12—Environmental Leadership Flashcards
What are the differences between the MLG and the polycentric approach?
- MLG assumes a stronger role for governmental (state, supranational and subnational) actors.
- The polycentric approach attributes a high level of autonomy to societal actors:
- coordination among these actors is essential for the successful functioning of global climate governance
- polycentric perspective favours societal self-coordination in a market-like governance structure
- polycentric perspective potentially sees any self-coordinate activity as leadership
Which actors may become leaders/pioneers?
- State-centred approach:
- States
- Institutionalist approach:
- IOs capable of exhibiting independent “actorness” capabilities
- Single-country studies distinguish between leadership in domestic and foreign environmental/climate policy ambitions
- Other actors:
- Businesses operating in highly-regulated regional contexts might advocate similar provisions in other areas so as not to lose competitiveness (i.e. “race to the top”)
- NGOs (ENGO) help to raise public awareness, shape the agenda and monitor internal and foreign environmental policies as well as international treaties
- To a smaller extent, trade unions in highly affluent countries pursue the same goal
- Scientists and epistemic communities: adequate knowledge about the problems and possible responses is necessary, although not sufficient condition, to solve a problem
- Individuals are central to local climate governance. Individuals’ impact in broader contexts is under-researched
Why become a pioneer/leader?
Comparative politics focuses on a number of reasons:
1. high level of environmental problem pressure
2. the high political salience of environmental issues
3. regulatory competition
4. normative dimension
Environmental capacity literature focused on:
- institutional capacity
- politico-administrative capacity
- informational-cognitive capacity
- technological capacity
- EU membership
- corporativism
- high levels of economic affluence
- …
Similar factors are likely to affect also non-state actors
How are pioneers classified?
Pioneers are classified according to their environmental ambitions on an internal/external scale:
Classification:
1. Low internal and external environmental ambitions: laggard.
2. High internal but low external: pioneer
- Pioneers try to go alone, especially when constrained by laggards
3. Low internal but high external: symbolic leader
- Symbolic leaders fail to back up their externally directed green ambitions with internal’s
4. High internal and external: substantive leader
1. Constructive pusher: unconditionally adopts ambitious internal environmental regulations, despite their economic impact
2. Conditional pusher: adopts internal environmental ambitions only if other actors adopt similar measures because concerned about the negative impact of such decisions
What are the conditions for pioneership to be exercised?
Either be the first actor implementing an innovative policy or the best in the class
What are the 4 types of leadership?
- Structural (military/economic power):
- While military power is only associated with states (and terroristic movements), economic power can be exerted by businesses, NGOs and consumers (purchasing power)
- An actor possessing power becomes a structural leader only by mobilising its structural power in pursuit of collective goods
power holders, but not all power holders are leaders’ - An actor’s relative contribution to a particular environmental problem and/or its ability to offer solutions provides him with structural power
- business actors (e.g. the oil industry and wind energy sector) derive structural power from their relative contribution to the problem
- While military power is only associated with states (and terroristic movements), economic power can be exerted by businesses, NGOs and consumers (purchasing power)
- Entrepreneurial:
- An entrepreneurial leader is “an agenda setter a popularizer who uses negotiating skills to devise attractive formulas and to broker interests’
- States, NGOs and self-cooperating organisations (polycentric approach)
- An entrepreneurial leader is “an agenda setter a popularizer who uses negotiating skills to devise attractive formulas and to broker interests’
- Cognitive:
- Cognitive leaders define or redefine ideas by assessing new links with potential benefits
- e.g. carbon modernisation: ambitious climate policies could benefit the economy in the form of a “green” economy
- Cognitive leaders define or redefine ideas by assessing new links with potential benefits
4.Exemplary:
1. An exemplary leader is a conscious example-setter. It could be a state or a non-state actor
2. An unconscious example setting is referred to as exemplary pioneership
How is leadership exercised?
- Leaders will exert different types of leadership altogether
- Pioneers will most likely exert exemplary leadership, by unintentionally setting a good example, with no prior intention to attract followers
What are transactional and transformational leadership?
- Transactional leadership refers to small ambitions over a limited period of time
- Transformational leadership refers to high ambitions over an extended period of time
What is the link between leadership and followership
Leadership is an interactive process between leaders and followers
💡 In order to count as followership, a follower must adopt the same measure proposed by the leader/pioneer. This limits the vertical scope of followership to horizontal relations (e.g. state-state, NGO-NGO, etc.)
What is the logic behind followership?
- Logic of Consequences
- Cost-benefit calculations
- In the presence of strong structural power, market asymmetries could give actors no option but to follow
- Cost-benefit calculations
- Logic of appropriateness
- Learning and emulation
- In the case of exemplary leadership, the perceived legitimacy of the leader is crucial
- Learning and emulation
[Reflection] Think about an example for each type of leadership(cognitive, exemplary, structural and entrepreneurial). What country or actor exerts what type of leadership?
- Cognitive - IPCC
- Exemplary - EU ETS
- Structural - Nuclear energy lobby in France
- Entrepreneurial - Brunello Cucinelli
[Reflection] Choose one country that, according to you, is an important actor in international climate negotiations.Is this country a leader,according to your assessment? If yes,which type(s) of leadership does it use?Has this countryalways been a leader or has its leadership role changed over time?
France is a leader in international climate negotiations, possessing top-notch nuclear energy know-how. Since the EU officially recognised nuclear energy as green energy in 2022, its role became even more important. France exerts all types of leadership:
1. Cognitive: active and proficient research on nuclear energy
2. Exemplary: one of the highest national shares of nuclear energy on compressive energy produced
3. Structural: since nowadays nuclear energy is the most efficient green energy in the EU, France gained an impressive structural power providing possible solutions to high-emitting energy productions
4. Entrepreneurial: France is an important player in UNFCCC negotiations. Thanks to its role in COP 21, the Paris Agreement was signed
[Reflection] Usually, environmental leaders are seen as ‘normatively good’. Can you think of an example where an actorleads others in obstructing, rather than promoting,efforts in the fight against climate change?
The US not signing the Kyoto Protocol and quitting the Paris Agreement after Trump’s claims against climate change is a clear case of both exemplary and structural obstructive leadership
[Reflection] What can be possible obstacles for transnational actors such as Fairphone to influence policy outcomes?
More competitive alternatives, thanks to the use of non-recycled/recyclable materials and underpaid workers. Some countries would not have an interest in tackling these issues, since they provide their economies with unrivalled advantages
[Reflection] (How) can you link this case to environmental justice?
Fairphone assures customers and employees distributional, recognitional, interspecies and intersectional justice
