Reclaiming the Atmospheric Commons

Polluters should pay and they should pay the public for using its commons. Raymond tells a fascinating story—with many lessons for other policies and places—of how environmental activists achieved a cap-and-auction system in the Northeast by reframing climate action to emphasize current public benefits over diffuse future ones.

Kathryn Hochstetler, Balsillie School of International Affairs

This important book presents the definitive theoretical and empirical exploration of the power of norms to affect dramatic policy change by way of a deliberate strategy of normative reframing. It is a masterful investigation and comprehensive comparative analysis of the pathbreaking RGGI policy initiative, which pioneered using a public benefit model to justify auctioning emissions allowances. Reclaiming the Atmospheric Commons is also an authoritative primer on cap-and-trade programs generally and an invaluable history of the politics of cap and trade nationally and internationally.

Robert V. Bartlett, Gund Professor of the Liberal Arts, Political Science Department, University of Vermont

Reclaiming the Atmospheric Commons is a compelling, norms-based account of policy change that should be read by anyone interested in creating effective policy instruments that combat climate change and provide positive benefits for the broader public. By bringing together interviews with leading figures, archival work, and his own expertise in analyzing the conditions under which such change occurs, Dr. Raymond takes us beyond the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to the broader universe of public policy dilemmas.

Kate O'Neill, Associate Professor, University of California at Berkeley, author of The Environment and International Relations and Waste Trading among Rich Nations

Raymond's Reclaiming the Atmospheric Commons is a theoretically innovative and data rich book...a strong contribution to the general policy literature.

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