Suchergebnisse

In 2050, the billions of people living on Earth have found a way to manage the planetary system effectively. Everyone has access to adequate food, shelter, and clean water. Human health is no longer considered outside of the health of the ecosystems in which people live. Ecological awareness is an integral part of education. People respond effectively to social and environmental hazards, and societies care for the most vulnerable amongst them. The economy, too, has shifted. Carbon dioxide management is under control, and energy efficiency is the norm. The remaining rainforests have been preser

This book examines the linkages between environmental change and forced migration. This has been a headline topic during the past few years with predictions of "millions of refugees". It presents case studies from across the world of responses to climate change as well as other environmental changes and examines the role that environmental change plays among the other factors that lead to a decision to migrate.

The Politics of Climate Change provides a critical analysis of the political, moral and legal response to climate change in the midst of significant socio-economic policy shifts. Evolving from original EC commissioned research, this book examines how climate change was put on the policy agenda, with the evolution of the United Nations Framework Convention and subsequent Conference of Parties.The international team of contributors devote in-depth chapters to: * climate change policies of different nations* reductions of greenhouse gas emmissions * legal aspects of external competence and moral obligatons* the political significance of the European experience within the wider global perspectives of America and Asia.

Der Beitrag stellt die Methode der integrierten Nachhaltigkeitsbewertung (ISA, engl. integrated sustainability assessment) als Werkzeug für eine Good Governance für Nachhaltigkeit vor und zeigt, wie sie den Governance-Prinzipien, vor allem den Prinzipien der Langfristigkeit und der Reflexion gerecht wird. Da auf die partizipative Szenarienentwicklung als wichtiger Teil einer ISA fokussiert wird, kommt auch das Prinzip der Partizipation in den Blick. Im ersten Abschnitt wird zunächst die ISA beschrieben: Eine ISA ist ein Prozess, der auf strategischer Ebene versucht, eine nachhaltige Entwicklung in Gang zu setzen und eine gesellschaftliche Transition zu ermöglichen. Im Rahmen einer ISA sollen Alternativen zum vorherrschenden Regime und damit in Verbindung stehender Politiken aufgezeigt werden, um damit persistente Probleme zu lösen. Die Rolle von Szenarien ist in der Nachhaltigkeitsforschung bedeutend, da diese erlauben, komplexe Entscheidungen besser vorzubereiten. Eine ISA dient somit der Entwicklung von Zukunftsvisionen, oft in Form von Szenarien, die Bilder einer (nachhaltigen) Zukunft (inklusive der Übergänge vom Ist-Zustand zu diesen) enthalten. Im zweiten Abschnitt wird schließlich gezeigt, wie sowohl die ISA als auch Szenarien verschiedenen Prinzipien einer Good Governance gerecht werden, im Besonderen den Prinzipien der Partizipation, der Langfristigkeit und der Reflexivität. Daran anschließend erfolgt im dritten Kapitel eine nähere Definition des Begriffs Szenarien und deren Verbindung mit den Governance-Prinzipien. In diesem Zusammenhang werden drei Beispiele skizziert: (1) die SRES (Special Report on Emission Scenarios) des IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), (2) die GEO (Global Environmental Outlook) 4 Szenarien sowie (3) die Szenarien aus dem ALARM-Projekt. Der vierte Abschnitt fasst Erfahrungen in diesem Bereich anhand von zwei ausgewählten Projekten zusammen, und zwar von (1) ARTEMIS (Assessment of renewable technologies on multiple scales) und (2) MATISSE (Method and Tools for Integrated Sustainability Assessment). Die sich daraus ergebenden Hauptfragestellungen sind: Was haben wir durch unsere Erfahrungen mit ISA-Beispielen gelernt? Welche Vorschläge haben wir für zukünftige partizipative Szenarienentwicklung? Welche Governance-Prinzipien werden durch partizipative Szenarienentwicklung auf welche Weise unterstützt? Diese Fragen werden allgemein sowie anhand eines derzeit laufenden EU-Forschungsprojektes im Bereich des globalen Wandels im fünften Abschnitt beantwortet. Zweifelsohne steckt die partizipative Szenerieentwicklung als Teil einer integrierten Nachhaltigkeitsbewertung noch in ihren Kinderschuhen, die hier besprochenen Erfahrungen zeigen jedoch ihr Potenzial. Die Beispiele offenbaren, dass eine partizipative Szenerieentwicklung und die Methode der ISA sämtlichen Prinzipien einer Governance für nachhaltige Entwicklung gerecht werden. Die Methoden ISA und Szenarienentwicklung sind wichtige Werkzeuge, um Wissen und Handeln in der Politik zu verbinden. (ICG2)

As environmental challenges grow larger in scale and implications, it is increasingly important to apply the best scientific knowledge in the decisionmaking process. Editors Farrell and J?ger present environmental assessments as the bridge between the expert knowledge of scientists and engineers on the one hand and decisionmakers on the other. When done well, assessments have a positive impact on public policy, the strategic decisions of private firms, and, ultimately, the quality of life for many people. This book is the result of an international, interdisciplinary research project to analyze past environmental assessments and understand how their design influenced their effectiveness in bringing scientific evidence and insight into the decisionmaking process. The case studies in the book feature a wide range of regional and global risks, including ozone depletion, transboundary air pollution, and climate change. Assessments of Regional and Global Environmental Risks offers several important contributions. It provides a clear account of the choices faced in the design of environmental assessments and a clear description of the lessons learned from past assessments. It illustrates why assessments are social processes, not simply reports. And, while they identify no universal, one-size-fits-all design, the authors find that, to be effective, environmental assessments must be viewed by those who produce and use them as being salient; credible in their scientific support; and legitimate, or fair in design and execution.

Integrated assessment (IA) can be defined as a structured process of dealing with complex issues, using knowledge from various scientific disciplines and/or stakeholders, such that integrated insights are made available to decision makers (J. Rotmans, Enviromental Modelling and Assessment 3 (1998) 155). There is a growing recognition that the participation of stakeholders is a vital element of IA. However, only little is known about methodological requirements for such participatory IA and possible insights to be gained from these approaches. This paper summarizes some of the experiences gathered in the ULYSSES project, which aims at developing procedures that are able to bridge the gap between environmental science and democratic policy making for the issue of climate change. The discussion is based on a total of 52 IA focus groups with citizens, run in six European and one US city. In these groups, different computer models were used, ranging from complex and dynamic global models to simple accounting tools. The analysis in this paper focuses on the role of the computer models. The findings suggest that the computer models were successful at conveying to participants the temporal and spatial scale of climate change, the complexity of the system and the uncertainties in our understanding of it. However, most participants felt that the computer models were less instrumental for the exploration of policy options. Furthermore, both research teams and participants agreed that despite considerable efforts, most models were not sufficiently user-friendly and transparent for being accessed in an IA focus group. With that background, some methodological conclusions are drawn about the inclusion of the computer models in the deliberation process. Furthermore, some suggestions are made about how given models should be adapted and new ones developed in order to be helpful for participatory IA.