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282. EU’s Energy Union Strategy: Challenges and Opportunities
- Author:
- Krševan Antun Dujmović
- Publication Date:
- 03-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO)
- Abstract:
- The Juncker Commission, which was inaugurated on 1 November 2014, has set up ten priorities for its term, with the Energy Union and climate being among them. The objective of the Energy Union of the EU is to ensure that Europe gets ‘secure, affordable and climate-friendly energy’.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, Regional Cooperation, and Europe Union
- Political Geography:
- Europe
283. The Paris Agreement – an important step in facing climate change challenges
- Author:
- Marina Funduk
- Publication Date:
- 07-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO)
- Abstract:
- t the twenty-�irst session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21), which was held in Paris, France, in December 2015, 195 countries reached an historic agreement to combat climate change, and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable, low carbon future. The central aim of the Paris Agreement is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, by keeping the global temperature rise in this century to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further, to 1.5°C. Additionally, the agreement aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts caused by global warming. To reach these ambitious goals, it was agreed that appropriate �inancial �lows, new technology and an enhanced capacity building framework should be put in place, to support the most vulnerable countries.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, and International Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
284. THE GEOPOLITICS OF THE ARCTIC
- Author:
- Sandro Knezović
- Publication Date:
- 10-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO)
- Abstract:
- The climate change at the global level has brought the new dynamics to the international relations in general and some regions in particular. This is so especially in the Arctic, where ice melting changes the geostrategic posture of the region, transforming it from a marginal zone with hostile climate into an area of growing strategic competition. ...the Arctic, where ice melting changes the geostrategic posture of the region, transforming it from a marginal zone with hostile climate into an area of growing strategic competition. Actually, the pace of ice melting, that was almost unthinkable a decade ago, is re�lective of the increasing geostrategic signi�icance of the Arctic. Namely, around 1 million square meters melt every year during the last decade, leaving the ice cap at less than half of its size from the mid-20th century. It is also estimated that almost a half of the Arctic permafrost (permanent ice) has already disappeared, which means that it is likely that the ocean will be seasonally ice-free in 20-30 years. Namely, growing global temperatures are actually doing nothing less than opening of a new ocean, a development unprecedented on Earth since the end of the Ice Age. This opens new perspectives in maritime transport and traveling, as well as access to estimated 20% of undiscovered global reserves of oil and gas. In the era of increased trade dynamics between Asia and Europe, as well as due to the fact that it is highly unlikely that alternative energy resources will prevail over hydrocarbons in the period to come, the Arctic is attracting the attention not only of littoral states but beyond. Rapid melting and possible intensi�ication of Arctic transport and drilling undoubtedly carry negative environmental consequences, which raises the issue of well proscribed and appropriately implemented system of regional governance in a changing global context. Apart from that, there are serious challenges to a scenario of energy-rich Arctic that is open for low-cost transport in the short and mid-term period, which have to be taken into account. Obviously, there are at least three essential elements that are determinant for the future of increasingly important Arctic in the context of wider international relations: transport, resources and governance. Taking a closer look at them, will surely help grasping the entire phenomena of the Arctic meltdown.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, and Natural Resources
- Political Geography:
- Arctic
285. Assessing the Governance Practices of Sustainability Reporting
- Author:
- Jason Thistlethwaite and Melissa Menzies
- Publication Date:
- 01-2016
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- To promote climate change risk mitigation in financial markets, the Financial Stability Board recently proposed the creation of a Climate Disclosure Task Force, coordinated through the G20, to develop standards for companies to disclose their exposure to climate change risks. With more than 400 existing disclosure schemes, this task will be challenging. This brief identifies the key categories of governance practices that must be addressed, how these divergent practices challenge end-users, and how the establishment of criteria that define effective and efficient reporting is a critical first step for the Climate Disclosure Task Force.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Economics, Markets, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
286. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change
- Author:
- Robert Sedgwick
- Publication Date:
- 01-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Columbia International Affairs Online
- Abstract:
- The UN sponsored agreement on climate change concluded last month in Paris, France is the most successful and comprehensive to date. Unlike previous agreements such as Kyoto and Copenhagen this one commits almost all countries, including China and the U.S., the world's two biggest polluters, to strive toward reducing carbon emissions caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Each of the signatory countries must ratify the agreement and will then be responsible for implementing it by setting their own target goals.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Industrial Policy, International Cooperation, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
287. Growth, Innovation and COP 21: The Case for New Investment In Innovation Infrastructure
- Author:
- Céline Bak
- Publication Date:
- 03-2016
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- On the way to Washington, DC, for a September 2015 visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping stopped in Seattle, WA, to sign an agreement aimed at combatting climate change by increasing the business ties between Chinese and US clean technology companies (South China News 2015). Five US states signed the agreement on commerce between China and clean-tech businesses from California, Iowa, Michigan, Oregon and Washington. On the same day, Bill Gates’s energy company, TerraPower, signed an agreement with the China National Nuclear Corporation for joint cooperation on next-generation renewable and fusion nuclear power. In early 2015, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund invested in General Fusion, a Canadian company based in Vancouver, to advance its energy innovation.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Science and Technology, Treaties and Agreements, and Nuclear Power
- Political Geography:
- China
288. Uncovering the Implications of the Paris Agreement: Climate Change as a Catalyst for Transformative Sustainability in Cities
- Author:
- Sarah Birch
- Publication Date:
- 01-2016
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Leaders, negotiators and scientists returned home from the recent United Nations climate change negotiations in Paris with a new mandate: to explore pathways to a world that warms no more than 1.5°C; to finance climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries at a meaningful pace and scale; and, ultimately, to create real policy tools that can deliver prosperity that is not so fundamentally tied to burning fossil carbon. The Paris Agreement is historic in that it is universal (both industrialized and less-developed nations have agreed to the text), a heavy focus is placed on transparency and reporting of progress, and opportunities to periodically reevaluate and ratchet up ambition are built into the process. The ultimate power of this agreement, however, is not in its technicalities and legal implications. Rather, the Paris Agreement represents the manifestation of collective ambition, creating and demonstrating shared norms around the reality of climate change and the responsibility to act. This international process of negotiation and commitment is triggering a wave of conversations about how to reach these ambitious greenhouse gas reduction and adaptation targets. This will require a rapid and fundamental transformation of all sectors, including the design of urban spaces and the ways in which we produce and consume energy.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Treaties and Agreements, United Nations, and Regulation
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
289. Assessing the Governance Practices of Sustainability Reporting
- Author:
- Jason Thistlewaite and Melissa Menzies
- Publication Date:
- 01-2016
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- To promote climate change risk mitigation in financial markets, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) recently proposed the creation of a Climate Disclosure Task Force, coordinated through the G20, to develop standards for companies to disclose their exposure to climate change risks. With more than 400 existing disclosure schemes that employ a range of different standards to measure climate change risks and corporate sustainability, this task will be challenging. But the diversity of schemes also represents an opportunity to assess which practices are effective at improving corporate accountability for sustainability performance, as well as efficient at producing comparable reports that do not unfairly burden reporting organizations. This brief identifies the key categories of governance practices that must be addressed, how these divergent practices challenge end-users, and how the establishment of criteria that define effective and efficient reporting is a critical first step for the FSB and its Climate Disclosure Task Force.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Natural Resources, Governance, G20, Regulation, and Financial Markets
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
290. China and Global Energy Governance under the G20 Framework
- Author:
- Alex He
- Publication Date:
- 03-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- This paper explores China’s perspectives and practices in its quest for overseas energy supply security and its participation in international energy cooperation since becoming a net oil import country in 1993. It compares the traditional approach, in which China mainly focuses on bilateral means to pursue its overseas energy supply security, and the new concept of energy security, in which greater involvement in global energy governance, in particular in the Group of Twenty (G20), is highlighted to promote China’s energy security. The paper argues that China still retains a bilateral and regional cooperation approach, while making progress in developing closer cooperation with existing major global energy governing institutions. The One Belt, One Road strategy proposed in 2013 is regarded as a strengthened version of the bilateral and regional cooperation approach. Chinese academic circles constitute the main forces advocating China’s more positive participation in global energy governance. The G20 provides significant institutional arrangements to coordinate big powers to govern the international energy markets and to address climate change. This paper suggests that, given China’s growing prominence at the G20, it could be the proper platform for the country to play a more active role in global energy governance.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Oil, Regional Cooperation, Bilateral Relations, Governance, and G20
- Political Geography:
- China