Integrating climate change into sectoral policy processes

An analysis of the legislative process of Statute No. 14,301/2022 (“BR do Mar”) using Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework

Resumo

In order to gather insights into how climate change can be integrated into sectoral policies, we apply Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework to analyse the forces at work in the policy process of Statute No. 14,301/2022, a piece of legislation encouraging maritime cabotage development. Based on data from 259 newspaper articles and ten in-depth interviews, this research found that a window of opportunity was opened by the emergence of a problem (overreliance on road transport), a key event (truck drivers’ strike) and changes in the administration (e.g. new Minister of Infrastructure creating the first navigation department), which the Minister of Infrastructure seized by attaching a policy proposal and persisting for its approval until it was converted into law. This article concludes by offering recommendations for policy entrepreneurs on how climate change can be incorporated into future sectorally-driven policy processes to explore opportunities not seized in the case of Statute No. 14,301/2022.