The EU as a global leader? : A comparative study on Copenhagen and Paris UN climate change negotiations

Climate change is a global and demanding issue, which affects all the states on the planet. The European Union has from the 90s been vigorously engaged in the international efforts to tackle climate change and even pursued to take on the leading role in the global climate regime. The two most anticipated UN conferences for combating climate change at the global level were the COP15 in 2009 and COP21 in 2015. The EU, described by the academia as the possible leader, had high ambitions and sought to negotiate an agreement, which would legally bind the parties to reduce the greenhouse gases emissions. Although the EU had the same ambitions in prior to both summits, the outcome was one of a very different nature. COP15 was described by EU’s lead negotiators as disappointing, while COP21 was termed historical. The ultimate aim of this thesis is to account for the reasons behind the outcome discrepancy by comparing the two UN Conferences by primarily analyzing the role played by the alleged climate leader, the European Union. The study will also consider the most relevant aspects of the political and economic context, as well as the most dominant parties at the UNFCCC. The EU is not a state, nor a traditional international institution. Thus, the thesis departs from evaluating the status of the European Union in the international climate change regime, using the criteria developed by Jupille & Caporaso and Vogler & Bretherton. After concluding the nature of EU actorness, the study will make use of the leadership types elaborated by Wurzel and Connelly in order to gain a more nuanced conceptualization of EU’s role and leadership at the conferences. After the EU’s actorness at both Copenhagen and Paris is conclusively demonstrated, the role and leadership of the Union are finally assessed in order to identify the reasons behind the outcome discrepancy. The conclusion is that the EU failed to assume the role of the leader in Copenhagen, while succeeding it, at least to some extent, in Paris. External factors, such as China’s approach, have also played a crucial role

Preparation and Characterization of Dextran Coated Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Thin Layers

In the present study, we report the synthesis of a dextran coated iron oxide nanoparticles (DIO-NPs) thin layer on glass substrate by an adapted method. The surface morphology of the obtained samples was analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), optical, and metallographic microscopies. In addition, the distribution of the chemical elements into the DIO-NPs thin layer was analyzed by Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectrometry (GDOES). Furthermore, the chemical bonds formed between the dextran and iron oxide nanoparticles was investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Additionally, the HepG2 viability incubated with the DIO-NPs layers was evaluated at different time intervals using MTT (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. The goal of this study was to obtain a DIO-NPs thin layer which could be used as a coating for medical devices such as microfluidic channel, microchips, and catheter. The results of the surface morphology investigations conducted on DIO-NPs thin layer suggests the presence of a continuous and homogeneous layer. In addition, the GDOES results indicate the presence of C, H, Fe, and O signal intensities characteristic to the DIO-NPs layers. The presence in the IR spectra of the Fe-CO metal carbonyl vibration bonds prove that the linkage between iron oxide nanoparticles and dextran take place through carbon–oxygen bonds. The cytotoxicity assays highlighted that HepG2 cells morphology did not show any noticeable modifications after being incubated with DIO-NPs layers. In addition, the MTT assay suggested that the DIO-NPs layers did not present any toxic effects towards HEpG2 cells