Routes-to-credible-climate-commitment ORE version.pdf (794.78 kB)
Routes to credible climate commitment: the UK and Denmark compared
Credible commitment is central to regimes for climate mitigation policy. In the climate policy literature, it is widely argued that the solution to the credible commitment problem is legislation and delegation of goal-setting to a technical body insulated from political incentives, and the UK’s Committee on Climate Change is in part modelled on this approach. However, drawing on the comparative politics literature, this paper argues that the focus on legislation and delegation as the solution to the credible commitment problem is too narrow. Seen within the context of comparative political institutions, it is a response that fits the political logic in countries with majoritarian electoral systems. By contrast, in countries with electoral systems based on proportional representation, while legislation plays a role, an important element in the creation of credible commitment comes in the form of negotiated long-term agreements between political parties. This contrast is explored through a comparison between the Climate Change Act and associated Committee on Climate Change in the UK on the one hand, and a series of Energy and Climate Agreements in Denmark over the 2010s. Both approaches appear to have worked to date. However, while negotiated long-term agreements typically have an internal process for managing conflicts that inevitably arise after the respective mechanisms have been put in place, disputes arising following legislation and delegation must be resolved within the more informal processes of intra-party politics. Mechanisms of accountability also differ between the two approaches.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Climate PolicyISSN
1469-3062Publisher
Taylor & FrancisExternal DOI
Issue
9Volume
21Page range
1234-1247Department affiliated with
- SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit Publications
Notes
Special issue: climate change acts: origins, dynamics, and consequencesFull text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes