Mapping and Analyzing the Institutionalization of Climate Action in Advanced Democracies

Recent research indicates that producing climate policy alone is insufficient for effectively tackling climate change. To achieve long-lasting impact, climate actions need to be entrenched within the state’s structure. Limberg et al. (2024), for instance, demonstrate that the establishment of designated climate ministries significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The key mechanism is that institutionalizing climate action increases a state’s capacity for policymaking and implementation. Thus, institutionalization—defined as the creation of formal structures with dedicated policy responsibilities—matters greatly for both climate policy outputs and outcomes. While the literature increasingly highlights the importance of institutionalization for climate action, we still lack clarity on (1) the different facets of this institutionalization and their locations within the state’s structure, and (2) the drivers behind this institutionalization. This paper aims to address these gaps in two ways. First, we develop an analytical tool for mapping and comparing the institutionalization of climate action across countries and over time. We define climate institutionalization as structural changes within three distinct areas: executive, legislative, and legal institutionalization. In the executive sector, this includes the establishment of designated climate ministries or dedicated subdivisions within existing ministries. Legislative institutionalization occurs through the formation of specialized committees focused on climate issues. Finally, embedding climate action within formal legal instruments, such as constitutions or framework laws, represents another crucial form of institutionalization. Second, we seek to explain patterns of institutionalization, treating it as the dependent variable. This paper builds on the political science literature on the “politics of structural choice” (Moe, 1990) which views changes in the formal structure of government as a result of conflictual processes and sees formal structure as another way of pursuing policy preferences. From this perspective, we can consider several theoretical expectations. One expectation is that institutionalization is primarily driven by political choice and party preferences. Parties more committed to tackling climate change are likely to institutionalize climate action within state structures. A competing explanation suggests that functional pressure drives institutionalization. States struggling to reduce CO2 emissions might institutionalize climate action to get back on track. Another expectation is that climate institutionalization results from international policy diffusion among countries with strong ideational ties and exchanges. In this view, political practices spread through networks of shared values, knowledge, and experiences, leading to greater uniformity in climate governance. Empirically, our analysis focuses on climate institutionalization in 30 European countries (EU27 plus Norway, Switzerland, and the UK) and maps its development from 2000 to the present.