Suchergebnisse

Despite the reported success of introducing collaborative governance to the field of Estonian forest policy, conflicts over regulations escalated to an unprecedented extent in 2017. We analyze the institutional design and process of collaborative governance in this area in order to understand the reasons behind the failure of this governance arrangement. Our empirical analysis is based on a mixed methods approach combining network analysis with qualitative analysis of interview data. Our analysis reveals that the collaborative institutions were unable to generate shared understanding of the mission and the ground rules of decision-making, provided uneven facilitation, failed to build trust, and thus were unable to establish an arena conducive to learning. We further stress the role of network methods in capturing adequate information from an institutional setting involving multiple participants. ; Peer reviewed

The Energy Union, a major energy sector reform project launched by the European Commission in 2015, has substantial clean energy and climate aims. However, scholarly caution has been raised about their feasibility, especially with regards to accommodating climate objectives with other closely related yet often competing policy goals. We therefore investigated the policy priorities of the Energy Union by performing a topic modelling analysis of over 5,000 policy documents. A big data analysis confirms that decarbonisation and energy efficiency dimensions are major building blocks in the Energy Union's agenda. Furthermore, there are signals of policy convergence in terms of climate security and climate affordability policies. However, our analysis also suggests that the Commission is not actively prescribing trajectories for renewable policy development or paying close attention to declining incumbent energy generation technologies. Overall, we find that the Energy Union is not a 'floating signifier' but rather has a clear and incrementally evolving decarbonisation agenda. Whether it further develops into an active driver of decarbonisation will largely be determined by the implementation phase of the project.

Highlights • Theory of social capital was tested in a real-life network setting. • Cooperative governance networks are built on reciprocal ties of trust. • Working together builds trust in the network. • Common goals and information-sharing are not as crucial network-builders as trust. • Differences in goals can be put aside to find solutions to conservation issues. ; Collaboration between different actors is crucial for responding to the acute need for forest biodiversity conservation. Network theories highlight the importance of information sharing, social cohesion and mutual goals that constitute social capital. We test and demonstrate how these ties relate to each other and which ones are crucial for collaboration in a government funded collaborative network for forest biodiversity and Siberian Jay conservation in Finland. Our analysis shows that short-term governance networks operate on trust. Seemingly, differences in goals can be put aside for a collective good; that is, being able to cooperate and find solutions to conservation issues. Additionally, exchange and flow of information are a necessity in network functions. However, a network may be successful despite difficulties in flow of information, as our case of Siberian Jay Network shows. Using both qualitative and quantitative evidence, our analysis serves as a test for the usefulness of social network analysis method in bringing depth to understanding of both formal and informal governance networks.

Success of individual CCS projects as well as integration of CCS into larger energy systems depend on institutional and organizational support from a variety of contexts. We map stakeholder perceptions from an institutional perspective and present a framework for identifying path dependencies, challenges and opportunities in the dynamic development of the social, political and economic setting around CCS technologies. The analysis is based on data collected on two Finnish CCS demonstration projects; a cancelled retro-fit project for a coal-fired power plant and a recently developed method for mineralizing C02 into stable calcium carbonate. 0ur goal is to examine which uncertainties are considered most significant and most likely to affect the development and employment of CCS technologies. ; Peer reviewed

Success of individual CCS projects as well as integration of CCS into larger energy systems depend on institutional and organizational support from a variety of contexts. We map stakeholder perceptions from an institutional perspective and present a framework for identifying path dependencies, challenges and opportunities in the dynamic development of the social, political and economic setting around CCS technologies. The analysis is based on data collected on two Finnish CCS demonstration projects; a cancelled retro-fit project for a coal-fired power plant and a recently developed method for mineralizing C02 into stable calcium carbonate. 0ur goal is to examine which uncertainties are considered most significant and most likely to affect the development and employment of CCS technologies. ; Peer reviewed

The Energy Union, a major energy sector reform project launched by the European Commission in 2015, has substantial clean energy and climate aims. However, scholarly caution has been raised about their feasibility, especially with regards to accommodating climate objectives with other closely related yet often competing policy goals. We therefore investigate the policy priorities of the Energy Union by performing a topic modelling analysis of over 5,000 policy documents. A big data analysis confirms that decarbonisation and energy efficiency dimensions are major building blocks in the Energy Union's agenda. Furthermore, there are signals of policy convergence in terms of climate security and climate affordability policies. However, our analysis also suggests that the Commission is not actively prescribing trajectories for renewable energy development or paying close attention to declining incumbent energy generation technologies. Overall, we find that the Energy Union is not a 'floating signifier' but rather has a clear and incrementally evolving decarbonisation agenda. Whether it further develops into an active driver of decarbonisation will largely be determined by the implementation phase of the project. ; Peer reviewed