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The evolution of ideas in global climate policy

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  • Jonas Meckling

    (University of California)

  • Bentley B. Allan

    (Johns Hopkins University)

Abstract

From carbon pricing to green industrial policy, economic ideas have shaped climate policy. Drawing on a new dataset of policy reports, we show how economic ideas influenced climate policy advice by major international organizations, including the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Bank, from 1990 to 2017. In the 1990s, the neoclassical notion of weak complementarity between environmental protection and growth dominated debates on sustainable development. In the mid-2000s, economic thought on the environment diversified, as the idea of strong complementarity between environmental protection and growth emerged in the green growth discourse. Adaptations of Schumpeterian and Keynesian economics identified investment in energy innovation and infrastructure as drivers of growth. We thus identify a major transformation from a neoclassical paradigm to a diversified policy discourse, suggesting that climate policy has entered a postparadigmatic period. The diversification of ideas broadened policy advice from market-based policy to green industrial policy, including deployment subsidies and regulation.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonas Meckling & Bentley B. Allan, 2020. "The evolution of ideas in global climate policy," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 10(5), pages 434-438, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:10:y:2020:i:5:d:10.1038_s41558-020-0739-7
    DOI: 10.1038/s41558-020-0739-7
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    Cited by:

    1. Larisa D. Petrenko, 2021. "Green Trend in Global Energy Development: Tendencies and Opportunities," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(5), pages 1-7.
    2. Zhou, Bo & Ding, Hao, 2023. "How public attention drives corporate environmental protection: Effects and channels," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    3. Vieira, Leticia Canal & Longo, Mariolina & Mura, Matteo, 2021. "Are the European manufacturing and energy sectors on track for achieving net-zero emissions in 2050? An empirical analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    4. Monasterolo,Irene & Mandel,Antoine & Battiston,Stefano & Mazzocchetti,Andrea & Oppermann,Klaus & Coony,Jonathan D'Entremont & Stretton,Stephen John & Stewart,Fiona Elizabeth & Dunz,Nepomuk Max Ferdina, 2022. "The Role of Green Financial Sector Initiatives in the Low-Carbon Transition : A Theoryof Change," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10181, The World Bank.
    5. Hedeler, Barbara & Hellsmark, Hans & Söderholm, Patrik, 2023. "Policy mixes and policy feedback: Implications for green industrial growth in the Swedish biofuels industry," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    6. Eicke, Laima & Weko, Silvia, 2022. "Does green growth foster green policies? Value chain upgrading and feedback mechanisms on renewable energy policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    7. Belaïd, Fateh & Al-Sarihi, Aisha & Al-Mestneer, Raed, 2023. "Balancing climate mitigation and energy security goals amid converging global energy crises: The role of green investments," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 534-542.
    8. Liping Liao & Chukun Huang & Minzhe Du, 2022. "The Effect of Energy Quota Trading on Energy Saving in China: Insight from a Quasi-Natural Experiment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-17, November.
    9. Jonas Meckling & Clara Galeazzi & Esther Shears & Tong Xu & Laura Diaz Anadon, 2022. "Energy innovation funding and institutions in major economies," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 7(9), pages 876-885, September.
    10. Giorgio Tripodi & Francesco Lamperti & Roberto Mavilia & Andrea Mina & Francesca Chiaromonte & Fabrizio Lillo, 2022. "Quantifying knowledge spillovers from advances in negative emissions technologies," LEM Papers Series 2022/17, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    11. Biao Geng & Daoning Wu & Chengshu Zhang & Wenbao Xie & Muhammad Aamir Mahmood & Qamar Ali, 2024. "How Can the Blue Economy Contribute to Inclusive Growth and Ecosystem Resources in Asia? A Comparative Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-22, January.

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