This paper contrasts the different outcomes of climate policy networks in Germany and the UK. Both are generally considered to have undergone changes in their environmental policy discourse from end-of-pipe solutions to more integrated forms of environmental management associated with ecological modernisation. Yet the two countries differ in terms of their climate policy networks. In Germany, the most influential policy actors are drawn mostly from policy arenas, industry and science – a typical configuration under conditions of ecological modernisation. In the UK, in contrast, the most influential actors are governmental or quasi-governmental institutions or the NGO sector. Climate policy in the UK is shaped by a strong advocacy coalition calling for large-scale cuts in GHG emissions, but one that has relatively little influence. In Germany, less ambitious policy targets and more concrete policy actions could be considered the result of a policy network of ecological modernists, where pragmatic realism pervades.
