This research examines the process of inclusion of aviation into the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). The thesis investigates an environmentally-recalcitrant community (aviation industry) and its attempts to suspend the application of the EU ETS on the sector. It focuses on the decision-making processes at the European Union (EU) level and juxtaposes the European policy-making with the resistance to inclusion shown in the political system of the United States (US). More specifically, it seeks to understand the factors affecting the effectiveness of efforts to forge effective international environmental policy, especially those driven by the EU in the context of climate change. Theoretically, this research draws on three theories: Multi-level governance, Policy Network Analysis and Interpretive Policy Analysis. These theories are advanced by considering the meaning-making activities pursued by the stakeholders and discursive aspects of the process analysed. Empirically the thesis is informed by a series of semi-structured interviews conducted in Washington, DC in 2013 and in Brussels, Belgium in 2014, policy documents, and media content analysis. The thesis concludes that the climate ambitions of the (EU) may instigate international resistance leading to deterioration of relations with international partners. The thesis proves too that the conflict in the EU ETS case is related to the construction of interests both within the EU and vis à vis its international partners. The research contributes also to understanding the internal proceedings of the European Commission by showing discrepancies in decision-making between the Directorate Generals. It shows that the locus of policy making can be changed towards more non-material venues. Finally, the results show that aviation enjoys a particularly powerful position among other businesses both in the EU and in the US and is able to shape policy-making at the national and international level.

The main aim of this thesis is to assess the economic impact of climate change and climatic variability on agriculture in Northeast (NE) Thailand. Climate change is a slow and complex phenomenon. Therefore, decision-making in climate change context involves long-time scales and that have led uncertainties associated with many risks. To assess the impact of climate change in agriculture as well as supporting long-term adaptation planning, long-term climate change scenarios are required. This study achieved this requirement by developing long-term climate change scenarios for NE Thailand under the SRES A2 and B2 climate change scenarios for 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s based upon data from the SEA START RC. One of the more significant findings to emerge from this study is that the assessment of climate change impacts on NE Thailand agriculture through a careful consideration of spatial issues in the Ricardian framework that this study has undertaken would be useful in providing a more accurate picture of the potential impacts of climate change on farmer income in NE Thailand. By the end of the 21st century (2080s), NE Thailand farmers of 62 sub-districts in 8 provinces are expected to experience the severe impact of climate change. A full implementation of the key planned adaptation, the IWRM, would therefore be required to alleviate the risk to climate change in NE Thailand agricultural sector.

This research aims to assess the Impact of the Emerging Climate Change Risks (IECCR) on Urban Infrastructure (UI) such as; housing stock, road transport systems, energy systems and water systems; economic impact (associated with housing stock) and social well-being Impact (impact on human health) applicable to Damaturu (Yobe State, Nigeria). It also seeks to develop a viable adaptation strategy (AIECCR) that could lead to a resilient and sustainable urban growth of the town. The research made use of the criteria developed by the Climate Change Risks Observatory (CCRO) for extracting the IECCR applicable to the study area. The IECCR & AIECCR variables were transformed into a Self-Administered Questionnaire (SAQ) and administered to one hundred and five built environment professionals from the field of Architecture, Engineering & Surveying, Planning and several other professions categorised as ‘Others’ to weight the likelihood of the impacts, effectiveness of the strategies, and their willingness to implement them in their plans, designs or future policies. Subsequently, data analysis was carried out using the SPSS statistical tool. Ranking of the data was carried out using the Kendall's Coefficient of Concordance (W), and the Reliability analysis of the data was carried out using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The research has compiled a comprehensive list of IECCR & AIECCR strategies for the study area that was not put together prior to this study, several statistical tools were used to carry out the analysis of the data obtained and has revealed a disparity among the built environment professionals. Ranking of the data obtained has shown clearly how their views differ on certain subject. One-way ANOVA has also revealed 10 out of 100 variables of the study has statistical difference such as; IECCR on Energy Systems (PI3j), IECCR on Water Systems (PI4e, PI4f), IECCR on Social Well-Being (SWIa), AIECCR on Housing Stock (API1a), AIECCR on Energy Systems (API3f), AIECCR on the Economy (AEIb, AEIc), and AIECCR on Social Well-Being (ASWIe). Some of the variables were rejected and some retained. ‘Climate Change’ as a topic itself is still an alien phenomenon, and is often mystifying and even blasphemous in the study area, an in-depth reconnaissance survey of the study area were limited and raise suspicion, accessibility to acquiring a more diverse data had also been restricted due to the on-going insurgencies. Identifying the IECCR & AIECCR strategies, acknowledgment by the wider society and integrating them into policies can eventually affect the way towns and cities are designed, planned, and constructed. It can also save considerable time, lives, and resources if implemented in every plan and development. The built environment professionals, policy makers, stakeholders and residents in the study area if enlightened with these impacts and their adaptation strategies could work together to ensure a resilient and sustainable urban growth. There is also a room for further research to find out which is more important? Adhering to ‘standards’ regardless of how it affects professional practice and urban growth or the need to study the vulnerability of town and cities to climate change, assessment of its impact and the provision of its adaptation strategies before carrying out any future plans or designs? This is the first research carried out for the study area that has identified a comprehensive list of IECCR & AIECCR strategies, which when implemented could lead to resilient and sustainable growth of Damaturu. This research aims to assess the Impact of the Emerging Climate Change Risks (IECCR) on Urban Infrastructure (UI) such as; housing stock, road transport systems, energy systems and water systems; economic impact (associated with housing stock) and social well-being Impact (impact on human health) applicable to Damaturu (Yobe State, Nigeria). It also seeks to develop a viable adaptation strategy (AIECCR) that could lead to a resilient and sustainable urban growth of the town. The research made use of the criteria developed by the Climate Change Risks Observatory (CCRO) for extracting the IECCR applicable to the study area. The IECCR & AIECCR variables were transformed into a Self-Administered Questionnaire (SAQ) and administered to one hundred and five built environment professionals from the field of Architecture, Engineering & Surveying, Planning and several other professions categorised as ‘Others’ to weight the likelihood of the impacts, effectiveness of the strategies, and their willingness to implement them in their plans, designs or future policies. Subsequently, data analysis was carried out using the SPSS statistical tool. Ranking of the data was carried out using the Kendall's Coefficient of Concordance (W), and the Reliability analysis of the data was carried out using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The research has compiled a comprehensive list of IECCR & AIECCR strategies for the study area that was not put together prior to this study, several statistical tools were used to carry out the analysis of the data obtained and has revealed a disparity among the built environment professionals. Ranking of the data obtained has shown clearly how their views differ on certain subject. One-way ANOVA has also revealed 10 out of 100 variables of the study has statistical difference such as; IECCR on Energy Systems (PI3j), IECCR on Water Systems (PI4e, PI4f), IECCR on Social Well-Being (SWIa), AIECCR on Housing Stock (API1a), AIECCR on Energy Systems (API3f), AIECCR on the Economy (AEIb, AEIc), and AIECCR on Social Well-Being (ASWIe). Some of the variables were rejected and some retained. ‘Climate Change’ as a topic itself is still an alien phenomenon, and is often mystifying and even blasphemous in the study area, an in-depth reconnaissance survey of the study area were limited and raise suspicion, accessibility to acquiring a more diverse data had also been restricted due to the on-going insurgencies. Identifying the IECCR & AIECCR strategies, acknowledgment by the wider society and integrating them into policies can eventually affect the way towns and cities are designed, planned, and constructed. It can also save considerable time, lives, and resources if implemented in every plan and development. The built environment professionals, policy makers, stakeholders and residents in the study area if enlightened with these impacts and their adaptation strategies could work together to ensure a resilient and sustainable urban growth. There is also a room for further research to find out which is more important? Adhering to ‘standards’ regardless of how it affects professional practice and urban growth or the need to study the vulnerability of town and cities to climate change, assessment of its impact and the provision of its adaptation strategies before carrying out any future plans or designs? This is the first research carried out for the study area that has identified a comprehensive list of IECCR & AIECCR strategies, which when implemented could lead to resilient and sustainable growth of Damaturu.

This thesis contributes to the scholarship on policy diffusion in general, and on environmental policy diffusion in particular, by unpicking the drivers of different diffusion mechanisms. Its overarching aim is to investigate the motivational dynamics influencing environmental policymaking at the fuzzy, understudied, pre-legislative stage. The thesis comprises four standalone papers: The first paper (Chapter 2) examines policymakers’ motivations to engage with the climate change mitigation agenda based on a case study of Israeli climate change mitigation policy. It suggests that Israel’s engagement with the climate change mitigation agenda, displaying an evident pattern of diffusion by emulating developed countries, is significantly motivated by considerations of internal, rather than external, legitimacy, contrary to expectations. The second paper (Chapter 3) makes theoretical advancements in recognising issue attributes as explanatory factors for the different mechanisms of policy diffusion, addressing an acknowledged gap in the literature. The third paper (Chapter 4) is an empirical application of the issue attributes model introduced in Chapter 3; the concept is applied to three diffusion processes of environmental issues in Israel: climate change, air pollution, and waste, analysing the differences in the attributes of these three issues, and subsequently, the differences in diffusion mechanisms in practice. The fourth paper (Chapter 5) investigates GLOBE International, a previously unstudied network of legislators committed to advancing climate change legislation. Its main findings show that GLOBE facilitates a mechanism of policy and political learning, but perhaps more interestingly, generates network-enabled emotional energy and esprit de corps among its members, which has helped to motivate and sustain climate action by legislators. The thesis takes a qualitative, microlevel approach, utilising data from 64 interviews with policy actors from 21 countries, as well supporting textual sources, thus contributing to the qualitative knowledge base needed to support analytical aggregations on policy diffusion processes.

The activated sludge process is widely used throughout the world for the treatment of wastewater from domestic and industrial users. This process is not normally efficiently controlled and hence increasingly important financial incentives and environmental considerations exist for improving the efficiency and quality of the treatment before releasing the treated water into the environment. This thesis presents the development of MATLAB computer simulation models for activated sludge wastewater treatment plants. A comparison of control systems has been made using these models for typical operating conditions of wastewater treatment processes, such as influent flow pattern and temperature. The investigation identified the control of dissolved oxygen as an important area to study because insufficient levels of dissolved oxygen in the wastewater prevent the successful degradation of organic matter present, whereas too high a level causes settling problems and inefficiencies. Three dissolved oxygen control methods, namely PID, Fuzzy logic and self-tuning control have been investigated, applied and their performances compared. As in most other processes, the number and location of sensors and actuators within a water treatment plant can have large implications for successful process control. Therefore, the model developed was used with real plant data to test different designs and investigate the best location of sensors and actuators for a specific North West Water plant to improve control of the process. Optimisation of process operation has also been investigated with the objective of improving effluent quality and reducing operation costs. Simulations suggest that all three dissolved oxygen control methods investigated are able to control the process satisfactorily with relatively little deviation from the setpoint. The PID and fuzzy logic controllers needed retuning for changing process conditions, but the adaptive nature of the self-tuner makes it more robust. Optimal sensor and actuator placements have been identified and a cost/quality benefit analysis performed. Significant cost reductions and effluent quality improvements may be achieved by applying optimisation techniques to regulating the concentration of the solids within the aeration stage. These objectives are conflicting and therefore simultaneous improvement is not always achievable. The project has demonstrated the potential benefits of employing models to simulate the process, subject to availability of data to parameterise them. Process operation can be significantly improved with the application of well-tuned controllers and optimisation techniques.

In this thesis, four questions are answered about the nature of hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) research, demonstration and development (RD&D) activity in the UK and Germany: 1) how, when and where HFC innovation and diffusion has occurred, 2) which socio-technical factors best explain the nature and pace of HFC innovation and diffusion, 3) what would add and enrich theoretical and methodological approaches to researching HFCs within Innovation Studies, and 4) what policy options follow on from these insights. Firstly, a theoretical contribution involves a critique of the Technologically-specific Innovation Systems (TSISs) heuristic in terms of concepts of agency and structure, system delineation, system indicators and the quality of policy guidance. The knowledge gaps that are revealed suggest methodological modifications to the TSIS approach to event histories in terms of organisational funding – whether events are public, private and public-private – and geographical location should also be included in analyses of HFC innovation and diffusion. Secondly, an empirical contribution is made: the provision of two HFC Technological Innovation System (TIS) case studies from the UK and Germany. This evidence suggests sustained positive feedback between system functions is beginning to occur in this niche sector. Over time, HFC technologies are shown to coevolve and branch along certain pathways - and not others - depending upon structural barriers and enablers encountered by HFC actors. Thirdly, there is a contribution to policy based upon the empirical evidence. State actors should recognize that they can take responsibility for encouraging HFC growth and development. Empirically, public-private partnerships (PPPs), when used in combination with state procurement, were shown to offer HFC actors the greatest levels of agency when cutting unit costs and accelerating diffusion. Ultimately, there may well be hybridised or alternative forms of the TSIS heuristic that fare better in their analyses of HFC innovation and diffusion, however, future lines of HFC research using this approach are not advocated here. I have reached this conclusion because the knowledge gaps that I have identified with the TSIS heuristic are likely insurmountable given the TSIS heuristic’s neofunctionalist ontology.

The aim of this dissertation is to determine the spatial and dynamic mechanisms that govern the supply of oil and natural gas. Specifically, the research evaluates how fear of the future affects behavior today and thereby it tests whether non-renewable resource owners behave in the forward-looking manner described by Harold Hotelling in the 1930s. Understanding what governs the supply of oil and natural gas is vital, as these fuels have significant economic and environmental implications for the planet. Integrating original research papers, the dissertation unfolds in seven chapters. The first and second chapters provide the foundation for the following research, by introducing the existing literature on oil and gas management. The subsequent three chapters discuss common pool problems as a method of identifying forward-looking behavior. Retaining this focus on weak property rights, chapter six evaluates the short-term relationship between government stability and oil extraction in authoritarian petro-states. The final chapter summarizes the main findings and outlines key implications. Drawing on new datasets and novel methodological tools, this dissertation demonstrates how fear of common pool problems governs exploration and extraction in the oil and gas industry today. However, contrary to conventional theory, this dissertation does not find that political instability motivates authoritarian regimes to accelerate their extraction.

This PhD thesis investigates the causal long-term economic effects of the Indian Ocean Tsunami and the armed conflict in Aceh, Indonesia (chapters 2, 3 and 4). It also contains an analysis of land use change and the consequences for soil-organic carbon (SOC) in Eastern Panama that is unrelated to previous chapters. Chapter 2 stands at the core of my PhD thesis; it is the equivalent of a job market paper. In chapter 1, I provide an introduction to and summary of my PhD thesis. In particular, I describe why I believe that I make original contributions to knowledge that are significant and rigorous. In chapter 2, I carry out a quasi-experimental analysis investigating the causal effects of Tsunami flooding on long-term per capita economic output. The existing literature suggests that natural disasters are growth depressing in the short-term, and in the longterm, natural disasters either cause a continued shortfall of economic output, or an eventual convergence to the pre-disaster counterfactual trend. I picked the Indian Ocean Tsunami in Aceh as a case study for this PhD thesis, because I posit that if there is one case for which there is evidence that goes against the conventional wisdom, namely in the form of increased economic output in the long run, it probably is Aceh. The reason why I expect to see creative destruction is that Aceh received a windfall of aid and was the stage of the largest reconstruction effort the developing world has ever seen. I conclude that natural disasters are not necessarily the cause of output reductions and that they can be windows of opportunity for the economy. In chapter 3, I investigate the reasons behind the creative destruction, and take a closer look at different sectors and subcomponents of the economy. I examine three channels through which the Tsunami may have affected per capita economic output. First, I find that the Tsunami causally accelerated the structural transformation process, a process through which people and the economy move out of agriculture, and into more productive sectors such as services. Second, I show that the Tsunami brought with it a windfall of aid and other funds, which allowed for a building back better of physical capital and increased capital formation. Third, I show that aggregate private consumption not only was smoothed in a reaction to the Tsunami, but even boosted to sustainably higher levels, compared to the no-Tsunami counterfactual. In chapter 4, I investigate whether the 30 years long armed conflict in Aceh left any negative economic legacy effects, once the fighting stopped and the peace agreement was signed. The separatist war took a toll on the Acehnese economy. Even though the conflict has ended, did the negative economic effects also end? Aceh’s economy has higher per capita growth rates in times of peace than in times of war, which can be either a sign of a peace dividend or creative destruction from the Tsunami. But does the armed conflict leave a negative legacy for future growth rates, even after peace has officially been declared? I find that that peacetime growth rates are negatively affected by the wartime conflict intensity. Using violence data on the incidence of killings, injuries, and other ‘measurable human suffering’, I assess whether districts that were heavily affected by armed conflict grew systematically differently from those that were spared from the brunt of the violence. I find that there are severe negative economic legacy effects of violence, and the more violence occurred in a district during the separatist war, the slower it was growing during times of peace. Chapter 5, topically unrelated to the previous chapters, is looking at land use change in Eastern Panama and the consequences for soil organic carbon (SOC). In this chapter, I compare SOC concentrations of primary forests to two competing land use alternatives: Forest-to-pasture conversion for cattle grazing versus indigenous forest-to-crop conversion. I find that both land use changes reduce SOC concentrations significantly, yet the pasture land use has lower levels of SOC than indigenous crop cultivation. The soil carbon levels of secondary forests are not statistically different from primary forests, implying that the forest conversions are reversible, in terms of their impact on SOC, which suggests that allowing secondary forests to re-grow in former cultivated areas in the Eastern part of Panama holds promise for climate change mitigation. In the concluding chapter 6, I present a summary of the main findings and an outline for future research.

In the first paper, I introduce a new framework to estimate household climate risk exposure based on a combination of climate and microeconomic data. I apply it to the Ethiopian Rural Household Survey (1994-2009) and find that households living at low altitudes are the most vulnerable to weather shocks. The second paper is based on a combination of open and double-blind randomized controlled trials (RCT) conducted in Tanzania in 2013 with 560 farmers. By comparing the results between the participants in the open and double-blind groups, we find that more than 50% of the total effect of improved seeds estimated in traditional open RCTs depends on farmers’ behaviour. The third paper, based on the RCT mentioned above (only the open one is used), tests the hypothesis that farmers try to escape forced solidarity when facing favourable conditions. We find that farmers having received the improved seeds decrease their number of social interactions. We interpret this as a sign that farmers seek to hide from the pressure to redistribute. In the fourth paper, I leave Africa for the Republic of Ireland and show that a large Irish agri-environmental scheme does not increase farmers’ risk exposure.

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