Research that explores the underlying causes and policy solutions to mitigation and adaptation challenges in the broader context of the sustainability transition. ‘Governing’ refers to activities that seek to guide, steer, control or otherwise manage human societies. ‘Governance’ describes the patterns that emerge from these governing activities. These include formal policies and programmes, specific policy instruments such as emissions trading through as well as administrative organisations such as governmental ministries. It also includes the more informal activities of non state actors operating alongside and sometimes wholly independent of governments.
Climate change is a highly dynamic and politically high profile area of governance. Although the basic science of climate change has steadily become clearer and less contested amongst scientists, the debate about how to govern mitigation and adaptation has become more intense. Copenhagen powerfully revealed that the main barriers to collective action are political, not scientific or technological.
Tyndall has an internationally recognised capacity to conduct work which explicates the policy, political and governance aspects of climate change. These include the design and performance of particular policy instruments, the (non) use of scientific evidence to inform policy development activities, and the design of policy systems to cope with complex policy coordination challenges. This work is being funded by a number of bodies including the European Commission, UK ESRC and the Leverhulme Trust.
Theme Co-ordinators: Heike Schroder, Sarah Mander, Andy Jordan
See below for a list of the Theme's current projects:
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