Dr Katharine Rietig

Katharine Rietig is Lecturer in Politics and Research Methods at the Politics and Public Policy Department of De Montfort University in Leicester.

Katharine’s background is in Political Science with a focus on Environmental Governance. Her research interests focus on agency in environmental and climate policy making across the national, European and international governance levels.

Her research is driven by the question of how we can increase the political willingness and ability to more effectively address the challenges of the 21st century, in particular environmental issues and climate change. She focuses on agency in multilevel policy making. Katharine is interested in the factors that enable state and non-state actors to influence policy making on the national, European and international level. These include knowledge, beliefs and power as well as multiplying factors such as policy entrepreneurs, learning and public opinion.

Her research appeared in the peer-reviewed journals Policy Sciences, International Environmental Agreements as well as Environmental Policy and Governance. Furthermore, she is book review editor at International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics.

Previously, she was Research Fellow in the Governance of Sustainable Pathways at the University of Leeds. She taught Environmental Governance, Environmental Management and Research Methods at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and contributed to research projects on Sustainable Development in the European Union (LSE Government Department) as well as on climate change legislation and diplomacy at the LSE Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment/ Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy.

Click here to view a full listing of Katharine Rietig's publications and outputs.

Rietig, K. (2014). ‘Neutral’ Experts? How Input of Scientific Expertise Matters in International Environmental Negotiations. Policy Sciences 47(2): 141-160. DOI 10.1007/s11077-013-9188-8.

Rietig, K. (online first 2014). Reinforcement of Multilevel Governance Dynamics: Creating Momentum for Increasing Ambitions in International Climate Negotiations. International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics. DOI 10.1007/s10784-014-9239-4.

Rietig, K. (2013). Sustainable Climate Policy Integration in the European Union. Environmental Policy and Governance 23(5): 297-310. DOI: 10.2002/eet.1616

• Environmental Policy and Politics
• Environmental Management
• Research Methods
• Public Policy
• Global Governance
• International Organisations

• 2014 PhD in Environmental Policy (London School of Economics and Political Science)
• 2012 PGCert in Higher Education (London School of Economics and Political Science)
• 2011 Magister Artium in Political Science/ International Relations, Economics and Law (Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Germany)
• 2010 MSc in Environmental Policy (London School of Economics and Political Science)

• POPP 3404: Managing the Environment (module leader)
• POPP 2413: Political Analysis
• POPP 1102: Introduction to Politics (module leader)

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy UK (2013)
• Murmann Fellow (Federal Ministry of Education and Research/ Germany) for Magister Artium and MSc studies at LMU Munich, LSE, American University (Washington D.C.) and Zhejiang University, China (2007-2010)
• Scholarship German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) (2007)

• European Political Science Association (EPSA)
• Political Studies Association (PSA)
• International Studies Association (ISA)
• Research Fellow at the Earth System Governance Network

Learning as Facilitating Factor Towards Pathways for Sustainability? Earth System Governance Conference, July 2014, Norwich. With Richard Perkins.

Pull to the Political Centre or Diffusion Across Geographical Scales? The Role of Policy Entrepreneurs in Environmental Governance. International Studies Conference, March 2014, Toronto. With Richard Perkins.

Geopolitics or Learning? When States Learn from Each Other in International Politics. International Studies Conference, March 2014, Toronto. With Richard Perkins.

Learning in European Climate Policy Integration. LSE Interdisciplinary Research Conference. June 2013, London.

Diffusion of Climate Policies via Multilevel Learning Processes: Interdependencies of National Green Growth Plans and UN Climate Negotiations. International Studies Association Conference, April 2013, San Francisco.

‘Neutral’ Experts? How Input of Scientific Expertise Matters in International Environmental Negotiations. Earth System Governance Conference, January 2013, Tokyo.

Learning Among Policymakers - the Missing Link to Improve Earth System Governance? Earth System Governance Conference, January 2013, Tokyo.

Evaluating the Influence of Environmental Non-Governmental Actors in Climate Negotiations. International Political Science Association World Congress, July 2012, Madrid.

Making Green Growth Work for Developing Countries: How Can Climate Finance Create Co-benefits for Climate Policy and Sustainable Development? International Society of Ecological Economics Conference, June 2012, Rio de Janeiro.

Effective Problem-Based Learning in International Politics: Model United Nations in the Classroom. Presentation at LSE Teaching Day, May 2012, London.

Implementation of Sustainable Development within European Climate Policy via Climate Policy Integration? Sustainable RIO project workshop, Free University Berlin, May 2012, Berlin.

Available for consulting on climate change and the environment: policy design, communication, influencing the policy making process in the UK, EU and in international negotiations.

BBC World Service Trust: “India talks Climate”; consulting on research design and dissemination of vulnerabilities to climate change in India based on the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

• PhD Scholarship/ Murmann Fellow (Federal Ministry of Education and Research/ Germany) (2012-2013)
• LSE PhD Research Studentship Award (2011-2012)
• PhD Scholarship German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) (2010-2011)
• Robert Bosch Foundation Grants (2009, 2010, 2011) for participation of LMU Munich student delegations at Harvard World Model United Nations conferences in The Hague, Taipei and Singapore.

• Peer reviewer for International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Review of International Organization, the Journal of Environmental Planning and Management as well as Macmillan (review of book proposals).
• Book review editor at International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics.

Contributing author to GLOBE Climate Legislation Study on Climate Change Legislation in 66 Countries, which was launched in February 2014 in the United States Congress and at the World Bank. Key recipients and key note speakers were House Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi, US Senator Edward Markey, President of the World Bank Group Dr. Jim Yong Kim, UN Assistant Secretary General Dr Robert Orr, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC Christiana Figueres and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Achim Steiner as well as over 150 members of national parliaments across the world.

The Climate Legislation Study received high attention by the media including The Guardian, Financial Times, CNN, Bloomberg, BBC, The Economist, China Daily, Business Week, Forbes, Huffington Post, The Times of India and The Australian.

Nachmany, M., Fankhauser, S., Townshend, T., Collins, M. Landesman, T., Matthews, A., Pavese, C., Rietig, K., Schleifer, P. and J. Setzer. (2014). “The GLOBE Climate Legislation Study: A Review of Climate Change Legislation in 66 Countries. Fourth Edition.” London: GLOBE International and the Grantham Research Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science.