This thesis examines the effects of different environmental policies on renewable energy technology innovation. Previous empirical and theoretical studies done on the field of environmental and innovation economics agree that the presence of environmental regulations positively affect innovation. This paper uses patent applications to the EPO in order to measure the effectiveness of the different policy measures to induce innovation in renewable energy technologies. Patent data from 20 European countries was used for the period 1977-2013. The empirical model was estimated using the Poisson fixed-effects model. The results indicate that tax measures are necessary for renewable energy innovation but is unlikely that taxes alone are sufficient to induce innovation without other policy support to tackle the market inefficiencies. The price of electricity and the growth of the electricity consumption were also found to be significant determinants of innovation to renewable energy technologies, suggesting that the conditions of the energy market play an important role in energy innovation.

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Environmental problems occur where ecosystems and human social systems converge. As a result, they are not easily resolved by science or technology because they stem from the diversity in human perceptions, expectations, and values. A decisionmaking process known as collaboration offers a method of joint problem solving that is based upon an application of social learning theory. Collaboration is inspired by the concept of participatory democracy and advanced by the exchanges inherent in a civic discourse. It can involve individuals and representatives of agencies, organizations, and other groups in open discussions where the process participants share information and power as they take joint responsibility in attempting to make decisions, reach solutions, or resolve issues. This study identifies basic elements of collaborative environmental decisionmaking through an analysis of several collaborative processes. It then examines how these collaborative processes work and whether collaboration is an effective environmental decisionmaking process. Two case studies are examined: the Chesapeake Bay Program Community Watershed Initiative Workgroup, and the Elizabeth River Project Watershed Action Team. The case studies illustrate that the presence or absence of the identified elements of collaborative environmental decisionmaking affect the results of the process. They also illustrate that the participants in these processes incur changes in the manner in which they regard the issues. Collaborative environmental decisionmaking works by establishing a dialogue among people with disparate positions, concerns, and interests in an attempt to find common ground. The process can link formal, theoretical knowledge with informal, practical wisdom through face-to-face dialogue among contending parties. It can result in social learning and build social capital. / Ph. D.

Environmental policy debates are gaining momentum in the public square from scholars and citizens alike. From all sides of the debate, a growing consensus is emerging that advocates a shift in the environmental regulatory system in the United States from one that emphasizes command and control regulations to one that advocates collaboration between the regulator and regulatee. Although this dialogue is expanding, the research literature largely remains silent on a critical component of the environmental regulatory system — the individuals on the front-lines. Most notably, these front-line workers are environmental compliance inspectors and the individuals that inspectors deal with at regulated facilities. Inspectors and facility personnel are largely responsible for the implementation of environmental regulation in the U.S., yet they are overlooked in the discussion of regulation, past and present. These key actors are of tremendous significance and must be considered in discussions of environmental policy. In particular, the interactions of these two important groups of actors merit exploration. This research examines the interactions of inspectors and facility personnel in Virginia and investigates contentions that the relationships in the environmental regulatory system lack trust. One-on-one interviews were conducted with nearly four dozen inspectors and facility personnel in Virginia to seek answers to the question: How does trust factor into the relationships between environmental compliance inspectors and facility personnel in Virginia? In contrast to presumptions in the literature, this study finds evidence of positive relationships between these two seeming adversaries and asserts that trust is present in these interactions. Accordingly, there are potentially significant implications of these findings for future environmental policy. These implications include the realization that the relationships are positive, that there may indeed be differences between relationships at the state versus federal level and the experiences at one level dominate prevailing perceptions, and that traditional assumptions of command and control regulations may not be as valid as previously thought. / Ph. D.

Environmental Management has become a multijurisdictional responsibility, involving federal, state, and local agencies. Agencies formulate and direct programs towards the fulfillment of an assortment of objectives, based on their independent missions. These programs frequently are not integrated or coordinated across jurisdictional divisions. Policies, programs and projects developed by one agency or jurisdiction may, therefore, impact those of another. Interjurisdictional conflict may be triggered if these impacts are incompatible. These conflicts may interrupt and impede the implementation of program decisions and may delay the effective management of environmental resources. Judicial action, legislative intervention, arbitration, and mediation are approaches which are increasingly being used for conflict resolution. All these approaches attempt to resolve conflict, after decisions are made. A regional approach to multijurisdictional problems is another alternative to overcome interagency/interjurisdictional conflict through structural reorganization. The regional approach often is effective only at the pre-action staqa, however, and frequently is considered a threat to home rule and local autonomy if extended to management. All these arrangements tend to be very time consuming and cumbersome. Cooperative management offers an alternative approach for more effective multijurisdictional management of the environment.. The objective of cooperative management is to facilitate the implementation of management programs, through a sequential process of compatible decision-making. The conventional process of decision making is adapted to incorporate mechanisms of interagency cooperation and collaboration, communication, and negotiation in the formulation and selection of decision choices. The cooperative management process attempts to secure decision compatibility at the strategic, managerial and operational levels. Compatible decisions set the stage for more effective implementation.. While this study focuses on cooperative management among public agencies, the process described herein could have application as a mechanism to resolve/circumvent conflict among public interest groups, as well as between citizen groups and public agencies. This study incorporates the design and evaluation of the cooperative management process. A likely application in the context of land and resource management problems in Alaska also is attempted. Cooperative management may provide a workable and effective alternative for a wide range of multijurisdictional management problems. Whereas the process may not always culminate in compatible decisions 6 it might reduce the dependence of multijurisdictional management on external intervention for interagency conflict resolution. It may facilitate the accomplishment of a range of diverse objectives in a setting of greater harmony and cooperation. The model study draws that may be of cooperative management described in this upon and combines various component concepts found in the literature of public administration, planning. policy analysis, conflict management, and so forth. The contribution of this study is not the “invention” of new concepts but the innovation of a unique combination of available concepts to facilitate the formulation of decisions which are compatible, i.e. not unacceptable to public agencies at various levels of government. The notion of compatible decisions is a key component in cooperative management. Cooperative management does not seek (depend upon) full consensus but rather, the absence of unacceptance as the viability of a chosen course of action. / D.E.D.P.

The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) pilot project will be only the second operating offshore wind project in the United States when it enters service later this year. This gives Virginia, a state criticized for a weak regulatory environment and environmental policy that has been slow to embrace renewable energy, an opportunity to take a leadership position in the development of this zero-carbon resource. One explanation for the CVOW project's emergence is the Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DIT), which relates the rate of adoption of novel solutions to factors such as relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability – all factors which play, to varying degrees, in favor of this project. Another explanation involves an inversion of Regulatory Capture Theory (RCT). RCT posits that regulated industries capture otherwise neutral regulating bodies, to the detriment of the generic public interest. Others argue that RCT underplays the degree to which regulators prioritize the interests of the regulated community over the public interest, defending a Climate of Capitulation Theory (CCT). While Virginia has recently taken an aggressively pro-wind policy position as it competes with other states to serve as a hub for the offshore wind industry and responds to voter interests in sustainability, the CVOW project problematizes RCT. It also suggests that a real-world climate of capitulation may not always work against the public interest. Judiciously combined with DIT, CCT can explain how external pressures on Virginia government, combined with internal pressures exerted by public opinion in relation to the development of the offshore wind industry, are steering 'capitulation' in directions that assist the public interest in sustainability. In the real world of energy politics, and against RCT, regulators are and have never been neutral, and therefore liable to capture. In a climate of capitulation, and setting aside other questions of the public interest, the willingness of regulators to serve the interests of the regulated community can, when taking external and internal factors into account, redound to the public interest in sustainability. / Master of Arts / Virginia has historically been criticized for a weak regulatory environment and for having environmental policies that have been slow to embrace renewable energy. Yet, the state is about to become home to just the second offshore wind project in America and plans are moving forward on a proposal to build the largest offshore wind project in North America off the Commonwealth's coast by 2026. This thesis explores the factors that led to the development of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) pilot project and how Virginia became a major player in this zero-emission clean energy resource. One explanation is provided by the Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DIT) which details how innovative solutions take hold and examines factors which can accelerate adoption rates. Another explanation is found by considering an inversion of Regulatory Capture Theory (RCT). RCT is premised on the idea that regulated industries can hold sway over the regulating bodies, often to the detriment of the generic public interest. A variation of RCT focused on Virginia environmental policy, Climate of Capitulation Theory (CCT), explains how Virginia regulators have, at times, not provided strong enough environmental protections. However, the CVOW project shows how the regulated community, policy makers and public opinion are coming together to position Virginia at the forefront of the offshore wind industry and how the willingness of regulators to serve the interests of the regulated community can serve the interests of both the public and the environment, as well.

The United States Forest Service planning processes, which are driven in large part by the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), are a part of all major (and some minor) land management decisions by the agency. The outcomes of these processes are the result of multiple factors, many related to the manifold smaller incremental decisions made by agency personnel directing the processes. Through qualitative review of 21 NEPA documents and 5 case study processes in which we interviewed decision makers, team leaders, and team members, this study examines those incremental decisions and the factors that drive them. Risk emerged as a dominant lens through which agency personnel weigh and make process-related decisions. We identify the different types of risk perceived by agency actors and the risk management strategies they employ. Our interviews suggest that different actors within the agency tend to assume responsibility for responding to different forms of risk associated with particular tasks. Most time and energy appears to be focused on minimizing process-related risks, especially those caused by external entities in the form of public opposition and threats of appeal/litigation, rather than resource-related threats. We discuss the potential implications of this focus and its associated strategies on organizational and social learning within agency planning processes, on adaptive ecosystem management, and internal agency relationships and morale. / Master of Science

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1986.