Emergence, effectiveness and legitimacy of transnational adaptation governance

Abstract

Interest in climate adaptation has increased substantially over time – from a minor policy field to be considered on par with climate mitigation. Meanwhile, the world we live in has become increasingly interdependent across borders. Consequently, climate impacts are transmitted from one place to another, meaning that adaptation to climate change risks and impacts will need to be coordinated in a way that connects places and people. Moreover, the impacts of climate change hit the most vulnerable people the hardest. As extreme weather events hit more often and become more severe, accounts of them are strikingly similar in that the poorest and most vulnerable people and communities are the ones most affected by the impacts. Climate change exacerbates existing inequalities, including those related to gender, income, age and ethnicity. Consequently, in an interconnected world, a central challenge for adaptation governance is to assign authority for affairs which have cross-border ramifications. This doctoral dissertation explores the emergence or transnational adaptation governance and how it is changing traditional adaptation approaches. In political science, transnational governance, emphasising the role of non-state actors in international relations, seeks to apprehend how transboundary issues can be best captured in policy and decision-making. The norm of adaptation as a global challenge has been recognised in the Paris Agreement and this dissertation analyses the interaction between state and non-state actors across national borders and its effectiveness, legitimacy and distributional consequences. Adaptation, due to its cross-sectoral nature offers an ample empirical field for furthering transnational governance research. This dissertation is the first attempt to operationalise transnational adaptation governance as a distinct phenomenon. It focuses on three specific cases: adaptation finance, transnational adaptation initiatives and as a governance response to transboundary climate risk. By doing so, it covers the breadth of transnational governance related to adaptation. It finds that, in contrast to mitigation, the role of state actors and international organisations as orchestrators continues to be important, particularly with regards to effectiveness. The dissertation also shows how new actors – particularly private sector actors – increasingly govern adaptation transnationally. This has led to a contestation of legitimacy as actors grapple with previously unidentified risks or areas of shared interest. While the broadening of adaptation has increased the effectiveness potential, the legitimacy of transnational adaptation governance is not grounded in fairness and justice, which are key components for successful adaptation outcomes.