The Governance and Implementation of the SDG 13 on Climate Change

The research project draws on a unique dataset – ‘Climate Change Laws of the World’ which covers over 1200 climate change legislation and policies in 164 countries. These countries include the world’s 50 largest greenhouse gas emitters and 93 of the top 100 emitters, and together account for nearly 95 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The database also features more than 250 climate litigation cases from 25 countries. The data are maintained jointly by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the Sabin Center on Climate Change Law at the Columbia Law School. 

Within the scope of the project, a typology of climate governance models will be developed and criteria identified in order to measure effectiveness of models in a variety of contexts. The main focus will be state governance and actors, but relations with non-state actors will be taken into consideration. The database will be augmented with new indicators on governance and institutions, and an analysis performed on trends in global governance.  

To better understand the functioning of institutional arrangements and relationships in practice, two detailed case studies will be carried out, covering Tanzania and South Africa. Following a grounded theory approach and social network analysis, the researchers will investigate formal and informal institutional constellations and relationships, resource, ideational and decision-making flows using semi-structured interviews, coding and data analysis.

The primary focus will be on the national level, but the researchers will identify key linkages with sub-national and non-state governance. The presence of determinants of 'credible' implementation drawing on the typology developed will be tested, and barriers to reform assessed, as well as the extent to which institutional attributes aid effective implementation, potential governance challenges and synergies with other SDGs, and provide lessons for other countries.

The project is conducted through an interdisciplinary collaboration across geography, political science, economics, and law, and features the co-production of knowledge with policy practitioners. 

Further details about this research are available on the project website.

Principal Investigator: Professor Samuel Fankhauser, London School of Economics and Political Science