The State in the Anthropocene: The Comparative Politics of Climate Institutions and Climate Policies
26.05.2026, 18.00-19.30
HU Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, Senatssaal
Despite the scientific evidence accumulated on the human origins of climate change, and the Paris agreement signed in December 2015 by 196 countries, global public policy addressing climate change seems to fall short of its own objectives to contain global warming within two degrees by the end of this century. This lecture presents an institutional perspective to explore this gap between the identification of climate change as a major issue for humanity, and the policy outcomes delivered in response on the ground. Institutions matter. They make the difference, either locking in social arrangements supporting fossil fuel economies, or alternatively facilitating energy transitions and developing climate adaptation and resilience. The lecture will first propose a framework to analyse climate institutions and climate policies under this angle. It will then map the climate institutions between the European Union, China (PRC), and the USA, in an attempt to characterize variations in climate change regimes in the three cases. We will conclude with considerations on the impact of climate change on statehood, and on international relations in the contemporary context.
Prof. Dr. Richard Balme is full professor of political science at Sciences Po, Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics.
His lecture will be moderated by Dr. Stefan Schäfer, research group leader at the Research Institute for Sustainability – Helmholtz Centre Potsdam and fellow at Harvard University and the University of Oxford.
About the lecture series
The KOSMOS-Lesungen are in the tradition of one of the most famous lecture series in the German history of science: Alexander von Humboldt’s Kosmos lectures. Around 200 years ago, the natural scientist spanned the entire world and all disciplines of science. Today’s KOSMOS lectures are dedicated to the challenging transformation processes in the age of the Anthropocene.
Photo credits: NASA Earth Observatory
