Carbon Captured: How Business and Labor Control Climate Politics
Abstract
Climate change threatens the planet, and yet policy responses have varied widely across nations. Some countries have undertaken ambitious programs to stave off climate disaster, others have done little, and still others have passed policies that were later rolled back. Highlighting results from a forthcoming book, I will offer a theoretical explanation for cross-national differences in both the content and timing of climate reforms. This theory is rooted in the concept of double representation—when carbon polluters enjoy political representation on both the left (through industrial unions fearful of job loss) and the right (through industrial business associations fighting policy costs). I argue that different climate policy approaches can be explained by the interaction of climate policy preferences and domestic institutions. I illustrate my theory using detailed analysis of climate policymaking in Norway, the United States, and Australia.
Biography
Matto Mildenberger is assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara where he co-runs the Energy and Environmental Transitions (ENVENT) Lab.. His research explores the political drivers of policy inaction in the face of serious social and economic threats posed by global climate change. Matto received his Ph.D. from Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 2015.