There has been a long- term tension between explanatory and applied policy analysts in the intellectual domain. This manifests in form of constant debate between scholars who explain the world of policy and those who offer techniques for improving problems. Scholars like Ostrom(governing the commons),Lindbloom( incrementalism)and Lasswell( communication model) have been part of this long tradition. In this context, climate change has been one of the most debated issue and the moral responsibility which it inflicts on us is immense. The sixth great extinction is looming large ( first one due to homo sapiens) and about a million species are threatened of extinction.
From the Brundtland commission in 1987 to Rio Earth Summit of 1992 and Kyoto Protocol to the Paris Accord of 2016, governments around the world have made commitments to counter the impact of climate change. The biggest normative dilemma which haunts all the governments is handling the inverted U relation between economic growth and environmental degradation as suggested by environment Kuznets curve.
Many policies, ranging from pollution control standards to renewable energy promotion have been embraced globally. Development of innovative finance and market driven policy tools like eco labeling, financial incentives(Global Environment Facility,reduced emission from deforestation,climate bonds), carbon tax, green buildings and sustainable transportation have been adopted by both developed and developing countries.
The unique thing about climate change crisis is that almost all countries support the logic behind it.IPCC has accepted that climate change is real and Paris accord has been signed by almost every country in the world. So the issue is not the problem of climate change but how we solve it. In this context, common but differential responsibility becomes important as developed countries have already beneffitted from high carbon pathways. Although, billions of dollars have flown into adaptation, mitigation and conservation efforts, we haven’t yet been able to tackle important questions like efficacy of finance and market driven mechanism in resolving the issue of climate change, proper channelizing of investments and the dearth of political will in tackling long-term sustainability issues.
In this context, great scholars like Benjamin Cashore have portrayed climate change as a “super wicked problem”. These problems are: time critical (time is running out), without any central authority to control, often accompanied with irrational policy responses and one where forces pursuing to end are also causing it. Cost – benefit analysis models have been frequently used to tackle climate change issues. But we need to look them as super wicked problem and solve using path-dependency model. Path dependent solutions involve easy pulling policy lever that help in long term lock in and are hard to reverse.
Financial and market development initiatives are also necessary but they must be used within a bigger policy mix. Using path dependent solutions involve investigative questions that needed to be answered to solve the larger issues like: a) how to create ‘immediate lock-in’? b) How to get more support for policy over time? c) What can be done to enhance the scope of the policy(expand the population) covered?
Great Benjamin Cashore has praised Germany in his pioneering work on promoting path dependent solutions for climate change.The German government introduced a feed-in-tariff program to promote the households to install solar panels on their roofs. They did not depend totally on markets. Due to financial incentives and regulatory provisions( long- term contracts subsidizing solar panels), the cost of solar panels came down substantially within just a few years. Germany aspired for a long term political and technological transformation based on this strategy.Through a policy mix that involved regulations, financial incentives, paying the users money back on retail rates they created a long term low carbon path and established a norm in society which slowly proliferated in Germany. There is no central authority and international agreement but the policy mix adopted by Germany has been adopted by more than hundred jurisdictions.This is an ideal example involving path dependent solution for tackling environmental issues.
As the pandemic unleashes more hostilities, investments in sustainability and ESG funds have reached record level, exceeding $1 trillion globally.COVID-19 is a great opportunity for policymakers to tackle climate change as super wicked problem globally and take path dependent policy measures which involve a long-term orientation rather than promoting short-term reactive policies trying to foster economic growth.
Writer is an incoming candidate at LSE. He is an alumnus of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS and Indian Institute of Management Ranchi.