Financial Activism and Global Climate Change: The Rise of Investor-Driven Governance Networks

Michael MacLeod and Jacob Park
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Michael MacLeod: Michael MacLeod is Assistant Professor of Political Science at George Fox University in Oregon, USA. His research examines the emergence and influence of investor networks as agents of global change, and he investigates the role of religion in international business and globalization. Recent publications include "“Private Governance and Climate Change"” (St Anthony's International Review, 5 (2) 2010), "“Emerging Investor Networks and the Construction of Corporate Social Responsibility"” (The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 34, 2009) and "“Business Power and Conflict in International Environmental Politics"” (Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 37 (3) 2009).
Jacob Park: Jacob Park is an Associate Professor of Business Strategy and Sustainability at Green Mountain College in Vermont, USA. His research focuses on a wide range of business, environment, and society issues, including climate change, global environmental governance and corporate social responsibility. Recent publications include the article, "“When Not Every Response to Climate Change is a Good One: Defining Criteria for Sustainable Adaptation"” (Climate and Development Journal, Forthcoming), and the book, The Crisis of Global Environmental Governance: Towards a New Political Economy of Sustainability (2008), co-edited with Ken Conca and Matthias Finger.

Global Environmental Politics, 2011, vol. 11, issue 2, 54-74

Abstract: This article examines the nexus between financial activism and global environmental governance, analyzing the emergence of what we call "“investor-driven governance networks"” (IGNs). Our paper seeks to probe the significance of IGNs as a particular manifestation of responsible investor activism and more generally as a financial instrument of environmental governance and sustain-ability. We argue that IGNs, many of which are concerned with climate change governance, have become important actors in the global economy and deserve more analysis by scholars concerned with new forms of authority in global environmental politics. As an example of emerging transnational private governance, IGNs utilize the power of the financial sector to shape the discourse on climate change within the business community and to link the long-term viability of environmental sustainability to the core strategic interests of corporations and investors. (c)© 2011 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Date: 2011
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