International commitments, national policies and climate change policy networks in Sweden and Ireland

Global norms for reducing dangerous Co2 emissions are clear. Through their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the process of pledge and review countries are to reduce emissions so that the goal of the Paris Agreement, global warming of no more than 1,5 C is reached. However, there is great variation among countries in how ambitious the NDCs are, and what domestic policies are put in place to achieve the national emission reduction targets. In this paper, we argue that one factor explaining these differences is the composition of the national climate policy networks and, in particular, the connectedness of those networks to international institutions. Political bargaining over how ambitious the NDCs should be and what policies should be put in place to achieve them, takes place between organizations within the national climate policy network, consisting of governmental, nongovernmental, business and scientific organizations. We analyze the composition of these networks using original survey data collected in 2021-22 in Sweden and Ireland. We focus, in particular, on the role of two level connectors, organizations that are involved in both the formulation of the international commitments (NDCs) and the national policies for achieving those commitments. Sweden has consistently been ranked as one of the most ambitious countries in climate change mitigation for years, while Ireland, with some fluctuation, tends to be ranked low. Our working hypothesis is that two level connectors occupy more central positions and wield more influence in the Swedish than in the Irish policy network, which contributes to the setting of more ambitious goals and stronger policies to achieve those goals.