CPN-CSS Network Conference 2024

The international conference on Climate Change Obstruction was hosted by the Critical Policy Studies Network (IPPA) and by the Climate Social Science Network (CSSN). The conference was held in a virtual format on 14th and 15th March 2024.

The Topic

Various forms of opposition (denial, delay and other forms of obstruction) to ambitious climate policy are the single most important reason for the lack of sufficient progress to meet the Paris treaty goals and climate efforts more generally. Since time is critical in climate politics and the window of opportunity to avoid dangerous climate change is closing fast, addressing climate opposition is a top priority. Yet, climate obstruction has been considered largely off-limits by government funding agencies and the IPCC. The Climate Social Science Network (https://cssn.org/) at Brown University launched in October 2020 to support social science research on climate obstruction. IPPA and critical policy studies have been at the forefront of environmental policy research and critical policy studies. Both organizations are global in scope and ambition and this gives them the ability to address the varieties of oppositional groups and social forces that also operate both within and across borders.

Opposition policy is an important frontier in public policy research and considers political and institutional power structures, the asymmetrical distribution of lobbying resources, and the limits of pluralism both in theoretical and methodological perspectives. This conference seeks to amplify the work of scholars who are examining efforts to prevent policy transfer in climate policy or to roll back policies.