Climate Governance Research Articles

Governing climate mitigation in a megacity: Tapping opportunities in the multi-level governance system?

ABSTRACT Given its sheer complexity and multi-level nature, climate change presents a new governance challenge for urban authorities and actors. By zooming in on the megacity of Jakarta, Indonesia, this paper aims at providing a more nuanced understanding of the forming of urban climate governance in a particular geographical context outside the elite roster of climate frontrunners. Our paper shows that Jakarta’s participation in the transnational cities networks has provided a platform for the city to sustain its climate capacity and agenda. However, although the decentralized system of climate framework allows local cities to navigate their climate responses, limited authority over certain climate-related sectors may remain to confine the city government’s actions. Our case study of Jakarta reveals a fact that the path toward low carbon development is subject to the political dynamics at the provincial and national levels that often diverts its policy from achieving the climate goal.

Courts, climate litigation and the evolution of earth system law

AbstractNumerous scientific reports have evidenced the transformation of the earth system due to human activities. These changes – captured under the term ‘Anthropocene’ – require a new perspective on global law and policy. The concept of ‘earth system law’ situates law in an earth system context and offers a new perspective to interrogate the role of law in governing planetary challenges such as climate change. The discourse on earth system law has not yet fully recognised courts as actors that could shape climate governance, while climate litigation discourse has insufficiently considered aspects of earth system law. We posit that courts play an increasingly influential climate governance role and that they need to be recognised as Anthropocene institutions within the earth system law paradigm. Drawing on a set of prominent climate cases, we discuss five inter‐related domains that are relevant for earth system law and where the potential influence of courts can be discerned: establishing accountability, redefining power relations, remedying vulnerabilities and injustices, increasing the reach and impact of international climate law and applying climate science to adjudicate legal disputes. We suggest that their innovative work in these domains could provide a basis for positioning courts as planetary climate governance actors.

Transformative climate governance in small Swedish municipalities: Exploring the cases of Enköping and Kiruna

AbstractLocal authorities are important actors in sustainability transformations, but smaller municipalities generally do not have the same capacities as larger ones to work strategically with climate‐related risks and long‐term sustainability issues. Our study analyses the efforts of two Swedish local authorities to build capacity for transformative climate governance, paying attention to how structural factors and multi‐level governance relations shape local capacity building. Drawing on interviews with municipal staff and the analysis of policy documents we show that both local authorities are increasingly applying experimental climate governance approaches. In Enköping, innovative governance processes support sustainability objectives and promote public–private collaboration. In Kiruna, the necessity to move the town centre has advanced innovation capacity but steals attention from other issues. We conclude that vertical and horizontal multi‐level governance relations facilitate capacity building, but in a national context where climate action is largely voluntary, more support is needed for smaller municipalities with limited resources to reach their climate goals.

The Rising Tide of Rights: Addressing Climate Loss and Damage through Rights-Based Litigation

AbstractThis article offers a comprehensive analysis of rights-based climate litigation aimed at addressing climate change-induced loss and damage, underlining its potential as a transformative force amid the minimal progress towards a coordinated global response on this topic. It builds on literature highlighting the potential of rights-based climate litigation to fill the gap in accountability for climate change and its consequences, noting that research to date has not systematically analyzed the remedies that plaintiffs have sought or secured. By focusing on remedy claims, this study illuminates the capacity and the limitations of such litigation to unlock redress for loss and damage while highlighting its reciprocal relationship with international negotiations. This synergy implies a promising trajectory towards a more equitable climate governance framework, despite the complexities and challenges inherent in this rapidly evolving field.

Diversifying Boundary Organizations: The Making of a Global Platform for Indigenous (and Local) Knowledge in the UNFCCC

Abstract The creation of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) set out to incorporate Indigenous and local knowledge into the science–policy landscape of the climate field. The Platform is a crucial case of institutional change, as it signals an incipient shift from a science-centric toward a pluralistic approach to knowledge in global climate governance. This article traces this process of change in the politics and practices underlying the establishment and design of the Platform as an interface for Indigenous and local knowledge holders. The analysis shows that the sui generis design of the Platform was the product of bricolage (recombination) and translation (recontextualization) of disparate elements with the purpose of accommodating various political demands in an altogether new kind of knowledge–policy interface: a diverse boundary organization. The article makes an empirical contribution to the historical development of knowledge politics in the UNFCCC and a theoretical contribution to the study of boundary organizations by advancing a broader conceptualization that transcends science-centric approaches.

Seen but overlooked? The emergence of regional leadership in polycentric climate governance after Paris

Seen but overlooked? The emergence of regional leadership in polycentric climate governance after Paris

Las acciones climáticas de América Latina y el Caribe y la cooperación relacionada con China. Climate actions in Latin America and the Caribbean and related cooperated with China

Over recent years, climate change has been a key issue of global concern to the world and the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) which have shown increasing interest and actively joined and participated in the global climate governance agreements. Many LAC countries have taken the initiative to propose their own carbon neutrality goals and take measures such as accelerating the energy transition, restoring ecosystems, and cooperating with China in renewable energy sectors, which have led to admirable results. Historical and cultural traditions, as well as economic development needs, are the driving forces for LAC countries’ emphasis on addressing the climate issue. In the future, countries in the region will continue to work towards the goal of carbon neutrality and further strengthen the implementation of relevant policies. However, persistent, creative efforts are called for to overcome the socio-economic challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic to achieve carbon neutrality targets. To achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, the governments of LAC countries must continue to adhere to green policies, build social consensus, and increase capital investment. Cooperation within and beyond the region is needed to consolidate the ability of sustainable development and make up for the shortcomings of capital and technology in some countries to assist countries in jointly achieving carbon neutrality goals.

Evaluating provincial carbon emission characteristics under China’s carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals

This study defines Provincial Carbon Emission Characteristics (PCEC) as the socioeconomic conditions influencing provincial carbon emissions, the potential for carbon neutrality, and carbon management strategies. Given China’s commitment to peak carbon emissions and to achieve carbon neutrality, the development of a robust and versatile PCEC evaluation system is imperative. However, previous studies that rely on single-objective evaluation models are limited. To address this gap, we propose a multi-objective PCEC evaluation system using a novel three-layer approach. This approach enhances the scientific rigor, comprehensiveness, and comparability of PCEC evaluation indicators (PCEC-EIs) by segregating the extraction process into three layers: (1) a factor layer, which identifies critical socioeconomic conditions; (2) a quantitative layer, which selects optimal quantitative indicators for each identified condition; and (3) a standardized layer, which standardizes these indicators, thereby improving their comparability. By applying hierarchical cluster analysis, our study classified 30 Chinese provinces into 7 distinct clusters, each with unique carbon emission characteristics. Further investigation of these clusters across various climate governance issues revealed the versatility of our multi-objective PCEC evaluation system. Our system supports the identification of provinces qualified to reach the emission peak earlier than 2030, differentiation of carbon intensity reduction efforts during the carbon peaking stage, and exploration of various emission reduction pathways to achieve carbon neutrality. Hence, our findings can guide the creation of bespoke emission-reduction strategies for each province; thus, aiding China’s national ambition to achieve peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality. Importantly, our three-layered approach has broader implications beyond China, potentially assisting other regions or countries in grappling with similar climate-mitigation challenges.

Corporate governance and financial performance: Reframing their relationship in the context of climate change

AbstractIn addressing the challenges of climate change (CC), companies face the difficult task of reconciling long‐term environmental goals and short‐term financial interests. In this paper, we argue that that effective climate governance enables companies to balance both objectives, supporting a business case for CC action. For a sample of 832 multinationals for the period 2011–2020, the findings show that effective climate governance leads to higher corporate financial performance (FP) and this relationship is strengthen by better climate performance. Furthermore, effective climate governance is driven by the ownership of long‐term institutional investors, whose positive influence is reinforced by homogeneous distribution of their ownership. We provide a broad analytical framework that considers the determinants and effects of climate governance, from which theoretical and practical implications can be derived.

A theoretical framework for developing a health impact assessment implementation model in Ireland

Abstract Background A Health Research Board (HRB) four-year research study, which commenced in January 2023, seeks to explore the process of carrying out Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) with a view embedding the approach as normal practice in local and national policy development in Ireland. Methods A theoretical framework has been constructed to develop an HIA implementation model. The framework is based on the all-island Institute of Public Health Ireland's HIA guidance. The theoretical framework will examine factors affecting HIA implementation, using both the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and Normalisation Process Theory (NPT). An action research methodological approach will be used to gather data on the experiences that participants will reflect on while doing the HIA. Participants included in the study will be the members of the two HIA Steering Groups created for each HIA (12 participants in each HIA) and policy end-users of the HIA evidence from the city council and government ministries (20 participants for each HIA). Results The theoretical framework will be applied to two HIAs, in order to generate data in creating the HIA implementation model. HIA 1, commencing October 2023, will be conducted on the local government Cork City Development Plan. HIA 2, commencing January 2025, will be carried out on the Irish Government's Climate Action Plan. Preliminary results on the application of the theoretical framework to HIA 1 will be presented, as well as reflections for the planned HIA 2. Conclusions For the first time in Ireland and beyond, a theoretical framework has been developed employing innovative methodological approaches to building a contextualised HIA implementation model. Using action research in assessing the implementation of HIA, with a view to analysing the lived experience of Steering Group members as they conduct the HIAs, and policy end-users, will ensure an enhanced HIA implementation model. Key messages • The development of an innovative theoretical framework for the study of HIA. • The building of HIA capacity in Ireland using the newly revised Institute of Public Health guidance.

The role of space-based data in European climate policies

Space-based data provide essential information on the past, current, and future state of climate change. Satellite data widely contribute to scientific research conducted by recognized institutions such as the IPCC, which underpin most climate policies in Europe. In addition, half of the Essential Climate Variables (ECVs), which are necessary to monitor climate change, directly come from satellite data. However, the role of space is not always accurately reflected in Europe's climate policies, with only a few direct references to ESA's or EU's space programmes and data.Against this background, this paper aims to provide an in-depth assessment on the actual role played by space-based data in the definition and implementation of European climate policies. Based on the outcomes of a year-long research conducted in collaboration with the European Space Agency, the paper will first analysed the use and references to space-based data in over 500 climate policy documents of the 22 ESA Member States. Subsequently, it will address some potential blocking points to the use of space in the climate policymaking process in the analysed European countries. By doing so, the paper will also look into aspects related to science communication, the science-to-policy divide as well as the climate governance in ESA Member States. Finally, this paper will provide recommendations to increase the use of space-based data in the climate policymaking process.

Regulatory Effect Evaluation of Warming and Cooling Factors on Urban Land Surface Temperature Based on Multi-Source Satellite Data

Various physical characteristics of urban impervious surfaces (ISAs) and urban green spaces (UGSs) collectively regulate environmental temperatures through heating and cooling processes. However, current research often analyzes each regulating factor as an independent variable when examining its relationship with land surface temperature (LST), with limited studies considering the combined contribution weights of all regulating factors. Based on multi-source remote sensing data and ground observations from the near summers of 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018 in the built-up area of Xuzhou City, numerical values and spatial distributions of 15 regulating factors, including ISA density (fi), land surface albedo (Albedo), population density (Population), anthropogenic heat flux (AHF), maximum ISA patch index (LPIISA), natural connectivity of ISA patches (COHESIONISA), aggregation index of ISA patches (AIISA), average shape index of ISA patches (SHAPE_MNISA), UGS density (fv), evapotranspiration (ET), UGS shading index (UGSSI), maximum UGS patch index (LPIUGS), natural connectivity of UGS patches (COHESIONUGS), aggregation index of UGS patches (AIUGS), and average shape index of UGS patches (SHAPE_MNUGS), were separately extracted within the study area. Using geographically weighted regression models and bivariate spatial autocorrelation models, we separately obtained the quantitative and spatial correlations between the 15 regulating factors and LST. The results revealed that all selected regulating factors exhibited high goodness-of-fit and significant spatial correlations with LST, which led to their categorization into eight warming factors and seven cooling factors. The factor detection of the Geographic Detector further reveals the combined contribution of all regulating factors to LST. The results indicate that cooling factors collectively have higher explanatory power for LST compared to warming factors, with UGSSI contributing the most to LST, while Population contributed the least. Furthermore, the interaction detection results of the Geographic Detector have highlighted variations in the explanatory power of different factor combinations on LST. Ultimately, it has identified factor combinations that have proven to be most effective in mitigating the urban heat environment across three scenarios: warming factors alone, cooling factors alone, and a combination of both warming and cooling factors. The suggested factor combinations are as follows: fi ∩ Albedo, fi ∩ LPIISA, UGSSI ∩ fv, UGSSI ∩ LPIUGS, fi ∩ UGSSI, and Albedo ∩ UGSSI. Therefore, our findings hold the potential to provide a valuable reference for urban planning and climate governance. Tailoring factor combinations to the local context and selecting the most effective ones can enable cost-effective mitigation of the urban heat environment.

Heterogeneous impacts of climate change news on China's financial markets

This paper investigates the influence of climate change news on China's major assets: stocks, exchange rates, treasury bonds and green bonds. Using 1.4 million articles from 2017 to 2022, we create climate change news indices (CCNIs) spanning natural disasters, climate governance, energy transition, climate cooperation, and climate communication. We establish CCNI–return and CCNI–value-at-risk connectedness networks for asset returns and extreme risks, respectively. The findings suggest a moderate effect of climate change news on Chinese financial markets. Both natural disasters and energy transition news affect treasury and green bond returns. Energy transition news notably influences extreme risks for green bonds. Dynamic analysis shows that policies related to climate governance and energy transition can affect treasury and green bond returns in specific periods, while negative news related to natural disasters and energy transition increase extreme risks for stocks and green bonds. Our study underscores the need to enhance China's green financial system in order to effectively address climate change.

Three decades of EU climate policy: Racing toward climate neutrality?

AbstractThe European Union (EU) began developing climate policy in the 1990s. Since then, it has built up a broad portfolio of mitigation policy measures and governance tools, including legally binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and policy measures addressing emissions trading, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and more. In 2019, the European Commission—the EU's executive arm—published the European Green Deal (EGD), an overarching policy framework to achieve the goal of climate neutrality by 2050. The EGD aims to push EU climate policy and governance far beyond incremental policy development. In this article, we ask: does the EGD represent a break from past patterns of EU climate governance? We argue that it maintains several past patterns, but nevertheless breaks from other established policy and governance trends. We review insights from politicization and new institutionalist theoretical lenses to help us understand these findings. We reveal certain tensions and challenges inherent in the EU's climate governance approach—around speed and coherence, effectiveness and just transition—that highlight future research needs, and raise questions about the EU's ability to implement its climate policy goals.This article is categorized under: Policy and Governance > Multilevel and Transnational Climate Change Governance

Indigenous Peoples’ rights in national climate governance: An analysis of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

Although the recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ contributions to climate governance by the international community has gradually increased, a rights-based approach in national climate action is still largely absent. This article analyses the recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ rights in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. We conducted a content analysis of all NDCs submitted between 2016 and May 2022. Through a five-pronged framework of sustainable self-determination, we assessed how the NDCs recognise: i. Indigenous Peoples as rights-holders; ii. Indigenous jurisdiction over land; iii. Indigenous knowledge systems; iv. Indigenous Peoples’ right to full and effective participation in climate governance; and v. the legacy of colonialism. NDCs with references related to Indigenous Peoples are increasing. However, questions remain regarding their sincerity and commitment to implementation. States must therefore make more significant efforts to ensure that the NDCs take a rights-based approach and contribute to strengthening Indigenous Peoples’ role and say in climate governance.

Does climate governance affect waste disclosure? Evidence from the U.S.

ABSTRACT Traditional corporate governance mechanisms can improve corporate financial and non-financial disclosures. However, how corporate climate governance affects firms’ waste disclosure remains unclear. Contributing to the emerging climate governance concept, this study investigates climate governance’s impact on waste disclosure using a sample of U.S. non-financial firms from 2002 to 2019. This study makes two contributions to the disclosure and governance literature. First, it shows that high-quality climate governance improves firms’ waste disclosure (including hazardous and non-hazardous waste disclosures). It reveals that climate governance quality affects firms’ waste disclosure through several channels. Second, we show that higher waste disclosure and climate governance quality reduce firms’ market performance. Climate governance quality has a significant positive moderating role in the relationship between waste disclosure and firms’ market performance; higher climate governance quality positively impacts firms’ market performance through waste disclosure. The results are robust to alternative proxies for waste disclosure, different regression techniques, and endogeneity issues.

Organising Stakeholder Participation in Global Climate Governance: The Effects of Resource Dependency and Institutional Logics in the Green Climate Fund

Public or stakeholder participation in environmental governance has been strongly advocated within the United Nations (UN) since the early 1990s. A relatively new mechanism for global climate finance that emphasises stakeholder engagement is the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a UN strategy for channelling funds from the Global North to the Global South. Drawing on previous critical approaches to multi-stakeholder involvement in global governance, this article explores stakeholder involvement within the GCF. The study combines ideas from institutional logics and resource dependency to provide a better understanding of how stakeholder arrangements are shaped in climate organisations. Results show that the GCF stakeholder arrangement favours private sector stakeholders – stakeholders that take a technical and apolitical approach to climate finance – and disfavours smaller, less resourceful stakeholders as well as those who perform a politicised watchdog function.

SRM on the table: the role of geoengineering for the stability and effectiveness of climate coalitions

Geoengineering, including solar radiation management (SRM), has received increasing scrutiny due to the rise of climate extremes and slow progress in mitigating global carbon emissions. This climate policy option, even as a possibility, can have consequential implications for international climate governance. Here, we study how solar engineering affects the effectiveness and stability of a large set of regional coalitions through numerical simulations. We posit a requirement in terms of global political or economic power and analyze the exclusive membership coalition formation process when coalitions jointly decide on geoengineering and mitigation. We show that geoengineering can provide incentives for cooperation and partially solve the typical trade-off between stability and effectiveness of climate coalitions. However, temperature reduction mostly comes from deploying SRM within the coalition rather than from further emission reductions, thus exposing the world to relatively large-scale deployment of SRM with as of today uncertain potential side effects and risks.

A dataset of carbon and water fluxes observed in Xishuangbanna tropical seasonal rain forest from 2011 to 2015

The proposal for China's dual-carbon target is based on the foundation of addressing climate change. It is imperative to enhance carbon sinks and reduce carbon sources to implement climate governance. The terrestrial ecosystem is an important atmospheric carbon sink, while the tropical seasonal rain forest, as a component of the terrestrial ecosystem in China characterized by rich biomass, and strong productivity, plays an essential role in carbon sequestration. As one of the basic observation and research stations of China Flux Research Network (ChinaFLUX), the Xishuangbanna Tropical Seasonal Rainforest Ecological Station built in 2002 has accumulated 20 years of carbon and water flux observation data. Based on the ChinaFLUX data processing system, this dataset processes and collates the tropical seasonal rain forest flux and conventional meteorological data of Xishuangbanna from January 2011 to December 2015. The result is a collection of data products at half-hourly, daily, monthly, and yearly intervals. This dataset can be applied to research fields such as the analysis of the carbon cycle response mechanism of ecosystems and the assessment of carbon sequestration benefits under climate change, and it can also serve as a valuable reference for the optimization of ecosystem model parameters and the verification of results. Through multi-platform architecture, multi-scale integration, and multi-method coupling, the dataset is expected to further provide basic support for analyzing the mechanisms of regional and even global carbon-water-heat cycles in ecosystems, spatiotemporal dynamics and predicting future carbon sink potential, thus providing the scientific basis for achieving China's carbon neutrality goal.

Is participation in global value chains a blessing or a curse for green total factor productivity in Belt and Road initiative countries?

With the continuous expansion of the "Belt and Road" (BRI), green total factor productivity (GTFP) has developed into consensus. Participation in Global value chains (GVCs) brings significant industrial and ecological benefits to BRI economies. By combining the multi-region input-output analyses with the panel regression model, the current paper examines the GVCs' influence on GTFP in 93 BRI countries during 2002–2018. Furthermore, the mediating effect model recognizes the impact mechanism of GVCs. The results showed that the GVCs position caused the GTFP to increase by 33%, as evidenced by the common correlated effects mean group (CEMG) estimator. Considering the GVCs’ participation modes heterogeneity, the increase in forward GVCs participation raises the GTFP by 20%, while the backward GVCs participation causes the GTFP to decrease by 17%. Considering the national heterogeneity, the GVC position increases GTFP in high-income, upper-middle-income, and lower-middle-income countries. Forward and backward participation have mixed results. Regarding the meditating effect model, the GVCs position and forward participation increase GTFP by increasing technology development and technical efficiency, while for backward participation, the effect is negative. BRI economies need to seek breakthroughs in GVC positions to attain the environmental governance function, enhance climate governance cooperation, and encourage synergy to promote green production.