IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v118y2018icp317-324.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Building or stumbling blocks? Assessing the performance of polycentric energy and climate governance networks

Author

Listed:
  • Sovacool, Benjamin K.
  • Van de Graaf, Thijs

Abstract

Polycentric governance networks are on the rise in global energy and climate governance, but we know surprisingly little about their empirical performance. This paper analyzes the performance of four such transnational energy and climate governance networks. In the realm of sustainable energy, our cases are the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (GACC). In the climate sphere, we examine the effectiveness of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI). Using principles from governance and public administration about the effectiveness of institutions, we examine the extent to which four networks have contributed to improving governance outcomes in the spheres of climate and sustainable energy. Our evaluation focuses on the clarity of purpose, funding, institutional formality, efficacy, and level of resilience of these networks. Some differences notwithstanding, we find that the transnational governance networks generally fail to meet the criteria about what constitutes an effective institution. The paper concludes with a reflection on what could be done to enhance the performance of these governance networks.

Suggested Citation

  • Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Van de Graaf, Thijs, 2018. "Building or stumbling blocks? Assessing the performance of polycentric energy and climate governance networks," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 317-324.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:118:y:2018:i:c:p:317-324
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2018.03.047
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421518301800
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.03.047?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Florini, Ann & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2009. "Who governs energy? The challenges facing global energy governance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(12), pages 5239-5248, December.
    2. Rema Hanna & Esther Duflo & Michael Greenstone, 2016. "Up in Smoke: The Influence of Household Behavior on the Long-Run Impact of Improved Cooking Stoves," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 80-114, February.
    3. Morgan Bazilian & Benjamin Sovacool & Todd Moss, 2017. "Rethinking Energy Statecraft: United States Foreign Policy and the Changing Geopolitics of Energy," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 8(3), pages 417-420, September.
    4. Chan, Sander & Pauw, Pieter, 2014. "Proposal for a global framework for climate action to engage non-state and subnational stakeholders in the future climate regime," Briefing Papers 15/2014, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    5. Haselip, James & Desgain, Denis & Mackenzie, Gordon, 2014. "Financing energy SMEs in Ghana and Senegal: Outcomes, barriers and prospects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 369-376.
    6. Robert Falkner & Hannes Stephan & John Vogler, 2010. "International climate policy after Copenhagen: towards a �building blocks� approach," GRI Working Papers 21, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    7. Scheba, Andreas & Mustalahti, Irmeli, 2015. "Rethinking ‘expert’ knowledge in community forest management in Tanzania," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 7-18.
    8. Ostrom, Vincent & Tiebout, Charles M. & Warren, Robert, 1961. "The Organization of Government in Metropolitan Areas: A Theoretical Inquiry," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(4), pages 831-842, December.
    9. Thomas Hale, 2016. "“All Hands on Deck”: The Paris Agreement and Nonstate Climate Action," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 16(3), pages 12-22, August.
    10. Tobias Hahn & Jonatan Pinkse, 2014. "Private environmental governance through cross-sector partnerships: Tensions between competition and effectiveness," Working Papers hal-00961234, HAL.
    11. Galaz, Victor & Crona, Beatrice & Österblom, Henrik & Olsson, Per & Folke, Carl, 2012. "Polycentric systems and interacting planetary boundaries — Emerging governance of climate change–ocean acidification–marine biodiversity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 21-32.
    12. H.-M. Füssel & Stéphane Hallegatte & M. Reder, 2012. "International Adaptation Funding," Post-Print hal-00801907, HAL.
    13. Jeff Colgan & Robert Keohane & Thijs Van de Graaf, 2012. "Punctuated equilibrium in the energy regime complex," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 117-143, June.
    14. Dornan, Matthew & Shah, Kalim U., 2016. "Energy policy, aid, and the development of renewable energy resources in Small Island Developing States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 759-767.
    15. Sander Chan & Harro van Asselt & Thomas Hale & Kenneth W. Abbott & Marianne Beisheim & Matthew Hoffmann & Brendan Guy & Niklas Höhne & Angel Hsu & Philipp Pattberg & Pieter Pauw & Céline Ramstein & Os, 2015. "Reinvigorating International Climate Policy: A Comprehensive Framework for Effective Nonstate Action," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 6(4), pages 466-473, November.
    16. Liliana B. Andonova & Michele M. Betsill & Harriet Bulkeley, 2009. "Transnational Climate Governance," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 9(2), pages 52-73, May.
    17. Daniel H. Cole, 2015. "Advantages of a polycentric approach to climate change policy," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 5(2), pages 114-118, February.
    18. Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2011. "An international comparison of four polycentric approaches to climate and energy governance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 3832-3844, June.
    19. Lijphart, Arend, 1971. "Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 65(3), pages 682-693, September.
    20. Sabatier, Paul A., 1986. "Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches to Implementation Research: a Critical Analysis and Suggested Synthesis," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 6(1), pages 21-48, January.
    21. Kenneth W Abbott, 2012. "The Transnational Regime Complex for Climate Change," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 30(4), pages 571-590, August.
    22. Marcel J. Dorsch & Christian Flachsland, 2017. "A Polycentric Approach to Global Climate Governance," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 17(2), pages 45-64, May.
    23. Steve Rayner, 2010. "How to eat an elephant: a bottom-up approach to climate policy," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(6), pages 615-621, November.
    24. Poocharoen, Ora-orn & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2012. "Exploring the challenges of energy and resources network governance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 409-418.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Matthew C. Nowlin, 2022. "Who should “do more” about climate change? Cultural theory, polycentricity, and public support for climate change actions across actors and governments," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 39(4), pages 468-485, July.
    2. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Martiskainen, Mari, 2020. "Hot transformations: Governing rapid and deep household heating transitions in China, Denmark, Finland and the United Kingdom," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    3. Paul Drummond, 2021. "Assessing City Governance for Low-Carbon Mobility in London," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-24, February.
    4. Giovanna Andrea Pinilla‐De La Cruz & Rodrigo Rabetino & Jussi Kantola, 2022. "Unveiling the shades of partnerships for the energy transition and sustainable development: Connecting public–private partnerships and emerging hybrid schemes," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(5), pages 1370-1386, October.
    5. Naim Kapucu & Sean Beaudet, 2020. "Network Governance for Collective Action in Implementing United Nations Sustainable Development Goals," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-21, December.
    6. Sanderink, Lisa & Nasiritousi, Naghmeh, 2020. "How institutional interactions can strengthen effectiveness: The case of multi-stakeholder partnerships for renewable energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    7. López-Bernabé, Elena & Linares, Pedro & Galarraga, Ibon, 2022. "Energy-efficiency policies for decarbonising residential heating in Spain: A fuzzy cognitive mapping approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alexandre Gajevic Sayegh, 2020. "Moral duties, compliance and polycentric climate governance," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 483-506, September.
    2. Steven Bernstein & Matthew Hoffmann, 2018. "The politics of decarbonization and the catalytic impact of subnational climate experiments," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 51(2), pages 189-211, June.
    3. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Martiskainen, Mari, 2020. "Hot transformations: Governing rapid and deep household heating transitions in China, Denmark, Finland and the United Kingdom," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    4. Tiffany H. Morrison & W. Neil Adger & Katrina Brown & Maria Carmen Lemos & Dave Huitema & Terry P. Hughes, 2017. "Mitigation and adaptation in polycentric systems: sources of power in the pursuit of collective goals," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(5), September.
    5. Alexandre Gajevic Sayegh, 0. "Moral duties, compliance and polycentric climate governance," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-24.
    6. Marcel J. Dorsch & Christian Flachsland, 2017. "A Polycentric Approach to Global Climate Governance," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 17(2), pages 45-64, May.
    7. Giulia Gadani & Ibon Galarraga & Elisa Sainz de Murieta, 2019. "Regional climate change policies: An analysis of commitments, policy instruments and targets," ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 0(2), pages 49-74.
    8. Marcel T. J. Kok & Kathrin Ludwig, 2022. "Understanding international non-state and subnational actors for biodiversity and their possible contributions to the post-2020 CBD global biodiversity framework: insights from six international coope," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 1-25, March.
    9. Caleb Gallemore, 2017. "Transaction costs in the evolution of transnational polycentric governance," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 639-654, October.
    10. Harro Asselt & Fariborz Zelli, 2014. "Connect the dots: managing the fragmentation of global climate governance," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 16(2), pages 137-155, April.
    11. Galaz, Victor & Crona, Beatrice & Österblom, Henrik & Olsson, Per & Folke, Carl, 2012. "Polycentric systems and interacting planetary boundaries — Emerging governance of climate change–ocean acidification–marine biodiversity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 21-32.
    12. Benjamin M. Abraham, 2021. "Ideology and non-state climate action: partnering and design of REDD+ projects," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 669-690, December.
    13. Marielle Papin, 2019. "Transnational municipal networks: Harbingers of innovation for global adaptation governance?," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 467-483, October.
    14. de Wit, Fronika & Mourato, João, 2022. "Governing the diverse forest: Polycentric climate governance in the Amazon," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    15. Jordan K. Lofthouse & Roberta Q. Herzberg, 2023. "The Continuing Case for a Polycentric Approach for Coping with Climate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-24, February.
    16. Hao Zhang, 2022. "China and Climate Multilateralism: A Review of Theoretical Approaches," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10(2), pages 50-60.
    17. de Ridder, Kilian & Schultz, Felix Carl & Pies, Ingo, 2023. "Procedural climate justice: Conceptualizing a polycentric solution to a global problem," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    18. Carattini, Stefano & Fankhauser, Sam & Gao, Jianjian & Gennaioli, Caterina & Panzarasa, Pietro, 2023. "What does network analysis teach us about international environmental cooperation?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    19. Lukas Hermwille & Lisa Sanderink, 2019. "Make Fossil Fuels Great Again? The Paris Agreement, Trump, and the USFossil Fuel Industry," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 19(4), pages 45-62, November.
    20. Adrian Amelung, 2016. "Das "Paris-Agreement": Durchbruch der Top-Down-Klimaschutzverhandlungen im Kreise der Vereinten Nationen," Otto-Wolff-Institut Discussion Paper Series 03/2016, Otto-Wolff-Institut für Wirtschaftsordnung, Köln, Deutschland.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:118:y:2018:i:c:p:317-324. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.