From Governance Experiments to Low-Carbon Transformations:The Political Institutionalization of Climate Change Mitigation in Emerging Economies (extension)

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This is an application for a 12-month extension to the ongoing DFG-funded research project “Institutionalization of Low Carbon Development in the Global South” (INLOCADE). Our research question is: Under what conditions does climate change mitigation become politically institutionalized in the high-carbon intensive sectors of energy and agriculture at the subnational government level of democratic emerging economies? While many aspects of our research design have proven helpful, our current findings based on a literature review and historical analysis on institutionalization in the Global South (currently both under review) point to necessary amendments: (1) We need to include the conditions of discourses and power relations as they appear to be highly relevant for the project cases we identified, while at the same time only a few studies related to the institutionalization of low carbon development tackle these issues – let alone in conjunction with each other. (2) The first assessments of relevant cases and their effects on political institutionalization have shown the need to adopt a more complex comparative approach than assumed in the original application. To adequately identify relevant conditions requires a consecutive assessment of the institutionalization of these projects as well as of their (single and conjunct) effects on the political institutionalization of climate change mitigation at the subnational level. Additionally, instead of carrying out one comprehensive Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), we will conduct QCA for all four outcome dimensions (rhetoric, organization, policy, and implementation). Since the start of INLCODE in 2021, we have developed four extensive country-based project databases, specified the conceptual framework, and adjusted the methodological approach. However, due to the disruptions and travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in our four case study countries (Brazil, India, Indonesia, and South Africa), we had to postpone our field research from fall 2021 by more than one year. As the entire project is largely dependent on empirical insights, we have carried out extensive desk study research and contracted local project assistants to support us in identifying relevant case studies. We are now planning to conduct field trips to all four countries in late 2022/early 2023. This will shift the entire timeframe, implying that we will conduct the single case and comparative analyses in 2023. Extending the project for 12 months will allow us to include the necessary conceptual amendments mentioned above and conduct the subsequent QCA, which is a core aspect and innovative part of our research project. It will also enable us to codify a mix of individual cases and identify common patterns across cases, systematically compare the single case studies, and identify the significance of a larger number of conditions for the institutionalization of climate change mitigation.