Think Globally and Act Locally: Collaboration Across Borders to Address Climate Change

Authors

Allan T. Marks

Abstract

Climate change is a global challenge. International cooperation is essential yet insufficient. This tension is evident in negotiations of international climate agreements and at global climate conferences. In this context, it is worth asking why international law has so far failed sufficiently to address the global challenge of climate change and whether other types of cross-border collaboration can fill the void. Economic, political, and social factors inhibit accelerated and coordinated responses to climate challenges. The scope and direction of climate mitigation and adaptation are uneven, especially in the energy transition. The failure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions fast or far enough is a regulatory and market failure, resulting in heightened risk, unequally shared burdens, and injustice. International law could hasten positive change by re-evaluating sovereignty where climate change and human rights law intersect and, more broadly, reassessing the interplay between climate treaties, sovereignty, human rights, subnational cross-border collaboration, and power dynamics in international relations and geopolitics.

Recommended Citation

Allan T. Marks, Think Globally and Act Locally: Collaboration across Borders to Address Climate Change, 53 Denv. J. Int'l L. & Pol'y 303 (Spring 2025).