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The Evolution of International Environmental Bureaucracies : How the Climate Secretariat is Loosening Its Straitjacket

Hickmann, Thomas LU orcid ; Widerberg, Oscar ; Lederer, Markus and Pattberg, Philipp (2024) p.57-72
Abstract
Focusing on three initiatives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat – the Momentum for Change Initiative, the Lima–Paris Action Agenda, and the Non-state Actor Zone for Climate Action – this chapter studies how an international environmental bureaucracy can evolve from a low-key and servant-like secretariat to an actor in its own right. It argues that international environmental secretariats increasingly take on the role of an orchestrator that seeks to shape policy outcomes through changing the behavior of others. Using orchestration as a conceptual lens, the chapter identifies new types of influence of international bureaucracies. The forms of influence that the UNFCCC Secretariat exerts... (More)
Focusing on three initiatives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat – the Momentum for Change Initiative, the Lima–Paris Action Agenda, and the Non-state Actor Zone for Climate Action – this chapter studies how an international environmental bureaucracy can evolve from a low-key and servant-like secretariat to an actor in its own right. It argues that international environmental secretariats increasingly take on the role of an orchestrator that seeks to shape policy outcomes through changing the behavior of others. Using orchestration as a conceptual lens, the chapter identifies new types of influence of international bureaucracies. The forms of influence that the UNFCCC Secretariat exerts include in particular (i) awareness-raising, (ii) norm-building, and (iii) mobilization. This new way of how soft power is deployed underscores the increasingly proactive role of the UNFCCC Secretariat. The chapter concludes that the UNFCCC Secretariat is currently “loosening its straitjacket” by gradually expanding its original mandate and spectrum of activity. It is no longer a passive bystander but has adopted new roles and functions in the global endeavor to cope with climate change. (Less)
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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
host publication
International Public Administrations in Environmental Governance : The Role of Autonomy, Agency, and the Quest for Attention - The Role of Autonomy, Agency, and the Quest for Attention
editor
Jörgens, Helge ; Kolleck, Nina and Weil, Mareike
pages
57 - 72
publisher
Cambridge University Press
ISBN
9781009383479
9781009383486
DOI
10.1017/9781009383486.003
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5ba66354-7b06-4046-b782-a8d8c07fac4d
date added to LUP
2025-01-23 18:36:56
date last changed
2025-04-04 15:03:58
@inbook{5ba66354-7b06-4046-b782-a8d8c07fac4d,
  abstract     = {{Focusing on three initiatives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat – the Momentum for Change Initiative, the Lima–Paris Action Agenda, and the Non-state Actor Zone for Climate Action – this chapter studies how an international environmental bureaucracy can evolve from a low-key and servant-like secretariat to an actor in its own right. It argues that international environmental secretariats increasingly take on the role of an orchestrator that seeks to shape policy outcomes through changing the behavior of others. Using orchestration as a conceptual lens, the chapter identifies new types of influence of international bureaucracies. The forms of influence that the UNFCCC Secretariat exerts include in particular (i) awareness-raising, (ii) norm-building, and (iii) mobilization. This new way of how soft power is deployed underscores the increasingly proactive role of the UNFCCC Secretariat. The chapter concludes that the UNFCCC Secretariat is currently “loosening its straitjacket” by gradually expanding its original mandate and spectrum of activity. It is no longer a passive bystander but has adopted new roles and functions in the global endeavor to cope with climate change.}},
  author       = {{Hickmann, Thomas and Widerberg, Oscar and Lederer, Markus and Pattberg, Philipp}},
  booktitle    = {{International Public Administrations in Environmental Governance : The Role of Autonomy, Agency, and the Quest for Attention}},
  editor       = {{Jörgens, Helge and Kolleck, Nina and Weil, Mareike}},
  isbn         = {{9781009383479}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{57--72}},
  publisher    = {{Cambridge University Press}},
  title        = {{The Evolution of International Environmental Bureaucracies : How the Climate Secretariat is Loosening Its Straitjacket}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/9781009383486.003}},
  doi          = {{10.1017/9781009383486.003}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}