To paraphrase the immortal saying of James Carville, “It’s the economy, Stupid,” an advisor to then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton, we examined with comparative tools the implementation of countries’ climate policy commitments a decade after the signing of the Paris Agreement (2015) – through close-up lenses – whether it is a political-economic ideology and to what extent democracy plays a central role in the implementation of dedicated climate policies at the state level, through the Euro-Med prism.

The question that outlines the research framework initiated recently by Tahadhari Center (Brussels), headed by me and Mark Causon, ‘Is there a difference in the implementation of climate policy according to the state regime – right-wing, center-left or left-wing – in the countries of the Northern and Southern Mediterranean’. In practice, the goal in examining the issue is to see whether climate policy is linked to the values of democracy, equality, and climate justice, in the Euro-Med region.

In brief, the bottom-line is YES. There are distinct differences in how climate policy is implemented and the geographic-economic divide between the Northern and Southern Mediterranean. These differences........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)