Diarmuid Torney

If at first you don’t succeed: the development of climate change legislation in Ireland

ABSTRACT Ireland’s national climate law, the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, was enacted in December 2015. It forms part of a broader trend of countries enacting overarching national framework climate change legislation, with the UK Climate Change Act of 2008 considered to be the pioneering legislation. This article seeks to answer two questions. First, to what extent did Irish policy-makers and other stakeholders draw explicitly on the example of the UK Climate Change Act in developing the Irish climate law? Second, to what extent was the development of the climate law in Ireland characterised by convergence towards the UK Climate Change Act, and how can we explain the observed level of convergence? Using a framework drawn from policy diffusion studies, the article argues that the development of Irish climate legislation can be characterised as partial policy diffusion from UK. The broad concept of overarching national climate legislation travelled from the UK, as did certain limited design features. However, domestic politics – in particular vigorous lobbying by business and farming groups – and divergent circumstances constrained the process of policy diffusion.

The politics of climate change in Ireland: symposium introduction

ABSTRACT The domestic arena has never been so important for the politics of climate change. The 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change established a global framework that emphasises ‘nationally determined’ responses to climate change. This places national policies – and the political and institutional factors that help or hinder those responses – front and centre. In the comparative study of climate politics, Ireland is not just another understudied case. It is in many respects an interesting case, both for its peculiarities and for what it shares with other countries: its sets of opportunities and challenges; its successes and failures; and the circumstances in which policy-makers have operated. This symposium addresses some rapidly developing areas in the study of comparative climate politics. In doing so, it contributes to developing knowledge of the features that make the Irish case interesting; that make it similar to and potentially representative of other classes of cases; and that make it different from other cases and in some respects unique. Overall, the symposium highlights significant constraints on effective policy responses to climate change in Ireland.

Environmental and Climate Diplomacy: Building Coalitions Through Persuasion

This chapter explores the contribution diplomacy has made to the EU’s external environmental and climate policies. By studying the EU’s activities in the area of environmental diplomacy, we can elaborate upon the factors that influence the effectiveness or otherwise of the EU’s external environmental policies. The chapter traces the development of the EU’s key institutional mechanism for coordinating environmental diplomacy, the Green Diplomacy Network. It also uses the case of the EU’s involvement in the COP21 climate conference to illustrate how diplomacy matters for effectiveness of EU external environmental relations. Climate change is a special case of environmental diplomacy because it has attracted very high global attention compared with other environmental issues.

Introduction: European Union External Environmental Policy

The global environment is, by many measures, in a perilous state. There are, however, signs of progress in terms of governance responses, such as the Paris Agreement on climate change. Against this backdrop, this book charts the role the European Union has played in shaping environmental policies beyond its borders. Over recent decades, the EU has developed into an important actor in global environmental governance. However, systematic analysis of the EU’s environmental policies has largely focused on its internal environmental policies and how the EU pursues its environmental objectives within its own borders, somewhat neglecting the EU’s external environmental policies. This introductory chapter elaborates the analytical framework and concepts employed in the book and provides an overview of the content of the chapters.

China: Deepening Cooperation on Climate and Environmental Governance

As a result of chronic environmental challenges, China’s political leadership has paid increasing attention to the ecological limits of rapid economic growth. As concern has grown, China’s leaders have looked beyond their borders for solutions. Hence, climate change and environment have emerged as increasingly prominent and productive dimensions of the EU-China relationship. This chapter argues that China has looked to—and adopted—European-inspired environmental policies, such as emissions trading, and environmental decision-making institutions. Other non-European actors have also played prominent roles in China. We trace how European-inspired policies on greenhouse gas emissions trading and environmental decision-making institutions have been modified, sometimes significantly, in the process of adoption in China. Challenges remain with respect to their implementation and ultimate effectiveness in a Chinese context.