Credibility dilemmas under the Paris agreement
Explaining fossil fuel subsidy reform references in INDCs
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12823778 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christian Elliott (0000-0002-0082-7812, University of Toronto, corresponding author), Steven Bernstein (0000-0002-0115-084X, University of Toronto), Matthew Hoffmann (0000-0002-9325-4186, University of Toronto) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 735-759 |
| Publication date | 2022-06-22 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Environmental Agreements Politics Law and Economics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1567-9764 • E-ISSN: 1573-1553 |
| Publisher | Springer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s10784-022-09581-8 |
| PMID | 36411748 |
| OpenAlex | W4283258023 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 42 |
Fossil fuel subsidies are a market distortion commonly identified as an obstacle to decarbonization. Yet due to trenchant political economic risks, reform attempts can be fraught for governments. Despite these concerns, an institutionally and economically diverse group of states included references to fossil fuel subsidy reform (FFSR) in their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) under the Paris Agreement. What conditions might explain why some states reference politically risky reforms within treaty commitments, while most others would not? We argue that the Article 4 process under the Paris Agreement creates a "credibility dilemma" for states-articulating ambitious emissions reduction targets while also defining national climate plans engenders a need to seek out appropriate policy ideas that can justify overarching goals to international audiences. Insomuch as particular norms are institutionalized and made salient in international politics, a window of opportunity is opened: issue advocates can "activate" norms by demonstrating how related policies can make commitments credible. Using mixed methods, we find support for this argument. We identify contextual factors advancing FFSR in the lead-up to the Paris Agreement, including norm institutionalization in regimes and international organization programs as well as salience-boosting climate diplomacy. Further, we find correspondences between countries targeted by transnational policy advocates and FFSR references in INDCs, building on the momentum in international politics more generally. Though drafting INDCs and NDCs is a government-owned process, the results suggest that understanding their content requires examining international norms alongside domestic circumstances
Conditionality · Credibility · Economics · International community · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Subsidy · Treaty · Climate Change Policy and Economics · Energy, Environment, and Transportation Policies · Environmental Impact and Sustainability · Law
The Compromise of Liberal Environmentalism
National Interests in International Society
Reforming fossil fuel subsidies requires a new approach to setting international commitments
One model to predict them all
Paris
The Paris Agreement
The politics of fossil fuel subsidies and their reform
Removing fuel subsidies
No iceberg in sight
Prisoners of the Wrong Dilemma
Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform, Rent Management and Political Fragmentation in Developing Countries
Legitimacy in intergovernmental and non-state global governance
Origins of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Designing Police
International Norm Dynamics and Political Change
Ideas do not float freely
Institutional Perspectives on Political Institutions
Beyond Belief
Asset Revaluation and the Existential Politics of Climate Change
How Ideas Spread
The Paris Agreement and the new logic of international climate politics
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |