Research Handbook on Climate Governance

Edited by Karin Bäckstrand, Professor, Department of Political Science, Stockholm University and Eva Lövbrand, Associate Professor, Department of Thematic Studies: Environmental Change, Linköping University, Sweden

The 2009 United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen is often represented as a watershed in global climate politics, when the diplomatic efforts to negotiate a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol failed and was replaced by a fragmented and decentralized climate governance order. In the post-Copenhagen landscape the top-down universal approach to climate governance has gradually given way to a more complex, hybrid and dispersed political landscape involving multiple actors, arenas and sites. The Handbook contains contributions from more than 50 internationally leading scholars and explores the latest trends and theoretical developments of the climate governance scholarship.

‘A breathtaking review which covers the major approaches and actors in the governance of climate change this carefully edited book includes essays from dozens of scholars who are shaping our understanding of responses to the real and existential risks of a warming world. The book is especially strong in its discussion of how critical social theory can help us understand the politics of climate change, in its histories of climate policy, and in the multiple perspectives it provides on the international climate regime across sectors, institutions, countries and scales. I was impressed by the diversity of authors, including the number of women contributors, and by the efforts to connect research to political action.’
– Diana Liverman, University of Arizona, US

‘Bäckstrand and Lövbrand have crafted a remarkable volume, gathering over fifty cutting-edge scholars engaging every aspect of climate governance—what it has been, what it is, and what it could and should be. This is truly a one-stop shop for grasping the diversity of research on climate governance. It will engage students exploring the field, scholars seeking to understand the state of the art, and practitioners looking to make sense of the challenges of responding to this most crucial of global issues.’
– Matthew Hoffman, University of Toronto, Canada

‘As the ambit of climate governance has expanded out from the UN to encompass myriad actors at multiple levels, so too has the challenge of understanding the whole. This comprehensive and expertly edited Handbook provides the alpha and omega of climate governance scholarship. I confidently predict that it will become the standard reference for years to come.’
– Andy Jordan, University of East Anglia, UK

‘In a field already densely populated with handbooks, the Research Handbook on Climate Governance offers a fresh approach to the burgeoning field of climate governance. Drawing on an impressive list of world-leading scholars, Bäckstrand and Lövbrand have masterfully fashioned a magnificent tour d'horizon of a wide range of climate-related topics, from the normative dimensions of climate governance to its concrete modes of operation and technological underpinnings. This landmark compendium is an indispensable resource for scholars, students and practitioners engaged in climate governance around the world.’
– Philipp Pattberg, VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands

‘Bäckstrand and Lövbrand have expertly assembled a cutting-edge collection of essays that look critically at the changing landscape of climate governance in the “post-Copenhagen era”. Moving beyond the typical handbook, the collection provides a rich offering of both theoretical and empirical reflections to help students and researchers alike think creatively about governance needs and opportunities in the face of this wicked problem. The book is both an excellent teaching tool and a source of creative inspiration for future climate change research.’
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