Dear colleagues, partners, and friends,
We are delighted to share that the Climate Policy Lab at The Fletcher School, Tufts University is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. To honor this occasion and to expand our reach, we are inaugurating a new Climate Policy Lab monthly newsletter.
The Climate Policy Lab was created 10 years ago to address a clear gap between theoretical climate policy research and real-world policy implementation. Our motto remains salient today — to determine what works, what doesn’t, and why in climate policy.
The first lesson learned is that climate policies pursued in isolation from other national goals, including economic growth, energy security, economic security (and national security more generally), job creation, and health, are unlikely to succeed because political interest will wane. Lasting ambition requires political coalitions around goals that matter to a broad range of constituencies. Climate policies become durable when workers, firms, communities, and political leaders can see themselves economically benefiting from the transition. Without building broader coalitions, ever more ambitious policies won’t be forthcoming, and implementation gaps will emerge. This is as true in the United States as it is true in major emerging economies like India, China, Brazil, and Ethiopia. We’re finding that, except in the United States, governments are now intensely interested in energy and economic security, which is translating into a strong desire to do pursue green growth and industrialization.
Second, integration of these priorities into national strategies and concrete policies requires substantial investment in people and tools. You need government leaders and intrepid researchers who are focused on multi-faceted goal-setting and implementation for many years. These people need models and other decision-support tools to understand the opportunities and trade-offs, identify who stands to gain or lose, and make informed policy choices.
Third, within climate policy, we cannot only focus on climate mitigation because climate change is upon us. It’s time to integrate adaptation and resilience into our work. For many policymakers, economic growth and climate impacts—whether fighting wildfires or protecting workers and communities from extreme heat—are front of mind. For too long, adaptation and resilience policies have been put on the back burner — and treated separately — by governments, philanthropy, and academia. Integrating resilience into national green growth strategies can broaden the climate coalition and make climate ambition more tangible and desirable.
This newsletter will serve as a way to keep you apprised of all of the work our team is doing by sharing our latest news, publications, and updates. Whether you've been on this journey with us for 10 years or 10 days, thank you for your continued support and dedication to climate policy in an ever-changing global environment.
Warm Regards,
Kelly Sims Gallagher and Easwaran J. Narassimhan, CPL Co-Directors
