The Politics of Climate Change

The project investigates the current politicization of climate change on the global, European, and national level.

On the global level, the project offers timely and novel analysis on the most pressing collective action problems facing global governance. The focus is on the Paris Agreement, and especially its crucial component, transparency. How can the key provisions of the Paris Agreement be implemented in turbulent times, increasingly characterized by multipolar competition?

On the European level, the project focuses on the Green New Deal and the climate agenda of the new European Commission, where climate action has received paramount importance. Research will take stock of existing EU legal and policy governance mechanisms, the 2020 and 2030 Climate and Energy Frameworks, and assess the impact of new initiatives and policy measures introduced by the new Commission. The risk of a political backlash against the EGD is also investigated.

On the national level, a large-scale political trend casts a shadow over the implementation phase of the Paris Agreement and the EGD alike: The rise of authoritarian populism. The evidence so far seems to suggest that authoritarian populism typically frames climate change as an elite agenda – and international agreements are perceived as a pet issue of the corrupt elite, at odds with the interests of “the people”.

The project also investigates the interlinkages of security and climate change in the Finnish context, funded by the Finnish government’s analysis, assessment and research activities.

The project will run from 2020 to 2022. The Politics of Climate Change project produces original academic research, timely policy briefs, seminars and webinars on its research themes.

Research team: Dr Antto Vihma (lead), Dr Marco Siddi (deputy), Dr Emma Hakala (team member), Dr Jussi Lassila (team member).