Between Guilt and Obligation: Debating the Responsibility for Climate Change and Climate Politics in the Media

ABSTRACT

The “common but differentiated responsibility” of developed and developing countries to mitigate climate change is a core principle of international climate politics—but there is disagreement about what this “differentiated responsibility” amounts to. We investigate how newspapers in developed countries (Australia, Germany, United States) and emerging economies (Brazil, India) covered this debate during the UN climate summits in 2004, 2009, and 2014. Newspapers in both types of countries attributed more responsibility to developed than to developing countries. In line with social identity theory, however, media in developed countries attributed less causal responsibility (blame) to other developed countries than media in emerging economies. The latter countries’ media, in turn, attributed less responsibility to other developing countries than media in developed countries. At the same time, in line with the “differentiated responsibility”, media in developed countries attributed more responsibility to their own countries than media in emerging economies.     

An in-depth view of climate change:addressing climate change while making a transition on the development mode

While fossil fuels greatly contribute to human society,they pose great challenges to natural resources,the environment,and climate change.Developed countries,like the United States,formulated strategic measures to ensure their sustainable development and leading positions in the world.These measures include new green policies,development of shale gas,revitalization of nuclear power,energy independence,reindustrialization,and new low-carbon development based on a combination of Internet technology and renewable energy.Developing countries are also trying to introduce balanced strategies of poverty alleviation and sustainable development.Globally,industrial civilization is being transformed to ecological civilization and green,low-carbon development is a global trend.Addressing climate change provides new strategic factors to further this development.China should take substantial actions to realize sustainable development in a new road:China is in the critical stage of changing its development mode,so it is vital to choose an appropriate development path.This extensive development comes at the high price of consuming too much resources and scarring the environment.Mitigation and adaptation strategies for addressing climate change can help the transition of development.Based on the analysis of the development data of developed countries,the author introduces the concept of"two-type developed countries"with an understanding that not all developed countries must take the same development mode.He also holds the view that China should achieve modernization in a more energy-saving and more carbon-efficient manner compared with that of two-type developed countries.An analysis of"two competitions"that China is facing shows that changing the developing mode is urgent and China should grasp this opportunity in the next five to ten years,which is a key period for this transition.This paper discusses the low-carbon development goals and the three-step process.Low-carbon development does not necessarily restrict economic development.It,however,can expedite the transition of the development mode and this is a low-carbon and green development path.Transition of the development mode includes implementation of China’s green and low-carbon energy strategies,low-carbon society construction,development of agriculture and forestry,garbage sorting and utilization,innovation of urbanization,etc.Improvement of national infrastructure construction includes water safety,environment and climate monitoring system,intelligent energy web,basic database,etc.Addressing climate change can significantly improve the nation’s basic research level.In summary,it mitigates backward production capability,extensive development,and environmental damage while promoting technological advancement,scientific development,and ecological civilization.     

CO2 emissions in German, Swedish and Colombian manufacturing industries

This study evaluates and compares the trends in CO₂ emissions for the manufacturing industries of three countries: two developed countries (Germany and Sweden) that have applied several measures to promote a shift towards a low-carbon economy and one developing country (Colombia) that has shown substantial improvements in the reduction of CO₂ emissions. This analysis is conducted using panel data cointegration techniques to infer causality between CO₂ emissions, production factors and energy sources. The results indicate a trend of producing more output with less pollution. The trends for these countries’ CO₂ emissions depend on investment levels, energy sources and economic factors. Furthermore, the trends in CO₂ emissions indicate that there are emission level differences between the two developed countries and the developing country. Moreover, the study confirms that it is possible to achieve economic growth and sustainable development while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as Germany and Sweden demonstrate. In the case of Colombia, it is important to encourage a reduction in CO₂ emissions through policies that combine technical and economic instruments and incentivise the application of new technologies that promote clean and environmentally friendly processes.     

The impact of economic,social, and political globalization and democracy on life expectancy in low-income countries: are sustainable development goals contradictory?

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals announced by the United Nations are important guides for the development processes of developing countries. However, achieving all of these goals is only possible if the goals are consistent with each other. It has been observed in the literature that possible contradictions between these goals are ignored. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to investigate whether two sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the UN are contradictory or supporting each other in low-income countries. These SDGs are “Good Health and Well-Being” (SDG3) and “Partnerships for the Goals” (SDG17). For this purpose, the role of globalization and democracy in life expectancy is empirically investigated in 16 low-income countries over the period 1970–2017. While globalization has been used as an indicator of the partnership between countries, democracy has been used as an indicator of accountability and cooperation between governments and societies. According to estimations of the continuous-updated fully modified (CUP-FM) and bias-adjusted ordinary least squares (BA-OLS), globalization and its subcomponents such as economic, social, and political globalization affect life expectancy positively. Democracy also increases life expectancy in those countries. The GDP per capita is also used as a control variable. Our results show that a higher level of per capita income is positively associated with higher levels of life expectancy. In conclusion, no contradiction was found between SDG3 and SDG17 in those countries. Achieving a healthier society requires economic, social, and political integration between governments and societies.

     

An International Comparative Analysis on China’s Economic Growth and the Convergence in Energy Intensity Gap and Its Economic Mechanism

Abstract

In this paper, the authors have empirically analyzed the convergence in per capita GDP gap and the convergence in the variation of energy intensity with respect to the change of per capita GDP between China and eight developed countries. Then, the authors run a regression on the impact of decisive factors of economic growth on energy intensity and its change, so as to find out the economic mechanism of energy intensity gap changing with respect to the variation of economic growth. This study concludes that: First, there is a convergence in per capita GDP gap between China and the eight developed countries. With the convergence in per capita GDP gap, the energy intensity gap between China and eight different countries also converge, and the convergence rate of the latter is faster than that of the former, i.e. if the per capita GDP gap between China and the eight developed countries decreases by 1%, the energy intensity gap between them will correspondingly decrease by 1.552%. Second, the energy intensity decreases with the improvement of industrial structure, the rising of energy prices, the advances of technology, and the expansion of investment in fixed assets, and it slightly increases with the increase of FDI. Third, the energy intensity gap between China and eight developed countries narrows with the lessening of the difference in fixed assets investment, energy prices, and technological progress between China and eight developed countries, yet increases with the narrowing of the difference in FDI, and has no significant correlation with the difference in industrial structure. Fourth, the narrowing of difference in per capita GDP between China and the eight developed countries can result in the lessening of energy intensity gap, whose economic mechanism is that the decisive factors, such as difference in investment, technology, and the competition mechanism of prices, which can determine the difference in economic growth, can significantly affect the energy intensity gap.     

略论耕地库兹涅茨曲线在我国的适用性

耕地流失是经济发展过程中的一个重要问题,对耕地流失与经济增长的库兹涅茨曲线假说进行分析,以说明耕地库兹涅茨曲线的适用性。选取上海、浙江、江苏、海南、宁夏、河北、河南7省市作为研究区域,根据近20多年来的耕地流失面积与人均GDP统计数据以及产业结构变动情况,结合部分国内学者的研究结果,对耕地库兹涅茨曲线假说进行了验证。研究结果表明,虽然有部分省市符合耕地流失与经济增长的倒U型规律,但是耕地库兹涅茨曲线假说并不具有普遍性。不同的地区、不同的经济发展阶段,耕地流失面积变化具有不同的特点,应该严格保护耕地,控制经济增长的速度,注重提高经济增长的质量与效益,完善耕地保护的政策措施,促进国民经济持续、稳定、健康发展。〖     

基于系统动力学的中国土地利用系统健康评价研究

通过仿真模拟中国土地利用系统状况,探寻实现土地利用系统健康发展的情景模式,为中国在2035年基本实现社会主义现代化,及进一步实现可持续发展目标提供参考路径。研究采用系统动力学模型构建土地利用系统,共模拟得到18种情景方案。通过设定经济发展、粮食安全和生态安全目标对情景方案进行筛选,保留了6种情景。采用"压力-状态-响应"(PSR)模型构建土地利用系统健康评价体系,对6种情景进行评价。研究结果表明:第2种情景土地利用系统的健康水平最优且符合国情需要。最优政策情景具体表现为经济保持中速发展,到2035年GDP增长率稳落在4%,总量达到约200万亿;人口中速增长,2035年人口稳定在约14.85亿;土地整治力度大幅提升,土地整治投资金升至每年600～1 000亿元。     

Towards a new climate economics:research areas and prospects

International cooperation to address climate change now stands at a crossroads.With a new international regime for emissions reduction established by the Durban Platform, "New Climate Economics(NCE)" has become a research hotspot.The need for urgent action to combat climate change has prompted discussion on reforms of economic growth patterns and the energy system.The industrial civilization,therefore,now faces a transition towards a new pathway for ecological sustainability.NCE explores new economic concepts,theories,and analytical methods to design a balanced pathway for sustainable growth and emission reduction.Instead of getting trapped in discussions on allocation of emission reduction responsibilities and obligations among countries,NCE pays more attention to developing win-win multilateral cooperation mechanisms that facilitate collaborative RD and knowledge sharing.In addition,NCE studies incentives for low-carbon transition,turning carbon emission reduction into a domestic need for countries to increase their international competitiveness.To achieve the 2°C target,most countries around the world face challenges of insufficient emission allowances to cover expected emissions associated with their projected economic growth.As carbon emissions rights becomes an increasingly scarce resource,increasing the carbon productivity of the economy turns to be the critical path to address the dilemma of green or growth.NCE studies the historical evolution of carbon productivity for countries at different development stages as well as ways to enhance such carbon productivity.This type of study provides invaluable lessons for emerging economies to reach their own emission peaks without losing the momentum of growth.Replacing fossil fuels with new and renewable energy has proven to be an inevitable choice for reshaping the energy system and addressing climate change- it has already become a global trend.NCE studies incentives for new energy technology innovation and deployment provided by carbon pricing,and sheds light on the co-benefits of climate change mitigation,such as resource conservation,environmental protection,and energy security.The role of carbon pricing in promoting intemational RD cooperation and technical transfer will also be studied.The shift in consumption patterns is another key factor enabling a low-carbon transformation.Therefore,NCE also explores the theoretical work on new values of wealth,welfare and consumption,new lifestyles in the context of ecological civilization,concepts and implementation of low-carbon urban planning in developing countries,and the impacts of consumption pattern changes on social development,material production,and urban infrastructure construction.     

“Degrowth” vs. Other Types of Growth: Labeling Affects Emotions but Not Attitudes

Questioning the compatibility of economic growth and environmental sustainability, some scholars and activists call for a degrowth strategy. This idea presents an attack on the economic growth paradigm, and it has thus raised considerable attention. Yet, although many agree with questioning economic growth, a debate continues as to whether the term “degrowth” is (dis)advantageous in wider public communications. This debate, however, lacks empirical evidence. Here, we present two studies on how “degrowth” is perceived compared to other relevant terms. In Study 1, we show that “degrowth” elicits more negative affective and emotional reactions compared to “post-growth” and “prosperity without growth.” In Study 2, we find that the effects of labeling on attitudes and voting intentions toward a sustainable economy are relatively small. These initial results suggest that “degrowth” may evoke somewhat more negative emotional reactions than similar terms, but this may not have significant consequences. We discuss the results and draw implications for communication and further research.     

Population,development,and environment in India

High population growth and continued economic development have caused serious environmental damage in the Asia Pacific region.However,the recent experience is that the pace of environmental degradation is faster in developing countries than in developed countries.To this end,the study seeks to assess the impact of population pressure on India’s environment,with particular reference to the degradation of natural endowments like land and water resources and the resultant environmental pollution in the six regions of India.The rapid economic growth and expansion of infrastructure development in recent decades have not come without serious environmental consequences particularly in the southern,northern,and western regions.But in the eastern,north-eastern,and central regions of the country,environmental damage has been mainly due to rapid population growth.     

An International Comparative Analysis on China's Economic Growth and the Convergence in Energy Intensity Gap and Its Economic Mechanism

In this paper,the authors have empirically analyzed the convergence in per capita GDP gap and the convergence in the variation of energy intensity with respect to the change of per capita GDP between China and eight developed countries.Then,the authors run a regression on the impact of decisive factors of economic growth on energy intensity and its change,so as to find out the economic mechanism of energy intensity gap changing with respect to the variation of economic growth.This study concludes that:First,there is a convergence in per capita GDP gap between China and the eight developed countries.With the convergence in per capita GDP gap,the energy intensity gap between China and eight different countries also converge,and the convergence rate of the latter is faster than that of the former,i.e.if the per capita GDP gap between China and the eight developed countries decreases by 1%,the energy intensity gap between them will correspondingly decrease by 1.552%.Second,the energy intensity decreases with the improvement of industrial structure,the rising of energy prices,the advances of technology,and the expansion of investment in fixed assets,and it slightly increases with the increase of FDI.Third,the energy intensity gap between China and eight developed countries narrows with the lessening of the difference in fixed assets investment,energy prices,and technological progress between China and eight developed countries,yet increases with the narrowing of the difference in FDI,and has no significant correlation with the difference in industrial structure.Fourth,the narrowing of difference in per capita GDP between China and the eight developed countries can result in the lessening of energy intensity gap,whose economic mechanism is that the decisive factors,such as difference in investment,technology,and the competition mechanism of prices,which can determine the difference in economic growth,can significantly affect the energy intensity gap.     

中美两国经济发展与铜消费量对比研究

发达国家的发展过程表明,经济增长与铜消费量密切相关。本文由IPAT方程推导了铜消费指标与GDP间的关系式,得出GDP的年增长率（g）的单位GDP铜消费量的年下降率（t）是影响铜消费量变化的两个重要参数。给出了中、美两国铜消费指标与GDP间的关系曲线;中国1960-2004年间单位GDP的铜消费量并未形成明显的上升或下降趋势;美国1941-2004年间单位GDP铜消费量的变化总体上逐年降低,1941年为17.80kg/10^4USD,2003年为2.56kg/10^4USD,单位GDP的铜消费量降低近7倍。对应不同的单位GDP铜消费量年下降率的假设,估计了未来25年内中国经济增长与铜消费指标间的关系以及单位GDP铜消费量降低的倍数。     

"分裂的全球化"与人类的可持续发展

经济全球化一方面推动了世界各国的合作，另一方面拉大了发达国家与发展中国家的差距。全球化进程中这种强弱群体的分化，实质上是一个“分裂的全球化”。它给人类的可持续发展带来了极大的挑战。全球化是人类发展不可逆转的方向。同时，可持续发展是人类社会共同的目标。只有解决分裂的全球化，人类才能实现可持续发展。     

The win-win pathway of economic growth and CO2 emission reduction: a case study for China

ABSTRACT

Continuously reducing the CO₂ intensity of GDP is the core strategy for developing countries to realize the dual targets of economic growth and CO₂ emissions reduction. The measures are twofold: one is to strengthen energy saving and decrease energy intensity of GDP and the other is to promote energy structural decarbonization and reduce CO₂ intensity of energy consumption. In order to control global temperature rise no more than 2°C, the decrease in CO₂ intensity of GDP needs surpass 4% before 2030, but it could be merely about 2% based on the current trend. Therefore, all countries ought to speed up the low-carbon transition in energy and economy. As for China, keeping a continuous decline in CO₂ intensity of GDP of 4%–5% will ensure the realization of the NDC objectives, and also promotes the early peaking of CO₂ emissions before 2030. China will play a positive leading role in realizing a win-win low-carbon development coordinating sustainable development and climate change mitigation.     

开发区建设对区域经济发展的影响与机制分析——以湖南省为例

评估开发区对区域经济发展的影响,探究这种影响的空间异质性与机制,能为开发区协调发展与优化升级提供理论指导。以中部省区湖南省为例,采用固定效应模型估计法对2001～2016年110个县级行政区的面板数据进行分析,检验了开发区设立对湖南省县级水平区域经济发展的效应,揭示了这种效应的空间异质性与机制。总体上看,湖南省开发区建设提升了县级区域GDP和人均GDP水平,主要源于乘数效应机制与集聚机制。更为重要地,湖南省开发区建设对县经济发展的推动作用呈现出"边际效应递增"特征,即更高经济发展水平区域设立开发区对区域经济发展的推动作用越强,因而开发区效应的发挥依赖于区域经济发展基础。     

中国经济增长与物质消耗关系的实证研究

本文运用广义最小平方法和处理面板数据的固定影响模型,利用我国各省市1995-2009年物质消耗指数、人均GDP和人均固定资产投资等跨部门的时间序列数据,分析经济增长与物质消耗的关系。其主要结论如下:经济增长与物质消耗呈现正向关系,没有表现出明显的去物质化。固定资产投资对物质消耗趋势在统计上具有很好的解释力。固定效应模型下的广义最小二乘法对于处理跨部门的时间序列数据有明显的效果,固定效应模型的省际差异项有效地刻画了物质消耗与经济增长相关关系的省级差异。我国目前仍处于有形资产的积累阶段,为了达到发达国家的固定资产积累水平,必要的基础设施建设不能缺少。产业结构的差异会影响物质消耗与经济增长的关系强度,第一产业相对于第二产业需要更多的物质消耗。经济发展水平同样会影响物质消耗与经济增长的关系强度,发达地区相对于欠发达地区需要的物质消耗更少。     

中国低碳发展的国际比较研究——基于历史和经济发展阶段的审视

随着近年来我国碳排放总量的增加,一些西方国家开始把碳减排责任的矛头指向中国。为了明确中国碳排放的国际地位,运用历史唯物主义观点,从经济发展阶段视角进行了国际比较研究。首先运用IEA2011年公布的碳排放数据分析了我国2009年面临的碳排放形势,继而研究了工业革命以来中国碳排放的总体贡献情况,最后从经济发展阶段视角进行了国际比较研究。认为:①尽管我国当前的碳排放总量巨大,但人均碳排放量低于世界前10名的主要碳排放国家,碳排放强度与世界主要碳排放国家相比还存在一定差距;②我国的历史累计碳排放贡献及人均碳排放均较低,发达国家和地区的累计碳排放量达到世界累计碳排放量的近3/4;③与发达国家相同经济发展阶段相比,我国的人均碳排放和碳排放强度远低于主要发达国家和地区;④世界主要发达国家和地区在快速推进工业化的经济发展阶段普遍伴随着高碳排放。鉴于此,我们认为应该辩证地看待中国的碳排放,一方面中国当前的确产生了较大的碳排放,另一方面中国的经济发展阶段决定了这种碳排放规模和水平。发达国家的经济发展轨迹和碳足迹也表明,在工业化快速推进的过程中,一定程度的高碳排放是世界经济发展的客观规律。     

安徽省县域公路交通与经济发展空间格局及耦合研究

交通与经济系统相互影响又互为合作,二者的良性反馈与循环是区域协调均衡发展的切实保证。基于安徽省77个县(市)域研究单元,利用公路交通路网和社会经济数据,借助交通优势度模型、经济发展水平综合评价模型和耦合协调发展评价模型,考量分析了公路交通和经济发展的空间格局及其耦合协调特征。结果表明:(1)安徽省县域公路交通路网密度北高南低,总体较优;交通可达性呈"单核"圈层分异;区位优势度呈"多核"圈层分异;交通优势度正介于"多核"向"单核"圈层转变的过渡状态。(2)各县(市)经济发展水平整体呈"金字塔型"分化,低发展水平单元基数较大;优势单元多集中于皖江城市带地域;地级市市辖区经济发展水平普遍高于周边县(市)。(3)全省县域公路交通与经济发展耦合关系整体良好,但协调度水平总体偏低,绝大多数县(市)公路交通发展超前经济。如何依托既有公路交通支撑,加快推进县域经济发展,是打造全省公路交通与经济协调发展新格局的关键。     

中国省际间绿色发展福利测量与评价

在绿色发展理念下,对绿色发展福利进行测量和评价比传统的GDP评价更能体现发展的质量。本文基于生态绩效理论,将绿色发展福利增长速度推导为脱钩指数与GDP增长速度的乘积。首先以人类发展指数作为绿色发展福利的判别标准,根据脱钩指数理论,以数值0和0.1为界线,将2002—2014年中国31个省份的绿色发展福利水平划分为"负福利增长"、"绝对低福利增长"、"相对低福利增长"三类。其次,利用数据包络分析(DEA)方法及Malmquist指数测度兼顾期望产出(GDP)与非期望产出(生态足迹)的绿色经济增长,并对中国省际绿色经济增长效率进行分解,将绿色全要素生产率分为技术效率变动、技术变动、纯技术效率变动和规模效率变动,以探讨影响中国绿色发展"C"模式的关键因素。实证结果表明:中国大陆31个省份的脱钩指数均小于0.6(两个省份的脱钩指数小于0),处于低福利增长状态,但是整体上省际间脱钩指数与GDP增长速度呈现正相关关系,省际间人类发展指数的差异主要表现在公平的教育机会与收入分配差距两个方面。对中国大陆31个省份绿色经济增长速度的分解表明,绿色全要素生产率的提升主要得益于技术效率变动、纯技术效率变动、规模效率变动指数的提高,且每个时期三者的贡献率均在1左右波动。检验期间,北京、上海、广东、天津四个省份作为"创新者"共同推动产出朝着最优生产前沿面外移。最后,为了构筑中国绿色发展"C"模式,认为应该以绿色发展福利水平的提升为导向,在依据绿色全要素生产率提高绿色经济增长效率的同时,应注重教育公平与收入分配差距的缩减。同时,应积极发挥创新者省份绿色发展的示范效应,带动非创新者省份共同发展。     

Uncovering the Connections Among Sustainability, Governance and GDP

This paper examines the connections among sustainability, governance and GDP, using the data from 123 countries. Sustainability is found to be related with GDP in two contradictory ways. On the one hand, growth in GDP strengthens a nation＇s ability to maintain favorable environmental conditions into the future. On the other hand, GDP growth is built on more consumption of natural resources, and therefore generates a larger ＂foot-print＂ on the Earth. Governance plays a key role in sustainable development. However, it is not helping to reduce our footprint on the Earth. In fact, good governance is linked to a larger footprint. This reflects our materialist value and human impulse. When a society prefers the comfort and wellbeing of human beings to the welfare of its environment, democratic governance might be used as an effective tool against nature.