Klimatkonferenserna i Köpenhamn samt Paris:  en studie av Kinas agerande och motiv

This essay studies Chinas role regarding the climate change at two climate conferences, one in Copenhagen and the other in Paris. The aim of the study is to understand why China choose to sign the Paris agreement while they previously refused to sign the Copenhagen accord. I have conducted an analysis using the International Relations Theory: Neorealism, and based my analysis on the five criteria of neorealism. To answer the research question, I use primary sources such as official statistics on emissions, China’s five-year plan, interviews with China’s president Xi Jinping and research papers. The result of my study was that China’s signing of the Paris agreement ensured the survival of China as a nation which according to Neorealists is the ultimate goal of every nation