Climate Change Policy, and Policy Change in China

Solving the climate change problem by limiting global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will necessitate action by the world’s two largest emitters, the United States and China. Neither has so far committed to quantitative emissions limits. Some argue that China cannot be engaged on the basis of its national interest in climate policy, on the ground that China’s national net benefits of limiting greenhouse gas emissions would be negative, as a result of significant GHG abatement costs and potential net gains to China from a warmer world. This premise has led some observers to advocate other approaches to engaging China, such as appeal to moral obligation. This Article argues that appeal to national net benefits is still the best approach to engage China. First, appealing to China’s asserted moral obligation to limit its GHG emissions may be ineffective or even counterproductive. Even if climate change is a moral issue for American leaders, framing the issue that way may not be persuasive to Chinese leaders. Second, the concern that China’s national net benefits of climate policy are negative is based on older forecasts of costs and benefits. More recent climate science, of which the Chinese leadership is aware, indicates higher damages to China from climate change and thus greater net benefits to China from climate policy. Third, the public health co-benefits of reducing other air pollutants along with GHGs may make GHG emissions limits look more attractive to China. Fourth, the distribution of climate impacts within China may be as important as the net aggregate: climate change may exacerbate political and social stresses within China, which the leadership may seek to avoid in order to maintain political stability. Fifth, the costs of abatement may decline as innovation in China accelerates. Sixth, as China becomes a great power in world politics, and as climate change affects China’s allies, leadership on climate policy may look more favorable to China’s elites. Seventh, the design of the international climate treaty regime itself can offer positive incentives to China. Taken together, these factors point to a potential and even ongoing shift in Chinese climate policy. They illustrate how the international law and politics of climate change depend on domestic politics and institutions. And they suggest that the United States, if it too takes effective action, can make the case for enlightened pragmatism as a basis to engage China in a cooperative global climate policy regime

Communicating for Policy Change

Synthesizes information from a November 2006 GIH Issue Dialogue meeting that explored communications theories and techniques and their application to policy work

Leadership for Policy Change

Provides options for utilizing foundation and government support to create and enhance community-based leadership development programs in communities of color

Climate Change Policy

Having risen from relative obscurity as few as ten years ago, climate change now looms large among environmental policy issues. Its scope is global; the potential environmental and economic impacts are ubiquitous; the potential restrictions on human choices touch the most basic goals of people in all nations; and the sheer scope of the potential response—a significant shift away from using fossil fuels as the primary energy source in the modern economy—is daunting. In this paper, we explore the economics of climate change policy. We examine the risks that climate change poses for society, the benefits of protection against the effects of climate change, and the costs of alternative protection policies. We organize our discussion around three broad themes: why costs and benefits matter in assessing climate change policies, as does the uncertainty surrounding them; why well-designed, cost-effective climate policies are essential in addressing the threat of climate change; and why a coherent architecture of international agreements is key to successful policy implementation. We conclude the paper with a summary of key policy lessons and gaps in knowledge.

Climate change: towards policy coherence

The fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, being released in sections from late 2013 through 2014, is rekindling public interest in climate change. With controversies over the previous report (2007) out of the way, advances in knowledge since then and some improvement in procedures, the findings of the latest report appear more robust. Even though many uncertainties remain, the evidence base for policy is compelling

DPJ Government and Climate Change Policy

The monograph provides knowledge on the complex nature of both external and internal determinants influencing foreign policies of East Asian countries. Through a range of case studies on Japan, China, Taiwan and North Korea, the authors analyze international relations in East Asia as a mosaic of intertwining processes of globalization and regionalization, interests of global and regional powers, local social and economic conditions, national institutional arrangements, and even personal factors. They argue that sometimes a sudden change of one small element in this mosaic suffices to influence the whole system. Instead of providing a simplified interpretation of the analyzed processes, the monograph tries to illustrate them in their entire complexity.In 2009 election manifesto Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) leaders voiced their decisive support for stronger engagement in international climate negotiations. The promises were realized by an ambitious climate mitigation proposal presented by Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio at COP 15 in Copenhagen. 25% CO2 levels reduction commitment was heavily criticized by Japanese opposition, METI bureaucrats and business circles. Despite strong domestic opposition Prime Minister Hatoyama decided to place climate mitigation among priorities of his foreign policy. Next DPJ administration quickly backtracked from the position of climate leader. The head of the Japanese delegation at COP 16 in Mexico stated that Japan would not be a part of new Kyoto Protocol commitment period. The aim of the article is to identify changing factors in decision–making process that led to quick change in DPJ’s approach to international climate mitigation efforts.This article is a result of research conducted as a part of a project financed by the Polish National Science Centre based on decision No. DEC– 2013/11/B/HS5/04005

BSE: Risk, Uncertainty, and Policy Change

The authors discuss how, in our risk society, a range of potential risks and uncertainties are associated with new technologies and new diseases, such as BSE. These risks bring with them worries about human health, while the ability to assess and manage new health scares is an essential skill for government and related industries

Opponents and supporters of water policy change in the Netherlands and Hungary

This paper looks at the role of individuals and the strategies that they use to bring about or oppose major policy change. Current analysis of the role that individuals or small collectives play in periods of major policy change has focussed on strategies that reinforce change and on the supporters of change. This paper adds the perspective of opponents, and asks whether they use similar strategies as those identified for supporters. Five strategies are explored: developing new ideas, building coalitions to sell ideas, using windows of opportunity, playing multiple venues and orchestrating networks. Using empirical evidence from Dutch and Hungarian water policy change, we discuss whether individuals pursued these strategies to support or oppose major policy change. Our analysis showed the significance of recognition of a new policy concept at an abstract level by responsible government actors, as well as their engagement with a credible regional coalition that can contextualise and advocate the concept regionally. The strategies of supporters were also used by opponents of water policy change. Opposition was inherent to policy change, and whether or not government actors sought to engage with opponents influenced the realisation of water policy change