Click any step to jump to it - the lit step is the one showing below. Real successes (Montreal, Paris) sit alongside failures (Copenhagen) and withdrawals. Green = expanded or strengthened · Amber = mixed or contested · Red = restricted or weakened.
Timeline tucked away while you test yourself. Close the quiz to bring it back.
What happened. The IPCC was set up by the WMO and UNEP to give objective scientific advice on climate change.
What it shows. Building the consensus that underpins cooperation. IPCC founded
What happened. The Montreal Protocol phased out CFCs to protect the ozone layer, covering 198 states.
What it shows. The most successful environmental treaty. Montreal Protocol
What happened. The Rio Earth Summit established the UNFCCC and created the COP negotiation structure.
What it shows. The framework for all later climate diplomacy. Rio Earth Summit
What happened. The first Conference of the Parties (COP1) met in Berlin, launching annual climate negotiations.
What it shows. The process of regular global bargaining begins. COP1 Berlin opens
What happened. The Kyoto Protocol set binding targets for developed states but was undermined by US refusal to ratify.
What it shows. Binding targets weakened by missing key states. Kyoto, no US
What happened. At COP15 in Copenhagen no binding deal was reached; states only "took note of" the accord.
What it shows. A major failure of environmental governance. Copenhagen fails
What happened. The Paris Agreement committed 196 parties to limit warming below 2C, but through voluntary national contributions.
What it shows. Near-universal buy-in bought by dropping binding targets. Paris Agreement
What happened. Fridays for Future school strikes spread worldwide, pushing climate up the political agenda.
What it shows. Public pressure rising, but not binding action. Youth climate strikes
What happened. At COP29 in Baku states pledged $300bn a year by 2035, far below the $1.3tn demanded.
What it shows. North-South tension and the limits of agreement. COP29 finance gap
What happened. In his second term Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement and the WHO.
What it shows. National interest over global cooperation. US exits Paris again
Roll up and down: use the arrows, scroll or swipe inside the box, the up and down keys, or click any step in the arc above.
There are genuine successes here. The IPCC built the science, the Montreal Protocol fixed the ozone layer, and Rio created the COP machinery that produced near-universal sign-up at Paris.
But the deepest agreements are the least binding. Kyoto had targets but lost the US; Copenhagen collapsed; Paris won everyone by making targets voluntary. Sovereignty - states refusing to be bound - is the recurring ceiling.
The same events split by side. Build each paragraph around one point from each column, then judge.
Use Montreal as the success and climate as the hard case: the difference is cost and sovereignty, which is the AO2 point examiners reward.
For "can the world cooperate on the environment?", contrast the Montreal success with the climate record (Kyoto, Copenhagen, Paris, COP29), then judge why climate is harder - cost and sovereign consent.
Use Paris precisely: near-universal but voluntary. That single fact does the evaluative work on whether cooperation is effective.