Lauri Peterson

Researcher · Climate Governance

Lauri
Peterson

Senior Researcher
University of Eastern Finland

About Me

I am a Senior Researcher at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) Law School, where I am a member of the Center for Climate Change, Energy and Environmental Law (CCEEL) and the Global Climate Change Law research group. I hold a PhD from Uppsala University, where I studied the multi-level governance of climate change at the Department of Government.

My research investigates climate governance across multiple levels of governance, employing both qualitative and quantitative methods. I have previously worked at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Energy and Environment, and at the think tank Praxis.

My peer-reviewed work has appeared in Global Environmental Politics, World Development, and International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, among other journals.

Research

My research examines how climate change is governed across multiple levels — from international agreements and national policies to local politics and elections. I use both qualitative and quantitative methods to understand what drives climate ambition and how political and economic forces shape environmental outcomes.

01

International Climate Governance

I study the determinants of countries' climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, including what drives NDC enhancement and how international cooperation on fossil fuel supply restriction can affect environmental and economic outcomes.

02

Climate Finance & Policy

My work investigates how climate finance is allocated through bureaucratic and political processes, and how social policy instruments such as welfare state structures can shape public support for carbon taxation.

03

Energy Politics & Elections

I examine how energy-related grievances — such as electricity price shocks — translate into political behaviour and electoral outcomes, linking environmental economics to democratic politics.

Publications

2025

Assessing risks to the implementation of NDCs under the Paris Agreement

Peterson, Lauri; van Asselt, Harro

Climate Policy, 2025.

2024

Conceptualizing just transition litigation

Savaresi, Annalisa; Setzer, Joana; Bookman, Sam; Bouwer, Kim; Chan, Tiffanie; Keuschnigg, Isabela; Armeni, Chiara; Harrington, Alexandra; Heri, Corina; Higham, Ian; Peterson, Lauri et al.

Nature Sustainability, 7(11), 1379–1384, 2024.

Combating climate change through the welfare state: can social insurance boost support for carbon taxes in Europe?

Nordbrandt, Maria; Peterson, Lauri; Mårtensson, Moa; Palme, Joakim

Journal of European Public Policy, 32(1), 81–103, 2024.

Power politics: How electric grievances shape election outcomes

Brännlund, Anton; Peterson, Lauri

Ecological Economics, 217, 108077, 2024.

Jolts at the ballot box: Electricity prices and voting in Swedish manufacturing communities

Brännlund, Anton; Amcoff, Jan; Österman, Marcus; Peterson, Lauri; Brännlund, Håkan

Energy Research & Social Science, 110, 103419, 2024.

The environmental and economic effects of international cooperation on restricting fossil fuel supply

van Asselt, Harro; Fragkos, Panagiotis; Peterson, Lauri; Fragkiadakis, Kostas

International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 24(1), 141–166, 2024.

Clarity and Transparency of Information in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs): Barriers to Implementation?

Peterson, Lauri

Working Paper, 2024.

2023

What determines climate ambition? Analysing NDC enhancement with a mixed-method design

Peterson, Lauri; van Asselt, Harro; Hermwille, Lukas; Oberthür, Sebastian

npj Climate Action, 2(1), 21, 2023.

Just transition litigation: a new knowledge frontier

Savaresi, A.; Setzer, J.; Bookman, S.; Armeni, C.; Bouwer, K.; Chan, T.; Keuschnigg, I.; Harrington, A.; Heri, C.; Higham, I.; Peterson, Lauri et al.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2023.

2022

Domestic and international climate policies: complementarity or disparity?

Peterson, Lauri

International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 22(1), 97–118, 2022.

2021

Silver lining to extreme weather events? Democracy and climate change mitigation

Peterson, Lauri

Global Environmental Politics, 21(1), 23–53, 2021.

Investigating the Determinants of International, National and Local Climate Policies

Peterson, Lauri

PhD thesis, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 2021.

2019

Bureaucratic politics and the allocation of climate finance

Peterson, Lauri; Skovgaard, Jakob

World Development, 117, 72–97, 2019.

2017

Human rights and the clean development mechanism: lessons learned from three case studies

Obergassel, Wolfgang; Peterson, Lauri; Mersmann, Florian; Schade, Jeanette; Hofbauer, Jane Alice; Mayrhofer, Monika

Journal of Human Rights and the Environment, 8(1), 51–71, 2017.

2014

The measurement of non-economic inequality in well-being indices

Peterson, Lauri

Social Indicators Research, 119(2), 581–598, 2014.

Curriculum Vitae

A full version of my CV is available for download. Below is a summary of my academic background.

Education

PhD
PhD in Political Science
Uppsala University, Sweden
Department of Government

Positions

Current
Senior Researcher
University of Eastern Finland, CCEEL
Current
Researcher
Uppsala University, Dept. of Government
Previous
Doctoral Candidate
Uppsala University, Dept. of Government
Previous
Researcher
Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Energy and Environment
Previous
Researcher
Praxis Think Tank

Teaching & Supervision

I teach across undergraduate and graduate levels, with a focus on international environmental politics and sustainable development.

Course Role Institution Period
Global Environmental Politics (MA level) Course Coordinator University of Eastern Finland 2023 – Present
Global Sustainable Development Course Coordinator Uppsala University 2019 – 2022
International Environment and Sustainable Development Teaching Uppsala University 2017 – 2019
International Politics Lecturer
Environmental Politics and its Challenges Lecturer

Thesis Supervision

PhD
2 ongoing
MA
7 MA theses supervised
BA
10 C-level (Bachelor's) theses supervised

Contact

I welcome inquiries about my research, potential collaborations, or opportunities.

Office The Center for Climate Change, Energy and Environmental Law
Law School
University of Eastern Finland
Finland