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412. African Great Lakes Region: Governance and Politics
- Author:
- Wioleta Gierszewska and Benjamin Mudaheranwa
- Publication Date:
- 01-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Institution:
- Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
- Abstract:
- This article aims to indicate the sources of problems in the field of governance and politics in the African Great Lakes Region. The countries of this region play an essential role in the global socio-political and economic system. Their development is hampered by numerous external and internal conflicts resulting from both the historical and contemporary problems of the countries. Colonialism had a major impact on the development of African countries. It manifested itself, among other things, in the spread of political domination. Adopting state management patterns from European culture and attempt to transplant them on African ground without understanding local cultural conditions contributed too much post-colonial fresh and modern conflict. Examples of this are failures to establish liberal democracy and its crises in the African Great Lakes Region.
- Topic:
- Environment, Politics, Post Colonialism, Regional Cooperation, Governance, and Democracy
- Political Geography:
- Africa
413. Fly Ash Management in India: A Critique of existing and proposed frameworks
- Author:
- Vidya Viswanathan, Kanchi Kohli, and Manju Menon
- Publication Date:
- 08-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- On 22.04.2021, India’s Environment Ministry published a Draft Fly Ash Notification, which was open for public comments for 60 days and sought to replace the earlier notifications with respect to fly ash management since 1999. As a response to the draft, we made a submission to the Ministry on the need to reassess the approach, design and content of the fly ash related regulations. This submission highlighted five main issues that lead to enforcement challenges in regulating fly ash. The Environmental Justice Program at Centre for Policy Research has been studying the issue of fly ash mismanagement and its failures in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Odisha. Based on our research on the regulatory gaps in fly ash management and the social and ecological impacts from it, we have put together a report which elaborates on the five main issues identified in the submission made to the Ministry. This report: Discusses the lacunae in the implementation of the existing fly ash management regulations using primary and secondary data. And compares the proposed draft against the backdrop of current status of fly ash management efforts.
- Topic:
- Environment, Pollution, and Management
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
414. Democracy and Climate Change
- Publication Date:
- 03-2021
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
- Abstract:
- Dr Robert Saunders chaired a panel with Hilary Benn MP (former Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), Caroline Lucas MP (former leader of the Green Party), David Runciman (University of Cambridge and Talking Politics podcast) and Rebecca Willis (expert lead, UK Climate Assembly), where they explored the relationship between the future of democracy and the future of the planet.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, and Democracy
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
415. Climate Politics and the Crisis of the Liberal International Order
- Author:
- Felipe Leal Albuquerque
- Publication Date:
- 08-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Contexto Internacional
- Institution:
- Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
- Abstract:
- The election of Donald Trump brought disarray to the climate change regime. The changes in what was up to then a promoter of the liberal international order (LIO) exacerbated existing tensions while creating new ones. This paper investigates how that challenge impacted the behaviours of Brazil, China and the European Union (EU) by comparatively analysing their dissimilar positions with respect to three indicators before and after Trump’s coming into power. These indicators are individual pledges and climate-related policies; approaches to climate finance; and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC). The analysis first shows how the US started eroding the broader LIO and the climate change regime to then delve into the behaviours of the three respective key players concerning climate talks. I sustain that the EU, despite its inner divisions, is already counteracting Washington, whereas China is combining a pro-status quo position based on a rhetorical condemnation of the United States. Brazil, in turn, had a transition towards a climate-sceptic government, shifting from being a cooperative actor to abdicating hosting the COP25.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, Liberal Order, Multilateralism, and International Order
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, Brazil, South America, North America, and United States of America
416. The Digital Technology Environment and Europe’s Capacity to Act
- Author:
- Tyson Barker
- Publication Date:
- 11-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
- Abstract:
- This monitoring study explores the EU’s capacity to act in digital technology across five categories: 1) how the EU defines the problem it is attempting to address; 2) how the EU sets an agenda; 3) how the EU formulates policy; 4) how the EU implements policy; and 5) to what degree European policy has an impact at home and globally. Ultimately, the EU’s policy success will be determined by its ability to shore up areas where it is weakest and establish constant and interactive benchmarking to create honest performance assessments. The EU must set out clearly defined objectives that confront the tough questions of “what is essential” and “what is nice to have.”
- Topic:
- Environment, Science and Technology, and Digitization
- Political Geography:
- Europe
417. Green gifts from abroad? FDI and firms' green management
- Author:
- Peter Kannen, Finn Ole Semrau, and Frauke Steglich
- Publication Date:
- 11-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
- Abstract:
- Improvements of firms' environmental performance crucially determine the speed of a country's green economic transformation. In this paper, we investigate whether firms with foreign ownership are more likely to adopt 'green' management practices, which determine the capability to monitor and improve a firm's impact on the environment. By using multi-country firm-level data, we show that foreign ownership increases the likelihood of implementing green management practices. Considering country heterogeneity, we reveal that only firms based in more developed economies and in countries with better environmental performance benefit from foreign direct investment, while this is not the case for firms based in less developed economies or countries with weak environmental performance. In addition, we find that the effect is more robust for manufacturing sector firms than for service sector firms. Overall, our results suggest that foreign ownership can contribute towards a country's green economic transformation.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Environment, Green Technology, and Green Transition
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
418. The Need for Local Governance of Global Commons: The Example of Blue Carbon Ecosystems
- Author:
- Christine Merk, Jonas Grunau, Marie-Catherine Riekhof, and Wilfried Rickels
- Publication Date:
- 11-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
- Abstract:
- To limit global warming to 1.5°C, vast amounts of CO2 will have to be removed from the atmosphere via Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). Enhancing the CO2 sequestration of ecosystems will require not just one approach but a portfolio of CDR options, including so‐called nature‐based approaches alongside CDR options that are perceived as more technical. Creating a CDR “supply curve” would however imply that all carbon removals are considered to be perfect substitutes. The various co‐benefits of nature‐based CDR approaches militate against this. We discuss this aspect of nature‐based solutions in connection with the enhancement of blue carbon ecosystems (BCE) such as mangrove or seagrass habitats. Enhancing BCEs can indeed contribute to CO2 sequestration, but the value of their carbon storage is low compared to the overall contribution of their ecosystem services to wealth. Furthermore, their property rights are often unclear, i.e. not comprehensively defined or not enforced. Hence, payment schemes that only compensate BCE carbon sequestration could create tradeoffs at the expense of other important, often local, ecosystem services and might not result in socially optimal outcomes. Accordingly, one chance for preserving and restoring BCEs lies in the consideration of all services in potential compensation schemes for local communities. Also, local contexts, management structures, and benefit‐sharing rules are crucial factors to be considered when setting up international payment schemes to support the use of BCEs and other nature‐ or ecosystem‐based CDR. However, regarding these options as the only hope of achieving more CDR will very probably not bring about the desired outcome, either for climate mitigation or for ecosystem preservation. Unhalted degradation, in turn, will make matters worse due to the large amounts of stored carbon that would be released. Hence, countries committed to climate mitigation in line with the Paris targets should not hide behind vague pledges to enhance natural sinks for removing atmospheric CO2 but commit to scaling up engineered CDR.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, International Cooperation, Governance, Global Warming, and Local
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
419. Accounting for terrestrial and marine carbon sink enhancement
- Author:
- Marius Paschen, Wilfried Rickels, and Felix Meier
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
- Abstract:
- Any integration of extra carbon dioxide removal (CDR) via terrestrial or marine sink enhancement into climate policies requires accounting for their effectiveness in reducing atmospheric carbon concentration. Different accounting methods have been introduced to quantify the impacts of sink enhancements. Here, we provide a manual for the different accounting methods, accompanying the implementation of the accounting methods in a R-file which is free for download. Hence, the material allows applying the different accounting methods and for demonstration purposes we provide a numerical example.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, Maritime, and Carbon Footprint
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
420. Book Talk. Klimat: Russia in the Age of Climate Change by Thane Gustafson
- Publication Date:
- 11-2021
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- The Harriman Institute
- Abstract:
- Please join the Harriman Institute for a presentation by Thane Gustafson, author of Klimat: Russia in the Age of Climate Change (Harvard University Press, 2021). Moderated by Kimberly Marten (Harriman Institute). Russia will be one of the countries most affected by climate change. No major power is more economically dependent on the export of hydrocarbons; at the same time, two-thirds of Russia’s territory lies in the arctic north, where melting permafrost is already imposing growing damage. Climate change also brings drought and floods to Russia’s south, threatening the country’s agricultural exports. Thane Gustafson predicts that, over the next thirty years, climate change will leave a dramatic imprint on Russia. The decline of fossil fuel use is already underway, and restrictions on hydrocarbons will only tighten, cutting fuel prices and slashing Russia’s export revenues. Yet Russia has no substitutes for oil and gas revenues. The country is unprepared for the worldwide transition to renewable energy, as Russian leaders continue to invest the national wealth in oil and gas while dismissing the promise of post-carbon technologies. Nor has the state made efforts to offset the direct damage that climate change will do inside the country. Optimists point to new opportunities—higher temperatures could increase agricultural yields, the melting of arctic ice may open year-round shipping lanes in the far north, and Russia could become a global nuclear-energy supplier. But the eventual post-Putin generation of Russian leaders will nonetheless face enormous handicaps, as their country finds itself weaker than at any time in the preceding century. Lucid and thought-provoking, Klimat shows how climate change is poised to alter the global order, potentially toppling even great powers from their perches.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Natural Resources, and Green Technology
- Political Geography:
- Russia and Europe