Re-examining policy stability in climate adaptation through a lock-in perspective

Lisanne Groen; Meghan Alexander; Julie P. King; Nicolas W. Jager; Dave Huitema

doi:10.1080/13501763.2022.2064535

Re-examining policy stability in climate adaptation through a lock-in perspective

Lisanne Groen^*, Meghan Alexander, Julie P. King, Nicolas W. Jager, Dave Huitema

^*Corresponding author for this work

Environmental Policy Analysis

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Responding to current and future climate change demands urgent, transformative adaptation, yet in many policy systems inaction continues to prevail. This paper examines apparent resistance to policy change and the persistence of business-as-usual through a ‘lock-in perspective’, which means that attention is paid to how reinforcing mechanisms drive stabilisation and resistance in policy systems. Offering a fresh synthesis of known lock-in mechanisms in the literature, this paper explores the role of those mechanisms in two empirical cases of coastal adaptation: England (U.K.) and Schleswig-Holstein (Germany). While several known lock-mechanisms are observable, some are newly identified in this adaptation context. We offer a critical reflection on the added value of the lock-in perspective for understanding policy stability. In turn, the identification of self- and mutually reinforcing mechanisms provides a much-needed foundation for targeted policy interventions and efforts to ‘unlock’ climate adaptation pathways.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	488-512
Number of pages	25
Journal	Journal of European Public Policy
Volume	30
Issue number	3
Early online date	11 May 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2022.2064535
Publication status	Published - 2023

Bibliographical note

Special Issue: Climate policy: from complexity to consensus? Guest Editors: Elin Lerum Boasson and Michaël Tatham.

Funding Information:
This work was supported, under the Open Research Area (ORA) programme, by the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek [grant 464.18.101]; the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [grant 396892926]; and the Economic and Social Research Council [grant ES/S015264/1]. We want to thank the editors of this Special Issue and our team members in the ‘Adapt Lock-in’ project for their helpful suggestions.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Funding

This work was supported, under the Open Research Area (ORA) programme, by the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek [grant 464.18.101]; the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [grant 396892926]; and the Economic and Social Research Council [grant ES/S015264/1]. We want to thank the editors of this Special Issue and our team members in the ‘Adapt Lock-in’ project for their helpful suggestions.

Funders	Funder number
Economic and Social Research Council	ES/S015264/1
Economic and Social Research Council
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft	396892926
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek	464.18.101
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek

Keywords

climate change adaptation
coastal management
Dynamic policy stability
lock-in mechanisms
path dependence
policy feedback

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1080/13501763.2022.2064535

Persistent URL (handle)

Copy link address

Cite this

@article{4f5138f6e54140388c336af8e4c3c7c1,

title = "Re-examining policy stability in climate adaptation through a lock-in perspective",

abstract = "Responding to current and future climate change demands urgent, transformative adaptation, yet in many policy systems inaction continues to prevail. This paper examines apparent resistance to policy change and the persistence of business-as-usual through a {\textquoteleft}lock-in perspective{\textquoteright}, which means that attention is paid to how reinforcing mechanisms drive stabilisation and resistance in policy systems. Offering a fresh synthesis of known lock-in mechanisms in the literature, this paper explores the role of those mechanisms in two empirical cases of coastal adaptation: England (U.K.) and Schleswig-Holstein (Germany). While several known lock-mechanisms are observable, some are newly identified in this adaptation context. We offer a critical reflection on the added value of the lock-in perspective for understanding policy stability. In turn, the identification of self- and mutually reinforcing mechanisms provides a much-needed foundation for targeted policy interventions and efforts to {\textquoteleft}unlock{\textquoteright} climate adaptation pathways.",

keywords = "climate change adaptation, coastal management, Dynamic policy stability, lock-in mechanisms, path dependence, policy feedback",

author = "Lisanne Groen and Meghan Alexander and King, {Julie P.} and Jager, {Nicolas W.} and Dave Huitema",

note = "Special Issue: Climate policy: from complexity to consensus? Guest Editors: Elin Lerum Boasson and Micha{\"e}l Tatham. Funding Information: This work was supported, under the Open Research Area (ORA) programme, by the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek [grant 464.18.101]; the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [grant 396892926]; and the Economic and Social Research Council [grant ES/S015264/1]. We want to thank the editors of this Special Issue and our team members in the {\textquoteleft}Adapt Lock-in{\textquoteright} project for their helpful suggestions. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.",

year = "2023",

doi = "10.1080/13501763.2022.2064535",

language = "English",

volume = "30",

pages = "488--512",

journal = "Journal of European Public Policy",

issn = "1350-1763",

publisher = "Routledge",

number = "3",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Re-examining policy stability in climate adaptation through a lock-in perspective

AU - Groen, Lisanne

AU - Alexander, Meghan

AU - King, Julie P.

AU - Jager, Nicolas W.

AU - Huitema, Dave

N1 - Special Issue: Climate policy: from complexity to consensus? Guest Editors: Elin Lerum Boasson and Michaël Tatham. Funding Information: This work was supported, under the Open Research Area (ORA) programme, by the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek [grant 464.18.101]; the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [grant 396892926]; and the Economic and Social Research Council [grant ES/S015264/1]. We want to thank the editors of this Special Issue and our team members in the ‘Adapt Lock-in’ project for their helpful suggestions. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Responding to current and future climate change demands urgent, transformative adaptation, yet in many policy systems inaction continues to prevail. This paper examines apparent resistance to policy change and the persistence of business-as-usual through a ‘lock-in perspective’, which means that attention is paid to how reinforcing mechanisms drive stabilisation and resistance in policy systems. Offering a fresh synthesis of known lock-in mechanisms in the literature, this paper explores the role of those mechanisms in two empirical cases of coastal adaptation: England (U.K.) and Schleswig-Holstein (Germany). While several known lock-mechanisms are observable, some are newly identified in this adaptation context. We offer a critical reflection on the added value of the lock-in perspective for understanding policy stability. In turn, the identification of self- and mutually reinforcing mechanisms provides a much-needed foundation for targeted policy interventions and efforts to ‘unlock’ climate adaptation pathways.

AB - Responding to current and future climate change demands urgent, transformative adaptation, yet in many policy systems inaction continues to prevail. This paper examines apparent resistance to policy change and the persistence of business-as-usual through a ‘lock-in perspective’, which means that attention is paid to how reinforcing mechanisms drive stabilisation and resistance in policy systems. Offering a fresh synthesis of known lock-in mechanisms in the literature, this paper explores the role of those mechanisms in two empirical cases of coastal adaptation: England (U.K.) and Schleswig-Holstein (Germany). While several known lock-mechanisms are observable, some are newly identified in this adaptation context. We offer a critical reflection on the added value of the lock-in perspective for understanding policy stability. In turn, the identification of self- and mutually reinforcing mechanisms provides a much-needed foundation for targeted policy interventions and efforts to ‘unlock’ climate adaptation pathways.

KW - climate change adaptation

KW - coastal management

KW - Dynamic policy stability

KW - lock-in mechanisms

KW - path dependence

KW - policy feedback

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85130295644&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85130295644&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/13501763.2022.2064535

DO - 10.1080/13501763.2022.2064535

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85130295644

SN - 1350-1763

VL - 30

SP - 488

EP - 512

JO - Journal of European Public Policy

JF - Journal of European Public Policy

IS - 3

ER -

Re-examining policy stability in climate adaptation through a lock-in perspective

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Persistent URL (handle)

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this