Climate Governance at the Crossroads

Experimenting with a Global Response after Kyoto

Matthew J. Hoffmann

Presents a new, broad perspective on climate governance that analyzes active alternatives to ineffectual multilateral negotiations
Includes an original database summary of climate governance initiatives at individual, municipal, national, sub-national, corporate, and transnational levels
Analyzes the prospects and pitfalls for new climate governance initiatives

Climate Governance at the Crossroads

Experimenting with a Global Response after Kyoto

Matthew J. Hoffmann

Description

The global response to climate change has reached a critical juncture. Since the 1992 signing of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the nations of the world have attempted to address climate change through large-scale multilateral treaty-making. These efforts have been heroic, but disappointing. As evidence for the quickening pace of climate change mounts, the treaty-making process has sputtered, and many are now skeptical about the prospect of an effective global response. Yet global treaty-making is not the only way that climate change can be addressed or, indeed, is being addressed.

In the last decade myriad initiatives have emerged across the globe independently from, or only loosely connected to, the "official" UN-sponsored negotiations and treaties. In the face of stalemate in the formal negotiations, the world is experimenting with alternate means of responding to climate change. Climate Governance at the Crossroads chronicles these innovations--how cities, provinces and states, citizen groups, and corporations around the globe are addressing the causes and symptoms of global warming. The center of gravity in the global response to climate change is shifting from the multilateral treaty-making process to the diverse activities found beyond the negotiating halls. These innovations are pushing the envelope of climate action and demonstrating what is possible, and they provide hope that the world will respond effectively to the climate crisis.

In introducing climate governance "experiments" and examining the development and functioning of this new world of climate policy-making, this book provides an exciting new perspective on the politics of climate change and the means to understand and influence how the global response to climate change will unfold in the coming years.

Climate Governance at the Crossroads

Experimenting with a Global Response after Kyoto

Matthew J. Hoffmann

List of Illustrations
Preface and Acknowledgements
Chapter 1 Into the Void
Chapter 2 The World of Climate Governance Experimentation
Chapter 3 Making Sense of Climate Governance Experimentation
Chapter 4 Experimenting in Practice
Chapter 5 Experimenting with Cities and Technology
Chapter 6 Constructing Carbon Markets
Chapter 7 Lost in the Void or Filling the Void?
Appendix
List of Interviews Undertaken
Works Cited
Index

Climate Governance at the Crossroads

Experimenting with a Global Response after Kyoto

Matthew J. Hoffmann

Author Information

Matthew J. Hoffmann is an Associate Professor of International Relations in the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough and in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. He teaches and pursues research on climate change politics, global governance, multilateral treaty-making, complex systems, and international organization. Hoffman is the author of Ozone Depletion and Climate Change: Constructing a Global Response and coeditor with Alice Ba of Contending Perspectives on Global Governance: Coherence, Contestation, and World-Order.

Climate Governance at the Crossroads

Experimenting with a Global Response after Kyoto

Matthew J. Hoffmann

Reviews and Awards

2012 Runner-up, Harold and Margaret Sprout Award, ISA

"The perennial quest for a seamless international bargain on climate change has yielded to a far more complex set of climate governance initiatives around the world. Matthew Hoffmann takes a fresh look at this ever-expanding arena of public policy and thoughtfully explores early lessons and possible next steps. This book represents a valuable scholarly contribution and provides an important public service."--Barry G. Rabe, Professor of Public Policy and Professor of the Environment, University of Michigan

"Growing concern about the impacts of climate change, coupled with frustration at the lack of progress in intergovernmental climate negotiations, has motivated numerous subnational governments and non-state actors to launch experiments with alternative approaches to climate governance. This important book provides the first systematic assessment of these initiatives. Focusing on the experimental governance system, it not only sheds light on ways forward regarding climate change; it also adds to our understanding of a trend of fundamental importance to the pursuit of governance more generally."--Oran R. Young, Professor of Institutional and International Governance, University of California-Santa Barbara

"Matthew Hoffman brings light to the darkening literature of climate change. He shows that, while negotiations at the international level have stalled, there is a multitude of promising governing efforts taking place in the municipal, corporate and nongovernmental sectors. Seen through Hoffman's incisive analytical lens, we can appreciate such 'experiments' as grounds for hope. If you care about and want to respond positively to climate change, read this book!"--Paul Wapner, Associate Professor and Director of the Global Environmental Politics Program, American University

"This timely, jargon-free book may be transformational by stimulating new perceptions of climate change policy dilemmas. Understanding this universe of climate governance experiments may help activists and scholars move toward climate change solutions rather than an abyss of ineffective responses. Highly recommended."--CHOICE

"[G]roundbreaking... Through this detailed analysis of the nature, emergence, and effects of experimentation, Hoffmann's work provides us with a truly novel account of global governance." -- Review of Policy Research

Climate Governance at the Crossroads deserves praise, for at least two reasons. First, to my understanding, Hoffmann is the first to provide a comprehensive overview of climate governance initiatives. Second, Hoffmann's discussion of the implications of his research for future research and policy is unusually useful. This book is impressive and should be read by anyone interested in the future of planet Earth." --Perspectives on Politics

Climate Governance at the Crossroads

Experimenting with a Global Response after Kyoto

Matthew J. Hoffmann

From Our Blog

Why the climate negotiations matter

By Matthew J. Hoffmann Though any breakthrough in negotiations is unlikely, the multilateral meetings remain a pivotal space for the growth of innovative approaches to the coming climate crisis.

Posted on December 7, 2011

Read the blog post