Is it feasible to put global warming to a halt? To reach the climate goals, scholars agree that supply-side mitigation policies must be complemented with demand-side strategies, targeting the consumer end of GHG emissions. This development prompts a shift in focus from technological to political feasibility. If technological progress set the limits for supply-side carbon reductions, demand-side mitigation is constrained primarily by what can be politically achieved. 
 
This project examines what the political feasibility of climate mitigation entails. We identify two main problems with the existing literature on political feasibility in climate mitigation. The first is that the concept of political feasibility is severely undertheorized. The second is the wide-spread but questionable assumption that political feasibility correlates with the realization of justice and legitimacy. Our aim is threefold: (1) to offer a comprehensive account of political feasibility in climate mitigation; (2) to develop a theoretical framework for mapping out the conditions under which justice and legitimacy enhance the political feasibility of mitigation policies and when they conflict; (3) to offer policy recommendations for cases when concerns for just and/or legitimate climate mitigation clash with concerns for political feasibility.
 
The project comprises three work packages and runs over 4 years. The three researchers are all specialized in normative political theory and have published extensively on the topic of feasibility. 
 
The project fills a gap in the existing research on climate mitigation and provides scholars and policy-makers with new tools for comparing and assessing mitigation policies. As the scale and pace of climate mitigation increase, we should expect the number and intensity of mitigation-related conflicts to escalate. Anticipating such conflicts, the project develops criteria for trade-offs necessary to strike a proper balance between affected interests and values. 
 

Read more about Naima Chahboun's research here.

Read more about Eva Erman's research here.

Read more about Niklas Möller's research here.