IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/climat/v169y2021i3d10.1007_s10584-021-03260-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Grassroots vs. greenhouse: the role of environmental organizations in reducing carbon emissions

Author

Listed:
  • Timothy Fraser

    (Northeastern University)

  • Pinar Temocin

    (Hiroshima University)

Abstract

Why do some communities see fewer greenhouse gas emissions than others? This study examines the intervening role of environmental NGOs in Japanese urban emissions between 2005 and 2017. We draw from all 1741 Japanese municipalities, testing the effect of grassroots NGOs on emissions, and demonstrating different pathways to reducing emissions through the cases of three environmental organizations. While past studies have examined the role of social ties in environmental governance outcomes like emission reduction efforts, the direct roles of grassroots organizations have not yet been explored in a mixed methods design. We find that cities with more local grassroots organizations and multi-level organizations tend to see fewer emissions over time, a compelling endorsement of civil society efforts to avert climate change. This study aims to build a theory on what kinds of environmental NGOs promote climate change mitigation.

Suggested Citation

  • Timothy Fraser & Pinar Temocin, 2021. "Grassroots vs. greenhouse: the role of environmental organizations in reducing carbon emissions," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 1-21, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:169:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s10584-021-03260-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-021-03260-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10584-021-03260-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10584-021-03260-4?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. Lieberman, Evan S., 2005. "Nested Analysis as a Mixed-Method Strategy for Comparative Research," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 99(3), pages 435-452, August.
    2. Li, Xi & Zhang, Runsen & Chen, Jundong & Jiang, Yida & Zhang, Qiong & Long, Yin, 2021. "Urban-scale carbon footprint evaluation based on citizen travel demand in Japan," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    3. Katja Biedenkopf & Sarah Van Eynde & Hayley Walker, 2017. "Policy Infusion Through Capacity Building and Project Interaction: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading in China," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 17(3), pages 91-114, August.
    4. Tsai, Lily L., 2007. "Solidary Groups, Informal Accountability, and Local Public Goods Provision in Rural China," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 101(2), pages 355-372, May.
    5. Harriet Bulkeley, 2006. "Urban Sustainability: Learning from Best Practice?," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 38(6), pages 1029-1044, June.
    6. Long, Yin & Yoshida, Yoshikuni & Zhang, Runsen & Sun, Lu & Dou, Yi, 2018. "Policy implications from revealing consumption-based carbon footprint of major economic sectors in Japan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 339-348.
    7. Long, Yin & Dong, Liang & Yoshida, Yoshikuni & Li, Zhaoling, 2018. "Evaluation of energy-related household carbon footprints in metropolitan areas of Japan," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 377(C), pages 16-25.
    8. Jonas Meckling, 2015. "Oppose, Support, or Hedge? Distributional Effects, Regulatory Pressure, and Business Strategy in Environmental Politics," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 15(2), pages 19-37, May.
    9. Jeffrey Wilson & Peter Tyedmers & Jamie E. L. Spinney, 2013. "An Exploration of the Relationship between Socioeconomic and Well‐Being Variables and Household Greenhouse Gas Emissions," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 17(6), pages 880-891, December.
    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. Samuel Trachtman & Jonas Meckling, 2022. "The climate advocacy gap," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 172(3), pages 1-7, June.

    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. Long, Yin & Yoshida, Yoshikuni & Fang, Kai & Zhang, Haoran & Dhondt, Maya, 2019. "City-level household carbon footprint from purchaser point of view by a modified input-output model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 379-387.
    2. Lina Liu & Jiansheng Qu & Tek Narayan Maraseni & Yibo Niu & Jingjing Zeng & Lihua Zhang & Li Xu, 2020. "Household CO 2 Emissions: Current Status and Future Perspectives," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-19, September.
    3. Shi, Xunpeng & Wang, Keying & Cheong, Tsun Se & Zhang, Hongwu, 2020. "Prioritizing driving factors of household carbon emissions: An application of the LASSO model with survey data," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    4. Long, Yin & Yoshida, Yoshikuni & Meng, Jing & Guan, Dabo & Yao, Liming & Zhang, Haoran, 2019. "Unequal age-based household emission and its monthly variation embodied in energy consumption – A cases study of Tokyo, Japan," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C), pages 350-362.
    5. Zhang, Hongwu & Shi, Xunpeng & Wang, Keying & Xue, Jinjun & Song, Ligang & Sun, Yongping, 2020. "Intertemporal lifestyle changes and carbon emissions: Evidence from a China household survey," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    6. Stefano Costalli & Luigi Moretti & Costantino Pischedda, 2014. "The Economic Costs of Civil War: Synthetic Counterfactual Evidence and the Effects of Ethnic Fractionalization," HiCN Working Papers 184, Households in Conflict Network.
    7. He, Quqiong & Pan, Ying & Sarangi, Sudipta, 2018. "Lineage-based heterogeneity and cooperative behavior in rural China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 248-269.
    8. Huang, Liqiao & Long, Yin & Chen, Jundong & Yoshida, Yoshikuni, 2023. "Sustainable lifestyle: Urban household carbon footprint accounting and policy implications for lifestyle-based decarbonization," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    9. Hong Sun & Valentina Hartarska & Lezhu Zhang & Denis Nadolnyak, 2018. "The Influence of Social Capital on Farm Household’s Borrowing Behavior in Rural China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-20, November.
    10. Timothy Fraser & Lily Cunningham & Amos Nasongo, 2021. "Build Back Better? Effects of Crisis on Climate Change Adaptation Through Solar Power in Japan and the United States," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 21(1), pages 54-75, Winter.
    11. Alejandro Avenburg & John Gerring & Jason Seawright, 2023. "How do social scientists reach causal inferences? A study of reception," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 257-275, February.
    12. Tang, Can & Zhao, Zhong, 2022. "Informal institution meets child development," MERIT Working Papers 2022-032, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    13. Cacace, Mirella & Ettelt, Stefanie & Mays, Nicholas & Nolte, Ellen, 2013. "Assessing quality in cross-country comparisons of health systems and policies: Towards a set of generic quality criteria," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(1), pages 156-162.
    14. Diaeldin Osman & Conor O’Leary & Mark Brimble & Dave Thompson, 2019. "Factor That Impact Attrition And Retention Rates Among Accountancy Diploma Students: Evidence From Saudi Arabia," Business Education and Accreditation, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 11(1), pages 89-110.
    15. Matias Ramirez & Ian Clarke & Laurens Klerkx, 2018. "Analysing intermediary organisations and their influence on upgrading in emerging agricultural clusters," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 50(6), pages 1314-1335, September.
    16. Min Xia, 2011. "Social Capital and Rural Grassroots Governance in China," Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell, Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 40(2), pages 135-163.
    17. Anders Blok & Robin Tschötschel, 2016. "World port cities as cosmopolitan risk community: Mapping urban climate policy experiments in Europe and East Asia," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(4), pages 717-736, June.
    18. Liu, Feifei & He, Xinming & Wang, Tao, 2023. "In the name of the family: The effect of CEO clan culture background on firm internationalization," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    19. Jiankun LU & Pi-Han Tsai, 2017. "Signal and Political Accountability: Environmental Petitions in China," Economic Growth Centre Working Paper Series 1711, Nanyang Technological University, School of Social Sciences, Economic Growth Centre.
    20. Naji Akbar & Ismaila Rimi Abubakar & Ayesha Agha Shah & Wafa Al-Madani, 2021. "Ecological Embeddedness in the Maya Built Environment: Inspiration for Contemporary Cities," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-29, December.

    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:spr:climat:v:169:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s10584-021-03260-4. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.