The Economisation of Climate Change

Jakob Skovgaard is an Associate Professor in Political Science at Lund University. His research focuses on the interaction between economic and environmental institutions and objectives in climate policy. From 2007 to 2010 he worked in the international climate change team of the Danish Finance Ministry. He is the co-editor of the books The Politics of Fossil Fuel Subsidies and their Reform (Cambridge, 2018) and Governing the Climate-Energy Nexus: Institutional Complexity and Its Challenges to Effectiveness and Legitimacy (Cambridge, 2020).

• Preface; Part I. Introduction: 1. Introduction: The economisation of climate change and why it matters in the case of international economic institutions; Part II. Setting the Stage: 2. A framework for studying institutional output and its alignment, causes and consequences; 3. The three institutions, their roles and the environment; Part III. Fossil Fuel Subsidies: 4. Fossil fuel subsidies: Key issues; 5. The G20 and fossil fuel subsidy reform: The catalyst; 6. The OECD and fossil fuel subsidies: The knowledge provider; 7. The IMF and fossil fuel subsidies: The unexpected environmentalist; 8. The alignment of the economic institutions on fossil fuel subsidies: Synergies, but definitions can be divisive; Part IV. Climate Finance: 9. Climate finance: Key issues; 10. The G20 and climate finance: Introducing finance ministries to the topic; 11. The OECD and climate finance: Development and investment; 12. The IMF and climate finance: Carbon pricing rears its head; 13. The alignment of the economic institutions on climate finance: Efficiency in development and investments, but also carbon pricing; Part V. Conclusions: 14. Conclusions; References; Index.

'Skovgaard's excellent book explores how the IMF, OECD and G20 address the global threat of climate change and frame it as an economic issue. It provides a timely analysis of the increasing economisation of climate policy - its strengths and limitations. Most importantly, it shines a light on the questions of power and justice that are often hidden in economic discourses.' Robert Falkner, London School of Economics and Political Science