Resistance to Mercosur-EU trade deal will persist

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Environmental Policies ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Amazon Rainforest ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Green Parties

Significance In Europe, environmentalist groups and farmers oppose the deal and have growing support among governments and in the European Parliament, in particular as a result of Brazil’s environmental policies. Argentina has adopted an increasingly protectionist stance since the return of Kirchnerism in late 2019, increasing existing rifts within Mercosur. Impacts European civil society and governments will push back on the deforestation of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest under Bolsonaro. Green parties that are on the rise across Europe will demand the inclusion of mandatory environmental clauses before considering the deal. The economic impact of the pandemic could strengthen protectionist demands from European farmers and Mercosur manufacturers.

Climate will alter political competition in Europe

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Climate Politics ◽  
Green Parties ◽  
Climate Change Policies ◽  
Climate Policies ◽  
Energy Projects

Subject Climate politics in Europe. Significance In Europe, climate change has shifted from being a peripheral to a central electoral issue; now mainstream parties are committing themselves to ambitious climate policies. However, overtime division will likely grow between those parties whose support is underpinned by business and conservative interests, and those who appeal strongly to younger voters. Climate change will also be a source of further competition between mainstream and national populist parties. Impacts Governing parties at the local, national and EU-levels will be judged increasingly on their environmental track-records. Most major infrastructure and non-renewable energy projects will face opposition from civil society through petitions and protests. Support for green parties could decline if traditional parties hiijack climate change policies.

Environmental policies will damage Brazil's trade

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Environmental Policies ◽  
Amazon Region ◽  
Amazon Rainforest ◽  
Monitoring Data ◽  
Mineral Extraction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Future ◽  
Lack Of Commitment

Significance Bolsonaro's claims have further increased global concerns about the future of the Amazon rainforest, and international ire over his suggestion that NGOs were seeking revenge because his government had cut funding. Monitoring data indicated an 88% year-on-year increase in Amazon deforestation during June, and an 83% increase in wildfires through mid-August. Bolsonaro’s response has been to seek to discredit the data and to dismiss the head of the monitoring agency, in addition to now seeking to blame NGOs for destruction. Impacts The future of the world’s largest area of biodiversity is increasingly in doubt. Mineral extraction and agribusiness look set to continue advancing in the Amazon region. Brazilian trade may be negatively affected by the government’s lack of commitment to environmental sustainability.

South African government’s GBV plans may disappoint

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
South African ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Structure ◽  
National Strategic Plan ◽  
The Government ◽  
Gender Based

Significance Although President Cyril Ramaphosa has publicly committed to increase funding to combat what he calls South Africa’s “second pandemic”, there is a lack of transparency in how the government disburses funds linked to its National Strategic Plan (NSP) on Gender-based Violence and Femicide. Impacts Civil society groups will increase pressure on the government to make expenditure on GBV programmes more transparent. A new private-sector fund to contribute to the NSP has received strong early support, but its management structure is opaque. High levels of GBV will not only have significant humanitarian and social costs but may deter much-needed foreign investment.

The impact of early failures on maintenance costs: an empirical study in Latin America

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo E. Peimbert-García ◽  
Jesús Isaac Vázquez-Serrano ◽  
Jorge Limón-Robles
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Electric Utility ◽  
Opportunity Costs ◽  
Current Transformers ◽  
Maintenance Costs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Early Failures ◽  
The Impact

PurposeLiterature shows that the economics of early failures in maintenance and electric utilities have not been deeply analyzed. This study aims to focus on quantifying the economic impact that early failures in current transformers have on total maintenance costs. The empirical study is conducted in a regional transmission division of an electric utility located in Mexico.Design/methodology/approachThe utility's database was accessed to collect 219 maintenance records. Clustering techniques were used to identify early failures from a bimodal distribution of failures. Confirmatory goodness-of-fit procedures followed the analysis, and finally, direct and opportunity costs were estimated by adapting the cost-of-quality (PAF) Model.FindingsAround 11% of all maintenance activities are triggered by early failures, and they account for up to US$2.2m during the eight-year period under study, which represents 16% of total maintenance costs. Additionally, opportunity costs represent close to two-thirds of the total costs due to early failures. This was obtained after finding and validating a clear-cut border of 3.5 months between early failures and the rest.Originality/valueFailures in energy grids and power transmission can have a large economic impact on the power industry and the society in general. Thus, the maintenance function in equipment such as current transformers is a crucial entry of the budget of any electric utility. This study is one of the very few that highlights the magnitude and importance of direct and opportunity costs derived from early failures.

Indonesian cybersecurity faces geopolitical hurdles

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Data Protection ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Digital Economy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Personal Data Protection ◽  
State Surveillance ◽  
Data Protection Law

Significance Such programmes contribute not only to Indonesia’s efforts to boost the cyber readiness of its booming digital economy, but are also designed to maintain China's friendly relations with South-east Asia’s largest economy amid the intensifying technology tensions between China and the United States. Impacts The Personal Data Protection Law would need to clarify key provisions and concepts to be effective. The BSSN’s extensive powers will fuel civil society concerns about excessive state surveillance. Turning down Chinese technology suppliers carries cost and wider economic ramifications for Jakarta.

Alternative tourism and civil society in Athens

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-62
Author(s):  
Hecate Vergopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Alternative Tourism ◽  
Political Perspective ◽  
Web Forum ◽  
Guided Tours ◽  
Do So

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to tackle the issue of the meaning of tourism as it is being crippled by the economic crisis in Greece. Design/methodology/approach To do so, it brings together the findings of three different fieldworks related to tourism in Athens in times of crisis. Each one of these focuses on a specific player of tourism: a linguistic and semiological analysis led mainly on travel guides and ad campaigns deals with the industry of tourism; a linguistic analysis of tourists’ posts on a French web forum deals with the tourists themselves; and an ethnographical approach of alternative guided tours of Athens focuses on local players (associations and cooperatives offering out of the beaten tracks tours). Findings The whole study reveals that there is a misunderstanding between the industry and the consumers toward what the tourist practice should mean: whereas the tourists are in search of an ethical meaning, the industry claims there is no room for such issues. The alternative players, however, offer a political perspective that embraces the ethical issues raised by tourists. Originality/value They thus might, in the end, show us the way a so-called “civil society” could also have its own role to perform in tourism.

Nationalistic education in the Hong Kong and the Macao SARs of China

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 395-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric King-man Chong
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Content Type ◽  
National Education ◽  
National Identification ◽  
Education In Hong Kong

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare and analyse the role and implementation of nationalistic education in Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions (SARs) since their respective handover of sovereignty to China in the late 1990s. Both SARs face the educational need to cultivate a Chinese national identification among the students after the sovereignty changes. While Macau SAR has enjoyed a relatively smooth implementation of nationalistic education towards which Macau’s schools and students are largely receptive to nationalistic programmes since its handover in 1999, Hong Kong SAR Government’s nationalistic education was met by reservation from some parents, students and civil society’s groups under allegations of “political indoctrination” and “brain-washing”. The Hong Kong civil society’s resistance to National Education culminated in the anti-Moral and National Education protest in Summer 2012 and then Hong Kong schools and society. This paper attempts to provide an overview and analysis on the development of nationalistic education in both Hong Kong and Macao SARs, and to give some possible explanations on the factors that lead to differences of perceiving and responding to the nationalistic education between both places. Design/methodology/approach After conducting a literature review, this study utilises different sources of data such as curriculum guidelines, previous studies and other scholarly findings in examining the development of civic education and national education policy in both SAR societies, as well as in discussing the possible developments of nationalistic education in both SARs by making references to previous studies of citizenship and nationalistic education. Findings This study found out that different relationships between the two SAR Governments and their respective civil society, the extent of established socio-political linkages with China, as well as the introduction of a core subject of Liberal Studies in Hong Kong secondary schools, which emphasises on multiple perspectives and critical thinking skills, are some plausible factors that explain different stories and developments of implementing nationalistic education in Hong Kong and Macao SARs. Research limitations/implications For giving suggestions for a nationalistic education in both Chinese SARs, first, there should be an exploration of multiple citizenship identities. This will allow people to choose their identities and thus facilitate their belongingness in terms of local, national and global dimensions. In addition, there should be an exploration of a Chinese national identification with different emphases such as knowledge orientation and critical thinking so as to cater for youth values. Promoting the idea of an informed and reasonable-in-thinking patriot could also be a way to ease the concern that building a national identity negates a person’s freedom of thinking. Originality/value This paper attempts to compare and analyse the different responses to the same policy of enhancing nationalistic education development in both Hong Kong and Macao SARs of China. Some plausible explanations were given based on political, social and educational factors, as well as youth value oritentations. This paper would be an attempt to show that a top-down single-minded orientated nationalistic education may not work well a society such as Hong Kong, where civil society and youth values are quite different than that can be found in China.

scholarly journals Accountability and governance in pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals: conceptualising how governments create value

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhash Abhayawansa ◽  
Carol A. Adams ◽  
Cristina Neesham
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
National Governments

PurposeDrawing on Adams (2017a) conceptualisation of value creation by organisations published in the Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, the purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptualisation of how national governments can create value for society and the economy through their approach to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Design/methodology/approachAn initial conceptual framework was developed from literature situated at the intersection of accountability, public policy and sustainability/sustainable development. The authors' review of extant research on national policy development on value creation, sustainability and the SDGs identified gaps in (understanding of) approaches to national accountability and national governance (by state and civil society) processes. The subsequent thematic analysis of 164 written submissions made to the Australian Senate inquiry on the SDGs between December 2017 and March 2018, together with transcripts of five public hearings where 49 individuals and organisations appeared as witnesses during the second half of 2018, focussed on addressing these gaps.FindingsInput to the Australian Senate Inquiry on the SDGs overwhelmingly emphasised the importance of transparency and stakeholder participation in accountability systems, commenting on data gathering, measuring and communicating. There was an emphasis on the need to involve all parts of society, including business, investors and civil society, and for strong central co-ordination by the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. These data allowed the authors to refine the conceptualisation of how national governments can enhance social and economic value through a focus on the UN SDGs and their approach to accounting, accountability and governance.Practical implicationsThe findings have implications: for national governments in developing approaches to achieve sustainable development; and, for supranational bodies such as the UN in developing agreements, frameworks and guidance for national governments.Originality/valueBuilding on the extant literature about how global governance should be engaged to improve accountability in achieving the SDGs, the conceptual framework developed through the study shifts focus to national governance and accountability, and provides a blueprint for national governments to create value for the economy and society in the face of global sustainable development issues.

The European Parliament and the Implementation of EU Environmental Policies: the Case of the Spanish Water Plan

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 204-214
Author(s):  
Jan Ceyssens
Keyword(s):  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Control Policy ◽  
Environmental Policies ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Democratic Accountability ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
Eu Directives ◽  
And Control

AbstractThis article examines the European Parliament's ability to scrutinize and control the implementation of EU Environmental law by national authorities, taking as an example the Spanish Water Plan - a major infrastructure plan which allegedly infringed several EU Directives and was ultimately abandoned last year. The article gives an overview of the European Parliament's main powers to scrutinize and control policy implementation, and analyses how Members of the European Parliament used them to control the implementation of EU Environmental law in the case of the Spanish Water Plan. It concludes that the Parliament's activities contributed to ensuring the effective implementation of EU law and thus to a sensible enhancement of democratic accountability in this area.

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