Indicators for sustainable energy development: An initiative by the International Atomic Energy Agency

Since 1999, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been leading a multinational, multi‐agency effort to develop a set of energy indicators useful for measuring progress on sustainable development at the national level. This effort has included the identification of major relevant energy indicators, the development of a framework for implementation and the testing of the applicability of this tool in a number of countries. To achieve these goals, the IAEA has worked closely with other international organizations, leaders in energy and environmental statistics and analysis including the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the International Energy Agency (IEA), Eurostat and the European Environment Agency (EEA). Also, the IAEA completed a three‐year coordinated research project for the implementation and testing of the original set of indicators in seven countries — Brazil, Cuba, Lithuania, Mexico, the Russian Federation, the Slovak Republic and Thailand. This article provides an overview of the IAEA programme on Indicators for Sustainable Energy Development (ISED) and highlights its experiences and accomplishments.     

Analysis of the “European Charter on General Principles for Protection of the Environment and Sustainable Development” The Council of Europe Document CO-DBP (2003)2

For almost 50 years, the Council of Europe through a series of documents has been helping to build up a set of rules, principles, and strategies related to culture, environment, ethics, and sustainable development. At the moment, one of the most important aims of the Council of Europe’s agenda deals with the elaboration of the General Principles for the Protection of the Environment and Sustainable Development, as raised in document CO-DBP (2003)2 related to the environmental subject. The intention of the Council of Europe is to encourage national authorities to implement these General Principles into their national environmental policies. These principles should have an important effect, especially in those countries which are new members of the European Union. The primary target of this paper is the study of these principles and the setting of their entailed implications in order to establish a relation between values and policy making. Quite often, the conclusions adopted by the agreements generated within the framework of the European Union are controversial. Therefore, a study aiming to lay the foundations of these principles will make the exchange of ideas easier, providing a wider and more detailed scope in the European environmental policy.     

Evaluation of sustainable development strategies and policies: The need for more timely indicators

Indicators are commonly used as tools to identify and highlight socio‐economic and ecological trends and to assess progress towards sustainability. Different quality criteria can be considered for indicators. This paper focuses on the timeliness of indicators used in the evaluation of sustainable development strategies. The analysis is based on indicators included in four assessment reports of the sustainable development strategy of the European Union and three assessment reports of the national strategy of Finland. Furthermore, a web‐based national level indicator portal is analysed. The results show that the timeliness of indicators has generally not improved during the past decade and that indicators used in strategy evaluations have a time lag of approximately two years. It is suggested that more attention should be given to efforts to improve the timeliness of indicators in order to increase the effectiveness of the evaluations. More generally, it is suggested that greater emphasis should be put on the empirical research on actual use of indicators.     

Evaluation of energy policy in Cuba using ISED

This article discusses the development of Cuba's energy sector in the last half century, especially the last 25 years, emphasizing social, economic, environmental and institutional aspects. Energy use is evaluated with the indicators for sustainable energy development (ISED) developed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and applied by the authors, based on data series from Cuba's National Office of Statistics. Cuba's economy and energy sector have undergone important changes, particularly in the 1990s during the crisis that resulted from the termination of the country's special trade relations with former socialist countries. Based on an analysis of Cuba's economy and energy situation, a number of policies were selected for evaluation, including those aimed to reduce energy import dependence, increase the share of renewable energy sources and improve energy efficiency. The effects of these policies are evaluated in view of sustainable energy development. The article concludes with an evaluation of recent progress towards sustainable energy development in Cuba, and outlines future options for the country.     

EU sustainable development indicators: An overview

The European Union's commitment to sustainable development at the 1992 Earth Summit resulted in an EU‐wide sustainable development strategy, adopted in Gothenburg in 2001. This article presents an overview of the set of sustainable development indicators (SDIs) recently adopted by the European Commission to monitor, assess and revise the strategy. It provides a critical assessment of the current status of the indicator set, and reviews the main policy trends in the areas of the strategy through a brief analysis of headline indicators, placing energy and climate change issues in a broader perspective. Finally, the article compares the energy SDIs to the recent inter‐agency energy indicators for sustainable development (EISD), underlining their similarities as well as their different priorities and objectives. The article concludes that further research is needed to improve the SDI set and further explore the linkages between themes.     

Extending the EU Renewable Energy Directive sustainability criteria to solid bioenergy from forests

Solid bioenergy from forests plays — and is expected to continue to play — a key role to fulfil the renewable energy targets at the European Union level. When the Renewable Energy Directive was enacted, sustainability criteria were incorporated solely for biofuels and bioliquids. Sustainability criteria for solid bioenergy are also needed in order to prevent wood and primary forest residues from posing additional environmental risks to ecosystems. Acknowledging this, the European Commission has been working on extending the biofuels and bioliquids provisions to solid biomass. An internal draft was circulated in August 2013 which addressed the ways to both balance and mitigate the risks in three main topics: biodiversity; sustainable forest management; and greenhouse gases. This paper presents a set of criteria and indicators, developed during workshops with experts from Governments, scientific institutions, businesses and NGOs, that may be considered by the EU to assure that solid biomass from forests is obtained in an environmentally sustainable way.     

Indicators for sustainable energy development in Lithuania

This article summarizes some of the results from the application of the indicators for sustainable energy development (ISED) tool for analyzing Lithuania's energy sector, in terms of trends, setting energy policy goals and monitoring progress towards these goals. This experience illustrates the potential applicability of the ISED methodology for energy policy development in economies in transition, using Lithuania as an example. The article presents a summary of the results achieved and conclusions arrived at from the analysis of six priority areas in the context of the research project coordinated by the International Atomic Energy Agency, and provides recommendations for the development of sustainable energy policy using the ISED approach.     

Farm management indicators and farm typologies as a basis for assessments in a changing policy environment

This paper focuses on the assessment of farm management indicators and argues that typologies are a necessary tool for comprehensive environmental assessments. In the paper Andersen et al., [(2004a). Farming and the Environment in the European Community--using agricultural statistics to provide farm management indicators. Paper presented at OECD Expert meeting, March 2004, New Zealand. < http:webdomino1.oecd.org/comnet/agr/farmind.nsf/viewHtml/index/$FILE/Anderson_et_al.PDF> (1st of February 2006).] presented at the OECD expert meeting on farm management indicators in New Zealand in March 2004, a set of farm management indicators was presented in the framework of a typology of grazing livestock farming systems in the EU-15 (includes all Member States of the European Union before 2004). The present paper presents new results on farm management indicators within the framework of an extended typology for all farming sectors. It presents an environmentally oriented extension to the EU typology of farms currently used for assessing the situation of farming within the European Union. The extended typology is tested in relation to emerging policy issues such as environmental sustainability and rural viability by analysing some of the farm management indicators suggested in Andersen et al., [(2004a). Farming and the Environment in the European Community--using agricultural statistics to provide farm management indicators. Paper presented at OECD Expert meeting, March 2004, New Zealand. (1st of February 2006).]. Finally, recommendations in relation to the next generation EU farm typology are given.     

Increasing uptake of low impact urban design and development: The role of sustainability assessment systems

'Market transformation' of the significant urban development industry towards more sustainable practices is not moving at great pace. Design and assessment systems that may promote uptake of more sustainable urban design and development are reviewed briefly followed by a comparison between building and neighbourhood scales. For the latter there is a dearth of design and assessment tools for the residential built environment and of indicators to monitor progress towards sustainable development. Local authorities increasingly require an integrated approach to data collection and inclusion of infrastructure service providers in design, assessment and monitoring of urban development and associated environmental effects. By examining attempts to increase uptake of more sustainable residential development, the potential for tools and indicators at the neighbourhood scale to reduce environmental impact of the built environment is highlighted. It is recommended that built environment initiatives need to be combined with research into behavioural changes to achieve the desired outcome of a sustainable built environment and to increase the dialogue between communities, developers and local authorities.     

Increasing uptake of low impact urban design and development: The role of sustainability assessment systems

Abstract

‘Market transformation’ of the significant urban development industry towards more sustainable practices is not moving at great pace. Design and assessment systems that may promote uptake of more sustainable urban design and development are reviewed briefly followed by a comparison between building and neighbourhood scales. For the latter there is a dearth of design and assessment tools for the residential built environment and of indicators to monitor progress towards sustainable development. Local authorities increasingly require an integrated approach to data collection and inclusion of infrastructure service providers in design, assessment and monitoring of urban development and associated environmental effects. By examining attempts to increase uptake of more sustainable residential development, the potential for tools and indicators at the neighbourhood scale to reduce environmental impact of the built environment is highlighted. It is recommended that built environment initiatives need to be combined with research into behavioural changes to achieve the desired outcome of a sustainable built environment and to increase the dialogue between communities, developers and local authorities.     

Environmental performance policy indicators for the public sector: the case of the defence sector

The development of environmental performance policy indicators for public services, and in particular for the defence sector, is an emerging issue. Despite a number of recent initiatives there has been little work done in this area, since the other sectors usually focused on are agriculture, transport, industry, tourism and energy. This type of tool can be an important component for environmental performance evaluation at policy level, when integrated in the general performance assessment system of public missions and activities. The main objective of this research was to develop environmental performance policy indicators for the public sector, specifically applied to the defence sector. Previous research included an assessment of the environmental profile, through the evaluation of how environmental management practices have been adopted in this sector and an assessment of environmental aspects and impacts. This paper builds upon that previous research, developing an indicator framework--SEPI--supported by the selection and construction of environmental performance indicators. Another aim is to discuss how the current environmental indicator framework can be integrated into overall performance management. The Portuguese defence sector is presented and the usefulness of this methodology demonstrated. Feasibility and relevancy criteria are applied to evaluate the set of indicators proposed, allowing indicators to be scored and indicators for the policy level to be obtained.     

Inspiring Futures for European Local Governments!

Since 1994, more than 2000 European local governments have adopted the principles of the Aalborg Charter as a basis for local sustainability action. Now, ten years later in June 2004, these local governments will gather once again in Aalborg, Denmark at the Fourth European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns in Europe, Inspiring Futures—Aalborg+10. The Aalborg+10 event will celebrate a decade of European local sustainability action, evaluate progress and stagnation, and, more importantly, will adopt new commitments to move from Agenda to Action. The conference will be crucial for accelerating local sustainability in Europe and to move towards Local Action. Here an overview is provided on the context against which this important conference is set and its expected outcomes.     

A Methodology for the Evaluation of Water Policies in European Countries

Periodic assessment of progress toward established policy goals is crucial to understanding whether the applied efforts are effective. In Europe, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) adopted in year 2000 set ambitious environmental objectives to be achieved by the end of 2015 through the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) principles. While at this stage it is premature to measure the impact of this Directive in terms of environmental outcomes, it is nonetheless important to develop indicators in order to monitor whether water management practices throughout Europe are aligning towards IWRM. This article presents the methodological development of the Water and Wetland Index, a comparative water policy assessment by environmental NGOs that was carried out in 2002–2003, and highlights the interest of repeating it in 2015, when the first WFD planning cycle will be completed.     

Local authorities and climate protection in the European union: Putting subsidiarity into practice?

Abstract

Although intrinsically a global environmental concern, the climate change issue has a number of implications for local authorities. Within the European Union (EU), the remit of local authorities in—‐for abatement policies—the crucial areas of energy and transport policy varies considerably, as does their commitment to environmental action more generally. This paper examines the role of local authorities in climate protection within a framework of global, EU and national action, through examples of local strategies from Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The paper finds positive instances of action in all countries, but points to unsympathetic policy frameworks both at national and EU level, such as budget constraints imposed on local authorities, the pursuit of low energy prices combined with a resistance to impose carbon taxes, a lack of energy efficiency standards and insufficient support for public transport.     

The vertical integration of Lisbon and sustainable development strategies across the EU: How different governance architectures shape the European coherence of policy documents

In Europe, sustainable development (SD) is pursued with not one but two overarching strategies, i.e., the so-called Lisbon and SD strategies. While the Lisbon Strategy is a genuinely European response to global economic and social pressures, SD strategies are national efforts corresponding with international (mainly United Nations) guidance to better coordinate and integrate economic, social and, in particular, environmental policies. The present paper explores the vertical coordination and coherence of the two pan-European strategies. After reviewing the international background of SD strategies and the EU origins of the Lisbon strategy, the paper characterizes and compares the governance architectures of the two strategies. With a solid background on how vertical policy integration functions in the two processes, the paper then shows how this affects the coherence of respective strategy structures and monitoring indicators. Based on an extensive empirical stocktaking study of the objectives and indicators in Lisbon and SD strategies across Europe it is shown that, despite the stronger European coordination through the Open Method of Coordination, the Lisbon process entailed only slightly more coherent national strategies than international guidance did in the context of SD strategies. Thus, the paper concludes that the influence international organizations such as the UN and the OECD have on national policy-making must not be underestimated.     

Monitoring the sustainability of Russia's energy development

This article presents an assessment of Russia's energy sector, its current state and planned future direction. The analysis of Russia's energy trends is based on a set of indicators for sustainable energy development (ISED), developed under the leadership of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The article discusses Russia's Energy Strategy to 2020, and outlines major developments and challenges of the country's energy system. Russia's energy priorities, captured in the Strategy to 2020, emphasize securing a stable and uninterrupted energy supply; reducing energy intensity and improving energy efficiency; developing the domestic energy resource base; reducing negative environmental impacts; and ensuring affordable energy for the poorer segments of the population. Energy needs and challenges are discussed in relation to the three aspects of sustainability as defined in Agenda 21: economic, social and environmental. Concerns are expressed regarding environmental repercussions of energy development, in particular since Russia's 1998 economic rebound. There are also concerns, despite the economic recovery, that anticipated increases in energy tariffs may exceed the affordability of poorer segments of the population.     

“A Kiss Here and a Kiss There”: Conflict and Collaboration in Environmental Partnerships

Multistakeholder collaboration in the environmental realm has been increasing steadily over the past decade. This trend is responding to several stimuli, including dissatisfaction with current regulatory regimes, a liberal economic climate emphasizing global competitiveness and short-term returns, and the growing roles of the business and nongovernmental organization sectors in the environmental policy arena. This paper grows out of ethnographic research conducted between 1994 and 1998 with four environmental partnerships in Europe and the United States. The research found all of these partnerships to be marked by practices of conflict minimization and diffusion. Drawing upon illustrative data from one of these case studies, a European Union level initiative aimed at enabling sustainable development in Europe, the paper asks why this was the case, especially given the diverse political and economic interests at stake and the history of contentious relations between the sectors in other venues. Employing a theoretical perspective highlighting the sociohistoric factors involved in these processes, the paper suggests that this proclivity toward nonconfrontational behavior stems in part from two sources: a prominent cultural model that conceptualizes the partnership process as fundamentally nonconflictual in nature, and the promotion of the discourse of ecological modernization over other competing discourses. The paper explores some of the implications of this finding and concludes that environmental partnerships characterized by such nonconfrontational practices risk inadvertently encouraging the delegitimization of conflictual approaches to environmental action and engendering a retreat from radical thinking and innovative environmental solutions.     

Beyond sustainability indicators

Sustainability indicators are an increasingly popular tool for the identification of policies and monitoring of progress towards sustainable development. The need for indicators is clearly set out in Agenda 21 and has been taken up by the Commission for Sustainable Development. Devising alternative measures of progress to gross national product has been the subject of much research in the past few years. There are many local sustainability indicator initiatives now under way, co-ordinated by local authorities and involving local communities. However useful these exercises have been (not least to those engaged in them) there is little evidence, so far, that sustainability indicators are leading to substantial shifts in policy at national or local level. Evidence points, in fact, to substantial barriers to progress in several key areas: for example, the necessity for the greater integration of environmental, social and economic policy, the tackling of inequality and poverty and the encouragement of greater public participation in action on sustainable development. In order for indicators to make any progress in surmounting these barriers there is a need to address issues of trust and to examine existing institutional structures and practices. In parallel with the development of indicators, national, and particularly local, government will need to experiment with new and creative techniques for community participation in decision making, engage in dialogue with new cultural networks and implement practical initiatives to improve the quality of life in particular communities.     

Taking risks with the precautionary principle: food (and the environment) for thought at the European Commission

Various parties relate to the precautionary principle with various understandings, claims and hopes. One of the ways to comprehend this multiplicity of meanings is to examine the composition of this problematic norm in the societal and institutional settings where it occurs. In this paper, I address its elaboration on the European Union institutional terrain with the European Commission's Communication on the Precautionary Principle. This effectuation of the precautionary principle embraces a number of issues of transnational or multilevel governance, expertise, legitimacy and sovereignty. The crucial matter that this paper engages in initially is that of risk analysis, the procedural framework that the precautionary principle confronts with its innovative articulations of science and policy-making, but to which I argue that it succumbs in part. Also explored, in turn, are further framings of the precautionary principle: science versus policy, a given policy domain—environment—in relation to others, as well as action versus inaction (whereas I argue that the precautionary principle ought to be about acting and doubting). These are further evaluated in the conclusions, together with the predicament of establishing a common understanding or defining the precautionary principle. I show that, complementary to drivers of divergence, one finds support for a common approach, though there is no radial symmetry in these tangled stakes, and any ‘diffusion’ of the precautionary principle has to be actively carried out for a shared understanding to be more widely shared. In this process, Europe, the European Commission, its Communication, and the precautionary principle are being shaped into diverse compositions of unity in diversity. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.