Summary of literature on NGOs and climate change

[Henrik Selin]

Hello All,
 
Raul’s recent e-mail had me realize that I never sent a summary of all the proposed texts on NGOs and climate change – sorry!
 
Better late than never, here’s the list. In addition, there was a very spirited debate which I’m not summarizing here (is available in the gep-ed archives).
 
Also, I’m teaching a new seminar course on the science and politics of climate change this semester. I would be happy to send the syllabus for that course to anyone that is teaching similar issues and is interested in seeing how I have organized my course.
 
Best,
Henrik
 
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You might want to look at the contents of books from the Project on Environmental Change and Foreign Policy. A few have a lot to say about NGOs. I nformation can be found here (sorry, the website is still very rough around the edges!): http://www.ln.edu.hk/projects/ecfp/Home (click on "publications" and browse the contents and associated abstracts)

Betsill, M. M. 2001. Mitigating Climate Change in US Cities: opportunities and obstacles. Local Environment, 6(4): 393406.

Betsill, M. M. & Bulkeley, H. 2004. Transnational networks and global environmental governance: the Cities for Climate Protection program. International Studies Quarterly.

Newell, P. 2000. Climate for change: Non-state actors and the global politics of the greenhouse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Newell, P. 2001. Environmental NGOs, TNCs, and the question of governance. In D. Stevis & V. J. Assetto (Eds.), The international political economy of the environment. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
 
Lars H. Grundbrandsen and Steinar Andresen: NGO Influence in the Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol: Compliance, Flexibility Mechanisms, and Sinks. Global Environmental Politics 4:4, Nov 2004, 54-75.
 
Betsill, Michele M. 2002. Environmental NGOs Meet the Sovereign State: The Kyoto Protocol Negotiations on Global Climate Change. Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy 13 (1): 49-64.

Shackley, Clair Gough and Simon. 2001. The Respectable Politics of Climate Change: The Epistemic Communities and NGOs. International Affairs 77 (2): 329-345.

Raustiala, Kal. 2001. Nonstate Actors in the Global Climate Regime. In International Relations and Global Climate Change, edited by U. Luterbacher and D. F. Sprinz, 95-118. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Duwe, Matthias. 2001. The Climate Action Network: global civil society at work? Reciel 10 (2): 1-14.

Corell, Elisabeth, and Michele M. Betsill. 2001. A Comparative Look at NGO Influence in International Environmental Negotiations: Desertification and Climate Change. Global Environmental Politics 1 (4): 86-107.

Carpenter, Chad. 2001. Businesses, Green Groups and the Media: The Role of Non-Governmental Organizations in the Climate Change Debate. International Affairs 77 (2): 313-328.

Kellow, Aynsley. 2000. Norms, Interests and Environmental NGOs: The Limits of Cosmopolitanism. Environmental Politics 9 (3): 1-22.
 
As the title suggests, the book I co-edited with Gary Bryner last year ("Science and Politics in the International Environment," Rowman and Littlefield, 2004) looked specifically at the relationship between science and policy making in international environmental issues. One of our conclusions in the final chapter is that NGOs have little influence on science or policy beyond getting the issue on the international agenda. In only one issue (the formation and management of a US-Mexican biosphere reserve) were NGOs evidently active and influential beyond issue recognition. It may be that scholars who look for the influence of NGOs see more of it (and rate it a more significant influence on policy outcomes) than those who look generally at the issue. The authors of the case studies (many of whom are not political scientists) did not specifically seek out the influence of NGOs but looked holistically at the history of the issue. The 10 cases (on issues as varied as mad cow disease in Europe, climate change, dioxins in the Arctic, acid rain, global forest policy, and watershed management) are specifically written for use in class and are rich in detailed data on events and actors. To encourage student participation and discussion they do not draw specific conclusions on each case. The final chapter considers the usefulness of current theories on science-policy interactions and find them all wanting. Gary and I suggest some routes for new theoretical development. Cheers: Neil Harrison,SDI/UW
 
For interesting work on the "anti" side, i would suggest the work of aaron mccright . . . cheers, craig k harris

McCright, Aaron M., and Riley E. Dunlap. 2003. "Defeating Kyoto: The
Conservative Movement's Impact on U.S. Climate Change Policy." Social
Problems 50(3): 348-373.

McCright, Aaron M., and Riley E. Dunlap. 2000. "Challenging Global Warming
as a Social Problem: An Analysis of the Conservative Movement's
Counter-Claims." Social Problems 47(4): 499-522.
 
One of the chapters (chapter 5, Science and the Global Environment) in Stephen Bocking's NATURE'S EXPERTS: SCIENCE, POLITICS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT (Rutgers U.P., November 2004) will be helpful to those following this thread. There is also an index term for "environmental organizations.” -- Geoffrey Wandesforde-Smith