Routledge Strategic Designs for Climate Policy Instrumentation: Governance at the Crossroads (Routledge Studies in Environmental Policy)

This book provides insight into the development of effective climate policy instrumentation in two divergent and mutually exclusive directions. Examining the role of political philosophies, the book explains why current climate policy is ineffective and unable to halt rapidly rising atmospheric concentrations of CO2, and suggests strategies for ending the current stalemate in climate governance. Drawing on examples from real-world case studies and challenges, the author first sets out an instrumentation approach based on a command and control strategy which involves identifying the technologies and behavior key to meeting the required emissions reductions, such as energy efficient homes and zero-emission cars. The second strategy concerns institutional rearrangement, creating incentives and options which will allow for decentralized climate action. This approach would transform and strengthen current emission trading systems, such as the EU ETS, into a price stabilized system covering all fossil fuels, and ultimately as an emission tax, as well as creating an open electricity market. These approaches not only highlight that fundamental changes in climate policy instrumentation are now vital, but that consistent strategies such as those laid out by the author are necessary if we are to avoid costly and ineffective alternatives. Exploring key issues such as the relationship between instrumentation and broader political philosophy, as well as applying a systems oriented design methodology for effective instrumentation, this book will be of great relevance to scholars and policy makers with an interest in climate change and environmental politics. Review "This extraordinary book offers our civilization an epochal choice between two distinct political and policy pathways to combat disastrous climate change. Huppes provides a brilliant, confidence-inspiring synthesis of political, environmental, and policy analysis." -- Robert A. Kagan, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Law, University of California, Berkeley, USA "This book gives a refreshing view on climate policy – using a true system perspective, and going back to the historical roots of the organization of current society. Gjalt Huppes, someone who I know is always looking for linking all kind of science fields, at his best." -- Arnold Tukker, Director CML at Leiden University, Netherlands "This book on effective climate policy instrumentation is of immense depth of thought, written by an author of deep knowledge, with encompassing views and integrative concepts of both social and economic sciences. It comes very much in time to implement the Paris Agreement." -- Udo E. Simonis, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Policy, Berlin Social Science Research Center (WZB), Germany "This book gives a delightful guide for rethinking and redesigning national and international climate policy instrumentation. Gjalt Huppes provides a persuasive political system-level analysis for calling resilient pathways to zero emission society and its governance. I believe it would be very important for both policy makers and industries." -- Yoshinori Kobayashi, Environmental Policy Officer at Toshiba, Japan "Huppes’ view rightly poses climate political economy in a broad and rich political sciences realm, where various institutional functions and governance settings are scrutinized. Decentralized policy making, which assumes in the real world diversified shapes, is critically proposed as the pathway to achieve effective, efficient and especially resilient low carbon pathways." -- Massimiliano Mazzanti, Professor in Political Economy at University of Bologna and University of Ferrara, Italy "This book provides a deeply insightful and innovative perspective for both academic research and practice with respect to climate policy. Huppes has been contributing to the hub of diverse disciplines for overcoming the challenge of climate change" -- Yutao Wang, Deput