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Transitions away from fossil fuels need to be governed, financed, regulated and coordinated, patterns of production and innovation need to be steered and shaped by rulemaking bodies at all levels of authority. For this to happen across a highly uneven international system, global institutions have a vital role to play in supporting and implementing just transitions (JTs) that align with principles addressing the procedural, distributional, intergenerational and recognition‐based aspects of justice and which help to address the temporal and spatial aspects of transitions. In this paper, we review the ways in which global institutions are involved in the governance of JTs. We illustrate the roles these institutions are playing through three key areas vital to JTs: the (i) governance of finance (ii) labour protection and (iii) mobilising alternatives. To make sense of the diverse and uneven nature of these engagements and their implications, we explore in turn four key gaps in the way global institutions are approaching the issue of JTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calls for climate justice abound as evidence accumulates of the growing social and environmental injustices aggravated or driven by climate change. There is now a considerable and diverse literature on procedural, distributional and intergenerational dimensions, including questions of recognition in climate justice. Yet its meaning, scope and practical implications are still contested. Importantly, the broader landscape within which climate justice is situated is rapidly changing, bringing new challenges to the understanding and practice of climate justice. This review takes stock of climate justice literature in view of this new context. We find several disconnects and tensions between more philosophical and academic treatments of the subject on the one hand, and "activist"‐oriented approaches to climate justice on the other. Scholarship often falls into silos around scales from global and local, between mitigation and adaptation or draws distinctions between climate justice and other forms of (in)justice. This inhibits an understanding of climate justice that can address more directly its underlying root causes in an historically constituted global economic system and intersecting set of social inequalities. We propose a research agenda centered on a transformative approach to climate justice, placing analysis of power in its various guises at the center of its enquiry, and subverting and moving beyond existing distinctions by focusing on the social and institutional relations and inequalities that both produce climate change and profoundly shape responses to it. We elaborate on three key strands of such an approach: inclusive climate justice, deepening climate justice and governance for climate justice. This article is categorized under:Climate, Nature, and Ethics > Ethics and Climate ChangeClimate, Nature, and Ethics > Climate Change and Global Justice [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a context of climate emergency and calls from the IPCC for "transformative systemic change," we need to revisit the role of business in helping to accelerate responses to climate crisis. The scale and depth of the challenges facing business have intensified in ways which force us to refocus our research on questions of urgency and speed, as well as the growing need for new and alternative business models and a fundamental re‐balancing of the economy. There is a large literature dealing with business responses to climate change from a range of perspectives and disciplines covering issues such as corporate strategy and public policy engagement. But I argue that the question of the nature and speed of change now required, and whether there are historical and contemporary precedents for accelerated transitions within and beyond business, must assume a more central place in our research. This must be alongside growing efforts to understand how business will adapt to climate chaos. This conclusion implies a closer engagement and cross‐fertilization of ideas with scholars of sustainability transitions, for example. Here, there is growing interest in the question of how to accelerate transitions, but where greater attention is required to the role of business actors. This article is categorized under:The Carbon Economy and Climate Mitigation > Decarbonizing Energy and/or Reducing DemandPolicy and Governance > Private Governance of Climate Change [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organisms are locally adapted when members of a population have a fitness advantage in one location relative to conspecifics in other geographies. For example, across latitudinal gradients, some organisms may trade off between traits that maximize fitness components in one, but not both, of somatic maintenance or reproductive output. Latitudinal gradients in life history strategies are traditionally attributed to environmental selection on an animal's genotype, without any consideration of the possible impact of associated microorganisms ("microbiota") on life history traits. Here, we show in Drosophila melanogaster, a key model for studying local adaptation and life history strategy, that excluding the microbiota from definitions of local adaptation is a major shortfall. First, we reveal that an isogenic fly line reared with different bacteria varies the investment in early reproduction versus somatic maintenance. Next, we show that in wild fruit flies, the abundance of these same bacteria was correlated with the latitude and life history strategy of the flies, suggesting geographic specificity of the microbiota composition. Variation in microbiota composition of locally adapted D. melanogaster could be attributed to both the wild environment and host genetic selection. Finally, by eliminating or manipulating the microbiota of fly lines collected across a latitudinal gradient, we reveal that host genotype contributes to latitude‐specific life history traits independent of the microbiota and that variation in the microbiota can suppress or reverse the differences between locally adapted fly lines. Together, these findings establish the microbiota composition of a model animal as an essential consideration in local adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various bacterial taxa have been identified both in association with animals and in the external environment, but the extent to which related bacteria from the two habitat types are ecologically and evolutionarily distinct is largely unknown. This study investigated the scale and pattern of genetic differentiation between bacteria of the family Acetobacteraceae isolated from the guts of Drosophila fruit flies, plant material and industrial fermentations. Genome-scale analysis of the phylogenetic relationships and predicted functions was conducted on 44 Acetobacteraceae isolates, including newly sequenced genomes from 18 isolates from wild and laboratory Drosophila. Isolates from the external environment and Drosophila could not be assigned to distinct phylogenetic groups, nor are their genomes enriched for any different sets of genes or category of predicted gene functions. In contrast, analysis of bacteria from laboratory Drosophila showed they were genetically distinct in their universal capacity to degrade uric acid (a major nitrogenous waste product of Drosophila) and absence of flagellar motility, while these traits vary among wild Drosophila isolates. Analysis of the competitive fitness of Acetobacter discordant for these traits revealed a significant fitness deficit for bacteria that cannot degrade uric acid in culture with Drosophila. We propose that, for wild populations, frequent cycling of Acetobacter between Drosophila and the external environment prevents genetic differentiation by maintaining selection for traits adaptive in both the gut and external habitats. However, laboratory isolates bear the signs of adaptation to persistent association with the Drosophila host under tightly defined environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a strong sense of malaise surrounding climate politics today. This has been created at least in part by factors such as the chasm between the scale of action required and the adequacy of current political commitments, stalemate in global negotiations, the low price of carbon, and a growing sense of indifference among the publics of some developed countries about the threat posed by climate change. Within the policy community these issues are generally treated as different problems each to be overcome on their own terms. Yet, we argue, suggested solutions to these problems hold much in common-namely a focus on identifying agency, whether the capacity of institutions to act or the behavior of individuals. What is often missing from such accounts of climate politics is a recognition that the problems of how agency is attributed, what we might term governance traps, are structural in nature. Governing climate change therefore requires that we study the conditions through which these challenges arise and which in turn serve to frame agency in particular ways. We suggest that examining the ways in which notions of responsibilities and rights are currently being framed within climate politics provides one way into these dynamics. This opens up the critical questions that need to be addressed ahead of the critical Conference of the Parties meeting in Paris in November 2015. WIREs Clim Change 2015, 6:535-540. doi: 10.1002/wcc.356 For further resources related to this article, please visit the . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the political economy of the 'just transition' to a low carbon economy. The idea of a 'just transition' increasingly features in policy and political discourse and appeals to the need to ensure that efforts to steer society towards a lower carbon future are underpinned by attention to issues of equity and justice: to those currently without access to reliable energy supplies and living in energy poverty and to those whose livelihoods are affected by and dependent on a fossil fuel economy. To complicate things further this transition has to be made compatible with the pursuit of 'climate justice' to current and future generations exposed to the social and ecological disruptions produced by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. Here we seek to identify and analyse the immensely difficult political trade-offs that will characterise collective attempts to enact and realise a just transition. We explore procedural and distributional aspects of energy politics and practice in particular as they relate to the just transition: energy access for those who do not have it; justice for those who work within and are affected by the fossil fuel economy; and attempts to manage the potential contradictions that might flow from pursuing energy and climate justice simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article, written in response to a review of the authors' book "Climate Capitalism" written by author Larry Lohmann, discusses the role of carbon markets in climate change. The authors explain the impact of global capitalism on climate change mitigation efforts and respond to criticisms in Lohmann's article dealing with carbon commodification and carbon dioxide emission control.

An introduction is presented which discusses various reports within the issue on the so-called "new" carbon economy, including topics such as governance, theoretical approaches, and political and social challenges to emissions reduction efforts.

In this paper, we use insights derived from a critical evaluation of ecological modernisation theories to examine the origins and influence of new, market-based, forms of carbon governance. Focusing on two key examples-emissions trading in Europe and the global market in offsets-we argue that ecological modernisation theories can help us understand the processes through which the seemingly intractable problem of climate change has been reframed as an opportunity to construct a new carbon economy and anticipate some of the tensions, contradictions and limits of such an approach. We then explore the governance dimensions of these novel market mechanisms, look at how they work, and then discuss whether, to what extent and for whom they work. We highlight a series of (un)-intended consequences that flow from these practices and modes of governing. We conclude by discussing the significance of these observations both for debates on climate change and the governance of carbon and for theories of ecological modernisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article constructs a framework for understanding and explaining the governance of clean development (CD) in order to generate insights about who is governing it, by what means, for whom and how effectively. Such a framework usefully highlights governance gaps and blind spots, issues of policy coherence and co-ordination, and the distributional consequences of existing patterns of CD governance. It points to the need to construct forms of governance whch are mutually reinforcing, which avoid duplication and which provide incentives to address the energy needs of the very poorest, whose interests may otherwise be overlooked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution locates the contemporary debate about corporate social responsibility (CSR) and development within ongoing historical struggles to define the appropriate relationship between business and society. It questions the ‘fetishization’ of regulation as a palliative on the grounds of the assumptions it makes about the nature and capacity of states, markets and civil society alike to deliver effective reform, and the division it presumes between the interests of the state and capital in particular. It identifies CSR as a response to a legitimacy crisis within contemporary neoliberalism in general, one faced by global corporations in particular as its most public face, but one which potentially distracts our attention from the interventions which are necessary to address the twin challenges of alleviating poverty and achieving sustainability. Issues of distribution, mobility and consumption are identified as examples of areas of active neglect in the CSR field that deserve more attention if corporations are to make a greater contribution to poverty alleviation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores the role of agrarian and environmental movements in contesting the development and promotion of agricultural biotechnology through trade liberalization in Latin America. Organized around themes of mobilization, participation and representation, it raises key questions about who mobilizes and how, and about the strategic dilemmas that arise when movements with different histories, membership bases and cultures of protest attempt to work together. Issues of accountability, representation and participation run through the analysis of strategies of organization and claim-making adopted by an eclectic range of groups seeking to contest the role of biotechnology in the structure of agricultural production, the institutions that manage that relationship and the discourses which sustain it. In particular, analysis centres on their responsiveness to the concerns and agendas of poorer groups in the front line of the ‘gene revolution’ as it plays out in the Latin American countryside, in particular in Argentina and Brazil, the key players in biotechnology in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biofilm formation is commonly described as a developmental process regulated by environmental cues. In the current study we present a mechanistic model to explain regulation of Pseudomonas fluorescens biofilm formation by the environmentally relevant signal inorganic phosphate (Pi). We show that activation of the Pho regulon, the major pathway for adaptation to phosphate limitation, results in conditional expression of a c-di-GMP phosphodiesterase referred to as RapA. Genetic analysis indicated that RapA is an inhibitor of biofilm formation and required for loss of biofilm formation in response to limiting Pi. Our results suggest that RapA lowers the level of c-di-GMP, which in turn inhibits the secretion of LapA, a large adhesion required for biofilm formation by P. fluorescens. The ability of c-di-GMP to modulate protein secretion is a novel finding and further extends the biological influence of c-di-GMP beyond that of regulating exopolysaccharide synthesis and motility. Interestingly, Pho regulon expression does not impinge on the rate of attachment to a surface but rather inhibits the transition of cells to a more stable interaction with the surface. We hypothesize that Pho regulon expression confers a surface-sensing mode on P. fluorescens and suggest this strategy may be broadly applicable to other bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a response to the debate about the possible need for a World Environment Organisation (WEO). There has been increasing attention to the question of reform of international environmental institutions, both at a policy level, with debates provoked by leading figures such as former WTO director Ruggerio and former Executive-Secretary of the Biodiversity Convention, Calestous Juma, as well amongst scholars of the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the possibilities and limitations of different approaches to the regulation of transnational corporations in a context of globalization. Looking at environmental initiatives in particular, the paper considers the pros and cons of emerging public and private strategies for promoting corporate responsibility from a development perspective. The role of ‘civil regulation’, litigation against companies, and international legal instruments are assessed in this light. It is argued that each of these approaches, while not necessarily complementary, has a role to play in promoting positive investment strategies and deterring irresponsible investment practices in developing countries. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cleveland Inquiry Report rightly emphasises that children should be treated as people, not objects of concern. The 'best interest' justification for intervention in children's lives can be inadequate and add professional abuse to the abuse already suffered. Child abuse must be seen as an issue of children's rights. The recommendations of the Inquiry Report are seen as a good basis for action but it fails to draw the logical conclusions in some areas, including children's rights to confidentiality and attendance at case conferences and court hearings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have isolated an insertional mutant of Dictyostelium discoideum that aggregated rapidly and formed spores and stalk cells within 14 h of development instead of the normal 24 h.We have shown by parasexual genetics that the insertion is in the rdeA locus and have cloned the gene. It encodes a predicted 28 kDa protein (RdeA) that is enriched in charged residues and is very hydrophilic. Constructs with the DNA for the c-Myc epitope or for the green fluorescent protein indicate that RdeA is not compartmentalized. RdeA displays homology around a histidine residue at amino acid 65 with members of the H2 module family of phosphotransferases that participate in multistep phosphoryl relays. Replacement of this histidine rendered the protein inactive. The mutant is complemented by transformation with the Ypd1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, itself an H2 module protein. We propose that RdeA is part of a multistep phosphorelay system that modulates the rate of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]