Re-examining policy stability in climate adaptation through a lock-in perspective

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NEW PUBLICATION

By Lisanne Groen, Meghan Alexander, Julie P. King, Nicolas W. Jager & Dave Huitema

ABSTRACT

Responding to current and future climate change demands urgent, transformative adaptation, yet in many policy systems inaction continues to prevail. This paper examines apparent resistance to policy change and the persistence of business-as-usual through a ‘lock-in perspective’, which means that attention is paid to how reinforcing mechanisms drive stabilisation and resistance in policy systems. Offering a fresh synthesis of known lock-in mechanisms in the literature, this paper explores the role of those mechanisms in two empirical cases of coastal adaptation: England (U.K.) and Schleswig-Holstein (Germany). While several known lock-mechanisms are observable, some are newly identified in this adaptation context. We offer a critical reflection on the added value of the lock-in perspective for understanding policy stability. In turn, the identification of self- and mutually reinforcing mechanisms provides a much-needed foundation for targeted policy interventions and efforts to ‘unlock’ climate adaptation pathways.

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To cite this article: Lisanne Groen, Meghan Alexander, Julie P. King, Nicolas W. Jager & Dave Huitema (2022): Re-examining policy stability in climate adaptation through a lock-in perspective, Journal of European Public Policy, DOI: 10.1080/13501763.2022.2064535

Biodiversity

Sixteen Ways to Adapt: A Comparison of State-Level Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in the Federal States of Germany

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Julie King_Sixteen Ways To AdaptDownload

Climate change adaptation (CCA) strategies aim to reduce or prevent negative climate change impacts and, in some cases, maximise potential benefits. This analysis provides the first systematic assessment of all state adaptation strategies in Germany based on 2 main research questions: how comprehensive are German state CCA strategies, and to what extent do policy approaches and commitments vary within the federal context? Based on a qualitative analysis, this assessment focuses on 5 key themes synthesised from literature on CCA barriers and facilitating factors and climate policy analyses. It finds that state strategies tend to be non-committal sets of recommendations and that there is often a trade-off between the specificity of goals and level of commitment. While federalism allows for flexibility among state responses, the absence of federal mandates and policy standards allows some states to fall behind while others continue to develop their strategies to adapt.