POL101Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Low-Carbon Economy, United Nations Environment Programme
Effectiveness of Subnational Action
● New developments
○ UNEP emissions Gap Report: reports the gap between what nations say they’re
going to do, and what they’re actually doing
● Cop 23-Bonn
○ Rule book: help states with the implementation/monitoring/verification of their
commitments
■ Builds trust between the states
○ Global stock take
■ Determines whether we are on track to reduce emissions
● Is subnational action effective?
○ Scale of impact and type of impact
○ Emissions reduction vs. decarbonization
■ Every time you move towards decarbonization, emissions will go down,
but not every move towards emissions reduction will generate
decarbonization
○ Caveats we must consider
■ Policy authority
● If a city doesn’t control energy policy, it is very difficult for the city
to produce decarbonization
■ Economy and democracy
● Globally relevant?
○ Do subnational actions add up?
■ Individually, subnational action is irrelevant
■ Subnational governments are currently just pledging to take action, so
only time will tell
○ Spillover effects (the only way subnational action can be relevant)
■ Normalization
● Changing the common sense, changing what citizens/politics think
is normal and what is expected
● Right now, using carbon energy is considered normal.
● Ex: subnational governments changing the term “car” to mean
battery using cards rather than gas using cars
■ Coalitions
● How politics move
● Economic and political support for climate policy
○ Ex: Coalition of fossil fuels in automotive energy that are
pushing the government to do specific things
● Actors with an interest in the government taking action
● Can change where support for climate change action comes from,
and can emphasize that support
● Renewable energy portfolios
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Document Summary
Unep emissions gap report: reports the gap between what nations say they"re going to do, and what they"re actually doing. Rule book: help states with the implementation/monitoring/verification of their commitments. Determines whether we are on track to reduce emissions. Scale of impact and type of impact. Every time you move towards decarbonization, emissions will go down, but not every move towards emissions reduction will generate decarbonization. If a city doesn"t control energy policy, it is very difficult for the city to produce decarbonization. Subnational governments are currently just pledging to take action, so only time will tell. Spillover effects (the only way subnational action can be relevant) Changing the common sense, changing what citizens/politics think is normal and what is expected. Right now, using carbon energy is considered normal. Ex: subnational governments changing the term car to mean battery using cards rather than gas using cars. Economic and political support for climate policy.
