2. In regards to climate diplomacy, the system diagram that I created is an illustration of a possible solution to the numerous challenges facing collective action as it pertains to climate change. Since climate change is a global issue, political negotiations are required, including and especially international diplomatic relations. This system diagram illustrates the cause and effects of the U.S.’s private diplomatic cables on global climate negotiations. The diagram is initiated by the series of evens stemming from the observed global climate change. As a result of such climate change, monetary and political negotiations are required in order to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses. This led to the implementation of spying and cyber warfare by the Untied States via communication cables. The communication cables released by the U.S. served to understand the overwhelming opposition from other countries in response to the controversial “Copenhagen Accord”, which the U.S. strongly supported. Ultimately, various news outlets exposed the United State’s secret, but after much controversy, negotiations were in place for a new climate treaty. Today, 116 countries have associated themselves with the accord and 140 nations represent about 75% of the countries that are involved in the United Nations Climate Change Convention. As mentioned in the article, negotiations surrounding the implementation of a climate treaty prove to be difficult in terms of compromising multiple views on the issue. In addition, a climate treaty would alter the existing global economy to a “low-carbon model” which would require billions of dollars in funding. So, although the WikiLeaks Cables released by the U.S. caused a great deal of controversy, the accord and the UN Climate Change Convention are the necessary stepping-stones required to achieve sustainability.

3. Prior to reading this article I had not heard of the WikiLeaks Cables and the surrounding controversy that they caused. I of course had heard of climate change, and considered myself to be somewhat knowledgeable on the subject, but this class has enhanced my knowledge on the issue immensely. Not only have I gained knowledge on global warming itself, but also the necessary precautionary measures that are required in order to fix the problem. Based on the content from this class, it is clear that collective action is necessary to reverse the damage that has been done. The United States may have gone about solving the issue incorrectly, but the intent behind it was not malicious in any way. However, I believe that the WikiLeaks Cables should have been made public as the corruption and spying would have only continued if they were not public. The United States went above and beyond to try to get other countries on board with their idea without taking into consideration the ability of other countries to act accordingly. Though the intent behind these cables may have been to simply “understand” what the other countries were thinking, the United States should have gone about it in a different way. Our country is seen as a leader for the most part, but this type of behavior is not something that should be admired, especially when dealing with an issue as important as global climate change. In order to reach an attainable international climate change treaty, the requirements for reducing greenhouse gas emissions must take into consideration the large number of nations around the world and the living conditions of each nation. Resources, such as fossil fuels, are readily available in some countries but not others. The standard of living and geographic surroundings of each country must be taken into consideration in order for a realistic international treaty to be implemented.