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211. Xi Jinping’s Institutional Reforms: Environment over Energy?

Author:
Thibaud Voïta
Publication Date:
10-2018
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI)
Abstract:
During its two sessions (lianghui) in March 2018, the National People’s Congress (NPC) announced China’s most important institutional reforms in the last 30 years. These changes occurred right after Xi Jinping consolidated his power and at a time when stakeholders working in the energy field were expecting more clarity on policy orientations. Though the reforms are in line with those initiated since the 2000s, the energy sector is likely to be deeply affected by the new institutional setting, which reflects China’s energy policy path with a strong emphasis towards low-carbon technologies and a rise in importance of environmental issues, alongside Xi’s institutional modernization through greater centralization and control. Nevertheless, it is too early though to judge whether this will effectively impact the balance of power with the fossil fuel related institutions and policies. The day Environment became more important than energy The environment sector is at the core of the reforms, which probably reflects the will to put environmental protection ahead of energy issues. The latest reforms established a Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) which gathers climate and environment responsibilities, that used to be spread between a number of bodies. Unveiled in April, the MEE is now in charge of managing most environmental issues, and theoretically able to draft and empower regulations. In addition, it now represents China in international climate negotiations. In order to manage these new duties, MEE staff increased from 300 to 500.
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Governance, and Xi Jinping
Political Geography:
China and Asia

212. Revisiting the determinants of non-farm income in the Peruvian Andes in a context of intraseasonal climate variability and spatially widespread family networks

Author:
Carmen Ponce
Publication Date:
07-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE)
Abstract:
Non-farm income sources are increasingly important in the developing world, representing up to 50 percent of average rural household income. Although there is a vast literature on the determinants of rural households’ strategies for income diversification, two factors associated with long-term transformations and common to many developing countries, have not yet been integrated into the analysis: (i) the role of intraseasonal climate variability (affected by climate change), and (ii) the role of family networks located in distant areas (increasingly important given population displacement due to the internal conflict and increasing connectivity via roads and communications). Whereas an increase in climate variability entails an increase in risk and vulnerability for farm activities, family networks located in distant regions(that do not share the local climate or market shocks) may become a key asset for managing risk and fostering income opportunities (as long as they convey information and opportunities that are not available through local networks). Given the market imperfections that are common in developing rural areas—especially those related to climate risk management—explicit consideration of both factors is key to understanding rural households’ diversification strategies. The study aims to contribute to this pending agenda, investigating the role of these two factors on a household’s income diversification into non-farm activities in the Peruvian Andes, a mountain region with large intraseasonal climate variability and limited but increasing spatial connectivity, where the rural population was severely affected by the internal conflict that took place in the country during the eighties and nineties.
Topic:
Agriculture, Climate Change, Economics, Rural, Industry, Ecology, and Farming
Political Geography:
Latin America and Peru

213. Adaptation to climate change in the tropical mountains? Effects of intraseasonal climate variability on crop diversification strategies in the Peruvian Andes

Author:
Carmen Ponce
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE)
Abstract:
Crop diversification, selection of tolerant crops, and intercropping are some of the strategies that Andean farmers, as well as farmers in other mountain regions, have historically used to cope with climate-related risks and take advantage of heterogeneous agricultural land (with plots located at different altitudes, facing different environmental conditions). This study analyzes the role of climate variability —during the growing season— in the use of these strategies, in a context of climate change in the Andean region. Using agrarian census data from 1994 and 2012 (district panel), the author finds that —controlling for other climate conditions and socio-economic factors—, an increase in intraseasonal climate variability leads farmers in colder areas (<11˚C during the growing season) to concentrate their crop portfolio into more tolerant crops and reduce intercropping (a practice potentially efficient at controlling pest and disease). This effect is especially strong in the Southern region. Given that Andean farmers received little to no help to adapt to climate change during the period under analysis, this study informs about farmers’ autonomous adaptation to climate changes and some specific issues that need to be part of the public intervention agenda.
Topic:
Agriculture, Climate Change, Rural, Economic Development, Land, Ecology, and Farming
Political Geography:
Latin America and Peru

214. China’s Carbon Market: Accelerating a Green Economy in China and Reducing Global Emissions

Author:
Yifei Zhang, Jonathan Harris, and Jim Li
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:
The National Carbon Emission Rights Trading Market (ETS) Construction Plan (Power Generation Industry) was released in Beijing on December 19 , 2017 by China’s government. As promised during COP23 held in Bonn, Germany in November 2017, this is a key step to fulfilling China’s commitment to the Paris Agreement. The performance of ETS pilot projects in seven provinces of China have been evaluated since October 2011. The supporting policies were also thoroughly analyzed at both local and central government levels. Analysis of the pilot projects shows that the national ETS just initiated in China will not only strengthen supply-side structural reform and carbon-saving patterns of economic growth, but it will also contribute to poverty alleviation by introducing ecosystem valuation into the market. This is a practical application of the “Two Mountain Theory” suggesting that the economic and ecological systems can work in harmony, as proposed by President Xi and emphasized in the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on development, poverty alleviation and environmental protection in October 2017. Policy suggestions in terms of economic characteristics, industrial development and regional differences were developed to improve the effects of ETS in China. Taking advantage of differences in the costs of reducing emissions and expanding the size of the trading market are key to success.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Carbon Emissions, and Paris Agreement
Political Geography:
China and Asia

215. Green growth and its global-local meanings – Insights from Morocco

Author:
Cengiz Günay, Sherin Gharib, and Christian Haddad
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP)
Abstract:
Energy transition towards renewable energy sources (RES) has been a high priority for many industrial as well as developing countries. Besides its positive effects on the ambitions to mitigate climate change, energy transition has been also seen as a mean to increase energy independence and energy security. While some countries have been particularly successful in developing and deploying energy transition solutions (including technologies and governance models) others are at the beginnings. Particularly in developing countries there is growing interest in the transfer of RES solutions as they are often considered to be drivers for modernization and socio-economic development (Romer 1990; Gruber et al. 2017). The transfer of RES technologies, which includes not only turnkey power stations but also the transfer of the governance models, needed for successful implementation of technology in the hosting society and its long-term usage with as little impacts as possible on local communities and benefits for hosting countries at the same time, is considered a key in facilitating climate change mitigation efforts around the globe (Karakosta et al. 2010; Metz et al. 2000). In 2009, Morocco initiated an ambitious energy transition program. The goal is to cover 42 percent of its power generating capacity with RES by 2020 and to increase this to 52 percent by 2030 (RES Med). Moroc-co’s ambitious plans are often highlighted by various organizations in the international context as a model for deployment of RES in developing countries (Gruber et al. 2017). The country’s energy transition strategy mainly focuses on the construction of large and middle-size centralized solar energy plants. The largest project are the so called “Noor” (light) plants, a number of large and medium scale solar plants to be constructed across the country until 2020. The Noor plants are hoped to increase Morocco’s energy production, decrease the country’s dependence on fossil imports and even enable the export of energy to European and African neighbors. In turn, effects on electricity prices in Morocco are expected to remain low. Despite a clear preference for rather centralized energy solutions, mainly the result of state planning in the capital Rabat, the Moroccan state’s ambition of inducing “Green Growth” has also had effects on the regional, provincial and local levels. Many associations and initiatives defending, promoting and lobbying for climate change mitigation and renewable energy solutions have emerged at the local level. Green Growth and Morocco’s aims at de-centralizing the state’s administrative structure have opened new spaces for participation. Similar to Morocco, Austria has also developed ambitious plans for transition to climate friendly energy productions. The long-term vision is to reach 100 percent independence from fossil energy. In 2009, the so called Climate and Energy Model Regions (CEM) were established. The governance concept of Climate and Energy Model Regions (CEM) aims at promoting energy transition at the regional and local levels. Each CEM pursues the goal of becoming independent from fossil fuels by 2050 and thereby contributes to the overall national climate goals. The decentralization of climate goals, linking energy transition with regional development has reflected the country’s federal administrative and political structure. In that regard, this governance model represents a best practice for a decentralized policy approach to climate mitigation goals. As much as this often entails strong involvement and ownership on societal level, as much its success is dependent on a complex set of diverse political entrepreneurs on different political and administrative levels (national-federal-district and local). Most of the energy relevant issues are regulated by federal law, but the federal states are highly involved in the specification and implementation of these laws. The country’s energy strategy and measures for the reduction of emissions (including investments in renewables) are elaborated in collaboration between the federal government and the federal states. The measures taken are brought in line with the climate and energy package issued by the EU in 2008 which sets besides the promotion of renewables and the increase in energy efficiency the goal to reduce emissions until 2020 by 20 % (compared to 1990). This working paper builds on the insights gained from the LINKS project. LINKS (Linking climate change mitigation, energy security and regional development in climate and energy model regions in Austria) identified structural differences among the Austrian Climate Model Regions (urban, semi-urban and rural), human factors such as the willingness to use RES and to pay for them, as well as differing public acceptance and participatory governance measures. As a result, the two Austrian CEM regions of Güssing and Freistadt were determined as potential models to be transferred to Tata. These two CEMs illustrate the two opposite poles of different governance rationales. While the establishment of a CEM in Güssing was mainly initiated by the former mayor in a top-down process and enjoyed strong political support on the national and regional levels, Freistadt represents a bottom-up approach which has been located at the grassroots level and is informed by more participatory and flat governance structures. The overall objective of our work package was to assessing the transferability of these insights to different socio-political environments, such as Morocco’s Tata region. To do so, the working paper explores the visions and different notions of “green growth”. Moreover, it is concerned with the forms of participation of different stakeholders (including official authorities) in the making of renewable energy in a remote area of Morocco. Situated in the coun- try’s southeast, Tata has been designated as the location of one of the Noor solar plants. It analyzes the meanings produced in general discourses on energy policy in Tata and puts them into context with the political, territorial and economic orders that shape opportunity structures. Based on interviews, talks, a stakeholder forum and a focus group discussion, the paper identifies three threads of discourses and three perspectives on the Moroccan orders. This working paper was produced in the framework of LINKS Project, funded by the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund.
Topic:
Climate Change, Economic growth, Renewable Energy, and Transition
Political Geography:
North Africa and Morocco

216. Michael Higgins, President of Ireland

Author:
Michael D. Higgins
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Columbia University World Leaders Forum
Abstract:
His Excellency Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland, addresses the Columbia University World Leaders Forum in Low Library.
Topic:
Climate Change, Human Rights, United Nations, Neoliberalism, and Social Justice
Political Geography:
New York, Europe, and Ireland

217. President of the UN General Assembly, 73rd Session

Author:
María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés
Publication Date:
10-2018
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Columbia University World Leaders Forum
Abstract:
Her Excellency Mrs. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly, speaks at the Columbia University World Leaders Forum.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, United Nations, and Multilateral Relatons
Political Geography:
New York and United Nations

218. Guide to Chinese Climate Policy

Author:
David B. Sandalow
Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center on Global Energy Policy
Abstract:
In 2017, China was the world’s leading emitter of heat-trapping gases by a wide margin. Its policies for limiting emissions will have a significant impact on the global climate for decades to come. From a historical perspective, China’s status as the world’s leading emitter is relatively recent. During most of the 19th and 20th centuries, Chinese emissions were modest. Then, in the early part of this century, as the Chinese economy boomed, Chinese emissions began to skyrocket, overtaking those from the United States around 2006. China’s cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution are less than half those from the United States or Europe. (Carbon dioxide, the leading heat-trapping gas, stays in the atmosphere for many years once emitted.)
Topic:
Climate Change and Energy Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

219. The new dynamics of global energy and climate

Author:
Rachel Kyte
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
On the heels of a major new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on the rising risks of climate impacts, on November 19th Brookings hosted Rachel Kyte, CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, in conversation with David G. Victor.
Topic:
Climate Change, International Political Economy, and Climate Finance
Political Geography:
Global Focus

220. Policy Evolution Under the Clean Air Act

Author:
Richard Schmalensee and Robert Stavins
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
The U.S. Clean Air Act, passed in 1970 with strong bipartisan support, was the first environmental law to give the Federal government a serious regulatory role, established the architecture of the U.S. air pollution control system, and became a model for subsequent environmental laws in the United States and globally. We outline the Act’s key provisions, as well as the main changes Congress has made to it over time. We assess the evolution of air pollution control policy under the Clean Air Act, with particular attention to the types of policy instruments used. We provide a generic assessment of the major types of policy instruments, and we trace and assess the historical evolution of EPA’s policy instrument use, with particular focus on the increased use of market-based policy instruments, beginning in the 1970s and culminating in the 1990s. Over the past fifty years, air pollution regulation has gradually become much more complex, and over the past twenty years, policy debates have become increasingly partisan and polarized, to the point that it has become impossible to amend the Act or pass other legislation to address the new threat of climate change.
Topic:
Climate Change and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus