Global Environmental Policy Seminar

A “conveyor belt” from international standards to stronger domestic regulation? Evidence from the international political economy of net zero governance

This paper explores when and how international standards influence domestic policies, focusing on when such standards can increase the stringency of regulation beyond the level the jurisdiction’s political economy would otherwise generate. Taking a coherent international standards landscape in a given policy area as a key enabling condition, we highlight four mechanisms through which standards can increase policy stringency. Learning occurs when domestic actors, facing uncertainty, rely on international standards due to their perceived expertise. Normative benchmarking sees domestic actors using these standards as legitimate guides, especially when developed through scientifically-informed processes. Agenda-setting elevates the prominence of certain policy outcomes, aligning domestic coalitions around these standards. Harmonization happens when firms operating across multiple jurisdictions advocate for international standards to minimize compliance costs and ensure a level playing field. Our empirical analysis contrasts rules around environmental disclosure and voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) in major economies with vastly different political economies around climate policy, the US, EU, UK, China, and Brazil, to illustrate and probe our mechanisms. Across these jurisdictions, domestic disclosure policies are increasingly stringent, aided by a solidifying landscape of standards. Conversely, the fragmented VCM standards landscape limits these mechanisms, and we correspondingly observe greater variance in domestic regulations. While further research would be needed to precisely identify the causal impact of standards on domestic policy, the findings contribute to theoretical debates on the relationship between transnational governance and national rules, and suggest that enhancing the coherence and stringency of international standards could significantly strengthen national policy frameworks and drive more effective climate governance globally.

Biography

Thomas Hale’s research explores how we can manage transnational problems effectively and fairly. He seeks to explain how political institutions evolve – or not – to face the challenges raised by globalisation and interdependence, with a particular emphasis on environmental, economic and health issues. He holds a PhD in Politics from Princeton University, a master's degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics, and an AB in public policy from Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs. A US national, Professor Hale has studied and worked in Argentina, China and Europe. His books include Long Problems: Climate Change and the Challenge of Governing Across Time (Princeton 2024), Beyond Gridlock (Polity 2017), Between Interests and Law: The Politics of Transnational Commercial Disputes (Cambridge 2015), Transnational Climate Change Governance (Cambridge 2014), and Gridlock: Why Global Cooperation Is Failing when We Need It Most (Polity 2013). Professor Hale co-leads the Net Zero Tracker and the Net Zero Regulation and Policy Hub.