Ups and Downs in Environmental Policy: Japan and Germany in Comparison

Japan, once a forerunner in environmental and energy policy, became a laggard especially in climate change and energy policy (but belongs to the forerunners in “rare earth”-policy and electrification of automobiles). Germany turned from a late-comer in environmental policy to a pioneer in climate and energy policy (especially “renewables”) and became the first large industrial country phasing-out nuclear energy. These Ups and Downs in environmental policy will be explained by the capacity building approach, focusing economic-technological, institutional and cognitive-strategic capacities of proponents of progressive environmental policy.