Has the Paris Climate Agreement Changed Corporate Behavior?

11:30 AM New York l 5:30 PM Vienna

The OSUN Hub for the Politics of the Anthropocene (OHPA) presents a discussion with Jeff D. Colgan, Richard Holbrooke Professor in the Department of Political Science and Watson Institute for Public and International Affairs at Brown University. His research focuses on international order and security, especially as related to energy and the environment.

Did firms shift resources to decarbonization in the wake of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, especially in industries where technology permits relatively cheap low-carbon options? The Paris Agreement marked a key moment in climate cooperation, uniting countries towards a common goal. However, achieving this target is largely dependent on the behavior of nonstate actors because companies are responsible for the lion’s share of greenhouse gas emissions. Existing research on the effects of international organizations on nonstate actors is mixed, and little focuses on climate agreements.

Colgan will examine whether the Paris Agreement changed corporate behavior among “convertible” industries, focusing on automobile manufacturers.  Using five types of primary source materials such as earnings call transcripts and production reports, we find quite limited evidence that the Paris Agreement shifted business strategy in the automotive sector. Overall, the evidence should lead dispassionate analysts to revise downward their beliefs about Paris impact. Still, the Paris Agreement might have created an enabling environment for more ambitious domestic policy in the long run.

Register to join via Zoom

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For more information, call 845-758-6822.

Time: 11:30 am – 1:00 pm EST/GMT-5

Location: Online Event

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