The majority of environmental input-output studies focus on a single region or country. Linking environmental input-output models to the space can provide a better understanding on the spatial relationships of consumption and production activities and associated environmental issues. This PhD thesis employs the environmental input-output techniques using geo-demographic data bases to explore spatio-environmental issues in the developed country, UK, and the developing country, China. In this thesis, four case studies (Chapters 3, 4, 5 & 6) were carried out on natural resources extraction and environmental pollution using water consumption and CO2 emissions as environmental issues. Chapter 3 assessed the UK production and consumption water footprints and found that the UK consumption water footprint was more than three times bigger than its production water footprints. About half of the UK consumption water footprints were imported from Non-OECD countries, many of which were water scarce. Chapter 4 focused on regional virtual water flows and water footprints in the Yellow River Basin (YRB), China. The results show that the production and consumption activities outside of the basin also contributed to the water stress in the YRB, particularly the water scarce lower reach. Chapter 5 applied input-output structural decomposition analysis (10 SDA) to identify the key driving forces for China's regional CO2 emissions 2002-2007 and found that increases of final consumption such as urban household consumption, capital investment and export were the key driving forces for most of China's regions. Chapter 6 assessed the distributional effects of climate change taxation for the UK. The results showed that both CO2 and GHG taxes tended to be regressive, while a GHG tax led to a more equal distribution of the tax burden across income and lifestyle groups. This research concluded that linking environmental input-output models to space could present the spatial relationships of different regions in terms of environmental issues and build up consumption based spatio- environmental inventory. Policy implications from the four case studies have also been discussed.

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The environment as a conceptual category is utilised by middle-class Delhites to negotiate and exhibit differences from one another as well as from other class fractions, particularly the poor. This thesis employs Bourdieu’s tools of habitus and cultural capital as a point of departure to explore how the environment is embodied by various class fractions. Additionally, in recognising the complex social, economic and cultural environment in contemporary, post-liberalisation India the thesis explores the conscious processes that are employed by fractions of the middle class as subjective experiences of the environment: forms of environmentality (Agarwal, 2005). This is done through a series of case studies. The first case analyses formal environmental education in three Delhi schools. Students showed knowledge and concerns that focused largely on proximate concerns and, in fee-paying schools, narratives of wildlife conservation. These narratives were also reinforced in the curriculum, which emphasised local environmental issues and reaffirmed class boundaries through the language of the environment. The second case study explores how residents of two middle-class neighbourhoods embody the environment as social practice and how their local subjectivities influence how and in what form they engage with the environment. The final case study examines the ways in which the environment is embodied and discursively framed by middle-class members of two wildlife clubs. Members of the two clubs conceptualised the environment quite differently, reflecting different fractions of the middle class: specifically, an upwardly mobile consuming global new middle class and an older, post-Independence (Nehruvian) middle class. Together these case studies suggest that the environment is both embodied, in different forms of social practice, in addition to being consciously negotiated, drawing on their subjective experiences of the environment.

Waste is an inevitable output of our modern lives. Industrialisation and globalisation have facilitated society’s desire (and capacity) to consume more products than previous generations. Such increases in consumption are responsible for the increasing amounts of material that arise in the household waste stream, collected by local authorities. The term 'waste' has long been associated with disposal, despite the fact that 44% of household waste in the UK is now recycled. By thinking of household waste as a resource, it may be possible to extract value. Items that householders no longer require should not simply be discarded as waste but instead should be appreciated for the inherent value they possess and the new products they can become. However, implementing this paradigm is complicated by the variety of different materials in the waste stream, and the number of stakeholders responsible for its management. A central theme of the work presented in this thesis is the paradigm shift ‘From Waste to Resource’. This is important both for issues of resource security and sustainability. Indeed, whilst the times of ‘make do and mend’ can appear to be in the past, there is a great deal of interest in reusing and recovering material resources, especially if components or assemblages can be refurbished or ‘upcycled’. This research has developed a decision-making tool – The Local Authority Optimal Material Management Framework (LAOMMaF) – which can enable local authorities to assess the best way of managing their household ‘waste’. The LAOMMaF takes the user through the identification and quantification of the materials of interest, the determination of viable treatment options, and an options appraisal. The framework has been refined using five case studies: i) assessment of the optimal management of absorbent hygiene products, ii) quantification of waste as a material, through the development of a composition specification, iii) exploration of future waste and potential impacts on waste generation in Surrey, iv) assessment of management options for household wood waste using Multi-Criteria Decision-Making, and v) application of the revised LAOMMaF to assess the compliance of current collection systems in Surrey to the amended Waste Regulations (2011). By understanding the composition, amount and value of waste available to them, local authorities can take a more proactive approach in the ‘Waste Supply Chain’ to prevent the implementation of ‘sub-optimal’ management practices and the loss of valuable resources.

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The overall rationale and aim of the project was to strengthen Environment Agency policy advocacy effectiveness. In addition to this overall aim, the project had two more specific aims: to identify key features to be included in any process for generating and embedding in the organisation broad policy advocacy positions relevant to UK and EU level policy development and to provide an assessment of Environment Agency policy advocacy effectiveness - alongside English Nature in comparative perspective - and to thereby identify options to enhance the Agency's contribution to EU and UK public policy development.

Background and drivers of the project In the UK there is growing interest in the relationship between environmental quality and social equity. Recent research has shown that the most socially and economically deprived people live in the worst environments. This presents difficult challenges to government and its agencies in delivering sustainable development, but also an opportunity to better integrate social and environmental policy and deliver a better environment and quality of life for everyone. This project arose out of the Environment Agency's interest in understanding these issues, and its social responsibilities in improving and protecting the environment. This report provides a reflective and critical analysis of a work-based project between September 2002 and September 2004 to develop the Environment Agency's policy on addressing environmental inequalities. Research objectives The overall aim of this project was to strengthen the Environment Agency's contribution to sustainable development by: • developing the Environment Agency's understanding of the relationships between environmental quality and social deprivation; • helping to clarify the Environment Agency's role, and ensure its policies reflect the need to address environmental inequalities; and • ensuring that others' strategies to tackle multiple disadvantage and promote sustainable development reflect the need to address environmental inequalities. Methodology and project activities An action research approach provided the overall framework for the project, in which cycles of action and reflection were used to develop evidence-based policy and wider organisational change. The project utilised a variety of research techniques, including quantitative statistical analysis, documentary research and collaborative inquiry with critical stakeholders. The data was triangulated to understand the relationships between environmental quality and social deprivation, the Environment Agency's role in addressing environmental inequalities, and wider policy options. A wide range of the Environment Agency's staff and its external stakeholders were involved in developing the research, making sense of the evidence, and developing and negotiating the policy solutions. Results The project established that: • While the quality of the environment is generally improving, the most socially and economically deprived communities tend to live in the worst environments. For example, those living in the most deprived wards in England experience the worst air quality, are most likely to live next to industrial sites and are most likely to live in tidal floodplains. In Wales, the picture is very different. Air pollution is generally better, the location of industrial sites show some bias towards affluent areas, and the link between flooding and deprivation is less clear. • The Environment Agency's role is to contribute to a better quality of life for everyone, by improving and protecting the environment and whatever their background and wherever they live. To inform its approach, the Environment Agency carries out research on environmental inequalities and works with others to develop the most effective ways of tackling them. It takes account of the social and economic impacts of its work whenever possible and includes the interests of disadvantaged communities in its work. The Environment Agency advises on the environmental impacts of planning decisions, and advises government on environmental inequality, • The Environment Agency is committed to doing what it can to address environmental inequalities and will ensure that it does not contribute to inequalities in the future. It will undertake further research on environmental inequalities and scrutinise its approach to modern regulation and flood risk management. It will carry out Strategic Environmental Assessment to assess the impact of its plans and programmes on people, and continue to provide information, and support processes that help people to make better decisions about their environment. • Work is also needed by government, business and society to address environmental inequalities at a national, regional and local level. The Environment Agency is calling for: a better understanding of environmental inequalities and the most effective ways of addressing them; government policy to promote a reduction in environmental inequalities; government to address environmental inequalities through tackling disadvantage; regional and local planning authorities to prevent further environmental inequalities; - communities supported and involved in decisions that affect their local environment. Project impact The Environment Agency's understanding of the relationships between environmental quality and social deprivation has developed considerably as a result of this project. New knowledge about environmental inequalities has led to increasing dialogue at different levels within ~ and outside the organisation about the Environment Agency's role in improving and protecting the environment in deprived areas. The project has laid the foundations for future changes in Environment Agency policy and practice. The project has provided leadership in championing these issues across government and has been instrumental in informing the commitments within the UK Sustainable Development Strategy. Through collaborative work with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Environment Agency has seen a shift in the government's thinking about the environmental dimensions of disadvantage and wider commitment to integrate environment and social justice across government policy. Recommendations The project developed specific recommendations for future research, policy and practice to address environmental inequalities. This report also makes recommendations for Ihe ways in which the Environment Agency should take these forward by: (i) continuing to shape and Champion research and policy to address environmental inequalities, but also demonstrating its commitment to this issue (as set out in its Environmental Vision and position Statement) by integrating environmental equality into its policies and processes, and through its corporate targets. (ii) undertaking practical pilots with local. regional and national partners to demonstrate the value of addressing environmental inequalities; (iii) placing greater emphasis on joining up the practical experience of its staff on the ground with the needs and views of the communities it works with, in the development of policy; (iv) supporting the use of social science and encouraging the inclusion of more diverse voices, particularly those that are most excluded, in the development of evidence-based policy; (v) continuing to promote the use of participatory approaches to support the development of science and policy; (vi) supporting greater opportunities for reflection, evaluation and learning from the experience of practice and policy – for example through work-based doctorates. learning sets. reflection, mentoring. and secondments.

This study interrogates what motivates the major beneficiaries of the Bayelsa State (Niger Delta) environment – the multinational oil corporations (MNOCs) and the Nigerian government (NG) to degrade that environment – their benefactor. The special interest of this thesis lies in understanding why the degradation continued even with the knowledge that their actions threaten the existence of the indigenous oil-bearing host communities (OBHCs) of Bayelsa State (Niger Delta). Irrespective of the fact that the Niger Delta conflict has been a favourite subject for scholars over the years, this particular aspect of the conflict has not been found amongst the literature consulted for this study. To fill this gap, this thesis interrogates this phenomenon. To address this phenomenon, this study reviewed relevant literature to understand the dynamics of environmental degradation through the application of instrumental aggression by the major beneficiaries, and the reactive aggression employed by the OBHCs, as a response to the former. Employing ethnographic tools for data collection involving in-depth interviews, participant observation and focus group discussions, the frustration-aggression theory deployed here emphasises that an individual or a group that has experienced severe deprivations, marginalisation or obstructions in reaching its goal, may transform from a frustrated group to an aggressive one. With the use of this theoretical framework and the proposed theoretical model: Self-Inflicted-Frustration-Aggression-Theory (SIFAT), this study found that the Niger Delta’s connection with the defunct Republic of Biafra was responsible for their neglect, marginalization, violation and the despoliation of its environment. The thesis found that the obstructions to OBHCs’ constitutional means of resolving the problem was the major factor transforming frustrations into aggression and violent conflict in Bayelsa state (Niger Delta).

The twelve refereed publications (drawn from over eighty-five journal articles and a number of books and books chapters) which form the basis of this PhD each deal with an environmental and social problem that poses some regulatory or competition issues. They may be contended to have arisen due to a range of market failures that can warrant intervention. In some cases they are argued to challenge market conduct and/or regulatory practice. The selection of papers is in my judgement broadly reflective of the range of topics investigated throughout my research career and also chosen to include early work as well as some of my most recent and ongoing work. A wide range of research methods are used and all of the publications are to varying degrees considered to be policy relevant. The submitted work includes primarily theoretical or conceptual studies, critical policy assessments, as well as studies reporting empirical work drawing either on quantitative or qualitative modes of analysis, or some combination of the two. Most of the research has been undertaken in a UK setting though some took place in a South African setting and all are explored within the framework of the available international literature. The first part of the thesis commentary provides an introduction with personal background, an explanation of the thesis structure and a review of the relevant literature, highlighting the key work informing the selected articles and explaining the research context in which they evolved and developed. Then the commentary presents a reflective critical analysis of the selected articles. Finally the commentary unfolds a critical appraisal of the contribution of the published works to the field of study (including citation analysis) and in relation to some of the articles a more qualitative discussion is presented.