Colloquium: Prof. Dr. Karin Ingold & Dr. Marlene Kammerer

Just recently, the international community has reinforced the 1.5 degrees target to protect the world from excessive global warming. But, at the same time it is clear, that the national commitments as formulated in the national determined contributions (NDCs) are not enough. And, even if they were, these commitments must be translated into national polices. However, this is a complex task and involves multiple actors and levels of governance. Hence, there is not only a gap between the 1.5 degrees target and the NDCs, but certainly also between the NDCs and the national policies. In this article, we argue that the role of two-level connectors in this multi-level arrangement is key. Two-level connectors are organizations that are involved in both the formulation of the international commitments (NDCs) and the national policies. Through elite survey data and social network analysis, we compare five different countries and assess the potential role of connectors on the harmonization between international and national climate policies.