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Climate Regulation and Civil Society Activism

Author

Listed:
  • Michela Limardi

    (Université de Lille)

  • Jordan Loper

    (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne)

  • Alexandre Volle

    (TREE - Transitions Energétiques et Environnementales - UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

This paper examines how public climate regulation shapes NGO activism against firms. Our empirical strategy leverages the irregular and low-anticipability timing of executive climate regulations, administrative actions issued outside legislative procedures, as a source of plausibly exogenous month-level variation in regulatory exposure. Using a global monthly panel of firm-targeted NGO campaigns across 78 countries (2010-2023), we find that the enactment of executive regulations leads to significant increases in climate-related activism. Event-study estimates show no pre-trends and reveal a persistent post-adoption rise in campaigning. Consistent with our conceptual framework, the effect is larger in countries with weaker enforcement capacity and among nationally oriented NGOs that are better positioned to act on domestic institutions. Together, these findings show that public regulation mobilizes civil society as an informal enforcement layer, extending climate governance beyond formal state action.

Suggested Citation

  • Michela Limardi & Jordan Loper & Alexandre Volle, 2025. "Climate Regulation and Civil Society Activism," CERDI Working papers hal-05047276, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:cdiwps:hal-05047276
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05047276v5
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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