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About

Dr. Katharine Rietig is Senior Lecturer (equivalent to Associate Professor) in International Politics at Newcastle University, UK.

Her research examines how the effectiveness of climate change governance can be improved. Her particular focus is on the role of learning, non-state actors and multilevel governance dynamics between countries, the European Union and the United Nations, and how these dynamics facilitate policy change for more effective environmental governance.

She holds a British Academy/Wolfson Fellowship as Principal Investigator on ‘Climate Smart Cities: Responsible Policies for governing Artificial Intelligence in Transitions to Low Carbon Societies. Her research and impact activities have been funded by the UK Research and Innovation Council/Economic and Social Research Council, the British Academy, the Wolfson Foundation and the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research. In 2017, she was the winner of the Oran R. Young Prize.

She has been participating regularly as academic observer in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations since November 2009 and conducted various research projects on the UNFCCC negotiations focusing on the influence of non-national actors, negotiation strategies and the role of leadership by governments and non-national actors.

She holds a PhD (2014) and MSc (2010) in Environmental Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science and an M.A. (2011) in Political Science, International Law and Economics from the Ludwig Maximilian University Munich.

Her work appeared in leading peer-reviewed journals including Environmental Policy and Governance, Environmental Politics, Global Governance, International Affairs, International Environmental Agreements, the Journal of European Public Policy, Policy Studies Journal, Policy and Society, Policy Sciences and Public Administration. Her research monograph on Learning in Governance was published in August 2021 with MIT Press.

Key publications:

  • Rietig, K. (2021). Learning in Governance: Climate Policy Integration in the European Union. Research Monograph in the Earth System Governance Series. Cambridge: MIT Press.
  • Rietig, K. (2021). Accelerating Transitions to Low Carbon Economies via the EU Budget Despite Turbulent Times. Journal of European Public Policy 28(7): 1018-1037.
  • Rietig, K. (2021). The Role of Multilevel Reinforcing Dynamics in Negotiating European Renewable Energy Policy. Public Administration 99(1): 55-71.
  • Rietig, K. (2019). The Importance of Compatible Beliefs and Uncontested Science for Effective Climate Policy Integration. Environmental Politics 28(2): 228-247.
  • Rietig, K. (2019). Leveraging the Power of Learning for Effective Climate Governance. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning 21(3): 228-241.
  • Rietig, K. (2018). The Link between Contested Knowledge, Beliefs and Learning in European Climate Governance: From Consensus to Conflict in Reforming Biofuels Policy. Policy Studies Journal. 46(1): 137-159.
  • Rietig, K. (2016). The Power of Strategy: Environmental NGO Influence in International Climate Negotiations. Global Governance 22(2): 168-189.
  • Rietig, K. (2014). Reinforcement of Multilevel Governance Dynamics: Creating Momentum for Increasing Ambitions in International Climate Negotiations. International Environmental Agreements 14: 371-389.
  • Rietig, K. (2014). ‘Neutral’ Experts? How Input of Scientific Expertise Matters in International Environmental Negotiations. Policy Sciences 47(2): 141-160.

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