lecture recording on 11 February 2025 at 16.39.48 PM

Paris Agreement and Domestic Politics

• The Paris Agreement illustrates the complexity of achieving uniform binding targets among countries.

• Domestic politics play a crucial role in determining climate policy effectiveness and adoption.

International Representation

• Many head of state gatherings lack representation from major countries like China and India, impacting the progress of climate commitments.

• This absence may reflect the differences in political priorities and commitments to international agreements.

• There's a discrepancy between international discussions and actual domestic policy action.

Shift in Focus to Domestic Drivers

• Emerging academic literature emphasizes the importance of understanding domestic factors in climate policy, moving beyond the conventional collective action framework.

• Climate change is framed as a problem requiring cooperation but must also consider unique domestic challenges and distributional conflicts.

• Political actors often prioritize personal and local interests over purely international considerations.

Policy Dynamics in Different Regimes

• Historical examples show that international agreements (like the Kyoto Protocol) do not necessarily hinder domestic climate policy progress; countries can adapt even with significant international debate.

• Surveys indicate a strong domestic desire for actionable climate policies, regardless of other nations' commitments.

• Research shows that well-structured domestic policies often arise independently of international pressures.

Political Institutions and Climate Policy

• The study will examine political institutions and their influence on climate policy adoption, focusing on their contributions to setting climate agendas.

• Actors within these institutions, including businesses and lobbyists, heavily influence policy outcomes.

• The idea of "double representation" highlights how climate interests exist across the political spectrum, complicating policy design and adoption.

Democracies vs. Autocracies

• Democracies tend to have a more substantial public demand for climate action due to their broader representation of citizen interests.

• Autocracies may cater to a small elite, hindering their abilities to enact equitable climate policies.

• Democratic systems encourage public goods provision, leading to potentially quicker adoption of ambitious climate policies.

Challenges for Effective Climate Policies

• Policy outputs (like law adoption) do not always correlate with effective outcomes (like reduced CO2 emissions).

• Democracies may adopt more policies but still grapple with economic growth pressures compromising environmental goals.

• Reformers in democracies may face significant collective challenges from entrenched interests.

Role of Business and Interest Groups

• The role of businesses in climate policy is multifaceted; companies can pursue green regulations that benefit their competitiveness.

• Businesses are not uniformly opposed to regulations; many can benefit from stringent environmental policies, leading them to support greener practices.

• The way businesses interact with political institutions can significantly influence which climate policies are adopted.

Influence of Corruption

• The effectiveness of democracies in reducing emissions hinges on the level of corruption within their systems; high corruption can negate the benefits of democratic governance.

• Corruption can skew policy outcomes, making even democratic systems ineffective if they are not responsive to the public.

Policy Examples: Feed-in Tariffs

• Feed-in tariffs are effective in promoting renewable energy by distributing costs across broader populations instead of concentrating them.

• Democracies often adopt feed-in tariffs due to their ability to appeal to a wider range of voters across urban and rural sectors.

• In contrast, autocracies tend to show an urban bias and may not favor policies providing equal benefits to rural areas.

Concluding Remarks

• Understanding the nuances of political institutions is essential for developing effective climate policy strategies.

• The success of climate policies depends significantly on who is represented within political systems and how interests align within those systems.

• Future discussions will delve into specific case studies like the Inflation Reduction Act to illustrate theoretical points with practical examples.