Analysing Climate Change Mitigation Policy Options in the Renewable Energy Sub-Sector in Tanzania

Public policies influence reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Also the extent to which policies are developed and implemented can influence the achievement of the national, regional and international climate change mitigation policy framework in the renewable energy sub-sector. This paper provides a critical overview of key policy options influencing the development of renewable energy sub-sector through climate change mitigation policy options in Tanzania. Questionnaire surveys were used to collect primary data from 100 relevant experts who represented 64 organizations in Tanzania. Secondary data were collected by literature review. The state of climate change mitigation policy options in the renewable energy sub-sector was assessed by using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 26.0 and content analysis. The results showed Tanzania lacks adequate climate change mitigation policy and renewable energy policy frameworks. A specific national climate change policy and national renewable energy policy are needed to guide stakeholders to undertake climate change mitigation actions in the renewable energy sub-sector in Tanzania. Perceptions gained and recommendations made are essential for undertaking climate change mitigation actions in Tanzania, and can be relevant for other developing countries because of similar climate change mitigation contexts. Keywords: climate change, renewable energy, greenhouse gases, policies, Tanzania

Local government's response to the recovery of the tourism sector after the COVID-19 pandemic (case study in Singkawang City, Indonesia)

This study aims to analyze the strategy of the Singkawang City Government in restoring the private sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research method is descriptive and qualitative, specifically related to the COVID-19 impact mitigation strategy and Singkawang tourism policies. Then analyze the strategic elements of a policy according to the implementation of the O.Jones model. Data was collected by using interviews, observation, and documentation techniques. The data is then analyzed using domain data analysis techniques as a researcher's effort to get a general and comprehensive (holistic) picture of the object under study. The findings in this study are 1) a connected tourism COVID-19 impact mitigation policy strategy from the national to local levels in Singkawang in the form of directives, regulations, COVID-19 mitigation programs, and stimulus for economic recovery in the tourism sector; and 2) there are no visible creative efforts based on health protocols in organizing tourism resources, methods, and unit synergies to restore tourism, interpretation of social media-based policies regarding tourist visits has not been measured, and strategies have not been implemented to meet the opportunities for pandemic trend tourism types with models alternative tourism according to health protocols.

Higher education responses to COVID-19 in the United States: Evidence for the impacts of university policy

With a dataset of testing and case counts from over 1,400 institutions of higher education (IHEs) in the United States, we analyze the number of infections and deaths from SARS-CoV-2 in the counties surrounding these IHEs during the Fall 2020 semester (August to December, 2020). We used a matching procedure designed to create groups of counties that are aligned along age, race, income, population, and urban/rural categories---socio-demographic variables that have been shown to be correlated with COVID-19 outcomes. We find that counties with IHEs that remained primarily online experienced fewer cases and deaths during the Fall 2020 semester; whereas before and after the semester, these two groups had almost identical COVID-19 incidence. Additionally, we see fewer deaths in counties with IHEs that reported conducting any on-campus testing compared to those that reported none. We complement the statistical analysis with a case study of IHEs in Massachusetts---a rich data state in our dataset---which further highlights the importance of IHE-affiliated testing for the broader community. The results in this work suggest that campus testing can itself be thought of as a mitigation policy and that allocating additional resources to IHEs to support efforts to regularly test students and staff would be beneficial to mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in the general population.

Resilient Cities in the Gulf Cooperation Council

KAPSARC hosted a webinar, “Resilient Cities in the Gulf Cooperation Council,” on July 20, 2020, to discuss the relationships between governmental leads and non-governmental capabilities to support risk mitigation policy formulation. The webinar drew global participants from diverse sectors and included representation from the private sector, the research community, international organizations, and governmental leaders.

National Climate Mitigation Policy in Europe

Despite a reputation for climate policy leadership, European states vary markedly in their responses to climate change. During the 2010s, a “conglomerate of crises” afflicted Europe, stymying climate ambitions to varying degrees. Yet climate change had ascended European political agendas by the decade’s close, championed by new social movements and voices and mirrored by innovative policy approaches, such as “Climate Emergency” declarations. In turn, this peak of engagement was followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In such a tumultuous setting, the literature on comparative European environmental politics faces a complexity crisis as it seeks to map multiple axes of ambition across multiple levels. In this chapter, the authors problematize the identification of leaders and laggards within climate mitigation studies, as well as identify the challenges inherent to comparing state performance. They also examine recent policy and research trends, analyze the importance of policy resilience during crises, and emphasize the utility of multilevel understanding in national climate analysis.