“The governance and practice of change of sustainable consumption and production.” Introduction to the ideas and recommendations presented in the articles in this special issue of the journal of cleaner production

This special issue is a result of work of Sustainable Consumption Research Exchanges (SCORE!). This EU supported network project under the 6th Framework Program engaged a few hundred professionals interested in sustainable consumption and production (SCP) in Europe and beyond. A key goal of the network is to enhance understanding how radical reductions of environmental impacts and at global level a more equitable growth can be realised. In April 2006, SCORE! organised a workshop in Copenhagen with support of the European Environment Agency, titled ‘Governance of change to Sustainable Consumption and Production’. This special issue contains 7 papers based on presentations during that workshop. It further contains a summary of the main conclusions drawn by the SCORE! project team on the basis of a broader review of radical change to SCP from a business, design, consumer and system innovation perspective. The conclusion is unambiguously that governments cannot ‘outsource politics’, but must form a ‘triangle of change’ with business and consumers. We have further to understand the systemic nature of the change required. Some policies are currently more viable than others, given existing mega-trends, mega-structures and mega-views, which cannot be changed easily in the short-term and usually cannot be tackled head-on. Such issues, like paradigms on the possibility of continuous exponential growth, the belief in free markets and trade, need a longer-term deliberative process before change is possible.     

The natural advantage of regions: linking sustainability,innovation, and regional development in Australia

The combined impacts of the financial crisis and climate change are driving the evolution of sustainable business and changing the way that governments plan for development. Markets are emerging for a range of environmentally orientated products and services as societies move (or lurch) towards reducing impacts and adapt to changing conditions. National governments are actively formulating policy and providing investment to develop green economies as one of the responses to the global financial crisis. Many of the political and economic drivers have been focused at the international and national scale, and while critical for setting the national framework for development, it often neglects the key role that regions and localities can play in ecological modernization. This paper explores two regional case studies in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, that are initiating shifts towards networks of sustainable businesses and communities and offers recommendations for further policy development. The focus of this paper is on the evolving regional sustainability market and its relationship to other social institutions including governments, communities and the individual. The unifying concept is the idea of the ‘natural advantage’, a model that integrates innovation and sustainability as a part of the regional development policy agenda.     

Product-services as a research field: past,present and future. Reflections from a decade of research

In the last decade many researchers, institutes and programs in the EU paid attention to product-service systems (PSS). Given this massive effort, it is time to take stock. Is PSS research a theoretical field in its own right? Is the PSS concept indeed the road to the Factor 10 world? Is it the road to enhanced competitiveness? What is needed to really use the potential of the concept? This paper discusses these questions summarizing the analysis done in the PSS review book ‘New Business for Old Europe’, various EU sponsored projects and the conceptual approach chosen in a new research network on Sustainable Consumption and Production, called SCORE!     

Industrial symbiosis and the policy instruments of sustainable consumption and production

Industrial symbioses (ISs) and eco-industrial parks (EIPs) are key concepts of industrial ecology (IE). The aim of ISs and EIPs is to minimise inefficient material and energy use by utilising local by-product and energy flows. Industrial symbioses tend to develop through spontaneous action of economic actors, for gaining of economic benefit, but these systems can be designed and promoted via policy instruments as well. A literature review showed that national programmes for eco-industrial parks can be found in different parts of the world. In the action programmes and other sustainable consumption and production (SCP) policy documents of the EU, on the other hand, industrial symbioses gain less recognition as a path to enhanced sustainable production. In this article, we consider this and also analyse how the evolution and environmental performance of an industrial symbiosis system centred on a Finnish pulp and paper mill have been affected by SCP policy instruments. With regard to the system forming the subject of the case study, and Finnish industrial systems in general, policy instruments have succeeded in reducing emissions but not in systematically encouraging operators toward symbiosis-like activities. All in all, few studies exist on the overall impact of policy instruments promoting design of eco-industrial parks. It is not self-evident that symbiosis-like production systems would be sustainable in every case, as the background assumptions for political promotion of EIPs suggest. We concluded that industrial symbioses should be analysed and developed on a life cycle basis, with documentation of the real environmental benefits due to efficient resource use and decreased emissions in comparison to standalone production. ISs can then bring eco-competitiveness to companies in relation to SCP tools, such as environmental permits, ecolabels, and future product regulation based on the Ecodesign Directive in Europe. Indirect encouragement of symbiosis through land-use regulation and planning, in such a way that material fluxes between companies are possible both in operations and in financial terms, may prove effective. The same holds for waste policies that encourage increased reuse of a company’s waste by other enterprises.     

Geological CO2 Storage as a Climate Change Mitigation Option

Carbon dioxide (CO₂₎ capture and storage is increasingly being considered as an important climate change mitigation option. This paper explores provisions for including geological CO₂ storage in climate policy. The storage capacity of Norway's Continental Shelf is alone sufficient to store a large share of European CO₂ emissions for many decades. If CO₂ is injected into oil reservoirs there is an additional benefit in terms of enhanced oil recovery. However, there are significant technical and economic challenges, including the large investment in infrastructure required, with related economies of scale properties. Thus CO₂ capture, transportation and storage projects are likely to be more economically attractive if developed on a large scale, which could mean involving two or more nations. An additional challenge is the risk of future leakages from storage sites, where the government must take on a major responsibility. In institutional and policy terms, important challenges are the unsettled status of geological CO₂ storage as a policy measure in the Kyoto Protocol, lack of relevant reporting and verification procedures, and lack of decisions on how the option should be linked to the flexibility mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol. In terms of competitiveness with expected prices for CO₂ permits under Kyoto Protocol trading, the relatively high costs per tonne of CO₂ stored means that geological CO₂ storage is primarily of interest where enhanced oil recovery is possible. These shortcomings and uncertainties mean that companies and governments today only have weak incentives to venture into geological CO₂ storage.     

The World Programme of Action: a new paradigm for population policy. The Cairo Conference

There has been considerable national and international debate over the past two years on population-related issues. Women have sought to affirm their right to control fertility and to have access to health services while criticizing current population policies and programs. A new paradigm for population policy has emerged from the debate, one which focuses upon providing broadly defined reproductive health services and acknowledges women's reproductive rights and their need for empowerment. This new population policy is embodied in the World Program of Action (WPOA) adopted September 1994 at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, Egypt. WPOA is the main document emerging from the ICPD. It was developed and negotiated by participating governments during three preparatory committee meetings leading up to the conference and at ICPD itself, where it was adopted. The WPOA is slated for approval by the UN General Assembly during its current session. The WPOA is evidence of how effective women were in making women's rights and health the focus of an international document. The author discusses politics at the ICPD, the WPOA, funding the WPOA's implementation, the road ahead, and the power of women's strategies.     

How robust is public support for unilateral climate policy?

Most governments emphasize the need for reciprocal (“give and take”) international commitments in global climate policy. Nonetheless, existing public opinion polls indicate strong support by individual citizens for unilateral climate policies as well. This raises the question of whether governments could, without risking electoral punishment, afford to pursue more ambitious unilateral climate policies, or whether surveys may have overestimated support for unilateralism due to measurement problems. Based on conjoint and framing experiments embedded in representative surveys in the world's two largest democracies, India and the United States, we engage in a critical re-assessment of earlier survey results. We find robust public support for unilateral climate policy in both countries. Such support declines with increasing costs and increases with growing co-benefits and problem solving effectiveness. We also find, however, that policy conditionality and possible institutional design mechanisms against free-riding by other states (which make the policy “less unilateral” by providing for reciprocation) play no significant role when citizens form their preferences with respect to climate policy. Neither is public support affected by whether policies focus on adaptation (which limits benefits to the investing country) or mitigation (which benefits all countries globally). Overall, these findings suggest that, in view of very slow progress in global climate policy, governments of rich and poor countries could politically afford to push ahead with more ambitious unilateral climate policies.     

造纸废液生产单细胞蛋白

探讨生物法处理造纸黑液，单细胞蛋白是通过培养单细胞生物而获得的菌体蛋白质。利用产朊假丝鄄母Ｃ．ｕｔｉｌｉｓ发酵亚硫酸造纸液可生产ＳＣＰ作为动物饲料添加剂。     

Network management and environmental effectiveness: the management of end-of-life vehicles in the United Kingdom and in Sweden

The principle of extended producer responsibility (EPR) has been a policy paradigm behind the development of waste policies in the European Union including the End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Directive (2000/53/EC). This study compares and explains the environmental effectiveness of the ELV programmes in the United Kingdom and in Sweden between 1990 and 2005, using a framework that integrates the Dutch approach to policy network analysis (PNA) with a theory-based evaluation (TBE). It finds that: (1) the perception of the producers towards EPR can be influenced largely by their social interaction with other actors, (2) the announcement of policies, and (3) the cohesion of policy instruments are key factors affecting the effectiveness of the programmes. As the latter two depend on the determination and comprehension of national governments, the transposition of the EU EPR Directives might not automatically lead to effective implementation and intended outcomes unless the Member States adhere to the principle and the development of its intervention theory.     

Electricity price subsidy or carbon-trading subsidy: which is more efficient to develop photovoltaic power generation from a government perspective?

Photovoltaic (PV) power generation has high investment costs and long payback periods. Therefore, during early deployment, subsidies are fundamental and necessary to accelerate its development. We consider the question of how to promote PV industry development and which supporting policy is more efficient in accelerating adoption. Based on real options method, we establish a subsidy efficiency model for electricity price subsidies and carbon-trading subsidies under two sources of uncertainty power demand for PV and the investment cost-reduction probability. This study aims to compare the two forms of subsidies from the perspective of promoting immediate investment and maximizing the subsidy policy efficiency for the government (minimizing the unit carbon-mitigation cost) and advance relevant policy proposals. An example of China is provided to test the effectiveness of the model and to illustrate the implications of the solutions. The results show that a carbon-trading subsidy is better than an electricity price subsidy and that it is essential to improve the demand for the power produced by the PV power-generation projects. Lower market risk and driving technology progress are both conducive to improving the subsidy efficiency. This study also provides a meaningful reference for governments worldwide to formulate subsidy programs to support PV power-generation projects.     

Making resources work more efficiently – the importance of supply chain partnerships

State and federal governments in Australia have implemented a range of assistance programs for manufacturing industries to become more resource efficient and reduce waste. While many of these programs focus on Cleaner Production at single sites, an increasing number of assistance programs are offered across supply chains. Sustainability Victoria, a Victorian government authority, supports projects that focus on resource efficiencies across supply chains in key industry sectors.In this study, tools were adapted and utilised to identify efficiency potentials and losses across supply chains in the timber furniture manufacturing and the food industry sector. In this respect, waste generation and value loss due to inefficient use of critical materials within the processes were estimated from purchase and waste handling data. Primary companies were chosen to undertake efficiency trials that could demonstrate value gain across the supply chain.This study describes the realisation of greater efficiencies in material usage when engaging proactively with supply chain partners immediately adjacent to the primary company. Demonstration trials confirmed that through a more integrated approach among supply chain partners the potential in using materials more efficiently and design processes can lead to enhanced productivity without compromising environmental burden. Hence, the study describes targeted resource efficiency, recycling and process optimisation opportunities as identified in the supply chain trials on timber furniture manufacturing and food industries.     

中国自然保护区空间分布的经济分析

论文利用2008年自然保护区数据,分析全国自然保护区的空间分布特征,并结合自然保护区所在地的社会经济信息,进行空间统计分析,重点从机会成本和保护资金的角度探求影响自然保护区空间分布的经济因素。论文发现,当前自然保护区的空间分布是既有政策下地方政府符合经济理性的选择,机会成本对自然保护区决策有着重要的潜在影响,在自然保护决策中不容忽视。目前的空间分布也揭示了自然保护区管理资金的困境,特别是对于国家级自然保护区,现有资金机制可能成为推动地方政府在自然保护中管理失效的制度根源。国家应该将自然保护区工作与地方社会经济紧密结合,并对不同压力状态下的自然保护区在资金机制上进行分类管理,以便获得更好的保护成效。     

陆海统筹与海洋可持续发展——国合会2011年圆桌会议在青岛举行

2011年4月27-28日,中国环境与发展国际合作委员会(简称国合会)在青岛举办了2011年圆桌会议。环境保护部副部长、国合会秘书长李干杰出席圆桌会议并致辞,国合会副秘书长、环保部国际司司长徐庆华主持会议。会议围绕"陆海统筹与海洋可持续发展"主     

Plans to distribute the next billion computers by 2015 creates lead pollution risk

Major computer and software companies, along with governments and philanthropic organizations have embarked on ambitious plans to put computers in the hands of more than one billion new computer users over the next five to six years in untapped markets in emerging economies. The most frequently proposed solution to overcome the electricity shortfall in communities where new computer users will be located is to use rechargeable lead-acid batteries to provide primary and back-up power for computers. This paper calculates the lead emissions from battery manufacturing and recycling that will result if independent market projections to greatly expand the number, geographic, and socioeconomic distribution of computer users are realized. By examining several possible scenarios, we estimate that between 1250 and 2300 kt of lead – between four and seven times the weight of the Empire State Building – could be released into the environment in the developing world to provide power to computers sold through 2015. Increased lead exposure has a negative impact on children's neurological development as measured by reduced school performance and on standardized tests. In order to realize the educational achievement and economic development benefits of reducing the “digital divide” proponents will need to encourage improvements in lead battery production and recycling in targeted markets.     

Energy policy, planning and the environment in developing countries

MICROCOSM is a modified system dynamics model of the energy sector of a developing country, intended for energy analysis work of short duration in small, data-poor economies. It is also quite useful for quick survey use on a regional or national basis in more complex economies and assists in early identification of sectoral bottlenecks in major energy planning projects. Its other major application is in the teaching and training of energy planners and policy makers. MICROCOSM is an indicative planning tool for professionals in the energy-planning field. It does not present an optimal solution to balancing energy supply and demand, but is intended for circumstances where there are insufficient data to reach such conclusions. The purpose of this article is to explain the way in which the model works, as well as the equations upon which it is based. It concentrates on the conceptual basis and methodology, in order to assist the reader in understanding the model.     

Creating integrated business and environmental value within the context of China’s circular economy and ecological modernization

This paper investigates the challenges and opportunities of how firms and organizations can and will be able to strike a better balance between economic growth and environmental stewardship in the context of China’s emerging ‘circular economy’ policy paradigm and based on ecological modernization theoretic approaches.Based on three company case studies in the information technology and electronic industries in China, we identify and demonstrate how a blended business and environmental value can be created from adopting a sustainable supply chain management approach. The adoption of a sustainable supply chain management approach is rapidly becoming a key business challenge and opportunity in China and other large emerging economies around the world, where our greatest environmental management challenges currently reside and will continue to exist for many years to come. The value creation framework proposed in research focuses on evaluating three case study companies who appear in various stages of an electronic industry supply chain. Value creation within a supply chain can provide the impetus for organizations to adopt circular economy, sustainable supply chain practices, for competitive reasons.In addition, we describe how a value proposition can be evaluated at two levels of analysis, a more specific micro-level and a more general meso-level of analysis. The four major business value dimensions include cost reduction, revenue generation, resiliency, and legitimacy and image.The initial findings are that a variety of opportunities exist for electronic firms in emerging and developing countries, while results from this study provide an important scholarly foundation to develop and refine sustainable supply chain management practices in emerging and developing economies.     

国际环境执政理论研究进展透视

要想真正改善中国的环境条件,需要中国领导人和整个社会齐心合作,加强环境执政.在欧洲、日本和美国,环境执政手段正在发生变化.20世纪六七十年代起,国家政府开始积极致力于环境保护工作,是政策形成的初期阶段,而环境执政的主要特点是命令与控制的环境法规规范.这些法规一般技术性很强,关注特定污染物;虽然其过去在改善西方环境条件方面作出了重要贡献,人们还是日益认识到这种方式的局限性.因此,现在已开始采纳新的环境执政模式,其特点是多方利益相关者参与、决策过程更透明,重点从处理已发生的污染问题,向源头控制和更具预防性质的计划方式转变,也越来越重视以人类健康和生态系统的保护为目标的途径,而不再是简单减少某种污染物的排放水平.政府的成功取决于政府强化环境执政的种种步骤.     

磺胺氯哒嗪在海水中的间接光降解

以有色溶解有机物(CDOM)作为主要光敏剂研究磺胺氯哒嗪(SCP)间接光降解行为和机理,分析CDOM组成、盐度和pH值对SCP间接光降解的影响.SCP间接光降解速率随CDOM浓度升高而逐渐加快.CDOM产生的光化学反应活性中间体对SCP间接光降解的贡献率不同,其中³CDOM^*起主要作用,对SCP间接光降解的贡献率高达77.94%.所用CDOM由4种荧光组分组成,包含3种外源腐殖质(C1,C2,C3)和1种内源腐殖质(C4), SCP间接光降解去除率和³CDOM^*浓度分别与荧光组分的相关性大小顺序均为C3>C2>C4>C1.其中C3和C2与[³CDOM^*]具有较高线性相关性(R²>0.97),是³CDOM^*的主要贡献者.盐度和pH值对SCP间接光降解的影响作用显著.在盐度为15‰时,SCP的间接光降解速率最大.在低盐度范围(0~15‰)内,离子强度效应对间接光降解的促进作用大于无机阴离子带来的抑制作用,使得间接光降解速率随着盐度的升高而加快.溶液pH=(5.00±0.10)时,SCP的间接光降解速率最大.SCP的间接光降解速率随着溶液pH值的升高而减慢,中性和碱性环境不利于SCP的间接光降解.     

库湾营养盐循环对三峡库区营养盐输运的影响:以草堂河为例

三峡水库蓄水后,库区众多支流下游形成库湾回水区,这些库湾回水区是库区水环境调整最为活跃的地区.为了探究支流库湾对于库区生源要素循环及物质通量的作用和意义,于2012年8月~2013年7月对草堂河库湾、相邻干流、支流上游水体中溶解态无机氮(DIN)、溶解态无机磷(DIP)、溶解态硅酸盐(DSi)的时空分布进行逐月现场观测.结果表明,草堂河库湾回水区营养盐的浓度与库区干流相近,二者的月变化趋势也高度一致.干流输入是库湾DIN、DIP、DSi的主要来源.草堂河库湾与干流连通性很好,干支流水体交换迅速且充分,其影响可到达库湾回水区的末端.春、夏季,干流输入的营养盐通过表层生产力在库湾截留,秋、冬季库湾中的营养盐释放并输送到干流.营养盐在库湾的这种循环过程,在一定程度上改变了库区干流不同季节营养盐输送的节律.库区支流库湾众多,其对干流物质通量的季节调配作用不容忽视.