As international climate negotiations under the UNFCCC have adopted the goal to limit the increase in global mean temperature to well below 2° C, a highly differentiated—but largely uncoordinated—global climate governance system has emerged. Although coordinated global collective action for mitigating climate change sufficiently to meet the 2°-C goal is still lacking, a multitude of multilateral, minilateral, transnational, national, subnational, and nonstate actors have emerged. This article offers a critical specification of the attempt by Elinor Ostrom and those influenced by her in the literature to conceptualize this climate governance reality as a polycentric approach. We claim that the concept of polycentricity offers high descriptive value for understanding the horizontal and vertical differentiations of current climate governance, and present systematic analysis of a polycentric approach to deliberately enhance the design of the emerging global climate governance architecture. To systematize the Ostromean literature on polycentric climate governance, we identify and specify four key features for climate mitigation governance and their related mechanisms: an emphasis on self-organization, a recognition of site-specific conditions, the facilitation of experimentation and learning, and the building of trust. After discussing objections to a polycentric approach, we conclude by tentatively evaluating its potential to enhance the effectiveness of climate mitigation, and identify central tasks for the efficient design of a polycentric global climate governance regime.
A framework was devised for policy-makers to assess direct bilateral cap-and-trade linkages. A systematic analysis of the economic, political and regulatory implications indicates potential benefits along with a number of potentially negative sideeffects. Theoretically, economic benefits are expected from quasi-static short-term and dynamic efficiency gains. However, a careful review of these arguments indicates that, due to the presence of market distortions or terms-of-trade effects, international emissions trading may not be welfare-enhancing for all countries. Political benefits are derived from the reinforced commitment to international climate policy and the elimination of competitiveness concerns among linking partners, but this must be weighed against the possible incentive to adjust national caps in anticipation of linking. Regulatory disadvantages may arise from the linked system's inconsistency with original domestic policy objectives, and from the partial de facto cession of discretionary control over the domestic emissions trading system. Finally, as an illustration, a link between the EU ETS and a prospective US trading system is assessed, and the major trade-offs identified.Un cadre pour évaluer l'établissement de liens directs bilatéraux entre systèmes cap-and-trade est conçu pour les décideurs. Une analyse systématique des implications économiques, politiques et réglementaires met en valeur les avantages potentiels ainsi qu'un certain nombre de répercussions négatives. En théorie, les avantages économiques sont prévus en gains de court terme quasi statique ainsi qu'en efficacité dynamique. Cependant, une revue attentive de ces arguments indique que la présence de distorsions de marché ou l'effet des termes d'échange sur le négoce international de droits d'émissions n'entraînerait pas une amélioration sociale pour tous les pays. Les avantages politiques sont liés à un engagement renforcé en politique climatique internationale et l'élimination des préoccupations liées à la compétitivité entre partenaires de systemes liés, mais ceci doit être mis en balance avec les incitations possibles à l'ajustement des plafonds nationaux dans l'anticipation d'établissement de liens. Les inconvénients réglementaires pourraient émaner de l'incompatibilité du système avec les objectifs de politique intérieure originels, et de la cession partielle de facto de contrôle discrétionnaire sur le système d'échange de droits d'émissions. Enfin, en tant qu'illustration, un lien entre l'EU-ETS et un système d'échange aux Etats-Unis potentiel est évalué et les compromis majeurs identifiés.Mots clés: EU-ETS; lier; marchés du carbone; politique climatique; systèmes d'échange de droits d'émissions; systèmes intérieurs d'échange d'émissions; US-ETS
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