Analysis of Environmental Treaties

This thesis deals with the success rate of international climate treaties. It examines the possibilities of deepening the global environmental governance by such treaties. The thesis deals specifically with the comparison of the Paris Agreement and the Kyoto Protocol. The aim of this thesis is to find out which of the treaties was more successful in terms of deepening global environmental governance.To solve this problem the thesis uses a comparative case study focused on these two treaties. The thesis compares the success of the treaties by examining their success in three criteria. The first criterion is the number of actors who deepened their participation in global environmental management thanks to this treaty. The second criterion is the type of response that the treaties evoked. The thesis analyses the response of international non-profit environmental organizations, the academia, and media. The third criterion is the extent to which both the treaties are complied. Before comparing these criteria, the thesis takes into consideration the relevant context of the creation of both treaties, examining when the circumstances for creating an international environmental contract were more favourable and hence, which of the contracts had a better starting position.The hypothesis was that the Paris Agreement is a more successful treaty due to the larger number of actors who have ratified it. Based on a comparative study, this hypothesis was refuted. Taking into account the considerably more favourable circumstances for creating an international environmental agreement during the time of the Paris Agreement, it is shown that both contracts were equally successful in terms of global deepening of global environmental management.