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Published on: July 24, 2016
Evaluating multi-level policy coherence in maritime decarbonization: A design-framing alignment approach
Jia Zhang1, Huadong Li1, Shanshan Fu2
1College of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai, 201306, China.
Journal of Environmental Management
|April 22, 2026
Summary
Maritime decarbonization requires coherent policy signals across global, regional, and national levels. This study introduces a design-framing alignment approach to assess policy coherence, revealing its crucial role in enhancing legitimacy and implementation potential for climate governance.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Policy
- Climate Governance
- Maritime Studies
Background:
- Effective maritime decarbonization hinges on coherent policy signals across diverse governance levels.
- Policy coherence is essential for achieving ambitious climate targets in the maritime sector.
- Existing evaluations often overlook the interplay between policy design and its communication.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and apply a design-framing alignment approach for evaluating policy coherence in maritime decarbonization.
- To analyze patterns in policy instrument mixes and discursive framings across different governance tiers (global, regional, national).
- To investigate the temporal evolution of policy coherence and its impact on legitimacy and implementation.
Main Methods:
- Developed a design-framing alignment approach linking formal instrument design (regulatory, incentive, informational) with discursive framing.
- Analyzed 12 major maritime decarbonization policy documents from 2015-2023.
- Identified distinct patterns in policy mixes and discursive emphases across global, regional, and national governance levels.
Main Results:
- Global institutions primarily use informational measures; regional authorities employ hybrid regulatory-incentive mechanisms; national governments adopt balanced, implementation-focused designs.
- An emerging trend towards integrated and hybrid policy mixes indicates growing policy learning and adaptive coordination.
- Policy coherence is an interpretive outcome, not just structural; misalignment increases uncertainty, while coherence boosts legitimacy and implementation.
Conclusions:
- Policy coherence in maritime decarbonization is shaped by both instrument design and communication strategies.
- The design-framing alignment approach offers a replicable framework for assessing multi-level climate governance effectiveness.
- Strengthening policy coherence is vital for enhancing regulatory credibility and fostering investment in maritime climate solutions.
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