Navigating institutional complexity in global climate governance: causes, consequences and responses
How can we orchestrate the large variety of institutions that govern climate change today?
Funded by the Swedish research council Formas research for a period of three years (April 2014 to December 2018).
For years, negotiators have struggled to reach a new global deal to tackle climate change in the context of UN climate negotiations. At the same time, the climate problem is governed by a variety of other international institutions dealing with topics as diverse as biodiversity, international trade and security.
The project seeks to generate novel insights into the shape, causes and consequences of this institutional complexity for three key areas: geoengineering, reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) and short-lived climate pollutants. Based on these insights, we seek to develop approaches to mitigate conflicts and enhance synergies among institutions.
Relevant publications
- Fariborz Zelli and Harro van Asselt (eds.). 2013: The Institutional Fragmentation of Global Environmental Governance. Special Issue of Global Environmental Politics 13(3) (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press).
- Fariborz Zelli, Aarti Gupta, and Harro van Asselt. 2013: Institutional Interactions at the Crossroads of Trade and Environment: the Dominance of Liberal Environmentalism?, in: Global Governance 19(1), pp. 105-118.
- Harro van Asselt and Fariborz Zelli 2013: Connect the Dots: Managing the Fragmentation of Global Climate Governance, in: Environmental Economics and Policy Studies 16(2), pp. 137-155.
- Fariborz Zelli 2011: The Fragmentation of the Climate Governance Architecture, in: Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change 2(2), pp. 255-270.
- Frank Biermann, Philipp Pattberg and Fariborz Zelli (eds.) 2010: Global Climate Governance Beyond 2012. Architecture, Agency and Adaptation. (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press), 350 pages.
- Frank Biermann, Philipp Pattberg, Harro van Asselt and Fariborz Zelli 2009: The Fragmentation of Global Governance Architectures: a Framework for Analysis, in: Global Environmental Politics 9(4), pp. 14-40.
Researchers on the project
- Fariborz Zelli
Coordinator/Project leadar - Ina Möller
External project members
- Frank Biermann, Department Head at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Visiting Professor of Earth System Governance at the Department of Political Science of Lund University
- Harro van Asselt, Research Fellow at Swedish Environment Institute
- Karin Bäckstrand, Professor at Stockholm University
- Måns Nilsson, Deputy Director at Swedish Environment Institute
- Åsa Persson, Senior Research Fellow at Swedish Environment Institute