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591. Facing the Future: Canada's Environmental Security Challenges in the 21st Century

Author:
Isaac Caverhill-Godkewitsch
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
In 2007 the McClure strait in the Canadian Arctic, as visible from satellite photography, was free of ice for the first time.The legendary Northwest Passage is open; a long lost dream of explorers has finally become reality – the very geography of Canada is experiencing environmental change. In the 21st Century the planet is facing many such changes on scales unseen in human history. But what will such changes have on human society? More importantly, what do these changes mean for the nation-state and its security?
Topic:
Security and Climate Change
Political Geography:
Canada

592. Perspectives on security in the Arctic area

Author:
Annika Bergman Rosamond
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
This report provides multiple perspectives on security in the Arctic area. A key objective is to demonstrate that, although the Arctic is the site of competing natural resources and land claims, which are emerging from such phenomena as melting ice and new sea routes, there are also many signs of fruitful regional cooperation and sound neighbourly relations. This thesis is supported by the high level of Arctic institutionalisation that has evolved since the end of the Cold War. Despite this, some media outlets have routinely portrayed the Arctic as a possible site of inter-state conflict. Such accounts do not take sufficient account of the collaborative initiatives that take place within the Arctic Council, the Nordic Council of Ministers and the European Union, to mention a few. The Arctic is situated within a complex web of multilateral and bilateral networks, ranging from states to regional institutions. What is more, there is a great deal of emphasis on the involvement of indigenous and local communities in key decision-making processes. This is not to argue that there are no challenges to security and prosperity in the Arctic area, but rather that we need to investigate these against the backdrop of the ongoing institutionalisation of the High North.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Security, Climate Change, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe

593. US Climate Change Policy Efforts

Author:
Dallas Burtraw
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Until recently, most of the attention in US climate policy was focused on legislative efforts to introduce a price on carbon through cap and trade. Since that policy has stalled, at least at the national level, the Clean Air Act has assumed the central role in the development of regulations that will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the US. The modern Clean Air Act (CAA) was passed in 1970 and conveys broad authority to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop regulations to mitigate harm from air pollution. In 2007 the Supreme Court confirmed that this authority applied to the regulation of GHGs ( Massachusetts v. EPA). Subsequently, the agency made a formal, science-based determination that GHGs were dangerous to human health and the environment, which compels the agency to mitigate the harm and forms the basis for the agency's regulation of GHG emissions.
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, and Environment
Political Geography:
United States

594. How should support for climate-friendly technologies be designed?

Author:
C. Fischer, A. Torvanger, T. Sterner, P. Stigson, and Manish Kumar Shrivastava
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Stabilising global greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations at levels to avoid significant climate risks will require massive 'decarbonisation' over the next few decades. Achieving the necessary scale of emissions reductions will require well-thought out strategies and a multifaceted policy effort to support a broad array of technological and behavioural changes. This paper outlines some core principles for guiding the design of clean technology policies, with a focus on energy.
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, and Science and Technology

595. The Issue of Effectiveness in International Environmental Regimes

Author:
Yasemin Kaya and Sezgin Kaya
Publication Date:
08-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
The effectiveness of international environmental regimes is a subject that is becoming more and more important within the International Relations discipline. While one of the reasons of that is the increasing interest of the international community in environmental issues, the other reason is that the environmental issues have turned into a problem that has a direct impact on the relations among the states. However, there is no consensus on approaches about the assessment of the effectiveness of the environmental regimes. This study aims to consider the different approaches and views that are important in terms of the assessment of the effectiveness of environmental regimes. In this framework, the approaches related to regime effectiveness are assessed, and the outlines of theoretical and methodological framework that can be used in the analysis of regime effectiveness are tried to be defined.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, and Political Theory
Political Geography:
Global Focus

596. Governing Climate Funds: What will work for women?

Author:
Sonia Lowman and Elizabeth Arend
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
As the international community mobilizes in response to global climatic changes, climate funds must ensure the equitable and effective allocation of funds for the world's most vulnerable populations. Women and girls, disproportionately vulnerable to negative climate change impacts in developing countries, have largely been excluded from climate change finance policies and programmes. This report examines four funds -climate funds and non-climate funds, to draw out the lessons for gender integration in global finance mechanisms. Women and girls must not only be included in adaptive and mitigative activities, but also recognized as agents of change who are essential to the success of climate change interventions.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Gender Issues, and Health

597. Out of the Bunker: Time for a fair deal on shipping emissions

Author:
Tim Gore and Mark Lutes
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
International shipping is a major – and rapidly growing – source of greenhouse gas emissions. Agreement to apply a carbon price to shipping can both reduce emissions and raise funds for climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries. This paper shows that doing so is possible while ensuring developing countries face no net costs. COP17 in Durban, South Africa at the end of 2011 provides an opportunity to agree the key principles of such a deal.
Topic:
Climate Change and Energy Policy
Political Geography:
Africa

598. Proposed Liability Framework for Geological Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide

Author:
Wendy B. Jacobs
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Harvard Law School's Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic* supports immediate large-scale carbon capture and sequestration ("CCS") demonstration projects as part of a larger national and global effort to address climate change. Large-scale CCS projects (those that sequester at least 1.5 million tons of captured carbon dioxide ("CO2") annually) must be demonstrated soon to confirm CCS as a viable strategy to combat climate change and to show the commitment of the United States to achieving meaningful reductions in domestic CO2 emissions.
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
United States

599. W[h]ither the Kyoto Protocol? Durban and Beyond

Author:
Daniel Bodansky
Publication Date:
08-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
On December 31, 2012, the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period will expire. Unless states agree to a second commitment period, requiring a further round of emissions cuts, the Protocol will no longer impose any quantitative limits on states' greenhouse gas emissions. Although, as a legal matter, the Protocol will continue in force, it will be a largely empty shell, doing little if anything to curb global warming.
Topic:
Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, International Cooperation, Treaties and Agreements, and United Nations

600. Chinese FDI in the United States is taking off: How to maximize its benefits?

Author:
Daniel H. Rosen and Thilo Hanemann
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
China's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) grew rapidly in the past decade, but flows to developed economies have been limited. Now China's direct investment flows to the United States are poised to rise substantially. This new trend offers tremendous opportunities for the U. S., provided policymakers take steps to keep the investment environment open and utilize China's new interest productively.
Topic:
Climate Change and Economics
Political Geography:
United States and China