scholarly journals The Science–Policy Interface as a Discourse Network: Finland’s Climate Change Policy 2002–2015

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Kukkonen ◽  
Tuomas Ylä-Anttila

In this article, we argue that the science–policy interface can be understood as a discourse network constituted by discursive interaction between scientific organizations and other actors that both use scientific arguments in conjunction with other policy arguments. We use discourse network analysis to investigate the climate change policy process in Finland between 2002 and 2015, focusing on the role of and relationships between scientific actors and arguments in the discourse networks. Our data consist of policy actors’ written testimonies on two law proposals, the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol (2002) and the enactment of the Finnish Climate Law (2015). Our results show that two competing discourse coalitions have influenced the development of climate change policy in the 2000s. In 2002, the dominant coalition was economic, prioritizing economic growth over climate change mitigation. In 2015, the climate coalition that argued for ambitious mitigation measures became dominant. The majority of scientific actors were part of the dominant economy coalition in 2002 and part of the dominant ecology coalition in 2015. The centrality of scientific arguments increased over time, and both discourse coalitions used them progressively more. These developments reflect the increasingly central position of science in Finnish climate policymaking. We contribute to the literature on the science–policy interface by operationalizing the interface as a set of connections in a discourse network and by showing how the analysis of discourse networks and their properties can help us understand the shifts in the role of science in policymaking over time.

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Skovgaard

In the course of the last four years, finance ministries have increasingly become involved in the international climate change negotiations. Their involvement has to a large degree been an outcome of the framing of climate change as a market failure. This framing calls for an active climate change policy and is at odds with the framing of climate change policy that was previously predominant in finance ministries: that it constitutes expenditure to be avoided. The persistence of both framings has led to clashes within and between finance ministries with respect to climate change. The article calls for further research focusing on the role of the two frames and of finance ministries as actors in climate change politics.


2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 296-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan H. Adler

The dominant approach to environmental policy endorsed by conservative and libertarian policy thinkers, so-called “free market environmentalism” (FME), is grounded in the recognition and protection of property rights in environmental resources. Despite this normative commitment to property rights, most self-described FME advocates adopt a utilitarian, welfare-maximization approach to climate change policy, arguing that the costs of mitigation measures could outweigh the costs of climate change itself. Yet even if anthropogenic climate change is decidedly less than catastrophic, human-induced climate change is likely to contribute to environmental changes that violate traditional conceptions of property rights. Viewed globally, the actions of some countries—primarily industrialized nations—are likely to increase environmental harms suffered by other countries—less developed nations that have not (as of yet) made any significant contribution to climate change. It may well be that aggregate human welfare would be maximized in a warmer, wealthier world, or that the gains from climate change will offset environmental losses. Yet such claims, even if demonstrated, would not address the normative concern that the consequences of anthropogenic global warming would infringe upon the rights of people in less-developed nations. As a consequence, this paper calls for a rethinking of FME approaches to climate change policy.


Author(s):  
Kamilla Marchewka-Bartkowiak ◽  
Klaudia Jarno

This chapter offers insight into the role of EU ETS auction revenues from the perspective of a public sector and implementation of climate change policy rules. The final part of the chapter presents a detailed analysis of the Poland case in the years 2013-2019. The analyses conducted revealed that the revenues acquired from emission allowances auctioning impacted the state of public finance in Poland to a lesser degree than projected. At the same time, it was also revealed that the currently applied solution in Poland in terms of qualifying revenues from auctioning and spending funds in accordance with the provisions of Directive 2003/87/EC fails to be transparent and does not promote additionality of actions taken.


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 164-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibon Galarraga ◽  
Mikel Gonzalez-Eguino ◽  
Anil Markandya

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