scholarly journals A Player Bigger Than Its Size: Finnish Bioeconomy and Forest Policy in the Era of Global Climate Politics

2021 ◽  
pp. 131-149
Author(s):  
Tero Toivanen
Keyword(s):  
Global Climate ◽  
Forest Policy ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Policy Regime ◽  
Climate Politics ◽  
The Status ◽  
Political Idea ◽  
Forestry Industry

AbstractOver the last two decades, the bioeconomy has emerged as a key political idea in framing a low-carbon transition. Bioeconomy is particularly important in Finland due to the country’s large forestry sector. The bioeconomy has reframed the Finnish forestry industry as sustainable and placed forestry at the centre of the national economy. This has led to the constitution of a new forest policy regime: the bioeconomy regime. However, in the era of climate mitigation, forests are expected to serve as carbon sinks. Increasing the harvesting of forests, a Finnish bioeconomy policy, would decrease the size of forest sinks, while increasing net emissions from forests. This aspect of climate science has challenged the Finnish bioeconomic strategy. This chapter analyses the emergence of the bioeconomy regime and how the regime has been challenged by climate science. Finally, it examines the communication strategies used and the status of the Finnish bioeconomy on the world stage.

scholarly journals UNILATERAL EMISSIONS MITIGATION, SPILLOVERS, AND GLOBAL LEARNING

2014 ◽  
Vol 05 (03) ◽  
pp. 1450008
Author(s):  
SHUROJIT CHATTERJI ◽  
SAYANTAN GHOSAL ◽  
SEAN WALSH ◽  
JOHN WHALLEY
Keyword(s):  
Global Climate ◽  
Preference Heterogeneity ◽  
Global Learning ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Policy Regime ◽  
Policy Proposal ◽  
Emissions Mitigation ◽  
Strongly Connected ◽  
Accelerate Convergence

What's the role of unilateral measures in global climate change mitigation in a post-Durban, post 2012 global policy regime? We argue that under conditions of preference heterogeneity, unilateral emissions mitigation at a subnational level may exist even when a nation is unwilling to commit to emission cuts. We establish that under certain assumptions, in a global strongly connected network of countries, learning the costs of switching to a low emissions activity can result in a universal adoption of such activities. We analyze the features of a policy proposal that could accelerate convergence to a low carbon world in the presence of global learning.

scholarly journals Voices of a generation the communicative power of youth activism

2021 ◽  
Vol 169 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Eide ◽  
Risto Kunelius
Keyword(s):  
Climate Science ◽  
Future Generation ◽  
Moral Authority ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Youth Movement ◽  
Climate Politics ◽  
Science And Politics ◽  
Communicative Power

AbstractDrawing from interviews with 31 young leading climate activists from 23 countries across the world this article aims to capture the contribution of the recent youth climate movement to communicating climate science and politics. We show that from the point of view of the youth activists, the movement powerfully connects personal and local experiences and emotions with climate science. This has enabled the activists to construct an authentic, generational and temporal identity that has helped them to carve out an autonomous position and voice with considerable moral authority among existing climate policy actors. Claiming to represent the future generation, we conclude that activists have offered an important added value to climate science as new ambassadors for scientific consensus and climate mitigation. The youth movement and the added value it brings communicating climate science is an example of the dynamics of the formation of “relational publics” and emphasizes the need to understand better the networked communication landscape where climate politics is debated.

scholarly journals Agroforestry to Achieve Global Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Targets: Are South Asian Countries Sufficiently Prepared?

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 303
Author(s):  
Shalini Dhyani ◽  
Indu K Murthy ◽  
Rakesh Kadaverugu ◽  
Rajarshi Dasgupta ◽  
Manoj Kumar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Implementation Phase ◽  
Adaptation And Mitigation

Traditional agroforestry systems across South Asia have historically supported millions of smallholding farmers. Since, 2007 agroforestry has received attention in global climate discussions for its carbon sink potential. Agroforestry plays a defining role in offsetting greenhouse gases, providing sustainable livelihoods, localizing Sustainable Development Goals and achieving biodiversity targets. The review explores evidence of agroforestry systems for human well-being along with its climate adaptation and mitigation potential for South Asia. In particular, we explore key enabling and constraining conditions for mainstreaming agroforestry systems to use them to fulfill global climate mitigation targets. Nationally determined contributions submitted by South Asian countries to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change acknowledge agroforestry systems. In 2016, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation’s Resolution on Agroforestry brought consensus on developing national agroforestry policies by all regional countries and became a strong enabling condition to ensure effectiveness of using agroforestry for climate targets. Lack of uniform methodologies for creation of databases to monitor tree and soil carbon stocks was found to be a key limitation for the purpose. Water scarcity, lack of interactive governance, rights of farmers and ownership issues along with insufficient financial support to rural farmers for agroforestry were other constraining conditions that should be appropriately addressed by the regional countries to develop their preparedness for achieving national climate ambitions. Our review indicates the need to shift from planning to the implementation phase following strong examples shared from India and Nepal, including carbon neutrality scenarios, incentives and sustainable local livelihood to enhance preparedness.

scholarly journals Interrogating Climate Adaptation Financing in Zimbabwe: Proposed Direction

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6517
Author(s):  
Innocent Chirisa ◽  
Trynos Gumbo ◽  
Veronica N. Gundu-Jakarasi ◽  
Washington Zhakata ◽  
Thomas Karakadzai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Coastal Zones ◽  
Resource Base

Reducing vulnerability to climate change and enhancing the long-term coping capacities of rural or urban settlements to negative climate change impacts have become urgent issues in developing countries. Developing countries do not have the means to cope with climate hazards and their economies are highly dependent on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, water, and coastal zones. Like most countries in Southern Africa, Zimbabwe suffers from climate-induced disasters. Therefore, this study maps critical aspects required for setting up a strong financial foundation for sustainable climate adaptation in Zimbabwe. It discusses the frameworks required for sustainable climate adaptation finance and suggests the direction for success in leveraging global climate financing towards building a low-carbon and climate-resilient Zimbabwe. The study involved a document review and analysis and stakeholder consultation methodological approach. The findings revealed that Zimbabwe has been significantly dependent on global finance mechanisms to mitigate the effects of climate change as its domestic finance mechanisms have not been fully explored. Results revealed the importance of partnership models between the state, individuals, civil society organisations, and agencies. Local financing institutions such as the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) have been set up. This operates a Climate Finance Facility (GFF), providing a domestic financial resource base. A climate change bill is also under formulation through government efforts. However, numerous barriers limit the adoption of adaptation practices, services, and technologies at the scale required. The absence of finance increases the vulnerability of local settlements (rural or urban) to extreme weather events leading to loss of life and property and compromised adaptive capacity. Therefore, the study recommends an adaptation financing framework aligned to different sectoral policies that can leverage diverse opportunities such as blended climate financing. The framework must foster synergies for improved impact and implementation of climate change adaptation initiatives for the country.

scholarly journals Legitimating power: Solar energy rollout, sustainability metrics and transition politics

2021 ◽  
pp. 251484862110249
Author(s):  
Siddharth Sareen
Keyword(s):  
Solar Energy ◽  
Political Ecology ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Solar Irradiation ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Sustainability Metrics ◽  
Energy Transitions

Increasing recognition of the irrefutable urgency to address the global climate challenge is driving mitigation efforts to decarbonise. Countries are setting targets, technological innovation is making renewable energy sources competitive and fossil fuel actors are leveraging their incumbent privilege and political reach to modulate energy transitions. As techno-economic competitiveness is rapidly reconfigured in favour of sources such as solar energy, governance puzzles dominate the research frontier. Who makes key decisions about decarbonisation based on what metrics, and how are consequent benefits and burdens allocated? This article takes its point of departure in ambitious sustainability metrics for solar rollout that Portugal embraced in the late 2010s. This southwestern European country leads on hydro and wind power, and recently emerged from austerity politics after the 2008–2015 recession. Despite Europe’s best solar irradiation, its big solar push only kicked off in late 2018. In explaining how this arose and unfolded until mid-2020 and why, the article investigates what key issues ambitious rapid decarbonisation plans must address to enhance social equity. It combines attention to accountability and legitimacy to offer an analytical framework geared at generating actionable knowledge to advance an accountable energy transition. Drawing on empirical study of the contingencies that determine the implementation of sustainability metrics, the article traces how discrete acts legitimate specific trajectories of territorialisation by solar photovoltaics through discursive, bureaucratic, technocratic and financial practices. Combining empirics and perspectives from political ecology and energy geographies, it probes the politics of just energy transitions to more low-carbon and equitable societal futures.

scholarly journals LEAP-Based Greenhouse Gases Emissions Peak and Low Carbon Pathways in China’s Tourist Industry

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1218
Author(s):  
Dandan Liu ◽  
Dewei Yang ◽  
Anmin Huang
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
Planning System ◽  
Tourist Industry ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Carbon Reduction ◽  
Co2 Equivalent

China has grown into the world’s largest tourist source market and its huge tourism activities and resulting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are particularly becoming a concern in the context of global climate warming. To depict the trajectory of carbon emissions, a long-range energy alternatives planning system (LEAP)-Tourist model, consisting of two scenarios and four sub-scenarios, was established for observing and predicting tourism greenhouse gas peaks in China from 2017 to 2040. The results indicate that GHG emissions will peak at 1048.01 million-ton CO2 equivalent (Mt CO2e) in 2033 under the integrated (INT) scenario. Compared with the business as usual (BAU) scenario, INT will save energy by 24.21% in 2040 and reduce energy intensity from 0.4979 tons of CO2 equivalent/104 yuan (TCO2e/104 yuan) to 0.3761 Tce/104 yuan. Although the INT scenario has achieved promising effects of energy saving and carbon reduction, the peak year 2033 in the tourist industry is still later than China’s expected peak year of 2030. This is due to the growth potential and moderate carbon control measures in the tourist industry. Thus, in order to keep the tourist industry in synchronization with China’s peak goals, more stringent measures are needed, e.g., the promotion of clean fuel shuttle buses, the encouragement of low carbon tours, the cancelation of disposable toiletries and the recycling of garbage resources. The results of this simulation study will help set GHG emission peak targets in the tourist industry and formulate a low carbon roadmap to guide carbon reduction actions in the field of GHG emissions with greater certainty.

An Exploration of Provincial Low-Carbon Economy Evaluation System Based on Principal Component-Variable Fuzzy Evaluation

2013 ◽  
Vol 291-294 ◽  
pp. 1562-1567
Author(s):  
Ji Min Hu ◽  
Jian Long Gu ◽  
Chang Cui Hu ◽  
Hai Feng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation System ◽  
Comprehensive Evaluation ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation ◽  
Fuzzy Evaluation ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Low Carbon Economy ◽  
Component Variable ◽  
The Status ◽  
Carbon Economy

According to indicators’ information repetition and subjectivity of the indicators’ weight set during the variable fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, Principal Component analysis can help solve the weight of the relative indicators and reduce comprehensive evaluation dimensions of the variable fussy comprehensive evaluation. This paper has made a comprehensive evaluation of the status quo of Yunnan’s low carbon economy development(2005-2009), which turns out to be more practical compared with the mere variable fussy theory analysis, thus, principal component-variable fuzzy evaluation is a kind of feasible way to analyze the regional low carbon development status.

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