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Material Information

Title:
Barriers to the Implementation of Climate Change Adaptation Policies the Case of Switzerland
Creator:
Johann Dupuis
Peter Knoepfel
Disaster Risk Reduction Program, Florida International University (DRR/FIU) ( summary contributor )
Publisher:
Institut de Hautes Études en Administration Publique (IDHEAP)—Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration
Publication Date:
Copyright Date:
2011
Language:
English

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Climate change ( lcshac )
Genre:
non-fiction ( marcgt )
Spatial Coverage:
Europe -- Switzerland

Notes

Summary:
This article explores how the perceptions of political actors may hinder the implementation of climate change adaptation (CCA) policies in developed countries. It examines the case of Switzerland through the employment of computer-aided textual analysis, which has many similarities to the content analysis method. The article argues that the importance of political actors’ perceptions has been greatly ignored in the discussion of the various barriers to climate change adaptation policymaking. The existing literature has focused primarily on the uncertainty of scientific knowledge, the unavailability of suitable technologies, the cost-benefit ratio of adaptation measures, the lack of economic resources, and the weakness of state institutions (p.3), as primary reasons for a lack of sustainable progress towards CCA. The authors develop three hypotheses on why climate change adaptation is not taken as seriously as the mitigation issue in Switzerland. First, the general public assigns a low importance to the climate change problem vis-à-vis other more local environmental problems such as water pollution. Conversely, decision-makers believe that the risks posed by climate change at the local level are negligible. Second, party partisanship matters: while left political parties attach more importance to climate change adaptation, rightist parties largely ignore the problem. In this regard, the values of political ecology and the acceptance of state interventionism shape the preferences of political parties. Third, the internationalization of climate change issue affects the extent to which Swiss politicians take adaptation seriously. After the execution of a computer-aided textual analysis of Swiss parliamentarians (1993-2009), the study found wide support for the first two hypotheses: that focus on local environmental problems likely distracts from local CCA efforts; and that support for CCA is related to a politician’s position on the left-right political spectrum. If decision-makers do not see local impacts of climate change as important, they are less likely to pay attention to adaptation policies. The textual analysis also found that politicians on the left side of the political spectrum were more likely to be involved in policymaking concerning adaptation issues. And lastly, the authors contend that the effect of climate change on the most vulnerable populations is another important topic that requires further research. ( English,English )
Subject:
Climate Change Adaptation
Citation/Reference:
Dupuis, J., Knoepfel, P. (2011). Barriers to the implementation of climate change adaptation policies: the case of Switzerland. Institut de Hautes Études en Administration Publique (IDHEAP)—Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration.

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Source Institution:
Florida International University
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