Meadowcroft, James2012-03-192012-03-192009-05-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/4135Climate change governance poses difficult challenges for contemporary political/administrative systems. These systems evolved to handle other sorts of problems and must now be adapted to handle emerging issues of climate change mitigation and adaptation. This paper examines long-term climate governance, particularly in relation to overcoming "institutional inertia" that hampers the development of an effective and timely response. It argues that when the influence of groups that fear adverse consequences of mitigation policies is combined with scientific uncertainty, the complexity of reaching global agreements, and long time frames, the natural tendency is for governments to delay action, to seek to avoid antagonizing influential groups, and to adopt less ambitious climate programs. Conflicts of power and interest are inevitable in relation to climate change policy. To address climate change means altering the way things are being done today - especially in terms of production and consumption practices in key sectors such as energy, agriculture, and transportation. But some of the most powerful groups in society have done well from existing arrangements, and they are cautious about disturbing the status quo. Climate change governance requires governments to take an active role in bringing about shifts in interest perceptions so that stable societal majorities in favor of deploying an active mitigation and adaptation policy regime can be maintained. Measures to help effect such change include: building coalitions for change, buying off opponents, establishing new centers of economic power, creating new institutional actors, adjusting legal rights and responsibilities, and changing ideas and accepted norms and expectations.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCELERATORACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGEAIR POLLUTIONAIR QUALITYANNUAL EMISSIONSASSESSMENTS OF CLIMATE CHANGEATMOSPHEREATMOSPHERIC CONCENTRATIONSBINDING EMISSION REDUCTION COMMITMENTSBIOMASSBIOSPHERECAP AND TRADE SYSTEMSCARBON ABATEMENTCARBON ALLOWANCESCARBON BUDGETSCARBON CAPTURECARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONSCARBON ECONOMYCARBON EMISSIONSCARBON ENERGYCARBON FOOTPRINTCARBON OFFSETSCARBON TAXESCARBON TECHNOLOGIESCLEAN AIRCLIMATE ADAPTATIONCLIMATE CHANGE ACTCLIMATE CHANGE ACTIVITIESCLIMATE CHANGE AREACLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTSCLIMATE CHANGE ISSUESCLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATIONCLIMATE CHANGE POLICIESCLIMATE CHANGE POLICYCLIMATE CHANGE RISKSCLIMATE EFFECTSCLIMATE IMPACTSCLIMATE IMPLICATIONSCLIMATE MITIGATIONCLIMATE PATTERNSCLIMATE POLICIESCLIMATE POLICYCLIMATE PROTECTIONCLIMATE REGIMECLIMATE RISKSCLIMATE SYSTEMCLIMATE WARMINGCLIMATESCOAL USECOMBUSTIONCOMMON GOODCONCENTRATION TARGETCONSUMER PROTECTIONCONSUMPTION PATTERNSDECISION MAKINGDEFORESTATIONDEVELOPED COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT ECONOMICSDISTRIBUTIONAL IMPLICATIONSDISTRICT HEATINGDOMESTIC EMISSIONSECONOMIC BENEFITSECONOMIC CONSEQUENCESECONOMIC COSTSECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC FACTORSECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC INSTRUMENTSECONOMIC RESOURCESECONOMIC SECTORSECONOMIC VALUEECOSYSTEMEFFICIENCY GAINSELECTRICITY SUPPLYEMISSION REDUCTIONSEMISSIONS ABATEMENTEMISSIONS CAPSEMISSIONS CONTROLSEMISSIONS GROWTHEMISSIONS LEVELSEMISSIONS PATHWAYSEMISSIONS REDUCTIONSEMISSIONS TARGETSENERGY CONSUMPTIONENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURESENERGY POLICYENERGY PRODUCTIONENERGY SECURITYENERGY SOURCESENERGY SYSTEMENERGY TAXESENERGY USEENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITSENVIRONMENTAL BURDENSENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESENVIRONMENTAL POLICYENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMSENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONEQUITY CONSIDERATIONSEQUITY IMPLICATIONSEXTREME WEATHER EVENTSFINANCIAL ASSISTANCEFINANCIAL COMMITMENTSFINANCIAL CRISISFINANCIAL FLOWSFINANCIAL RESOURCESFOREST SECTORFORESTRY SECTORFORESTSFOSSIL FUELSFUEL SWITCHINGGLOBAL AVERAGE TEMPERATUREGLOBAL CLIMATEGLOBAL EMISSIONSGLOBAL TEMPERATURESGREENHOUSE GAS CONCENTRATIONSGREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONSGREENHOUSE GASSESGROWTH OF CONSUMPTIONIMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGEIMPLICATIONS OF CLIMATE CHANGEIMPORTSINCOMEINFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTINSURANCE INDUSTRYINTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGEINTERNATIONAL CARBON MARKETSINTERNATIONAL CLIMATE AGREEMENTSINTERNATIONAL CLIMATE NEGOTIATIONSINTERNATIONAL EMISSIONSINTERNATIONAL TRADINGIPCCJOBSLAND USELOCAL CLIMATELOCAL CLIMATE CHANGELOW CARBON ENERGY TECHNOLOGIESMANAGING CLIMATE CHANGENATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY PLANNUCLEAR POWEROIL PRICEOZONE LAYERPER CAPITA INCOMEPOLICY APPROACHPOLICY DECISIONSPOLICY INSTRUMENTSPOLICY MAKERSPOLICY RESPONSEPOPULATION GROWTHPORTFOLIOPRECIPITATIONPRODUCERSREGIONAL CLIMATERENEWABLE ENERGYRESOURCE MANAGEMENTRESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGESCENARIOSSCIENTIFIC EVIDENCESCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGESCIENTIFIC RESEARCHSCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDINGSEA LEVEL RISESTAGFLATIONSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTSUSTAINABLE USETAX REVENUESTEMPERATURE INCREASESTIMBERTRANSPORT SECTORUNCERTAINTIESURBAN AIR POLLUTIONWEATHER CONDITIONSWIND POWERWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-4941