Russia and climate capitalism : a political economy perspective on the governance of joint implementation projects in Russia.
Höysniemi, Sakari (2014)
Höysniemi, Sakari
2014
Kansainvälinen politiikka - International Relations
Johtamiskorkeakoulu - School of Management
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2014-12-16
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:uta-201412192471
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:uta-201412192471
Tiivistelmä
Societal responses to mitigating climate change have so far been governed with market-based practices. The Kyoto Protocol was the first agreement institutionalising this approach. The Russian Federation, one of the key net emitters participated in this framework mostly through project-based JI mechanism that subordinates concrete actions for business. The investigation through a neo-Gramscian political economy lens on climate governance will show that the mechanism preserved the position of the carboniferous historical bloc consisting of Russian elite interests that are dependant on the use of fossil fuels. The focus is on how the global agreement is translated into domestic institutional development and how corporations and non-governmental organisations try to stabilise the new politico-economic field based on the trade of carbon credits.
The process is studied with the use of argumentative discourse analysis, as it links actors and the storylines they pursue with organisational aspects of power. The key sources for the analysis are media articles and expert interviews. In terms of media, the Russian business newspaper Kommersant , news agency Ria Novosti, and international carbon market specific journal Point Carbon are the key sources. As the JI is a highly expert-based sphere, six interviews with Russian and foreign experts on carbon trading provide a more comprehensive picture. The investigation shows that debate was mostly centered between the discourses of nation and market civilisation that may interact together, but may also be in conflict with one another, especially when the perceived economic benefits are high.
The research conducted shows that a small coalition mostly of business actors and environmental organisations, and some civil servants in Russian government emerged during the JI process that advocates for climate change mitigation with the use of market-based mechanisms. The JI projects did not provide a significant incentive towards a low carbon economy neither for Russian governmental or business actors, but rather it mostly preserved the priviledges of carboniferous historical bloc. The most remarkable change in corporate activities mostly occurred in the discursive sphere in terms of branding and marketing.
The process is studied with the use of argumentative discourse analysis, as it links actors and the storylines they pursue with organisational aspects of power. The key sources for the analysis are media articles and expert interviews. In terms of media, the Russian business newspaper Kommersant , news agency Ria Novosti, and international carbon market specific journal Point Carbon are the key sources. As the JI is a highly expert-based sphere, six interviews with Russian and foreign experts on carbon trading provide a more comprehensive picture. The investigation shows that debate was mostly centered between the discourses of nation and market civilisation that may interact together, but may also be in conflict with one another, especially when the perceived economic benefits are high.
The research conducted shows that a small coalition mostly of business actors and environmental organisations, and some civil servants in Russian government emerged during the JI process that advocates for climate change mitigation with the use of market-based mechanisms. The JI projects did not provide a significant incentive towards a low carbon economy neither for Russian governmental or business actors, but rather it mostly preserved the priviledges of carboniferous historical bloc. The most remarkable change in corporate activities mostly occurred in the discursive sphere in terms of branding and marketing.