Scholars
Paul Tobin
University of Manchester
Based in
United Kingdom
North America
Paul Tobin is a Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in Politics, and Convenor of the Environmental Politics Group, at the University of Manchester. Paul specialises in the pathways to climate leadership and also the processes that enable the dismantling of environmental legislation. Most recently, he has published on Anti-Net Zero Populism, polycentric climate governance, and the antagonisms between the pursuit of long-term stability and politicization in climate policymaking.
Country(ies) of Specialty
Ireland Sweden United KingdomFocus areas of expertise
Climate policy and politics Climate law and litigation Net ZeroPublications
Articles
Tobin, P., Huitema, D. and Kellner, E., 2024. “The Empirical Realities of Polycentric Climate Governance: Introduction to the Special Issue.” Global Environmental Politics, 24(3), pp.1-23.
Paterson, M., Wilshire, S. and Tobin, P., 2024. “The rise of anti-net zero populism in the UK: comparing rhetorical strategies for climate policy dismantling.” Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 26(3-4), pp.332-350.
Tobin, P., Farstad, F.M. and Tosun, J., 2023. “Intermediating climate change: the evolving strategies, interactions and impacts of neglected “climate intermediaries”.” Policy Studies, 44(5), pp.555-571.
Paterson, M., Tobin, P. and VanDeveer, S.D., 2022. “Climate Governance Antagonisms: Policy Stability and Repoliticization.” Global Environmental Politics, 22(2), pp.1-11.
Schmidt, N.M., Tobin, P. and Moore, B., 2022. “Brace for turbulence: EU Member States’ climate strategies in the aviation sector.” Climate Action, 1(1), pp.1-7.
Fitzgerald, L.M., Tobin, P., Burns, C. and Eckersley, P., 2021. “The ‘stifling’ of new climate politics in Ireland.” Politics and Governance, 9(2), pp.41-50.
Wurzel, R.K., Andersen, M.S. and Tobin, P. eds., 2020. “Climate governance across the globe: Pioneers, leaders and followers.” Routledge.
Burns, C. and Tobin, P., 2020. “Crisis, climate change and comitology: Policy dismantling via the backdoor?” JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 58(3), pp.527-544.
Eckersley, P. and Tobin, P., 2019. “The impact of austerity on policy capacity in local government.” Policy & Politics, 47(3), pp.455-472.
Tobin, P., Schmidt, N.M., Tosun, J. and Burns, C., 2018. “Mapping states’ Paris climate pledges: Analysing targets and groups at COP 21.” Global Environmental Change, 48, pp.11-21.
Tobin, P., 2017. “Leaders and laggards: Climate policy ambition in developed states.” Global Environmental Politics, 17(4), pp.28-47.
Books
Tobin, P., Paterson, M., and VanDeveer, S.D., 2025. Stability and Politicization in Climate Governance. Cambridge University Press.
Wurzel, R.K., Andersen, M.S. and Tobin, P. eds., 2020. “Climate governance across the globe: Pioneers, leaders and followers.” Routledge.