International Climate Policy Research Articles

A just transition in animal agriculture is necessary for more effective and equitable One Health outcomes

Abstract The world’s large and growing appetite for meat and other animal products has profound implications for One Health, given its impacts on human health, the environment and animal health and welfare. Accordingly, there is robust evidence that a reduction of animal product consumption is urgently needed in regions where these consumption levels are currently high. A shift away from industrial animal production should be prioritized, given the high levels of animal product consumption this kind of system enables, its relatively high environmental toll, linkages to increasing risks of antimicrobial resistance and zoonoses emergence and harm to animal welfare. Until recently, however, few governments addressed the issue. On the contrary, many governments actively support industrial animal agriculture through subsidies and other measures. Now, motivated by both environmental and public health concerns, policy makers in several countries are adopting regulatory and financial measures to address the overconsumption of animal products. Although these changes are clearly necessary and long overdue, it is crucial that they are planned carefully and inclusively to ensure a just transition. In lower-resourced and food-insecure settings, meat and other animal products can be a vital source of nutrients – particularly during infancy and childhood. In addition, meat supply chains support many livelihoods, and meat is an important part of many people’s social and cultural traditions. This means that policies that curtail common production practices, reduce meat output and raise meat prices could have significant impacts across society. A just transition approach can help ensure that the costs and benefits of the transition are more equitably distributed and protect the most vulnerable stakeholders. By doing so, it can also help increase public support for the transition. The concept of just transitions is well established in the energy sector but is only starting to be recognized in the context of the food system. Governments in the Global North should take the lead in this area, given these countries have very high levels of animal product consumption and more resources available to support a transition. In this Policy Forum, we lay out the case for a just transition in animal agriculture and identify five principles to guide policy makers in promoting a just transition away from systems of industrial meat production and overconsumption. One Health impact statement Drawing on expertise from health, climate, biodiversity and animal welfare policy and science across several regions, this Policy Forum demonstrates how current levels of animal product production and consumption threaten One Health. Although a transition to a healthier, more sustainable and more compassionate food system is clearly needed, such a transition will necessarily involve both costs and benefits for affected stakeholders. Identifying lessons from international and national climate policy, and energy policy in particular, the authors highlight the value of an approach that is holistic and centred on just transition principles to support a transition away from large-scale animal product production and consumption that is in line with the One Health approach, with an emphasis on transitioning away from the consumption and production of industrially-produced meat. This Policy Forum is relevant to policy makers, companies and civil society seeking to promote a shift towards food systems that emphasize public and planetary health.

Equalising the evidence base for adaptation and loss and damages

AbstractSince the UNFCCC Paris Agreement came into force after 2015 international climate policy rests on three pillars: mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage. However, while there are clear agreed‐upon metrics to measure emissions, base mitigation goals against and hold countries and companies accountable to, the evidence base for the impacts of climate change to inform adaptation and loss and damage is very different. There are no agreed‐upon metrics, nor are there guidelines or criteria to delineate the impacts of climate change from other drivers of losses and damages. This imbalance is reflected in the lack of ability to set and enforce goals. With a new body of scientific evidence introduced in the IPCC, we argue that this can change. Especially with an increasing number of climate litigation cases being recognised as a legitimate root to justice, and thus being given due consideration in courts, the imbalance in evidence could change and put adaptation and loss and damage on more equal footing with mitigation.

Specifying the Gap between Nations’ Outward-Looking and Domestic Climate Policies: A Call for Measures of Domestic Climate Policy Stringency

As nations fail to meet their climate emission mitigation goals, the ambition gap is widening between international climate policy (enacted by the United Nations) and domestic climate policy (what nations propose and enact). A widely held but little verified conventional wisdom exists that nations over-promise internationally and under-deliver domestically. While little data exist to directly test this hypothesis, we documented this gap by constructing heuristic indexes of domestic and international climate policy performance, showing that nations tend to “lead with the international”. We found that nations’ domestic policies are not significant in explaining emissions, although their international policies are significant. We concluded that beyond identifying this gap, analysts must devise metrics to assess domestic climate policy across a range of issue areas, as domestic policies are the foundation of any global effort to manage climate change.

International Legal Support of Gender Equality in the Context of Climate Change

Introduction. Gender equality and human rights in the context of overcoming climate change is one of the key and debated topics at the annual UN Climate Conferences. The climate crisis creates social in justice between different population groups and has the greatest impact on the lives of vulnerable groups. Women, compared to men, are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change that limit their rights and opportunities. It is also worth noting that there is a widespread trend of feminization of poverty in the world, which means that poverty is increasing among women more than among men. In addition, women are under represented in international decision-making bodies related to climate change. This, above all, only confirms the lack of adequate support for womenʼs initiatives in climate decision-making. The aim of the article. The purpose of the research is to clarify the essence of gender equality and the peculiarities of its international legal support in the context of climate change based on the study of scientific works by reputable scholars and international legal acts. Results. Climate change is one of the major global problems of humanity, which is directly related to gender equality. As a result of climate change, women and men facenew challenges that affect the realization of their rights in the current environment.Women are more vulnerable to climate change and have fewer opportunities to adapt to it. The international community has faced a difficult task to eliminate the imbalance between the ability of women and men to realize equal rights in the context of climate change. Unfortunately, only a few of the international human rights instruments cover the issue of gender equality in the field of environmental protection, especially in the context of climate change. In addition, they donʼt enshrine the right to a safe, clean and sustainable environment, which is one of the main environmental human rights. The realization of this right is extremely important in the context of climate change. Conclusions. Thus, the issues of ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men in the context of climate change are not properly regulated ininternational law or in the national law of Ukraine. Certain aspects of gender equalityin the context of climate change are reflected in General Recommendation №37 to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women of 1979, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change of 1992, the Beijing Declaration of 1995, the Paris Agreement of 2015, UN General Assembly Resolution 70/1«Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development» and the Escazu Agreement of 2018. The solution to one of the global problems of humanity depends on the adoption of significant climate decisions that must take into account the gender principle. To date, the extent of womenʼs participation in shaping international climate policy is insufficient. That is why they must represent their governments internationally on equal terms with men, participate in the work of international organizations and in decision-making in the field of climate change. In turn, the needs of both women and men should be taken into account when developing strategic programs and measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change. As a future EU member, Ukraine is trying to integrate a gender component into environmental policy, especially in the area of climate change, by fulfilling its European integration commitments. Key words: gender equality, discrimination, climate change, human rights,sustainable development.

Accounting for non-economic loss: climate displacement and the meaningful omission of the intangible

ABSTRACT This article considers the relationship between cultural and climate policy. Specifically, it examines recent challenges in scholarly and policy efforts to conceptualize intangible heritage as an instance of non-economic loss resulting from climate-induced displacement. Illustrating the problem with cases from Latin America and the Caribbean, it surveys how international climate policy has come to adopt a loss and damage framework to address the costs of displacement. It goes on to focus upon cultural heritage as a frequently cited example of non-economic loss, first reviewing the evolution of heritage policy and then identifying a persistent inability to distinguish so-called intangible from tangible heritage. The article shows how a frequent tendency to treat intangible heritage as contingent upon and circumscribed by its tangible counterpart undermines efforts to come to terms with non-economic loss. Finally, it demonstrates how this conceptual fallacy is being carried over to scholarship and policy addressing climate-induced non-economic loss and highlights a need to better theorize the intangible dimensions of such loss.

Converging old and new carbon frontiers in northern Australia

AbstractOver the past 15 years, international climate policy and governance practice have shifted from a linear model of carbon emissions management to a circular model. Whereas the former primarily focused on reducing absolute emissions, the latter focuses on balancing emissions sources and sinks. Australia, a major global exporter of ‘old’ carbon resources such as coal, has actively embraced circular carbon policies and their related ‘new’ carbon resources such as carbon credits. Focusing on Australia's Northern Territory as a site of old and new carbon economies, where government administrators have actively sought to host carbon circulations and loops, this paper examines three interlinked cases to illustrate the interdependencies generated through circular carbon policies. Identifying how sources, sinks, and the mediation of relations between them all constitute key contemporary carbon frontiers, we conclude by calling for a research agenda that analyses ‘old’ and ‘new’ carbon economies as a co‐produced assemblage rather than as isolated zones.

EU Climate and Energy Security after 24 February 2022

Before 2022, EU conceptions of climate and energy security had begun to converge in a ‘virtuous synergy’ that supported the Union’s continuing attempts at international climate policy leadership. This paper argues that the more orthodox military security problem posed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine coupled with extreme weather events in the same period has profoundly altered both the immediacy and the location of the perceived threats. The Union’s responses have been dramatic in terms of a re-orientation of established energy and security policies. Ending the dependence upon Russian gas provides the chance to accelerate the achievement of the European Green Deal and ‘Fit for 55’ but also involves an immediate quest for alternative gas supplies. The unresolved question is whether the Union can use this opportunity to enhance rather than dissipate its climate security and policy leadership.

Exploring paths and innovation in Norwegian carbon capture and storage policy

AbstractNorway, a significant petroleum producer and exporter, has been a frontrunner within policies for carbon capture and storage (CCS). As CCS is recognized as a key technology for achieving the Paris climate policy targets, there is a clear need for more knowledge about how to design successful projects. Norway's first CCS policy initiative, the ambitious Mongstad project, was the result of a political compromise that was imposed from above, basically with one single company in control. The project was largely seen as a failure and was terminated in 2013. However, instead of dropping ambitions for developing CCS projects, the authorities launched a new policy soon afterwards. This policy evolved with the differently organized Longship CCS project as its core. Using a path‐dependency perspective, we find that established institutional structures from the Mongstad project, combined with national interests and expertise, help to explain the fundamental continuity of CCS policies in Norway. This explanation is supplemented by a policy‐learning perspective, which helps to explain policy changes and differences between the two flagship CCS projects. The Longship project developed gradually ‘from below’; linked project responsibilities close to competences and interests; dealt with key risks separately to reduce the inherent complexity; and organized clear requirements up front. We hold that this way of designing CCS projects is of relevance to other countries considering CCS projects. Furthermore, by placing the Norwegian case in context of the development of EU and international climate policy we contribute a theoretical framework relevant also for subsequent research.

Will Mexico meet its climate commitments?

In its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Mexico is committed to reducing unconditionally 22 and 51% of its emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and black carbon, respectively, by 2030, with an emission peak in 2026. Additional reductions of 36 and 70%, respectively, are proposed conditioned to support from other parties. In this work, the percentage of reduction to reach the emission mitigation targets that Mexico proposed in its NDC is estimated. The results show that in order to meet its unconditional NDC, Mexico should start mitigation in 2020 with a 1.5% reduction rate until 2030 and a 3.3% reduction rate by 2050, to reach an emission peak in 2023. To meet the conditional NDC, a 3.1% emission reduction rate until 2030 should be applied, with peak emission in 2021, and 5.8% from 2030 to 2050. In none of these estimates an emission peak in 2026 matches the NDC mitigation options. Furthermore, none of the emissions reduction pathways estimated in this study fulfills the conditional or unconditional contribution and peaks in 2026 at the same time. Mexico has a long history in international climate policy and is a key emerging economy among the top 15 highest GHG emitters. If Mexico does not achieve its NDC, the international implications, both political and climatic, could put the NDC model at risk if there are more large emitters that do not comply with their contribution.

The global status of carbon capture and storage: ambition to action

As the global response to climate change advances from ambition to action, the past few years have witnessed unprecedented levels of investments in carbon capture and storage (CCS), with the pipeline of commercial facilities continuing to grow as the technology becomes increasingly competitive and commercial in many countries. Key trends underpinning this momentum include the rise of the network project model enabling the use of shared infrastructure, the incorporation of CCS in private sector investment strategies, ESG (environmental, social and governance) considerations, green taxonomies and the industrial-scale production of hydrogen to meet demand. With CCS receiving increased awareness in international climate policy negotiations, a renewed focus on developing supportive policy, legal and regulatory mechanisms by national governments are also driving CCS deployment. Established leaders and early-movers in CCS-relevant policy, such as the United States, European Union and the UK, continue to maintain or strengthen their positions by allocating significant levels of funding for tax credits, subsidies and grants. Similarly, countries in the Asia-Pacific region, notably China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, are also advancing policies to incentivise deployment, including through the establishment of CCS-specific legal and regulatory frameworks. The outlook for CCS is optimistic, however, current deployment rates fall far short of what is required to keep global warming below 1.5 or even 2 degrees. Further action is needed to unlock the full potential of CCS and realise the Paris climate goals.

The long-term feasibility of border carbon mechanisms: An analysis of measures proposed in the European Union and the United States and the steel production sector

Carbon leakage occurs when greenhouse-gas intensive production relocates to jurisdictions with less stringent or no emissions constraint. Observable increases in policy proposals to introduce border carbon mechanisms (BCM) to manage leakage risks have prompted scholars to examine potential conflicts with international trade rules. This paper examines longitudinal data over the period 2012-21 to reveal trends in the steel sectors of the US and EU and explores the consistency of proposed border carbon measures in those jurisdictions not just with international trade rules but also with environmental integrity, UNFCCC and sovereignty criteria.The study identifies that the EU went from being an exporter to a net importer of steel over the period examined, while the US remained a relatively steady importer throughout the period. It also identifies areas within both the EU and US border carbon mechanism proposals that have the potential to prompt concerns from other countries in future; similar to the experiences in the EU with coverage of intercontinental aviation in its emissions trading system in 2012. It identifies that elements from global sectoral agreements would help to mitigate the risks of future challenges to border carbon mechanisms, which ultimately helped to overcome concerns within intercontinental aviation.The article extends understanding of the role border adjustments can be applied within international climate and trade policy. As more countries seriously consider border carbon adjustments, the article will be of high value not just to policy makers but also managers of corporations seeking to navigate through decarbonisation challenges in hard to abate sectors such as steel, aluminium and cement.

The Homogenization of Urban Climate Action Discourses

Abstract The diversification of actors in global climate governance may entail risks, but it is also linked to enhanced democratic performance and opportunities for innovation. To what extent has this diversification fostered a parallel multiplication of perspectives in urban climate policy? To answer this question, we analyze the evolution of urban narratives based on 463 international policy documents issued between 1946 and 2020. Our analysis shows that, instead of leading to diversification, the proliferation of actors is accompanied by a growing homogenization of urban narratives. Language appears to become progressively uniform across organizations and over time, with approaches emphasizing multi-actor governance, integrated planning, and co-benefits becoming dominant. Three factors explain this homogenization. First, actors with a long history of involvement in international development exert a significant amount of influence. Second, there is a tendency toward language harmonization in international policy. Third, urban climate narratives stabilize through association with broader policy paradigms. In conclusion, the diversification of actors in international climate policy is mediated by processes of narrative alignment, which foreclose possibilities for divergent thinking.

IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE POLICY ON MIGRATIONS

The aim of the paper is to determine the impact of international climate policy on international migrations of population. The authors will present the main assumptions of the climate policy, including the strategy of the European Green Deal, the goals of sustainable development in the context of climate change affecting population migration. The article also addresses the issue of the correlation between climate change and political stability and the risk of conflicts. An important issue raised in this publication is the question of global solidarity in the fight against the negative effects of climate change and the possibility of implementing in practice such mechanisms as loss and damage fund. Keywords: climate policy, migration policy, climate change, European Union climate policy, population migrations.

National contributions to climate change due to historical emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide since 1850

Anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) have made significant contributions to global warming since the pre-industrial period and are therefore targeted in international climate policy. There is substantial interest in tracking and apportioning national contributions to climate change and informing equitable commitments to decarbonisation. Here, we introduce a new dataset of national contributions to global warming caused by historical emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide during the years 1851–2021, which are consistent with the latest findings of the IPCC. We calculate the global mean surface temperature response to historical emissions of the three gases, including recent refinements which account for the short atmospheric lifetime of CH4. We report national contributions to global warming resulting from emissions of each gas, including a disaggregation to fossil and land use sectors. This dataset will be updated annually as national emissions datasets are updated.

Carbon border adjustment mechanism: a systematic literature review of the latest developments

ABSTRACT Carbon border adjustment mechanism aims to level the playing field and reduce carbon leakage through import taxes and/or export subsidies based on the carbon content for products from countries with different levels of carbon policy stringency. The introduction of an EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) has triggered a lively debate on its potential impacts, especially among developing countries. In fact, introducing CBAM is not a new idea; researchers in fields of economics and law have investigated this policy over the last decade. Against this backdrop, this study conducts a literature review of the most recent economic studies of CBAM and provides an exhaustive synthesis of this literature. We employ the so-called ‘Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis’ approach (PRISMA), which includes an exhaustive screening of studies. Specifically, we identified 97 relevant studies on CBAM from 2004 to 31 August 2021, and conducted descriptive and content analysis of these. Our content analysis highlights the potential impacts of CBAM in terms of its effectiveness across 3 policy objectives: protecting fair competition; reducing carbon leakage; and limiting global welfare costs. We synthesize findings on how policy design and characteristics of an economy lead to different levels and types of effectiveness of a CBAM, and we contrast alternative policy designs across various objectives. Armed with this systematic review of the literature, we spell out insights and challenges in formulating effective CBAM polices. This review thus offers evidenced-based guidance for the policy design of a CBAM and a foundation for further research. Key policy insights There is no one-size-fits-all approach to design and implement CBAM to tackle competitiveness and carbon leakage; policy design and characteristics of the economy matter. According to the effectiveness of CBAM across the 3 policy objectives, alternative policy designs should account for the coverage of trade, of sector(s), and also the means to determine carbon content of traded commodities, the use of revenues collected through CBAM, and the adjustment price. In formulating sound CBAM policies, competitiveness, carbon leakage and welfare evaluation are central economic concerns; however, consistency with the latest international climate policy architecture and fairness issues should also be addressed.

Minimum participation requirements and the role of co-benefits in international climate policy

Effective combat of international environmental problems regularly necessitates a minimum number of participating countries. Some international environmental treaties like the Paris Agreement combating global warming and the Montreal Protocol protecting the ozone layer required that a minimum participation threshold be met before they entered into force. Albeit the immense challenge to protect the global climate, the Paris Agreement additionally demands to address sustainable development and therefore seeks to take advantage of potential co-benefits of climate protection measures. This article is, to the authors' knowledge, the first to investigate in 3 × 3 normal form games the prospects for effective international cooperation on climate protection if effectiveness requires a minimum number of participating countries. The main findings are, first, that sustainable development co-benefits from mitigation might increase the chance that the minimum participation threshold is met and climate policy will be effective in the end; and second, if domestic ancillary benefits from mitigation are rather small, new organizational designs could create additional sustainability benefits that are limited to mitigating countries. For example, a win-win situation – regarding climate and sustainability – could be achieved by international policy designs that create additional co-benefit spillovers via the establishment of a club pursuing sustainable innovations (in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal 9).

What's at stake? A human well-being based proposal for assessing risk of loss and damage from climate change

Current scientific discourse on the assessment of loss and damage from climate change focuses primarily on what is straightforwardly quantifiable, such as monetary value, numbers of casualties, or destroyed homes. However, the range of possible harms induced by climate change is much broader, particularly as regards residual risks that occur beyond limits to adaptation. In international climate policy, this has been institutionalized within the Loss and Damage discourse, which emphasizes the importance of non-economic loss and damage (NELD). Nevertheless, NELDs are often neglected in loss and damage assessments, being intangible and difficult to quantify. As a consequence, to date, no systematic concept or indicator framework exists that integrates market-based and non-market-based loss and damage. In this perspective, we suggest assessing risk of loss and damage using a climate change risk and vulnerability assessment (CRVA) framework: the Impact Chain method. This highly adaptable method has proven successful in unraveling complex risks in socio-ecological systems through a combination of engaging (political) stakeholders and performing quantitative data analysis. We suggest expanding the framework's logic to include not only the sources but also the consequences of risk by conceptualizing loss and damage as harm to nine domains of human well-being. Our approach is consistent with the risk conceptualization by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Conceptualization and systematic assessment of the full spectrum of imminent loss and damage allows a more comprehensive anticipation of potential impacts on human well-being, identifying vulnerable groups and providing essential evidence for transformative and comprehensive climate risk management.

The Role of Natural Resource Valuation in Australian Regional Forestry Management

Wildfires during the 2019–2020 Australian fire season killed 33 people and more than 1 billion animals, destroying almost 40 million acres of bushland and more than 3,500 homes. The objective of this analysis is to identify regional forestry management weaknesses that may have exacerbated these losses, focusing on economic components of existing Regional Forestry Agreements (RFAs). I accomplish this objective by reviewing the RFA development process, mapping RFA content to international climate change frameworks, and comparing RFA contents with pertinent economic literature findings. I find that RFAs’ development and implementation relied on market valuation of forest products while excluding nonmarket environmental values. The connections from RFAs to international climate and domestic wildfire policy were weak. Furthermore, RFAs disregarded moral hazard around plantation forest management and wildfire mitigation risk. Future RFA development needs to include nonmarket valuation of a suite of environmental resources, recognition of dynamic wildfire risks in the midst of climate change, precise descriptions of private and federal plantation forest wildfire prevention responsibilities, and explicit connections between RFAs and state and federal policy to mitigate wildfire risk.

Carbon leakage in a small open economy: The importance of international climate policies

A substantial literature investigates carbon leakage effects for large countries and climate coalitions. However, little is known about leakage effects for a small open economy within a climate coalition. To fill this gap in the literature, we incorporate international climate policies relevant for a small open EU economy into the general equilibrium model GTAP-E. We focus our analysis on Denmark, but we show that our framework can be applied to any EU economy. We find substantial leakage associated with an economy-wide CO2e tax. This result is strongly affected by EU climate policies. We also present sector-specific leakage rates and find large sectoral differences.

Football and climate change: what do we know, and what is needed for an evidence-informed response?

ABSTRACT Association football is popular and influential globally. Interest in how football relates to climate change, and the climate policy required for football, is growing. Clubs, players and fans increasingly call for action to reduce football’s impact on the climate, and for plans to adapt to climate impacts on football. However, well-intentioned actions must be underpinned by robust evidence. This synthesis reviews research at the interface of football and climate change. After summarizing the main climate actions identified for fans, players, clubs and organizing bodies, the review looks in-depth at four areas: impacts of football on climate; impacts of climate on football; football as a driver for pro-climate actions; and the relationship between football and carbon-intensive industries. The review then outlines research gaps for an evidence-driven response to climate change in football: adaptation across different geographical contexts; understanding what climate change means for community-level football; understanding how carbon-intensive industries relate to sense of place identity in football under a just transition; developing principles for phasing-out fossil fuel financing; and considering how climate change relates to women’s football. Key policy insights Football is a forum for galvanizing societal action in support of climate policy. However, football also contributes to, and is impacted by, climate change, and hence requires policy support under a changing climate; Reducing transportation emissions, especially flying, is a key climate policy requirement for football. Institutional policy, with government support, may enable more efficient scheduling and use of surface transport; Institutional policies, and public health policies, should develop standards and guidelines for football under extreme heat. Football also ought to be integrated within local, regional and national climate adaptation policy to ensure climate resilience; Clubs and players can lead by example on climate-positive actions, and energize wider action through fan bases. Alignment of initiatives with national or international climate policy may raise public awareness of climate polices and targets; Institutional policies for clubs, tournaments and associations should regulate fossil fuel financing. Football also offers an avenue to understand relations between local identity and carbon-intensive industries, and thus to identify socio-cultural factors for regional just transition policies.