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Implementing Long-Term Climate Policy: Time Inconsistency, Domestic Politics, International Anarchy

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  • Jon Hovi

    (Jon Hovi is a Professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, and at CICERO-Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo. He has recently published articles in Economics Letters, Energy Policy, Global Environmental Politics, International Environmental Agreements, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Review of International Studies, Review of Policy Research, and World Politics.)

  • Detlef F. Sprinz

    (Detlef F. Sprinz is Senior Scientist in the Research Domain "Transdisciplinary Concepts & Methods" of PIK-Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. His research and publications encompass long-term policy, inter/national institutions and the evaluation of their performance, international environmental policy, and modeling political decisions. He is the Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the European Environment Agency, Copenhagen, Denmark, and a member of the European Academy, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany. His major publications include Models, Numbers, and Cases: Methods for Studying International Relations (with Yael Wolinsky-Nahmias, 2004), International Relations and Global Climate Change (with Urs Luterbacher, 2001), as well as articles in International Organization, International Studies Review, International Political Science Review, Journal of Conflict Resolution, and World Politics.)

  • Arild Underdal

    (Arild Underdal is Professor of Political Science at the University of Oslo. Most of his research over the past two decades has focused on international cooperation, with particular reference to environmental governance. Major publications include Environmental Regime Effectiveness: Confronting Theory with Evidence (with E. L. Miles and others, 2002); Regime Consequences: Methodological Consequences and Research Strategies (co-edited with O. R. Young, 2004); and Science and Politics in International Environmental Regimes (with S. Andresen, T. Skodvin, and J. Wettestad, 2000). Underdal served as Rector of the University of Oslo, 2002-2005.)

Abstract

As a quintessential long-term policy problem, climate change poses two major challenges. The first is to develop, under considerable uncertainty, a plan for allocating resources over time to achieve an effective policy response. The second is to implement this plan, once arrived at, consistently over time. We consider the second of these two challenges, arguing that it consists of three interrelated, commitment problems-the time inconsistency problem, the domestic politics problem, and the anarchy problem. We discuss each of these commitment problems in some detail, explore how they relate to climate policy, and suggest institutional designs that may help limit their adverse impact. While each of these commitment problems is difficult to tackle on its own, climate change requires us to cope with all of them at once. This is likely one major reason why we have so far made only modest headway on this vital issue. (c) 2009 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Jon Hovi & Detlef F. Sprinz & Arild Underdal, 2009. "Implementing Long-Term Climate Policy: Time Inconsistency, Domestic Politics, International Anarchy," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 9(3), pages 20-39, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:glenvp:v:9:y:2009:i:3:p:20-39
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    Cited by:

    1. Johannes Blum & Niklas Potrafke, 2020. "Does a Change of Government Influence Compliance with International Agreements? Empirical Evidence for the NATO Two Percent Target," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(7), pages 743-761, October.
    2. Jana Gheuens & Sebastian Oberthür, 2021. "EU Climate and Energy Policy: How Myopic Is It?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 337-347.
    3. Dumas, Marion & Rising, James & Urpelainen, Johannes, 2016. "Political competition and renewable energy transitions over long time horizons: A dynamic approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 175-184.
    4. Kruse, Tobias & Atkinson, Giles, 2022. "Understanding public support for international climate adaptation payments: Evidence from a choice experiment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    5. Pot, W.D. & Dewulf, A. & Biesbroek, G.R. & Verweij, S., 2019. "What makes decisions about urban water infrastructure forward looking? A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis of investment decisions in 40 Dutch municipalities," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 781-795.
    6. Robert Shum, 2014. "China, the United States, bargaining, and climate change," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 83-100, March.
    7. Fergus Green, 2015. "Nationally Self-Interested Climate Change Mitigation: A Unified Conceptual Framework," GRI Working Papers 199, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    8. Jon Hovi & Tora Skodvin & Stine Aakre, 2013. "Can Climate Change Negotiations Succeed?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 1(2), pages 138-150.
    9. Italo Colantone & Livio Di Donaldo & Yotam Margalit & Marco Percoco, 2022. "The Political Consequences of Green Policies: Evidence from Italy," Working Papers 2022.28, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    10. Uji, Azusa & Song, Jaehyun & Dolšak, Nives & Prakash, Aseem, 2024. "Willingness to incur private costs for climate adaptation? Public support for undergrounding electricity transmission lines in California," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    11. Song, Chun & Sesmero, Juan Pablo, 2017. "Tenure Stability and Environmental Performance: a Study of Chinese Cities," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258033, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    12. 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.
    13. Alexander K. Lautensach & Sabina W. Lautensach, 2012. "When Should We Care About Sustainability? Applying Human Security as the Decisive Criterion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 4(5), pages 1-15, May.
    14. Colantone, Italo & Di Lonardo, Livio & Margalit, Yotan & Percoco, Marco, 2022. "The Political Consequences of Green Policies: Evidence from Italy," FEEM Working Papers 327326, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    15. Italo Colantone & Livio Di Lonardo & Yotam Margalit & Marco Percoco, 2022. "The Political Consequences of Green Policies: Evidence from Italy," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 22176, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    16. Johannes Blum & Niklas Potrafke, 2019. "Internationale Abkommen und Regierungswechsel: Evidenz zum NATO-Zwei-Prozent-Ziel," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 72(03), pages 18-21, February.
    17. Peter Dauvergne & Jennifer Clapp, 2016. "Researching Global Environmental Politics in the 21st Century," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 16(1), pages 1-12, February.
    18. Kruse, Tobias & Atkinson, Giles, 2022. "Understanding public support for international climate adaptation payments: evidence from a choice experiment," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112963, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    19. Italo Colantone & Livio Di Lonardo & Yotam Margalit & Marco Percoco, 2022. "The Political Consequences of Green Policies: Evidence from Italy," CESifo Working Paper Series 9599, CESifo.
    20. Lawrence Rothenberg, 2012. "The Political Economy of Climate Change," Chapters, in: Chin Hee Hahn & Sang-Hyop Lee & Kyoung-Soo Yoon (ed.), Responding to Climate Change, chapter 5, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    21. Yunpeng Wang & Chun-Ping Chang, 2023. "The effect of policy stability on clean energy investment," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 327-344, February.
    22. Vicki Duscha & Karl-Martin Ehrhart, 2016. "Incentives and Effects of No-Lose Targets to Include Non-Annex I Countries in Global Emission Reductions," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 65(1), pages 81-107, September.

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