State‐Initiated Climate Intermediaries Shaping Climate Governance–Needed Facilitators of Dialogue for Societal Transition to Net Zero?

Abstract

As governments intensify efforts to achieve net zero goals, they increasingly rely on forms of indirect governance to mobilise societal actors and facilitate climate action. Governance literature focuses on orchestration by organisations and governments that engage intermediaries to pursue shared governance goals. While intermediaries are recognised in climate governance as go‐between organisations operating between governance levels to affect climate policy, less is known about states that establish and design intermediaries for steering climate action. This paper unpacks policy characteristics of what we call state‐initiated climate intermediaries (SICI) to gain a nuanced understanding of this dynamic. It examines cases of SICIs in Sweden and the Netherlands using grey literature analysis. Case analysis is guided by a novel conceptual framework that bridges orchestration theory with mission‐oriented innovation policy. The analysis indicates that mission‐oriented policy of SICIs that encourages cross‐sectoral participation and dialogue with the wider public facilitates inclusive climate action. However, neither intermediary provides systematic mechanisms for tracking participants' implementation of voluntary commitments. The available evidence therefore indicates facilitation and stakeholder mobilisation, but does not permit conclusions about the resulting climate outcomes. This paper makes a conceptual contribution to climate governance literature by defining SICIs as a distinct climate intermediary type with mission‐oriented policy characteristics. It contributes to an empirical understanding of states as orchestrators of SICIs and mission‐oriented innovation policy to steer these intermediaries' climate initiatives towards mission goals.