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Exploring Global Climate Policy Futures and Their Representation in Integrated Assessment Models

Hickmann, Thomas LU orcid ; Bertram, Christoph ; Biermann, Frank LU ; Brutschin, Elina ; Kriegler, Elmar ; Livingston, Jasmine E. LU ; Pianta, Silvia ; Riahi, Keywan ; Van Ruijven, Bas and Van Vuuren, Detlef (2022) In Politics and Governance 10(3). p.171-185
Abstract
The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, paved the way for a new hybrid global climate governance architecture with both bottom-up and top-down elements. While governments can choose individual climate goals and actions, a global stocktake and a ratcheting-up mechanism have been put in place with the overall aim to ensure that collective efforts will prevent increasing adverse impacts of climate change. Integrated assessment models show that current combined climate commitments and policies of national governments fall short of keeping global warming to 1.5 °C or 2 °C above preindustrial levels. Although major greenhouse gas emitters, such as China, the European Union, India, the United States under the Biden administration, and several other... (More)
The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, paved the way for a new hybrid global climate governance architecture with both bottom-up and top-down elements. While governments can choose individual climate goals and actions, a global stocktake and a ratcheting-up mechanism have been put in place with the overall aim to ensure that collective efforts will prevent increasing adverse impacts of climate change. Integrated assessment models show that current combined climate commitments and policies of national governments fall short of keeping global warming to 1.5 °C or 2 °C above preindustrial levels. Although major greenhouse gas emitters, such as China, the European Union, India, the United States under the Biden administration, and several other countries, have made new pledges to take more ambitious climate action, it is highly uncertain where global climate policy is heading. Scenarios in line with long-term temperature targets typically assume a simplistic and hardly realistic level of harmonization of climate policies across countries. Against this backdrop, this article develops four archetypes for the further evolution of the global climate governance architecture and matches them with existing sets of scenarios developed by integrated assessment models. By these means, the article identifies knowledge gaps in the current scenario literature and discusses possible research avenues to explore the pre-conditions for successful coordination of national policies towards achieving the long-term target stipulated in the Paris Agreement. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Politics and Governance
volume
10
issue
3
pages
171 - 185
publisher
Cogitatio Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:85139850175
ISSN
2183-2463
DOI
10.17645/pag.v10i3.5328
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5102a9dd-bee2-43d3-a651-b101590ae925
alternative location
https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/5328
date added to LUP
2022-09-28 21:32:48
date last changed
2023-05-16 10:59:49
@article{5102a9dd-bee2-43d3-a651-b101590ae925,
  abstract     = {{The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, paved the way for a new hybrid global climate governance architecture with both bottom-up and top-down elements. While governments can choose individual climate goals and actions, a global stocktake and a ratcheting-up mechanism have been put in place with the overall aim to ensure that collective efforts will prevent increasing adverse impacts of climate change. Integrated assessment models show that current combined climate commitments and policies of national governments fall short of keeping global warming to 1.5 °C or 2 °C above preindustrial levels. Although major greenhouse gas emitters, such as China, the European Union, India, the United States under the Biden administration, and several other countries, have made new pledges to take more ambitious climate action, it is highly uncertain where global climate policy is heading. Scenarios in line with long-term temperature targets typically assume a simplistic and hardly realistic level of harmonization of climate policies across countries. Against this backdrop, this article develops four archetypes for the further evolution of the global climate governance architecture and matches them with existing sets of scenarios developed by integrated assessment models. By these means, the article identifies knowledge gaps in the current scenario literature and discusses possible research avenues to explore the pre-conditions for successful coordination of national policies towards achieving the long-term target stipulated in the Paris Agreement.}},
  author       = {{Hickmann, Thomas and Bertram, Christoph and Biermann, Frank and Brutschin, Elina and Kriegler, Elmar and Livingston, Jasmine E. and Pianta, Silvia and Riahi, Keywan and Van Ruijven, Bas and Van Vuuren, Detlef}},
  issn         = {{2183-2463}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{171--185}},
  publisher    = {{Cogitatio Press}},
  series       = {{Politics and Governance}},
  title        = {{Exploring Global Climate Policy Futures and Their Representation in Integrated Assessment Models}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.17645/pag.v10i3.5328}},
  doi          = {{10.17645/pag.v10i3.5328}},
  volume       = {{10}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}