Madariaga Gomez De Cuenca, Monserrat; (2025) The COP That Was and Wasn’t. A Legal Biography of COP 25 in Chile. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This thesis constructs a legal biography of COP 25, offering a detailed legal and sociopolitical analysis of COP 25 as experienced by Chileans. It relies on ethnography in multiple climate negotiations (COPs and other spaces), interviews with 39 Chileans working in climate change, and extensive document analysis, while also containing autoethnographic elements emerging from my own experience in the field. Exploring COP 25 through the narratives of diverse Chilean actors—from grassroots environmentalists to government officials—the study reveals the event’s multifaceted influence on Chile’s climate policy, social mobilization, and environmental governance. It also reveals the Chilean experience presiding COP 25 and their influence in the international negotiations. This research highlights the struggles for participation and the disparities in power that affect countries and stakeholders, particularly most marginalised groups, in both national and international forums. This work situates COP 25 as a “domestic moment” in Chile, showing how international climate events can influence national governance, and therefore, underscoring the need to integrate national contexts within international climate law, as a two-way path feeding each other. The study’s TWAIL perspective advances discussions on environmental justice, inclusivity, and governance in climate policymaking.

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