The Bath Institute of Sustainability and Climate Change (ISCC), and the Department of Social and Policy Sciences, co-hosted Professor Benjamin Cashore’s Public Lecture ‘Climate Policy Thermostats: The planet’s last hope’, exploring the future of climate governance.

Benjamin Cashore, the University of Bath’s 2025–2027 Global Chair for Sustainability, is Professor of Public Management at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and was founding Director of the Institute for Environment & Sustainability (IES) at NUS' Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Professor Cashore brings internationally recognised expertise in environmental governance and policy innovation.

Public debate

In his lecture, Professor Cashore noted that the groundswell of political, public and media interest in the climate crisis in the early 2020s has waned in the face of economic and geo-political challenges.

Yet, he argued, this lull is likely to be temporary. Using an ice hockey metaphor, Cashore urged researchers and policymakers not to focus solely on where the “puck” is now, but where it is heading. The key question, he posed, is whether institutions and societies will be ready when climate change inevitably returns to the centre of public debate.

To get ready, Cashore argued that policy makers and the public must directly confront a three decade long paradox: an exponential deployment of policy innovations that has coincided with the worsening of the climate crisis. Drawing on decades of research, he reviewed a persistent contradiction that whilst policy frameworks and commitments have proliferated, global emissions continue to rise.

Professor Cashore describes this paradox as the outcome of the “policy creation euphoria–implementation depression cycle” – a pattern in which new climate initiatives generate optimism before ultimately falling short. From carbon trading schemes to corporate commitments, he identified that many well-intentioned solutions have failed to deliver meaningful change.

He argued that overcoming this conundrum requires undertaking three analytical tasks.

Why climate policy keeps failing – prioritisation

First, Cashore stressed that to be effective, climate change policies can no longer rely solely on material self-interest to justify and narrow the choice of tools. Instead, they must identify, champion and prioritise what he describes as “Type 4” outcomes — fundamental problems that society determines must be solved “no matter what”, rather than traded off against competing economic or political priorities. He noted that this orientation was once applied more widely, pointing, for example, to the eradication of slavery.

Cashore argued that most policies, interventions, and tools deployed over the last three decades have emphasized economic objectives rather than turning on market and finance tools to help achieve, rather than drift away from, compliance to Type 4 environmental concerns. Second, and as a result, he called for a shift in how climate policy is designed – moving beyond short-term interventions towards systems that can endure political and economic disruption.

Climate thermostats as the last hope

Third, and central to Professor Cashore’s talk, was the concept of “climate thermostats” as a potential solution. He described these as policy frameworks that automatically trigger stronger action when environmental targets are not met.

Drawing parallels with central banking and environmental protection systems such as the US’ Endangered Species Act (1973), Cashore argued that effective policies must include built-in mechanisms that respond dynamically to changing conditions.

While examples from other sectors demonstrate how such systems can succeed, similar approaches remain underdeveloped in climate governance.

This, he suggested, is where interdisciplinary research becomes essential. By combining scientific understanding with political and social insight, policies can be designed that are both robust and implementable.

Interdisciplinary solutions

Throughout the lecture, Cashore emphasised the importance of creating deliberate interdisciplinary spaces to bring together expertise from natural science, engineering, and social and policy sciences to tackle complex global challenges.

He argued that addressing climate change will require not only technological innovation, but also new governance models, behavioural shifts, and the reimagining of societal expectations.

Global collaboration at Bath

Professor Cashore’s work at Bath will advance these ideas through collaboration across departments and research centres, supported by the University’s Global Chair programme.

Prof Yixian Sun, ISCC Core member and Global Chair Host:

It is a privilege to host Professor Cashore – a world-leading expert of environmental governance - at Bath. His work challenges us to rethink how we approach climate governance and creates exciting opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration across the University.

Prof Benjamin Cashore:

The Global Chair programme provides a unique platform to bring together diverse expertise and test bold new ideas. Its location at the University of Bath is perfect placed – given its impressive history in applied STEM sciences, and expanding efforts to incorporating social and policy sciences to achieve effective and durable outcomes. Addressing the climate crisis requires exactly this kind of sustained, collaborative effort across disciplines and institutions.

Professor Emma Carmel, Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research):

Professor Cashore’s lecture is a powerful reminder of both the scale of the challenge and the importance of sustained, collaborative research. Creating spaces for this kind of critical thinking is essential if we are to deliver meaningful impact.

As Global Chair at the University of Bath until 2027, Professor Cashore will continue to work with ISCC, the Department of Social and Policy Sciences and colleagues across the University to develop these ideas, through talks, workshops and collaborative activities in the coming academic year.