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This paper examines the influence of democratic institutions on environmental policy stringency and the degree to which it is affected by membership in the Arctic Council. We hypothesize that, relative to countries with no Arctic presence, countries present in the Arctic given their territorial, trade, and touristic interests are more pro-environmentally inclined as they experience the effects of global warming first-hand, and the quality of democratic institutions may reinforce this effect. Our empirical analysis based on global macroeconomic data suggests that countries with democratic institutional environments are associated with more response to Arctic status and more stringent environmental policies. Moreover, the presence of democratic governments in the Arctic increases the stringency of both market- and non-market-based environmental regulations. The suggestive estimated monetary value associated with the impact of democratic institutions in the Arctic is about 101,000 international dollars per capita. These findings underscore that the development of democratic institutions may lead to strong welfare improvements and can be used in the design of international environmental agreements for Arctic area protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do some communities see fewer greenhouse gas emissions than others? This study examines the intervening role of environmental NGOs in Japanese urban emissions between 2005 and 2017. We draw from all 1741 Japanese municipalities, testing the effect of grassroots NGOs on emissions, and demonstrating different pathways to reducing emissions through the cases of three environmental organizations. While past studies have examined the role of social ties in environmental governance outcomes like emission reduction efforts, the direct roles of grassroots organizations have not yet been explored in a mixed methods design. We find that cities with more local grassroots organizations and multi-level organizations tend to see fewer emissions over time, a compelling endorsement of civil society efforts to avert climate change. This study aims to build a theory on what kinds of environmental NGOs promote climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]