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Regional climate change policies: an analysis of commitments, policy instruments and targets

Author

Listed:
  • Giulia Gadani

    (University of Ferrara, Italy)

  • Ibon Galarraga

    (BC3 - Basque Centre for Climate Change)

  • Elisa Sainz de Murieta

    (BC3 - Basque Centre for Climate Change)

Abstract

Regional governments represent an increasingly relevant component in climate change policies, which showcase a high interest in the climate change sphere and provide several benefits connected with their governance. This study aims to shed light on this scale of governance by describing the climate change policies of 61 regions from all over the world and by analysing the possible connections between the regional environmental policy instruments and the level of mitigation and adaptation commitment. The results show that the regional governments of this work appear to be an active component in climate policy, since they all have their own GHG emission reduction targets, devise their own climate policies and instruments and participate in international climate networks. All regions have reported mitigation and adaptation commitments, with different levels of ambition. In addition, it is observable that while some regions (mainly the North) focus mostly on mitigation targets, other (the South) focus on adaptation. Finally, there does not seem to be a connection between the level of climate commitment and the preference for some policy instruments.

Suggested Citation

  • Giulia Gadani & Ibon Galarraga & Elisa Sainz de Murieta, 2020. "Regional climate change policies: an analysis of commitments, policy instruments and targets," SEEDS Working Papers 0520, SEEDS, Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies, revised May 2020.
    • Handle: RePEc:srt:wpaper:0520
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Climate change governance; regional climate change policy; climate change commitment; mitigation; adaptation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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