Climate Obstruction in the Czech Republic: Winning by Default

Czechia (the Czech Republic) offers an interesting and important case of a post-communist EU member state with a well-rooted and politically established climate obstruction landscape. The issue has been the subject of major policy debates since the mid-1990s and, more importantly, the articulation of climate obstruction rhetoric has come from the top levels of government. This chapter will show how Czechia’s post-communist context has uniquely shaped climate obstruction there and has enabled the dominance of a climate obstruction network composed of political leaders, political parties, and think tanks, including some prominent individuals. It will connect important moments in Czech politics— such as when former Czech prime minister and prominent climate change denier Václav Klaus became president— to the emergence and advancement of the key actors and activists in this network, and demonstrate how they have dominated institutional and discursive spaces over other potentially significant actors (e.g., the auto industry). Their influence has contributed to establishing climate obstruction as the mainstream discourse in Czechia, thus obviating the need for special efforts to promote this position or respond to political or public opposition.