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ObjectiveIn life-cycle assessment, the functional unit defines the unit for calculation of environmental indicators. The objective of the present study was to assess the influence of two functional units, 100 g and 100 kcal (420 kJ), on the associations between three dimensions for identifying sustainable foods, namely environmental impact (via greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE)), nutritional quality (using two distinct nutrient profiling systems) and price.DesignGHGE and price data were collected for individual foods, and were each expressed per 100 g and per 100 kcal. Two nutrient profiling models, SAIN,LIM and UK Ofcom, were used to assess foods’ nutritional quality. Spearman correlations were used to assess associations between variables. Sustainable foods were identified as those having more favourable values for all three dimensions.SettingThe French Individual and National Dietary Survey (INCA2), 2006–2007.SubjectsThree hundred and seventy-three foods highly consumed in INCA2, covering 65 % of total energy intake of adult participants.ResultsWhen GHGE and price were expressed per 100 g, low-GHGE foods had a lower price and higher SAIN,LIM and Ofcom scores (r=0·59, −0·34 and −0·43, respectively), suggesting a compatibility between the three dimensions; 101 and 100 sustainable foods were identified with SAIN,LIM and Ofcom, respectively. When GHGE and price were expressed per 100 kcal, low-GHGE foods had a lower price but also lower SAIN,LIM and Ofcom scores (r=0·67, 0·51 and 0·47, respectively), suggesting that more environment-friendly foods were less expensive but also less healthy; thirty-four sustainable foods were identified with both SAIN,LIM and Ofcom.ConclusionsThe choice of functional unit strongly influenced the compatibility between the sustainability dimensions and the identification of sustainable foods.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the greenhouse gas emission (GHGE) of diets in Dutch girls, boys, women and men and to explore associations with diet composition.DesignDescriptive analyses for the total population as well as stratified for gender, age and dietary environmental load.SettingThe Netherlands.SubjectsDutch children and adults aged 7–69 years (n 3818).ResultsThe GHGE of daily diets was on average 3·2 kg CO2-equivalents (CO2e) for girls, 3·6 kg CO2e for boys, 3·7 kg CO2e for women and 4·8 kg CO2e for men. Meat and cheese contributed about 40 % and drinks (including milk and alcoholic drinks) 20 % to daily GHGE. Considerable differences in environmental loads of diets existed within age and gender groups. Persons with higher-GHGE diets consumed more (in quantity of foods and especially drinks) than their counterparts of a similar sex and age with low-GHGE diets. Major differences between high- and low-GHGE diets were in meat, cheese and dairy consumption as well as in soft drinks (girls, boys and women) and alcoholic drinks (men). Of those, differences in meat consumption determined the differences in GHGE most. Diets with higher GHGE were associated with higher saturated fat intake and lower fibre intakeConclusionsGHGE of daily diets in the Netherlands is between 3 and 5 kg CO2e, with considerable differences between individuals. Meat, dairy and drinks contribute most to GHGE. The insights of the study may be used in developing (age- and gender-specific) food-based dietary guidelines that take into account both health and sustainability aspects.

Global climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from anthropogenic activities have already become the focus of the world. A more systematic and comprehensive analysis on the factors influencing the changes of global GHGs transferring via trade have not been fully discussed. To this end, employing spatial econometric regression models and multi-regional input-output models, this paper reveals factors influencing the GHGs transferring via trade changes in 39 major economies, so as to develop the relevant GHGs reduction policies. The results indicate that regions with the highest net outflow of GHGs transferring via trade are primarily Russia and Canada, and the adverse effects of promoting GHGs reduction on the national economy could be avoided by these regions owing to trade relations. Additionally, factors influencing the changes in GHGs transferring via trade have significant spatial autocorrelation, and population size and energy structure exert significant spatial spillover effects on the changes in the GHGs transferring via trade. On this basis, this paper suggests that one more effective way to prevent trade from the rigorous demands of environmental governance measures while preserving the economic benefits of international trade may be to facilitate cooperation between countries on GHGs mitigation. Further, we articulate more balanced environment governance policies, including conducting the sharing of advanced energy technologies and developing clearer production technologies.

"As part of a wider review of existing scenario analyses in areas with direct relevance to the future of global development, this paper focuses on two major recent studies: the scenarios contained in the UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) and the scenarios developed by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in support of the G8 Gleneagles plan of action on climate change, clean energy and sustainable development. The paper offers a critical appraisal of these scenarios, examines the drivers of change that are considered to influence future developments, explores the implications of the scenarios for developing countries, and outlines what types of changes in development policy could be appropriate in light of the lessons learned from these scenario exercises. The adverse consequences of growing pressures on ecosystems due to demographic and economic drivers identified in the MEA scenario projections are most immediately felt by rural poor populations in the least developed regions of the world. The degradation of ecosystem services poses a significant barrier to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Many of the regions facing the greatest challenges in achieving these targets coincide with regions facing the greatest problems of ecosystem degradation. Significant changes in policies, institutions, and practices can mitigate many of the negative consequences of growing pressures on ecosystems. A key implication of the interdependence between environmental and development goals is the need for a meaningful integration of environmental sustainability concerns in national development plans and strategies of individual donors and intergovernmental development agencies, as well as the need for closer coordination between multilateral environmental agreements and other international institutions in the development policy sphere. The IEA baseline scenario clearly shows that without decisive globally coordinated policy action in support of the adoption of low-carbon energy technologies, GHG emissions will continue to rise rapidly over the 21st century and exacerbate current global warming trends. However, in the presence of a supporting policy environment, emerging clean energy technologies can move the global energy system onto a more sustainable path and return world-wide energy-related CO2 emissions back to today's level by 2050. Most of the future growth in energy demand, and hence emissions, arises from developing countries. An effective follow-up agreement to the Kyoto Protocol must therefore include the major large and fast-growing developing countries including China and India. Developed countries have an important role to play in helping developing economies to leapfrog the technology development process and to employ efficient equipment and practices through technology transfer, capacity building and collaborative research, development and demonstration efforts. It will take a huge internationally coordinated effort to achieve the positive outcomes suggested by the IEA-scenarios, and development cooperation on an unprecedented scale will be required as part of this effort. Thus, an important future role of development policy must be the facilitation of the technology and knowledge transfer that is required to meet this challenge. Overall, the scenario studies under review confirm that ecosystem degradation and global warming pose serious threats for poverty reduction and development and deserve high priority on the future development policy agenda." (author's abstract)

The differences in consumption levels across different strata of income and income inequality give raise to differences in the effects of income inequality on the level of the consumption-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. However, the impact of inequality on consumption-based emissions has been scarcely analysed. Therefore, the aim of this study is to test the relationship between income inequality and consumption-based GHG emission per capita by applying the country-level data for 1990–2014. Due to the prevailing economic structures, those relationships may be non-linear and imposition of pre-defined functional relationships in the estimation may induce additional bias. In order to circumvent this issue, the partially linear regression is applied in this paper. The non-parametric part of the regression is applied to examine the linkages between the income inequality and GHG emission per capita, whereas the other controlling variables are included in the linear part of the model. The results indicate a non-liner relationship between income inequality and GHG emission per capita along with a U-shape relationship between GDP per capita and the GHG emission per capita. This suggests tailored environmental policies are required for regions with diverse economic structures. This paper reveals how to achieve the reduction of income inequality and climate change simultaneously.

The European Union (EU) has been advocating climate policy ambitions from the very beginning of the international climate regime. Climate action to support the implementation of the Paris Agreement (2015) involves nearly all fields of national and international policy-making. In this research paper, we look into the role of trade policy in this respect. There are several legal and institutional options for how policy-makers in the EU and elsewhere could promote a productive relationship between the UN climate regime and the international trade regime, comprising the World Trade Organization (WTO) and regional trade agreements (RTAs). The increasing number of WTO disputes over national renewable energy policy regulations points to a systemic conflict between national climate policies and WTO obligations, whereas a number of RTAs including environmental standards demonstrate positive ways forward, in particular on how to avoid a race to the bottom. As a longer-term vision, we identify the legal options under the WTO regime, and for the medium term we suggest synergies that the EU can achieve through RTA negotiations and reviews. In the short term, the EU and its Member States should push for more transparency on trade-related climate measures, for example through notifications, between the bodies of the WTO and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as follow up with climate policy allies on trade initiatives that support the climate agenda. (author's abstract)

At Copenhagen, the developed countries agreed to provide up to $100 bn per year to finance climate change mitigation and adaptation by developing countries. Projects aimed at cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will need to be evaluated against dual criteria: from the viewpoint of the developed countries they must cut emissions of GHGs at reasonable cost, while host countries will assess their contribution to development, or simply their overall economic benefits. Co-benefits of some types of project will also be of interest to host countries: for example some projects will contribute to reducing air pollution, thus improving the health of the local population.This paper uses a simple damage function methodology to quantify some of the health co-benefits of replacing coal-fired generation with wind or small hydro in China. We estimate the monetary value of these co-benefits and find that it is probably small compared to the added costs. We have not made a full cost-benefit analysis of renewable energy in China as some likely co-benefits are omitted from our calculations. Our results are subject to considerable uncertainty however, after careful consideration of their likely accuracy and comparisons with other studies, we believe that they provide a good first cut estimate of co-benefits and are sufficiently robust to stand as a guide for policy makers.In addition to these empirical results, a key contribution made by the paper is to demonstrate a simple and reasonably accurate methodology for health benefits estimation that applies the most recent academic research in the field to the solution of an increasingly important problem. Keywords: China, Health co-benefits, Electricity generation, Climate change mitigation

The U.S. National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change was a federally coordinated nationwide effort that involved thousands of experts and stakeholders. To draw lessons from this effort, the 10 authors of this paper, half of whom were not involved in the Assessment, developed and administered an extensive survey, prepared a series of working papers, and conducted an invitational workshop in Washington, DC, on April 29, 2004. Considering all these sources, the authors conclude that the Assessment was largely successful in implementing its basic design of distributed stakeholder involvement and in achieving its basic objectives. Future assessments could be significantly improved if greater attention were devoted to developing a collective understanding of objectives, preparing guidance materials and providing training for assessment participants, developing a budgeting mechanism which would allow greater freedom in allocating resources across various assessment activities, and creating an environment in which assessments were part of an ongoing process.