Forging New Directions in Science and Environmental Politics and Policy: How Can Co-operation, Deliberation and Decision be Brought Together?

Science, politics and environmental policy have for several years been encountering social and institutional as well as scientific challenges, national and international. The normative basis of all sciences is pressurised from three sides: by awareness of the public, who claims more transparency and sensibility from the scientific institutions regarding factual or possible impacts of science-based industrial progress; by the industries, which try to speed up and intensify the industrialisation of knowledge; and by the public policies, which want to see the sciences engaged in ways to mitigate unintended consequences of economic, ecological and social developments. At the same time, environmental policy is undergoing a tremendous sea change both in conceptual and practical matters. Since the Brundtland Report in 1987 and accelerated after UNCED 1992, environmental policy has been struggling to become a groundbreaking new paradigm for the capacity of resolving social and political issues as well. Any successful attempt to alter traditional institutional and mental structures in policy-making toward sustainability presupposes a renewed association of co-operation, deliberation and decision making. Results from theory of democracy, studies in science and technology, and evaluation studies in environmental policy and politics can be utilised for this context.     

环境政策边缘化现实与改革方向辨析

本文认为由于中国现行环境政策的设计、执行和实施不能有效纳入到社会经济发展和决策过程的主流。不能从根源上解决环境与发展的矛盾．因而呈规出边缘化特征，表现在环境政策的末端管理特征、尚未建立一体化的政策体系、公平与效率准则未纳入政策设计过程、缺乏综合绩效评估、环境投资总量不足与低效率等。从政策的设计、作用环境、作用对象、作用范围的变化分析了边缘化的产生原因以及所导致的中国环境保护的误区和问题．包括技术、经济．生态、社会效率的分离．环境资源的区域配置低效率、近动式管理以及政策实施效果与政策目标的偏离等。本文提出改变现存问题的突破点在于构建基于环境权益以及全成本的政策体系和管理制度，并分析了需要解决和突破的关键性理论和实践问题。     

全球绿色低碳发展与公平的国际制度建设

在可持续发展和扶贫框架下发展绿色经济与国际可持续发展制度建设及改革是当前世界可持续发展的核心和关键,也是"里约+20"峰会的两个主题。首先,绿色经济是体现经济社会与资源环境相协调和可持续发展的根本途径。绿色经济的核心是以低的自然资源消费、低排放、低污染,达到高的自然资源利用效益,实现高的经济社会发展水平,提供高的生活水平和优良的生活环境。全球绿色经济的发展潮流,将引发社会形态由"工业文明"向"生态文明"转变。虽然经济发展和消除贫困是发展中国家当前首要和压倒一切的优先任务,但也必须探索新型的绿色低碳工业化和现代化道路,在实现工业文明的过程中,努力建设生态文明,实现跨越式发展。同时积极应对全球绿色低碳转型中新的经济、贸易、技术竞争规则和格局的变动,加强先进技术创新,提升自身的低碳竞争力。其次,公平获取可持续发展的理念,应成为国际可持续发展制度建设和改革的基本原则。可持续发展要求既要促进经济社会发展与资源环境相协调,促进"代际公平",又要关注欠发达地区消除贫困,提高生活质量,改善生态环境,实现"国别公平"、"人际公平"。因此,国际可持续发展制度框架的建设和改革,要体现世界各国公平获取可持续发展的理念和原则,全面均衡地反映不同国情和发展阶段国家的利益诉求。主要表现在公平享有全球环境空间、公平获得现代优质能源服务、公平适应全球环境变化、公平承担责任义务及公平的国际制度和机制。中国需要统筹国内外两个大局,走中国特色的绿色低碳发展之路。最后,中国的国情和发展阶段特征,在可持续发展领域又面临比发达国家更多的困难和更严峻的挑战。在全球发展绿色经济,努力实现可持续发展的大背景下,中国要统筹国际国内两个大局,协调推进。在国际上积极参与国际制度的建设和改革,在促进全球经济发展,社会进步和环境保护等方面发挥积极的建设性的作用。在国内加强可持续发展战略的实施,走绿色、低碳和可持续发展的路径。主要战略对策包括加速转变发展方式,强化节能优先,控制能源消费总量和CO2排放总量的过快增长;加强能源结构的低碳化,逐步建立并形成以新能源和可再生能源为主体的可持续能源体系;加强城乡统筹,地区平衡,促进生态城市建设;适应国际可持续发展制度改革的趋势,加强绿色低碳和可持续发展的制度建设;抓住机遇,顺应世界绿色低碳发展潮流,自主实现发展方式的转变,把传统的资源依赖型、粗放扩张的发展方式转变到新型的技术创新型、内涵提高的发展方式上来,基本走上绿色低碳和可持续发展的轨道。     

Computerised Decision Support Systems for the management of freshwater radioecological emergencies: assessment of the state-of-the-art with respect to the experiences and needs of end-users

Assessment of the environmental and radiological consequences of a nuclear accident requires the management of a great deal of data and information as well as the use of predictive models. Computerised Decision Support Systems (CDSS) are essential tools for this kind of complex assessment and for assisting experts with a rational decision process. The present work focuses on the assessment of the main features of selected state-of-the-art CDSS for off-site management of freshwater ecosystems contaminated by radionuclides. This study involved both developers and end-users of the assessed CDSS and was based on practical customisation exercises, installation and application of the decision systems. Potential end-users can benefit from the availability of several ready-to-use CDSS that allow one to run different kinds of models aimed at predicting the behaviour of radionuclides in aquatic ecosystems, evaluating doses to humans, assessing the effectiveness of different kinds of environmental management interventions and ranking these interventions, accounting for their social, economic and environmental impacts. As a result of the present assessment, the importance of CDSS “integration” became apparent: in many circumstances, different CDSS can be used as complementary tools for the decision-making process. The results of this assessment can also be useful for the future development and improvement of the CDSS.     

The role of sustainability environment in export marketing strategy and performance: a literature review

Increasing environmental issues, economic and cultural differences, the regulatory framework and the great attention to social responsibility, have forced companies to face the challenge of sustainability. Thus, the adaption of a proper marketing strategy in order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage in the market (specially export markets) has become an important principle in accepting companies. In this regard, this study is a systematic literature review, which investigated 102 published articles in international journals between 1964 and 2015. In the literature review, the main focus was on key issues such as sustainability, marketing strategies, financial and market export performance. In this article, at first, the concept of sustainability from different aspects was collected and described. Then, external factors, such as competitive intensity, public concern, regulations, technology, cultural/social, and economic, as well as internal factors, such as managers, employees, stakeholders, affecting sustainability, were studied. Finally, adaption of export marketing strategies in order to achieve sustainability export performance is discussed.     

Is the degrowth debate relevant to China?

In industrialized countries, the idea of degrowth has emerged as a response to environmental, social, and economic crises. Realizing environmental limits to and failures of more than half a century of continual economic growth in terms of social progress and environmental sustainability, the degrowth paradigm calls for a downscaling of consumption and production for social equity and ecological sustainability. The call for economic degrowth is generally considered to be delimited to rich countries, where reduced consumption can save “ecological space” enabling people in poor countries to enjoy the benefits of economic growth. China, as one of the economically most expanding countries in the world, has dramatically improved its living standards, particularly along the Eastern coast, over the latest 30 years. However, China is absent from the international debates on growth. This article discusses the implications of the Western degrowth debates for China. Given the distinctive features of China’s development, the paper aims to enrich the degrowth debates, which have hitherto been dominated by Western perspectives. Based upon reflections on social, environmental, and moral dimensions of economic growth, the paper argues that limited natural resources may not continuously support universal affluence at the current level of the rich countries, a level that China is likely to reach within a few decades. Priority for growth in China should therefore be given to the poor regions of the country, and future growth should be beneficial to social and environmental development.     

International experience of green development in Western China: an overall review of policy and practice

Green development emphasizes co-development between economic and environmental dimensions, and is a people-centered sustainable development approach. Western China demands green development, and international experience could provide necessary, unique and important help and support for Western China to achieve its green development goals. This paper has made a comprehensive overall review and analysis of international experience in green development policy and its implementation, in particular, OECD countries’ (mostly Australia and Canada) experience have been analyzed following the major policy foci defined by the Task Force on Strategy and Policies on Environment and Development in Western China initiated by China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED). Data and information were gathered from the field surveys and investigations, expert meetings, as well as literature review. The main sessions include policy framework and road map establishment, implementation and performance assessment, co-development between economic development and environmental protection, as well as green employment and poverty alleviation. The paper has addressed five policy considerations for the future promotion of green development in Western China.     

绿色经济新理念及中国开展绿色经济研究的思考

联合国里约20周年世界峰会的重要内容之一是倡导绿色经济。绿色经济的概念最早在1989年由英国环境经济学家Pearce提出,但现在的绿色经济却具有全新的意义。本文基于参加联合国有关绿色新政和绿色经济的政策咨询和研究报告,论述了绿色经济的基本背景、三重效益、研究模型以及绿色经济与生活质量的关系,对如何开展中国绿色经济研究进行探讨。首先,文章认为在深入探讨绿色经济前,需要了解当前发展绿色经济的基本背景,明确为什么要发展绿色经济、什么才是我们所需要的绿色经济,以及怎样促进绿色经济发展三个基本问题。其二,绿色经济与褐色经济的情景模拟表明,绿色经济发展模式具有更好的三重底线效益。联合国的T-21模型对过去40年(1970-2010)及未来40年(2010-2050)进行了绿色情景与褐色情景两种模拟,认为在自然资本的环境收益方面,绿色经济发展情景下自然资本的退化得到了基本遏制,而褐色经济发展情景下自然资本的退化会进一步增强;在物质资本的经济收益方面,绿色经济发展情景下,2020年以前经济增长率(2.5%)会低于褐色经济(3%),但从长期平均增长率看绿色经济发展模式(2.5%)可以带来比褐色经济发展模式(2%)更好的经济增长;在人力资本的社会效益方面,在2030年以前绿色经济发展情景下就业机会有小幅减少,但长期来看,绿色经济能够创造与褐色经济同样多的就业机会,甚至可以有小幅的增加(0.6%)。其三,绿色经济研究模型表明,绿色经济投资于自然资本可以实现所需要的经济社会发展与自然资本消耗的脱钩。绿色经济假说是:将资金投资于提高资源能源效率与扩大自然资本两个方面,是否能够导致更好的经济社会发展。基于该理论假设,联合国等国际组织将自然资本引入生产函数,建立了Threshold-21模型,证明绿色经济即投资于自然资本可以实现所需要的经济社会发展与自然资本消耗的脱钩。其四,绿色经济发展模式不仅有利于经济增长,同时能够增加生活质量。绿色经济假说,强调了绿色投资对生活质量有正的影响。通过生态绩效模型、结构方程模型以及典型案例研究等三种方法进行分析,研究表明:减少自然资本消耗可以减少生态环境的治理成本和维护成本、维持与增加自然资本对人类的功能;可以提高自然资本的生产效率,用较少的自然资本投入达到社会稳定所需要的人造资本;可以提高人造资本的服务效率,用一定的物质存量为更多的人服务。其五,开展深化中国绿色经济理论与绿色发展模式的系统研究。联合国等国际组织倡导的绿色经济可以给我们发展中国的绿色经济带来新的启示,笔者认为对中国绿色经济理论与绿色发展模式开展深入和系统的研究,应该包括理论内涵、实证分析、发展情景、行动领域、政策体系等五个依次递进、前后照应的研究模块。     

Corporations,Consumerism and Culpability: Sustainability in the British Press

Sustainability and sustainable development are prominent themes in international policy-making, corporate PR, news-media and academic scholarship. Its definitions are contested, however sustainability is associated with a three-pillar focus on economic development, environmental conservation and social justice, most recently espoused in the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. In spite of its common usage, there is little research about how sustainability is represented and refracted in public discourse in different national contexts. We examine British national press coverage of sustainability and sustainable development in 2015 in a cross-market sample of national newspapers. Our findings show that key international policy events and environmental and social justice frames are peripheral, while neoliberalism and neoliberal environmentalism vis-à-vis the promotion of technocratic solutions, corporate social responsibility and “sustainable” consumerism are the predominant frames through which the British news-media reports sustainability. This holds regardless of newspaper quality and ideological orientation.     

农村水环境保护与经济可持续发展

我国的生态环境问题 ,如水土流失、草场退化、沙漠化、盐渍化等问题 ,归根到底还是农村水环境问题。本文分析了农村水环境保护、高效利用水资源的紧迫性 ,以及影响农村生态系统可持续性的因素和保护、改善农村水环境的主要措施 ;认为加强农村水环境保护及其持续发展能力的建设是我国整个社会特别是农村经济可持续发展的基本保障     

A new model for sustainable development: a case study of The Great Bear Rainforest regional plan

This paper describes a new model of sustainable development planning based on a case study of a successful planning process for the Great Bear Rainforest on Canada’s west coast. The planning region is an area of international ecological significance that contains one-quarter of the world’s remaining ancient coastal temperate rainforest. An innovative collaborative planning process was initiated in 1996 to develop a plan for the region that balances social, economic, and environmental values. The plan, which was accepted by consensus agreement of all stakeholders in 2006, uses a new model for sustainable regional development that is based on collaborative planning, collaborative implementation, informal conflict resolution, contextual adaptation incorporating comanagement with indigenous peoples (First Nations), joint fact finding, ecosystem-based management, and integration of social, economic, and environmental objectives.     

Integrating Concepts and Models from Development Econoimcs with Land use Change in the Tropics

In this paper I undertake a preliminary assessment for the tropics of the relation of economic development, meaning in general increases in economic activity as measured by e.g. GDP, and its normal biophysical corollaries of increased resource use and land use change. I also examine each in relation to the intellectual concepts that underlie and guide what is commonly called economic development. Because most of the development literature is derived from economics or other social sciences, and focuses almost entirely on lifting people’s standards of living as measured in monetary units, very little examines the per unit biophysical requirements of that development, including energy or other resource use requirements, land use change or other environmental consequences of development plans. In addition there seems to be insufficient connection between those who create economic development plans and those who undertake empirical biophysical assessments to determine whether the development plan has worked or can possibly work. The problem is deeper: there exists a series of models used in the development literature that have been used to encourage and guide development. These models have received very little scrutiny as to either their efficacy or their societal or environmental impacts until quite recently. When this has been done the models have been shown to fail miserably. It is time to develop a new model of development that synthesizes conventional economic, biophysical economic and social aspects, and that is based on the scientific method rather than on perceived wisdom. This model must also take into account population growth, issues of who wins and who looses from economic development, and the implications of the incipient peak in global oil production.     

东南沿海经济发达地区发展趋势与问题

东南沿海经济发达地区是我国改革开放和现代化建设的先行地区。在持续十几、二十几年的经济快速发展过程中,该地区产业结构进一步优化,经济实力迅速提高,已经基本形成城乡一体化、城市连绵化的格局,为我国综合实力的增强做出了巨大贡献。随着经济全球化、一体化的发展,该地区将继续担负我国国际竞争力提升和国内经济发展示范的重要作用。然而,产业自主创新能力不强、能源缺口较大、耕地流失严重、粮食安全问题、产业发展空间受限、生态环境恶化等已成为该地区可持续发展的瓶颈。在分析该地区发展状况与问题的基础上,从协调经济、环境与社会的角度出发,以科学发展观为指导,对东南沿海地区经济可持续发展提出了建议。     

可持续发展的经济政策体系探讨

本文从经济政策和可持续发展的基本涵义出发，揭示了可持续发展经济政策的客观基础是在于它能通过经济手段调节产业组织方式、资源与环境要素配置方式及人们的消费方式。基于这些认识，本文在理论上较为深刻地阐述了可持续发展经济政策的基本概念、政策主体、政策目标、政策对象和政策手段；并从产业、区域、投资、金融、税收、价格、贸易等方面探讨了可持续发展的经济政策体系。     

协调贸易与环境的最佳途径——环境成本内部化

面对经济发展带来人类福利增加的同时所产生的日益严重的环境污染问题。国际贸易被指责为环境质量下降的原因之一．甚至连国际贸易自由化的原则也受到质疑。围绕贸易与环境可否协调以及如何协调的问题．由环境保护与贸易自由化在理论和实践中的冲突引出贸易与环境之间存在着复杂的相互作用；并通过进一步的经济学分析得出结论：环境问题的根源并不是国际贸易。而是环境成本的外部性造成的市场失灵，而国际贸易只是加重了这种市场失灵。二者可以协调发展。环境成本内部化是解决这一问题的最佳手段。通过环境成本内部化可以达到环境资源的合理配置并最终实现可持续发展。     

公用事业民营化及其环境行为政府管制的研究

公用事业民营化的目的是在公用事业行业引入民间资本和市场竞争模式,提高公共产品服务的产出质量和效率。以电力行业的民营化为例,电力市场对于民营企业的开放能够在很大程度上提高我国电力生产水平．解决当前电力供求关系紧张的问题。但是,大量民营企业介入电力生产,由于其技术落后而导致的资源浪费以及污染物的无序排放给我国的环境保护带来了新的困扰。我们应该在科学发展观和构建社会主义和谐社会的目标指引下,加强政府对于电力企业等公用事业民营化企业生产经营活动的法律管制,同时加强和完善相关的环境立法,达到公用事业积极发展和环境保护目标实现的双赢目标。     

中国对外直接投资影响母国环境的理论机理与实证研究

经济全球化背景下,中国工业化进程深度融入全球价值链分工体系,在以资源能源消耗与要素投入增加为特征的粗放型经济增长模式下,国际贸易与国际投资在带动中国经济迅速发展的同时,也不可避免地影响国内的资源环境形势。基于此,本文以中国为研究对象,探究对外直接投资对母国环境的影响及其作用机制,对于“一带一路”战略背景下中国改善生态环境质量、推动经济绿色发展,具有重要的现实意义。本文首先从经济规模扩张、产业结构转型以及技术水平增进等三个视角,构建起对外直接投资影响母国环境的理论框架,并提出相应研究假说。随后,基于中介效应法,构建动态面板模型,在核算各省综合污染指数基础上,结合省级面板数据与系统GMM估计方法,实证探究对外直接投资对母国环境的基本影响,并对其作用机制进行了检验、识别与分析。多个角度开展的稳健性检验依然表明实证结果是稳健的。研究结论如下:一是对外直接投资通过推动母国经济规模扩张,导致其污染物排放增加;二是对外直接投资通过促进母国产业结构朝向服务化转型,有利于减少其污染物排放;三是对外直接投资通过引致反向技术溢出效应,有利于母国污染物排放减少;四是综合来看,当前中国推动对外直接投资,有利于减少母国污染物排放。最后,本文从优化国际投资结构、强化技术领域国际合作等方面提出促进中国环境治理的政策建议。     

Towards implementation and achievement of sustainable biofuel development in Africa

Although sustainable bioenergy development in Africa is critically debated, if projects are developed within a credible framework, opportunities for sustainability arguably can arise. This paper presents research on the characteristics of sustainable biofuel projects as provided in the literature and according to expert opinions obtained by way of a survey involving thirty-eight international experts. Participants were selected for their expertise in the fields of environmental, social and economic sustainability relating to biofuels in Africa. The survey results suggest that projects which display a high degree of transparency, incorporate local stakeholder involvement, and ideally include local villagers as partners are more likely to achieve sustainable biofuel production. Experts also indicated that reconciling diverse stakeholder objectives alongside the principles of sustainable development remains an ongoing challenge. A process is recommended for sustainable biofuel development, which attempts to harmonise efficiency, stakeholder interaction and the integration of diverse stakeholder perspectives. To support the process, it is recommended that an advisory/mediating body that acts according to best practice principles would be of great assistance. Such an advisory/mediating body would be conversant with local land, social, economic and environmental conditions, project sustainability and administration, and also advise on biofuel framework educational needs.     

Genetically modified organisms in agriculture: can regulations work?

Genetically modified (GM) crops have been recognised to be economically beneficial to subsistence farmers and have been projected as essential tools for addressing challenges in hunger, environmental sustainability and international development. Yet the uncertainty of their effects on human health and the undesirable ecological consequences of these organisms have raised concerns on the rapid pace of their production. Regulating the release of these organisms is a critical environmental issue. The Cartagena protocol on bio-safety, the principle legal arrangement for the regulation of these organisms, has ratifications from only 157 countries and has proven to be a weak regulator. Countries like India and Brazil have seen the proliferation of unapproved stealth GM varieties which make regulation even more difficult. In this paper, we explore the debate surrounding the introduction of GM organisms and analyse the effectiveness of existing legal regimes to regulate their use.     

The disappearing sustainability triangle: community level considerations

This article challenges the application of the sustainability triangle to conceptualise sustainable development by looking at how weak sustainability can be obtained via the reinforcing increase in social capital and natural capital. Sustainable development is often visualised as a triangle consisting of social, environmental, and economic aspects. Would it be possible to conceive a flattened system, with diminishing economic resources or without refilling financial resources? The possibility involves mutual reinforcement between social capital and natural capital. The consideration of the diminishing economic dimension relates to the concept of development without economic growth, such as degrowth, zero-growth, and sustainable growth, that has been revived in the face of the recent economic crisis. Several countries have imposed extreme budget cuts in development collaboration and in other government expenditures. When the economic resource is not at a satisfactory level, can we rely on the reinforcement between social and environmental aspects for sustainability? Although it is not new to acknowledge the contribution of social capital to environmental conservation, research has long ignored the reinforcing relationship between environmental and social dimensions. This article provides a prototype model to demonstrate how social capital and natural capital can reinforce each other. The prototype is studied and verified at the community level using a comparative method. This article concludes with principles and practices that may encourage sustainability with merely the reinforcement between social capital and natural capital.