In 1997, both the United States (U.S.) and the European Union (EU) signed the Kyoto Protocol, the first legally binding international treaty with targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions. However, in 2001, the United States withdrew from the Protocol. This thesis seeks to understand some of the reasons why the European Union embraced the Kyoto Protocol while the United States did not. Using an overall framework of comparative politics, research is undertaken through three lenses. First, an overview of public opinion toward global warming and climate change in the U.S. and the EU analyzes potential differences or similarities from surveys carried out in each area. Second, I examine the prevailing political ideology in each polity, with emphasis on the period when climate change arose as a major global challenge. Finally, two case studies examine the theory of environmental federalism and how it might affect climate change policy action. I obtained the following results. Public opinion research has revealed that, on average, the American public is nearly as concerned with climate change as the European public. However, the overarching political ideology in the U.S. was one of conservatism, while that in Europe was one of social democracy, with left and center-left governments, contributing to a greater or lesser degree, and through indirect mechanisms, to the political stances adopted. Finally, the case of Germany shows that member state actions, such as the implementation of ambitious reductions targets, can still play a crucial role in leadership even in the presence of action at the central government level (EU). The California case study shows that state-level efforts can rise to fill a vacuum created by the absence of central government action. In the end, behavior of each polity regarding international climate agreements, particularly the Kyoto Protocol, cannot be explained in simple terms.; The complexity of the issues revolving climate change require further interdisciplinary research and collaboration among multiple actors including scientists, policymakers, nongovernmental organizations, and other stakeholders.

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Föreliggande studie tillämpar diskursanalys i syfte att förstå var det råder samstämmighet eller konflikt kring huruvida Sverige ska sälja, spara eller annullera överskottet på utsläppsrätter inom EU:s och FN:s utsläppshandel. Genom kritisk diskursanalys har vi kategoriserat och kodat tio riksdagsdebatter mellan åren 2010 och 2014, i vilka en ekologisk diskurs och en ekonomisk diskurs kämpar om tolkningsföreträde. Bortsett från samstämmigheten att handel med utsläppsrätter – vilken kan ses som ekologisk modernisering – är ett viktigt verktyg för att minska klimatförändringar; råder öppen kamp kring hur ett överskott på utsläppsrätter ska hanteras. Kampen har delats in i sju kategorier baserat på huruvida: 1) ett beslut om annullering kan tas direkt eller om det krävs en utredning först, 2) en annullering är en symbolisk handling eller styrs av marknadens logik, 3) en försäljning leder till ökade utsläpp, 4) på vilket sätt överskottet ska fungera som förhandlingsstrategi under klimatmöten, 5) Sverige förlorar sitt klimatanseende vid en försäljning av överskott på utsläppsrätter, 6) utsläppshandeln i högre grad borde styras av politiker eller marknadsmekanismer, och slutligen 7) huruvida överskott på utsläppsrätter bör ses som ett lyxproblem. Eftersom det ännu inte finns en fixerad diskursiv entydighet angående hur överskott på utsläppsrätter ska hanteras, menar vi att ingen av diskurserna kan ses som helt hegemonisk. Den ekonomiska diskursen har dock patent på rationaliteten eftersom den, till skillnad från den ekologiska diskursen, har accepterat ekomodernismen. Om den ekonomiska diskursen blir hegemonisk är det sannolikt att ytterligare överskott på utsläppsrätter säljs.Nyckelord: klimatförändringar, EU-ETS, Kyotoprotokollet, ekologisk modernisering, diskursiv kamp. / The following study uses insights derived from discourse analysis to examine whether there is consensus or conflict regarding if Sweden should sell, save or invalidate the surplus of allowances within the emissions trading systems of the EU and the UN. Through critical discourse analysis, we have categorized and coded ten parliamentary debates between the year of 2010 and 2014, in which an ecological discourse and an economic discourse can be derived. Aside from the consistency that the emissions trading systems – which can be seen as ecological modernization - is an important tool to mitigate climate change; an open struggle can be seen regarding how a surplus of allowances should be governed. The struggle has been divided into seven categories based on whether: 1) a decision of invalidation can be taken directly or if an investigation is necessary, 2) an invalidation is a symbolic act or controlled by the logic of the market, 3) a sale directly leads to an increased amount of emissions, 4) in what way the surplus of allowances should serve as a negotiating strategy during international climate meetings, 5) Sweden’s climate profile will be lost in case of a sale, 6) the emissions trading systems to a higher rate should be controlled by politicians or mechanisms of the market, and finally 7) whether the surplus of allowances should be seen as a luxury problem. Since there is not yet a fixed unity regarding how surplus of allowances should be governed, we argue that none of the discourses can be seen as completely hegemonic. However, the economic discourse have positions on rationality due to that it, unlike the ecological discourse, has accepted the ecological modernisation. If the economic discourse becomes hegemonic it is likely that additional surplus of allowances will be sold.Key words: climate change, EU-ETS, the Kyoto Protocol, ecological modernisation, discursive struggle.

There is an increasing focus on environmental conservation worldwide, evidenced by such events as the signing of the Kyoto Protocol by developing countries, and by consumers becoming more environmentally conscious. The purpose of this study was to investigate how government could, through tax law, incentivise businesses to invest in environmental conservation. One of the major South African industries contributing to the GDP is the wine industry. South Africa, new in world wine production, is ranked among the top 10 wineproducing countries, together with countries such as Australia. The average foreign consumer is more environmentally conscious, which means that South African wineries also have to become environmentally aware to ensure that their products are competitive in the foreign markets. A negative aspect of investing in environmental conservation is that a substantial upfront capital investment is normally required, which could lead to wineries not investing unless they can see a significant benefit as a result. Given this, the purpose of this study was to determine whether or not there is an income tax benefit for wineries when investing in environmental conservation in terms of the Income Tax Act no.58 of 1962 (hereafter “the Act”). Government can, through tax law, either reward people for doing the right thing or punish them by imposing taxes for doing the wrong thing. The sections of the Act that have been identified as incentivising environmental conservation are Sections 11D, 12B, 12K, 12L, 37B and 37C, all with specific requirements before the incentives can be used. The study contains an analysis of the type of environmental conservation that wineries can carry out and considers whether those conservation activities would enable them to use the incentives stated in the Act. Some of the environmental conservation activities identified that wineries could perform include the use of solar power to minimise their energy consumption, thereby reducing their impact on the environment. Further, there are industrial codes which encourage recycling and waste management, certain aspects of which would enable a winery to use some of the sections in the Act. The incentives available in the Income Tax Acts of other wine-producing countries, such as France, Australia and the Oregon state in the USA, were also reviewed to see how the incentives in their Acts compare with those in the South African Income Tax Act. Lastly, a limited empirical study was conducted to determine the wineries’ perspective in respect of the incentives indicated in the Act and whether or not they find that the incentives encourage them to carry out further environmental conservation. / MCom (South African and International Taxation), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

There is an increasing focus on environmental conservation worldwide, evidenced by such events as the signing of the Kyoto Protocol by developing countries, and by consumers becoming more environmentally conscious. The purpose of this study was to investigate how government could, through tax law, incentivise businesses to invest in environmental conservation. One of the major South African industries contributing to the GDP is the wine industry. South Africa, new in world wine production, is ranked among the top 10 wineproducing countries, together with countries such as Australia. The average foreign consumer is more environmentally conscious, which means that South African wineries also have to become environmentally aware to ensure that their products are competitive in the foreign markets. A negative aspect of investing in environmental conservation is that a substantial upfront capital investment is normally required, which could lead to wineries not investing unless they can see a significant benefit as a result. Given this, the purpose of this study was to determine whether or not there is an income tax benefit for wineries when investing in environmental conservation in terms of the Income Tax Act no.58 of 1962 (hereafter “the Act”). Government can, through tax law, either reward people for doing the right thing or punish them by imposing taxes for doing the wrong thing. The sections of the Act that have been identified as incentivising environmental conservation are Sections 11D, 12B, 12K, 12L, 37B and 37C, all with specific requirements before the incentives can be used. The study contains an analysis of the type of environmental conservation that wineries can carry out and considers whether those conservation activities would enable them to use the incentives stated in the Act. Some of the environmental conservation activities identified that wineries could perform include the use of solar power to minimise their energy consumption, thereby reducing their impact on the environment. Further, there are industrial codes which encourage recycling and waste management, certain aspects of which would enable a winery to use some of the sections in the Act. The incentives available in the Income Tax Acts of other wine-producing countries, such as France, Australia and the Oregon state in the USA, were also reviewed to see how the incentives in their Acts compare with those in the South African Income Tax Act. Lastly, a limited empirical study was conducted to determine the wineries’ perspective in respect of the incentives indicated in the Act and whether or not they find that the incentives encourage them to carry out further environmental conservation. / MCom (South African and International Taxation), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Climate system protection from the legal point of view Climate change seems to be a defining ecological issue of the 21st century. However, unlike other global threats there are still some scientific uncertainties about the gravity of this problem and its actual consequences. On the other hand the proven fact is that the Earth climate is affected by altered atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. Dozens of recent studies clearly indicate that the changes in the atmosphere are a result of human activities and that an immediate action is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and avoid reaching more harmful levels. If nothing is happened, climate change would lead to a rise in global average temperature together with other associated impacts such as melting glaciers, rising sea-levels or more frequent appearence of extreme weather events. The climate change issue is being addressed both at international and national level. There is a need to take a coordinated action of all states worldwide with respect to their development capabilities and historic responsibilities. International negotiations in last couple of years have shown that it will be very difficult to achieve an agreement between countries with different intrests. The aim of this diploma thesis is to summarize a development of the...

Recentemente passou a ser aceito por amplos segmentos da sociedade as conclusões de cientistas de que o homem vem provocando a mudança climática global em curso por meio da emissão de gases de efeito estufa. E espera-se, se nada for feito, por um agravamento do aquecimento global, em função do aumento da população mundial e do desenvolvimento econômico, para os próximos anos. O resíduo gerado pela sociedade, quando em decomposição, é forte emissor de metano, um dos gases mais maléficos nesse processo. Organismos internacionais liderados pela ONU participam do esforço de limitar as emissões com a negociação de créditos de carbono do Protocolo de Kyoto, o que pode contribuir para viabilizar a adoção de novas tecnologias de tratamento de resíduos. Esta pesquisa traz aos gestores municipais, e aos empreendedores do setor, um modelo de decisão para escolha estratégica das tecnologias mais recentes para tratamento de resíduos sólidos urbanos. Usando a técnica de abordagem sistêmica (system analysis), com o apoio da teoria de ciclo de vida do produto e do conceito de eco-eficiência, foram traçadas tendências. O modelo de decisão usou a técnica do pensamento focado no valor (Value-Focused Thinking) pertencente à teoria da decisão multiatributo. A partir da percepção de importantes formadores de opinião, aponta-se que as tecnologias de aterro sanitário, incineração e de processamento por plasma térmico, acompanhadas da coleta seletiva, da recuperação energética, da separação e da reciclagem, têm cada uma importante parcela de contribuição na solução do problema ambiental. Também é apontado que a combinação da coleta seletiva, seleção do lixo para aumento do seu potencial energético, processamento por plasma térmico acompanhado da geração de energia, é a mais efetiva para ser adotada num município de porte médio do Estado de São Paulo, para os próximos vinte anos. Ao final da pesquisa, as soluções estudadas foram apresentadas a gestores públicos para validação do modelo. / Recently it became accepted, by large segments of society, the conclusions of several scientists that man has been causing a global climatic change through the emission of greenhouse gases. If nothing is done, an increase in global warmth is expected in the years to come, due to the growth of world population as well as economic growth. The waste generated by society, while decomposing, is a strong methane emitter, one of the gases that contribute the most to the global warmth. International organisms, led by UN, have joint efforts in order to limit the emissions of greenhouse gases with the negotiation of carbon credits, mechanism created by the Kyoto Protocol, which may turn the adoption of new technologies of waste treatment economically feasible. This research brings to the public managers and entrepreneurs of this sector a decision-making model to strategically choose the most recent technologies for the treatment of municipal solid waste. Using the system analysis technique, supported by product?s life cycle theory and the concept of eco-efficiency, some tendencies of this sector have been mapped. The decision-making model uses the Value-Focused Thinking technique, which belongs to the multi-attribute decision theory. From of the gathering opinions of important stakeholders, some technologies may be pointed as the most important contributors to solving this environmental problem: landfill technologies, incineration and plasma process, accompanied also by energy recovery, waste sorting and recycling. It is also suggested that a solution of waste sorting, a process of generating refused derived fuel, and plasma process followed by energy recovery is the more effective combination to be adopted by a medium-size city in the near future. At the end of the research works, the studied solutions were presented to public managers to validate the model.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:46:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MARCIO RODRIGO DELFIM.pdf: 565121 bytes, checksum: ef39b6c02fd87348157273ebd9b54c07 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-12 / Throughout this thesis the author examines the issue of global warming and argues that the agricultural activity, the way they are being developed, is responsible for a major escalation, due to high rates of emission of greenhouse gases resulting from forest fires, usually performed in order to increase the area used for agriculture or livestock, as well as enteric fermentation in cattle and the decomposition of animal wastes. To alleviate this problem is vital that farmers start to build on this economic activity with emphasis on environmental protection, because only through the balance between economic growth and social development and environmental protection is that if you speak of sustainable development. In order to encourage this new approach (paradigm shift), the Kyoto Protocol and the National Policy on Climate Change play a fundamental role, since, if farmers solve their properties deploy the Clean Development Mechanism under the Protocol, what can be done through afforestation and / or reforestation of devastated areas and projects for limiting emissions of methane, and contribute significantly to reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, farmers will still receive so through the sale of carbon credits. As the state of Goias occupies a prominent place in national ranking, with respect to agricultural and livestock production, there are many entrepreneurial opportunities available to ranchers Goias. / Ao longo da presente dissertação o autor analisa a questão do aquecimento global e procura demonstrar que a atividade agropecuária, da forma como vem sendo desenvolvida, é uma das grandes responsáveis pelo agravamento da situação, em virtude das altas taxas de emissão de gases de efeito estufa decorrentes dos incêndios florestais e das queimadas, geralmente realizados com o intuito de aumentar as áreas destinadas à agricultura ou à pecuária, bem como da fermentação entérica dos bovinos e da decomposição dos dejetos animais. Para amenizar esse problema é imprescindível que os produtores rurais passem a desenvolver a referida atividade econômica dando ênfase à proteção ao meio ambiente, pois somente através do equilíbrio entre crescimento econômico-social e proteção ambiental é que se poderá falar em desenvolvimento sustentável. Como forma de estimular essa nova postura (mudança de paradigma), o Protocolo de Quioto e a Política Nacional de Mudanças Climáticas desempenham papel fundamental, uma vez que, se os produtores rurais resolverem implantar em suas propriedades o Mecanismo de Desenvolvimento Limpo previsto no referido Protocolo, o que pode ser feito através de projetos de florestamento e/ou reflorestamento de áreas devastadas e projetos de limitação da emissão de metano, além de contribuir, significativamente, com a redução da emissão dos gases de efeito estufa, os produtores rurais ainda receberão por isso, através da venda de créditos de carbono. Como o estado de Goiás ocupa lugar de destaque no ranking brasileiro, no que tange à produção agrícola e pecuária, são muitas as oportunidades empresarias colocadas à disposição dos agropecuaristas goianos.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:47:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JAQUELINE J SILVA OLIVEIRA.pdf: 13707963 bytes, checksum: bd45c58469f57bbb136769b65def47a7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-04-16 / The environmental problem is characterized essentially by a frenetic search to change the current economic model to a new stage of capitalism, called Natural Capitalism. This presents four principles as indispensable ways of maintaining the Earth and its species, without the naïve vision of non-development, limits to growth and the don quixotic cries to save the Earth from the obvious high global temperatures which provoke climate change. These changes are caused by polluting activities, especially those which increase the greenhouse effect, and by the lack of energetic measures to preserve the environment. A less romantic view of the proposals of Natural Capitalism will be discussed in this study which could lead to the reappropriation of nature, through the sustainable development discourse, which has attracted international agreements to guarantee sustainability (highlighting the Quioto Protocol and CON 15 in Copenhagen). This dissertation, for reasons which will become apparent, focuses on the question of environmental sustainability, based on the tripod (Triple Bottom Line) including economic, social and environmental dimensions. A significant issue that must be observed is the fact that in order to effectively guarantee a permanent adaptation of the new model of development being proposed, it is not sufficient that business leaders assimilate the concept of sustainability and produce without degrading the environment. Consumer awareness must be heightened in order to move towards an ethical market. It is up the consumer to get to know the economic, environmental and social impact of products which s/he rewards by purchase. The identification of products coming from politically correct companies will be carried out through stamps or certification, especially the green stamp, from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). It aims to justify the guarantee and differentiation which the FSC offers to the investor, in this case, though the plantation Teak on Brazilian land, as compared to different kinds of forest certification around the world and in Brazil. / A presente dissertação objetiva, valendo-se de subsídios multidisciplinares, analisar e demonstrar a importância do Padrão de Certificação do FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) para o manejo de plantações de teca no Brasil, bem como confrontar as questões teóricojurídicas controvertidas que deverão alcançar o âmbito diferenciado deste programa de certificação florestal, comparado aos demais sistemas existentes. O trabalho orienta-se através dos métodos hipotético-dedutivo e comparativo, apropriados ao objeto de estudo, para sanar as questões levantadas e de técnicas de investigação seguras, notadamente histórica e a monográfica. Para tanto, fez-se uso de referenciais teóricos obtidos pelas pesquisas bibliográficas e em websites, dos esquemas de certificação florestal. No transcorrer do desenvolvimento deste trabalho, destaca-se a problemática ambiental, que se caracteriza, primordialmente, pela frenética busca de mudança do modelo econômico atual para uma nova era do capitalismo: o Capitalismo Natural (Natural Capitalism). Este apresenta quatro princípios como via imprescindível na manutenção do globo e suas espécies, sem a ingênua visão (do não-desenvolvimento e dos limites ao crescimento), ofuscada pela ideologia salvacionista do planeta em relação às evidentes elevações da temperatura média global, que ocasionaram alteração climática, provocada pelas atividades poluidoras, sobretudo, as que aumentaram o efeito estufa, somadas à falta de medidas enérgicas, com o propósito de preservação ambiental. A óptica menos romântica da proposta fundamentada nos quatro princípios do capitalismo natural, que serão citados ao longo deste estudo, desemboca na reapropriação da natureza, através do discurso de desenvolvimento sustentável, em que as dificuldades em resguardar o planeta atraíram acordos internacionais (destacando o Protocolo de Quioto e a Convenção 15, em Copenhague), para garantir a sustentabilidade. A abordagem deste tema, por razões que se tornarão evidentes, está voltada para a questão ambiental, no conceito de sustentabilidade, fundamentado no tripé (Triple Bottom Line) que abrange o econômico, o social e o ambiental. Um ponto importante a ser observado consiste no fato de que a garantia de uma efetiva adaptação ao novo modelo de desenvolvimento proposto não se encontra apenas no processo de as lideranças empresariais assimilarem o conceito de sustentabilidade e produzirem sem degradar o meio ambiente, mas, especialmente, na conscientização do consumidor, o qual norteará um mercado ético. Cabe a ele saber qual é o impacto econômico, ambiental e social, que geram os produtos que premia com a sua compra. A identificação dos produtos de empresas politicamente corretas será feita através de selos ou certificações, no caso específico, do selo verde - FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), almejado pelos empreendedores madeireiros, em particular, os de plantio da tectona grandis no Brasil.