CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020
| Author | Youriev, Ben |
|---|---|
| Title | Corporate power and the global climate regime: A comparative study of industry influence over the climate governance of aviation and shipping |
| Summary | This thesis investigates corporate influence over global climate governance at the UN agencies for aviation, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and shipping, the International Maritime Organization (IMO). It examines whether high levels of corporate influence at ICAO led to a weaker climate regime for aviation compared to shipping. Using a neo-pluralist approach to business power, the thesis employs a structured-focused comparison design alongside a unique delegate dataset and semi-structured interviews with UN delegates. It discovers that corporate influence is significantly higher over climate aviation governance compared to shipping, leading to weaker climate outcomes. This variation is primarily explained by the aviation industry’s dominant structural power over states. The global aviation sector is closely bound to states, with domestic producers and airlines profoundly shaping state climate positions. Without technical solutions to decarbonize, the aviation industry has unified its positioning to effectively lobby states to weaken climate action and maintain growth, strengthened by ICAO’s institutional secrecy. In contrast, the shipping industry has lower lobbying unity and is less structurally entwined with states, reducing its influence over climate outcomes. Furthermore, higher influence from environmental NGOs and greater policymaking transparency counterbalances shipping’s business power to improve climate outcomes for the sector. |
| Supervisor | Dr. Daniel Large, Dr. Charles Roger |
| Department | Public Policy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2020/youriev_ben.pdf |
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