Elin Lerum Boasson

• Hovi, Jon; Tveit, Andreas Kokkvoll; Aamodt, Solveig; Andresen, Steinar E; Bang, Guri & Boasson, Elin Lerum [Show all 13 contributors for this article] (2026). A Lifetime of Research on Environmental Politics: A Tribute to Arild Underdal (1946–2025). Global Environmental Politics. ISSN 1526-3800. p. 1–12. doi: 10.1162/glep.a.739. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract The late Arild Underdal profoundly impacted how scholars and policymakers understand international and domestic environmental governance. We summarize his influence on studies of leadership in international negotiations, policy integration, treaty design, climate clubs, regime effectiveness, and the domestic politics of international environmental agreements. For each topic, we also offer brief suggestions for future research based on Arild’s academic legacy. Finally, we highlight Arild’s role in academic leadership and research organization.

• Nikas, Alexandros; Sampedro, Jon; Khourdajie, Alaa Al; Arto, Iñaki; Balderrama, Sergio & Boasson, Elin Lerum [Show all 42 contributors for this article] (2026). The challenge with climate-energy-economy models in constructing fair and equitable climate futures. Futures: The journal of policy, planning and futures studies. ISSN 0016-3287. 181. doi: 10.1016/j.futures.2026.103850. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Climate change and policy are unevenly experienced across nations, social groups, households, sectors, and generations. Understanding how benefits and burdens of climate action can be equitably shared is therefore critical. While the cornerstone concept of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities’ is broadly accepted, the absence of consensus on equitable effort-sharing principles presents a challenge that permeates science underpinning climate policy. Climate-energy-economy models exhibit considerable conceptual, structural, and technical limitations in constructing equitable climate futures: they aggregate diverse Global South countries into homogeneous regions, fail to capture critical elements of international climate finance, and tend to produce one-size-fits-all strategies with limited consideration of local contexts. Model-based studies, additionally, have been argued to reflect Global North narratives in international scenario ensembles, assume persisting inequalities between the Global North and the Global South in the future, obscure ethical or normative choices behind operationalised principles of justice, and fail to systematically include stakeholders and scientists from the Global South. Here, we explore how modelling science can be more inclusive and effective in recognising these issues and co-constructing just climate futures. While acknowledging the inherent limitations of any modelling exercise, we argue that progress depends on several key actions, including meaningfully collaborating with stakeholders and scientists from other disciplines and critically from hitherto underrepresented and underfunded regions, incorporating wider policy priorities beyond mitigation, improving data and modelling capabilities to better represent the varied conditions of different communities, and integrating elements, policies, and governance structures that are indispensable to representing climate finance considerations.

• Heinz-Fischer, Christin & Boasson, Elin Lerum (2026). Revisiting International Political Leadership: Nordic Leadership in Informal Intergovernmental Climate Organisations. Global Policy. ISSN 1758-5880. doi: 10.1111/1758-5899.70154. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The growing significance of informal intergovernmental organisations (IIGOs) in global politics necessitates a re-evaluation of leadership dynamics. We develop a theory framework that enables us to explain why countries take on leadership roles in IIGOs, with a specific focus on climate politics. Governments do not assume leadership in IIGOs because they want to shape bargaining processes within traditional and formal organisations, such as the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC); rather, they do this for reasons particular to informal international cooperation. For instance, when governments take on leadership roles because they want to bolster their national green industry transition or help national corporate actors learn from green industrialisation elsewhere, then green industry transition is driving leadership. In contrast, informal diplomacy drives leadership when governments assume leadership roles to help them bolster their international presence and strengthen their diplomatic ties. A comparative case study of the leadership of three Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden) within the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) concludes that both approaches contribute to explaining leadership patterns in the CEM. We argue that these dynamics probably also play out in other IIGOs, particularly in those relating to climate politics.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Gulbrandsen, Lars Harald (2025). Paradoxes of Twin Crises: Nature Protection and Climate Governance in Norway. In Kolltveit, Kristoffer; Allern, Elin Haugsgjerd; Braut-Hegghammer, Målfrid & Rasch, Bjørn Erik (Ed.), Oxford Handbook of Norwegian Politics. Oxford University Press. ISSN 9780198888581. p. 697–714. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198888581.013.0037. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract This chapter examines and compares nature protection and climate policies in Norway. Whereas nature protection policies are characterized by a limited number of targets, many regulations, some public–private collaboration, and no nature pricing, climate policies are dominated by many targets and timetables, carbon pricing, and some European Union (EU)-induced regulations. These differences can partly be explained by the political history and political economy of each issue area and partly by the fact that Norway, as an associated non-Member State, participates in EU climate policies but not in the EU’s nature protection policies. Trade-offs between climate, energy, and nature protection policies are evident in several countries, but the strong influence of the petroleum industry on climate policies is a particular feature in Norway. Although synergistic solutions are possible, the Norwegian case indicates that differences in climate and nature protection policies can amplify conflicts between the two issue areas.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum; Peters, Glen Philip & Tosun, Jale (2025). Policy-driven acceleration of climate action. PLOS Climate. 4(5). doi: 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000626. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Since the signing of the Paris Agreement, the term “acceleration” has become increasingly prevalent in the global discourse on climate change mitigation. Its meaning, however, is ambiguous. While this ambiguity arguably contributes to its popularity, it also diminishes its analytical and policy value. To achieve a more productive scholarly discourse and design more effective policies, we propose a conceptual framework for the term. Drawing on scientific definitions, we specify what acceleration of climate action entails. Specifically, we contend that policy-driven “acceleration” in this domain ultimately refers to increasing the speed of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While policies play a crucial role in achieving this acceleration of climate action, their impact is mediated or moderated by multiple factors. Consequently, we argue for distinguishing three levels when referring to acceleration in the context of policymaking: the policies adopted by policymakers to reduce GHG emissions (policy outputs), the behavioral changes these policies induce in their target groups (policy outcomes), and the resulting changes in the reduction of GHG emissions (policy impacts).

• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Gjesdal, Anje Müller (2024). Klimaomstilling på fransk. In Aukrust, Kjerstin & Rieker, Pernille (Ed.), Franske tilstander Forstå det moderne Frankrike. Universitetsforlaget. ISSN 9788215067520. p. 325–343. Full text in Research Archive
• Rosamond, Jeffrey; Dupont, Claire; Boasson, Elin Lerum; Burns, Charlotte; Maltby, Tomas & Oberthür, Sebastian [Show all 10 contributors for this article] (2024). The urgent need for social science and humanities knowledge for climate action in Europe. PLOS Climate. doi: 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000450. Full text in Research Archive
• Skagen, Katrine & Boasson, Elin Lerum (2024). Climate policy integration as a process: from shallow to embedded integration. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning. ISSN 1523-908X. doi: 10.1080/1523908X.2024.2334707. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Across many policy areas, policymakers try to integrate new policy issues into old policy processes. This is challenging. Getting to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions requires radical change across a broad range of societal sectors; thus, climate policy integration is essential. This article develops a new processual perspective on climate policy integration, allowing assessment, classification, and comparison of various stages of integration across policy processes, and over time. The integration process can be shaped by differing institutional logics. In a study of Norwegian agricultural policy, we identify three logics: multifunctional, market failure, and socio-technological transition. These portray differing frames, objectives, instruments, and sector involvement as appropriate ways of linking climate concerns to agricultural policy. We suggest that a shallow integration process is characterized by a sector-specific logic that facilitates discussions of policy frames and goals. In an embedded integration process, multiple logics are mobilized, and a broader range of policy elements are discussed: frames, goals, instruments, and sector involvement in the process. Consistent and contested integration processes are intermediate categories. Climate integration in Norwegian agricultural policy had the hallmarks of a shallow process in 2006–2009 but changed to a contested process in 2016–2021.

• Hermansen, Erlend Andre T.; Boasson, Elin Lerum & Peters, Glen Philip (2023). Climate action post-Paris: how can the IPCC stay relevant? npj Climate Action. 2. doi: 10.1038/s44168-023-00058-1. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been a crucial facilitator of climate change research and governance. After its sixth assessment cycle, the organization is at a critical juncture. The amount of climate science has grown tremendously over the past three decades, but so has global emissions of greenhouse gases. If the world is to reach the objectives implied by the Paris Agreement, climate action must accelerate on an unprecedented scale and pace, across widely differing contexts. Scientific knowledge will play a key role in this endeavour. Everyone who produces or relies on climate knowledge needs to wrestle with this pivotal question: How can IPCC processes and outcomes be reformed to produce knowledge that is more relevant for climate action? The organizational and resource constraints of the IPCC must be considered when searching for answers. This is an introduction to a special collection of research articles, reviews and perspectives dealing with this question from many different angles. In this introduction, we present four possible reform agendas for the IPCC in the form of ideal types, all with their advantages and disadvantages. This introduction does not advocate a certain set of reforms but rather attempts to spur discussions and reflections on the IPCC and its future.

• Dupont, Claire; Moore, Brendan; Boasson, Elin Lerum; Gravey, Viviane; Jordan, Andrew & Kivimaa, Paula [Show all 14 contributors for this article] (2023). Three decades of EU climate policy: Racing toward climate neutrality? Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change (WIRESs). ISSN 1757-7780. doi: 10.1002/wcc.863. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The European Union (EU) began developing climate policy in the 1990s. Since then, it has built up a broad portfolio of mitigation policy measures and governance tools, including legally binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and policy measures addressing emissions trading, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and more. In 2019, the European Commission—the EU's executive arm—published the European Green Deal (EGD), an overarching policy framework to achieve the goal of climate neutrality by 2050. The EGD aims to push EU climate policy and governance far beyond incremental policy development. In this article, we ask: does the EGD represent a break from past patterns of EU climate governance? We argue that it maintains several past patterns, but nevertheless breaks from other established policy and governance trends. We review insights from politicization and new institutionalist theoretical lenses to help us understand these findings. We reveal certain tensions and challenges inherent in the EU's climate governance approach—around speed and coherence, effectiveness and just transition—that highlight future research needs, and raise questions about the EU's ability to implement its climate policy goals.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum; Leiren, Merethe Dotterud & Wettestad, Jørgen (2022). Differentiated integration in EU climate policy. In Leruth, Benjamin; Gänzle, Stefan & Trondal, Jarle (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Differentiation in the European Union. Routledge. ISSN 9780367149659. p. 340–355. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Tatham, Michael Robert (2022). Climate policy: from complexity to consensus? Journal of European Public Policy. ISSN 1350-1763. doi: 10.1080/13501763.2022.2150272. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Most governments aim for net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, but none know fully how to get there. The papers in this special issue examine the role of climate governance for climate action, addressing three research questions: a) what characterizes enduring climate governance, b) which factors drive climate governance developments, and c) how can these be sustained within the polity? In this introductory article, we present three ideal-typical models of climate governance that provide answers to these questions. The models are, respectively, the market failure, the socio-technological transition, and the public support models. Political science, as a discipline, is ideally suited to contribute to the further development of the public support model, which bears much promise for sustaining the climate and energy transition. The models and the special issue's contributions highlight two concepts as crucial regarding climate governance: complexity and consensus. These concepts can be mutually constitutive: policy packages addressing the complexity of the climate question, including its (heterogenous) societal dimensions, will have a greater chance of being more efficacious and less contested.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum; Burns, Charlotte & Pulver, Simone (2022). The politics of domestic climate governance: making sense of complex participation patterns. Journal of European Public Policy. ISSN 1350-1763. doi: 10.1080/13501763.2022.2096102. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article reviews literature on six actor groups engaged in domestic mitigation governance. It evaluates the usefulness of three climate governance models: market failure, socio-technological transition and public support. For each group, three modes of action are considered: influencing, decision-making and implementing. The public support model is found to best capture the wide range of actors and real-world, complex participation patterns of domestic climate governance. The socio-technological transitions and market failure models in their narrow focus on political and business actors ignore the influencing roles of other groups, such as climate advocacy organizations, anti-climate action groups, Indigenous people’s organizations and labor unions. However, they offer more insight on actor engagement in decision-making and implementation, roles mostly ignored by the public support model. Overall, more systematic comparative research is needed on a wider range of actors, on domestic climate governance in the global South, on differences across countries, sectors and policy domains and on interactions between actors.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2021). Norway - Certificate supporters turning opponents. In Boasson, Elin Lerum; Leiren, Merethe Dotterud & Wettestad, Jørgen (Ed.), Comparative Renewables Policy: Political, Organizational and European Fields. Routledge. ISSN 9780367187668. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Norway developed a technology-neutral renewables support mix around the turn of the millennium. Then, in 2016, it decided not to include more projects in its electricity certificate scheme after 2021, instead offering only modest investment support to small-scale renewable electricity in residential buildings. Norwegian utilities had brought the electricity certificate scheme to Norway from Brussels in the late 1990s, but more than a decade was to pass before Norway joined the Swedish scheme in 2012. The technology-neutral nature of the Norwegian support mix reflects the character of the Norwegian organizational field of electricity. Ideas for specific support-scheme designs come from the European Environment, but had little impact on the Norwegain support mix. The decision to scrap the certificate scheme resulted from increased segmentation in the domestic organizational field, and it was basically unaffected by the European environment. Although the domestic political field played a key role for support-scheme developments in the period 2005–2010, it hardly affected later developments.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2021). Implications for climate research and policy studies. In Boasson, Elin Lerum; Leiren, Merethe Dotterud & Wettestad, Jørgen (Ed.), Comparative Renewables Policy: Political, Organizational and European Fields. Routledge. ISSN 9780367187668. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This chapter sums up the implications and insights from this book for broader debates concerning studies of Europeanization and EU policy implementation, policy process assessments and climate and energy policy and transition studies. First, we add new elements to the understanding of Europeanization – in particular by showing that taking account of the temporality of the Europeanization process, gives a deeper understanding of how the European environment create differences as well as similarities across countries. Second, by examining the interaction between public and private actors within organizational fields, we capture important nuances relating to how corporate actors influence policy development. Third, we specify under which conditions political actors and political dynamics can influence domestic policy developments independently of what goes on in adjacent fields. Political fields are not only important in brief moments of ‘punctuated equilibrium’ or ‘critical junctures’, but they may be important over long stretches of time and underpin stability as well as change within a policy area. Finally, we specify the crucial role of political and cultural factors in climate and energy-transition processes.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum; Faber, Hugo & Bäckstrand, Karin (2021). Sweden - Electricity certificate champion. In Boasson, Elin Lerum; Leiren, Merethe Dotterud & Wettestad, Jørgen (Ed.), Comparative Renewables Policy: Political, Organizational and European Fields. Routledge. ISSN 9780367187668. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Sweden has an exceptional technology-neutral renewable support mix. This chapter investigates why Sweden ended up with a type of renewables support unlike the technology-specific support mixes dominant elsewhere in Europe. The electricity certificate idea came to Sweden from the European Commission in the late 1990s, and a scheme was introduced in 2003. The initial EU influence eventually became strongly institutionalized in the political field. Particularly in the period 2010–2016, political steering was an important independent determinant for the design of Sweden’s renewables support mix. Hence, we find that the effect of Europeanization is determined neither by the strength of coercive signals from the EU nor by the diffusion of practices in the European environment: it is conditioned by the domestic fields. After 2010, renewables became a salient political issue in Sweden, and the organizational field was determined to prolong the Swedish certificate scheme despite opposition from utilities calling for more technology-specific support. This chapter shows how Europeanization at one stage in time could ‘freeze’, remaining effective many decades after the EU had shifted its policy and was promoting different policies and practices.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2021). A dynamic multi-field approach. In Boasson, Elin Lerum; Leiren, Merethe Dotterud & Wettestad, Jørgen (Ed.), Comparative Renewables Policy: Political, Organizational and European Fields. Routledge. ISSN 9780367187668. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The multi-field framework facilitates comprehensive analysis of organizational and political factors and how they interact and change over time. This approach combines elements from various policy process theories and Europeanization approaches with the sociological and historical institutionalism literatures more broadly. A ‘field’ here refers to a socially distinct constellation of actors, with varying degrees of internal coherence, unity and autonomy, and more or less impenetrable boundaries. Thus, a field is not an actor as such, but a distinct social space with some coherence across actors. This chapter conceptualizes the three specific fields – the European environment, the domestic organizational field and the domestic political field – and their interrelationships. All three can be seen as social arenas where the actors take one another into account; and all have a local social order that constrains, facilitates or enables certain behaviours and policy developments. This chapter specifies the conditions under which each field tends to be the most influential, resulting in numerous expectations that are later examined empirically and discussed in the comparative assessment. The chapter introduces a range of new concepts helpful for grasping the political and institutional dynamics often overlooked by other approaches to policy studies and energy and climate transitions.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2021). Europeanization of renewables support. In Boasson, Elin Lerum; Leiren, Merethe Dotterud & Wettestad, Jørgen (Ed.), Comparative Renewables Policy: Political, Organizational and European Fields. Routledge. ISSN 9780367187668. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This chapter describes the shifts and changes in support to renewable electricity in Europe over more than four decades. The vertical Europeanization, the degree of EU steering, has changed and so has horizontal Europeanization, how the design options for support schemes diffuse across countries. Vertical Europeanization has been strengthened with the EU gradually gaining authority, especially after 2014, resulting from several decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) legitimizing a more aggressive approach from the European Commission in renewables support cases, in turn enabling it to develop far more stringent state-aid guidelines. Concerning horizontal Europeanization, we note two waves of support-scheme designs, with many countries in the European Union and the European Economic Area (EEA) aligning with similar support schemes. Technology-specific feed-in schemes were dominant around the turn of the millennium. At this stage, technology-neutral approaches, electricity certificate schemes in particular, had gained some momentum but never became as widely accepted as the technology-specific approach. After 2010, fixed feed-in support was awarded primarily to small-scale renewables; a new type of technology-specific scheme – auctioning-based feed-in premium schemes – dominated. At this stage, very few countries had technology-neutral support mixes with a certificate scheme as a central feature.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Leiren, Merethe Dotterud (2021). Comparing renewable support mixes. In Boasson, Elin Lerum; Leiren, Merethe Dotterud & Wettestad, Jørgen (Ed.), Comparative Renewables Policy: Political, Organizational and European Fields. Routledge. ISSN 9780367187668. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This chapter examines the variance and similarities in developments in renewables support across the six case-study countries. Because most of these countries have complex portfolios of renewables support schemes, we focus on support mixes rather than individual instruments, taking into account that policies often differ for small-scale and large-scale renewables investments. We categorize mixes of support schemes for renewables as technology-specific or technology-neutral, a distinction that captures crucial differences in how differing mixes function. Our categorization is based on two dimensions: difference in support levels across technologies; and degree of exposure to the electricity price. Germany, the UK, Poland and France generally have technology-specific mixes, whereas those in Sweden and Norway are more technology-neutral. The literature on renewable energy and energy transition has paid considerable attention to technical and economic conditions and changes. However, we find that variance in economic-technological differences, growth rates for renewables in the domestic energy systems, initial energy source shares and changes in the costs of renewables technologies are inadequate for explaining the differences and similarities in support mixes across countries. Understanding these differences requires a policy framework that pays greater attention to politics and cultural as well as structural institutional features.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum; Leiren, Merethe Dotterud & Wettestad, Jørgen (2021). Introduction. In Boasson, Elin Lerum; Leiren, Merethe Dotterud & Wettestad, Jørgen (Ed.), Comparative Renewables Policy: Political, Organizational and European Fields. Routledge. ISSN 9780367187668. p. 3–19. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This chapter introduces the background for the book, the main research questions, theoretical framework and further structuring of the book.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum; Leiren, Merethe Dotterud & Wettestad, Jørgen (2021). Comparative assessments and conclusions. In Boasson, Elin Lerum; Leiren, Merethe Dotterud & Wettestad, Jørgen (Ed.), Comparative Renewables Policy: Political, Organizational and European Fields. Routledge. ISSN 9780367187668. p. 219–240. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In this chapter, we systematically compare the development of renewables support mixes in Germany, the UK, Poland, France, Sweden and Norway, asking: what can explain the differences and similarities across countries and over time? Specifically: why have some countries developed technology-specific mixes, whereas others have focused on technology-neutral mixes? Further, we examine whether our findings are in line with explanations under the multi-field framework approach.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum; Banet, Catherine & Wettestad, Jørgen (2021). France: from renewables laggard to technology-specific devotee. In Boasson, Elin Lerum; Leiren, Merethe Dotterud & Wettestad, Jørgen (Ed.), Comparative Renewables Policy: Political, Organizational and European Fields. Routledge. ISSN 9780367187668. p. 149–170. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  We conclude that the French support-scheme mix is the result of intricate interplay between the European Environment and developments in the domestic political and organizational fields. The organizational field has gradually increased its impact and importance, but political steering has been vital at a few crucial points. Furthermore, while models in the European Environment initially served as a crucial source of inspiration, other parts of this environment later acted to constrain the processes of adjusting and improving the French support mix.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2019). Constitutionalization and entrepreneurship: Explaining increased EU steering of renewables support schemes. Politics and Governance. 7(1), p. 70–80. doi: 10.17645/pag.v7i1.1851. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article sheds light on two under-researched issue areas: the energy policy-shaping role of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and how constitutionalization of EU state aid law gives the European Commission (Commission) increased leverage over EU policy development. EU state aid governance is embedded in the Treaty of the Functioning of the EU’s prohibition of state aid. The CJEU and the Commissions’ Directorate-General for Competition (DG Comp) have played important roles in the emergence of stronger EU steering of renewable energy support schemes after 2014. For many years, powerful member states, most notably Germany, stopped the adoption of EU rules requiring more market streamlining and European harmonization of renewables support. This primarily played out in regular EU decision-making (co-decision) related to adoption and revision of the Renewable Energy Directive. A radical shift occurred in 2014 when the Commission introduced new guidelines on state aid for environmental protection and energy, giving the Commission increased authority over development of renewables support schemes across Europe. These guidelines called for renewables investments to become more exposed to energy market pricing and introduced auctioning as the main allocation mechanism. Support schemes for renewable energy were included for the first time in the EU state aid guidelines for environmental protection in 2001. Back then, member states had ample leeway to design support schemes as they pleased. The 2014 version of the guidelines includes far more detailed requirements. While the first CJEU ruling on renewables state aid hindered the Commission to intervene, new CJEU rulings after 2008 enabled the Commission to draft more restrictive guidelines. This article concludes that constitutionalization, combined with the policy entrepreneurship of Commission officials, explains the shift in EU steering in 2014. This indicates that constitutionalization and Commission entrepreneurship should be assessed in conjunction. Constitutionalization may be particularly important in the state aid area due to the superior competence of the Commission.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Jevnaker, Torbjørg (2019). Energy Governance in Norway: Too Much of a Good Thing? In Knodt, Michele & Kemmerzell, Jörg (Ed.), Handbook of Energy Governance in Europe. Springer Nature. ISSN 9783319735269. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-73526-9_21-1. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2018). Entrepreneurship. In Jordan, Andrew; Huitema, Dave; Hasselt, Harro van & Forster, Johanna (Ed.), Governing Climate Change - Polycentricity in Action?. Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9781108418126. p. 117–134. doi: 10.1017/9781108284646.008. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Climate change governance is in a state of enormous flux. New and more dynamic forms of governing are appearing around the international climate regime centred on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They appear to be emerging spontaneously from the bottom up, producing a more dispersed pattern of governing, which Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom famously described as 'polycentric'. This book brings together contributions from some of the world's foremost experts to provide the first systematic test of the ability of polycentric thinking to explain and enhance societal attempts to govern climate change. It is ideal for researchers in public policy, international relations, environmental science, environmental management, politics, law and public administration. It will also be useful on advanced courses in climate policy and governance, and for practitioners seeking incisive summaries of developments in particular sub-areas and sectors. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Huitema, Dave (2017). Climate governance entrepreneurship: Emerging findings and a new research agenda. Environment and Planning. C, Government and Policy. ISSN 0263-774X. doi: 10.1177/2399654417730713. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This is an introductory paper to a special issue on climate governance entrepreneurship, where entrepreneurship is understood as acts performed by actors seeking to ‘punch above their weight’. By contrast, actors who are merely doing their job are not ‘entrepreneurs’. In order to understand climate policy and governance, we need to learn more about the factors that condition variance in entrepreneurial activity, strategies and success. In this introduction, we present a comprehensive review of the literature on entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in policy in governance, with special attention to the recent upsurge in studies of climate governance entrepreneurship. We distinguish two types of entrepreneurship: (1) acts aimed at enhancing governance influence by altering the distribution of authority and information; and (2) acts aimed at altering or diffusing norms and cognitive frameworks, worldviews or institutional logics. The contributions in this special issue offer valuable insights into how personal motivations, policy windows, international trends, cultural-institutional traditions and the distribution of structural power influence entrepreneurship. However, more work is needed – not least as regards whether actors that seek change are more active and/or more successful as entrepreneurs compared to those that defend the status quo, and whether there is more successful entrepreneurship in public or in private arenas of governance.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Lahn, Bård (2017). Norway: A dissonant cognitive leader? In Wurzel, Rüdiger; Connelly, James & Liefferink, Duncan (Ed.), The European Union in International Climate Change Politics Still Taking a Lead?. Routledge. ISSN 9781138647183. p. 189–204. Full text in Research Archive
• Jordan, Andrew J.; Huitema, Dave; Hildén, Mikael; Asselt, Harro van; Rayner, Tim J. & Schoenefeld, Jonas J. [Show all 9 contributors for this article] (2015). Emergence of polycentric climate governance and its future prospects. Nature Climate Change. ISSN 1758-678X. 5(11), p. 977–982. doi: 10.1038/nclimate2725. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Dupont, Claire (2015). Buildings: Good Intentions Unfulfilled. In Dupont, Claire & Oberthür, Sebastian (Ed.), Decarbonization in the European Union: Internal Policies and External Strategies.. Palgrave Macmillan. ISSN 9781137406828. p. 137–158. doi: 10.1057/9781137406835_7. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Wettestad, Jørgen (2014). The Interaction of EU Climate Policies: Mechanisms and Lessons. In Fitzpatrick, Tony (Eds.), International Handbook on Social Policy and the Environment. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9780857936134. p. 329–349. doi: 10.4337/9780857936134.00020. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Wettestad, Jørgen (2014). Policy invention and entrepreneurship: Bankrolling the burying of carbon in the EU. Global Environmental Change. ISSN 0959-3780. 29, p. 402–412. doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.09.010. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article presents the case of a policy invention where various kinds of entrepreneurship and a window of opportunity played important roles. In 2008 the EU adopted a new Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) policy with an inventive funding instrument at its core: the NER 300 fund, based on revenues from the auctioning of emissions trading allowances. Thus far, the literature on policy entrepreneurs has focused more on success factors that enable particular persons to be especially influential than on the defining characteristics of entrepreneurship. We contribute to the literature on entrepreneurship and windows of opportunity by distinguishing two entrepreneurial techniques – framing and procedural engineering – and two categories of commitment – ‘tortoise’ and carpe diem. We conclude that ‘tortoises’ who contributed to creating the broad and general climate policy window paved the way for issue-specific carpe diemers who promoted the more specific NER 300 policy invention. Furthermore, we distinguish and discuss four different entrepreneurship mechanisms that may influence policy invention processes.

• Andresen, Steinar E & Boasson, Elin Lerum (2012). International Climate Cooperation: Clear Recommendations, Weak Commitments. In Andresen, Steinar; Boasson, Elin Lerum & Hønneland, Geir (Ed.), International environmental agreements: an introduction. Routledge. ISSN 9780415598255. p. 49–67. Full text in Research Archive
• Andresen, Steinar; Boasson, Elin Lerum & Hønneland, Geir (2012). An international environmental policy takes shape. In Andresen, Steinar; Boasson, Elin Lerum & Hønneland, Geir (Ed.), International environmental agreements: an introduction. Routledge. ISSN 9780415598255. p. 3–19. Full text in Research Archive
• Andresen, Steinar; Boasson, Elin Lerum & Hønneland, Geir (2012). Ideals and practice in international environmental politics. In Andresen, Steinar; Boasson, Elin Lerum & Hønneland, Geir (Ed.), International environmental agreements: an introduction. Routledge. ISSN 9780415598255. p. 173–191. Full text in Research Archive

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• Boasson, Elin Lerum; Leiren, Merethe Dotterud & Wettestad, Jørgen (2021). Comparative Renewables Policy: Political, Organizational and European Fields. Routledge. ISBN 9780367187668. 278 p. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Challenging one-eyed technology-focused accounts of renewables policy, this book provides a ground-breaking, deep-diving and genre-crossing longitudinal study of policy development. The book develops a multi-field explanatory approach, capturing inter-relationships between actors often analyzed in isolation. It provides empirically rich and systematically conducted comparative case studies on the political dynamics of the ongoing energy transition in six European countries. While France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom opted for ‘technology-specific’ renewables support mixes, Norway and Sweden embarked on ‘technology-neutral’ support mixes. Differences between the two groups result from variations in domestic political and organizational fields, but developments over time in the European environment also spurred variation. These findings challenge more simplistic and static accounts of Europeanization.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2015). National Climate Policy - A Multi-field Approach. Routledge. ISBN 9781138781139. 238 p. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Failed attempts at producing ambitious global climate commitments and instruments have made it increasingly important for nation states to deliver climate policies. This in turn requires a better understanding of national climate policymaking. In this book, Elin Lerum Boasson develops an innovative and well-grounded analytical framework for assessing national climate-policy development. Why do national climate policies emerge and change? This question is underpinned by the role played by different actors and the kind social mechanism at work. Boasson asks, to what extent and how is the emergence and change of climate policy influenced by: politicians and the national political fields; business and organizational fields; EU policy and the European environment; social and entrepreneurial mechanisms? Combining policy studies with sociological new institutionalism, and drawing on three climate policy sub-areas in Norway: renewable energy, low-energy buildings and carbon capture and storage, Boasson presents a multi-field framework that allows the reader to capture the entire policy cycle, explaining policy initiation, policy adoption and the long-term, social feedback effects resulting from implementation (or lack of implementation).

• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Wettestad, Jørgen (2013). EU Climate Policy: Industry, Policy Interaction and External Environment. Ashgate. ISBN 9781409403555. 223 p. Full text in Research Archive
• Andresen, Steinar; Boasson, Elin Lerum & Hønneland, Geir (2012). International environmental agreements: an introduction. Routledge. ISBN 9780415598255. 199 p. Full text in Research Archive

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• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Jevnaker, Torbjørg (2026). Policy integration renewables promotion and electricity market design. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2026). Balancing Welfare and Climate: Explaining Norway’s Inequality Inducing Electricity Price Support Scheme. Full text in Research Archive
• Seibicke, Helena & Boasson, Elin Lerum (2026). Scientific Advisory Councils: Facilitating Climate Governance Implementation in Turbulent Times? Full text in Research Archive
• Jensenius, Alexander Refsum; Sandve, Geir Kjetil Ferkingstad; Boasson, Elin Lerum; Mjaaland, Marius Timmann; Skjelkvåle, Brit Lisa & Moen, Kåre [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2026). What can the Centre for Global Sustainability do for UiO – and the other way around? Full text in Research Archive
• Aukrust, Kjerstin; Gjesdal, Anje Müller & Boasson, Elin Lerum (2025). Episode 141: Parisavtalen 10 år etter. Med Elin Lerum Boasson. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2025). Norway's big green lie – DW – 09/26/2025. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Hydropower, heat pumps and EVs made Norway a climate darling. Oil and gas exports made it rich. When one Norwegian started to question his role in this story, he came up against the paradox shaping this country's future – and the world’s energy transition.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2025). Parlamentswahl in Norwegen 2025 - Tagesschau - Play SRF. [TV]. Lineær TV og på nett. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Reportasje om klima og EU i det norske valget

• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2025). Norway’s Elections: A Fossil Consensus. [Journal]. Internett. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Could the rise of smaller parties drive Europe’s biggest gas supplier to change course?

• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2025). Hvordan utforme gode klimamål? Klimastyring nasjonalt og lokalt - hva kan Norge lære av andre? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Nå som Norge har satt mål for klimagassutslipp i 2035 er det viktig å også vurdere hvordan offentlig klimastyring kan styrkes.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Sandstad, Mette Undheim (2025). Designing National Climate Governance: Insights from Nordic Countries. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Sandstad, Mette Undheim (2025). Climate Governance Procedures: Lessons learned from Denmark. doi: https:/klimaraadet.dk/sites/default/files/node/field_files/The%20Planet%20and%20Denmark%20-%20the%20DCCC%27s%2010th%20Anniversary%20Publication%20(English%20edition).pdf. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Many countries have elaborate climate governance procedures, and Denmark has been in the forefront of this development. In this chapter, we specify how such procedures can work, especially when it comes to facilitating broad participation in climate policy developments. We identify four key governance procedures, Emissions Monitoring, Reporting, Evaluation, and Innovation. We argue that the effectiveness of these procedures for climate action is improved when they are characterized by high levels of inclusion, transparency, and routinization. High scores on these aspects facilitates broad participation and reduces the chances of political stalemate. Denmark’s climate governance system performs well on all these aspects, although there is still room for improvement. The Danish Council on Climate Change is crucial for most of the procedures we assess. Even though this is an expert committee with narrow participation, we argue that it contributes to mobilize more actors into climate governance processes. This chapter does not examine how effective the Danish climate governance procedures are in practice. Rather, it presents arguments that can be tested in future research.

• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2025). Klimameldingen – hvordan gjøre svak klimamelding til effektiv politikk? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Regjeringen la frem Klimameldingen i april i år, og fikk kritikk for at den manglet både mål, styring og klimapolitiske virkemidler.

• Sandstad, Mette Undheim & Boasson, Elin Lerum (2024). Nordic Climate Governance: Overcoming Market failure, spurring technology development or boosting popular support? Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2024). Klimamål som styringsverktøy i Norge og EU. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2024). Har EU ansvaret for å kutte norske utslipp? Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum; Lindberg, Marie Byskov; Leiren, Merethe Dotterud; Jevnaker, Torbjørg & Hermansen, Erlend Andre T. (2024). EUs nye klimamål utfordrer regjeringen. Aftenposten. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2024). Hvordan kan maktfordelingen i norsk klimapolitikk endres? Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum; Kverndokk, Snorre; Peters, Glen Philip; Strømman, Anders Hammer & Wettestad, Jørgen (2023). Ikke rom for nye oljeinvesteringer. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2023). How may states design public organizations, practices, and policies, to accelerate climate action towards net-zero emissions? Full text in Research Archive
• Taranger, Karianne Krohn; Boasson, Elin Lerum & Wettestad, Jørgen (2023). Energy crisis accelerating climate transitions? Explaining energy price support scheme differences across countries. Full text in Research Archive
• Leiren, Merethe Dotterud; Torvanger, Asbjørn; Hermansen, Erlend Andre T. & Boasson, Elin Lerum (2022). Er det lurt å elektrifisere oljeplattformene? [Internet]. CICERO - Magasinet Klima. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum; Clapp, Christa; Kverndokk, Snorre; Peters, Glen Philip; Strømman, Anders Hammer & Wettestad, Jørgen (2022). Optimisme å spore i klimarapporten» (Signs of optimism in the climate report). Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Nilssen, Tore (2021). Vi trenger mer kunnskap om klimaløsningene, ikke om klimaproblemet. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2019). Comparative Renewable Energy Policy. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2019). Comparative Renewable Energy Policy. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2019). Political steering and climate policy: Exploring the role of Garbage Can and Political Competition. Full text in Research Archive
• Huitema, Dave; Boasson, Elin Lerum & Beunen, Raoul (2018). Entrepreneurship in climate governance at the local and regional levels: concepts, methods, patterns, and effects. Regional Environmental Change. ISSN 1436-3798. 18(5), p. 1247–1257. doi: 10.1007/s10113-018-1351-5. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This editorial sets the scene for a special issue on climate governance entrepreneurship at the local and regional levels. To make climate governance work, much policy activity is needed at the local and regional levels. Entrepreneurs are actors who aim to affect change by using their agency. They target policy decisions at the local and regional levels, which might subsequently turn to other governance levels to expand their influence. The scientific discussion about governance entrepreneurs is characterized by a lack of conceptual clarity, by methodological challenges, and by several research gaps. Regarding the latter, at present, it is especially unclear when and why entrepreneurs become active, which factors they take into account when they select their strategies, and what explains the effects of entrepreneurial activity on the emergence of innovations in climate governance. All contributions to this special issue engage with one or several of these conceptual, methodological, and empirical challenges, thus advancing the state of art in the field. Highlights from the special issue include the development of a simple conceptual frame that connects actors, contexts, strategies, and outcomes in a systematic way. Some promising methodological avenues are described, since the special issue contains not only some qualitative case studies but also some studies that take a long-term perspective by following policy development for decades, and a study that proposes a census approach. Empirically, the contributions in this special issue shed light on a range of factors explaining levels of entrepreneurial activity, and they carefully trace impacts over time. We conclude by sketching an agenda for further work in this realm

• Leiren, Merethe Dotterud; Szulecki, Kacper; Banet, Catherine; Boasson, Elin Lerum; Wettestad, Jørgen & Bjermeland, Monica (2018). Panel: Utviklingen av støttesystemer for fornybar energi i seks europeiske land. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2018). Nordic Energy Paradoxes: Comparing Swedish and Norwegian renewables policies. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2018). EUs klimapolitikk i endring: Innsatsfordeling, nasjonale forpliktelser og fleksibilitetsmekanismene. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2018). Comparative Renewable Energy Policy. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Leiren, Merethe Dotterud (2018). Four modes of Europeanization: How the EU influences renewables policy. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum; Hermansen, Erlend Andre T. & Lahn, Bård (2017). Fortsatt høye norske klimagassutslipp. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2017). Delta i debatten Miljønasjon eller oljenasjon: Norske verdier i oljealderen. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2017). Klimapolitikk - i EU og Norge. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2017). Norsk klimapolitikk i komparativt perspektiv. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2017). EU climate and energy policy – implications for Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2017). Hvordan skiller klimameldingen seg fra tidligere klimapolitikk? Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2017). Locked-in Europeanization: Swedish renewables exceptionalism. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2017). Goliath strikes back: Explaining renewable energy Europeanization and market steering through EU state aid guidelines. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2017). Enabled by a perfect storm? European Renewables Integration by EU state aid guidelines. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2017). Entrepreneurship and polycentricity. Full text in Research Archive
• Hermansen, Erlend Andre T.; Boasson, Elin Lerum & Lahn, Bård Lappegård (2017). Fortsatt høye norske klimautslipp. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2017). Panel about Where is the ongoing revision of the EU renewable energy policy heading? Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2017). How do the EU renewables policy and state aid regulations affect national renewable energy policy developments? Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2017). Hvilke politikk har EU og hvilke betydning har det for Norge? Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2017). EUROPEAN AND NORWEGIAN ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE POLICY. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2017). EUs klimapolitikk og Norge. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Leiren, Merethe Dotterud (2016). Hvordan vil nye EU-regler rettet mot fornybar energi og kapasitetsmekansimer se ut? Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2016). Energimelding 1999 vs 2016. Hvor forskjellig er klimaprofilen, hva kan forklare dette og hva blir konsekvensene? Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2016). EUs nye fornybar energi politikk Hvor går EU og hva kan bli konsekvensene for Norge? Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2016). REMIX Revising the National Renewables Mix The Role of State Aid and other Key EU Policies. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2016). EU State Aid Guidelines: What can explain the shift in 2014? Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Bang, Guri (2016). Climate Governance Research and the IPCC: What can we hope to achieve? Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2016). Norwegian Renewables Policy: Why will Norway abolish the Green Certificate Scheme from 2021? Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2014). EU 2030 climate targets: Implications for Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2014). EU 2030 climate targets: Implications for Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2014). Europeisk innflytelse på norsk energi- og klimapolitikk i et historisk perspektiv: I hvilke grad har politisk ledelse og embetsverk sett mot Brussel? Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Wettestad, Jørgen (2014). Eus nye klimapolitikk: boksekampen har begynt! Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum & Wettestad, Jørgen (2014). Europaparlamentet som klimajoker. Full text in Research Archive
• Boasson, Elin Lerum (2013). Energibruk i bygg: hvordan sikre en god og samordnet nasjonal politikk? Full text in Research Archive
• Tennbakk, Berit; Boasson, Elin Lerum & Leiren, Merethe Dotterud (2017). Development of scenarios for EU renewable policies. Discussion paper 2016-12. Thema Consulting Group. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Based on a string of qualitative case studies, the REMIX research explores the drivers for renewables and capacity regulations at the national level and the renewables policy mix at the EU level. In the foresight analysis, we combine these insights with scenario methodology, and qualitative inputs from the larger group of partners to the REMIX project. The scenarios capture different developments in the EU framework with implications for the development of national RES policies. The purpose of scenarios is to define a likely outcome space for an uncertain future, and not to make predictions. In our case the uncertainty is related to the combined policy framework of support schemes for renewable power generation and capacity mechanisms. Key uncertainties include, on the one hand, Member States’ renewables policy ambitions and obligations, and their leeway in designing RES support measures given restrictions at the higher political level, i.e. in EU law. On the other hand, developments in the market framework, such as the degree of integration of the internal energy market (e.g. via interconnectors, harmonisation of regulations, level competition etc.) and the emergence and design of capacity mechanisms, remain uncertain. We discuss how these uncertainties can be used to map the likely outcome space and what scenario framework may capture the dynamics relevant for national renewables policy formation. This paper represents a first step in the process towards developing full-fledged scenarios. The next step will be to formulate scenario stories based on the REMIX case studies and inputs from the research group as well as the partner group.

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