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Increasingly, scholars engage policy makers around fundamental, complex questions on environmental change in interdisciplinary settings. Researchers attempting to develop robust contributions to knowledge that can support policymaker understandings in this context face significant inferential challenges in dealing with the spatial dimension of their phenomenon of interest. In this paper, we extend an understanding of well-defined methodological challenges familiar to applied spatial scientists by explicitly articulating the Decision-Making/Accountability, Spatial Incongruence Problem, or DASIP. Three case studies illustrate how spatial incongruences matter to researchers who work on complex, interdisciplinary problems, while seeking to understand decision-making or policy-related phenomenon: urban heat-island mitigation research in Arizona, water transfer conflicts in Kansas, and hydraulic-fracturing debates in Texas. With such examples, we aim to evoke a deeper understanding of this problem in applied research and also inspire thinking about how scholars might innovate methods for creating knowledge about environmental change that supports spatially accountable decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responding to global environmental issues like biodiversity loss and climate change challenge national governments and intergovernmental bodies. A conventional response has been to set targets. Yet to achieve targets, governments must implement effective policies. Indicators that track policy implementation could provide information on individual country progress towards targets and for international benchmarking. We take up a recommendation from Convention on Biological Diversity mandated experts to develop a policy indicator(s) for biodiversity. This expert group identified four indicator attributes: identification, establishment, strengthening and assessment. We review biodiversity (and climate change) policies implemented in the period 1952–2012 in 54 nations using an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) database. We find: the number of countries implementing biodiversity policies increased steadily until the end of the 2000s (identification); evidence of continuous innovation in the types of policy instruments implemented (establishment); and evidence of policy revision and shifts in jurisdiction (strengthening). To overcome a lack of data to evaluate policy effectiveness (assessment) we suggest improvements in data collection and the possibility to combine the OECD database with other databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2009, the Government of India asked all Indian states and Union Territories to prepare State Action Plans on Climate Change, making it one of the largest efforts at sub-national climate planning globally. Through an examination of state climate plans in five Indian states, the paper explores the implications of sub-national climate measures by examining two questions: First, how do state action plans on climate change link with India’s national and international climate efforts in the context of multi-level governance of climate change? Second, do these plans serve as laboratories of experimentation in addressing climate change? Through an empirically driven inductive analysis, the paper argues that because state climate plans, at least in the initial stages, followed a centrally driven, and sometimes ambiguous agenda, their scope and room to experiment was circumscribed. While they did initiate a process and a conversation, the scope and impact of the plans was limited because they tended to follow conventional bureaucratic planning processes and were limited by a central mandate. The plan process did create some space for local innovation, particularly by enterprising bureaucrats, but this was limited by both restricted space and time for innovation. As a result, the plans made only initial steps toward bringing climate-resilient sustainability to the forefront of state development planning. There is however scope for improvement as states and stakeholders begin examining the plans with a view to implement recommendations, finance projects and even consider fresh iterations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article sheds light on multi-level climate governance in the particular context of India and scrutinizes the role India’s subnational states play in climate policy. It uses an analytical lens that combines multi-level climate governance and “laboratories of experimentation”. The first part of the article clarifies the analytical concept of the article and deals with the phenomenon of states experimentation in multi-level climate governance structures from a theoretical background. The second part of the article explores India’s multi-level climate governance structure and sheds light on the role of India’s states therein with specific emphasis on the development of renewable energy. The third part looks at the multi-tiered climate action planning processes, and considers how central top-down policies and subnational bottom-up approaches are linked. Asking whether the Indian states do not only act as mere implementers of federal top-down policies, but instead create own initiatives for climate action. The article examines state climate action plans with particular focus on renewable energy initiatives integrated in the plans by asking whether the Indian states do not act solely as mere implementers of federal top-down policies, but instead create their own initiatives for climate action, much like the German Bundesländer, for example. Based on document analysis and interviews the article explores whether India’s states experiment with individual approaches to develop renewable energy which are, tailored to regional specifics, or whether they mainly implement national objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We examined existing policy instruments of the Indian forest, wildlife, and environment sectors for the period 1927–2008 to (a) assess their strengths and weaknesses in addressing information, market and policy failures in ecosystem service provision in the Indian Himalayan region and (b) determine if they were informatory or regulatory in nature and whether they encouraged the use of market-based instruments. Our analysis revealed that Indian policy measures can be categorized into four eras: Production (1927–1972), Protection (1972–1988), Community Participation (1988–2006), and Climate Change and Globalization (2006 onwards). The policies of the earlier two eras were largely regulatory in nature. From 1988 onwards, community participation in biodiversity conservation has made the policies more informatory and market-based. The recognition that Himalayas are a distinct ecosystem, crucial for their services but vulnerable to climate change impacts, has come about only with the National Mission on Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem. Given the multiple stakeholders in Indian Himalayas and the off-site nature of ecosystem services, a complementarity of instruments and their ability to address the consequences of local decisions on downstream ecosystem services are essential. A participatory and sectorally coordinated mixed governance approach is needed to sustain ecosystem services in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Anthropogenic climate change will have significant impacts on both human migration and population health, including infectious disease. It will amplify and alter migration pathways, and will contribute to the changing ecology and transmission dynamics of infectious disease. However there has been limited consideration of the intersections between migration and health in the context of a changing climate. This article argues that climate-change related migration - in conjunction with other drivers of migration – will contribute to changing profiles of infectious disease. It considers infectious disease risks for different climate-related migration pathways, including: forced displacement, slow-onset migration particularly to urban-poor areas, planned resettlement, and labor migration associated with climate change adaptation initiatives. Migration can reduce vulnerability to climate change, but it is critical to better understand and respond to health impacts – including infectious diseases - for migrant populations and host communities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In recent years within the UK, behaviour change as a policy tool has gained popularity. Concurrently, the role of local authorities in both tackling unsustainability and reducing carbon emissions has become more prominent. This paper describes a recent study in the UK that aims to understand how local authorities are working to tackle unsustainability and encourage pro-environmental behaviour change in the population. Through interviews with local authority sustainability officers from London, this paper reviews the extent of sustainability work currently being undertaken by local authorities to assist residents transition to a more sustainable lifestyle. The study discusses key findings from the interviews, drawing on the commonalities and factors that influence local authority sustainability programmes. The key finding from these interviews is that there is a need for more robust monitoring and evaluation of local authority sustainability programmes. Robust evaluation would improve understanding of the potential contribution that local authority sustainability work could make towards addressing unsustainability and meeting national emission reduction targets. In addition, it would assist the development of the evidence-base on behaviour change interventions and their effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We examine political polarization over climate change within the American public by analyzing data from 10 nationally representative Gallup Polls between 2001 and 2010. We find that liberals and Democrats are more likely to report beliefs consistent with the scientific consensus and express personal concern about global warming than are conservatives and Republicans. Further, the effects of educational attainment and self-reported understanding on global warming beliefs and concern are positive for liberals and Democrats, but are weaker or negative for conservatives and Republicans. Last, significant ideological and partisan polarization has occurred on the issue of climate change over the past decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hundreds of local governments in the United States have adopted greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals during the past several years, requiring critical examinations of the role of the state in climate governance and the effects of these programs on urban citizenship. Using a study of Seattle, Washington, a city at the forefront of implementing climate regulations through formal government institutions, this article examines how and why climate is incorporated into local environmental policy. By deliberately connecting the causes and consequences of global climate change to the local community, Seattle has been able to use climate as a conceptual resource for urban environmental policy via the climatization of the urban environment. Furthermore, a key mechanism for making climate governable in Seattle is the carbonization of urban governance, where a relationship between the production of GHG emissions and specific urban activities is established through the use of GHG inventories and emissions monitoring. These practices facilitate the act of territorialization, where material natures and state institutions are coconstituted through the production of carbon territories. A key effect of these practices is that Seattle has begun to enroll its residents as a new type of carbon-relevant citizen in the regulation of global climate, while also reaffirming its ability to regulate infrastructural design, commercial activities, and community development. These findings are discussed with respect to their implications for how we understand state practice in climate governance, as well as the relationship between “the state” and “nature” in environmental politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If scientific knowledge is to influence international environmental policy it needs to be recognised as authoritative and impartial by key politicians and policy makers. In the case of climate change this is achieved by a boundary organisation, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which enables climate scientists to demonstrate the veracity of their research to climate policy makers while, for the most part, maintaining scientific integrity and resisting political interference in scientific conclusions. However, in the absence of such an organisation for forest science the international forest science community has come forward and created its own mechanism - the Global Forest Expert Panels - which responds to demands from the forest policy community for knowledge in particular areas and which in some respects is based on the IPCC model. However, even if a more effective forest-science policy boundary organisation were to exist, progress in international forest policy would be constrained by some long standing political divisions, in particular on the financing of sustainable forest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In UK policy circles, there is a growing recognition that mediating the interface between policy making and the public through local government led initiatives is one way through which to provide a practicable means to deliver carbon reduction at an individual, household, and community level. Following on from the aims of Local Agenda 21 in creating the space for a more bottom-up policy infrastructure, the 2007 UK Energy White Paper is one of the latest political statements to highlight the way in which reaching UK targets on CO2 emissions will continue to involve a greater local response to climate change. This emphasis was given further weight through the introduction of a new local performance framework in April 2008. This new set of 198 national performance indicators (PIs) for local government and other local bodies are now the only PIs which Central Government will use to assess local government performance. Importantly, they include three PIs that specifically cover the issue of climate change and carbon reduction (CLG 2007a). For many years, local authorities in the UK have played a role in encouraging more community led sustainable development objectives. However, what Giddens (2000) describes as the 'modernization' of local governance, has often proved to be inherently problematic, not least in developing the 'civic engagement' aspect of this model of governance. The article traces these problems in relation to the increasing responsibilities of local government in developing local community led responses to climate change. Although the UK Government continue to highlight the opportunities for this type of political framework in addressing the bottom-up complexities of climate change, we consider why some of the issues raised in three case study examples are indicative of wider problems in expanding this form of governance in the UK. The article concludes that difficulties encountered with regard to the implementation of LA 21's central objectives have extended through to the more recent focus for action in combating the specific challenge of climate change. More broadly, innovation in the sense of fostering an effective level of civic engagement in sustainable development objectives, continues to remain problematic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An innovative Action Aid-supplied project in Nepal has seen women's empowerment make rapid progress through the use of video discussions about climate change. In this exploration of the project, we ask what we can learn from the use of such technology, and consider the implications for international development agencies and their efforts to support women's rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations is formally committed to gender mainstreaming in all policies and programmes, and that should include policy-making processes relating to climate change. Yet gender aspects are rarely addressed in climate-change policy, either at the national or at the international levels. Reasons include gaps in gender-sensitive data and knowledge about the links between gender justice1 and climate change; and the lack of participation of women and gender experts in climate-related negotiations. This article shares insights and experiences from the international climate-change policy process, recounting the history of women's participation, demonstrating progress achieved, and hoping to inspire women and gender experts to get involved - at the local, national, regional, and international levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the governance of international carbon offsets, analyzing the political economy of the origins and governance of offsets. We examine how the governance structures of the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism and unregulated voluntary carbon offsets differ in regulation and in complexity of the chain that links consumers and reducers of carbon, with specific consequences for carbon reductions, development, and the ability to provide "accumulation by decarbonization." We show how carbon offsets represent capital-accumulation strategies that devolve governance over the atmosphere to supranational and nonstate actors and to the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A concise review of the evolution of the integrated environmental assessment field is presented. The opening conference of the European Forum on Integrated Environmental Assessment in 1998 is taken as a reference point. A mixed record of notable accomplishments and modest progress is detected in surveying examples in four large areas of concern to the integrated assessment community: modeling, participatory techniques, mega-assessments involving hundreds of people for several years, and organizational and community issues. Plausible reasons for slow progress in participatory assessments are sketched and possible remedies are suggested. Examples of the challenges facing the integrated assessment community are elaborated in three areas: the identification of integrated assessment as a discipline and/or profession by clearly defined distinctive features, thematic issues to be resolved, and methodological improvements that are possible and needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technological, economic and policy dimensions of climate change are essential to understanding and formulating corporate strategic responses. Over the past decade, advances in greenhouse gas mitigation technologies, the refinement of economic models and their underlying assumptions, and the emergence of emissions trading and other market-based policy instruments have improved understanding of the potential of innovative technologies and policies to limit the costs of reducing emissions. These developments, accompanied by growing scientific evidence of climate risks and vulnerabilities and building political momentum toward binding emissions requirements, have prompted an increase in and diversification of corporate responses. This paper provides an overview of emerging business strategies to address climate change, focusing on engagement with international negotiations and the design and implementation of Kyoto mechanisms. Responses are differentiated by sector and region, revealing evidence of divergence, prospects for convergence and the importance of leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a key element in its climate change strategy, the UK government launched a greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme in April 2002. The UK ETS is the first-ever national, industry-wide carbon trading scheme in the world and will eventually form part of the global carbon market which is expected to be established under the Kyoto Protocol. This paper assesses the effectiveness of the scheme both in facilitating emission reductions and also as driver towards moving from a fossil-fuel-based economy towards a low-carbon economy. By looking at early developments in the UK ETS and examining the emission profiles of FTSE 100 companies, the paper reveals some serious weaknesses and highlights that the environmental credibility of the market is hampered by low standards of emissions monitoring and reporting. The authors argue that a fundamental review of the UK scheme is required, to improve its environmental credibility and to bring it in line with the planned EU-wide scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an update on environmental management in Europe as of September 2000. Actions taken by European countries on the growing public protests against fuel prices; Steps taken by Germany to meet its climate change obligations; Drop in the greenhouse gas emissions of Great Britain between 1991 and 1999.

Deals with the progress of different countries for an elusive climate change protocol. Moves made by the European Union in accordance to the climate change protocol; Argument on the environmental policies of the World Bank; Results of the work program of United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF).