Net-Zero Norm Entrepreneurship: Principles and Prospects in the U.S.

Abstract

Net-Zero is the dominant paradigm through which much of the world’s climate mitigation efforts are now expressed. Many are familiar with countries setting Net-Zero targets, yet sub-national actors play a critical role too. The context of the United States (U.S.) stands testament to this. When the Trump Administration signaled its intention to leave the Paris Agreement in 2017, sub-national actors rapidly formed coalitions to declare that they were ‘still in’. Even after the Biden Administration re-joined the Paris Agreement, many sub-national actors continue to reinforce the normative momentum behind Net-Zero. In this sense, some are ‘Net-Zero Norm Entrepreneurs’.

This paper explores U.S. states, cities, tribal nations, businesses, and non-profits as Net-Zero Norm Entrepreneurs. Through a combination of qualitative insights and case studies drawn from an analysis of close to 5000 entities, it maps the current swathe of each group’s practice and reveals distinctive hallmarks of sub-national Net-Zero Norm Entrepreneurship. These hallmarks are important as they can inform processes of norm contestation. A prime example of Net-Zero norm contestation can be seen in the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission’s 2021 consultation on climate risk disclosure. By investigating sub-national actor inputs into this process, this paper explores Net-Zero Norm Entrepreneurship in real-world practice. Within this context, it also assesses the role of Net-Zero Norm Antipreneurs who provide a countervailing force. Through this exercise, the paper distills principles of effective Net-Zero Norm Entrepreneurship and in turn, uses these to assess the prospects of Net-Zero as a source of new norms.

Keywords: net-zero, norms, norm entrepreneurship, climate policy, sub-national actors