Ariadne Report: Strong climate institutions for effective climate governance

In a new Ariadne Report, Hertie School Centre for Sustainability researchers Claudia Zwar, Jacob Edenhofer, Viktorija Ruzelyte, Dr Duncan Edmondson and Professor of Climate Policy Christian Flachsland study and compare climate institutions in Germany, the UK, Sweden and Australia, putting forward reform proposals to address shortcomings of German climate institutions. The report and its recommendations were featured extensively in the Tagesspiegel Background newsletter from 11 October.

The report, “Mapping variation in institutions for climate policymaking”, offers a systematic, comprehensive definition of climate institutions. It also develops a conceptual framework to analyse the effects these institutions have on climate policymaking, showing how they address various ‘strategic challenges' of climate policymaking, including transparency, the need for compensation and facilitating policy coordination. Using this framework and drawing on a literature review and 22 interviews, the researchers compare the effects of existing climate institutions across Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Australia, contributing to a greater understanding of climate change governance.