The climate change policy-network in Germany

Abstract

Germany is frequently perceived as a fore-runner in environmental policy, in particu-lar after the turnover in government in 1998. We contribute to the debate on ca-pacities for environmental policy by ex-plaining this position with the specific ac-tors configuration in the German policy network. The paper describes and analy-ses the German policy-network that formu-lates the national position in international climate change negotiations. We ask what activities have been performed by the members of this network regarding the introduction of an eco-taxation, analyse what resources the various organisations dispose of, and in how far the organisa-tions are interrelated among each other regarding the exchange of information, cooperation and opposition. We conclude that NGOs are well integrated despite of comparable low financial resources. The network is not fragmented, and coalitions are possible among the different types of actors. This may contribute to the explana-tion of the German position, however, comparative research is needed.