryTextbooks