Stability and Politicization in Climate Governance

Tackling climate change requires long-term commitment to action, yet an array of influential parties with vested interests stand opposed to this. How best to engage and balance these positions for positive change is of increasing concern for advocates and policymakers. Exploring a discord within climate change policy and politics, this insightful volume critically examines the competing assumptions and arguments underpinning political “stability” versus “re/politicization” as a means of securing effective, long-term climate action. A range of cases exemplify the different political systems and power structures that underpin this antagonism, spanning geographical approaches, examples of nongovernmental action, and key industries in the global economy. Authored by an international team of scholars, this book will be of interest to researchers of local, national, and international legislation, specialists on climate governance policy, and other scholars involved in climate action. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Paul Tobin is Associate Professor in Politics at the University of Manchester. He specializes in the politics and public policy of climate change, often within Europe. Paul has coedited two previous edited volumes, and two special issues, on environmental politics.

Matthew Paterson is Professor of International Politics and Director of the Sustainable Consumption Institute at the University of Manchester. His research focuses on the political economy, global governance, and cultural politics of climate change. His latest book is In Search of Climate Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2021).

Stacy D. VanDeveer is Professor of Global Governance and Human Security in the John W. McCormack School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He was 2023–24 Zennström Visiting Professor of Climate Leadership at Uppsala University and is a coeditor of The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Environmental Politics (Oxford University Press, 2023).