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A policy mixes approach to conceptualizing and measuring climate change adaptation policy

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Abstract

Comparative research on climate change adaptation policy struggles with robust conceptualization and measurement of adaptation policy. Using a policy mixes approach to address this challenge, we characterize adaptation policy based on a general model of how governments govern issues of societal interest. We argue that this approach allows for context-sensitive measurement of adaptation policy, while being both comparable and parsimonious. This approach is tested in a study of adaptation policies adopted by 125 local governments located in Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK. Using a systematic data collection protocol, a total of 3328 adaptation policies were identified from local council archives between the periods of January 2010 and May 2017. Results of this analysis suggest that there is structured variation emerging in how local governments govern climate change adaptation, which justifies calls for comparative adaptation research to use measurements that capture the totality of adaptation policies being adopted by governments rather than focusing on specific types of adaptation policy. We conclude with a discussion of key issues for further developing of this approach.

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Notes

  1. It is worth noting that nonetheless there is significant variation in population among sampled local governments, from 108,915 (Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands) to 3,520,031 (Berlin, Germany) (for full details, see Supplemental Materials).

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Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Malcolm Araos, Geneva List, Mathijs Veenkant, and Florian Dorner for their assistance with data collection, and to two anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions on previous versions of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, McGill University, 805 rue Sherbrooke O, Montreal, Quebec, H3A0B, Canada

    Alexandra Lesnikowski

  2. Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds, Office 10.23, Priestley Building, Leeds, LS29JT, UK

    James D. Ford & Lea Berrang-Ford

  3. Public Administration and Policy Group, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, 6706KN, Wageningen, Netherlands

    Robbert Biesbroek

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  1. Alexandra Lesnikowski
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  2. James D. Ford
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Correspondence to Alexandra Lesnikowski.

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Lesnikowski, A., Ford, J.D., Biesbroek, R. et al. A policy mixes approach to conceptualizing and measuring climate change adaptation policy. Climatic Change 156, 447–469 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-019-02533-3

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