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Existing studies on environmental policy implementation in China have largely been focused on the inadequacy of environmental policy implementation at local levels and the adversarial campaign‐style enforcement used to remedy it, while overlooked other approaches to addressing environmental issues. We present a case in which a consensual approach was used to control water pollution and identify key factors contributing to the adoption and success of such an approach. The research unit is the process of water pollution control in Shandong Province from 2002 to 2011. During the case period, the pulp and paper industry (the leading polluting source) was regulated with gradually tightened water pollution discharge standards which were made and implemented in a consensual way, surface water quality was greatly improved, and the economic output of the regulated industry grew rapidly. Key factors contributing to the adoption and success of such an approach include the presence of a capable policy entrepreneur who played an important role in policy innovation, forging consensus building in policy making and facilitating consensual policy implementation; the deep and wide involvement of the regulated firms in the policy making process which allowed them to share know‐how and express preferences; and the strong political support from provincial higher‐ups which signaled strong political wills. The findings enrich our understanding of environmental policy enforcement in China by adding a set of internal factors to a literature pool focusing more on the the influence of such external factors as institutional incentiveson policy processes and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this multiple-case study the BAT-associated techniques and relative emission levels presented in the EU's best available techniques (BAT) reference document for the pulp and paper industry (PP-BREF) are compared with the techniques applied and the relative emission levels achieved in the Finnish pulp and paper industry. Information on the emissions of 24 Finnish pulp and paper plants was compiled from the national databases maintained by the Finnish Environment Institute. Moreover, a supportive study was conducted on the use of the PP-BREF in the environmental permitting process. The techniques applied in the studied plants represented the BAT as defined in the PP-BREF to a high degree, but the emission levels showed a larger variation. Possible reasons for this variation were discussed. A BAT emission index (BEI) was designed to trace the degree to which the BAT-associated emission levels were achieved as a whole. The BEI appeared to be a useful indicator for assessing the BAT-related environmental performance of the plants. An important area for improvement, identified from the point of view of the applicability of the PP-BREF in the permit process, was the information on waste management issues. Moreover, a consistent cross-media assessment in the PP-BREF was called for. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovations may have positive societal effects such as improved environmental performance, and they are often portrayed as solutions to environmental problems. However, the mechanisms through which innovations develop and the ways in which public incentives support improved environmental performance of innovations are complex. This paper uses empirical cases to examine how environmental policies, market factors and technological push affect process and product innovations in the Nordic pulp, paper and packaging industries. The results show that environmental improvements in technologies and products are simultaneously driven by all three of these factors. Environmental innovations are often developed in anticipation of future policy or as side-effects of existing policies. However, while environmental policy directly influences process innovations, its connection to product innovations is less clear. The study points towards the importance of gradually tightening and predictable environmental policies that are flexible enough to allow the exploration of new technological developments. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. An econometric model of the Canadian pulp and paper industry, formulated specifically to simulate the effects of changes in production costs due to mandatory pollution controls, is specified and estimated. Differing structures are assumed for each of the newsprint, woodpulp export and other paper and board markets. Simulation and sensitivity tests are reported. The model consistently demonstrates low sensitivity to outside shocks, with less than unitary elasticities of major variables with respect to real income changes, unit factor requirement changes, and exchange rate variation. The expected costs of pollution control should not depress output by more than 2 per cent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the impact of pollution performance by pulp and paper firms on their economic and market performance. Pollution performance measurement is based on a pollution index developed from pollution emission reports filed with the regional offices of the Environmental Protection Agency by pulp and paper firms for their individual plants. Economic performance is measured by Net Income, ROE, ROA, Cashflow/Equity and Cashflow/Assets; market performance is measured by the PE ratio and systematic risk. The association between the pollution index and economic and market performance variables is tested by the Pearson Correlation coefficients. The results of this study indicate that, in the short run, pollution performance is negatively associated with economic performance and that the markets do not reward good pollution performance. Strict pollution standards may be desirable for forcing management to undertake pollution abatement activities to achieve a cleaner environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In efforts to protect the world's oceans, the Convention on Biological Diversity has moved the goal of establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) to cover 10% of the ocean from 2012 to 2020. This adjustment suggests that the rush to establish MPAs without proper resources does not resolve conservation problems. In fact, such actions may create a false sense of protection that camouflages degradation of marine ecosystems on regional scales. To exemplify this phenomenon, we reviewed MPA efficacy in the Gulf of California, Mexico, where some 23,300 km2 have been decreed as MPAs. With the exception of Cabo Pulmo National Park, MPAs have not met conservation or sustainability goals. We examined MPA budgets and foundations' investment in the region and found that funding for management is not the limiting factor in MPA efficacy, although funding for enforcement may be deficient. We conclude that MPAs have failed because of insufficient no-take zones, lack of enforcement, poor governance, and minimal community involvement. We need a new philosophy to implement MPAs to take advantage of the scientific knowledge and monetary investment that have been generated worldwide and ensure that they complement effective fisheries management outside their borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In February 2001, the European Commission published its White Paper on a Strategy for a Future Chemicals Policy. The publication launched a heated debate on principles, aims, instruments, implementation and management of future chemicals control in the European Communities. The White Paper came in the wake of massive criticism of current chemicals legislation. Various parties involved repeatedly expressed their concern about a tremendous lack of effectiveness. Furthermore, comparisons with other industrialized countries outside the EU indicated that the current regulatory framework actually discourages innovation in the European chemicals industry. This paper examines current European chemicals policy and main elements of the White Paper strategy with a special focus on the impact of chemicals regulation on innovation towards sustainability. The claim that chemicals regulation tends to block innovation is rejected for lack of conclusive proofs. In contrast, the paper reinforces the view that the White Paper strategy is an important step forward towards sustainability in the chemicals sector. However, with the aim to make it pay for companies to pursue environmentally orientated innovation strategies, supporting measures and instruments need to be developed further. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) released a series of white papers on water distribution system issues that experts have ranked as potentially significant public health concerns relevant to the Total Coliform Rule. The white papers complement an earlier set of 10 papers on operational issues and were developed in cooperation with the American Water Works Association (AWWA). Topics addressed include intrusion, cross-connection control, aging infrastructure and corrosion, permeation and leaching, nitrification, biofilms and growth, covered storage, decay in water quality over time, and new and repaired water mains.

Copyright of DOMES: Digest of Middle East Studies is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Based on the carbon emissions trading pilot policy in China, this paper takes Chinese A‐share listed companies from 2012 to 2020 as a sample, and analyzes the role of company's cost transfer capability (ECTC) in the mechanism of market‐incentivized environmental regulation policy (MERP) influencing company green transformation. This paper finds the following four primary results. First, ECTC significantly strengthens the green transformation driving effect of MERP in general. However, results based on the division of ECTC by percentiles show that MERP‐induced green transformation is more pronounced in the top 25% of companies, which distinguishes them from companies in the top 25%–50%, whose cost transfer capacity hampers MERP's contribution to the green transformation. Second, the level of regional economic development, emission regulation, and business reputation have heterogeneous influences on the moderating effect of ECTC. Third, the results based on the moderated mediation model show that ECTC can influence the green transition driving effect of MERP by moderating the two paths of risk‐taking ability and financing constraints of companies. Finally, there is a diffusion effect on the green transformation driven by MERP through cost transfer among companies in non‐pilot industries and non‐pilot regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of People & Nature is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Green credit policy, as an environmental regulation instrument in the financial sector, is gradually having an impact on corporate performance in environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG). Based on the implementation of the Green Credit Guidelines policy, this paper investigates the impact of green credit policies on corporate ESG performance from 2011 to 2019 using the double‐difference propensity score matching method (PSM‐DID) and the Heckman two‐stage method, using a sample of A‐share listed companies. It was found that the implementation of the Green Credit Guidelines effectively improved the ESG performance of firms in green credit‐restricted industries relative to non‐green credit‐restricted industries. It is further found that this is mainly due to the increased green focus of corporate executives, while the incremental effect of green credit policies on corporate ESG performance is further strengthened by the increased quality and quantity of corporate green technology innovation. Finally, heterogeneity analysis reveals that the boosting effect of green credit policy on ESG performance of enterprises in green credit‐restricted industries is more prominent in the sample of enterprises with more analyst attention, less financially developed regions and private ones. How to leverage the green credit policy dividend to enhance the ESG performance of enterprises, further refine, and improve the green credit policy to help enterprises' sustainable development are the most direct policy implications of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a study of public–private collaboration in partnerships for integrated environmental management and business development in two Swedish regions, this paper aims to elucidate the conditions for collaboration on sustainability issues amongst different local and regional actors. From interviews with local and regional public administration officers and with CEOs of several SMEs, it was found that public–private collaboration related to sustainable development does exist and takes place in many different ways. In common, however, local or regional authorities initiate them all, indicating an asymmetric interest in public–private partnerships. In relation to the interest asymmetry, which could also be seen as an expression of asymmetric power–dependence relations between SMEs and public authorities, with SMEs as the stronger part, a limited knowledge among SMEs about their role in larger contexts and different understandings of sustainable development among the regional actors, the major obstacle for public–private collaboration seems to be the limited confidence in local and regional authorities among SMEs. In all, there seems to be a need for further discussion in the regions and local communities on views of and potential ways towards sustainable development, which also includes the articulation of the roles of different actors. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the effectiveness of the cooperative Canadian approach to enforcement of environmental regulations, using the pulp and paper industry as a case study. Comparison of the resulting levels of compliance with rates of compliance in the United States for the same industry; Competing models of regulatory enforcement.

Doubts have been raised as to whether papers published in Journal of Applied Ecology tend to influence management practice or policy, and questions asked as to what factors might influence this. Some patterns are suggested by examination of a small sample of 10 papers published by the journal at each of 6-year intervals. Many summaries in the sample lacked clear statements of the applied purpose of the paper or any recommendations for management. During the 30-year period covered, the proportion of papers which included explicit expression of applied purpose increased markedly but, throughout, many lacked any clear recommendations. Involvement of authors with addresses outwith universities or research institutes (such as organizations concerned with land management or policy development) was rare. In order to aid the application of ecological results to practice and policy, the editors will welcome: papers with clear applied purpose and (where appropriate) with clear recommendations relating to applied issues; investigations of whether such recommendations result in the desired effects; short review articles on the interaction of ecology and its potential ‘users’ and short contributions to fora debating these and other current issues, Steps are in hand to speed publication and thereby increase topicality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper presents a unique approach to translating a complex citation network into simple main paths. We apply this approach to explore the knowledge diffusion paths of corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature over the past 40 years. ISI Web of Science (WOS) is used as the data source for retrieving the CSR papers and their citation data. We then apply main path analysis to identify and visualize the local, global, and key-route main paths. The local and global main paths identify those papers that play a key role in the knowledge diffusion of CSR. The key-route main path clearly exhibits the divergence-convergence pattern of CSR development. Although the divergence-convergence pattern of a theory's development has been hinted at in previous literature, we propose the key-route main path to systematically identify and exhibit it. This approach provides a useful method for researchers to figure out the development cycles of a target field. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extensive regime for marine biodiversity in 'areas beyond national jurisdiction' is currently discussed under the United Nations. A key aspect of its institutional design concerns the integrative quality of the treaty that is to be developed on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction – called the 'BBNJ Agreement'. There is a large number of global and regional policy instruments regulating activities in the areas beyond national jurisdiction. Yet, issues of integrating and coordinating these instruments prevail, raising the question how a new treaty could provide for environmental policy integration in ocean governance. This paper draws on environmental policy integration literature of the past three decades to explore, ex ante, to what extent the planned ocean treaty can contribute to more institutional harmonization. It examines how the treaty addresses four key policy‐making dimensions of environmental policy integration, and new opportunities and challenges that have emerged, based on the attributes of the treaty provisions and its institutional architecture. This paper concludes that the BBNJ Agreement offers an alternative policy framework which has the potential to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity by triggering more international cooperation and collaboration and filling gaps in ocean governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As there are many studies on the predictors of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, the influences of foreign direct investments (FDIs) knowledge spillovers (KSs) on CSR reporting in developing countries remain unclear. This paper introduces the passive‐learning KSs concept to explain whether, why, and how domestic firms learn CSR knowledge from their foreign counterparts. First, we investigate the relationship between foreign ownership and the quality of CSR reporting (CSRQ). Second, we test the moderating effect of three types of direct institutional pressures: the green development policy, the mandatory CSR reporting requirement, and CSR regulations issued by the State‐owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. Third, we examine the moderating effect of board interlocks to explore the indirect impacts of institutional pressures. We run regressions on a sample of Chinese A‐share listed companies and the hypotheses are generally supported. This paper contributes to the literature on CSR reporting and FDIs KSs by adopting the passive‐learning KSs theory to explain CSR KSs in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a systematic exploration of the linkages between environment impact assessment (EIA) and sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the Indian context through a critical analysis of the socio‐ecological impacts of development projects and the policy climate for environmental clearances. A conceptual framework portraying the interlinkages of the systemic disruptions in the socio‐ecological realms, policy challenges, and SDGs is developed, which argues for integrating the SDGs into the EIA framework in India. The paper argues that the legal fluidity and dilution in the design and enactment of EIA retrogrades the crucial socio‐political transformation required for achieving sustainability. The systematic literature review of empirical, conceptual, and grey literature, undertaken on Indian EIA, highlights its instrumental role as a political tool for achieving developmental sustainability. The paper concludes by highlighting the urgent need to mainstream ecological decision‐making into all governance processes for achieving the SDGs in a transforming society like India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues different policy issue framings of climate change—ranging from security to energy, economics, humanitarian response, and health frames—play critical roles in altering policy outcomes. Specifically, we focus on the several windows of opportunity that altered the pathway of the US climate change debates from 1985 to 2017. Progressing from the underpinnings of issue framing literature and public policy discourse, we conduct content analysis of news articles, academic papers, policy documents and other archival evidence, to show why and when environmental framings shift, and to what effect. Our innovative models provide generalization of these trends and their implications for environmental agenda setting, complemented by a qualitative section that contextualizes impact as well as the feedback mechanisms of issue framing on environmental politics in the United States. The findings highlight the need for future case study analysis to trace the causal mechanisms between climate change framings and US policy outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concepts of sustainable development (SD) and sustainable communities (SCs) are firmly on policy agendas. Conceptual clarity is essential for the selection of high‐quality indicators to monitor progress in these areas. However, there are very mixed views about the nature of social sustainability (SS), and SC is rarely defined. Definitions that exist are extremely limited. This paper addresses these deficiencies by presenting a new definition and conceptualisation of SC in which addressing both social and environmental needs is critical. SS is clearly defined as addressing basic human needs, so that the criterion of sufficiency is met. Ensuring 'sufficiency' is crucial to ensure the provision of welfare within planetary boundaries, firmly integrating the social and environmental in conceptualising and operationalising SS. Using the new SC framework, the paper illustrates how regeneration programmes targeting housing could simultaneously address many social and environmental problems contributing to more progress on many dimensions of SD and the UN SD goals (UNSDGs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the inductive analysis of two parallel cases of private environmental governance – private, market‐driven fisheries governance and private, market‐driven governance for electricity decarbonization – this paper uncovers a trigger for positive public policy spillovers from private environmental governance. It identifies circumstances that prompt groups of business actors working as private regulators to also take on a role as public policy advocates and supporters, revealing a potential for private governance initiatives that are targeted at a particular environmental problem to serve as a bolster for the public regulatory governance of that problem as well. Both private governance cases at the basis of this analysis feature groups of business actors seeking to meet voluntary sustainability goals through the tools of private governance (specifically, through flexing buyer power and private authority in an effort to reform environmentally problematic practices among particular groups of suppliers). In both cases, the business's inability to attain private sustainability goals though private governance means alone has given rise to business demand for facilitative public environmental policy and regulation. The analysis presented in this paper thus points to the occurrence of a particular and intriguing pattern of complementarity between private authority and public policy – one where public policy is called on to fill gaps left by private environmental governance and authority. And it identifies key conditions for such private‐governance‐driven recentering of public policy to occur, namely the presence of private supply chain greening goals and commitments that are economically, reputationally, and/or competitively critical for businesses to attain, combined with shortfalls in the capacity of businesses' private authority to bring about such attainment. The two case analysis further suggests the importance of ENGOs in identifying and activating some of the opportunities for leveraging shortfalls in private environmental governance to the advantage of public environmental policy and regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical Zone Science (CZS) explores the deep evolution of landscapes from the base of the groundwater or the saprolite‐rock interface to the top of vegetation, the zone that supports all terrestrial life. Here we propose a framework for CZS to evolve further as a discipline, building on 1st generation CZOs in natural systems and 2nd generation CZOs in human‐modified systems, to incorporate human behaviour for more holistic understanding in a 3rd generation of CZOs. This concept was tested in the China‐UK CZO programme (2016–2020) that established four CZOs across China on different lithologies. Beyond conventional CZO insights into soil resources, biogeochemical cycling and hydrology across scales, surveys of farmers and local government officials led to insights into human‐environment interactions and key pressures affecting the socio‐economic livelihoods of local farmers. These learnings combined with the CZS data identified knowledge exchange (KE) opportunities to unravel diverse factors within the Land‐Water‐Food Nexus, that could directly improve local livelihoods and environmental conditions, such as reduction in fertilizer use, contributing toward Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and environmental policies. Through two‐way local KE, the local cultural context and socio‐economic considerations were more readily apparent alongside the environmental rationale for policy and local action to improve the sustainability of farming practices. Seeking solutions to understand and remediate CZ degradation caused by human‐decision making requires the co‐design of CZS that foregrounds human behavior and the opinions of those living in human modified CZOs. We show how a new transdisciplinary CZO approach for sustainable Earth futures can improve alignment of research with the practical needs of communities in stressed environments and their governments, supporting social‐ecological and planetary health research agendas and improving capacity to achieve SDGs. Plain Language Summary: Critical Zone Science (CZS) explores how landscapes evolve from below the Earth's surface to the top of trees, supporting life on Earth. CZS was established by studying pristine landscapes, with little or no human modification of the land, water and soil. These pristine natural systems are rare in our modern world. In this paper, we have proposed a new approach to CZS for studying the human‐modified landscapes that dominate our world. To help explain why this is needed, we have re‐drawn a diagram explaining how the critical zone works to show the role of humans. We also give examples of research in three regions of China where we learned from local farmers living in our study areas, to improve our scientific understanding and to try to align our research process to address the biggest pressures affecting their lives. This new approach to CZS can help focus research to directly support local people and improve our ability to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Key Points: Integrating local knowledge with critical zone science can improve interpretation of scientific findings and delivery of Sustainable Development GoalsThird generation science can improve alignment of research with the practical needs of communities and governmentsA new conceptual diagram for human‐modified critical zones is produced to illustrate transdisciplinary Critical Zone Observatories for sustainable Earth futures [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Economics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The green transition requires a reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels, and new innovations suggest that refined biomass can replace fossils within many different industries. In recent years, policy‐makers have therefore framed the bioeconomy as a stepping‐stone for realizing social, economic and environmental objectives in the green transition. However, the policy coherence literature faces a key challenge for analyzing whether these policy goals are indeed compatible: few methods offer a systematic approach for detecting interdependencies and interactions among three (or more) policy goals. The present paper addresses this methodological challenge by proposing a novel set‐theoretic approach, the Alternating Necessity Test, for identifying whether policies are incoherent, weakly coherent, or strongly coherent. The present paper applies this approach to the Nordic bioeconomy context, findings the Nordic bioeconomy strategy to be weakly coherent. This suggests that the Nordic countries can replace fossil fuels with refined biomass without encountering trade‐offs among social, economic and environmental policy goals, but also without experiencing any synergies. Demonstrating how policy coherence and goal compatibility can be conceptualized in set‐theoretic terms, this paper offers a novel tool for identifying those situations in which policy‐makers should focus not only on overcoming incoherence, but on progressing from weak to strong policy coherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU iron and steel industry has undergone rapid transformation since the early 1980s. Privatization programmes, rationalization, increased international trade in raw materials and steel products and pressures for energy reduction and improved environmental protection have all led to significant structural changes. To remain competitive, EU firms have had to improve productivity, develop niche markets and foster client relationships. Alongside the restructuring, environmental regulations and market and stakeholder demands relating to the environment have brought new pressures to bear, increasing investment and operating costs. This article focuses on firm responses and two points are made. The first is that EU sectoral restructuring is a response to increased global competition and that steel sales are increasingly determined by price. As prices become more competitive and costs are pared, particularly labour, there has been an important relative increase in environmental expenditure for firms. Awareness of these costs, also the market and public relations issues relating to the environment, has led to firm responses that range from minimal compliance to proactive ‘first mover’ strategies. Scale of operation and process type are important factors in determining these environmental strategies. The second point is that, in the longer term, there will be a need for better regulator – firm coordination in order to move beyond the current drivers of compliance and public pressure. To promote cleaner production approaches and improved environmental performance evaluation across the sector will require greater flexibility and economic awareness from regulators, and a more innovative and integrated approach to environmental protection by firms. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the importance of local government finance in Great Britain. Functions of local government; Post-war reforms of local government; Relation between the local government and the environment; Charges for local services; Centralization of the education credit scheme.

Companies are facing pressure in order to reduce their environmental impact. However, the managerial tools and frameworks to bring sustainability into practice are in their infancy. This paper is encompassed on the development of the Theory of Corporate Sustainability, and this work offers the practical implication of the theory to provide researchers and managers with a tool to analyse how companies integrate sustainability among their strategies and operations. The methodology has been based on the use of the case‐study protocol. Four interviews have been carried out and data obtained has been analysed using content analysis methodology. Results show that companies that have a formal structure to deal with sustainability are able to integrate sustainable practices in a higher degree than companies that adopt sustainability in a siloed way. Moreover, this paper shows how the process of sustainability integration differs between existing companies and new companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental Management is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A significant issue that is increasingly affecting the operations of companies is the policies of governments with regard to the natural environment and the activities of nongovernmental organizations in promoting codes of practice and other forms of nonlegal regulation. The onset of new regulations and codes of conduct is placing significant operational burdens on firms to merely comply with new requirements and changed circumstances. Furthermore, there is a need in strategic terms to anticipate and to plan for environmental concerns and to incorporate this thinking into corporate strategy. Thus a new subfield of strategic management is beginning to emerge: that dealing with the natural environment as it affects corporate strategy. Alan Rugman and Alain Verbeke in their paper corporate strategies and environmental regulations' organize the literature on environmental regulations and corporate strategy into a new managerial framework They go on to develop a resource-based view of the interaction between the firm's key resources (core competences) and environmental regulations including the implications for the development of 'green' capabilities. Finally, they analyze the deployment of 'green' capabilities within a standard international business model and explore hypotheses on the relationships between environmental regulations, competitiveness, and corporate strategy. The question about how firms should respond to environmental regulations can be seen in broad terms as part of the debate on corporate social responsibility. A fundamental problem in this area has been that there are no definitions of corporate social responsibility or corporate social responsiveness that provide a framework or a model for consistent systematic collection, organization, and analysis of corporate data relating to these important concepts (Clarkson, 1995). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. In an effort to develop quantitative relationships between various kinds of flow alteration and ecological responses, we reviewed 165 papers published over the last four decades, with a focus on more recent papers. Our aim was to determine if general relationships could be drawn from disparate case studies in the literature that might inform environmental flows science and management. 2. For all 165 papers we characterised flow alteration in terms of magnitude, frequency, duration, timing and rate of change as reported by the individual studies. Ecological responses were characterised according to taxonomic identity (macroinvertebrates, fish, riparian vegetation) and type of response (abundance, diversity, demographic parameters). A ‘qualitative’ or narrative summary of the reported results strongly corroborated previous, less comprehensive, reviews by documenting strong and variable ecological responses to all types of flow alteration. Of the 165 papers, 152 (92%) reported decreased values for recorded ecological metrics in response to a variety of types of flow alteration, whereas 21 papers (13%) reported increased values. 3. Fifty-five papers had information suitable for quantitative analysis of ecological response to flow alteration. Seventy per cent of these papers reported on alteration in flow magnitude, yielding a total of 65 data points suitable for analysis. The quantitative analysis provided some insight into the relative sensitivities of different ecological groups to alteration in flow magnitudes, but robust statistical relationships were not supported. Macroinvertebrates showed mixed responses to changes in flow magnitude, with abundance and diversity both increasing and decreasing in response to elevated flows and to reduced flows. Fish abundance, diversity and demographic rates consistently declined in response to both elevated and reduced flow magnitude. Riparian vegetation metrics both increased and decreased in response to reduced peak flows, with increases reflecting mostly enhanced non-woody vegetative cover or encroachment into the stream channel. 4. Our analyses do not support the use of the existing global literature to develop general, transferable quantitative relationships between flow alteration and ecological response; however, they do support the inference that flow alteration is associated with ecological change and that the risk of ecological change increases with increasing magnitude of flow alteration. 5. New sampling programs and analyses that target sites across well-defined gradients of flow alteration are needed to quantify ecological response and develop robust and general flow alteration–ecological response relationships. Similarly, the collection of pre- and post-alteration data for new water development programs would significantly add to our basic understanding of ecological responses to flow alteration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heterogeneous impacts of environmental regulation on China's low‐carbon economic transformation has attracted much attention. This paper uses the provincial panel data of China as the sample, by constructing a dynamic intermediary effect model, this paper empirically tests the intermediary effect and path difference of different environmental regulation policies on carbon dioxide emission reduction. The study found that whether China's environmental regulatory policies can influence the intensity of carbon emissions through mediation effects is closely related to the type of policy. China's ordered environmental regulation policy can force technological innovation to indirectly curb carbon emissions, but a high carbon industry structure indirectly promotes carbon emissions. Carbon trading pilots have a negative intermediary effect on carbon emissions through industrial structure and technological innovation. The eastern mainly directly suppress carbon emissions through the market incentive policy, the central mainly relies on the command‐controlled environmental policy to achieve backward emission reduction, the western produces a green paradox. The Chinese government must fully consider the heterogeneity of environmental policies constantly improve and optimize the combination of environmental regulation policies. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our planet is facing increasing challenges: climate change, biodiversity loss, pandemics, poverty, and many other problems closely linked to a deteriorating environment. Meanwhile, one of our most important assets, rangers working in protected and conserved areas responsible for managing large tracts of the planet's lands and waters, are often underutilized, underrecognized and underequipped. They are generally left out of the debate about conservation and sustainable development policy, despite being central to the success of those policies. This paper outlines the need for global leaders across multiple sectors to recognize the profession of rangers as essential planetary health workers and to position rangers more effectively within global conservation and environmental policy mechanisms. It introduces the challenges facing rangers, the emerging diversity of roles within the ranger profession and the important contribution of rangers to conservation and sustainable development. It presents policy and implementation avenues to improve recognition and professionalization of rangers as key executors of conservation and development policy, particularly considering the recent Global Biodiversity Framework ambitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ways in which people conceptualize the human–nature relationship have significant implications for proenvironmental values and attitudes, sustainable behavior, and environmental policy measures. Human exceptionalism (HE) is one such conceptual framework, involving the belief that humans and human societies exist independently of the ecosystems in which they are embedded, promoting a sharp ontological boundary between humans and the rest of the natural world. In this paper, we introduce HE in more depth, exploring the impact of HE on perceptions of the human–nature relationship, the role of culture in HE, and speculating on the origins of HE. We consider potential implications for environmental decision‐making, conservation and environmental science, and promoting proenvironmental behavior. We present empirical evidence on the pervasiveness and consequences of HE in WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic) populations, and potential interventions. Finally, we close with implications of human‐exceptionalist thinking on other sustainability‐related fields, including conservation practices, nature management, climate change adaptation, and environmental science. Understanding the cognitive and social drivers of this disconnect is vital on a planet now dominated by environmental change, as not only are humans increasingly impacted by natural disasters, but the choices they make can have ever more dire consequences for the sustainability of ecosystems. Understanding people's conceptions of nature and the human‐nature relationship is important for understanding pro‐environmental values, attitudes, and behavior. We discuss human exceptionalism, a conceptual framework promoting beliefs that humans and human societies are ontologically distinct from non‐human living beings and natural ecosystems, and implications of this framework for environmental decision‐making, conservation, environmental science, and promoting pro‐environmental behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Policy Studies Journal is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Review of Policy Research is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Policymakers across the world are striving to tackle the century‐defining challenge of climate change without undermining potential growth. This paper examines the impact of structural reforms in the energy sector (electricity and gas) on environmental outcomes and green growth indicators in a panel of 25 advanced economies during the period 1970–2020. We obtain striking results. First, while structural reforms so far failed in reducing greenhouse gas emissions per capita, there is some evidence for greater effectiveness in lowering emissions per unit of GDP. Second, although energy reforms are not associated with higher supply of renewable energy as a share of total energy supply, they appear to stimulate a sustained increase in environmental inventions and patents per capita over the medium term. We also find strong evidence of nonlinear effects, with market‐friendly energy reforms leading to better environmental outcomes and green growth in countries with stronger environmental regulations. Looking forward, therefore, structural reforms should be designed not just for market efficiency but also for green growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares different environmental policies under free‐trade and carbon tariffs. Our findings are as follows. First, taxes and standards of exporting countries become laxer under carbon tariffs than free trade. Next, if an importing country adopts free trade, its welfare is relatively lower (higher) under taxes when the marginal pollution damage is smaller (greater). Conversely, if an importing country implements a carbon tariff policy, its welfare is relatively higher under taxes. Last, the importing country's free‐trade (carbon tariff) policy leads the exporting country to have lower (higher) welfare under taxes than standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an editorial on the decline of marine fish and mammal stocks in the Mediterranean Sea and scientists' advocacy efforts to stem the trend. After getting governments to sign on to the United Nations Environment Program's Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area, in reality implementation of recommended actions has foundered. The author sees the reason as primarily the fact of socio-economic impacts not being taken into account and short term rather than long-range steps being taken. He also calls for consumer education.

This paper foregrounds the under‐theorised figure of the policy maker in the environmental social sciences. To do so, it focuses on the case of "social practice theory" (SPT), a school of thought which has gained prominence in human geography and further afield in recent years. The paper outlines the context of environmental policy literatures and identifies a tension in many treatments of the topic by practice‐oriented scholars: while it focuses on emergent social change, the traditional policy imaginary which has circulated in this literature often portrays benign, top‐down policy makers who, given adequate information, are amenable to conducting the right policy "intervention." A "governance on the inside" approach is proposed as an alternative imaginary, drawing from prominent work on polycentric governance and community economies in geographical and economic scholarship, as well as more recent work in SPT itself. Opportunities for a geographical mapping of policy difference and reflexive engagement are highlighted, hinting at rich future possibilities. This paper foregrounds the under‐theorised figure of the policy maker in the environmental social sciences. It explores how current perspectives in this area can obscure, promote, or hold back exploration of environmental governance alternatives. The paper proposes deeper engagement with participatory and "governance on the inside" approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the Sixth Asia Pacific Tourism Association Annual Conference held at Prince Songkla University in Phuket, Thailand from June 28 to July 1, 2000. A major aim of the conference was to provide a forum for tourism and hospitality educators, government officials and industry personnel to exchange views on how to help shape the industry to achieve a sustainable growth. Contributed papers were classified under eleven subthemes. These were: destination planning and development, education and training, ecotourism and sustainable tourism issues, hospitality and tourism industries, information technology in the hospitality and tourism industries, meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition management issues, service quality in the hospitality and tourism industries, private and public sector collaboration in tourism, hospitality and tourism marketing and environmental issues in hospitality and tourism. Another feature of the conference was the recognition among Asian scholars of the importance of information technology for both the industry practitioner and as an academic research area. A number of papers recognized the potential of the Internet as a vehicle for communicating tourist information and as a marketing device.

Abstract: This article analyses environmental policymaking in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, with a focus on the output legitimacy of renewable energy uptake. Most environmental policy research so far has focused on either Western industrialized countries with established democracies or developing countries with either democratic or autocratic policymaking systems, and few studies have yet analyzed the overall effectiveness of these monarchies in environmental decisionmaking. The degree of this policy effectiveness is hence the focus of this paper. Specifically, the paper argues that, although there are a number of input legitimacy deficits in the six GCC countries (United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman), there has been progress regarding renewable energy uptake. Thus, these monarchies may be relying more on output legitimacy than input legitimacy. Following up on the studies on input and output legitimacy, the main argument is that in certain cases useful policy results can be reached in the presence of not so strong input legitimacy, and other factors also have an impact on policymaking. The paper bases its analysis on an extensive study of primary and secondary sources, specifically institutional publications, international organization reports, newspaper articles and academic papers. With its analysis, the paper contributes to larger debates in environmental governance research on the relative effectiveness of renewable energy uptake in monarchical, resource‐rich, rentier states. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy responses to the challenges associated with environmental change, including more frequent and severe climatic events, have interlinked environmental and social impacts. Less attention has been afforded to the latter, and specifically to the question of not just whether but how such responses create or entrench inequality. This paper examines policy responses to drought events in California, United States, and the Western Cape Province, South Africa, in terms of their effects on inequality, revealed in relationships to water access networks. We use concepts of water justice and hydraulic citizenship to evaluate how and why these policy responses reproduced water injustices in the two settings. We focus particularly on two mechanisms linking responses to widened inequalities: values‐reinforcement and strategic communication. Using interviews, policy documents, and media reports, we employ process tracing methods to illustrate these mechanisms through which drought policy impacts hydraulic citizenship experiences, manifesting water injustice. We contribute to emerging examinations of environmental policy responses and maladaptation by demonstrating how concepts of hydraulic citizenship and an emphasis on mechanisms can help us better understand and identify experiences of water injustice. We note policy implications and areas for future research, highlighting droughts as consequential policy sites for advancing social and environmental justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental policy integration is needed to ensure environmental policy goals are being realized, given their cross‐sectoral nature. Most of the published research has focused on integration and coherence of (inter)national policies, plans, and programs. The implementation practices for these policies, however, are at least as important. This paper therefore looks at policy implementation for the case of artisanal gold mining in Liberia. This is studied through a lens of frontline staff (street‐level bureaucrats) who operate in networks of local government agencies, civil society organizations, and communities. Results of interviews and field observations in Grand Gedeh county show how the policy context and local realities create specific dilemmas, resulting from the combination of limited resources of local frontline staff, low‐income security for local communities and traditional local practices around protected forest areas. In response local frontline bureaucrats use their discretionary power and network to mobilize support, pool resources, combine mandates, and find creative solutions to both regulate and support community residents. Although these implementation strategies are neither necessarily sufficient to realize the official policy goals, nor are guaranteed to have the desired effects, they do show how local frontline staff act as de facto policymakers. Recognizing frontline staff as environmental policy integrators therefore is a crucial element toward more successful policies for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adopts a novel institutional perspective—environmental centralisation—to examine its impact on firm productivity in developing countries. In 2008, China's State Environmental Protection Administration was upgraded to the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP). This administrative reform strengthened the central government's ability to protect the environment, enabling it to address more environmental affairs and concentrate on environmental rights. Based on the quasi‐natural experiment of the establishment of the MEP, this study takes a new perspective on the impact of environmental centralisation on productivity. The difference‐in‐difference‐in‐difference approach is used for the first time to estimate the impact of environmental centralisation on productivity. We find that environmental centralisation caused by the establishment of the MEP significantly increased the productivity of heavily polluting companies, and a series of robustness tests confirm that the results are credible. We identify three possible mechanisms, namely, facilitating innovation, curbing rent‐seeking behaviour and inhibiting over‐investments. The policy implication of this study is that the effectiveness of environmental policy depends not only on the policy itself but also on the allocation of environmental rights among different levels of government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Packaging has become an important concern of fresh food supply chains and will exert a growing influence under environmental policies. In this paper, we have discussed three specific issues to investigate fresh food supply chains' packaging strategy, that is, whether to use disposable packaging containers (DPCs) or reusable packaging containers (RPCs), whether to purchase or rent RPCs, and the influences of environmental policies. Our research has generated some key findings. First, we find that penalty (such as taxes) and reward (such as subsidies) are simultaneously needed to motivate supply chains to choose RPCs. In terms of the "purchasing or renting" choice, it highly depends on the relative magnitude of the purchase and rental subsidies, along with the number of uses of RPCs and the perishability of fresh food. We also conclude that reusing RPCs for more times has two‐sided effects, that is, the effect of cost saving and the effect of accelerated deterioration. Thus, it is not recommended to excessively reuse RPCs. In addition, we make two extensions. First, we consider endogenous tax rate and subsidy rates and discuss from the perspective of social welfare. Second, we consider endogenous sales price and rental price of RPCs and study the optimal decisions of the RPC operator. Results show that the government should establish a classified tax and subsidy system for packaging containers, and meanwhile benchmarking prices for RPC services should be set to curb the RPC operator's free‐riding behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices play an increasingly important role in achieving sustainable development goals. Drawing on institutional theory, this paper empirically explores whether and how green financial policy affects corporate ESG performance. Taking China's pilot policy for green finance reform and innovation (GFP) as a quasi‐natural experiment, we employ the difference‐in‐differences model to investigate the causal relationship between green financial policy and corporate ESG performance. We find that the GFP significantly improves corporate ESG performance. The results are robust to a series of checks such as parallel trend examination, placebo test, mitigation of omitted variable bias, alternative variables, and the exclusion of contemporaneous policies. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive impact of GFP on corporate ESG performance is more pronounced for firms with tighter financial constraints, higher agency costs, and more external pressures. On this basis, we further document that the positive impact of GFP on corporate ESG performance is more pronounced for investee firms with more institutional ownership. The above findings indicate that the formal institution of government‐led green financial policy can positively affect corporate ESG performance, and market participants‐institutional investors help to strengthen this policy effect. Overall, our study sheds light on the significant role of green financial policy in promoting corporate sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the potential impact of a carbon tariff on carbon emissions, North–South trade and welfare. We use a North–South trade model, where North implements a unilateral environmental policy on domestic carbon‐intensive industries followed by a carbon tariff on imports from South. Unlike the existing studies, we allow asymmetry in clean production technologies and marginal environmental damage. We show that a carbon tariff can reduce the global carbon emission via the use of a more advanced clean production technology in North, which increases the firm profit and welfare. However, improvement in welfare of North is associated with a decrease in global trade flows and welfare of South. We find that, in the presence of asymmetry in clean production technologies between North and South, a carbon tariff introduced by the North can eliminate carbon leakage, but the exports of South decrease below the pre‐unilateral environmental policy level and hence North can potentially use a carbon tariff for trade protectionism in the name of reducing carbon leakage in South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the so‐called polluter pays principle, environmental taxes can drive a more sustainable European market. However, unilateral mitigation measures can reduce the competitiveness of carbon‐intensive industries, thereby inducing relocation. In this paper, we wonder whether a tax can effectively curb emissions without hurting firms. Our analysis's entry point is that the level of emissions in a region is jointly determined by (i) the number of consumers buying dirty goods and (ii) the environmental quality of these products. Thus, to curb emissions, on the one hand, firms have to reduce their goods' emissions intensity. On the other hand, consumers have to reduce the consumption of dirtier goods. This leads to defining a tax depending on the number of consumers buying the brown products and the relative quality of these products. We show that under this tax, lower emissions do not come at the expense of lower profits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]