scholarly journals Institutional Engagement Practices as Barriers to Public Health Capacity in Climate Change Policy Discourse: Lessons from the Canadian Province of Ontario

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (17) ◽  
pp. 6338
Author(s):  
Luckrezia Awuor ◽  
Richard Meldrum ◽  
Eric N. Liberda
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Policy Discourse ◽  
Canadian Province ◽  
Climate Change Policies ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Public Health Organizations

Public health engagement in the communication, discussion, and development of climate change policies is essential for climate change policy decisions and discourse. This study examines how the existing governance approaches impact, enable, or constrain the inclusion, participation, and deliberation of public health stakeholders in the climate change policy discourse. Using the case study of the Canadian Province of Ontario, we conducted semi-structured, key informant interviews of public health (11) and non-public health (13) participants engaged in climate change policies in the province. The study results reveal that engagement and partnerships on climate change policies occurred within and across public health and non-public health organizations in Ontario. These engagements impacted public health’s roles, decisions, mandate, and capacities beyond the climate change discourse; enabled access to funds, expertise, and new stakeholders; built relationships for future engagements; supported knowledge sharing, generation, and creation; and advanced public health interests in political platforms and decision making. However, public health’s participation and deliberation were constrained by a fragmented sectoral approach, a lack of holistic inter-organizational structures and process, political and bureaucratic influences, irregular and unestablished communication channels for public health integration, and identities and culture focused on functions, mandates, biased ideologies, and a lack of clear commitment to engage public health. We conclude by providing practical approaches for integrating public health into climate change discourse and policymaking processes and advancing public health partnerships and collaborative opportunities.

scholarly journals Depoliticizing And Humanizing Climate Change Through A Public Health Frame: A Case Study Of Ontario’s Climate Change Policy Discourse

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luckrezia Awuor
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Policy Discourse ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
Political Issue ◽  
The Public ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Primary Focus

The relevance of a public health frame in supporting the climate change impact awareness and consensus on actions is well recognized but largely underutilized. Overall, supporting public health’s capacity in climate change has focused on projecting and highlighting public health impacts due to climate change, identifying public health policy responses, and emphasizing public health role. The integration of the public health perspective in the discussion and communication of climate change ideas has remained elusive.<div>Climate change is also a complex social problem whose construction of meaning and actions is rooted in institutionalized language, discourse, and human interactions. Thus, understanding of the construction of the relevance of public health in climate change discourse is central to understanding the impediments of the public health frame application. Unfortunately, this has been a neglected area of research, and the dissertation responded to that gap. </div><div>To delineate the impediments of the public health frame, the study used the case study of the context of climate change policy discourse in the Province of Ontario (Canada) to examine the construction of public health relevance, the extent of public health frame application, and the systematic influences in the discourse.</div><div>The analysis of policy documents and key informant interviews revealed that the public health frame remained isolated from the primary focus of Ontario’s climate change policy discourse. Instead, Ontario’s historically and socially constructed climate change as an economic and political issue solved through market strategies and technological innovations forwarded by political, bureaucratic, and technological elites. The focus substantiated the types of structures and processes of policies and decisions, the relevant actors and knowledge, and the values supporting the discursive, normative, and strategic practices. Ontario’s focus also limited the utilization of the public health frame and the supporting capacities through the misalignment between public health and the provincial strategic actions, the lack of recognition and integration of public health roles, mandate and structures, and limited public health capacity building initiatives.</div><div>Therefore, public health framing as an endpoint of climate change discourse requires legitimation of public health in the underlying institutional structures for, and governance of, climate change. </div>

scholarly journals Depoliticizing And Humanizing Climate Change Through A Public Health Frame: A Case Study Of Ontario’s Climate Change Policy Discourse

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luckrezia Awuor
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Policy Discourse ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
Political Issue ◽  
The Public ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Primary Focus

The relevance of a public health frame in supporting the climate change impact awareness and consensus on actions is well recognized but largely underutilized. Overall, supporting public health’s capacity in climate change has focused on projecting and highlighting public health impacts due to climate change, identifying public health policy responses, and emphasizing public health role. The integration of the public health perspective in the discussion and communication of climate change ideas has remained elusive.<div>Climate change is also a complex social problem whose construction of meaning and actions is rooted in institutionalized language, discourse, and human interactions. Thus, understanding of the construction of the relevance of public health in climate change discourse is central to understanding the impediments of the public health frame application. Unfortunately, this has been a neglected area of research, and the dissertation responded to that gap. </div><div>To delineate the impediments of the public health frame, the study used the case study of the context of climate change policy discourse in the Province of Ontario (Canada) to examine the construction of public health relevance, the extent of public health frame application, and the systematic influences in the discourse.</div><div>The analysis of policy documents and key informant interviews revealed that the public health frame remained isolated from the primary focus of Ontario’s climate change policy discourse. Instead, Ontario’s historically and socially constructed climate change as an economic and political issue solved through market strategies and technological innovations forwarded by political, bureaucratic, and technological elites. The focus substantiated the types of structures and processes of policies and decisions, the relevant actors and knowledge, and the values supporting the discursive, normative, and strategic practices. Ontario’s focus also limited the utilization of the public health frame and the supporting capacities through the misalignment between public health and the provincial strategic actions, the lack of recognition and integration of public health roles, mandate and structures, and limited public health capacity building initiatives.</div><div>Therefore, public health framing as an endpoint of climate change discourse requires legitimation of public health in the underlying institutional structures for, and governance of, climate change. </div>

scholarly journals Mainstreaming biodiversity and wildlife management into climate change policy frameworks in selected east and southern African countries

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga L. Kupika ◽  
Godwell Nhamo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Wildlife Management ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Green Economy ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Address Climate Change ◽  
East African Community ◽  
Climate Change Policies ◽  
Change Policy

The Rio+20 outcomes document, the Future We Want, enshrines green economy as one of the platforms to attain sustainable development and calls for measures that seek to address climate change and biodiversity management. This paper audits climate change policies from selected east and southern African countries to determine the extent to which climate change legislation mainstreams biodiversity and wildlife management. A scan of international, continental, regional and national climate change policies was conducted to assess whether they include biodiversity and/or wildlife management issues. The key finding is that many climate change policy–related documents, particularly the National Adaptation Programme of Actions (NAPAs), address threats to biodiversity and wildlife resources. However, international policies like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol do not address the matter under deliberation. Regional climate change policies such as the East African Community, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and African Union address biodiversity and/or wildlife issues whilst the Southern African Development Community region does not have a stand-alone policy for climate change. Progressive countries like Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia have recently put in place detailed NAPAs which are mainstream responsive strategies intended to address climate change adaptation in the wildlife sector.Keywords: mainstreaming, biodiversity, wildlife, climate change policy, east and southern Africa

scholarly journals The Climate for Change: the Conditions for Effective Climate Change Policies: a Case Study on Residential Home Insulation Policies in New Zealand and Germany

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Oliver Lah
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Residential Home ◽  
Climate Change Policies ◽  
Change Policy

<p>Changes in the global climate and the insecure future of the world's energy supply place unprecedented risks and uncertainties before mankind. Massive changes need to occur, driven by effective policies. But what is the ideal climate for change? With a case study on insulation policies for the residential building sector this thesis aims to identify the conditions for a climate for change. This thesis explores the factors that help or hinder change and the structures that enable change and enhance implementation. Within a particular policy area, i.e. residential home insulation, this thesis examines the impacts on policy development and implementation of environmental and resources pressures, the strength of centre-left and green parties and the levels of corporatism in New Zealand and Germany. The case study of insulation policies in New Zealand and Germany has been chosen because of similar policy aspirations and rhetoric in the two countries but differing policy achievements and outcomes. The thesis compares three decades of policy making and implementation in Germany and New Zealand and finds that, if environmental and resource pressures are high, corporatist structures may impact positively on climate change policy development and implementation. It also finds that in pluralist countries centre-left and green party strength may be more important for the success of climate change policies than in corporatist countries.</p>

scholarly journals Comparative Analysis of UK and Lithuanian Political Institutional Communicative Climate Change Discourses

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Audronė Telešienė ◽  
Eimantė Zolubienė
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Relational Theory ◽  
Member States ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Climate Change Policies ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Research Questions

The aim of this paper is to analyse the ways how climate change related risks are being constructed in political institutional discourses. We draw upon the political communicative texts, i.e. texts prepared by governmental authorities, from the pre- and post-Paris agreement period, i.e. 2015–2016. Our empirical analysis is guided by the relational theory of risk, theory of discursive institutionalism, critical discourse analysis, notions of interdiscursivity and interpretive repertoires. The main research questions are the following: What are the threats typically associated with climate change (source of risk)?; What are the objects-at-risk typically spoken of in political communicative discourses?; How are the relations of the risk source and object-at-risk discursively constructed (e.g. vulnerability, resilience, etc.)?; What is the overall ‘repertoire’ of typical climate change related risks as discursively constructed in political communicative texts? To answer the research questions, Lithuania and United Kingdom are taken for cross-national comparison. UK is regarded as a leader in international and domestic climate change policy, whereas climate change policies are treated instrumentally in Lithuania. Both Lithuania and UK, as EU member states, follow the general EU climate change policy. Yet because of differences in public attitudes and other socio-political contexts, the effectiveness of climate change policies is different. Contrasting the two member states and looking for underlying discursive practices, that serve as grounds for climate action, bring new scientific insights. The analysis of the sampled texts is conducted using NVivo.

Efficacy of interventions to improve public support for evidence based public health and climate change policy measures: a systematic review.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Coleman ◽  
Rebecca Clifford ◽  
Catherine Hewitt ◽  
Jim McCambridge
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Message Framing ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Alcohol Policy ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Policy Measures

Abstract Background Policies which reduce affordability and availability of alcohol are known to be effective in reducing alcohol harms. Public support is important in policy decision making and implementation, and it may be possible to intervene to improve public support for alcohol policy measures. This systematic review aims to explore the effects of interventions to increase public support for evidence based policy measures in relation to either public health or climate change, and to examine underpinning theory and content of effective interventions.Methods The electronic search strategy was built around the constructs "public support or opinion", "health or climate change policies" and "interventions". Backward and forward searching was conducted, and authors of included papers contacted. Studies were included if they aimed to intervene to improve public support for public health or climate change policy measures, were controlled trials, and targeted the general public.Results Sixteen studies were included in this review, of which 13 had sufficient data for inclusion in meta analyses. The pooled effect estimates for continuous and binary data both show improvements in public support for policy measures as a result of evaluated interventions. The pooled standardised mean difference (n=8 studies) is 0.13 (95% C.I. 0.08-0.17), and the pooled odds ratio (n=5 studies) is 1.72 (95% C.I. 1.33-2.21). Careful attention to message framing, with or without narrative persuasion, appears particularly important content for efficacious interventions.Conclusion This systematic review demonstrates the efficacy of interventions to improve public support for public health policies.

scholarly journals Integrating Public Health into Climate Change Policy and Planning: State of Practice Update

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (18) ◽  
pp. 3232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Fox ◽  
Christopher Zuidema ◽  
Bridget Bauman ◽  
Thomas Burke ◽  
Mary Sheehan
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Workforce Development ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Policy Action ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Fully Integrated ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Change Policy

Policy action in the coming decade will be crucial to achieving globally agreed upon goals to decarbonize the economy and build resilience to a warmer, more extreme climate. Public health has an essential role in climate planning and action: “Co-benefits” to health help underpin greenhouse gas reduction strategies, while safeguarding health—particularly of the most vulnerable—is a frontline local adaptation goal. Using the structure of the core functions and essential services (CFES), we reviewed the literature documenting the evolution of public health’s role in climate change action since the 2009 launch of the US CDC Climate and Health Program. We found that the public health response to climate change has been promising in the area of assessment (monitoring climate hazards, diagnosing health status, assessing vulnerability); mixed in the area of policy development (mobilizing partnerships, mitigation and adaptation activities); and relatively weak in assurance (communication, workforce development and evaluation). We suggest that the CFES model remains important, but is not aligned with three concepts—governance, implementation and adjustment—that have taken on increasing importance. Adding these concepts to the model can help ensure that public health fulfills its potential as a proactive partner fully integrated into climate policy planning and action in the coming decade.

Innovation and Climate Change Policy

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 125-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua S Gans
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Environmentally Friendly ◽  
Climate Change Policies ◽  
Relative Demand ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Innovation Incentives

This paper examines whether climate change policies will induce innovation in environmentally friendly technologies. The model demonstrates that a tighter emissions cap will reduce the scale of fossil fuel usage and that this will diminish incentives to improve fossil fuel efficiencies. In addition, such policies may stimulate the relative demand for innovations that improve the efficiency of alternative energy but carbon scarcity may diminish innovation incentives overall. Only for technologies that directly abate carbon pollution will there be an unambiguously positive impact on innovation. These results have implications for climate change targets and the design of climate change policy. (JEL O31, Q54, Q55, Q58)

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