A Guide to Assessing the Political Economy of Domestic Climate Change Governance

This working paper provides a methodology for decision-makers, civil society, and donors to assess the political and governance challenges associated with national climate actions, arguing that a systematic analysis of political and institutional contexts is more effective than simply citing a lack of "political will."

• High-income countries with access to technology, policy expertise, and capacity are often failing to implement policies to curb climate impact due to a lack of political will, which is frequently attributed to the influence of vested interests.
• The document argues that superficial analyses of political will are insufficient for developing strategies to increase ambition; instead, stakeholders should conduct systematic assessments of institutional contexts, dominant ideologies, and narratives to build political support and strengthen implementation rules.
• The guide addresses a gap in existing political economy literature by providing a tool for multi-sector national coalitions to manage diverse governance challenges, such as cross-sector coordination, accountability incentive structures, and transparent monitoring of policy implementation.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). A Guide to Assessing the Political Economy of Domestic Climate Change Governance. https://www.wri.org/research/guide-assessing-political-economy-domestic-climate-change-governance

Chicago

World Resources Institute. A Guide to Assessing the Political Economy of Domestic Climate Change Governance. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/guide-assessing-political-economy-domestic-climate-change-governance.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=A Guide to Assessing the Political Economy of Domestic Climate Change Governance |url=https://www.wri.org/research/guide-assessing-political-economy-domestic-climate-change-governance |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendguide, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{A Guide to Assessing the Political Economy of Domestic Climate Change Governance}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/guide-assessing-political-economy-domestic-climate-change-governance}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }