Different Conceptions of Nature in the Paris Agreement

Sammanfattning: ABSTRACT In 2015, an Agreement was made in Paris at the 21st conference of the Parties of the UN. The purpose of the Paris Agreement was to collectively target climate change and keep the global warming under 2°C. Since then, the strength of this Agreement has been evaluated in numerous ways, optimists and pessimists present arguments for different theories and opinions. While some argue that the agreement is too weak because of its non-binding features and vagueness, others argue that the very same vagueness has opened up a new door. To contribute with a new perspective, the aim of this study is to describe and analyse different conceptions of nature in the Nationally Determined Contributions submitted to the Paris Agreement by Parties who signed it. Based on previous research about different conceptions of nature, an analytical framework is built and used through a text analysis of some of the Contributions. The findings of this qualitative, descriptive case study are meant to create a deeper understanding of the Contributions made to the Paris Agreement, describing if different conceptions of nature are found and whether this affects the way the Parties aim to tackle the climate crisis.