Published in ECEEE SUMMER STUDY PROCEEDINGS, page 383 – 395, June 2015.
the role of energy efficiency policies 28.06.2015 Energie & Klimaschutz Bücher
The sustainable production of bioenergy is vital to avoiding negative impacts on environmental goods such as climate, soil, water, and especially biodiversity. We propose three key issues that should be addressed in any biodiversity risk-mitigation strategy: conservation of areas of significant biodiversity value; mitigation of negative effects related to indirect land-use change; and promotion of agricultural practices with few negative impacts on biodiversity.
Bioenergy-Related Standards to Protect Biodiversity 01.01.2010 Energie & Klimaschutz Bücher
The climate crisis requires a transformation towards a climate-neutral economy. This implies considerable pressure for business sectors with a high carbon footprint. The key challenge here is to shape the structural change in a way that is ecologically, economically and socially successful. Published in: Ökologisches Wirtschaften – Fachzeitschrift, 37(1), 41–45.
28.02.2022 Umweltrecht Publikationen Umweltrecht & Governance Bücher
Das Monitoring bei der Endlagerung erfolgt durch kontinuierliche oder wiederholte Messungen technischer und geologischer Parameter über längere Zeiträume. Die gewonnenen Daten dienen vielfältigen Zwecken. Ein zentrales Ziel besteht darin, Grundlagen für Entscheidungen zwischen den und innerhalb der verschiedenen Phasen eines Endlagerprojekts bereitzustellen. Monitoring ist somit nicht nur die Summe technischer Überwachungsmaßnahmen. Es tangiert auch wichtige Bereiche gesellschaftspolitischer Entscheidungen. Der Artikel beleuchtet mögliche Ziele von Monitoring, zeigt relevante technische Aspekte auf und zieht daraus Schlussfolgerungen zu Anforderungen an ein integriertes Monitoringkonzept. Es wird gezeigt, dass es notwendig ist, ein solches Monitoringkonzept frühzeitig und unter Einbeziehung aller an der Endlagerung beteiligten Akteure zu entwickeln. Erschienen in: Technikfolgenabschätzung – Theorie und Praxis 21. Jg., Heft 3, Dezember 2012
Entscheidungsfindung in Endlagerprojekten 26.11.2012 Nukleartechnik & Anlagensicherheit Bücher
Um den Herausforderungen der Gegenwart nachhaltig begegnen zu können, ist transdisziplinär und partizipativ ausgerichtete Forschung zentral. Diese Art der Forschung erfordert verstärkten Austausch und verstärkte Vernetzung zwischen den Forschenden. Auf Initiative der Plattform tdAcademy wurde dazu die Gesellschaft für transdisziplinäre und partizipative Forschung (GTPF) gegründet, die sich als Anlaufstelle und unabhängige Interessenvertretung der transdisziplinären und partizipativen Forschung versteht – auch gegenüber Politik und Förderinstitutionen. Die Mitglieder engagieren sich in Vernetzung, Aus- und Weiterbildung sowie bei der Konsolidierung dieser Forschungsansätze und der Qualitätsstandards.
partizipative Forschung 12.05.2023 Nukleartechnik & Anlagensicherheit Bücher
Key takeaways The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is unprecedented in terms of nuclear safety. It is the first armed conflict in a country with a major nuclear programme: Ukraine derives about 50% of its energy from fission. A plant can be damaged in a number of ways: breaching missiles, a power cut leading to core meltdowns, etc. This can have serious consequences for the environment and the health of the population. This can have serious consequences for the population and the surrounding nature. Moreover, no specific treaty exists to deal with this threat. However, Protocol I and II of the Geneva Convention allow for “norms” of behaviour in wartime that should be respected. One of the most effective ways to minimise the risks would be to create a demilitarised zone around nuclear power plants to protect the population.
12.07.2022 Nukleartechnik & Anlagensicherheit Bücher & Fachartikel
Market-based instruments increasingly shape international environmental governance. Against this background, this paper puts forward a conceptual framework on the development of regulated global carbon markets. Regarding the adoption of carbon trading as an instance of wider shifts in governance allows us to benefit from the rich literature on (international) institutional change. At the same time it enables us to integrate existing social science accounts of the construction of carbon markets into a more generic conceptualisation. An analytical framework is suggested that models a set of five (recursively interacting) factors as causes of and influences on the development of international carbon markets: actor interests; power distribution; discourses; institutional dynamics and interaction; and exogenous shocks. The framework is applied to the empirical example of the emerging UNFCCC mechanism for `Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries` (REDD+). Finally, the generalisability of the findings is discussed.
09.11.2011 Umweltrecht & Governance Bücher & Fachartikel Peer reviewed
Putting sustainable consumption into practice is a challenge that requires the effort and coordination of numerous societal domains and actors. The paper deals with the contribution of policy making and policy evaluation. More specifically, it addresses the question of how to evaluate the effectiveness of policy instruments dedicated to rendering household consumption more sustainable. Despite the extensive literature on instrument effectiveness, sustainability assessment, and consumer behaviour, only a few accounts deal with the specific characteristics and impacts of policy instruments for sustainable consumption. Against this backdrop, a framework is suggested for the ex post analysis of effects resulting from such policy instruments. Instrument effects include changes in consumption patterns (“outcomes”), subsequent changes in the state of the environment, society and/or economy (“impacts”), and side effects. Step-by-step guidance is provided through the evaluation process. The approach helps to assess the extent to which sustainable consumption policy instruments have achieved their stated goals, but also encourages a critical reflection of these goals. In addition to evaluating instrument effects, the framework serves to explain these effects. It does so on the basis of theoretically grounded hypotheses that tackle drivers of and barriers to instrument effectiveness, thus exploring this relatively new policy field. Methodologically, a combination of qualitative methods (narrative reconstruction) and quantitative methods (e.g., material flow analysis) is recommended to causally link policies to changes in consumption patterns and impacts on sustainability.
Evaluation of Sustainable Consumption 09.01.2011 Umweltrecht & Governance Bücher
International carbon markets can be an important tool in achieving countries’ mitigation targets under the Paris Agreement, but they are subject to a number of environmental integrity risks. An important risk is that some countries have mitigation targets that correspond to higher levels of emissions than independent projections of their likely emissions. If such ‘hot air’ can be transferred to other countries, it could increase aggregated emissions and create a perverse incentive for countries not to enhance the ambition of future mitigation targets. Limits to international transfers of mitigation outcomes have been proposed to address this risk. This article proposes a typology for such limits, explores key design options, and tests different types of limits in the context of 15 countries. Our analysis indicates that limits to international transfers could, if designed appropriately, prevent most of the hot air contained in current mitigation targets from being transferred, but also involve trade-offs between different policy objectives. Given the risks from international transfer of hot air and the uncertainty over whether other approaches will be effective in ensuring environmental integrity, we recommend that countries take a cautious approach and pursue a portfolio of approaches to ensure environmental integrity, in which case limits could provide for additional safeguards.
under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement 08.11.2018 Energie & Klimaschutz Bücher
International carbon markets can be an important tool in achieving countries’ mitigation targets under the Paris Agreement, but they are subject to a number of environmental integrity risks. An important risk is that some countries have mitigation targets that correspond to higher levels of emissions than independent projections of their likely emissions. If such ‘hot air’ can be transferred to other countries, it could increase aggregated emissions and create a perverse incentive for countries not to enhance the ambition of future mitigation targets. Limits to international transfers of mitigation outcomes have been proposed to address this risk. This article proposes a typology for such limits, explores key design options, and tests different types of limits in the context of 15 countries. Our analysis indicates that limits to international transfers could, if designed appropriately, prevent most of the hot air contained in current mitigation targets from being transferred, but also involve trade-offs between different policy objectives. Given the risks from international transfer of hot air and the uncertainty over whether other approaches will be effective in ensuring environmental integrity, we recommend that countries take a cautious approach and pursue a portfolio of approaches to ensure environmental integrity, in which case limits could provide for additional safeguards.
under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement 08.11.2018 Energie & Klimaschutz Bücher
