Emergence of polycentric climate governance and its future prospects

The document analyzes the shift toward polycentric climate governance, noting that while new dynamic forms of governing are emerging in alternative domains to complement the UNFCCC regime, it is currently too early to determine if these forms will effectively fill existing gaps due to untested assumptions about their performance.

• Climate governance is shifting from a top-down approach centered on the UNFCCC toward a more diversified, multi-level, and polycentric pattern emerging in alternative domains.
• There is an optimistic view that these new governance forms will address gaps in the existing international regime, but this view relies on assumptions regarding their performance and diffusion that have not yet been tested.
• While polycentric governance creates new opportunities for climate action, there is insufficient evidence to conclude whether the emerging forms of governance are actually effective.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2015). Emergence of polycentric climate governance and its future prospects. https://www.sei.org/publications/emergence-of-polycentric-climate-governance-and-its-future-prospects/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Emergence of polycentric climate governance and its future prospects. 2015. https://www.sei.org/publications/emergence-of-polycentric-climate-governance-and-its-future-prospects/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Emergence of polycentric climate governance and its future prospects |date=10 August 2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/emergence-of-polycentric-climate-governance-and-its-future-prospects/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2015emergence, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Emergence of polycentric climate governance and its future prospects}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, month = aug, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/emergence-of-polycentric-climate-governance-and-its-future-prospects/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }