A Study Of The US Discourse Power In The International Climate Arena

Climate change is a global issue concerning the sustainable development of all mankind and an international issue that every country cannot avoid.UNEP released its latest Adaptation Gap Report 2021 during the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC)in Glasgow,UK in 2021.According to the report,developing countries are disproportionately affected by climate change for both historical and practical reasons.At the same time,the settlement of the global climate problems requires the participation of major countries—they should make commitments for the realization of international public interests and earnestly fulfill their commitments.However,from the perspective of national interests,some developed countries tend to reduce or evade their own climate responsibility,in which the shaping of discourse power in the international climate field is an important way.Since climate change governance focuses on climate sector governance programs and institutional discourse tends to be rule-making and institutional maintenance,this dissertation hopes to focus on U.S.domestic and foreign policy regulation and arrangements in the climate normative field by using the climate sector as an entry point.US environmental diplomacy on climate dates back to the 1950s.However,its role in promoting international climate cooperation is limited due to the fragmentation of domestic political parties,public rights,scientific ideas and interest groups.However,as the largest developed country,it has the strongest ability to reduce greenhouse gases due to its financial and technological reserves.Therefore,whether the US can play a role commensurate with its status and capacity in addressing the climate issue and shaping its institutional voice will have an important impact on global climate change and cooperation mechanisms.This paper uses literature research method,case analysis method and historical research method to sort out and summarize data and literature related to institutional discourse power in the field of climate,and retrospect the specific contents of institutional discourse power in the field of climate in the four administrations of George W.Bush,Obama,Trump and Biden.Through summing up the core content of the US discourse power in climate fields,to explore the domestic and international factors,characteristics,and the implement effect,so as to further probe the right path of establishing the discourse power,the current interpretation difficulties in global governance,and the effective global solutions to mitigate climate change.The paper argues that the US lacks consistency and clarity in its institutional discourse in the field of climate change.The establishment of its international discourse is limited by the politics of both parties and domestic factors.It is characterized by unilateralism restricting developing countries,and its fundamental starting point is to safeguard its own core economic interests.At the same time,the US has not devoted much resources or initiative to climate change.But by positioning it as a national security issue,a huge amount of resources were made possible by the convergence of domestic forces.Since then,however,the US climate policy under different administrations has been subject to the influence of various interest groups,and has become a victim of partisan politics and partisanship.In the end,the implementation effect of institutional discourse power at the level of agenda-setting power,decision-making power,and especially ideological shaping power is slightly poor,and the international consensus and domestic development interests cannot be well unified.