INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS RESEARCH JOURNAL. Vol. 9. No 4 (2014) Global Sustainable Development Governance Governing Global Climate Change: Past Achievements, Future Prospects E. Kokotsis Ella Kokotsis, PhD – Director of Accountability, G8 and G20 Research Groups, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, 1 Devonshire Place, Room 209N, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3K7, Canada; E-mail:
[email protected] The cumulative effects of a significantly changing climate are projected to have disastrous implications on the world’s natural habitats and, along with that, to drastically increase the rate and likelihood of violent conflict globally, par- ticularly in high-density, urban, poverty hotspots. Limiting the effects of a changing climate is thus critical in influ- encing multiple societal goals including equitable sustainable development, human health, biodiversity, food security and access to reliable energy sources. This article argues that the Group of Seven (G7) and Group of Eight (G8) have led global climate governance in ways that other international environmental institutions have largely failed to do. They have done so largely by placing climate protection at the forefront of their policy objectives, alongside economic, health, energy and security goals, and reaching consensus repeatedly among their leaders on the importance of sta- bilizing emissions through energy efficiency, conservation, investment and technological innovation. Moreover, this article argues that the summit’s predominant capability and its constricted participation,