@article{ChanBoranvanAsseltetal.2019, author = {Chan, Sander and Boran, Idil and van Asselt, Harro and Iacobuta, Gabriela and Niles, Navam and Rietig, Katharine and Scobie, Michelle and Bansard, Jennifer S. and Delgado Pugley, Deborah and Delina, Laurence L. and Eichhorn, Friederike and Ellinger, Paula and Enechi, Okechukwu and Hale, Thomas and Hermwille, Lukas and Hickmann, Thomas and Honegger, Matthias and Hurtado Epstein, Andrea and Theuer, Stephanie La Hoz and Mizo, Robert and Sun, Yixian and Toussaint, Patrick and Wambugu, Geoffrey}, title = {Promises and risks of nonstate action in climate and sustainability governance}, series = {Wiley interdisciplinary reviews : Climate change}, volume = {10}, journal = {Wiley interdisciplinary reviews : Climate change}, number = {3}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {1757-7780}, doi = {10.1002/wcc.572}, pages = {8}, year = {2019}, language = {en} } @article{HickmannFuhrHoehneetal.2017, author = {Hickmann, Thomas and Fuhr, Harald and H{\"o}hne, Chris and Lederer, Markus and Stehle, Fee}, title = {Carbon Governance Arrangements and the Nation-State: The Reconfiguration of Public Authority in Developing Countries}, series = {Public administration and development}, volume = {37}, journal = {Public administration and development}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {0271-2075}, doi = {10.1002/pad.1814}, pages = {331 -- 343}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Several scholars concerned with global policy-making have recently pointed to a reconfiguration of authority in the area of climate politics. They have shown that various new carbon governance arrangements have emerged, which operate simultaneously at different governmental levels. However, despite the numerous descriptions and mapping exercises of these governance arrangements, we have little systematic knowledge on their workings within national jurisdictions, let alone about their impact on public-administrative systems in developing countries. Therefore, this article opens the black box of the nation-state and explores how and to what extent two different arrangements, that is, Transnational City Networks and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, generate changes in the distribution of public authority in nation-states and their administrations. Building upon conceptual assumptions that the former is likely to lead to more decentralized, and the latter to more centralized policy-making, we provide insights from case studies in Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil, and India. In a nutshell, our analysis underscores that Transnational City Networks strengthen climate-related actions taken by cities without ultimately decentralizing climate policy-making. On the other hand, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation tends to reinforce the competencies of central governments, but apparently does not generate a recentralization of the forestry sector at large.}, language = {en} } @article{Hickmann2017, author = {Hickmann, Thomas}, title = {Voluntary global business initiatives and the international climate negotiations}, series = {Journal of Cleaner Production}, volume = {169}, journal = {Journal of Cleaner Production}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0959-6526}, doi = {10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.183}, pages = {94 -- 104}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The past few years have witnessed the emergence of a plethora of transnational climate governance experiments. They have been developed by a broad range of actors, such as cities, non-profit organizations, and private corporations. Several scholars have lately devoted particular attention to voluntary global business initiatives in the policy domain of climate change. Their studies have provided considerable insights into the role and function of such new modes of climate governance. However, the precise nature of the relationship between the various climate governance experiments and the international climate negotiations has not been analyzed in enough detail. Against this backdrop, the present article explores the interplay of a business sector climate governance experiment, i.e. the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) with the international climate regime. On the one hand, the article underscores that the GHG Protocol has filled a regulatory gap in global climate policy-making by providing the means for the corporate sector to comprehensively account and report their GHGs. On the other hand, it reveals that the application of the GHG Protocol guidelines depends to a large extent on the existence of an overarching policy framework set up by nation-states at the intergovernmental level. Only if private companies receive a clear political signal that stringent mandatory GHG emission controls and a global market-based instrument are at least likely to be adopted will they put substantial efforts into the accurate measurement and management of their GHGs. Thus, this article points to the limits of climate governance experimentation and suggests that business sector climate governance experiments need to be embedded in a coherent international regulatory setting which generates a clear stimulus for corporate action.}, language = {en} } @article{Hickmann2017, author = {Hickmann, Thomas}, title = {The reconfiguration of authority in global climate governance}, series = {International Studies Review}, volume = {19}, journal = {International Studies Review}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {1521-9488}, doi = {10.1093/isr/vix037}, pages = {430 -- 451}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Much of the literature in the field of international relations is currently concerned with the changing patterns of authority in world politics. This is particularly evident in the policy domain of climate change, where a number of authors have observed a relocation of authority in global climate governance. These scholars claim that multilateral treaty making has lost much of its spark, and they emphasize the emergence of transnational governance arrangements, such as city networks, private certification schemes, and business self-regulation. However, the different types of interactions between the various transnational climate initiatives and the intergovernmental level have not been studied in much detail and only recently attracted growing scholarly interest. Therefore, the present article addresses this issue and focuses on the interplay between three different transnational climate governance arrangements and the international climate regime. The analysis in this article underscores that substate and nonstate actors have attained several authoritative functions in global climate policy making. Nevertheless, the three case studies also demonstrate that this development does not imply that we are witnessing a general shift of authority away from the intergovernmental level toward transnational actors. Instead, what can be observed in global climate governance is an ongoing reconfiguration of authority, which apparently reaffirms the centrality of the international climate regime. Thus, this article points to the need for a more nuanced perspective on the changing patterns of authority in global climate governance. In a nutshell, this study shows that the international climate regime is not the only location where the problem of climate change is addressed, while it highlights the persistent authority of state-based forms of regulation.}, language = {en} } @misc{FuhrHickmannKern2017, author = {Fuhr, Harald and Hickmann, Thomas and Kern, Kristine}, title = {The role of cities in multi-level climate governance}, series = {Current opinion in environmental sustainability}, volume = {30}, journal = {Current opinion in environmental sustainability}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {1877-3435}, doi = {10.1016/j.cosust.2017.10.006}, pages = {1 -- 6}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The past two decades have witnessed widespread scholarly interest in the role of cities in climate policy-making. This research has considerably improved our understanding of the local level in the global response to climate change. The present article synthesizes the literature on local climate policies with respect to the 1.5 degrees C target. While most studies have focused on pioneering cities and networks, we contend that the broader impacts of local climate actions and their relationship to regional, national, and international policy frameworks have not been studied in enough detail. Against this backdrop, we introduce the concept of upscaling and contend that local climate initiatives must go hand in hand with higher-level policies and be better integrated into the multi-level governance system.}, language = {en} } @misc{Hickmann2019, author = {Hickmann, Thomas}, title = {Rezension zu: Andonova, Liliana B: Governance Entrepreneurs: International Organizations and the Rise of Global Public-Private Partnerships. - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. - XI,275 S. - ISBN 978-1-107-16566-3}, series = {Global environmental politics}, volume = {19}, journal = {Global environmental politics}, number = {2}, publisher = {MIT Press}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {1526-3800}, doi = {10.1162/glep_r_00510}, pages = {175 -- 177}, year = {2019}, language = {en} } @article{ElsaesserHickmannStehle2018, author = {Els{\"a}sser, Joshua Philipp and Hickmann, Thomas and Stehle, Fee}, title = {The Role of Cities in South Africa's Energy Gridlock}, series = {Case Studies in the Environment}, volume = {2}, journal = {Case Studies in the Environment}, number = {1}, publisher = {University of California Press}, address = {Oakland}, issn = {2473-9510}, doi = {10.1525/cse.2018.001297}, pages = {1 -- 7}, year = {2018}, abstract = {South Africa's energy sector finds itself in a gridlock situation. The sector is controlled by the state-owned utility Eskom holding the monopoly on the generation and transmission of electricity, which is almost exclusively produced from domestically extracted coal. At the same time, the constitutional mandate enables municipalities to distribute and sell electricity generated by Eskom to local consumers, which constitutes a large part of the cities' municipal income. This is a strong disincentive for city governments to promote reductions in energy consumption and substantially limits the scope for urban action on energy efficiency and renewable energies. In the present case study, we portray the current development in South Africa's energy policy and trace how deadlocked legal, financial, and institutional barriers block the transition from a coal-based energy system toward a greener and more sustainable energy economy. We furthermore point to the efforts of major South African cities to introduce low-carbon strategies in their jurisdictions and highlight key challenges for the future development of the country's energy sector. By engaging with this case study, readers will become familiar with a prime example of the wider phenomenon of national political-economic obstacles to the progress in sustainable urban development.}, language = {en} } @misc{HickmannPartzschPattbergetal.2019, author = {Hickmann, Thomas and Partzsch, Lena and Pattberg, Philipp H. and Weiland, Sabine}, title = {Introduction}, series = {The Anthropocene Debate and Political Science}, journal = {The Anthropocene Debate and Political Science}, number = {1}, publisher = {Routledge}, address = {London}, isbn = {978-1-351-17412-1}, doi = {10.4324/9781351174121}, pages = {1 -- 12}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Over the past decades, it has become more and more obvious that ongoing globalisation processes have substantial impacts on the natural environment. Studies reveal that intensified global economic relations have caused or accelerated dramatic changes in the Earth system, defined as the sum of our planet's interacting physical, chemical, biological and human processes (Schellnhuber et al. 2004). Climate change, biodiversity loss, disrupted biogeochemical cycles, and land degradation are often cited as emblematic problems of global environmental change (Rockstr{\"o}m et al. 2009; Steffen et al. 2015). In this context, the term Anthropocene has lately received widespread attention and gained some prominence in the academic literature}, language = {en} } @article{BansardHickmannKern2019, author = {Bansard, Jennifer S. and Hickmann, Thomas and Kern, Kristine}, title = {Pathways to urban sustainability}, series = {GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society}, volume = {28}, journal = {GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society}, number = {2}, publisher = {Oekom Verlag}, address = {M{\"u}nchen}, issn = {0940-5550}, doi = {10.14512/gaia.28.2.9}, pages = {112 -- 118}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Recent years have seen a considerable broadening of the ambitions in urban sustainability policy-making. With its Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, the 2030 Agenda stresses the critical role of cities in achieving sustainable development. In the context of SDG17 on partnerships, emphasis is also placed on the role of researchers and other scientific actors as change agents in the sustainability transformation. Against this backdrop, this article sheds light on different pathways through which science can contribute to urban sustainability. In particular, we discern four forms of science-policy-society interactions as key vectors: 1. sharing knowledge and providing scientific input to urban sustainability policy-making; 2. implementing transformative research projects; 3. contributing to local capacity building; and 4. self-governing towards sustainability. The pathways of influence are illustrated with empirical examples, and their interlinkages and limitations are discussed. We contend that there are numerous opportunities for actors from the field of sustainability science to engage with political and societal actors to enhance sustainable development at the local level.}, language = {en} } @article{HoehneFuhrHickmannetal.2018, author = {H{\"o}hne, Chris and Fuhr, Harald and Hickmann, Thomas and Lederer, Markus and Stehle, Fee}, title = {REDD plus and the reconfiguration of public authority in the forest sector}, series = {Global Forest Governance and Climate Change}, journal = {Global Forest Governance and Climate Change}, editor = {Nuesiri, Emmanuel O.}, publisher = {Palgrave}, address = {Basingstoke}, isbn = {978-3-319-71946-7}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-71946-7_8}, pages = {203 -- 241}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Since the 1980s, central governments have decentralized forestry to local governments in many countries of the Global South. More recently, REDD+ has started to impact forest policy-making in these countries by providing incentives to ensure a national-level approach to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. H{\"o}hne et al. analyze to what extent central governments have rebuilt capacity at the national level, imposed regulations from above, and interfered in forest management by local governments for advancing REDD+. Using the examples of Brazil and Indonesia, the chapter illustrates that while REDD+ has not initiated a large-scale recentralization in the forestry sector, it has supported the reinforcement and pooling of REDD+ related competences at the central government level.}, language = {en} }