Durable by Design? : Policy Feedback in a Changing Climate

This book provides a systematic analysis of the determinants of climate policy durability, exploring how key climate policies have shaped their own durability and ability to stimulate supportive politics in society. Combining state-of-the-art policy theories with accounts of landmark political events, it is ideal for researchers and policy-makers.

Following the landmark Paris agreement, policy makers are under pressure to adopt policies that rapidly deliver deep, society-wide decarbonisation. Deep decarbonisation requires more durable policies, but not enough is known about if and how they actually emerge. This book provides the first systematic analysis of the determinants of policy durability in three high-profile areas: biofuel production, car transport, and industrial emissions. It breaks new ground by exploring how key European Union climate policies have shaped their own durability and their ability to stimulate supportive political dynamics in society. It combines state-of-the-art policy theories with empirical accounts of landmark political events such as ''Dieselgate'' and the campaign against ''dirty'' biofuels, to offer a fresh understanding of how and why policy makers set about packaging together different elements of policy. By shining new light on an important area of contemporary policy making, it reveals a rich agenda for academic researchers and policy makers.