Suchergebnisse

ECONOMIC INSTRUMENTS APPEAR AS A TYPE OF MAGIC CARPET FOR THE TRIP TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS A PRE-FLIGHT CHECK OF THE CARPET'S VIABILITY, AND FINDS SEVERAL POTENTIAL DESIGN PROBLEMS. ECONOMIC INSTRUMENTS IN PRACTICE OFTEN DON'T COMPLY WITH THE UNDERLYING ECONOMIC THEORY. FURTHER, THE DOMINATING NOTION OF COST-EFFECTIVENESS IS ONLY ONE OF MANY.

IN THIS ESSAY, THE OVERALL FINDINGS OF A COMPARATIVE PROJECT ARE ANALYZED. THE ARTICLE TURNS TO THE GENERAL QUESTIONS PROVIDING THE FOCUS FOR EACH OF THE CASES. SOME OF THE VARIATIONS ACROSS THE CASES ARE EXPLORED. HOWEVER, PARTICULAR ATTENTION IS PAID TO SIMILAR PATTERNS IN MOST OR ALL OF THE INVESTIGATIONS, SINCE THE SET OF CASES IS CONSISTENT WITH A DIVERSE CASE DESIGN. THE SIMILARITIES INCLUDE SIMILAR ARRAYS OF "LAYERED" WATER POLICY NETWORKS IN SEVERAL COUNTRIES. THE PURE TYPES OF ISSUE NETWORK OR POLICY COMMUNITY, PROMINENT IN THE NETWORK LITERATURE, ARE NOT FOUND IN THE ACTUAL WATER POLICY PATTERNS. SIMILAR WATER POLICY NETWORK DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS MOST OF THE CASES INCLUDE TRENDS TOWARD MORE NETWORK OPENNESS, MORE EMULATION OF BUSINESS BEHAVIOUR, AND LESS DOMINATION BY TRADITIONAL PROFESSIONAL GROUPS SUCH AS ENGINEERING. NETWORK DYNAMICS CAN BE EXPLAINED IN PART BY THE WELFARE STATE CRISIS AND THE ENVIRONMENT CHALLENGE. THE IMPACT OF NETWORK ARRANGEMENTS ON POLICY FORMATION AND IMPLEMENTATION IS MORE DIFFICULT TO DOCUMENT, BUT SOME EVIDENCE SUGGESTS LINKAGES WORTHY OF FURTHER EXPLORATION. THE OVERALL ASSESSMENT IS THAT NETWORK APPROACHES CAN BE HELPFUL IN POLICY RESEARCH, BUT THAT UNDERSTANDING SOME OF THE LIMITATIONS OF THE PERSPECTIVE AND THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BETTER EMPIRICAL THEORY ARE REQUISITES FOR FULFILLING THIS POTENTIAL.

IN ADDITION TO THE WELL-KNOWN PROGRAMME FOR FLOOD PROTECTION, DUTCH WATER POLICY CONSISTS OF TWO MAIN SUBSECTORS; WATER SUPPLY AND GROUND WATER PROTECTION, AND SURFACE WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT. IN THIS CONTRIBUTION SPECIAL ATTENTION IS PAID TO THE CHARACTERISATION OF THESE SUBSECTORS USING TWO NETWORK VARIABLES; MUTUAL COMMITMENT AND INTERRELATEDNESS. THE DYNAMICS OF CHANGE OF THESE FEATURES AND THEIR RELATION WITH POLICY OPPORTUNITIES ARE EXAMINED, THE WATER SUPPLY SECTOR WAS AMALGATED INTO LARGER COMPANIES AND DEVELOPED MORE COOPERATION AS A RESULT OF THE PRESSURE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE, WHICH MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO CONTINUE PUMPING AND BILLING. THOUGH THE SECTOR IN A SENSE BECAME MORE INTEGRATED, THIS WAS ACCOMPANIED BY AN INCREASED NEED TO DO BUSINESS WITH OTHER INTERESTS, SUCH AS AGRICULTURE. THE SURFACE WATER QUALITY SUBSECTOR ALSO MOVED FROM A VERY INTEGRATED COMMUNITY INTO A MORE OPEN STRUCTURE. THIS OPENNESS IS, HOWEVER, TO A LARGE EXTENT ORGANIZED BY THE SECTOR ITSELF, BY INCORPORATING OTHER INTERESTS IN THEIR COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES. BOTH SUBSECTORS INCREASINGLY ADOPT A CONSENSUAL APPROACH IN DEALING WITH THESE OTHER INTERESTS.

© 2019 The Authors Households are responsible for 70% of CO2 emissions (directly and indirectly). While households as agents of change increasingly become a crucial element in energy transitions, bottom-up mechanisms facilitating behavioral change are not fully understood. A scientific understanding of individual energy use, requires eliciting factors that trigger or inhibit changes in energy behavior. This paper explores individual energy consumption practices and behavioral aspects that affect them. We quantitatively study the determinants of three energy actions: (1) investments in house insulation, solar panels and/or energy-efficient appliances, (2) conservation of energy by changing energy-use habits like switching off unused devices or adjusting house temperature, and (3) switching to green(er) electricity sources. To address this goal, we conduct a comprehensive survey among households (N = 1790) in two EU regions: Overijssel, the Netherlands and Navarre, Spain. We use probit regression to estimate how behavioral factors, households' socioeconomic characteristics and structural attributes of dwellings influence energy related actions. Our analysis demonstrates that awareness and personal and social norms are as important as monetary factors. Moreover, education and structural dwelling factors significantly affect households' actions. These results have implications for governmental policies aimed at reducing residential CO2 footprints and facilitating demand-side solutions in a transition to low-carbon economy.

River basin management and decentralisation reforms are promoted worldwide for solving water pollution problems. In Mexico, governmental efforts have been made to operate wastewater treatment plants countrywide, but federal administrations have not achieved their intended outcomes. Acknowledging the role of governance in the implementation of wastewater treatment policy, this paper analyses three cases in central Mexico and addresses the question: How does the governance context affect the implementation of the wastewater treatment policy in central Mexico? A governance assessment tool is applied to answer the question. The assessment allows an understanding of the governance context and is paired with a comparative case study design. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and documents reviews. The results indicate that the governance context mainly restricts the implementation of the wastewater treatment policy. In all subnational three cases, the river basin management and decentralisation reforms have not reached their objectives. By comparing the three cases, we found that the state level can play a relevant role to decrease fragmentation and to increase the coherence of the wastewater treatment policy. Therefore, strengthening the involvement of the state government and the improvement of mechanisms that limit political machinations can increase the supportiveness of the governance context.