Vegard Tørstad

The Enduring Credibility Challenge of Long-Term Global Environmental Policy

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

After Reform: Procedural Fairness and the Legitimacy of International Institutions

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Does distributive conflict explain variation in green stimulus spending? Evidence from 40 major economies during the Global Financial Crisis and the Covid-19 recession

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Ambition Trap: How Overpromising on Climate Action Could Undermine the Paris Agreement

Thu, 01 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Macroeconomic crises and green recovery spending: Introducing the CLIMREC dataset

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Commitment Ambiguity and Ambition in Climate Pledges

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Economic recessions and decarbonisation: analysing green stimulus spending in Canada and the US

Wed, 01 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Can Transparency Strengthen the Legitimacy of International Institutions? Evidence from the UN Security Council

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Mobilizing non-state actors for climate action through the global stocktake

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The Relative Effectiveness of Overlapping International Institutions: EU versus UN Regulations of Air Pollution

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Climate Politics During Recessions - Examining Drivers of a Green Economic Recovery

Thu, 19 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement will require net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and substantial reductions before then. Yet not only are current emissions reductions far from fulfilling these ambitious goals, but concurrent public health and economic crises—the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn—are threatening to detract policymakers from decarbonization efforts.

Research suggests recessions induce individuals and governments alike to prioritize renewed economic growth over climate. However, recessions also provide a potential for green growth. For example, governments could stimulate the economy through investments in emissions-free infrastructure (e.g., railways), electrification of road transport (charging stations), imposing strict requirements on new buildings’ energy efficiency, and more renewable energy. CLIMREC will map the extent to which climate is prioritized in major emitters’ efforts to rebuild their economies in the aftermath of Covid-19.

CLIMREC fills both an empirical and a theoretical void in the climate policy literature. The project will combine comparative studies of all G20 countries’ economic stimulus packages with detailed studies of eight economies across a range of GDP levels (Canada, China, Germany, India, Mexico, South-Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States). We conjecture that two factors are particularly helpful for explaining why some countries’ stimulus packages prioritize climate stronger than do those of other countries. The first is the relative strength of different domestic interest groups. The second is the extent to which the countries’ political system admits influence from interest groups. We expect that giving priority to decarbonization in stimulus packages to be least likely in countries with (1) relatively open access for interest groups to political processes and (2) strong organized interests in the oil, natural gas, or coal sectors.

Participation, ambition and compliance: can the Paris Agreement solve the effectiveness trilemma?

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The domestic politics of international climate commitments: which factors explain cross-country variation in NDC ambition?

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Fairness conceptions and self-determined mitigation ambition under the Paris Agreement: Is there a relationship?

Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Terms

Thu, 28 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0100

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Fairness in the climate negotiations: what explains variation in parties’ expressed conceptions?

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000