Strategic cooperation for transnational adaptation: lessons from the economics of climate change mitigation Abstract The literature on climate adaptation has so far conceptualized it as a domestic issue, to be governed somewhere between the local and the national scale. By contrast, scholars have shown little interest in exploring the case of cross-boundary adaptation spillovers, where adaptation by one country affects other countries. Two decades of the economic literature on climate mitigation may contribute to bridge this research gap because the problem structure of climate mitigation resembles that of adaptation with cross-boundary spillovers. With this in mind, we ask the following research question: Are there lessons to be learned by applying a mitigation perspective to the governance of adaptation with cross-boundary spillovers? After reviewing the relevant adaptation and mitigation literature, the paper applies mitigation insights to an adaptation case with cross-boundary spillovers: climate change-induced eutrophication in the Baltic Sea. Insights on coalition structures, side-payments, issue-linkage, and trade sanctions provide novel perspectives on the governance structures in place. To improve cooperation on providing adaptation as a public good, smaller regional governance arrangements could be more effective, European subsidies for pollution control might be redirected, and progress on eutrophication could be made a precondition for cooperation on other areas. These perspectives depart both from the way the Baltic Sea eutrophication problem is addressed at present, and from the way public goods are addressed in the adaptation literature. They show that some lessons can indeed be learned, calling for further research.

Knowledge-based management of protected areas and hydropower: the case of Norway Abstract How has ecological knowledge been applied in Norwegian management of hydropower and protected areas? By recognizing a diversity of environmental ‘knowledges’ and science as potentially subordinated to political and economic interests, we explain the link between ecological knowledge and management by the state and scale of knowledge, political conflict and international commitments. The analysis is guided by case-study methodology. We find that ecological knowledge has had weak impact in the management reform of protected areas and been reduced as a decision-making premise in hydropower management. Differing combinations of case-specific factors have produced these outcomes. In the case of protected areas, ecological knowledge was suppressed mainly by opposing economic interests. The hydropower case showed how competing environmental knowledge and international commitments related to renewable energy and climate change overshadowed nature management concerns. These observations highlight the importance of differentiating between types of environmental knowledge and between knowledge and interests in the study of nature management.

Special issue: Exploring global and transnational governance of climate change adaptation

Effective governance of transnational adaptation initiatives Abstract Transnational climate governance has mainly been preoccupied with climate change mitigation, both in practice and as studied in academic literature. However, transnationally governed adaptation initiatives are emerging and increasing in scale. This paper analyses the effectiveness of transnational adaptation initiatives as a particular knowledge gap in this changing evolving governance landscape. Based on a new dataset of 40 initiatives that are governing adaptation across borders and that include non-state actors, it offers an overview assessment. It asks: do transnational adaptation initiatives achieve their stated goals and objectives, and which factors explain their ability to contribute to effective climate change adaptation? Drawing on transnational climate and sustainable development governance literature, an analytical framework is developed to assess to what extent ‘actors’, ‘process’, ‘institutional design’ and ‘context’ can explain effective outcomes. The assessment found that while almost two-thirds of the initiatives were highly effective in achieving goals and objectives by producing outputs, only one-third were highly effective in achieving outcomes, in the sense of leading to substantial change in behaviour of target groups. Where initiatives are effective, the main factors determining success are strong leadership and orchestration, good process management and staff resources, a focus on standard-setting and service provision rather than knowledge transfer, a high level of institutionalisation through binding rules for partners, and good coordination with international regimes. Perhaps less expected in view of the voluntary involvement of actors in transnational adaptation initiatives, initiatives based on ‘hard’ functions (i.e. standard-setting and service provision as opposed to knowledge transfer) and binding rules for partners were found to be more effective.

Building a regional adaptation strategy for Amazon countries Abstract The IPCC has predicted that the Amazon rainforest will suffer strong consequences from a changing climate in the near future. The Amazon countries still have limited national policies on how to adapt and have failed to cooperate to promote adaptation plans at the regional level. Most studies have focused on adaptation policies at a local or national level, but overlook how these interact with the necessary regional cooperation required in transboundary ecosystems. This article assesses regional and national plans for climate adaptation in Amazonia, asking whether these provide a basis for regional adaptation policies. Have countries addressed climate adaptation in their NDCs and are there any synergies between countries? Are the Amazon countries currently implementing adaptation policies through the regional framework Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, and if so how? The analysis is then contrasted with the regional adaptation policies promoted in Central America, a region that faces similar challenges. The analysis finds that regional adaptation governance in the Amazon region is still incipient, and requires a holistic view that integrates a multi-stakeholder approach to climate adaptation. This article makes a vital contribution to the impact and contribution of Amazonia to climate governance, which is still poorly understood.

Market-based mechanism and ‘climate justice’: reframing the debate for a way forward Abstract The Paris Agreement on climate change recognizes, reluctantly albeit, the importance of ‘climate justice’ in its Preamble. Despite a change from a top-down burden-sharing approach to a bottom-up pledge and review regime, concerns of distributive justice remain central to the evolution of climate research, regime, and policy. The Paris Agreement also proposes a new market-based mechanism to promote ambition. Reasserting the unavoidability of ‘climate justice’ concerns, and responding to the suggestion that the proposed new market-based mechanism could learn from the experience of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), this paper argues that such a recommendation should be tested against a comprehensive understanding of compatibility between justice and the market. This paper postulates that both justice and the market have institutional underpinnings, which embed them into deeper, and interconnected, layers of values and relations. Arguing that ‘climate justice’ is best understood as ‘an agreed ensemble of values,’ we propose that the architecture of the UNFCCC in which these values are articulated, negotiated, and agreed upon needs to be conceptualized as consisting of four distinct, but evolving, institutional spheres: ambition, obligations and entitlements, mechanisms, and deliberation. The approach is illustrated using the case of the CDM, and implications are suggested for the proposed market-based mechanism under the Paris Agreement. The paper argues that the concerns of ‘climate justice’ have multiple institutional dimensions, and the market-based mechanisms may contribute to realizing certain dimensions of ‘climate justice,’ while considerably subverting others. The extent of both outcomes depends greatly on the ‘agreed’ conception of justice, design of mechanisms, and capabilities of the participants. Our findings suggest a judicious combination of non-market mechanisms with the market-based mechanisms would better serve the desired goal.

Governing borderless climate risks: moving beyond the territorial framing of adaptation Abstract Despite the increasing relevance of cross-border flows of goods, capital and people in shaping risks and opportunities today, we still live in a “bordered” world, where the nation state plays a key role in planning and governance. Yet, climate change impacts will not be contained within country borders, meaning that climate change adaptation governance should also consider “borderless climate risks” that cascade through the international system, in relatively simple or highly complex ways. In this paper, we demonstrate how the notion of borderless climate risks challenges the dominant territorial framing of adaptation and its problem structure. To advance knowledge, we ask: why has a territorial framing and the national and sub-national scales dominated adaptation governance? How do borderless climate risks challenge this framing and what are possible governance responses? We draw on constructivist international relations theory and propose that the epistemic community that developed to interpret climate change adaptation for decision-makers had certain features (e.g. strong environmental sciences foundation, reliance on place-based case study research) that established and subsequently reinforced the territorial framing. This framing was then reinforced by an international norm that adaptation was primarily a national or local responsibility, which has paradoxically also informed calls for international responsibility for funding adaptation. We conclude by identifying types of governance responses at three different scales—national and bilateral; transnational; international and regional—and invite more systematic evaluation by the IR community.

Transnational municipal networks: Harbingers of innovation for global adaptation governance? Abstract Few studies have examined transnational actors involved in global adaptation governance, despite their growing influence. This paper focuses on 100 Resilient Cities (100RC), a transnational municipal network (TMN) that has created governance instruments with potential for contributing to global adaptation governance. Despite their different nature from international actors (states and intergovernmental organizations), the distinct practices of TMNs and how they might influence global adaptation governance are uncertain. Vague claims suggest that TMNs are innovative, but what this innovation consists of remains unclear. Therefore, the research question here is: how do TMNs innovate in global adaptation governance? This paper strives to answer this question, by building an analytical framework to identify types and features of governance instruments, based on the literature on policy instruments, global environmental governance and global climate governance. It presents a case study of 100RC, based on an in-depth documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews. The results suggest that TMNs can be innovative, if they, like 100RC, create original governance instruments instead of using the existing tools of international or other transnational actors. While some of 100RC’s tools favour a more recent, soft and indirect approach, its considerable use of hard practices with significant obligation is particularly interesting considering the general characterization of TMNs as voluntary and soft. The governance practices of 100RC are thus not in stark contrast with those of international actors. Their diversity could provide inspiration for future action to improve the effectiveness of global climate adaptation governance, and the analytical framework developed here could be applied in further studies.

An institutional framework for addressing marine genetic resources under the proposed treaty for marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction Abstract In December 2017, the United Nations General Assembly decided to convene an intergovernmental conference to elaborate an international legally binding instrument on marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This legally binding instrument would address four elements, namely marine protected areas, marine genetic resources, environmental impact assessments and capacity building and technology transfer. One of the indicators for the success of the legally binding instrument will be an institutional mechanism that is both effective and that can co-exist with existing mechanisms. There is already a proposal for an institutional mechanism under the implementing agreement. However, the proposed institutional mechanism was developed largely with marine protected areas in mind. The purpose of this article is to determine whether this proposed mechanism could work also for the marine genetic resources element of the proposed treaty. This is necessitated by the fact that the marine genetic resources element of the proposed treaty is far more complex and raises issues that are more intractable.

Does orchestration in the Global Climate Action Agenda effectively prioritize and mobilize transnational climate adaptation action? Abstract Climate change adaptation is increasingly seen as a question that involves globally connected vulnerabilities and impacts which necessitate transboundary action by non-state and subnational (transnational) actors. Traditional actors such as governments and international organizations leave deficits in norm development, enforcement, capacity building, and financing. Orchestration has been suggested under the functionalist assumption that transnational actors can make up for these deficits, through optimizing complementarity between the realms of international and transnational governance and through eliciting more action toward the achievement of globally agreed climate goals. In the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), orchestration has taken the form of an evolving Global Climate Action Agenda (GCAA). Few studies have examined the role of orchestration in bolstering transnational adaptation. This article therefore asks: Has the GCAA effectively mobilized and prioritized transnational adaptation action? Further, has it effectively addressed functional, participatory, and geographic deficits? Analyzing a unique dataset of a hundred cooperative climate actions, this study finds that current patterns are incongruent with some functionalist expectations. GCAA orchestration has featured a political prioritization of both adaptation and mitigation and a focus on building a positive narrative of climate action. This combination of priorities has led to neglect of underperforming actions—many of them adaptation actions in developing countries. Subsequent iterations of the GCAA failed to recognize these actions and did not identify support needed for them. This has strengthened the bias toward mitigation aspects of climate change and exacerbated imbalances in the geography of transnational action under the GCAA.