Climate Policy in India: What Shapes International, National and State Policy?

Abstract

At the international level, India is emerging as a key actor in climate negotiations, while at the national and sub-national levels, the climate policy landscape is becoming more active and more ambitious. It is essential to unravel this complex landscape if we are to understand why policy looks the way it does, and the extent to which India might contribute to a future international framework for tackling climate change as well as how international parties might cooperate with and support India's domestic efforts. Drawing on both primary and secondary data, this paper analyzes the material and ideational drivers that are most strongly influencing policy choices at different levels, from international negotiations down to individual states. We argue that at each level of decision making in India, climate policy is embedded in wider policy concerns. In the international realm, it is being woven into broader foreign policy strategy, while domestically, it is being shaped to serve national and sub-national development interests. While our analysis highlights some common drivers at all levels, it also finds that their influences over policy are not uniform across the different arenas, and in some cases, they work in different ways at different levels of policy. We also indicate what this may mean for the likely acceptability within India of various climate policies being pushed at the international level.

Developments in national climate change mitigation legislation and strategy

“…The comparative politics literature, for example, explores why national governments have implemented a variety of national policies aimed at climate protection (Harrison & Sundstrom, 2007;Held, Roger, & Nag, 2013;Bailey & Compston, 2012;Compston & Bailey, 2008;Harrison & Sundstrom, 2010) and the shared objectives and concepts that define them (Hollo, Kulovesi, & Mehling, 2013). Country studies examine specific instances of experimentation with national climate policy,for example, Sugiyama and Takeuchi(2008) for Japan, Tsang and Kolk (2010) for China, Atteridge, Shrivastava, Pahuja & Upadhyay (2012) for India, La Rovere (2011) for Brazil, Rabe(2011) for the US, Wurzel and Connelly (2010) for the EU and Weidner and Mez (2008) for Germany. Other bodies of literature seek to compare these efforts across countries in order to draw a composite global picture of emergent climate policy at the national level.…”

Multi-level climate governance and the role of the subnational level

“…These factors range from socio economic development, economic growth, energy security, and more recently climate variability. Literature also captures the changing discourse on climate change by government, civil society and the media (Jogesh 2011;Michaelowa & Michaelowa 2012;Atteridge et al 2012;Dubash 2013;Thaker & Leiserowitz 2014).…”

The predictive state: Science, territory and the future of the Indian climate

“…However, in the period in which this study is situated, a 'equitable access to sustainable development', which can be seen as an attempt to mediate between the long-institutionalized concerns for equity and material development and an apparent desire to be seen to play a more constructive role in international negotiations (Atteridge et al, 2012;Dubash, 2009;Stevenson, 2011).…”