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List of contributors, Preface. 1. Decarbonization and unlocking: national pathways to low carbon emission economies Kurt Hübner; 2. The challenge of transition in liberal market economies: the United States and Canada Kathryn Harrison ; 3. Transition to a low carbon economy in the United Kingdom: a case of liberal capitalism? Alexander Ebner ; 4. Climate change politics in Japan in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear crisis Miranda A. Schreurs; 5. The transition to a low carbon economy in Germany's coordinated capitalism Alexander Ebner ; 6. Norway's low carbon strategy: internal and external drivers Jon Birger Skjærseth and Torbjørg Jevnaker 7. China: greening China's state-led growth regime Miranda A. Schreur ; 8. Climate policies in dependent market economies: the cases of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic Daniele Archibugi and Marina Chiarugi ; Bibliography, Index

The science is clear: climate change is a fact and the probability is extremely high that it has been caused by humans. At the same time, policy responses arehesitant, rather lukewarm and differ substantially between nation-states. The question is, what drives and what blocks radical action? This book makes the case that institutional settings, path dependence and emerging change coalitions are critical in explaining climate policies across the global political economy. Technological and social-political innovations are key drivers for dealing with climate change. This class of innovation is very much guided, or suppressed, by a national economy's established institutional settings. By anchoring national case studies in a version of the well established 'varieties of capitalism' approach, the chapters of this book show why some economies are policy leaders and others become policy followers, or even policy interlockers. Moreover, the case studies demonstrate the extent to which external events and institutional constraints from the international polity influence national innovation strategies. Taking a unique analytical approach, which combines insightsfrom innovation policies and a variety of capitalism literature, the authors provide genuine comprehension of the interplay between institutional settings, political actors and climate policies. National Pathways to Low Carbon Emission Economies offers a valuable examination of these issues on climate change that will be of interest to academics and postgraduates researching climate policy, economic policy and social movements. Furthermore, it is relevant for policy analysts and policy makers who are interested in learning from climate policies in the context of innovation strategies for a range of countries.