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The Globalization of Carbon Trading: Transnational Business Coalitions in Climate Politics

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  • Jonas Meckling

    (Jonas Meckling is a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. He is also a Research Fellow with the Global Governance Project ( www.glogov.org ). He specializes in business in global environmental politics, international climate politics and carbon markets. His most recent publications include "“Sectoral Approaches for a Post-2012 Climate Regime: A Taxonomy"” (Climate Policy 9 (6), 2009, with Gu Yoon Chung) and "“Corporate Policy Preferences in the EU and the US: Emissions Trading as the Climate Compromise?"” (Carbon & Climate Law Review 2 (2), 2008). He has just completed a book on business coalitions and the global rise of carbon trading.)

Abstract

Over the past decade, carbon trading has emerged as the policy instrument of choice in the industrialized world to address global climate change. In this article I argue that a transnational business coalition, representing mostly energy firms and energy-intensive manufacturers, actively promoted the global rise of carbon trading. In this process, business was able to draw on the support of government allies and business-oriented environmental groups, particularly in the UK and the US. Alongside its allies, the coalition had pivotal influence in the internationalization of carbon trading through the Kyoto Protocol, in the U-turn of the EU from skeptic to frontrunner on carbon trading and in the re-import of carbon trading to the US. While business was not able to prevent mandatory emission controls, it was able to critically affect the regulatory style of climate policy in favor of low-cost, market-based options. (c)© 2011 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonas Meckling, 2011. "The Globalization of Carbon Trading: Transnational Business Coalitions in Climate Politics," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 11(2), pages 26-50, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:glenvp:v:11:y:2011:i:2:p:26-50
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Marie Byskov Lindberg, 2019. "The EU Emissions Trading System and Renewable Energy Policies: Friends or Foes in the European Policy Mix?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(1), pages 105-123.
    2. Gonçalves, Jorge & Costa, Manuel Luís, 2022. "The political influence of ecological economics in the European Union applied to the cap-and-trade policy11This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commerc," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    3. Peter Newell, 2020. "The business of rapid transition," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(6), November.
    4. Lindberg, Marie Byskov & Markard, Jochen & Andersen, Allan Dahl, 2019. "Policies, actors and sustainability transition pathways: A study of the EU’s energy policy mix," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(10).
    5. Sebastian Levi & Christian Flachsland & Michael Jakob, 2020. "Political Economy Determinants of Carbon Pricing," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 20(2), pages 128-156, May.
    6. Tobias Hahn & Jonatan Pinkse, 2014. "Private environmental governance through cross-sector partnerships: Tensions between competition and effectiveness," Working Papers hal-00961234, HAL.
    7. Karoliina Isoaho & Jochen Markard, 2020. "The Politics of Technology Decline: Discursive Struggles over Coal Phase‐Out in the UK," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 37(3), pages 342-368, May.
    8. Mark Purdon, 2015. "Advancing Comparative Climate Change Politics: Theory and Method," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 15(3), pages 1-26, August.
    9. Jonas Meckling, 2015. "Oppose, Support, or Hedge? Distributional Effects, Regulatory Pressure, and Business Strategy in Environmental Politics," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 15(2), pages 19-37, May.
    10. Jochen Markard & Daniel Rosenbloom, 2020. "Politics of low-carbon transitions: The European Emissions Trading System as a Trojan Horse for climate policy?," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20200116, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    11. Marie Hrabanski, 2017. "Private Sector Involvement in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: Using a UN platform to promote market-based instruments for ecosystem services," Post-Print hal-02958744, HAL.
    12. Peter Dauvergne & Jennifer Clapp, 2016. "Researching Global Environmental Politics in the 21st Century," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 16(1), pages 1-12, February.
    13. Anna Komarova, 2022. "State Regulation of Energy Transition and Economic Development," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-13, June.

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