Despite climate change being an increasingly important focus of scientific and policy discourse and against a backdrop of rising greenhouse gas emissions, the Russian government has, thus far, failed to commit to an ambitious emission reduction target based on the latest science. For Russia to develop informed, internally consistent and scientifically literate policies, it is important to assess the scale of the challenge and explore implications of different levels of mitigation. To this end, the thesis derives Russia's cumulative emission budgets and generates associated low-carbon pathways in the context of both a re-developing economy and international climate change objectives (in particular, keeping the global mean temperature increase below 2°C relative to pre-industrial levels). This thesis draws on several disciplines, bringing together bottom-up energy system modelling from engineering and physical sciences, as well as stakeholder and expert interviews from social sciences. The principal methodological approach used here is backcasting, with a number of stakeholder interviews providing a 'reality check' for the scenarios. Given the global delay in acting on climate change, the contextual 2°C scenarios generated are ambitious and extremely challenging. With significant changes on both demand and supply sides, an annual post-peak emission reduction rate of at least 10% is required to meet the cumulative budget constraint; this despite the dramatic fall in Russia's emissions in the 1990s. Such radical reduction rates are well in excess of anything achieved or, indeed, deemed possible within existing mitigation policies and integrated assessment models - either in Russia or in any other part of the world. The necessary emission reductions would involve significant material changes to the energy system. Even with early reductions, to attain a low-carbon energy system in 2050 in accordance with the 2°C cumulative emission constraint, all of the available 'mature' technological options would need to be employed. In particular, short-term mitigation can be facilitated by Russia's large energy efficiency potential and a significant biomass potential. In the long term, mitigation could draw on the country's considerable renewable energy resources. If the peak in Russia's emissions is delayed until 2020-2025, staying within a national 2°C budget constraint will require a rapid and widespread deployment of currently speculative negative-emission technologies. Whilst the suggested mitigation pathways with emissions peaking early are demanding, they are potentially less challenging and destabilising than failing to mitigate and subsequently adapting to climate change impacts of a 6-16°C temperature rise across Russia. The precautionary principle, together with the multiple uncertainties associated with negative emissions, would suggest that starting the decarbonisation process early is critical. Along with other big emitters, Russia has a pivotal role in influencing the future direction of international climate change mitigation and adaptation. Not only is Russia a major emitter of greenhouse gases and a global supplier of fossil fuels, but also it remains a major force in geopolitics, and its diverse territory is both vulnerable and resilient to the impacts of climate change. This unique confluence of circumstances leaves Russia with a challenging dilemma. The country can choose to acquiesce to short-term political and economic considerations, adopt weak mitigation measures and face potentially devastating impacts. Or it can apply its considerable attributes and powers to instigate an epoch of national and global action to secure a low-carbon and climate-resilient future. Whilst the former will see Russia subsumed into the international malaise on climate change, the latter may both quench the nation's "thirst for greatness" and fill the void of climate leadership.

This study renders the current frame of global climate change policies as a mirror of a new era, marked by surpass of the once absolute limits to growth towards humanity&rsquo / s management and optimization of natural processes of the planet. A total of 24 interviews were realized with Turkish governmental and non-governmental experts on climate change, after application of a two-staged environmental attitude and policy questionnaire. Critical discourse analysis of interviews was performed to elaborate the results of the attitude and policy tests. Results demonstrate an assigned core value for technology as a means to survive the foreseen ecological crisis besides the given role of technology as a means to economic development. The reign of the discourse of sustainable development in Turkish expert discourse is actualized through frames of technological progress and efficiency. Another dominant discourse is the one of national interests, which is discussed in the context of international politics of North-South conflict. The gap between the environmental attitudes of experts and their choices of policy responses and institutional practices is also discussed.

Due to expected impacts such as flooding, landslides, and biodiversity loss, climate change adaptation has become recognized as an inevitable part of climate change policy and practice. However, our understanding of how to organize the management of adaptation is lacking, and few concrete measures have yet been implemented. Knowledge gaps exist relating to constraints on and opportunities and facilitating factors for adaptation. This study aims to fill such gaps by analyzing how Swedish climate change vulnerability and adaptation management is integrated across issues, sectors, and scales in public policy. The analysis is supported by two interconnected sub-studies. The first maps the national and local institutionalization of adaptation through document analyses at different policy levels. The second analyses practical approaches to and perceptions of vulnerability and adaptation management in two case municipalities. In the latter sub-study, qualitative interviews and stakeholder dialogues were held with officials from various local sector departments. The results indicate that climate change adaptation is poorly integrated into Swedish public policy. Constrains on local horizontal integration include a lack of cross-sectoral coordination and knowledge, weak local political interest, and varying opportunities for sector departments to influence policy. These constraints result in climate vulnerability being considered late in municipal and regional strategic planning processes. They also reduce the possibility of identifying overarching municipal goals. At the national level, horizontal integration is negatively affected by a lack of government guidelines and by unclear division of responsibility. Constraints on vertical integration include poor fit between the national and municipal levels, due to a perceived absence of national goals, guidelines, and funding, and the lack of a sufficient knowledge base for decision-making. This makes it difficult to  now what measures to prioritize and how to evaluate progress. The analysis of adaptation policy integration also gives insights into some general factors found to either constrain or facilitate implementation of adaptation. In Sweden, both horizontal and vertical integration has been facilitated by the few national and regional guidelines established to date, indicating that national steering would offer a useful way forward. Policy integration could be increased by formulating national adaptation goals, creating a national adaptation fund, creating municipal adaptation coordinator posts, and paying greater attention to climate change  vulnerability in proactive economic planning. / Förväntade konsekvenser av klimatförändringar såsom översvämningar, jordskred och biodiversitetsförluster har utvecklats till viktiga klimatpolitiska frågor. Förståelsen av hur hantering av klimateffekter kan organiseras är dock begränsad. Kunskapsluckor existerar även kring hinder och möjligheter för implementering av klimatanpassning. Därför har få anpassningsåtgärder hittills realiserats. Denna studie syftar till att bidra med kunskap för att fylla ovanstående luckor, genom att analysera hur hantering av klimatsårbarhet och anpassning är integrerade i andra frågor, sektorer och nivåer i svensk offentlig policy. Analysen stöds av två sammanlänkande delstudier. Den första kartlägger genom dokumentanalyser, hur anpassning institutionaliserats på nationell och lokal nivå. Den andra analyserar praktiska tillvägagångssätt till, och åsikter om, hantering av anpassning i två svenska kommuner. I den senare delstudien har kvalitativa intervjuer och intressentdialoger genomförts med kommuntjänstemän från olika sektorsförvaltningar. Studien visar att anpassningsfrågan är undermåligt integrerad i svensk offentlig policy. Hinder för horisontell integrering på det lokala planet inkluderar en brist på tvärsektoriell koordinering och kunskapsuppbyggnad, ett svalt lokalpolitiskt intresse och olika möjligheter för sektorsförvaltningar att påverka beslutsfattande. Detta får till följd att klimatsårbarhet övervägs sent i kommunal och regional strategisk planering. Det försvårar också möjligheten att finna övergripande kommunala mål. På den nationella nivån påverkas den horisontella integreringen negativt av en avsaknad av statliga riktlinjer och fördelning av ansvar. Hinder för vertikal integrering inkluderar en brist på matchning mellan nationell och lokal policynivå på grund av en upplevd avsaknad av nationella mål, riktlinjer, finansiering och kunskapsunderlag. Detta gör det svårt att prioritera bland åtgärder, och att utvärdera framsteg. Analysen av policyintegrering ger även insyn i mer generella faktorer som antingen hindrar eller främjar implementering av klimatanpassning. De få statliga och regionala riktlinjer som hittills utvecklats i Sverige, har främjat horisontell och vertikal integrering av anpassning. Detta indikerar att nationell styrning är viktigt för att underlätta implementering av klimatanpassning. För att stärka policyintegreringen föreslås därför att nationella anpassningsmål utvecklas, att en nationell anpassningsfond instiftas, att en tjänst inom kommuner för att koordinera klimatanpassning etableras och att en större vikt ges till klimatsårbarhet och anpassning i proaktiv ekonomisk planering.

The thesis comprises four essays examining aspects of international trade and environment. "Border carbon adjustments (BCAs) and Strategic Climate Policy" examines how BCA affects government incentives to regulate emissions and trade in a strategic setting and contrasts the impact of a BCA and a tariff: the distinction being that the level of the BCA is a function of the difference in the trade partner's emission taxes whereas the tariff is not. I show that a BCA leverages the exporter's climate policy provided the exporter has little influence over world prices (i.e. export supply elasticity is large) and has a weak climate policy. "How does the price of electricity affect imports? A study of Swedish manufacturing firms" examines the heterogeneous effects of a domestic electricity price increase on the structure of imports. We identify the magnitude of the impact of the electricity price increase on the structure of firm imports. Our findings agree with the predictions of our theoretical model. "Trade, Transboundary Pollution and Market Size" suggests a new set of theoretical reasons that may help reconcile the contradictory empirical evidence of the impact of trade liberalization on the location of production to countries with weaker pollution policy. Our results suggest that relative market size, the level of trade costs, the ease of abatement, and the degree of product differentiation at the sector level are relevant variables for empirical studies on trade and pollution. Market shares for organic products are typically modest. Yet several consumer surveys find that a majority of respondents would buy substantially more of these products even if they cost more. "What’s holding it back? A study in organic retail coffee purchases" explores reasons for this apparent divergence. The results suggest that the limited overlap between organic and other highly-valued characteristics is one of the most important constraints.

The Western Regional Climate Action Initiative (WCI) was signed by the governors of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington, on February 26, 2007. Upon the release of the September 2008 Design Recommendations for the WCI Regional Cap-and-Trade Program, the WCI also included Montana, Utah, and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. A WCI goal is to reduce regional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 15% below 2005 levels by 2020. It has previously been recognized that the region’s forests can be important carbon sinks and sources, and it has been suggested that the carbon-storage capacity of forests may have economic value. Here, connections between forests and the developing WCI cap-and-trade system design are examined. Qualitative comparative analysis is used to examine characteristics of US states participating in the WCI. Content analysis is used to identify what advocacy groups promote what forest-related WCI cap-and-trade rules. A combination of low per capita GHG emissions, and strong environmental politics, is found to be related to regional climate initiative participation by US states, with important exceptions among WCI participants. Forest industry presence alone does not obviously influence participation. Electric utility and industry groups, including the forestry sector, are found to support an extensive WCI carbon offset system. Forest industry groups are also found to support the carbon neutrality of forest biomass combustion, and oppose regulating forest carbon emissions. Several environmental non-governmental organizations are found to oppose extensive carbon offset use, and oppose the unconditional consideration of biomass combustion as carbon neutral. Forest related aspects of the WCI Design Recommendations of September 2008 are found to largely agree with forest industry advocated policies. Some WCI provisions may provide incentives for forest carbon loss, or weaken the GHG emissions cap. Three recommendations are made: consideration should be given to appropriately discounting forest offset projects to address carbon emissions leakage; forest carbon emissions from land conversion should be accounted for; combustion of forest biomass from old-growth forests should not be considered carbon neutral. / Thesis (Master, Environmental Studies) -- Queen's University, 2009-10-29 22:29:48.499

Given the urgency of climate-change and the speed and scale of the structural transition to a low-carbon economy, there is a critical need for research that accelerates the diffusion of learning in the field of employment and workforce planning. While efforts to align workforce development and planning with the introduction of green policies are rapidly intensifying and maturing, there are gaps in coherence. The transition to sustainable economies involves significant shifts in employment, including application and use of skills and workplace practices. New occupations are emerging and existing occupations are being greened at a rapid rate (Globe Foundation, 2010 a; ILO, 2011, pg. 4; 2012: OECD, 2013 pg. 47). Keeping equilibrium in employment while climate-change forecasts and technological innovations are rapidly evolving is a growing challenge for workforce planning and policy. This is also a ‘rate of change’ problem, and it needs to be better understood if governments are to provide leadership, adapt more quickly, and provide continuous high levels of services to citizens while maintaining strong economies. Governments that understand this will be at the forefront of mitigation and adaptation efforts (OECD, 2012 a, b). But how should that challenge be met? This study tackles that question, seeking to clarify how workforce development and planning can be directed toward improving employment prospects and reducing employment dislocations as the planet changes around us in the face of a changing climate. The implications of the findings are outlined and recommendations are then made as to how labour policies and workforce development and planning measures can best be targeted and integrated into the larger green policy framework to improve coherence of policies, institutional and organizational capacity and data capability. / Graduate

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze climate change initiatives in China, the United States, and California, determine where they fall on a spectrum from climate change leader to climate change laggard, and evaluate the need for more effective collaboration among these entities in order to collectively tackle the global threat of climate change. This thesis supplements existing literature in the field by synthesizing the climate change activities of three important players in the global arena: China, the United States, and California. This thesis is different from other research, however, by underscoring the collaboration between these three entities and specifically recommending cap and trade as a mechanism through which to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In this thesis, I claim that on a spectrum from climate change laggard to climate change leader, the United States settles as a laggard, California emerges as a leader, and contrary to popular belief, I argue that China is transitioning between the two. Moreover, I emphasize the importance of more collaboration – especially more substantive collaboration – between these key players in order to achieve significant global emissions reductions because they will stimulate other partnerships around the world and trigger more collective action on climate change. Finally, I offer cap and trade as a viable option through which these three entities can work together to reduce their contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions.

This thesis investigates in what way democracy affect climate change policy output. The aim of the study is to test the positive correlation between democracy and climate change policy output that Bättig and Bernauer (2009) found. A contribution is made in the form of a new database including 193 countries and a newly constructed climate change policy index. The method of regression analysis using ordinary least squares is utilized. The results confirm a significant and substantial positive relation between democracy and climate change policy output. Furthermore, the effect of civil liberties on climate change policy output seem to be stronger than the effect of political rights. The results underline the instrumental value of democracy for sustainable development. To protect and enforce democratic institutions in high emission countries is important to avoid interruption of social and economic development all over the world, due to the consequences of climate change. Additionally, the results speak in favour of democratization aid to avoid development of carbon dependent economies. Finally, they underline the importance of analysing the possible environmental impact of different kinds of aid. In sum the thesis shows that democracy can affect the likelihood of collective action and increase the provision of public goods in the form of ambitious climate change policies.

Urban regeneration plays a significant role in the creation of climate-friendly urban areas. Urban regeneration strategies such as (1) the creation of open spaces and green infrastructure, (2) the effective use of inner-city land, (3) changes in land-use structure and elements through regeneration of inner-city areas, and (4) changes in building stock through retrofitting existing buildings and the construction of green buildings can all help with climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. Many cities throughout the world have enacted urban regeneration policies, plans, and programmes, highlighting the significance of implementing climate measures into urban regeneration policies and initiatives at the supranational, national, regional, and municipal levels. The government of the Republic of Korea has made urban regeneration a primary priority, investing a significant amount of public funds in the process. Korea's urban regeneration initiative has made tremendous progress, with projects in numerous cities around the country currently underway. However, Korea's urban regeneration rarely takes up the opportunities to incorporate climate measures into its policy and plans. As a result of these fragmented policy approaches, both urban regeneration and climate change policies may become inefficient in terms of inefficient budget execution and staff management. Although recent Korean studies have emphasised the significance of incorporating climate change measures into urban regeneration areas, these studies do not provide empirical evidence of specific institutional hurdles and only provide a limited amount of recommendations for successful climate policy integration in urban regeneration policies and plans. According to the literature on environmental policy integration and climate mainstreaming in worldwide academic discussion, there is a lack of empirical information on the factors that influence policy implementation phases. Identification of variables influencing the integration of climate change policies into urban regeneration—at both the policy development and implementation stages—is crucial to understanding effective climate policy integration in this policy domain. The goals of this dissertation are to (1) investigate the current urban regeneration process and how it incorporates climate measures, (2) identify the relevant internal and external factors that influence the integration of climate measures into urban regeneration policy during the policy development and implementation stages, and (3) identify implementation gaps in the integration of climate measures into urban regeneration projects during the policy development and implementation stages. This study develops a conceptual framework based on earlier studies that examine (1) the assessment of climate policy integration levels and (2) the factors that influence climate policy integration across policy domains. This dissertation takes a qualitative case study method, integrating content analysis, process tracing, and document analysis with data from semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholder representatives, as well as a collection of relevant documents. Seoul was chosen as the case study area because it is a densely populated city with active urban regeneration and climate change policies. The case study provides empirical evidence of relevant factors for the climate policy integration in urban regeneration for cities that are pursuing successful integration of climate measures into urban regeneration policy. Throughout the policy cycle, this study gives a detailed list of internal and external factors that influence the incorporation of climate measures into urban regeneration. Political factors, organisational factors, and resources are critical factors in both policy development and policy implementation, as previous studies have shown. However, in the policy development and policy implementation stages, this dissertation studies more detailed aspects within these categories and examines them closely by categorising them into internal and external factors. According to existing research in this field, implementation gaps are caused by a lack of sustained political support and cooperation among key stakeholders, rather than a lack of knowledge or financial resources. Other factors related to implementation gaps, such as (1) a lack/absence of information about climate measures, (2) residents' pecuniary focus, (3) public awareness and support, and (4) spatial issues such as lack of facilities/spaces for adopting climate measures, are all significant impacts in the case study of Seoul. This study suggests that sharing information and research about the effectiveness of climate measures is a good place to start when it comes to improving the level of climate policy integration in urban regeneration policies; urban regeneration stakeholders should have enough information on potential climate measure strategies that can be integrated into urban regeneration projects, as well as the benefits of doing so for the neighbourhood (e.g. climate-related businesses which support community cooperation and profit generation, community-based climate activities, and more diverse ways of measuring the success of climate measures in order to educate the public better).:1. Introduction 1.1. Research background 1.2. Research questions and design 1.3. Structure 2. Theoretical/conceptual background 2.1. Responses to climate change 2.2. Concept of urban regeneration 2.3. Background of environmental/climate policy integration and mainstreaming 2.4. International trends and academic discussions on the opportunities for climate policy integration in urban regeneration 2.5. Factors for the climate policy integration in urban regeneration in the policy cycle 2.5.1. Structure of the climate policy integration 2.5.2. Detailed factors of the climate policy integration 2.5.3. The level of climate policy integration in different stages of the policy cycle 2.6. Developing an analytical concept 2.7. Research gaps regarding factors affecting climate policy integration along the policy cycle 2.8. Formulating research questions 3. Research design and methods 3.1. Research design 3.2. Selection of study areas 3.3. Data collection and analysis methods 4. Exploring the context: Seoul and its neighbourhoods 4.1. Seoul 4.1.1. Features of Seoul and evolution of urban regeneration in Seoul 4.1.2. Climate change issues 4.1.3. Characteristics of residential areas in Seoul 4.2. Features of study areas in Seoul 4.2.1. Jangwi-dong 4.2.2. Sangdo 4-dong 4.2.3. Amsa-dong 4.2.4. Garibong-dong 5. Urban regeneration and climate change policies in Korea 5.1. Urban regeneration policy and plan at national, city, and community levels 5.1.1. Urban regeneration policy in Korea 5.1.2. Urban regeneration policy and plan in Seoul 5.1.3. Neighbourhood urban regeneration plans 5.1.4. Process and stakeholders of urban regeneration at national, city, and community levels 5.2. Climate change policy at different levels in Korea 5.2.1. Climate change policy at national level 5.2.2. Climate change policy at city level 5.2.3. Climate change plan at community level 5.3. Integration of climate measures in the process of urban regeneration 5.3.1. Level of the integration of climate measures in urban regeneration policy at national level 5.3.2. Level of the integration of climate measures in urban regeneration policy at city level 5.3.3. Level of the integration of climate measures in urban regeneration plan at community level 5.4. Summary 6. Policy development: Internal and external factors to integrate climate measures into urban regeneration policy 6.1. Internal factors 6.1.1. Political factors 6.1.2. Organisational factors 6.1.3. Resources 6.1.4. Cognitive factors 6.1.5. Characterisation of the problem at hand 6.2. External factors 6.2.1. Public awareness and support 6.2.2. Lack of private sector support 6.3. Relevant factors and gaps regarding factors in the conceptual framework 6.4. Discussion 7. Policy implementation: internal and external factors to integrate climate measures into urban regeneration projects 7.1. Internal factors 7.1.1. Political factors 7.1.2. Organisational factors 7.1.3. Resources 7.1.4. Cognitive factors 7.1.5. Characterisation of the problems/opportunities at hand 7.2. External factors 7.2.1. Residents’ support 7.2.2. Characterisation of the problem at hand 7.2.3. Lack of private sector support 7.2.4. Cognitive factors 7.3. Relevant factors and gaps regarding factors in the conceptual framework 7.4. Discussion and implementation gaps between policy development and policy implementation 8. Conclusions: recommendations to enhance the level of integration of climate measures into urban regeneration 8.1. Synthesis of the dissertation 8.2. Limitations of the research and further research 8.3. Implications for academic discussion and practices 8.4. Recommendations 8.5. Overall conclusion References Appendix

No description available.