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Abstract

Countries around the world have set increasingly
ambitious targets to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate
climate change. To deliver on these targets,
policymakers have (i) implemented
new policy instruments, (ii) increased the
stringency of existing policy instruments,
and (iii) created ‘climate institutions’. A
substantial body of literature is devoted
to the first two phenomena. Yet we know
little about climate institutions, including
the different types of institutions countries
create and how they affect the development
and stringency of climate
policy (Dubash 2021; Dubash et al.
2021).
This report therefore seeks to answer
three research questions. First, what are
climate institutions and how can we
characterise them across countries?
Second, what effects do climate institutions
have on climate policymaking?
Third, based on these findings, what lessons
can we draw about the landscape
of German climate institutions and what
options exist for institutional reform? To
address these questions, we propose a
definition of climate institutions and develop
a conceptual framework for analysing
and comparing their effects on climate
policymaking in four countries:
Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden,
and Australia. We then draw on this
framework and our comparative analysis
to identify potentially promising reforms
for German climate governance, especially
in light of the proposed changes to
the German climate law (the Bundes-Klimaschutzgesetz,
or KSG).