Analysis of European climate action contrarian think tanks through the perceptions of politicians and their teams

Moreno Cabezudo, Jose Antonio

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.5783/revrrpp.v14i27.856

Analysis of European climate action contrarian think tanks through the perceptions of politicians and their teams

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Moreno JA. Analysis of European climate action contrarian think tanks through the perceptions of politicians and their teams. Revista internacional de relaciones públicas. 2024;27(14):5-22. DOI: 10.5783/revrrpp.v14i27.856

Abstract

There is a countermovement in motion that has obstructed the adoption of climate policies all over the world. In Europe, although some organizations have been identified, we know little about their influence. This research aims to analyse the role of climate action contrarian think tanks in the policymaking of the European Parliament (EP). To this end, a two-fold methodology is employed. Firstly, a survey of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) was conducted in 2021, and this was followed by in-depth interviews with Accredited Parliamentary Assistants (APAs) related to climate issues. The results indicate almost no knowledge of these climate policy obstructionist think tanks among the surveyed MEPs and interviewed APAs. However, respondents believe that think tanks are generally used in policymaking. In fact, policymakers recognize the most prestigious European think tanks and often use them. Attributes such as visibility, good networking, quality content and transparency enable think tanks to have access to policymaking, although this would not seem to be the case for think tanks that oppose climate action in Europe. Results also describe policymakers' perceptions regarding the use of think tanks in general, which they see as useful tools in the elaboration of highly complex legislative dossiers in the EP. This article contributes to the line of research on the influence of interest groups.