The Devil is in the Detail: The Governance Challenge of Climate Change

Public policy aspects of climate change have been relatively neglected in debate and in academic analysis at the more pragmatic end of policy development and implementation, yet are enormously significant. Indeed it could be argued that it is the enormity of the governance challenge of climate change that has contributed to the lack of effective policy action to reduce emissions in Australia and elsewhere. According to the Australian government independent adviser Ross Garnaut, climate change is a diabolical policy area, beyond rational policy making, for Australia in particular, which is structurally dependent upon emissions intensive energy. However this paper suggests that emission reduction efforts may be better modelled in Australia at the subnational than the national level and it considers Tasmania as a case in point. It begins by contrasting the so called diabolical problem of climate change with contemporary governance theory and practice and arguing that climate change is in fact well suited to the multi-faceted nature of the governance response. However empirical consideration of efforts by governments to reduce their own emissions, including Tasmania, and the impact of these efforts on broader policy development does suggest a key decision making role for the state. The climate challenge therefore illustrates the benefit of contemporary networked based governance solutions to emissions reduction, but within the context of more traditional, hierarchical policy parameters. The paper describes the climate challenge through the lens of governance theory, discusses the context for policy action, and reviews Tasmania's climate policy.