The role of national politicians in global climate governance

Abstract

The scientific case for co-ordinated global governance of the climate system is firmly established, but how does this fit with a politician’s mandate as a democratically elected representative? What role do national politicians think they can and should play in climate governance? This paper tests these questions empirically, using data from interviews with 23 Members of the UK Parliament, and a focus group of civil society advocates, conducted between 2016 and 2018. A global goal to limit climate change has been agreed through the 2015 Paris Agreement. Yet while the Agreement sets a clear goal, the means to achieve it remain firmly at the level of the nation-state, with each country assuming responsibility for its own national plan. Thus national administrations, run by elected politicians, have a crucial role to play. This study shows that, while Members of the UK Parliament have an understanding of the challenges posed by climate change and wider changes to earth systems, few have yet been able to operationalise this understanding into meaningful responses at the national level. The study highlights two, linked, reasons for this. First, politicians’ ability to act – their agency – is limited by the practicalities and procedures of everyday politics, and by the norms and cultures of their working life. Second, UK politicians feel little pressure from their electors to act on climate change, and have to work to justify why action on climate change carries democratic legitimacy. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of this research, in the light of the recent high-profile climate protests and declarations of a ‘climate emergency’. It argues that politicians, working with other stakeholders, need support in order to articulate the scale and significance of global climate governance, and craft responses which build democratic support for further action.

Deliberative democracy and the climate crisis

“…Deliberative democracy is a field of scholarship and practice that champions this agenda. Its advocates argue, in essence, that greater democratic engagement is a crucial ingredient in climate action—that, simply put, there is a need for “more democracy, not less” (Willis, 2020a, 2020b, p. 82; see also Smith, 2021).…”

Building a Social Mandate for Climate Action: Lessons from COVID-19

“…They did not feel under pressure from the electorate to act on climate (Willis 2017) and prioritised policies which they perceived were 'neutral' in terms of lifestyle-such as switching to grid-based renewables or shifting from petrol and diesel to electric vehicles. The school strikes and climate protests which began following the publication of the 2018 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2018) have helped to persuade politicians of the importance of this agenda, but they are still reluctant to speak out about the fundamental changes that are required to shift economies and societies to net-zero emissions (Willis 2019).…”

Hydrogen Technology towards the Solution of Environment-Friendly New Energy Vehicles

“…Research shows that the link between climate change and its effects on earth systems has been understood but challenged to find meaningful responses at the national level. This has been attributed to the ability to act by the politicians as well as the everyday politic effect, i.e., pressure from electors [24]. Organisations such as the International Energy Agency, International Association for Hydrogen Safety or the Hydrogen Council monitor the world-wide progress.…”

“…The US Department of Energy predicts that the cost of producing hydrogen power will continue to fall from $6 kg −1 in 2015 to $2 kg −1 by 2025, which is motivating. Several studies in the literature have further discussed the political challenges and the progress considering the urbanisation, economics, role, and involvement of industry as well as marketing strategies [4,[6][7][8][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. Particularly, ongoing activities in the field of climate change, implementation of fuel cell technology, and urbanisation and public investments [28][29][30][31][32][33] are depicted.…”