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"Sustainability is a topic of great interest today, particularly for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which have witnessed very rapid economic and demographic growth over the past decade. The observed growth has led to unsustainable consumption patterns of vital resources such as water, energy, and food, highlighting the need for an urgent shift towards green growth and sustainable development strategies. Sustainability in the Gulf covers the region's contemporary development challenges through the lens of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which place sustainability at the centre of the solution to the current environmental, economic, and social imbalances facing GCC countries. The book presents multiple analyses of Gulf-specific sustainability topics, examining the current status, challenges, and opportunities, as well as identifying key lessons learned. Innovative and practical policy recommendations are provided, as well as new conceptual angles to the evolving academic debates on the post-oil era in the Gulf. Through chapters covering sector-related studies, as well as the socio-economic dimensions of the sustainability paradigm, this volume offers valuable insights into current research efforts made by the GCC states, proposing a way forward based on lessons learned. This is a valuable resource for students, academics, and researchers in the areas of Environmental Studies, Political Economy, and Economics of the GCC states."--Provided by publisher

AbstractThe methodology of differential games is a combination of optimal control theory and game theory. It is the natural framework for economic analysis with strategic interaction and dynamical optimization. The theory gained traction by seminal papers in the early seventies, and it gradually found its way into economics. The purpose of this paper is to make theory and applications of differential games easily accessible by explaining the basics and by developing some characteristic applications. The core of the theory focuses on the open-loop and the multiple Markov-perfect Nash equilibria that use the maximum principle and dynamic programming as the techniques to solve the optimal control problems. The applications are the game of international pollution control and the game of managing a lake, which is an example of an ecological system with tipping points. Finally, it is interesting to note that the discovery of time-inconsistency in the open-loop Stackelberg equilibrium had a huge impact on macroeconomics, since policy making under rational expectations is a Stackelberg differential game.

An agreement on climate change mitigation hinges on large-scale international cooperation. Rational agents are supposed to consider the cost and benefits of cooperation, which then determine their negotiation positions. Behavioral economics provides experimental evidence that decision-making in negotiation-like situations is influenced by systematic cognitive biases and social interaction. In this paper, we examine the impact of bounded rationality and social preferences on bargaining in international climate negotiations and illustrate how particular deviations from full rationality affect the incentives to cooperate. Of special interest are fairness preferences for burden-sharing rules and behavioral responses to different framings of climate change and policy, as well as implications of these for communication about climate change. The analysis will further address different levels of representation, including individual citizens, politicians, experts, and (professional) negotiators. The consequences of the most prominent nonstandard preferences and biases for negotiating a climate treaty are assessed, and specific strategies to foster cooperation are suggested. Adapted from the source document.

Political philosophy for climate policy instrumentation -- Political philosophy for climate policy instrumentation -- Guide for coherent design of climate policy instrumentation -- Planning & control design of climate policy instrumentation -- Institutionalist design of climate policy instrumentation -- Climate policy instrumentation at the crossroads : epilogue.

Front Cover -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Author -- Chapter 1: From Fashion to Fast Fashion -- Chapter 2: The Promotion of a Lifestyle -- Chapter 3: The Production Platforms of Modern Garment Manufacturing -- Chapter 4: Regulatory Environment -- Chapter 5: The Carbon Footprint of Textile Manufacturing for Fast Fashion -- Chapter 6: The Direct and Social Costs of Low Prices -- Chapter 7: The Economics, Demographics, and Ethics of the Low Price Quest -- Chapter 8: Implications and Conclusions -- Epilogue -- References -- Back Cover.

Abstract A peculiar treaty management organization operates under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement that does not fit established categories of international law and political science. Unlike traditional international organizations (IOs), it lacks the formal status of an IO, comprises only a limited secretariat with predominantly servicing functions, and is not even denominated as an organization. We argue that it has nevertheless become an international actor, mainly due to activities of its Conference of the Parties and several specialized organizational schemes. Theoretically , we develop an analytical framework that shows how even heavily member-dominated IOs can become international actors and what this means for global environmental governance. IOs gain the capability to influence international politics by their own action if authorized to make decisions with external effects. They gain autonomy if organizational rules and procedures shape organizational decision-making and create specific organizational rationales. Empirically , we demonstrate that the organizational component of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement has acquired both considerable action capability and autonomy. It is authorized to flesh out the skeletal provisions of the constituent treaties through far-reaching COP decisions and to decide continuously in several specialized organizational schemes, especially on climate funding, cooperation mechanisms, and compliance management. Organizational decisions are heavily influenced by autonomy-creating organizational factors, such as path dependence, fundamental organizational norms and dense sets of decision criteria. We conclude that this organization, and the organizational components of other multilateral environmental agreements, point at important organizational effects, which merit further attention.

Circular economy is a recent economic model that aims to reconcile economic growth with the preservation of the environment. It is based on the insight that our natural resources (energy, water, raw material) are limited and that with a population estimated to reach 9 billion people in 2050, the current linear 'take-make-dispose' model is no longer sustainable. Central to circular economy is the closed loop idea, aiming at enhancing the continuous flow of technical and biological materials in the value circle while keeping products, components and materials at their highest utility and value at all times and reducing waste to a minimum (EMF, 2013). The concept of circular economy has received increasing attention among policy makers in the past years. In China, circular economy is part of the national political strategy (top down approach), and its implementation is following both a horizontal and a vertical approach (Feng and Yan, 2007). The European Commission has adopted a new Circular Economy Package in 2014 to support businesses and consumers in their transition to a more circular economy where resources are used in a more sustainable way. In the academic literature, there is not yet a common theoretical framework or definition of what circular economy exactly is. This may be due to the fact that circular economy has emerged from policies and legislation rather than from a group of academics (Murray et al, 2015). Another reason is that the concept has issued from different schools of thought and has diverse theoretical and disciplinary backgrounds such as ecological economics, environmental economics, industrial ecology, performance economy etc. (Ghisellini et al, 2015). The Ellen MacArthur Foundation defines circular economy as "an industrial system that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design" (EMF, 2015). The major challenge of implementing a circular economy is that it requires a change at a system level, not only demanding for adequate policies, but involving all actors within the value ...

Circular economy is a recent economic model that aims to reconcile economic growth with the preservation of the environment. It is based on the insight that our natural resources (energy, water, raw material) are limited and that with a population estimated to reach 9 billion people in 2050, the current linear 'take-make-dispose' model is no longer sustainable. Central to circular economy is the closed loop idea, aiming at enhancing the continuous flow of technical and biological materials in the value circle while keeping products, components and materials at their highest utility and value at all times and reducing waste to a minimum (EMF, 2013). The concept of circular economy has received increasing attention among policy makers in the past years. In China, circular economy is part of the national political strategy (top down approach), and its implementation is following both a horizontal and a vertical approach (Feng and Yan, 2007). The European Commission has adopted a new Circular Economy Package in 2014 to support businesses and consumers in their transition to a more circular economy where resources are used in a more sustainable way. In the academic literature, there is not yet a common theoretical framework or definition of what circular economy exactly is. This may be due to the fact that circular economy has emerged from policies and legislation rather than from a group of academics (Murray et al, 2015). Another reason is that the concept has issued from different schools of thought and has diverse theoretical and disciplinary backgrounds such as ecological economics, environmental economics, industrial ecology, performance economy etc. (Ghisellini et al, 2015). The Ellen MacArthur Foundation defines circular economy as "an industrial system that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design" (EMF, 2015). The major challenge of implementing a circular economy is that it requires a change at a system level, not only demanding for adequate policies, but involving all actors within the value ...

From Rio to Rio: A global carbon price signal to escape the great climate inconsistencyTwo decades after the 1992 Rio Conference,we must admit to collective failure in combating human induced climate change. We cannot escape serious climate disruption if we keep going down that road. We must change direction,and we must move quickly. To this end, we call in this paper for a fine tuning of the international negotiations on climate. We propose refocusing these international efforts on negotiating a global carbon price signal, harmonized inprinciple but flexible in practice, instead of doggedly spending the next fewyears attempting to convince countries to accept stricter national targets for quantitative reduction of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

From Rio to Rio: A global carbon price signal to escape the great climate inconsistencyTwo decades after the 1992 Rio Conference,we must admit to collective failure in combating human induced climate change. We cannot escape serious climate disruption if we keep going down that road. We must change direction,and we must move quickly. To this end, we call in this paper for a fine tuning of the international negotiations on climate. We propose refocusing these international efforts on negotiating a global carbon price signal, harmonized inprinciple but flexible in practice, instead of doggedly spending the next fewyears attempting to convince countries to accept stricter national targets for quantitative reduction of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

PART III: SOCIAL CAPITAL, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND GLOBALIZATIONLinked Indicators of Sustainability Build Bridges of Trust; Sociomaterial Communication, Community, and Ecosustainability in the Global Era; The Prospect of Sustainability in the Culture of Capitalism, Global Culture, and Globalization; Appendix 1: Glossary; Notes on Contributors; Index.