Focus of this thesis is climate policy of the European Union set in the time frame of years 2009 - 2015. Reason for this is that 2009 and 2015 were the years when the future of global climate regime was to be decided. Climate conference COP15 in year 2009 failed to negotiate treaty which would establish meaningful climate regime. COP21 in 2015, however, was successful in facilitating an agreement about future climate regime. The EU claims to be a leader in climate politics, however, what does this term entail and what part did the EU play in creating global climate regime? Did the EU change the operation of its climate policy between 2009 and 2015 and what made the agreement in 2015 possible as opposed to 2009? Thesis aims to answer these questions using analysis of external and inner policy of the EU. Thesis examines changes in the EU climate policy and if they were quantitative (new policies) or qualitative (development of existing policies) and the impact of these changes on global climate regime.

This paper investigates how exposure to extreme weather affects public support for climate policies. I use temperature data from the extreme heatwaves during the summers of 2018 and 2019 and examine whether temperature anomalies affected the results of five German state elections held in the autumn of these years. Using the vote share change of the Green Party as a measure of public support for climate policies, I do not find a general baseline effect of extreme temperatures. When considering possible heterogeneities however, I find that there is a positive effect of temperatures in electoral districts with more employed in the agricultural sector and in electoral districts with more informed voters. The estimated interaction effects are large compared to the mean vote share of the Green Party and the estimates obtained for other parties.

Integrated Assessment Models (IAM)s play a key role in climate policy research; however, many IAMs are limited by their treatment of technological change. This is a particularly vexing limitation because technological change significantly affects the optimal carbon policy. We propose a means of incorporating technological change within the Dynamic Integrated Model of the Climate and Economy (DICE). We modify DICE to allow it to adjust the cost of CO2 abatement based on the demand for solar photovoltaic generating capacity. We find that deployment of solar photovoltaics (PV) is highly sensitive to returns to scale and the grid integration costs associated with PV intermittency. At low returns to scale integration costs cause PV to be deployed in steps, reducing the benefit of scale effects; at higher returns to scale PV is deployed smoothly but is arrested integration costs become significant; and when returns are high PV becomes so inexpensive that it’s deployed widely in spite of integration costs. The implication of this behavior is that the optimal allocation of research and development resources depends on returns to scale in the solar market: if returns to scale are low, R&D should focus on PV itself, while if they’re high, R&D should focus on reducing integration costs.

A comparative assessment of market-based climate policy instruments –carbon tax vs. ETS– for emission reduction in the Mexican electricity sector is presented. Model-based scenarios of different tax and cap levels were simulated on an existing Balmorel partial equilibrium model populated with data from the Mexican electricity system. The simulation results served to compare the performance of both instruments according to economic criteria. The analysis was further developed with the empirical evidence obtained from international experiences with both instruments, allowing to conclude on the first-best normative instrument based on an economic approach. The assessment was complemented with a political feasibility perspective, through the development of an on-line survey and in-depth interviews with representatives of the relevant stakeholder groups within the country. The first-best instrument was not favoured by the stakeholders, but the study allowed to hint a second-best alternative with a better probability of being fully implemented. The results of this project are useful to guide the necessary debate surrounding the selection of the most appropriate carbon-pricing mechanism for emissions reduction in the country, in particular in the electricity sector. A wide-coverage carbon tax with no exemptions and with revenue-recycling mechanisms, gradually increasing to 15 USD/tCO2 would be the first-best instrument from the economic perspective. However, when complementing the analysis with the political feasibility perspective, the most appropriate instrument for emissions reduction in the Mexican electricity sector is an emissions trading system with the cap set as the conditional target of the INDCs, with auctioned allowance allocation and an auctioning floor-price, set at a similar but lower value than the equivalent carbon tax. Such an instrument is in line with the priorities of the stakeholder groups and would generate a stable price signal, allowing for the earmarking of carbon revenue, and would avoid exempting natural gas from carbon pricing.

Energy generation and use is one of the main contributors to climate change, as it is responsible for two thirds of the global greenhouse gas emissions (IEA 2015). In this context, renewable energies (RE) are increasingly gaining momentum as a key driver for the transition towards a low-carbon society (REN21 2016) and a source of technological and social innovation. The deployment of RE and its integration in large-scale power generation systems has been progressively driven by supportive policy frameworks adopted by pioneering countries such as Germany, Spain and France. This has subsequently fostered a process of learning and spreading of policies between leading countries and other governments willing to implement RE support schemes. Within the field of comparative public policy, different but interrelated approaches of the phenomenon of policy spreading have been developed, among which the most rehearsed are policy diffusion, policy transfer, policy convergence and lesson-drawing. The present study addresses a specific case of policy transfer between Germany-Spain and Peru for the implementation in the latter of a policy framework to foster the development of RE technologies (Legislative Decree 1002) in 2008, and the subsequent adoption of a support policy mechanism, Renewable Auctions (RA) in 2009. The assessment of the policy transfer process has been carried out by applying the Dolowitz and Marsh Model (Dolowitz and Marsh 1996, 2000). Furthermore, an exploratory analysis of the impacts of the policy transfer process in the development of the Peruvian Solar PV technology innovation system has been conducted in order to assess the outcomes of the policy transfer process in terms of RE technological deployment in the country, tackling Solar PV as the RE technology in focus. For this purpose, a simplified adaptation of the technology innovation system framework (TIS) developed by Hekkert et al. 2007 and Bergek et al 2008 has been employed. The results of the study show that the transfer of knowledge related to RE policy-making involved both voluntary and coercive causes. The drivers for the occurrence of policy transfer were the pressure exerted by a foreigner actor (US) for the enforcement of the RE policy framework (LD 1002) in Peru and the institutional support provided by a “convinced bureaucrat” (the former Vice Minister of Energy). The choice of adopting RA instead of other instruments such as  Feed-in-tariffs or Feed-in-premiums is related to the know-how of the country in terms of infrastructure investments and its traditional “modus-operandi”, the availability of natural and financial resources within the country, the perception of technical and financial risks, the negative lessons drawn from the experiences of Spain and Germany regarding the implementation of FITs, and the current state of development of the global RE sector. The policy transfer process has contributed to the development of some components of the Peruvian Solar PV innovation system. From a structural point of view, it has triggered a diversification of the actors involved, mainly driven by the incorporation of large foreign companies specialized in RE, as well as conventional energy companies that have diversified their core activities towards RE. From a dynamic perspective, the implementation of RA has promoted the increase in Solar PV installed capacity and its contribution to the electricity mix, promoting chiefly the function of market formation.

Urban regeneration plays a significant role in the creation of climate-friendly urban areas. Urban regeneration strategies such as (1) the creation of open spaces and green infrastructure, (2) the effective use of inner-city land, (3) changes in land-use structure and elements through regeneration of inner-city areas, and (4) changes in building stock through retrofitting existing buildings and the construction of green buildings can all help with climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. Many cities throughout the world have enacted urban regeneration policies, plans, and programmes, highlighting the significance of implementing climate measures into urban regeneration policies and initiatives at the supranational, national, regional, and municipal levels. The government of the Republic of Korea has made urban regeneration a primary priority, investing a significant amount of public funds in the process. Korea's urban regeneration initiative has made tremendous progress, with projects in numerous cities around the country currently underway. However, Korea's urban regeneration rarely takes up the opportunities to incorporate climate measures into its policy and plans. As a result of these fragmented policy approaches, both urban regeneration and climate change policies may become inefficient in terms of inefficient budget execution and staff management. Although recent Korean studies have emphasised the significance of incorporating climate change measures into urban regeneration areas, these studies do not provide empirical evidence of specific institutional hurdles and only provide a limited amount of recommendations for successful climate policy integration in urban regeneration policies and plans. According to the literature on environmental policy integration and climate mainstreaming in worldwide academic discussion, there is a lack of empirical information on the factors that influence policy implementation phases. Identification of variables influencing the integration of climate change policies into urban regeneration—at both the policy development and implementation stages—is crucial to understanding effective climate policy integration in this policy domain. The goals of this dissertation are to (1) investigate the current urban regeneration process and how it incorporates climate measures, (2) identify the relevant internal and external factors that influence the integration of climate measures into urban regeneration policy during the policy development and implementation stages, and (3) identify implementation gaps in the integration of climate measures into urban regeneration projects during the policy development and implementation stages. This study develops a conceptual framework based on earlier studies that examine (1) the assessment of climate policy integration levels and (2) the factors that influence climate policy integration across policy domains. This dissertation takes a qualitative case study method, integrating content analysis, process tracing, and document analysis with data from semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholder representatives, as well as a collection of relevant documents. Seoul was chosen as the case study area because it is a densely populated city with active urban regeneration and climate change policies. The case study provides empirical evidence of relevant factors for the climate policy integration in urban regeneration for cities that are pursuing successful integration of climate measures into urban regeneration policy. Throughout the policy cycle, this study gives a detailed list of internal and external factors that influence the incorporation of climate measures into urban regeneration. Political factors, organisational factors, and resources are critical factors in both policy development and policy implementation, as previous studies have shown. However, in the policy development and policy implementation stages, this dissertation studies more detailed aspects within these categories and examines them closely by categorising them into internal and external factors. According to existing research in this field, implementation gaps are caused by a lack of sustained political support and cooperation among key stakeholders, rather than a lack of knowledge or financial resources. Other factors related to implementation gaps, such as (1) a lack/absence of information about climate measures, (2) residents' pecuniary focus, (3) public awareness and support, and (4) spatial issues such as lack of facilities/spaces for adopting climate measures, are all significant impacts in the case study of Seoul. This study suggests that sharing information and research about the effectiveness of climate measures is a good place to start when it comes to improving the level of climate policy integration in urban regeneration policies; urban regeneration stakeholders should have enough information on potential climate measure strategies that can be integrated into urban regeneration projects, as well as the benefits of doing so for the neighbourhood (e.g. climate-related businesses which support community cooperation and profit generation, community-based climate activities, and more diverse ways of measuring the success of climate measures in order to educate the public better).:1. Introduction 1.1. Research background 1.2. Research questions and design 1.3. Structure 2. Theoretical/conceptual background 2.1. Responses to climate change 2.2. Concept of urban regeneration 2.3. Background of environmental/climate policy integration and mainstreaming 2.4. International trends and academic discussions on the opportunities for climate policy integration in urban regeneration 2.5. Factors for the climate policy integration in urban regeneration in the policy cycle 2.5.1. Structure of the climate policy integration 2.5.2. Detailed factors of the climate policy integration 2.5.3. The level of climate policy integration in different stages of the policy cycle 2.6. Developing an analytical concept 2.7. Research gaps regarding factors affecting climate policy integration along the policy cycle 2.8. Formulating research questions 3. Research design and methods 3.1. Research design 3.2. Selection of study areas 3.3. Data collection and analysis methods 4. Exploring the context: Seoul and its neighbourhoods 4.1. Seoul 4.1.1. Features of Seoul and evolution of urban regeneration in Seoul 4.1.2. Climate change issues 4.1.3. Characteristics of residential areas in Seoul 4.2. Features of study areas in Seoul 4.2.1. Jangwi-dong 4.2.2. Sangdo 4-dong 4.2.3. Amsa-dong 4.2.4. Garibong-dong 5. Urban regeneration and climate change policies in Korea 5.1. Urban regeneration policy and plan at national, city, and community levels 5.1.1. Urban regeneration policy in Korea 5.1.2. Urban regeneration policy and plan in Seoul 5.1.3. Neighbourhood urban regeneration plans 5.1.4. Process and stakeholders of urban regeneration at national, city, and community levels 5.2. Climate change policy at different levels in Korea 5.2.1. Climate change policy at national level 5.2.2. Climate change policy at city level 5.2.3. Climate change plan at community level 5.3. Integration of climate measures in the process of urban regeneration 5.3.1. Level of the integration of climate measures in urban regeneration policy at national level 5.3.2. Level of the integration of climate measures in urban regeneration policy at city level 5.3.3. Level of the integration of climate measures in urban regeneration plan at community level 5.4. Summary 6. Policy development: Internal and external factors to integrate climate measures into urban regeneration policy 6.1. Internal factors 6.1.1. Political factors 6.1.2. Organisational factors 6.1.3. Resources 6.1.4. Cognitive factors 6.1.5. Characterisation of the problem at hand 6.2. External factors 6.2.1. Public awareness and support 6.2.2. Lack of private sector support 6.3. Relevant factors and gaps regarding factors in the conceptual framework 6.4. Discussion 7. Policy implementation: internal and external factors to integrate climate measures into urban regeneration projects 7.1. Internal factors 7.1.1. Political factors 7.1.2. Organisational factors 7.1.3. Resources 7.1.4. Cognitive factors 7.1.5. Characterisation of the problems/opportunities at hand 7.2. External factors 7.2.1. Residents’ support 7.2.2. Characterisation of the problem at hand 7.2.3. Lack of private sector support 7.2.4. Cognitive factors 7.3. Relevant factors and gaps regarding factors in the conceptual framework 7.4. Discussion and implementation gaps between policy development and policy implementation 8. Conclusions: recommendations to enhance the level of integration of climate measures into urban regeneration 8.1. Synthesis of the dissertation 8.2. Limitations of the research and further research 8.3. Implications for academic discussion and practices 8.4. Recommendations 8.5. Overall conclusion References Appendix

The purpose of this study is to critically examine how the problem of “climate change” is constructed in Stockholm’s climate policy and what underlying assumptions that those problematizations are built upon. The study also explores what is silenced in the problem representation and what potential effects (subject positions) it generates. The interrogation of the policy is made using Carol Bacchi’s approach “What’s the problem represented to be?” (WPR) which is a Foucault-influenced poststructural way of conducting discourse analysis. The study shows how 1) climate change is characterized as a unique opportunity for Stockholm to take the lead in sustainable development, 2) climate change is understood to be about pragmatic emission control and changing energy sources and 3) climate change is seen to be “locked” within the current frames that constitutes our society. Further the study reveals how the policy is underpinned by a neoliberal governmentality that aims to reinforce a sustainable growth discourse. Within this discourse, growth is seen as an inevitable and essential goal for sustainability to be achieved, climate change action is voluntary and urban governance foremost aims to inspire through clear objectives and goals. As a result, people are portrayed as rational, innovative and morally determined consumers. The study provides policy makers and researchers with alternative perspectives on problem representations and proposals in urban climate change governance.

Climate change is a critical global problem requiring urgent action. Despite international efforts, problems remain in finding the solutions to tackle a changing climate and for countries to take climate action. Identifying (in)coherence between the domestic and foreign realms of climate policy is an important component for understanding these problems. For this purpose, this thesis investigates the similarities and disparities between domestic and foreign climate policy in Colombia between 2018 and 2022. By analyzing the framing of stakeholders and equity within the four primary climate policy documents for this time period, this investigation provides a novel perspective for understanding climate policy (in)coherence in the Colombian context. Aligning the analytical framework with the Neodesarrollismo model and the CBDR- RC principle, the analysis reveals similarities and disparities in how stakeholders are framed in domestic and foreign climate policy, but also incoherent components within the same policies. Domestic policy spotlights economic benefits and portrays extractive industries as both a challenge and an opportunity, while foreign policy urges a global shift away from these sectors. Nevertheless, the findings indicate that Colombia prioritizes economic growth over equity and stakeholder engagement, especially inclusion of societal stakeholders. The investigation reveals significant dissonance between policy narratives and action, both between and within domestic and foreign climate policy.

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This study examines the coverage of the United Arab Emirates’ National Climate Change Plan in Al Khaleej, one of the major Arabic daily newspapers in the country, by analysing a selection of articles covering this plan using analytical concepts and methods from CDA and drawing upon theories of media framing and green growth and green economy. The results show that the Climate Plan is presented as a metaphoric unifier of existing climate policies and a tool to promote the UAE as a pioneer in renewables. The issue of climate change in general is framed as a challenge to economic growth, but a challenge that can be overcome through technological innovation and redirecting the economy.