Environmental Policy and Governance

Sociological Reflections on Governing Waste

by G. Honor Fagan

Evidence-based policy or policy-based evidence gathering? The case of the 10% target.

by Amelia Sharman

MSc dissertation conducted in 2009 at the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford.

The 2009 Renewable Energy Directive mandates European Union member-states’ road transport fuel to comprise a minimum... more The 2009 Renewable Energy Directive mandates European Union member-states’ road transport fuel to comprise a minimum of 10% renewable content by 2020. This target is expected to be met predominantly from biofuels. However, scientific evidence is increasingly questioning the ability of biofuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when factors such as indirect land-use change are taken into consideration. This research interrogates the 10% target, critically assessing its political motivations, use of scientific evidence and actions of the policy entrepreneur. It finds that European Union decision-making bodies’ commitment to internal guidelines on the use of expertise and the precautionary principle was questionable, despite the scientific uncertainty inherent in the biofuels debate. This research paper concludes that imperatives located in the political space dominated scientific evidence and led to a process of ‘policy-based evidence gathering’ to justify the policy choice of a 10% renewable energy/biofuels target.

Strategic Solutions for Resource Efficiency

by Gavin Bunting

Co-authored with Louisa Huxtable and Marc Clement

In 2002, organisations within Wales accounted for 53% of Wales’ energy consumption (The Carbon Trust, 2005a) and... more In 2002, organisations within Wales accounted for 53% of Wales’ energy consumption (The Carbon Trust, 2005a) and 60-80% of waste (Machin, 2006). It has been estimated that 20% of the UK’s energy consumption is saveable at a discount rate of 6% (pre energy price rises) (The Carbon Trust, 2005b), and that UK businesses lose up to 4.5% of annual turnover every year through avoidable waste (Waste online, 2004), thus highlighting the cost effective savings that can be made. These figures emphasise the importance of engaging with and encouraging Welsh businesses to adopt better resources management, not only to benefit the environment but also reduce the cost associated with increasing energy prices and disposal of waste, in turn increasing their competitiveness.

An Expert Panel on Resources Management has been established in Wales to advise the Welsh Assembly Government on resource management, current and likely future business best practice (Clement, 2005). This paper highlights eight key areas which the Panel consider need to be influenced to increase the resource efficiency of businesses in Wales. Within these key areas the Panel propose actions and theories which they feel could lead to positive change by businesses in Wales. The fundamental elements of a ‘smarter support’ structure are also proposed along with the effects this could have on resource efficiency business support in Wales.

Low Carbon Wales: to Improve Resource Efficiency in Wales

by Gavin Bunting

The Expert Panel on Resources Management has created a ten-year vision to enable Wales to aspire to a position of... more The Expert Panel on Resources Management has created a ten-year vision to enable Wales to aspire to a position of leadership in terms of best practice regarding resources management.

The Panel’s vision is underpinned by five strategic solutions which need to be influenced in order to provide businesses and organisations with the incentives, drive and infrastructure to
adopt resource efficiency.

Macreadie et al. 2012 Frontiers Write Back

by Peter Macreadie

Rigs-to-reefs policy: can science trump public sentiment?

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment

Peter I Macreadie*, Ashley M Fowler, and David J Booth
School of the Environment, University of Technology,... more Peter I Macreadie*, Ashley M Fowler, and David J Booth
School of the Environment, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia *(peter.macreadie@uts.edu.au)

Waste Management and its Contestation in the Republic of Ireland

by G. Honor Fagan

Getting Serious about Bioenergy Policy in Canada (2009)

by Mark Purdon

Full Reference:
Purdon, M., Bailey-Stamler, S. and Samson, R. (2009) Getting Serious about Bioenergy Policy in Canada. Alternatives Journal, 35(2): 23-25.

Bioenergy policy is often limited to a discussion of liquid biofuels such as corn ethanol and, more recently,... more Bioenergy policy is often limited to a discussion of liquid biofuels such as corn ethanol and, more recently, second-generation “cellulosic” ethanol. It’s time to begin thinking more holistically about developing technologies that capture solar energy efficiently and turn it into useable forms of bioenergy. ...

Afterword -- Occupy Education: Learning and Living Sustainability by Tina Lynn Evans (Peter Lang, 2012)

by Richard Kahn

Forthcoming book. Order one today!

A kind of manifesto statement on the current state of the so-called socio-cultural turn in environmental education and... more A kind of manifesto statement on the current state of the so-called socio-cultural turn in environmental education and the ecological turn in critical pedagogy, as both move to frameworks of decolonization and hopeful dialogue and solidarity with sovereignty activists and indigenous scholars/educators. A call for hope in the form of the "wild jeremiad" is issued.

Stakeholder participation in the design of environmental policy mixes

by Gualter Barbas Baptista

NOAA in the Caribbean Newsletter

by Simon J. Pittman

Editor-in-Chief: Dr Simon Pittman; Production Editor: Alicia Clarke

This is the 1st Issue of a new tri-annual publication called NOAA in the Caribbean Newsletter.  It is a product... more This is the 1st Issue of a new tri-annual publication called NOAA in the Caribbean Newsletter.  It is a product of the NOAA in the Caribbean Initiative and it aims to engage and educate regional stakeholders about on-the-ground science, management and operations led by NOAA throughout the Caribbean. Content includes stories on NOAA and partner activities; partnership profiles; new data and geoportals with Caribbean data; news from around the Caribbean and announcements of upcoming events and funding opportunities.

Turning Off the Heat: Impacts of Power Plant Decommissioning on Green Turtle Research in San Diego Bay

by Cali Turner-Tomaszewicz

Spanning Boundaries in an Arizona Watershed Partnership Information Networks as Tools for Entrenchment or Ties for Collaboration

by Bethany Cutts

Muñoz-Erickson, T. A., B. B. Cutts, E. K. Larson, K. J. Darby, M. Neff, A. Wutich, and B. Bolin. 2010. Spanning boundaries in an Arizona watershed partnership: information networks as tools for entrenchment or ties for collaboration? Ecology and Society 15(3): 22. [online] URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol15/iss3/art22/

The need to develop successful collaborative strategies is an enduring problem in sustainable resource management. Our... more The need to develop successful collaborative strategies is an enduring problem in sustainable resource management. Our goal is to evaluate the relationship between information networks and conflict in the context of collaborative groundwater management in the rapidly growing central highland region of Arizona. In this region, water-management conflicts have emerged because of stakeholders’ differing geographic perspectives and competing scientific claims. Using social network analyses, we explored the extent to which the Verde River Basin Partnership (VRBP), which was charged with developing and sharing scientific information, has contributed to collaboration in the region. To accomplish this, we examined the role that this stakeholder partnership plays in reinforcing or overcoming the geographic, ideological, expert, and power conflicts among its members. Focusing on information sharing, we tested the extent to which several theoretically important elements of successful collaboration were evidenced by data from the VRBP. The structure of information sharing provides insight into ways in which barriers between diverse perspectives might be retained and elucidates weaknesses in the partnership. To characterize information sharing, we examined interaction ties among individuals with different geographic concerns, hierarchical scales of interest, belief systems (about science, the environment, and the role of the partnership), and self-identified expertise types. Results showed that the partnership’s information-sharing network spans most of these boundaries. Based on current theories of collaboration, we would expect the partnership network to be conducive to collaboration. We found that information exchanges are limited by differences in connection patterns across actor expertise and environmental-belief systems. Actors who view scientists as advocates are significantly more likely to occupy boundary-spanning positions, that appear to impede the success of the partnership. This analysis challenges widely held assumptions about the properties that separate successful collaborations from those that are less successful. It has implications for our understanding of the factors that constrain information processing, knowledge production, and collective-action capability in institutions.

Diverting Indirect Subsidies from the Nuclear Industry to the Photovoltaic Industry: Energy and Economic Returns

by Joshua Pearce

I. Zelenika-Zovko and J. M. Pearce,  “Diverting Indirect Subsidies from the Nuclear Industry to the Photovoltaic Industry: Energy and Economic Returns”, Energy Policy 39, pp. 2626–2632 (2011).

Nuclear power and solar photovoltaic energy conversion often compete for policy support that governs economic... more Nuclear power and solar photovoltaic energy conversion often compete for policy support that governs economic viability. This paper compares current subsidization of the nuclear industry with providing equivalent support to manufacturing photovoltaic modules. Current U.S. indirect nuclear insurance subsidies are reviewed and the power, energy and financial outcomes of this indirect subsidy are compared to equivalent amounts for indirect subsidies (loan guarantees) for photovoltaic manufacturing using a model that holds economic values constant for clarity. The preliminary analysis indicates that if only this one relatively ignored indirect subsidy for nuclear power was diverted to photovoltaic manufacturing, it would result in more installed power and more energy produced by mid-century. By 2110 cumulative electricity output of solar would provide an additional 48,600 TWh over nuclear worth $5.3 trillion. The results clearly show that not only does the indirect insurance liability subsidy play a significant factor for nuclear industry, but also how the transfer of such an indirect subsidy from the nuclear to photovoltaic industry would result in more energy over the life cycle of the technologies.

Smart Grids Server Farms and E-Commerce The Environmental Effects of the Knowledge Economy

by Rosalind Warner

Presented at the International Studies Association Annual Conference Montreal February 2011

This work critically re-examines the claims of governments and the information and communications technology (ICT)... more This work critically re-examines the claims of governments and the information and communications technology (ICT) industry to foster more sustainable economies based on high technology in an era of climate change, resource depletion, and pollution. It argues that these claims are embedded in the orthodoxy of ecological modernizers (EM), and that a critical political ecology approach can more effectively re-embed information technology innovation in its material social, economic and political context. Using a ‘three-order effects’ measure, it surveys the environmental effects of ICT from manufacturing to widespread implementation. It focuses on the raw materials used, energy use, displacement effects, carbon emissions effects, chemical pollution, water pollution, and other social and environmental effects. It concludes that the ‘new economy’ is not all ‘new’, but rather is highly dependent on the polluting and destructive ‘old economy’, with significant and growing environmental consequences that are not currently given sufficient attention in public policy decision making.

Precarious Economies: Exploring the Use of Environmental Indicators to Predict Economic Instability

by Curt Gervich

On August 5th, 2011 the Standard and Poor’s (S&P) international credit bureau, one of three agencies that provide... more On August 5th, 2011 the Standard and Poor’s (S&P) international credit bureau, one of three agencies that provide national credit assessments of a country’s ability to take on and pay down debt, downgraded the United States’ credit rating from its highest level, AAA+, to its second best rating, AA+. The downgrade marked the first time in history that the U.S. did not receive the highest rating from any of the three credit scoring firms.

The S&P report limited its critique of the U.S. economy to the current fiscal crisis. However, this paper speculates that the economic failings that led to the downgrade could perhaps have been foreseen by observing specific environmental indicators. In particular, national petroleum consumption, CO2 emissions per capita (both high, in the case of the U.S.), and the return on investment that a nation receives for its pollution (annual GDP/annual CO2 emissions; low, in the case of the U.S.) could be useful environmental indicators of a country's future fiscal performance. Moreover, these environmental indicators may be a sort of “early warning” system that can predict a nation’s financial collapse before it is predicted by standard financial indicators (such as debt levels). This article suggests a possible mechanism for such a link, and uses these indicators to speculate which other AAA+ countries may be the next to encounter fiscal challenges that lead to credit downgrades.

Carse A (2012) Nature as infrastructure: Making and managing the Panama Canal Watershed.” Social Studies of Science 32(4).

by Ashley Carse

In: Special Issue on Water and Science and Technology Studies, Samer Alatout & Jessica Barnes, eds. Comments by Karen Bakker & Wiebe Bijker.

The Panama Canal requires an enormous volume of fresh water to function. A staggering 52 million gallons are released... more The Panama Canal requires an enormous volume of fresh water to function. A staggering 52 million gallons are released into the Atlantic and Pacific oceans with each of the 35–45 ships that transit the canal daily. The water that facilitates interoceanic transportation and global connection falls as rain across the watershed surrounding the canal and is managed by an extensive system of locks, dams, and hydrographic stations. These technologies – which correspond with the popular understanding of infrastructure as hardware – were largely constructed during the early 20th century. Since the late 1970s, however, administrators and other concerned actors have responded to actual and potential water scarcity within the canal system by developing a managerial approach that integrates engineered technologies and new techniques of land-use planning and environmental regulation across the watershed. Through this process, techno-politics and environmental politics have become increasingly inextricable in the transit zone. Whereas canal administrators previously emphasized the control of water in its liquid state, watershed management emerged as an attempt to manipulate water flows through the legal protection of forests and restriction of agriculture. As forested landscapes have been assigned new infrastructural functions (water storage and regulation), campesino farmers have been charged with a new responsibility (forest conservation) often at odds with their established agricultural practices. Consequently, I bring together scholarship on infrastructure in science and technology studies and political ecology in anthropology and geography to examine why, how, and to what effect landscapes around the canal have been transformed from agricultural frontier to managed watershed. I suggest that the concept of infrastructure is a useful theoretical tool and empirical topic for analyzing the politics of environmental service provision. By paying attention to the contingent history of engineering decisions and the politics embedded in the changing socio-technical system that delivers water to the canal, we can better understand the distributional politics of environmental service provision in Panama today.

Cooperation and Control in the European Union: The Case of the European Union as International Environmental Negotiator

by Tom Delreux

Delreux T. (2009), 'Cooperation and Control in the European Union. The Case of the European Union as International Environmental Negotiator' in Cooperation and Conflict, 44(2): p. 189-208.

The EU in Environmental Negotiations in UNECE: An Analysis of its Role in the Aarhus Convention and the SEA Protocol Negotiations

by Tom Delreux

Delreux T. (2009), 'The EU in Environmental Negotiations in UNECE: An Analysis of its Role in the Aarhus Convention and the SEA Protocol Negotiations' in Review of European Community and International Environmental Law, 18(3): p. 328-337.

The European Union in international environmental negotiations: an analysis of the Stockholm Convention negotiations

by Tom Delreux

Delreux T. (2009), 'The European Union in International Environmental Negotiations: an Analysis of the Stockholm Convention Negotiations' in Environmental Policy and Governance, 19(1): p. 21-31.

The EU negotiates multilateral environmental agreements: explaining the agent's discretion

by Tom Delreux

Delreux T. (2009), 'The EU negotiates multilateral environmental agreements: explaining the agent’s discretion' in Journal of European Public Policy, 16(5): p. 719-737.