Arenas of Power in Climate Change Policymaking

This article investigates the potential linkage between particular policy design ideas and distinctive patterns of politics and power relations. The research examines a sequence of four cases involving the use of the cap-and-trade policy design principally to combat global climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Through the lens of arenas of power framework, the comparative case analysis suggests the existence of consistent linkages between particular cap-and-trade design ideas, and distinct patterns of political conflict and empowerment. The article concludes with a brief consideration of what the findings suggest about the national politics of climate change policymaking in the United States in the near term, and more important, an assessment of the implications for the further development and refinement of policy theory.