Climate Policy Changes in Germany and Japan: A Path to Paradigmatic Policy Change

Rie Watanabe

Apr 2012 · Taylor & Francis

About this ebook

Climate Policy Changes in Germany and Japan compares two decades of climate policy development in Germany and Japan. It examines whether there is any difference between the types and levels of policy change in the two countries, and, if so, what factors account for the difference. Using a comparison of climate policy changes in Germany and Japan from 1987 to 2005 as a basis, it also discusses the effectiveness and the limits of existing theories of policy change and policy process, most notably the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), Punctuated Equilibrium Approach and Multiple Stream Approach, and explores the theoretical question as to how long-term, paradigmatic policy change takes place. The book lastly presents a hypothetical model of the mechanisms of paradigmatic policy change.

The two countries form a useful comparative approach to the issue of climate change. They represent the range of types and levels of changes in policies to control CO2 emissions in the industrial and energy sectors (dependent variables), while also demonstrating similarities in a number of independent variables: the size and structure of their economies; their shares in global GHG emissions; their general policy-making styles, including strong administrative systems and close relationships between ministries and industries; and their general environmental policies.

Climate Policy Changes in Germany and Japan will be of interest to students and scholars of environmental and comparative politics.

About the author

Rie Watanabe is a political scientist with expertise in policy process theory, comparative political studies, German and Japanese, as well as international climate policy. She received her bachelor and master degrees of law from the University of Tokyo, Japan, and completed her PhD at the Free University of Berlin, Germany. After having worked at several international environmental research institutes, and having been a member of several governmental committees in Japan, she is currently working as Associate Professor at the University of the Niigata Prefecture, Japan and affiliated with the Environmental Policy Research Centre of the Free University of Berlin, Germany.