Le sfide della frammentazione geo-economica per l'azione climatica multilaterale (The challenges of geoeconomic fragmentation for multilateral climate action)

Since the global financial crisis of 2007-08, international economic integration is experiencing a reversal of the steady multi-annual increase in the international cross-border flows of goods, services and capital that characterized the second half of the twentieth century. The Covid-19 pandemic and the geopolitical implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine further tested international economic relations leading to the rise of populism, increased trade restrictions and worsened the ongoing crises of multilateral institutions. Such policy- driven reversal of global economic integration guided by strategic and national security considerations is defined as “geo-economic fragmentation”. In addition to the costs related to segmented markets, such trend is complicating international cooperation in critical policy areas, especially climate change adaptation and mitigation. The article aims to analyse the impact of geo-economic fragmentation on the provision of global public goods, with a focus on cross-border coordination to mitigate climate change.