On the other hand: This income stream to the Crown Estate has stopped anyone in Westminster touching offshore (at least for now), even as onshore got assaulted in the 2010s.

One issue with offshore in the UK is that all the income from the leases goes to the Crown Estate and not Clacton et al. Having financial benefits distributed more locally might anchor green support in these communities more effectively.

We’re beyond thrilled to launch the 2nd Max Planck Summer School for Women in Political Economy

If you’re a fellow political economist annoyed by all-male rooms & gendered comments— join us & share!

🗓️ 22-25 Sept, 2025 in Cologne
🚨 Apply by 25 Apr, 2025

www.mpifg.de/1343511/2025...

Stellantis opposed the phaseout under Tavares, but once it was a done deal didn't strive to undermine it. Now, with the leadership unclear and the US market going backward on electrification, it is unclear where they are going to stand.

Thanks, Reto!

I contribute to the political economy of climate change literature by introducing asset specificity as a determinant of business behavior, theorizing “convertible industries” (ninakelsey.bsky.social) and the “decarbonizable sector” (nilskupzok.bsky.social &
@jonasnahm.com)

Instead, those with existing plans to go all-in on battery electric supported the phaseout, and those who kept investing in combustion engines opposed it.

Why do chameleons turn green? I argue that they turn green in the hope their repurposed assets provide a competitive advantage in emerging green markets. Manufacturers’ policy positions are not a direct function of their market positions.

Due to their high asset specificity, suppliers are a brown industry. They are united, do not care about carrots, and focus on averting sticks.

When they turn green, they become more accommodating of sticks (phaseout) if they get carrots, safeguarding their economic repurposing (public charging deployment) in return.

Car manufacturers are chameleons. Their low asset specificity allows them to repurpose their emissions-intense asset to seek first-mover advantages in the emerging battery electric vehicle market. Hence, we see brown and green behavior in the same industry.

Why did some car manufacturers support the phaseout while others resisted it? And why did parts suppliers stand united in their opposition?

I introduce asset specificity as a second dimension besides emissions intensity determining businesses’ political and economic behavior.

New Working Paper!

I present findings from my first PhD case study on the auto sector’s engagement with the EU phaseout of the internal combustion engine.

doi.org/10.31219/osf...

While adaptation might currently be overshadowed by mitigation, the increasing need for societies to cope with a changing climate will soon bring it to the forefront of climate politics.
6/6

We also call for scholars to broaden the scope of their studies beyond climate change mitigation to adaptation.
5/6

We argue that understanding climate politics as a two-dimensional conflict space is crucial, as climate policies and climate change itself can create winners and losers independently of one another.
4/6

The aim is to demonstrate the importance of integrating climate change into the field of CPE and to highlight the contributions of CPE to our understanding of the social and political obstacles to effective climate policies.
3/6

In this article, we review recent insights from the blooming Comparative Political Economy (CPE) literature on climate change.
2/6

Thrilled to share the publication of our review article with @hannaschwander.bsky.social on public climate action as a new field for comparative political economy in Regulation & Governance:
doi.org/10.1111/rego...
1/6

Me too, please @profmusgrave.bsky.social Thanks a lot!

Thanks, Luke!

I am excited to announce that I have joined Nuffield College and Blavatnik School of Government in pursuit of my PhD.