Climate Change Discourses and Citizen Participation: A Case Study of the Discursive Construction of Citizenship in Two Public Events

Citizen participation is a recurrent and democratically important issue in the ongoing debate about climate change. However, different meanings are ascribed to citizen participation in different contexts, ranging from top-down involvement to bottom-up engagement, thus creating tension between conflicting ideals. Focusing on public engagement and its construal in different situational contexts, we explore how citizens are discursively included or excluded from participation, as various climate change discourses unfold in two forums where local needs and global concerns interact. Furthermore, we address some opportunities and barriers regarding citizen participation in climate change issues.     

How do Europeans want to live in 2040? Citizen visions and their consequences for European land use

The aspirations, motivations and choices of individual European citizens are a major driver of the future of global, European and local land use. However, until now no land use study has explicitly attempted to find out how the general public wants to live in the future. This paper forms a first attempt to survey European citizens to understand their desired future lives in relation to consequences for European land use. We used a crowdsourcing experiment to elicit visions from young Europeans about their lives in 2040. Participants completed a graphic novel around carefully selected questions, allowing them to create a story of their imagined future lives in pictures. The methodology worked well, and the sample seemed reasonably representative albeit skewed towards an educated population. In total, 1131 responses from 29 countries were received. Results show a strong desire for change, and for more sustainable lifestyles. There is desire for local and ecologically friendly food production, to eat less meat, to have access to green infrastructure and the ability to cycle to work. However, international travel remains popular, and the desire for extensive food production and owning detached houses with gardens will likely result in complex land use trade-offs. Future work could focus more specifically on quantifying these trade-offs and inform respondents about the consequences of their lifestyle choices. This was a first attempt to use crowdsourcing to understand citizen visions for their lives in the future, and our lessons learned will help future studies improve representativeness and increase responses.

     

E-participation for environmental sustainability in transitional urban China

Using information and communication technologies (ICTs), e-participation is a tool that promotes the inclusion of the public in participative and deliberative decision-making processes, thus contributing to a transformation of the interaction between government and citizens in environmental governance and sustainable development. In a number of Chinese cities, citizens increasingly draw on ICTs to promote environmental sustainability and to encourage community-based actions aimed to address various environmental concerns. The potential success of e-participation and the role of ICTs in China has, however, not been well explored. The objective of this study is to understand the role that ICTs can play in promoting public participation about environmental sustainability issues in urban China. Based on an online survey with 630 respondents, the study aims to: (1) analyze what public motivations, perception/attitudes and actions drive environmental e-participation; (2) identify barriers to e-participation, and (3) assess the different applications and functions of ICT for citizen participation in environmental sustainability. The analysis illustrates how ICTs have helped the public to obtain sensitive information about sustainability issues, to mobilize people and to gain media coverage for their actions. The central finding is that new technologies have taken citizen engagement to new heights online. More specifically, the age of ICTs has unleashed a stronger public voice on environmental governance and sustainability issues in urban China, which does not go unnoticed by the Chinese state authorities.     

Lisbon’s womb: an approach to the city metabolism in the turn to the twentieth century

The consumption and production of food products in the municipality of Lisbon in the 1890–1900 decade is assessed with the support of historical cartography and statistical resources. For the first time, food production in a municipality in the turn to the twentieth century is accounted and simultaneously subject of a visual analysis of the land used for agriculture and of the water infrastructures that supported such uses. Agriculture occupied at least 40 % of the territory of the city, while the built environment occupied no more than 16 % of the territory. However, local production of food was far from supplying most of the citizens’ needs, and substantial food imports were needed. In this context, the municipality behaved like a heterotrophic system, highly dependent on the external supply of resources. Moreover, comparing to other European cities at the time Lisbon was facing in the end of the nineteenth century a late and slow transition from an agrarian social metabolism to an industrial one, suggesting that Lisbon was still relatively high-solar-powered as compared to other European cities at the time that were already highly fossil-fuel-powered.     

Muting the Voice of the Local in the Age of the Global: How Communication Practices Compromised Public Participation in India's Allain Dunhangan Environmental Impact Assessment

Public participation is widely lauded as a way to make environmental decisions more democratic, to improve their quality, and to enhance their legitimacy. Scholars and citizens around the world repeatedly complain, however, that public participation frequently serves primarily as a pro forma exercise to defend predetermined decisions rather than as a meaningful opportunity for the affected public to influence decision-making. These critiques persist despite considerable research suggesting ways to improve the quality of public participation. This essay explores this problem by analyzing citizen involvement in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) processes for the Allain Duhangan hydropower project in northern India. It describes how meaningful public involvement was compromised—despite repeated objections by citizens and independent consultants—by four communication practices: (1) failing to provide adequate access to information; (2) predetermining EIA outcomes by controlling the definition of issues (“definitional hegemony”); (3) privileging scientific/technical discourse; (4) utilizing “consultative” forms of communication that promote one-way flows of information rather than more interactive forms that encourage the joint construction of information and values. This study further argues that these practices persist because they serve as acts of power that privilege dominant actors and interests in the larger socio-political context. This analysis thus suggests that altering communication practices that compromise the quality of public participation may require attending to the interaction between communication practices, relations of power, and the larger socio-political context in which public participation takes place.     

Social capital and citizen perceptions of coastal management for tackling climate change impacts in Greece

There is a growing consensus among researchers that social aspects and the involvement of local communities play a critical role in public decision-making processes in the coastal zone. Social capital is a parameter which has recently gained significant attention in this context. It is regarded that it has a significant influence on the adaptation capacity of local communities to climate change impacts. The present paper aims to contribute to this field through an examination of citizens’ perceptions of three coastal zone management policies (hold the line, managed realignment and no active intervention) along with the influence of social capital on the level of social acceptability for these proposed policy options. For this purpose, a quantitative empirical study was conducted for the first time in five coastal areas of Greece that are regarded as high flood-risk areas due to sea-level rise. Respondents demonstrated that they are willing to accept changes in their social and natural environments in order to confront sea-level rise and are more positive towards the managed realignment option, as long as this is accompanied by financial compensation for those whose properties will be affected. Regarding the influence of social capital, through the results of an ordinal regression, it was observed that institutional and social trust influence positively citizens’ level of agreement for the managed realignment policy. Furthermore, respondents who believe that a sense of reciprocity exists in their community are also more willing to accept active intervention policies.     

Role of religious communities in enhancing transition experiments: a localised strategy for sustainable solid waste management in Malaysia

Religion in its most ideal form is seen as a powerful force to create ecological transformations to succeeding generations that share similar religious beliefs. This provides an interesting argument for enhancing their role in sustainability transitions. Malaysia is a relevant geographical context in this regard since almost all of its citizens formally embrace some kind of religious belief. However, such ideas are discussed mostly at the theoretical level with little systematic empirical investigation. This paper aims to fill this gap by presenting theoretically informed empirical insights on how a number of religious communities are currently creating successful experiments in recycling within the context of an urban community in Malaysia. The paper argues that such evidence may demonstrate the ‘potential’ role of religious communities to provide localised resources for recycling experiments that can be advantageous for the transition towards a more sustainable municipal solid waste management in Malaysia. The empirical basis of this paper is based on an exploratory multiple case study of successful recycling programmes conducted by selected religious communities from four key religions in Malaysia—Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. The theoretical framework for this research is based on the sustainability transitions literature, particularly the ‘transition experiment’ framework.     

How Aware Are Other Nations of Climate Change? Analyzing Germans’ Second-Order Climate Change Beliefs About Chinese,US American and German People

ABSTRACT

What people believe about the beliefs of other people – second-order beliefs – has been acknowledged as a key factor that shapes public support for international climate policy. However, very little is known about their origins. Based on data from an online survey (n?=?935), we analyzed how German citizens assess the climate change awareness in their own nation as compared to those of the US and China. Even if the public climate change awareness in the US and China factually differs, we found that German citizens equivalently rate both nations similar and much lower than their own, a finding which can be explained with social identity processes and “in-group”/“out-group” biases. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrate that the attention individuals pay towards television and social media predict second-order beliefs on climate change awareness positively, while attention to print media is a negative predictor.     

Communication Practices and Political Engagement with Climate Change: A Research Agenda

In this article, we call for a refocusing of research on citizens’ political engagement with climate change. In doing so, we argue that communication practices not only help create the conditions for political engagement but they also comprise the modes of such engagement. Our argument proceeds in four steps. First, we review the literature on public engagement with climate change, concluding that there is a lack of attention to issues regarding the political. Consequently, we make the case for a refocusing of research on political engagement. Second, we explain how the notion of political subjectivity helps us to understand the relation between communication practices and engagement with the politics of climate change. Third, we discuss examples of dominant communication practices that constrain citizen political engagement by depoliticizing climate change, and alternative communication practices that have the potential to politicize. We end by outlining the many research questions that relate to the study of political engagement with climate change.     

Participatory scenario development for integrated sustainability assessment

The paper discusses the role of visions within sustainability assessment and governance for sustainable development in Europe. Currently, our societies (still) develop along an unsustainable path, which results in a number of persistent problems (climate change, loss of biodiversity, poverty, etc.). Integrated sustainability assessment (ISA) is one approach designed to initiate transitions towards sustainability. Visions of a sustainable future form an important part of ISA. These visions support the process of discussing how the transition from today’s societies/systems to a sustainable future can be achieved. According to the principles of ISA, visions should be developed in a participatory way, thus including the ideas and perceptions of stakeholders, decision-makers, experts and/or citizens. The paper starts with an introduction of the concepts of visions and scenarios and describes exemplary methods for their participatory development. Then, the main concepts for integrated sustainability assessment in comparison with other impact assessments are discussed. The main body of the paper presents experiences in three projects (ARTEMIS, ALARM, ECOCHANGE) in which visions and scenarios of sustainable futures were developed with stakeholders. The paper concludes with lessons learned and suggestions for future applications for participatory scenario development.     

绿色投资对绿色福利的影响机制研究

提升居民绿色福利是满足人民日益增长的美好生活需要的重要体现,也是建设美丽中国的根本要求。基于此背景,从绿色投资的视角,探讨提升绿色福利的路径。首先,依据Lucas-Uzawa的两部门内生增长模型,构建绿色投资对绿色福利影响的理论分析框架;其次,利用1999—2014年省际面板数据,采用Super-SBM方法测定各地区绿色福利;最后,利用系统GMM方法,结合双重差分法(DID),实证分析了绿色投资对绿色福利的影响及传导途径。结果表明:①中国各省域绿色投资与绿色福利之间在1%显著水平上呈现出正向关系,绿色投资每增加100%,居民绿色福利增加1.21%。因此,政府应当采用差异化的利率,减免税收或增加补贴等方式促进绿色投资,积极引导资金流向绿色产业,从而提升公民的绿色福利。②教育程度在1%显著水平上与绿色福利正相关,大专以上学历人口占比每增加1%,绿色福利增加7.78%。因此,政府应该扩大教育支出,增强居民受教育程度,提高公民就业机会和收入待遇。③对外开放度在1%显著水平与绿色福利正相关,且开放程度每增加一个单位,居民绿色福利提高1.91%。对外开放程度越高,越有助于进出口,促进我国国民经济发展,有助于提升绿色福利。因此,政府应当进一步扩大开放,改善进出口产品结构,提高出口技术复杂度,限制高能耗高污染产品出口。④公众诉求与绿色福利在一定水平下显著负相关,绿色福利低的地方,居民表现出更强烈的诉求。因此,政府应鼓励居民积极有序参与环境决策和监管,减少公众诉求的滞后效应。企业与公民之间需要确立共同的绿色福利目标,构建政府主导下的居民绿色消费与企业绿色创新协同机制,提升公共服务质量,完善环境和经济协同发展,实现绿色福利提升的目的。     

The Impact of Perceptual and Situational Factors on Environmental Communication: A Study of Citizen Engagement in China

This study applied a situational approach to understanding an environmental problem: PM2.5 (its resulted haze and smog air pollution) in China. Based on a national sample of 374 citizens living in China, it tested a situational model of problem solving and extended it by adding citizens’ environmental engagement behaviour as an immediate consequence of their communicative action. Results of a structural equation modelling analysis supported all the causal links in the conceptual model. Moreover, communicative action significantly mediated the relationship between referent criterion and environmental engagement. Problem recognition, constraint recognition, and involvement recognition did not influence environmental engagement directly, but exerted their significant indirect impact via two key mediators in the model: situational motivation in problem solving and communicative action in problem solving. Theoretical and practical implications of the present study were discussed.     

Green energy clusters and socio-technical transitions: analysis of a sustainable energy cluster for regional economic development in Central Massachusetts,USA

As the societal benefits associated with transitioning to more sustainable, less fossil fuel-reliant energy systems are increasingly recognized by communities throughout the world, the potential of creating ‘green jobs’ within a ‘green economy’ is attracting much attention. Green energy clusters are increasingly promoted throughout the world as a strategy to simultaneously promote economic vitality and stimulate a sustainable energy transition. In spite of their emerging role in regional-scale sustainability planning efforts, such initiatives have not been considered within the sustainability transitions literature. This paper explores the development of one such regional sustainable energy cluster initiative in Central Massachusetts in Northeastern USA to consider the potential for such cluster initiatives to contribute to socio-technical transition in the energy system. Since 2008, a diverse set of stakeholders in Central Massachusetts, including politicians, universities, businesses, local citizens, and activists, have been working toward facilitating the emergence of an integrated cluster of activity focused on sustainable energy. Through interviews with key actors, participant observation, and document review, this research assesses the potential of this cluster initiative to contribute to a regional socio-technical transition. The empirical details of this case demonstrate that sustainable energy cluster initiatives can potentially accelerate change in entrenched energy regimes by promoting institutional thickness, generating regional ‘buzz’ around sustainable energy activities, and building trust between multiple and diverse stakeholders in the region. This research also contributes to emerging efforts to better ground socio-technical transitions in geographic space.     

Flood risk and climate change in the Rotterdam area,The Netherlands: enhancing citizen's climate risk perceptions and prevention responses despite skepticism

Effective communication about climate change and related risks is complicated by the polarization between “climate alarmists” and “skeptics.” This paper provides insights for the design of climate risk communication strategies by examining how the interplay between climate change and flood risk communication affects citizens’ risk perceptions and responses. The study is situated in a delta area with substantial geographic variations in the occurrence and potential impact of flood risk, which has led to initiatives to make the area more “climate proof.” We developed a research model that examines individual differences in processing information about climate change related flood risk, based on the postulate that individuals often make an implicit trade-off between motivation to know “what is real” and motivation to maintain prior beliefs. A field experiment, embedded in a survey (n = 1887), sought to test out how the participants responded to risk frames in which a story on flood was either or not combined with climate change information. The results show that it was possible to increase the participants’ local climate risk perception in combination with increased motivation for flood damage prevention, despite a certain level of climate change skepticism. A general implication of our study is that relevant and diagnostic information about local climate-related flood risks can stimulate citizens’ need to know “what’s real” and their willingness to take responsibility for preparedness.     

城乡生态单元分类、评价与制图研究——以苏州市花桥镇为例

生态单元制图是通过对区域遥感信息的解译及与现场调查信息的叠合,得到可视性较强的生态信息图谱,是将景观生态学成果应用到城乡规划中的一条有效途径。生态单元制图如何与中国城乡规划编制相衔接,提供专业、可靠的基础性研究成果,是本文期待解决的主要问题。提出了将城市所有用地类型都作为研究对象的"本土化"和"城市化"的生态单元分类方法,完成了符合我国《城市用地分类与建设用地标准》的生态单元制图分类系统(9大类37小类)及其景观生态学指数分析;通过绿地率、建筑密度、乔木树冠覆盖度、植物物种丰富度等各单项指标进行分层及叠加综合评价制图,科学全面地识别不同用地的生态价值。认为可以通过提出诸如各类城市用地的附属绿地的面积、容积率高低、建筑退让范围、大乔木的保护措施等具体细致的规划要求,来保护及调整城市用地内部的绿地面积及植被丰富度、乔木的覆盖度等生态指标,确保重要的城镇自然系统在城市开发过程中不受冲击,以及如何实现我国城市绿地的"精明增长"等后续研究方向。     

无锡市城镇化进程中土地利用变化及其环境效应

20世纪90年代,城市用地扩展是我国区域土地利用演化的主导过程,城市土地利用所引起的地表景观格局的变化又是引起地表各种地理过程变化的主要原因。基于Landsat TM图像解译的土地利用的动态图斑,分析了20年代90年代无锡市土地利用的变化态势。研究表明,土地利用变化主要体现为耕地向林地、水域、建设用地的转移．林地向耕地、建设用地的转移,以及草地、水域向建设用地的转移;20世纪90年代中后期,国家颁布的一系列基本农田保护和“退耕还林还草”的政策法规,在一定程度上限制了大量耕地被建设占用的趋势。土地利用快速变化也导致明显环境效应．主要表现为水环境的恶化和现代“城市病”等方面。因此,加强土地规划管理、合理利用土地资源、重视能源开发与基础设施建设,应成为今后区域土地资源开发、利用与保护的重点与方向。     

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。     

Pesticide exposure and cancer among rural workers from Bariri, Sao Paulo State, Brazil

This article reports an environmental health study on risk identification. It discusses risk factors linked to rural work and pesticide contact in a restricted geographic area and shows the necessity of improving rural workers' health in the central part of Sao Paulo State. The municipality of Bariri, which is the case studied in this research, typifies this agriculturally based region. The study focuses on environmental problems engendered by modern agriculture that may have human-health repercussions such as cancer, as indicated by hard statistical association on an extended cause-effect time scale. For specific cases, the research used a database containing records of Amaral Carvalho Hospital, located in the city of Jau and a highly respected regional reference unit for over 85 years as one of the best in the Brazilian public health system for treating cancer. Statistics for age and gender were analyzed; relative risk was calculated for a group of cases registered from 2000 to 2002, as well as for a randomly selected control group from the same hospital. A map indicating the residences of cases (68) and non-cases (60) was made by geoprocessing techniques. For the period of time and the group studied, the authors concluded that the cancers of the skin and digestive system were the most prevalent. Bariri presented 24 cases representing all cancer types for each group of 10,000 citizens. The study indicated an almost two times higher probability of cancer development among rural workers, with a calculated relative risk between those exposed (agriculture workers) and the non-exposed (other occupations) of 1.6. No patterns of geographical distribution of cancer in that time period were recorded among rural workers of Bariri. However, the higher number of positive occurrences in the southwestern outskirts of the city indicated an area that must be prioritized in distributing environmental health information and conducting preventive education campaigns.     

Political Participation and Pleasure in Green Lifestyle Journalism

This article examines the reportage of green lifestyle practices across the online sites of major British newspapers. The articulation of “green lifestyle journalism” in the study is suggestive of its complex identity, given its implication in existing orders of consumption while also expressive of emerging everyday practices that potentially and variously challenge those orders of consumption. The study enquires into whether such green lifestyle journalism stories are, in fact, reported across different online sites, and if so, in which publications and how such stories are classified within online menus. It also examines the range of reported environmental lifestyle practices and how they are attributed with meaning, including their engagement with the concept of pleasure and its association with political participation. The study reveals that the pleasures associated with sustainable living are often marginalized, and instead an ethical consumer is commonly posited who is variously cognitively deficient, worried about the environmental consequences of their everyday behavior, or concerned about their inability to realize their desires to engage in sustainable lifestyle practices. The article also examines those instances when the pleasures of a more sustainable lifestyle are represented as deriving from the implementation of environmental practices and technologies in everyday, domestic contexts, and also when they are illustrated as the product of civic and political engagements with issues of sustainability.