1. |
- Nasiritousi, Naghmeh, et al.
(author)
-
The Performance of the Climate-Energy Nexus
- 2020
-
In: Governing the climate–energy nexus : Institutional Complexity and Its Challenges to Effectiveness and Legitimacy - Institutional Complexity and Its Challenges to Effectiveness and Legitimacy. - 9781108676397 ; , s. 212-234
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)
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2. |
- Zelli, Fariborz, et al.
(author)
-
Analytical Framework: Assessing Coherence, Management, Legitimacy and Effectiveness in an Institutional Nexus
- 2020
-
In: Governing the Climate-Energy Nexus : Challenges to Coherence, Legitimacy and Effectiveness - Challenges to Coherence, Legitimacy and Effectiveness. - 9781108676397 ; , s. 21-42
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This chapter establishes four evaluative themes that will be employed across this volume to analyze the institutional complexity of policy fields in the climate-energy nexus: coherence, management, legitimacy, and effectiveness. Coherence among institutions is conceptualized along four dimensions: convergence on an overarching core norm for the policy field, balanced coverage and distribution of memberships (private, public, hybrid), balanced coverage and distribution of governance functions (standards and commitments, operational activities, information and networking, financing), and mechanisms underlying cross-institutional relations (cognitive, normative, behavioural). Management will be examined according to types of managing agents, political levels (from domestic to global), and the consequences of management efforts in enhancing coherence. Legitimacy will be assessed along nine dimensions, among them expertise, transparency, accountability, or procedural and distributive fairness. Effectiveness, finally, will be examined in terms of normative and legal output produced by the institutions, their behaviour-changing outcome, and their ultimate problem-solving impact. Altogether, the four themes and their dimensions make up a novel framework for an in-depth analysis of a governance nexus. They help us examine a variety of important questions in a comparative research design, combining a high level of ambition with feasibility and novelty.
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3. |
- Zelli, Fariborz, et al.
(author)
-
Conclusions: Coherence, Management, Legitimacy and Effectiveness in the Climate-Energy Nexus
- 2020
-
In: Governing the Climate-Energy Nexus : Challenges to Coherence, Legitimacy and Effectiveness - Challenges to Coherence, Legitimacy and Effectiveness. - 9781108676397 ; , s. 235-261
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The concluding chapter first summarizes some of the volume’s main results along the four evaluative themes. In terms of coherence and management, the three policy fields under scrutiny – renewable energy, fossil fuel subsidy reform and carbon pricing – are roughly marked by coordination, rather than competition or outright harmony. Regarding legitimacy, the specializations and work backgrounds of stakeholders lead to considerable variations in their perceptions of institutions. For effectiveness, institutional complexity plays both a supportive and a hindering role across all three cases. Following the summary, a series of policy recommendations are developed, including: improving awareness of each other’s activities to avoid duplication of efforts and conflicting messages; aligning interpretations of central concepts, i.e. what constitutes renewable sources of energy, fossil fuel subsidies and carbon pricing; building stronger connections to counterparts in other areas of the climate-energy nexus and beyond; and entrusting one institution with an orchestrator role. Finally, the chapter suggests a future research agenda on the governance of the climate-energy nexus, e.g. to learn more about the causes of institutional complexity, to identify conditions for successful management efforts, and to examine further sub-fields and even other domains outside the climate-energy nexus.
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4. |
- Zelli, Fariborz, et al.
(author)
-
Introduction: The Governance of the Climate-Energy Nexus
- 2020
-
In: Governing the Climate-Energy Nexus : Challenges to Coherence, Legitimacy and Effectiveness - Challenges to Coherence, Legitimacy and Effectiveness. - 9781108676397 ; , s. 1-18
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The introduction first explains the rationale and theoretical and empirical contributions of the edited volume. The book seeks to address a considerable gap of knowledge of the nature of the relationship between institutions governing the climate-energy nexus in a multilevel context. In particular, there is scant research on consequences on the legitimacy and effectiveness of governance arrangements and the climate-energy nexus as a whole. For an in-depth analysis of institutional complexity in the nexus, we selected three policy fields as case studies: renewable energy, fossil fuel subsidy reform, and carbon pricing. We made this choice since the three cases represent urgent and major components of the climate-energy nexus, since they vary considerably in the number and mix of institutions that govern them at the international level, and since they differ in their positioning within the climate-energy nexus – with carbon pricing primarily a climate change issue, renewable energy lying at the core of energy governance, and fossil fuel subsidy reform falling in between. The chapter concludes with an outline of the ccontributions to the book, structured along the volume’s three parts on mapping (I) coherence and management (II), and legitimacy and effectiveness (III).
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5. |
- Bauhr, Monika, 1973, et al.
(author)
-
How Do International Organizations Promote Quality of Government? Contestation, Integration, and the Limits of IO Power
- 2012
-
In: International Studies Review. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1521-9488 .- 1468-2486. ; 14:4, s. 541-566
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- How do international organizations (IOs) promote quality of government (QoG) and reduce corruption? IOs play a central role in most accounts of power in international relations. However, our understanding of how IOs exercise power seldom moves beyond the traditional materialnormative dimensions of power. We suggest that an important dimension to understand IO power is the contestationintegration dimension, where IOs can exercise power either by integrating countries into networks of cultural exchange or by contesting existing orders. By analyzing multilateral aid data and building on recent advances in our understanding of the effectiveness of IO anti-corruption work, we apply this framework to show how the contestationintegration dimension helps us understand the success or failure of anti-corruption strategies. We show that when IOs contest existing orders using governance rankings and aid conditionality, they suffer from ideational shortcomings, including lack of objective data and contested policy advice. In contrast, measures based on integration, such as the membership process of IOs or interaction with IOs, are more likely to suffer from internal procedural shortcomings, such as IOs failing to internalize and mainstream the norms that they seek to promote. Our findings have implications for both understanding conditions that limit the diffusion of the international anti-corruption agenda and advancing our knowledge of IO power and its limits.
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6. |
- Bauhr, Monika, 1973, et al.
(author)
-
Resisting Transparency: Corruption, Legitimacy, and the Quality of Global Environmental Policies
- 2012
-
In: Global Environmental Politics. - : MIT Press. - 1526-3800 .- 1536-0091. ; 12:4, s. 9-29
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The domestic endorsement and institutionalization of transparency is of central importance to the implementation of global environmental policies. Studies often contend that interaction with international organizations (IOs) promotes domestic support for transparency. This article qualifies this conclusion and suggests that the positive effects of interaction with international organizations depend on the quality of IO decision-making processes, defined as their fairness, predictability, and effectiveness. Unfair, ineffective, and unpredictable decision- making processes in IOs can increase corruption, reduce legitimacy, and make officials blame transparency for unsatisfactory decision-making. The results build on a study of government officials in developing countries responsible for managing funds from the Clean Development Mechanism and the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol. Our findings suggest that government officials who perceive IO systems as unfair, ineffective, and unpredictable cultivate an adversarial relationship with media and NGOs and become more critical of the benefits of transparency.
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7. |
- Buylova, Alexandra, 1989-, et al.
(author)
-
Cancel (Out) Emissions? The Envisaged Role of Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies in Long-Term National Climate Strategies
- 2021
-
In: Frontiers in Climate. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2624-9553. ; 3
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) increasingly features in climate scenarios that hold global warming well below 2°C by 2100. Given the continuous gap between climate mitigation pledges and the emission pathways that are aligned with achieving the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement, we would expect countries to promote CDR in their long-term planning to achieve mid-century targets. Yet, countries may not consider it their responsibility to contribute to the global response to climate change using CDR. Thus, a study of the respective country's long-term climate plans is both timely and vital. Such a study could reveal the pledged collective ambition, the contribution of CDR to the pledged ambition, and how the envisaged role of CDR is described by the different countries. This paper explores the long-term low emission development strategies (LT-LEDS) of countries in order to map the role of CDR in addressing climate change. We also supplement our examination of strategies with the opinions of climate experts. Based on an inductive coding of the material and a literature review, the analytical focus of the analysis includes CDR targets and planning, types of CDR, barriers and opportunities to CDR implementation, as well as international cooperation. Our study of 25 national LT-LEDS submitted to the UN or to the EU, as well as 23 interviews with climate experts, shows that national plans for CDR vary substantially across countries and are generally lacking in detail. The findings also demonstrate that CDR is perceived to be necessary and desirable for achieving mid-century climate goals, but also reveal variation in the intended role of CDR. We use an interpretive approach to outline three possible visions of CDR in climate action: as a panacea, as a necessary fallback and as a chimera. We conclude by discussing what our findings of the envisaged roles of CDR in addressing climate change mean for climate governance. This research thereby contributes to the literature on governing CDR with new comprehensive insights into the long-term climate strategies of countries.
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8. |
- Buylova, Alexandra, et al.
(author)
-
Climate action in the making : business and civil society views on the world’s first carbon border levy
- 2022
-
In: Climate Action. - : Springer. - 2731-3263. ; 1:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Carbon border levies have been suggested as an important tool for ramping up climate action. Such a levy is being negotiated as part of the EU’s Green Deal, with input from public consultations. The success of the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) will depend on its design and acceptance. While most analyses focus on resistance from the EU’s major external trade partners, this article analyses the views of non-state actors within the EU. Their views will be decisive for the cohesion and determination of the EU as the CBAM proposal encounters external resistance. Examining the views of European business and civil society organizations expressed by 276 respondents in the EU’s public consultation, we show that there is general support for CBAM but divergent views on its purpose and on what to do about the allocation of free allowances in the EU Emissions Trading System, sectoral coverage, exemptions for third countries, export rebates and emissions scope. The success and strength of CBAM will depend on whether the EU is able to resolve these design issues and reach compromises between the opposing views of business and civil society.
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9. |
- Buylova, Alexandra, et al.
(author)
-
Paper tiger or useful governance tool? : Understanding long-term climate strategies as a climate governance instrument
- 2024
-
In: Environmental Science and Policy. - : Elsevier. - 1462-9011 .- 1873-6416. ; 159
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- While climate change is often understood as a collective action and a market problem, we look at it as a problem of planning and coordination. Long-term planning is necessary to promote structural change, which will be required to keep the Paris Agreement's temperature goals. By encouraging states to develop a long-term climate strategy, the Paris Agreement invites countries to turn anticipatory governance into an international governance instrument. In this paper we explore how these strategies describe countries' climate plans and what the perceptions of government officials are about the potential for realization of these strategies. Using mixed methods, we explore both 1) planning dimensions (actions, actors and policies described in the strategies) by applying a topic modeling analysis to 50 documents; and 2) perceptions of the content and challenges to their realization among domestic policy professionals of four major emitters. Our results show that the strategies lack a detailed discussion on how decarbonization pathways could be materialized and who has the responsibility for implementation of long-term targets. Moreover, rather than being a steering instrument, the strategies are dominated by scenario planning and there is also a lack of attention to political issues. Taken together, we contend that strategies are limited in the way they present the future possibilities of low emissions development. To make them more effective in steering long-term decarbonization, greater attention needs to be placed on potential conflicts, barriers and stumbling blocks that may arise along the way.
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10. |
- Bäckstrand, Karin, et al.
(author)
-
From collaboration to contestation? Perceptions of legitimacy and effectiveness in post-Paris climate governance
- 2021
-
In: Earth System Governance. - : Elsevier BV. - 2589-8116. ; 9
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- How do governance arrangements affect perceptions of legitimacy and effectiveness amongst non-state actors? This is a pertinent question as the roles of non-state actors have been strengthened in global climate governance. In this paper, we focus on how actors involved in climate governance processes perceive trade-offs and specific factors that risk undermining legitimacy and potential effectiveness of those arrangements. We argue that different rules of procedural legitimacy generate sociological views about whether an institution or its policies will be effective and, in turn, are ‘worthy of support’. To establish this, we engage in an analysis of how nonstate actors have been engaged in the UNFCCC, pre- and post-Paris. We find that efforts to deepen engagement is generating contestation between actors, not fostering collaboration. Focusing on how actors view procedural rules and their potentialities for effective outcomes sheds light on support for those institutions and the development of effective policies.
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11. |
- Falkner, R., et al.
(author)
-
Climate clubs : politically feasible and desirable?
- 2022
-
In: Climate Policy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1469-3062 .- 1752-7457. ; 22:4, s. 480-487
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The idea of a stringent climate club, once the reserve of academic debates, is quickly gaining ground in international policy circles. This reflects dissatisfaction with the multilateral UNFCCC process, but also hope that a minilateral club could increase climate policy ambition, reinvigorate the Paris Agreement process, and make future emissions pledges stick. With the Biden Presidency renewing the US commitment toward climate action and the European Green Deal proposal for carbon border tariffs, some are advocating the creation of a transatlantic climate club. What could a club approach hope to achieve, and what do we know about its political feasibility and desirability? In this article, we seek conceptual clarification by establishing a typology of different club models; we inject a greater sense of political realism into current debates on the feasibility of these models; and we consider their legitimacy in the context of international climate cooperation. Key policy insights Knowledge gaps and confusion regarding the nature of climate clubs hold back debates about what intergovernmental clubs can contribute to international climate policy. Club design matters: existing club models vary in terms of the proposed size, purpose, operational principles, legal strength, and relationship to the UNFCCC. Clubs focused on normative commitments face low barriers to establishment. They lack legal strength but can help raise policy ambition. Clubs aimed at negotiating targets and measures can increase bargaining efficiency, but struggle to deal with equity and distributional conflicts. Clubs seeking to change incentives via club benefits and sanctions face the highest hurdles to implementation. Their promise to tackle free-riding remains untested and difficult to achieve. Climate clubs face an international legitimacy deficit. Any club proposal needs to consider how to add to, and not distract from, the multilateral climate regime.
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12. |
- Fast, Cornelia, et al.
(author)
-
Addressing climate change the Nordic way : Motives of Swedish companies for taking action
- 2020
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Other publication (pop. science, debate, etc.)abstract
- Introductory paragraph: It is Sweden’s goal to become one of the world’s first fossil fuel free welfare states, and many Swedish companies are voluntarily working to reduce their climate impact. The reasons for this are manifold; they primarily involve risk management, a sense of responsibility, management of reputation, and addressing the demands of various stakeholders, many of which are increasingly expressing concerns. Even though taking action often involves significant costs, some businesses have suggested that action is taken because of the high environmental awareness amongst the Swedish public, favorable conditions for taking climate action (such as high availability of renewable energy), and good cooperation between the state and non-state actors—factors which are arguably present in the other Nordic countries. While effective climate action still requires both states and non-state actors to show leadership and focus on speeding up implementation, Nordic companies have the potential to also be a driver for change abroad.
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13. |
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14. |
-
Governing the Climate-Energy Nexus : Challenges to Coherence, Legitimacy and Effectiveness
- 2020
-
Editorial collection (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Combating climate change and transitioning to fossil-free energy are two central and interdependent challenges facing humanity today. Governing the nexus of these challenges is complex, and includes multiple intergovernmental and transnational institutions. This book analyses the governance interactions between such institutions, and explores their consequences for legitimacy and effectiveness. Using a novel analytical framework, the contributors examine three policy fields: renewable energy, fossil fuel subsidy reform, and carbon pricing. These fields are compared in terms of their institutional memberships, governance functions and overarching norms. Bringing together prominent researchers from political science and international relations, the book offers an essential resource for future research and provides policy recommendations for effective and legitimate governance of the climate-energy nexus. Rooted in the most recent research, it is an invaluable reference for researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders in climate change and energy politics.
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15. |
- Hjerpe, Mattias, et al.
(author)
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Views on alternative forums for effectively tackling climate change
- 2015
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In: Nature Climate Change. - : NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. - 1758-678X .- 1758-6798. ; 5:9, s. 864-867
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This year (2015) marks the 21st formal anniversary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and in December a new climate treaty is expected to be reached. Yet, the UNFCCC has not been successful in setting the world on a path to meet a target to prevent temperatures rising by more than 2 degrees C above pre-industrial levels(1). Meanwhile, other forums, such as the G20 and subnational forums, have increasingly become sites of climate change initiatives(2-6). There has, however, so far been no systematic evaluation of what forums climate change policymakers and practitioners perceive to be needed to effectively tackle climate change. Drawing on survey data from two recent UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP), we show that there exists an overall preference for state-led, multilateral forums. However, preferences starkly diverge between respondents from different geographical regions and no clear alternative to the UNFCCC emerges. Our results highlight difficulties in coordinating global climate policy in a highly fragmented governance landscape.
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16. |
- Marquardt, Jens, et al.
(author)
-
Imaginary lock-ins in climate change politics : the challenge to envision a fossil-free future
- 2022
-
In: Environmental Politics. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0964-4016 .- 1743-8934. ; 31:4, s. 621-642
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Various path dependencies and carbon lock-ins prevent ambitious climate action. In this study, we develop and apply the concept of imaginary lock-ins, or the challenge to envision a decarbonized future beyond the status quo of a fossil-dependent society. We propose a typology of competing imaginaries attached to climate action. Specifically, we distinguish between techno-optimism, ecological modernization, disruptive innovations, and system change. We then explore these competing imaginaries for the case of Sweden. The country plans to become the world’s first fossil-free welfare state by 2045. Based on documents, interviews with stakeholders inside and outside the multi-stakeholder initiative Fossil Free Sweden, and an interview series with all major Swedish party leaders, we illuminate the contested imaginaries of a fossil-free future. While techno-optimism and ecological modernization largely suppress more radical or transformative imaginaries, imaginary lock-ins allow us to assess the potentials and limitations of an initiative to orchestrate climate action.
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17. |
- Nasiritousi, Naghmeh, et al.
(author)
-
Because there is no Plan(et) B : A Study of the Fossil Free Sweden Initiative and its Legitimacy
- 2020
-
In: Academy of Management: Proceedings. - : Academy of Management.
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Today the world faces a number of grand challenges that are both daunting and urgent to address. States have historically employed legislative and executive powers to direct societal actors toward common goals. Yet, the scale of the grand challenges that are to be addressed e.g. by the UN?s Sustainable Development Goals include climate change and require significant changes to business as usual. The decarbonisation challenge in particular requires states to mobilise a range of actors in order to achieve structural changes in a legitimate manner. Consequently, we have seen the emergence of orchestration attempts by states, whereby they use soft or indirect forms of steering to coordinate and engage non-state actors in order to achieve policy objectives. This type of steering raises a number of pertinent questions: How can such an initiative gain legitimacy amongst the actors that it seeks to orchestrate and how can it maintain this legitimacy in the face of competing interests? Building on recent literature on legitimacy and the role of non-state actors in the fields of international relations and organisational studies, this paper uses the case of the Fossil Free Sweden initiative that the Swedish government launched ahead of the UN climate change conference in Paris in 2015 to highlight key factors and considerations in establishing and maintaining legitimacy in the orchestration of a varied set of non-state actors. Drawing on interviews with the organisers of the initiative, as well as with members and non-members, this paper offers new insights into the legitimacy of orchestration with significant implications for how to understand rule-making and governance with the use of intermediaries."
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18. |
- Nasiritousi, Naghmeh, et al.
(author)
-
Disentangling Legitimacy : Comparing Stakeholder Assessments Of Five Key Climate And Energy Governance Institutions
- 2020
-
In: Governing the Climate-Energy Nexus. - Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. - 9781108484817 ; , s. 183-211
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In recent years there has been a proliferation of international institutions that address climate change and energy governance, not least in the field of renewable energy. Given scarce resources, policy-makers need to prioritize which institutions to engage with. Central to this choice are considerations of the institutions’ legitimacy. The aim of this chapter is to understand how the legitimacy of international institutions is perceived under conditions of institutional complexity – i.e. in a context, where multiple actors work on the same issue area without overarching coordination. A questionnaire-based study examines common understandings of what makes an institution legitimate and how these understandings diverge amongst policy-makers and key stakeholder groups from different countries. Theoretically, the chapter unpacks the meaning of legitimacy under institutional complexity. Empirically, based on mixed methods, the chapter offers an assessment of legitimacy of a set of climate and energy governance institutions with different but overlapping mandates (the Clean Energy Ministerial, International Energy Agency, International Renewable Energy Agency, Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). This chapter thus provides societally-relevant insights to the literature on legitimacy, with implications for how to strengthen climate and energy governance.
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19. |
- Nasiritousi, Naghmeh
(author)
-
Fossil fuel emitters and climate change : unpacking the governance activities of large oil and gas companies
- 2017
-
In: Environmental Politics. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0964-4016 .- 1743-8934. ; 26:4, s. 621-647
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Global climate change governance is under increasing pressure to deliver meaningful action. It is now widely agreed that a low-carbon growth path requires major transformations of energy systems. The ways in which the 10 largest oil and gas companies in the world present their rationales for addressing climate change and their activities related to climate action, including the oil and gas companies' involvement in international climate diplomacy, are examined. How these major companies in different world regions seek to influence states and other actors are illustrated through their actions on climate change. The analysis highlights the relations between state and non-state actors and our understanding of the allocation of responsibility in climate change politics. Novel empirical findings contribute to new insights into the climate change activities currently underway in the oil and gas sector, with implications for both the theory and practice of climate change governance.
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20. |
- Nasiritousi, Naghmeh
(author)
-
Fossil fuel emitters and climate change governance : Understanding the roles of large oil and gas companies
-
Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Global climate change governance is under increasing pressure to deliver meaningful climate action. It is now widely agreed that a low-carbon growth path requires major transformations of energy systems. This paper seeks to provide new conceptual and empirical insights into questions about different roles played by major oil and gas companies in climate change governance. Specifically, the paper examines how the ten largest oil and gas companies in the world present their rationales for addressing climate change and their activities related to climate action, including the oil and gas companies’ involvement in international climate diplomacy. The paper thereby contributes to the environmental governance literature by highlighting the North/South dimension and the state/non-state dimension of major oil and gas companies and their activities to address climate change. These issues touch upon central questions in the literature, such as the relations between state and non-state actors and our understanding of the allocation of responsibility in climate change politics. Its novel empirical findings also contribute to new insights into the climate change activities currently underway in the oil and gas sector. The paper thus has important implications both for the theory and practice of climate change governance.
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21. |
- Nasiritousi, Naghmeh, et al.
(author)
-
Governing toward decarbonization : The legitimacy of national orchestration
- 2022
-
In: Environmental Policy and Governance. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1756-932X .- 1756-9338. ; 32:5, s. 411-425
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Today, the world faces grand challenges that are both daunting and urgent to address. The decarbonization challenge in particular requires states to mobilize a range of actors to achieve structural changes. In this context, there has been a proliferation of orchestration attempts by states, whereby they use soft or indirect forms of steering to coordinate and engage intermediaries to achieve policy objectives. This type of steering raises a number of questions: How can such forms of steering gain legitimacy among the targeted actors and how can this legitimacy be maintained in the face of competing interests? This paper uses the case of the Fossil Free Sweden Initiative to highlight key factors and considerations in establishing and maintaining legitimacy in the orchestration of a varied set of non-state actors with differing interests. Specifically, the paper makes two core contributions to existing literature. Theoretically, it highlights how institutional legitimacy is obtained through a balancing act of stakeholder demands at different levels. Empirically, it examines how Sweden, considered a climate leader, governs toward decarbonization through national orchestration as an important tool. The paper thereby offers new insights into the legitimacy of orchestration with significant implications for how to understand rule-making and governance with the use of intermediaries. It particularly highlights how power and agency can create a governance dilemma for the orchestrator that may undermine legitimacy in the long term.
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22. |
- Nasiritousi, Naghmeh, et al.
(author)
-
International Climate Politics in the Post-Paris Era
- 2019
-
In: Climate Policies in the Nordics. - Copenhagen : Nordisk ministerråd. - 9789289360883 - 9789289360890 - 9789289360906 ; , s. 21-61
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this article is to assess the efficacy of the Paris Agreement to generate policies and incentivize actions that can contribute to halt climate change significantly. The article shows that the agreement in many ways represents a significant shift in global climate politics. By making domestically driven climate policy central to the treaty, the Paris Agreement avoids some of the reasons for multilateral gridlock that permeated global climate policy for decades. The biggest challenge for state and non-state actors is to increase ambition in climate commitments. The article concludes with recommendations on how to accelerate climate action.
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23. |
- Nasiritousi, Naghmeh, et al.
(author)
-
Legitimacy under institutional complexity : Mapping stakeholder perceptions of legitimate institutions and their sources of legitimacy in global renewable energy governance
- 2021
-
In: Review of International Studies. - : Cambridge University Press. - 0260-2105 .- 1469-9044. ; 47:3, s. 377-398
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The legitimacy of international institutions has in recent years received growing interest from scholars, yet analyses of stakeholder perceptions of the legitimacy of institutions that coexist within a governance field have been few in number. Motivated by the proliferation of institutions in the field of global climate and energy governance, this study maps stakeholder perceptions of legitimate institutions and their sources of legitimacy in global renewable energy governance. Specifically, the article makes three contributions to the existing literature. Theoretically, it unpacks the legitimacy concept and offers a multidimensional conception of legitimacy. Methodologically, it captures these different dimensions of legitimacy by relying on three open survey questions. Empirically, it maps legitimacy perceptions among climate and energy experts and not only shows which institutions are considered most legitimate, but also why they are considered legitimate and how this varies between different stakeholders. The article thereby contributes to the literature on legitimacy by providing new insights into the sources of legitimacy among international institutions that operate under institutional complexity.
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24. |
- Nasiritousi, Naghmeh, et al.
(author)
-
Making the UNFCCC fit for purpose: A research agenda on vested interests and green spiralling
- 2024
-
In: Global Policy. - : WILEY. - 1758-5880 .- 1758-5899.
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- How can the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) be made more effective? This paper argues that in order to make the UNFCCC fit for purpose, there is a need to identify the specific institutional reforms that can create ripple effects to accelerate climate action across governance levels and relevant organisations. Longstanding calls to reform the UNFCCC have targeted inefficient procedures with the intent to promote effective outcomes and - after entry into force of the Paris Agreement - to transform the UNFCCC towards holding more implementation-focused deliberations. Despite such calls, UNFCCC reform has been modest, at best. Central to the failure of reform proposals are vested interests with conflicts of interest that seek to obstruct climate action. Without addressing these elephants in the room, reform proposals will make modest contributions to overcoming key challenges. It is due time to start retargeting institutional reform from addressing procedural inefficiencies at the UNFCCC towards addressing vested interests. We propose a new research agenda to understand ways to undermine incumbent actors seeking to preserve business as usual and support new entrants that facilitate climate action through green spiralling. A reform process addressing vested interests could improve both procedural efficiency and implementation.
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25. |
- Nasiritousi, Naghmeh
(author)
-
NGOs and the Environment
- 2019
-
In: Routledge Handbook of NGOs and International Relations. - Abingdon : Routledge. - 9781138285507 - 9781315268927 ; , s. 329-342
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)
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26. |
- Nasiritousi, Naghmeh, et al.
(author)
-
Normative arguments for non-state actor participation in international policymaking processes : Functionalism, neocorporatism or democratic pluralism?
- 2016
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In: European Journal of International Relations. - : Sage Publications. - 1354-0661 .- 1460-3713. ; 22:4, s. 920-943
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The participation of non-state actors in multilateral institutions is often portrayed as one way of decreasing the perceived legitimacy deficit in global governance. The literature on non-state actors has identified several ways in which these actors can enhance the legitimacy of intergovernmental organisations and global governance arrangements. Three partially competing normative arguments, or rationales, for the inclusion of non-state actors in international policymaking ᅵ functionalism, neocorporatism and democratic pluralism ᅵ have been identified. Whereas functionalism highlights the contribution of non-state actors to output legitimacy in terms of expertise, neocorporatism emphasises the inclusion of affected interests, and democratic pluralism claims that non-state actors increase input legitimacy through procedural values. These three normative arguments thus offer different understandings of the motives for the inclusion and representation of non-state actors in international negotiations and diplomacy. Through a single case study of United Nations climate diplomacy, we analyse the extent to which the three rationales for non-state actor inclusion are found in views held by state and non-state actors participating in the annual United Nations climate change conferences. Our results show that different actor groups place varying degrees of emphasis on the different rationales for non-state actor inclusion, even though the neocorporatist rationale remains most favoured overall. We discuss the implications of our findings for the democratic legitimacy of increasing participation of non-state actors in intergovernmental affairs and recent trends in the participation of non-state actors in the international climate change policymaking process.
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27. |
- Nasiritousi, Naghmeh, et al.
(author)
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Open or closed meetings? Explaining nonstate actor involvement in the international climate change negotiations
- 2016
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In: International Environmental Agreements. - : Springer. - 1567-9764 .- 1573-1553. ; 16:1, s. 127-144
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- When do states allow nonstate actors (NSAs) to observe negotiations at intergovernmental meetings? Previous studies have identified the need for states to close negotiations when the issues under discussion are sensitive. This paper argues that sensitivity alone cannot adequately explain the dynamic of closing down negotiations to observers. Questions that have received little attention in the literature include which issues are considered sensitive and how the decision is made to move the negotiations behind closed doors. This paper examines the practices of NSA involvement in climate diplomacy from three analytical perspectives: functional efficiency, political dynamics, and historical institutionalism. Based on interviews and UNFCCC documents, this paper suggests that to understand the issue of openness in negotiations, institutional factors and the politics of NSA involvement need to be better scrutinized. The paper shows that each perspective has particular advantages when analyzing different dimensions of the negotiations, with implications of how we understand the role of NSAs in global environmental governance.
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28. |
- Nasiritousi, Naghmeh, 1983-, et al.
(author)
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Pluralising climate change solutions? : Views held and voiced by participants at the international climate change negotiations
- 2014
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In: Ecological Economics. - : Elsevier. - 0921-8009 .- 1873-6106. ; 105, s. 177-184
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Intergovernmental organisations have developed into important sites of normative contestation where increasingly non-state actors participate. A common puzzle is however whether engaged non-state actors represent already strong and established interests or if they also bring forth marginalised voices. This concern raises the pertinent question of what views non-state actors actually represent and if this adds to the perspectives voiced by state actors. This paper examines the views held and voiced by state and a range of non-state participants at the United Nation's climate change conferences. Specifically, questions on what types of climate change solutions are favoured and to what extent these solutions are discussed are addressed. Through statistical analyses of questionnaire data and a content analysis of abstracts of side-events to the conferences, we find that while non-state actors help in broadening the discursive space, some perspectives remain marginalised. We conclude that while non-state actors represent a pluralising force, greater non-state actor participation in intergovernmental organisations is on its own unlikely to lead to democratic global governance.
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29. |
- Nasiritousi, Naghmeh, 1982-
(author)
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Shapers, Brokers and Doers : The Dynamic Roles of Non-State Actors in Global Climate Change Governance
- 2016
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Non-state actors, such as international environmental organisations, business associations and indigenous peoples organisations, increasingly take on governance functions that can influence the delivery of global public goods. This thesis examines the roles of these actors in the field of global climate change governance. Specifically, the thesis examines why and how non-state actors are involved in global climate change governance, the governance activities that they may perform and are perceived to perform, and their views on climate change solutions. The thesis also discusses the implications of their roles for how authority is shared between states and non-state actors in global climate change governance. The research questions are addressed by triangulating several empirical methods. The results show that the roles of non-state actors are continuously evolving and depend on the changing nature of relations between state and non-state actors as well as efforts by non-state actors to expand their policy space by justifying and seeking recognition for their participation. Moreover, the findings point to the importance of differentiating between groups of non-state actors, as they represent diverse interests and have different comparative advantages across governance activities. Which non-state actors participate and to what extent therefore has implications for the effects of their involvement in global climate change governance. On the basis of a systematic assessment of a set of non-state actors, this thesis concludes that the key role-categories of non-state actors in global climate change governance are broadly: shapers of information and ideas, brokers of knowledge, norms and initiatives, and doers of implementing policies and influencing behaviours. Different non-state actors carry out activities within these role-categories to different extents. In addition to the empirical mapping of the roles of non-state actors in global climate change governance, this thesis contributes to two strands in the literature: one theoretical focusing on the authority and legitimacy of non-state actors in global environmental governance, and the other methodological, offering a toolbox that combines survey data with qualitative methods.
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30. |
- Nasiritousi, Naghmeh, et al.
(author)
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The Performance of the Climate-Energy Nexus : Assessing The Effectiveness Of The Institutional Complexes On Renewable Energy Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform And Carbon Pricing
- 2020
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In: Governing the Climate-Energy Nexus. - Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. - 9781108484817 ; , s. 212-234
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- How does institutional complexity affect effectiveness? This chapter addresses this question for the three policy fields studied in this book: renewable energy, fossil fuel subsidy reform, and carbon markets. The chapter takes a comprehensive perspective across the three case studies by examining three dimensions of effectiveness: output (generating regulations and intrastructure), outcome (changing behaviour), and impact (solving the problem). The study relies on a two-track approach, integrating assessments by researchers and interviews with key stakeholders. The results show how the considerable institutional complexity in the climate-energy nexus has consequences for effectiveness. Notwithstanding the methodical challenges for evaluating effectiveness under conditions of institutional complexity, these insights demonstrate that such an assessment is of high importance and should be continued for other contexts of global governance. In particular, the findings of this chapter help to identify suitable management options – i.e. options for formally regulating the linkage between institutions – for the climate-energy nexus. With these suggestions and its conceptual and empirical novelty, the chapter contributes to a variety of literatures – on climate and energy governance, on institutional complexity, and on effectiveness – while being of interest to different stakeholders operating in the climate-energy nexus.
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31. |
- Nasiritousi, Naghmeh, et al.
(author)
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The roles of non-state actors in climate change governance: understanding agency through governance profiles
- 2016
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In: International Environmental Agreements. - : Springer Netherlands. - 1567-9764 .- 1573-1553. ; 16:1, s. 109-126
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Globalization processes have rendered non-state actors an integral part of global governance. The body of literature that has examined non-state actor involvement in global governance has focused mainly on whether and how non-state actors can influence states. Less attention has been paid to the comparative advantages of non-state actors to answer questions about agency across categories of non-state actors, and more precisely what governance activities non-state actors are perceived to fulfil. Using unique survey material from two climate change conferences, we propose that different categories of non-state actors have distinct governance profiles. We further suggest that the different governance profiles are derived from particular power sources and that agency is a function of these profiles. The study thereby contributes to a strand in the literature focusing on the authority of non-state actors in climate governance and broadens the methodological toolkit for studying the “governors” of global governance.
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32. |
- Sanderink, Lisa, et al.
(author)
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How institutional interactions can strengthen effectiveness : The case of multi-stakeholder partnerships for renewable energy
- 2020
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In: Energy Policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0301-4215 .- 1873-6777. ; 141
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sustainable Development Goal 7 and the Paris Agreement reiterate the importance of a worldwide uptake of renewable energy. However, the present growth rate of renewables in the global energy mix is too slow to meet international targets. There exists at present a wide range of institutions with different characteristics that work internationally to promote a steeper increase. Whereas previous studies have examined the institutional landscape for renewable energy and the considerable interactions occurring across institutions, it remains unclear what the implications of these institutional interactions are for effectiveness. This paper assesses how institutional interactions can strengthen effectiveness, by focusing on three multi-stakeholder partnerships for renewable energy. Based on an expert survey and semi-structured interviews, the study provides both theoretical and empirical contributions to understanding institutional interactions in relation to effectiveness. Moreover, it provides insights on how to strengthen the effectiveness of multi-stakeholder partnerships for renewable energy. Results show that different levels and types of institutional interactions may influence effectiveness differently, with the sharing of procedural information and coordination mechanisms being considered most fruitful to increase effectiveness. Importantly, however, such interactions should not harm the autonomy, nor the efficiency of multi-stakeholder partnerships.
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33. |
- Skovgaard, Jakob, et al.
(author)
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Carbon Pricing
- 2020
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In: Governing the Climate-Energy Nexus : Institutional Complexity and Its Challenges to Effectiveness and Legitimacy - Institutional Complexity and Its Challenges to Effectiveness and Legitimacy. - 9781108676397 ; , s. 156-180
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)
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34. |
- Stoddard, Isak, et al.
(author)
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Three Decades of Climate Mitigation: Why Haven't We Bent the Global Emissions Curve?
- 2021
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In: Annual Review of Environment and Resources. - : Annual Reviews. - 1543-5938 .- 1545-2050. - 9780824323462 ; 46, s. 653-689
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Despite three decades of political efforts and a wealth of research on the causes and catastrophic impacts of climate change, global carbon dioxide emissions have continued to rise and are 60% higher today than they were in 1990. Exploring this rise through nine thematic lenses-covering issues of climate governance, the fossil fuel industry, geopolitics, economics, mitigation modeling, energy systems, inequity, lifestyles, and social imaginaries-draws out multifaceted reasons for our collective failure to bend the global emissions curve. However, a common thread that emerges across the reviewed literature is the central role of power, manifest in many forms, from a dogmatic political-economic hegemony and influential vested interests to narrow techno-economic mindsets and ideologies of control. Synthesizing the various impediments to mitigation reveals how delivering on the commitments enshrined in the Paris Agreement now requires an urgent and unprecedented transformation away from today's carbon- and energy-intensive development paradigm.
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35. |
- Widerberg, Oscar, et al.
(author)
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A cautionary tale for polycentric governance: states' roles in orchestrating decarbonization
- 2024
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In: Global Environmental Politics. - Cambridge MA : MIT Press. - 1526-3800 .- 1536-0091.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Paris Agreement ushered in an era of climate governance underpinned by a polycentric theory of change, emphasizing experimentation, collaboration, and innovation while downplaying political contestation, power asymmetries, and the need for regulatory action by the state. This article explores the roles the state plays in polycentric climate governance, focusing on the tension between the regulatory state, where authorities set, monitor, and enforce rules, and the orchestrating state, which facilitates collaboration with nonstate actors to induce behavioral change. Using decarbonization in Sweden as an illustrative case study, the article synthesizes the results of two research projects evaluating the promises and limits of polycentric climate governance. The results problematize the view that Sweden is a forerunner in climate governance, suggesting that while the Swedish government has mobilized support from important industries and cities in favor of decarbonization, that support may be insufficient to achieve necessary societal transformation for deep decarbonization. Finally, the study reflects on the conditions necessary for polycentric governance to effectively decarbonize society, highlighting the pivotal role of the regulatory state.
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