Toward a global coal mining moratorium? A comparative analysis of coal mining policies in the USA, China, India and Australia
Toward a global coal mining moratorium? A comparative analysis of coal mining policies in the USA, China, India and Australia
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DOI：
10.1007/s10584-017-2135-5
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发表时间：
2018-09-01
期刊：
影响因子：
4.8
通讯作者：
Van de Graaf, Thijs
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Blondeel, Mathieu;Van de Graaf, Thijs
为了将全球变暖控制在2摄氏度以下，世界上大部分的化石燃料储备将不得不留在地下。煤炭是不可使用比例最大的化石燃料，各种倡导团体正在为禁止开设新煤矿而奔走。最近，中国和美国都暂停批准新的煤矿开采租约。本文探讨了这些煤炭开采禁令是否反映了将煤炭保留在地下的全球规范的出现。为此，我们回顾了四个最大的煤炭生产国最近的煤炭开采政策，并根据利益，思想和制度的框架进行了比较解释。我们发现，将煤炭保留在地下的规范基本上仍然存在争议。即使在那些已经采取某种形式的煤炭开采禁令的国家，禁令也可以很容易地被撤销，或者已经被撤销。在某种程度上，将煤炭保留在地下的规范具有动力，这主要是由于非气候原因：中国的暂停主要是产业政策的一个例子（旨在保护中国煤炭公司及其工人免受产能过剩和低价格的影响），而美国的租赁限制主要是出于对财政正义的担忧。我们没有发现规范内化的证据，这意味着新兴规范未能在相关国家行为者和其他（大型）煤炭生产国中获得太多牵引力。如果暂停的支持者成功地从非气候的角度来看待这个问题，他们应该有更大的机会建立支持这一规范的国内政治联盟。
To stop global warming at well below 2 degrees C, the bulk of the world's fossil fuel reserves will have to be left in the ground. Coal is the fossil fuel with the greatest proportion that cannot be used, and various advocacy groups are campaigning for a ban on the opening of new coal mines. Recently, both China and the USA implemented temporary moratoria on the approval of new coal mining leases. This article examines whether these coal mining bans reflect the emergence of a global norm to keep coal under the ground. To that end, we review recent coal mining policies in the four largest coal producers and explain them comparatively with a framework based on interests, ideas and institutions. We find that the norm of keeping coal in the ground remains essentially contested. Even in those countries that have introduced some form of a coal mining moratorium, the ban can easily be, or has already been, reversed. To the extent that the norm of keeping coal in the ground has momentum, it is primarily due to non-climate reasons: the Chinese moratorium was mostly an instance of industrial policy (aiming to protect Chinese coal companies and their workers from the overcapacity and low prices that are hitting the industry), while the USA's lease restrictions were mainly motivated by concerns over fiscal justice. We do not find evidence of norm internalisation, which means that the emerging norm fails to gain much traction amid relevant national actors and other (large) coal producing states. If proponents of a moratorium succeed in framing the issue in non-climate terms, they should have a greater chance of building domestic political coalitions in favour of the norm.