The political economy of global environmental governance

Newell, Peter

doi:10.1017/s0260210508008140

Cited by 147 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…In 2002, the directive was translated into Austrian national law in the form of the Green Electricity Act (GEA) 6 . This original version of the law specified a commitment to accept electrical energy from renewable resources, at prices (feed-in tariffs) to be subsequently established by legislative regulation (feed-in tariff regulations).…”

Section: Contested Austrian Renewable Energy Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It created political stability and made quite effective crisis policies possible in many fields. However, it is difficult to integrate environmental concerns within this constellation, which go beyond the perspective of a partial ecological modernization of capitalism or dominant understandings of sustainable development or, more recently, strategies towards a green economy [4]- [6]. This is the reason why effective climate policy, despite its high politicization, is precluded from the political agenda and, therefore, the social partnership has contributed significantly to the standstill in climate policy in Austria.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Selectivities at Work: Climate Concerns in the Midst of Corporatist Interests. The Case of Austria

Brand¹,

Pawloff²

2014

JEP

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Despite legally binding greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and good pre-conditions for progressive climate action, emissions in Austria are on the rise. This article explores the reasons why climate change policy is so ineffective in Austria. We show that the social partnership has contributed significantly to the standstill in renewable energy production and the rejection of more ambitious reduction targets concerning greenhouse gas emissions, and consider the role of experts and expertise in climate change policies. The ineffectiveness of climate policy in Austria is largely due to corporatist actors who often act like an ex-ante filter or selective mechanism for what is politically acceptable or possible and what is not. Climate change is for the most part successfully kept off the political agenda and (climate sceptical) politicization does not take place. Insights from the literature on corporatism are enhanced by the concepts of strategic and epistemic selectivity to analyse not only access to the state terrain but also the domination of specific knowledge forms, problem perceptions, and narratives over others.

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Section: Contested Austrian Renewable Energy Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selectivities at Work: Climate Concerns in the Midst of Corporatist Interests. The Case of Austria

Brand¹,

Pawloff²

2014

JEP

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“…Historical-materialist social, state and governance theory made important contributions to PE (for historical-materialist state theory in general see [80][81][82][83][84]; for the linking with PE see [37,52,78,[85][86][87][88][89][90][91]). The analytical challenge is to conceptualise the state not only as a potential motor of sustainability transformations-this is important enough and dealt with in literature on the "green state" [92] or "environmental state" [93,94].…”

Section: Political Dimensions Of Social-ecological Transformationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges for Social-Ecological Transformations: Contributions from Social and Political Ecology

et al. 2017

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Transformation has become a major topic of sustainability research. This opens up new perspectives, but at the same time, runs the danger to convert into a new critical orthodoxy which narrows down analytical perspectives. Most research is committed towards a political-strategic approach towards transformation. This focus, however, clashes with ongoing transformation processes towards un-sustainability. The paper presents cornerstones of an integrative approach to social-ecological transformations (SET), which builds upon empirical work and conceptual considerations from Social Ecology and Political Ecology. We argue that a critical understanding of the challenges for societal transformations can be advanced by focusing on the interdependencies between societies and the natural environment. This starting point provides a more realistic understanding of the societal and biophysical constraints of sustainability transformations by emphasising the crisis-driven and contested character of the appropriation of nature and the power relations involved. Moreover, it pursues a transdisciplinary mode of research, decisive for adequately understanding any strategy for transformations towards sustainability. Such a conceptual approach of SET is supposed to better integrate the analytical, normative and political-strategic dimension of transformation research. We use the examples of global land use patterns, neo-extractivism in Latin America and the global water crisis to clarify our approach.

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“…In environmental contexts, scholars developed and debated the concept of "pollution havens", allowing for a race to the bottom in environmental standards, or at least barriers to improvements due to competitiveness concerns in political debates (Braithwaite & Drahos, 2000). Today, such competitiveness concerns still frequently influence political debates and agendas, even as subnational units compete with each other for investments (Altvater & Mahnkopf, 1996;Amoore, 2006;Brand et al, 2000;Gill, 1995;Newell & Levy, 2006;Strange, 1998). Moreover, capital has become ever more flexible in its movements over the last decades, as firms frequently work with subcontracting in production rather than the ownership of production sites.…”

Section: Non-state Actors In Eu Politicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Passing the Scepter, not the Buck Long Arms in EU Climate Politics

Fuchs¹,

Feldhoff²

2016

JSD

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This paper investigates power dynamics between and within the core institutions of the European Union (EU) in the development of the 2030 EU climate & energy framework. Starting from the widely studied change in the EU's climate policy from "leadership by example" to "slow motion", it integrates a specific focus on power dynamics between the core EU institutions and non-state actors. Interestingly, perspectives on power relations between and within EU institutions and the power of non-state actors in EU governance are rarely integrated explicitly in analyses of the EU's shift in its stance on climate policy. In this article, we aim to draw together the analyses of institutional power dynamics in EU climate policy with analyses of the exercise of power by non-state actors to explain the dynamics leading to the change in EU climate politics. Using data from document research, secondary literature and interviews conducted with members of EU institutions as well as non-state actors, we show that an absence of clear leadership from the European Council in the end furthered an extended influence of business actors via the strengthening of the Commission as well as particular DGs. The results show how inadequate guidance from the Council and divisions within the Commission facilitated the informal passing of the scepter of EU climate policy to business, even as EU institutions retained formal responsibility, thus not passing the buck in a corresponding manner. The analysis further reveals strong reasons for doubt towards future EU ambitions in global climate change politics.

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The political economy of global environmental governance

Cited by 147 publications

References 24 publications

Selectivities at Work: Climate Concerns in the Midst of Corporatist Interests. The Case of Austria

Selectivities at Work: Climate Concerns in the Midst of Corporatist Interests. The Case of Austria

Challenges for Social-Ecological Transformations: Contributions from Social and Political Ecology

Passing the Scepter, not the Buck Long Arms in EU Climate Politics

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