The Politics of Coherence

The document argues that policy incoherence is driven not by poor coordination, but by power asymmetries, vested interests, and the prioritization of economic growth over social and environmental goals. Based on research in nine countries, it finds that fossil-fuel interests consistently drive incoherence and that vulnerable groups disproportionately bear the resulting burdens. It calls for a post-2030 framework that moves beyond 'synergies' to address distributional consequences and cross-border spillovers.

• Policy objectives are generally synergistic across all studied contexts, but incoherence persists because it is shaped by dominant discourses, power asymmetries, and vested interests rather than simple coordination failures.
• The prioritization of economic growth over environmental and social goals is the primary driver of incoherence across all income levels, and fossil-fuel interests contribute to incoherence in every country case studied.
• Incoherence results in distributional harms where vulnerable groups bear the burdens and elites capture the benefits; conversely, coherence is more frequently associated with benefits.
• Coherence is not inherently neutral or positive, as evidenced by Colombia's Operation Artemis, where highly coordinated anti-deforestation policies led to the militarization of enforcement against rural and Indigenous Amazonian communities.
• Current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) remain too technocratic, and while Climate Official Development Assistance (ODA) aligns with NDC priorities at the SDG level, it does not align at the target level.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2026). The Politics of Coherence. https://www.sei.org/publications/the-politics-of-coherence/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. The Politics of Coherence. 2026. https://www.sei.org/publications/the-politics-of-coherence/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=The Politics of Coherence |date=19 May 2026 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/the-politics-of-coherence/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2026politics, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{The Politics of Coherence}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2026}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/the-politics-of-coherence/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }