Comparative analysis of the driving forces behind the framing of REDD in industrialized countries

This grant would fund a research stay at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI) in Lysaker. With expertise in environmental politics, FNI provides an excellent opportunity for Ph.D research into climate change mitigation mechanisms that could benefit industr y and society. Having secured an offer of supervision from Professor Steinar Andresen (FNI) and worked to achieve a level of proficiency in the Norwegian language, I am confident that, should I be successful, I would make full use of the grant. The resear ch stay is an essential element of my Ph.D which focuses on international climate negotiations and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); examining the development of the mitigation mechanism 'Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Deg radation' (REDD). Since 2005 REDD has gained weight as a mitigation mechanism: Now at the top of the international negotiation agenda, the mechanism's success depends to a large extent on the financial commitment of donor countries. Norway facilitated the REDD+ Partnership, appears as the largest financial contributor to the UN-REDD programme and is hence a leader in securing financial transfers from industrialized to developing countries. With Norway as the main case study, research will analyze the driv ing forces behind national framing of REDD. Drawing upon the theoretical tradition of Historical Institutionalism and framing analysis, the analytical approach seeks to investigate ideas and interests promoted by actors and institutions. A key and most ch allenging objective is to extract national motivations to understand policy changes and national preferences for a particular climate change mitigation mechanism. Such an objective stems from previous work demonstrating that this has not yet been adequate ly addressed with reference to REDD. The collection of primary 'field' data in Norway (using methodologies such as interviews with leading policy makers, industry and NGOs) is key to this research project's success.