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Rethinking the green state beyond the Global North: a South African climate change case study
Author(s) -
Chandrashekeran Sangeetha,
Morgan Bronwen,
Coetzee Kim,
Christoff Peter
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
wiley interdisciplinary reviews: climate change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.678
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1757-7799
pISSN - 1757-7780
DOI - 10.1002/wcc.473
Subject(s) - climate change , corporate governance , normative , state (computer science) , political science , politics , environmental governance , green growth , development economics , order (exchange) , environmental degradation , environmental resource management , economic system , environmental planning , geography , sustainable development , economics , ecology , finance , algorithm , computer science , law , biology
This study focuses on the role of the South African state in environmental governance, with particular reference to transformations in political authority and processes of capital accumulation. Our approach underscores the importance of analyzing state environmental efforts both empirically and normatively, in order to understand the underlying drivers of state policies that perpetuate or ameliorate environmental degradation. The tension between economic and ecological values lies at the heart of South Africa's approach to mitigation. We evaluate South Africa's performance on climate change mitigation policies and programs and show that while, empirically, South Africa may appear to be a partial or emerging green state, its performance is weak when assessed against normative frameworks. WIREs Clim Change 2017, 8:e473. doi: 10.1002/wcc.473 This article is categorized under: Policy and Governance > National Climate Change Policy