2007/07/01 by Barry G. Rabe · 241 citations
Social Sciences · Environmental Science · #Policy Transfer and Learning #Sustainability and Climate Change Governance #European Union Policy and Governance #Corporate governance #Multi-level governance #Realm #Climate change #Political science #Climate policy #Kyoto Protocol #International relations #Environmental resource management #Public administration #Economic system #Economics #Politics
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1468-0491.2007.00365.x
published in Governance 20(3), 423-444 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2007/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Climate change policy has commonly been framed as a matter of international governance for which global policy strategies can be readily employed. The decade of experience following the 1997 signing of the Kyoto Protocol suggests a far more complex process involving a wide range of policy options and varied engagement by multiple levels of governance systems. The respective experiences of the United States and Canada suggest that formal engagement in the international realm of policy is not a good indicator of domestic policy development or emissions reductions. The different contexts of intergovernmental relations, varied resources available to subnational governments for policy development and implementation, and role of subnational leaders in policy formation have emerged as important factors in explaining national differences between these North American neighbors. Consequently, climate change increasingly presents itself as a challenge not only of international relations but also of multilevel governance, thereby creating considerable opportunity to learn from domestic policy experimentation.