Biogas is largely utilised as vehicle fuel in public bus transport in Sweden today. This study investigates opportunities and barriers for continued domestic use and production of biogas, in relation to the ongoing electrification of public bus transport. The analysis is based on interviews with actors in public transport and the biogas sector, experts on biogas systems, and representatives for alternative user segments. Three regions were chosen as case-studies for investigations of prospects in public transport, i.e. Stockholm, Västra Götaland and Skåne, though alternative uses were studied from a national perspective. In addition to public transport, considered uses include road transport, sea transport, industries, and electricity and heat production. The study identifies a broad agreement among stakeholders that renewable resources should be implemented where they provide most benefits from a system perspective. Therefore, electric public buses are valued in urban environments, while biogas solutions are found suitable for regional routes. Biogas is further viewed as environmentally beneficial in all user segments except continuous electricity and heat production, where it largely would replace renewable rather than fossil sources. Regarding costs and competitiveness, probable future uses are identified within light and heavy-duty road transport, and in consumer-oriented industries, i.e. the food industry. Economic support in policy instruments is further considered essential for continuous development of the Swedish biogas sector, though current influential instruments, e.g. the tax exemption, are described as short-term and unpredictable. The willingness to pay for the collected societal benefits of biogas further decrease in transitions from public to private consumers, and as biogas solutions simultaneously are linked with limited or uncertain competitiveness in these sectors, risks prevail that such transitions could imply stagnations and declines in biogas use and production, given today’s situation. / Idag används biogas till stor del som drivmedel för bussar inom kollektivtrafik i Sverige. Denna studie undersöker möjligheter och hinder för en fortsatt nationell användning och produktion av biogas, i samband med att bussar inom kollektivtrafiken nu elektrifieras. Analysen är baserad på intervjuer med aktörer inom kollektivtrafiken och biogassektorn, sakkunniga inom biogas, och alternativa användare av biogas. Tre regioner, Stockholm, Västra Götaland och Skåne, valdes som fallstudier för analys av möjligheter för fortsatt användning inom kollektivtrafiken. Alternativa användningar studerades istället ur ett nationellt perspektiv, och inkluderade vägtransporter, sjöfart, industri och el- och värmeproduktion. Studien visar att det råder enighet mellan intervjupersoner att förnybara resurser över lag ska användas där de medför störst samhällsnytta sett till samhället i stort. Inom kollektivtrafiken beskrivs elbussar därför som fördelaktiga i stadsmiljöer, medan biogas ses som lämpligt i regional trafik. Biogas framställs dessutom som miljömässigt fördelaktigt i alla alternativa användningsområden utom kontinuerlig el- och värmeproduktion, eftersom då främst förnybara och inte fossila resurser ersätts. Med hänsyn till kostnader och konkurrenskraft ses lätta och tunga transporter tillsammans med kundnära industrier, t.ex. livsmedelsindustrin, som troliga framtida användningsområden för biogas. Ekonomiskt stöd från styrmedel bedöms vara nödvändigt för en fortsatt utveckling av biogassektorn i Sverige, även om dagens styrmedel, t.ex. skattebefrielsen, beskrivs som kortsiktiga och oförutsägbara. Betalningsviljan för biogasens samlade samhällsnyttor minskar också vid en övergång från offentliga till privata kunder. Eftersom biogas därtill har en begränsad eller osäker konkurrenskraft jämtemot andra alternativ i de privata segmenten, identifierar denna studie risker för stagnation eller nedgång i användning och produktion av biogas vid en eventuell utfasning från den offentliga sektorn, givet dagens situation.

Die Agrarpolitik in den Ländern der OECD hat sich seit Mitte der 1980er Jahre stark verändert. Lange Zeit galt die Landwirtschaft als exzeptioneller Wirtschaftszweig, der umfangreiche staatliche Unterstützung für Erzeuger:innen benötigt, um Ernährungssicherheit zu gewährleisten. Heute befasst sich Agrarpolitik auch mit politikfeldübergreifenden Themen wie Verbraucherschutz, Tierwohl und ökologischer Nachhaltigkeit. Dieser Wandel ging mit neuen Politikzielen und -instrumenten, offeneren Institutionen und komplexeren Akteurskonstellationen einher. Gleichzeitig ist Agrarpolitik weiterhin auf Erzeuger:innen ausgerichtet, wodurch der ‚exzeptionalische‘ Kern – die Stützung landwirtschaftlicher Einkommen – bestehen bleibt. Das Konzept des Post-Exzeptionalismus beschreibt dieses Nebeneinander von alten und neuen Ideen, Institutionen, Akteuren, Politikzielen und -instrumenten, wodurch Spannungen in den Politikarrangements entstehen können. Diese Dissertation hat das Ziel am Beispiel der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik (GAP) der Europäischen Union (EU) und von Governance-Aktivitäten in landwirtschaftlichen Wertschöpfungsketten in Deutschland zu einem besseren Verständnis dieser Spannungen beizutragen. Auf Grundlage einer Kombination verschiedener Ansätze der Public Policy- und Governance-Analyse untersucht diese Dissertation, wie sich die Spannungen in (i) der Ausgestaltung der Instrumente im GAP-Policy-Mix (2014-2022), (ii) den Diskurskoalitionen und Frames nationaler Stakeholdern in der Debatte zur GAP nach 2022, (iii) dem Verhältnis zwischen Staat und Landwirt:innen und (iv) den Koordinierungsaktivitäten in Wertschöpfungsketten in Deutschland zeigen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Details der GAP-Umsetzung und Governance-Aktivitäten entscheidend für die (Nicht-)Angleichung der alten und neuen Elemente in der Agrarpolitik sind. Ihre Ausgestaltung handelt sich also nicht um rein technische, administrative oder unternehmerische, sondern vielmehr um zutiefst politische Aktivitäten. / Agricultural policy in OECD countries has changed considerably since the mid-1980s. Long treated as an exceptional economic sector in need of extensive state support to ensure food security, agricultural policy now also aims to address more cross-cutting issues, including consumer protection, animal welfare and environmental sustainability. Novel objectives and policy instruments, a more open institutional framework and increasingly complex actor constellations have accompanied this shift. At the same time, agricultural policy has predominantly remained producer-oriented, perpetuating the exceptionalist core of farm income support. The term post-exceptionalism aims to capture the tensions arising from the juxtaposition of old and new ideas, institutions, actors, and objectives and policy instruments in agricultural policy. This dissertation aims to provide a better understanding of the tensions inherent in post-exceptionalist arrangements in agricultural policy, with the implementation of the European Union’s (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and governance activities in agri-food value chains in Germany as an example. Combining different approaches of public policy and governance analysis, the thesis examines how the tensions play out in (i) the design of instrument calibrations in the CAP policy mix (2014-2022), (ii) discourse coalitions and frames among national stakeholders in the run-up to the CAP post-2022, (iii) the relationship between the state and farmers underlying direct payment implementation for the CAP 2023-2027, (iv) and coordination activities in the governance of sustainability-based agri-food value chains in Germany. The results of this dissertation show that the very details of CAP implementation and governance activities in value chains are decisive for the (non)alignment of old and new elements of agricultural policy. Thus, they constitute not a mere technical, administrative or entrepreneurial but rather a political activity.

Whether it is based on current emissions data or future projections of further growth, the building sector currently represent the largest and singular most important contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally. This notion is also supported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change based on projection scenarios for 2030 that emissions from buildings will be responsible for about one-third of total global emissions. As such, improving the energy efficiency of buildings has become a top priority worldwide. A significant majority of buildings that exist now will still exist in 2030 and beyond; therefore the greatest energy savings and carbon footprint reductions can be made through retrofit of existing buildings. A wide range of retrofit options are readily available, but methods to identify optimal solutions for a particular abatement project still constitute a major technical challenge. Investments in building energy retrofit technologies usually involve decision-making processes targeted at reducing operational energy consumption and maintenance bills. For this reason, retrofit decisions by building stakeholders are typically driven by financial considerations. However, recent trends towards environmentally conscious and resource-efficient design and retrofit have focused on the environmental merits of these options, emphasising a lifecycle approach to emissions reduction. Retrofit options available for energy savings have different performance characteristics and building stakeholders are required to establish an optimal solution, where competing objectives such as financial costs, energy consumption and environmental performance are taken into account. These key performance parameters cannot be easily quantified and compared by building stakeholders since they lack the resources to perform an effective decision analysis. In part, this is due to the inadequacy of existing methods to assess and compare performance indicators. Current methods to quantify these parameters are considered in isolation when making decisions about energy conservation in buildings. To effectively manage the reduction of lifecycle environmental impacts, it is necessary to link financial cost with both operational and embodied emissions. This thesis presents a novel deterministic decision support system (DSS) for the evaluation of economically and environmentally optimal retrofit of non-domestic buildings. The DSS integrates the key variables of economic and net environmental benefits to produce optimal decisions. These variables are used within an optimisation scheme that consists of integrated modules for data input, sensitivity analysis and takes into account the use of a set of retrofit options that satisfies a range of criteria (environmental, demand, cost and resource constraints); hierarchical course of action; and the evaluations of ‘best’ case scenario based on marginal abatement cost methods and Pareto optimisation. The steps involved in the system development are presented and its usefulness is evaluated using case study applications. The results of the applications are analysed and presented, verifying the feasibility of the DSS, whilst encouraging further improvements and extensions. The usefulness of the DSS as a tool for policy formulation and developments that can trigger innovations in retrofit product development processes and sustainable business models are also discussed. The methodology developed provides stakeholders with an efficient and reliable decision process that is informed by both environmental and financial considerations. Overall, the development of the DSS which takes a whole-life CO2 emission accounting framework and an economic assessment view-point, successfully demonstrates how value is delivered across different parts of the techno-economic system, especially as it pertains to financial gains, embodied and operational emissions reduction potential.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Master thesis analyses current state of European Union's Regional policy. Part of research is represented by historic overview and characteristic of basic principles, instruments and defined objectives. For futher purpose of thesis, the attention is focused on czech business environment, national programme documents and Operational programme Enterprises and Inovations, which was chosen as the the most convenient. Practical part is represented by business plan San Gimignano, which could possibly apply for european resources. The output of this master thesis is analysis of potentional abovementioned gain and factors of possible success.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Cette recherche doctorale part de l’hypothèse générale selon laquelle la méthode communautaire classique serait concurrencée dans les faits par de nouveaux instruments juridiques qui, loin de constituer des initiatives isolées, participent d’un modèle alternatif de gouvernance communautaire qui la transforme en profondeur. <p><p>Afin d’identifier les caractéristiques, les contours et les nouvelles formes de normativités de ce modèle alternatif, cette recherche a adopté une approche pragmatique de l’étude droit et étudie empiriquement et systématiquement six politiques publiques européennes :la stratégie européenne pour l’emploi (SEE) et la Méthode Ouverte de Coordination (MOC), le programme européen REACH; la politique européenne de l’eau; la politique comptable européenne; la politique de régulation des services financiers; et la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique et le marché européen du carbone. Ces politiques publiques sont étudiées au moyen d’une approche par les instruments d’action publique qui s’inspire de la démarche et des recherches effectuées par Michel Foucault sur la « gouvernementalité ». <p><p>Cette analyse nous aura permis de démontrer que la transformation de la méthode communautaire classique se constate à au moins trois niveaux. Au niveau des acteurs, on assiste à un renforcement de la place des acteurs privés et de la société civile dans les politiques publiques étudiées. La transformation de l’action publique européenne réside également dans l’utilisation abondante de nouveaux instruments d’action publique - plus techniques que politiques et plus incitatifs que contraignants (du type benchmarking) - qui impliquent systématiquement une collaboration entre acteurs publics et privés à différents niveaux du processus décisionnel (coproduction normative). Enfin le mode de sanction est devenu une « contrainte par l’image » reposant sur la figure du « mauvais élève de la classe » véhiculée principalement par des publications de classements basées sur une classification des bonnes pratiques. Corrélativement, cette transformation se constate également dans les phases d’élaboration, d’exécution et de contrôle du droit de l’Union européenne. <p><p>Une fois les caractéristiques et les contours de ce modèle alternatif dessinés sur base des politiques publiques étudiées, cette recherche s’est ensuite tournée vers une présentation des discours (politiques et juridiques) et écoles de pensées (Law and Economics / New Public Management / Démocratie délibérative / Expérimentalisme démocratique) permettant de justifier son existence et, par là, de fonder sa légitimité. Enfin, si ce nouveau modèle peut prétendre à une certaine légitimité ou nécessité et s’il n’apparaît pas envisageable de revenir en arrière, sa non-concordance avec le traité est problématique. En effet, ce modèle pose une série de questions relatives au manque de contrôle sur l’activité des institutions de l’Union et à la sauvegarde de l’ordre juridique constitutionnel européen. Plus précisément, l’étude de la question de la protection juridictionnelle effective et du respect du principe de l’équilibre des pouvoirs permet d’identifier un certains nombre d’écueils et de proposer des suggestions d’amélioration pragmatique du modèle décisionnel européen au regard des nouveaux instruments juridiques de la gouvernance européenne.<p><p><p>The starting point of my doctoral research is that the Classic Community Method, as described in the Lisbon Treaty, does not enable one to understand the manner in which law is currently produced in the European Union. I claim that the Community Method is in fact challenged and transformed by new legal instruments that, far from being isolated initiatives, are part of an alternative model of governance.<p><p>My research adopts a programmatic approach as to identify the features, contours and new forms of normativity of this alternative model. It studies empirically and systematically six European public policies through “an approach by instruments” inspired in the writings of Michel Foucault on "governmentality”.<p><p>This analysis shows that the transformation of the Classic Community method occurs at least at three levels. First, there is a strengthening of the role of private actors and civil society in policy making. Second, the transformation of European public action also lies in the abundant use of new policy instruments - rather technical and political incentives than binding rules (benchmarking) - that involve a systematic collaboration between public and private actors at different levels of decision-making (co-regulation). Third, control and sanctions rely greatly on a “constrained by image” system based primarily on publications of rankings and classifications of good practices.<p><p>After I present the features and contours of this alternative model, my research analyzes the political and legal discourses, as well as the schools of thought (Law and Economics / New Public Management / Deliberative Democracy / Democratic Experimentalism), that justify its existence and, therefore, its legitimacy.<p>Finally, my doctoral work rises the question about the lack of control over these regulatory activities and brings to light the safeguards that should be taken by the European Court of Justice to respect European Union’s Constitutional law<p> / Doctorat en Sciences juridiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Energianvändningen idag är den största bidragande faktorn till de globala klimatförändringarna vilket ställer krav på mer hållbar och resurseffektiv energihantering. I Sverige står sektorn bostäder och service för ca 40 % av den slutgiltiga energianvändningen motsvarande 144 TWh. För att nå en mer hållbar byggnadssektor har EU i direktivet för Byggnaders Energiprestanda satt målet att byggnadssektorn ska vara fossilfri till 2050, samt beslutat att varje medlemsstat ska etablera en långsiktig renoveringsstrategi. Nationellt finns därmed målet att minska den totala energianvändningen per uppvärmd area med 50 % till 2050 jämfört med 1995. Detta innebär att omfattande energieffektiviseringsåtgärder (EEÅ) behöver implementeras i Sveriges byggnadsbestånd. I examensarbetet jämförs den nationella potentialen avseende energibesparing, kostnadseffektivitet samt utsläppsreduktion av koldioxidekvivalenter (CO2eq) för olika energieffektiviseringsåtgärder (EEÅ) kopplade till uppvärmning och tappvarmvattenanvändning i flerbostadshus. Vidare undersöks även hur väl anpassade befintliga styrmedel är för de studerade EEÅ. För att besvara frågeställningarna har sex olika typhus tagits fram vilka är representativa för Sveriges bestånd av flerbostadshus. Dessa byggnader har modellerats i programvaran IDA ICE och energisimuleringar har genomförts för att undersöka effekterna av samtliga EEÅ. Vidare, styrmedel kopplade till energieffektivisering av flerbostadshus har analyserats och dess innebörd för olika EEÅ granskats. Resultatet visar att inom det svenska flerbostadshusbeståndet har installation av spillvattenvärmeåtervinning och FTX störst tekniskt möjlig energibesparingspotential med en årlig nationell energibesparingspotential på 5,3 TWh respektive 4,7 TWh. Isolering av tak är den EEÅ med högst kostnadseffektivitet per sparad energienhet, 334–579 SEK/MWh beroende på klimatzon, följt av spillvattenvärmeåtervinning och FTX som har en kostnadseffektivitet på 1267–1503 SEK/MWh respektive 1882–3587 SEK/MWh. Takisolering är även den EEÅ som är mest kostnadseffektiv för utsläppsminskning av koldioxidekvivalenter följt av spillvattenvärmeåtervinning och FTX. För takisolering är kostnadseffektiviteten 5,9–10,3 tSEK/ton CO2eq, 28,2–33,5 tSEK/ton CO2eq för spillvattenvärmeåtervinning och 39,5–93 tSEK/ton CO2eq för installation av FTX. Utifrån de styrmedel som studerats konstateras det att befintliga styrmedel för energieffektivisering i flerbostadshus inkluderar konventionella EEÅ men att det finns bristfällig information och krav gällande återvinning av värme från spillvatten trots åtgärdens höga energibesparingspotential och kostnadseffektivitet. Bättre kunskap och information gällande kostnadseffektiviteten för olika EEÅ kan leda till mer resurseffektiva åtgärdsförslag från energiexperter och även öka renoveringstakten. / Today's energy use is the largest contributing factor to global climate change, which calls for a more sustainable and resource-efficient energy management. In Sweden, the residential and service sector accounts for about 40% of the final energy use, corresponding to 144 TWh. To achieve a more sustainable building sector, the European Commission has set a target in the Energy Efficiency Directive that the building sector should be fossil-free by 2050 and decided that every Member State should establish a long-term renovation strategy. Nationally, there is a target to reduce the total energy use per heated area by 50% by 2050. This requires a large-scale implementation of energy efficiency measures (EEMs) in Sweden's building stock. This master thesis compares the national potential regarding energy saving, cost-effectiveness and emission reduction of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq) for various EEMs linked to heating and domestic hot water use in multi-family buildings. Furthermore, it is also examined how well-adjusted existing policy instruments are to the studied EEMs. To answer the research questions, six different reference buildings, which are representative of Sweden’s stock of multi-family buildings, have been developed. These buildings have been modeled using the software IDA ICE and energy simulations have been carried out to investigate the effects for all EEMs. Policy instruments regarding energy efficiency in multi-family buildings have been analyzed and their significance for various EEMs have been investigated. The results show that installation of wastewater heat recovery and exhaust air heat recovery has the highest technically possible energy saving potential with an annual national saving potential of 5.3 TWh and 4.7 TWh, respectively Roof insulation is the EEM with the highest cost-effectiveness per saved energy unit, 334–579 SEK/MWh depending on climate zone, followed by wastewater heat recovery with a cost-effectiveness of 1267–1503 SEK/MWh and exhaust air heat recovery with 1882–3587 SEK/MWh. Roof insulation is also the EEM that is most cost-effective regarding reduced CO2eq -emissions, followed by wastewater heat recovery and exhaust air heat recovery. For roof insulation, the cost-effectiveness is 5.9–10.3 kSEK/ton CO2eq, 28.2–33.5 kSEK/ton CO2eq for wastewater heat recovery and 39.5–93 kSEK/ton CO2eq for installation of exhaust air heat recovery. Based on the studied policy instruments, it is found that the existing policy instruments for EMMs in multi-family buildings include conventional EMMS. However, there is insufficient information and requirements regarding recovery of heat from wastewater despite the measure's high energy saving potential and cost-effectiveness. Better knowledge and information regarding the cost-effectiveness of various EEMs can lead to more resource-efficient suggestions from energy experts and increase the pace of renovation.

The thesis "Administration of labour policy in the relation to people with disabilities in the Czech Republic" presents the actual usage of labour policy instruments in supporting employment of people with disabilities in practice. It analyses limitations of the handicapped which are caused by physical and mental disabilities, their right to work and labour policy instruments providing employment support to people with disabilities and practical usage of these instruments based on the statistical information in the theoretical part. Research is focused on finding out whether and in which aspects do the needs of people with disabilities while looking for a job and the needs of employers coinside with the support provided by labour offices in Benešov and Česká Lípa districts."