Towards a framework to assess,compare and develop monitoring and evaluation of climate change adaptation in Europe

Adaptation is increasingly recognised as essential when dealing with the adverse impacts of climate change on societies, economies and the environment. However, there is insufficient information about the effectiveness of adaption policies, measures and actions. For this reason, the establishment of monitoring programmes is considered to be necessary. Such programmes can contribute to knowledge, learning and data to support adaptation governance. In the European Union (EU), member states are encouraged to develop National Adaptation Strategies (NASs). The NASs developed so far vary widely because of differing views, approaches and policies. A number of member states have progressed to monitoring and evaluating the implementation of their NAS. It is possible to identify key elements in these monitoring programmes that can inform the wider policy learning process. In this paper, four generic building blocks for creating a monitoring and evaluation programme are proposed: (1) definition of the system of interest, (2) selection of a set of indicators, (3) identification of the organisations responsible for monitoring and (4) definition of monitoring and evaluation procedures. The monitoring programmes for NAS in three member states—Finland, the UK and Germany—were analysed to show how these elements have been used in practice, taking into account their specific contexts. It is asserted that the provision of a common framework incorporating these elements will help other member states and organisations within them in setting up and improving their adaptation monitoring programmes.     

Extended producer responsibility in Brazil: the case of tyre waste

Environmental policies based on the extended producer responsibility (EPR) concept have been adopted in various countries, and the EU, as a strategy to promote product redesign and to reduce the amount and toxicity of solid waste. This paper describes the development and implementation of an EPR-inspired policy in Brazil to deal with tyre waste, and analyses its constraints. It is argued that the experience was an attempt to use an institutional solution to overcome structural problems. The findings provide a basis for recommending that governments pay attention to the potential constraints upon the effective implementation of foreign policy solutions before these are imported.     

National forest policy as a platform for biosphere carbon management: the case of community forestry in Cameroon

Little attention has been given to the development of national policies relevant for the uptake, development and implementation of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. In this paper we examine the compatibility between forestry and related policy provisions in Cameroon and the CDM provisions for Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF). For each CDM requirement such as eligibility, additionality, impact assessment and sustainable development, relevant national forestry policy questions are identified. These relevant policy questions are applied to community forestry policy instruments in Cameroon to analyse the likelihood that they can enhance or inhibit the uptake and implementation of biosphere carbon projects. We found that choosing a single crown cover value (from between 10 and 30%) presented a serious dilemma for Cameroon given its diverse vegetation cover. Adopting any single value within this range is unlikely to optimize national carbon management potential. The current forest institutional and regulatory policy framework in Cameroon is inadequate for promoting carbon forestry under current CDM rules. We conclude that national policy in Cameroon would need to recognise the need for and adopt a pro-active approach for biosphere carbon management, engaging in institutional development, integrated planning, project development support and providing adequate regulatory frameworks to enhance sustainable development through CDM projects. The need for CDM/Kyoto capacity building support for proactive national and local policy development is highlighted.     

Sustainable development as a framework for developing country participation in international climate change policies

The paper presents a number of ideas on how climate change policy implementation in developing countries can be supported by alternative international cooperation mechanisms that are based on stakeholder interests and policy priorities including broader economic and social development issues. It includes a brief review of current development policies, technological research and promotion efforts, and climate change that demonstrates that mutual policy initiatives undertaken by governments and the private sector actually have major positive impacts on climate change without being initiated by this global policy concern. Furthermore a number of examples are given on how future development objectives in Brazil, China, and India jointly can support economic and social goals and global climate change concerns if these goals are taken into consideration and supported by international cooperative mechanisms. The paper proposes international cooperative mechanisms that can support the implementation of integrated development and climate change policies. The mechanisms include an international sustainable development (SD) and Climate Finance Mechanism (SDCFM), technology development and transition programmes, technology standards, and other measures.

Is European end-of-life vehicle legislation living up to expectations? Assessing the impact of the ELV Directive on ‘green’ innovation and vehicle recovery

The end-of-life vehicle (ELV) Directive in Europe aims to generate environmental gains through increased levels of vehicle recovery and a reduction in the use of hazardous substances. This paper presents an evaluation framework based on five anticipated changes that could result from the ELV Directive. These changes relate to three areas: (a) vehicle design, (b) level of ELV recovery, and (c) information provision. We evaluate the extent to which expected outcomes have materialized since the establishment of the ELV Directive. Current information provides an emerging picture of the impact of ELV legislation. We show that legislative factors and market forces have led to innovation in recycling, increased hazardous substance removal and improved information dissemination. Such actions may be sufficient to reach ELV Directive targets and could have spill-over benefits to other industries. Carmakers are also taking steps to design for recycling and for disassembly. However, movement toward design for re-use and remanufacturing seems limited. Increasing the level of re-use and remanufacturing will be a key part of moving toward sustainable vehicle production.     

Climate policy integration in the land use sector: Mitigation,adaptation and sustainable development linkages

This article re-conceptualizes Climate Policy Integration (CPI) in the land use sector to highlight the need to assess the level of integration of mitigation and adaptation objectives and policies to minimize trade-offs and to exploit synergies. It suggests that effective CPI in the land use sector requires i) internal climate policy coherence between mitigation and adaptation objectives and policies; ii) external climate policy coherence between climate change and development objectives; iii) vertical policy integration to mainstream climate change into sectoral policies and; iv) horizontal policy integration by overarching governance structures for cross-sectoral coordination. This framework is used to examine CPI in the land use sector of Indonesia. The findings indicate that adaptation actors and policies are the main advocates of internal policy coherence. External policy coherence between mitigation and development planning is called for, but remains to be operationalized. Bureaucratic politics has in turn undermined vertical and horizontal policy integration. Under these circumstances it is unlikely that the Indonesian bureaucracy can deliver strong coordinated action addressing climate change in the land use sector, unless sectoral ministries internalize a strong mandate on internal and external climate policy coherence and find ways to coordinate policy action effectively.     

Pursuing an integrated development and climate policy framework in Africa: options for mainstreaming

Climate change presents a major threat to the prospects for sustained economic development in Africa. In spite of this, climate change concerns do not feature prominently in the implementation of national and regional development programmes. The present paper identifies the likely trade-offs and synergies that may emerge from an integrated ‘development-climate’ approach to policy making. Also, the paper presents the case for the formulation and evaluation of an integrated policy approach based on four principle criteria, including; long-term environmental effectiveness, equity considerations, cost-effectiveness and the institutional compatibility of the policy combinations. What is more? The paper suggests specific options for mainstreaming climate change adaptation and mitigation in various sectoral development agenda such as; agricultural intensification, poverty eradication, rural development, urban renewal, energy security of supply and trade. Given the wide divergence of socio-economic systems and the peculiar challenges faced by individual countries in the continent, further research is required on robust country-specific strategies for pursuing an integrated development-climate policy framework.     

基于主体功能区划的环境政策框架设计

“十一五”时期,国家在区域协调发展上的新亮点就是创新的提出了“主体功能区”概念,主导这一战略决策的实施需要配套各类专项政策。针对环境问题尝试在主体功能区划条件下设计区域差异化的环境政策,整个政策框架遵循区域差异、综合协调、可操控和环境优先四个原则分区域构建,各区环境政策都沿着政策定位、政府作为和重点政策三条思路充分拓展,对于各项环境政策在不同主体功能区实施的力度也进行了详细描述。本政策框架将为深入研究环境政策和启发其他配套政策的研究思路提供一定的参考。     

我国海岸带综合管理政策目标初探

在海岸带可持续发展中,综合管理政策起着极为重要的作用。本文把海岸带政策作为海岸带开发与保护协调发展的主因,旨在从制定全国性权威的海岸带管理法,优化海岸带综合管理机构的设置并合理分配其职责,完善三大产业协调发展的海岸带管理经济政策,规划双目标体系的海岸带的生态系统综合管理政策,完善科学有序的海岸带地质灾害预防,提升有效的公众参与,完善海岸带管理的科技政策,优化海岸带资源的开发与保护政策等方面,探讨其深层原由并提出海岸带发展的政策性目标。     

Widening the scope of policies to address climate change: directions for mainstreaming

Both mitigation of and adaptation to climate change require actions to be taken in many sectors of society, but so far this is hardly happening. This paper suggests possibilities for widening climate change policy by strengthening inter-linkages between climate policies and various relevant policy areas to mainstream climate change concerns. It argues that, if these inter-linkages can be strengthened and policy coherence is improved, the effectiveness of climate policy can be enhanced while also supporting these other policy areas. The contention in this paper is that improved policy coherence and mainstreaming requires climate policies to go beyond the UNFCCC framework to realise its full potential and to better deal with possible trade-offs. The potential benefits in the policy domains of poverty reduction, rural development and agriculture, disaster management, energy security, air quality and trade, and finance are examined, and the institutional and organisations linkages highlighted. Finally, opportunities for mainstreaming are identified to make better use of possible synergies between climate and related policy areas.     

浅析中国生态农业建设的基本原则及对策

生态农业建设是一个渐进的过程，相关环境政策要体现可持续发展原则。本文提出了中国生态农业建设应遵循的原则及重点领域，并提出了一些对策及建议。     

The development of new environmental policies and processes in response to a crisis: the case of the multiple barrier approach for safe drinking water

While new environmental policies and procedures often are developed incrementally, they can also result from crises or other significant events. In situations where policies and procedures are introduced in response to a crisis, questions about the strengths and weaknesses of existing mechanisms, and the extent to which they can be used to address concerns, may be ignored. This paper explores the complexities of introducing new policies and processes where planning systems and procedures already exist. Drinking water source protection policies that are being developed in response to the tragic events in Walkerton, Ontario, Canada serve as the context for the inquiry. Three case study watersheds were selected to reflect the diversity of municipal jurisdictions and water supply systems in Ontario. A content analysis was undertaken on regulatory and non-regulatory policy documents to determine the extent to which they addressed elements of the multi-barrier approach for drinking water safety. Findings from the research reveal considerable evidence of the multi-barrier approach in the policy and guiding documents analyzed. Policy development in response to a crisis can advance progress on the issue of drinking water safety and coincide with emerging governance strategies. Policy effectiveness may be enhanced by considering existing policies as well as contextual and jurisdictional differences.     

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.     

1953-2016年中国粮食补贴政策分析

粮食补贴政策是确保粮食增产、农民增收和国家粮食安全的重要举措。论文分3个阶段系统梳理和分析了1953-2016年期间实施的粮食补贴政策特点和演变趋势,分4个环节即粮食生产、加工、存储、销售环节分析了补贴政策的时空变化,总结提炼了目前粮食补贴政策存在的问题,以期为我国粮食补贴政策的制定提供参考。分析表明,我国粮食补贴的形式、对象、范围和目标等在起步阶段（1953-1978年）、探索调整阶段（1979-2003年）和改革发展阶段（2004-2016年）变化明显,补贴资金投入逐年增长且表现出显著的区域差异性;补贴政策逐渐向粮食主产区、经济相对发达的地区倾斜。目前我国粮食补贴政策存在的问题主要体现在补贴效果和目标的差距、补贴对象和范围的核定、补贴结构以及补贴政策的影响力和农户的认知度等方面。研究以期为完善粮食补贴政策制定和提高政策实施效果起到借鉴作用。     

Building regional priorities in forests for development and adaptation to climate change in the Congo Basin

Indentifying common priorities in shared natural resource systems constitutes an important platform for implementing adaptation and a major step in sharing a common responsibility in addressing climate change. Predominated by discourses on REDD + (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries) with little emphasis on adaptation there is a risk of lack of policy measures in addressing climate change in the Congo Basin. Forest products and ecosystem services provide security portfolios for the predominantly rural communities, and play major roles in national development programmes in both revenue and employment opportunities. Thus, raising the profile of forests in the policy arena especially in the twin roles of addressing climate change in mitigation and adaptation and achieving resilient development is crucial. Within the framework of the Congo Basin Forests and Climate Change Adaptation project (COFCCA) project, science policy dialogue was conducted to identify and prioritize forest based sectors vulnerable to climate change but important to household livelihoods and national development. The goal of the prioritization process was for the development of intervention in forest as measures for climate change adaptation in Central Africa. Participants constituted a wide range of stakeholders (government, Non Governmental Organizations, research institutions, universities, community leaders, private sectors etc.) as representatives from three countries directly involved in the project: Cameroon, Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo. Building on national priorities, four forest related sectors were identified as common priorities at the regional level for focus on climate change adaptation. These sectors included: (1) energy with emphasis on fuel wood and Charcoal; (2) Water principally quality, quantity, accessibility, etc.; (3) Food with emphasis on Non Timber Forest Products, and (4) Health linked to healthcare products (medicinal plants). Using these prioritized sectors, the project focused on addressing the impacts of climate change on local communities and the development of adaptation strategies in the three pilot countries of the Congo Basin region. The four sectors constitute the key for development in the region and equally considered as priority sectors in the poverty reduction papers. Focused research on these sectors can help to inject the role of forests in national and local development and their potentials contributions to climate change adaptation in national and public discourses. Mainstreaming forest for climate change adaptation into national development planning is the key to improve policy coherence and effectiveness in forest management in the region.     

End-of-life vehicle recycling and international cooperation between Japan,China and Korea: Present and future scenario analysis

In the area of end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling, Japan passed the Automobile Recycling Law in January 2005, the first in Asia. Korea followed suit with the passage of the resource circulation method in 2009. China is expected make a new recycling law in 2011. In contribution to these initiatives, Tohoku University made a comparative analysis of ELV recycling laws, advance dismantling experiments and scenario analysis to promote international cooperation. This is envisioned to introduce ELV recycling system in Japan, China and Korea and in developing countries as well.     

Promoting pro-environmental behaviour: existing evidence and policy implications

This paper describes a recent study in the UK aimed at identifying how policy makers might more effectively encourage pro-environmental behaviours amongst their target audiences. The study included analysis and synthesis of theories and models of behaviour change, a range of current policy programmes and instruments and ‘real world’ practices of individuals, households, groups and organisations.The paper highlights some important considerations for future policy within the UK and, more widely, for other countries aiming to introduce comprehensive and multi-level policy programmes to encourage pro-environmental behaviours. To this end, it emphasises the complex and non-linear nature of environmental behaviours and, thus, the importance of adopting multi-levelled and multi-instrument integrated policies across whole systems of delivery.     

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.     

Climate change mitigation policy paradigms—national objectives and alignments

The aim of this paper is to assess how policy goals in relation to the promotion of green growth, energy security, pollution control and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions have been aligned in policies that have been implemented in selected countries during the last decades as a basis for discussing how a multi objective policy paradigm can contribute to future climate change mitigation. The paper includes country case studies from Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union (EU), India, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, South Korea and the United States covering renewable energy options, industry, transportation, the residential sector and cross-sectoral policies. These countries and regions together contribute more than two thirds of global GHG emissions. The paper finds that policies that are nationally driven and that have multiple objectives, including climate-change mitigation, have been widely applied for decades in both developing countries and industrialised countries. Many of these policies have a long history, and adjustments have taken place based on experience and cost effectiveness concerns. Various energy and climate-change policy goals have worked together in these countries, and in practice a mix of policies reflecting specific priorities and contexts have been pursued. In this way, climate-change mitigation has been aligned with other policy objectives and integrated into broader policy packages, though in many cases specific attention has not been given to the achievement of large GHG emission reductions. Based on these experiences with policy implementation, the paper highlights a number of key coordination and design issues that are pertinent to the successful joint implementation of several energy and climate-change policy goals.     

Matching national forest policies and management practices for climate change adaptation in Burkina Faso and Ghana

Many studies have suggested various kinds of forest policies, management planning and practices to help forests adapt to climate change. These recommendations are often generic, based mostly on case studies from temperate countries and rarely from Africa. We argue that policy and management recommendations aimed at integrating adaptation into national forest policies and practices in Africa should start with an inventory and careful examination of existing policies and practices in order to understand the nature and extent of intervention required to influence the adaptation of forest ecosystems to climate change. This paper aims to contribute to closing this gap in knowledge detrimental to decision making through the review and analysis of current forest policies and practices in Burkina Faso and Ghana and highlighting elements that have the potential to influence the adaptation of forest ecosystems to climate change. The analysis revealed that adaptation (and mitigation) are not part of current forest policies in Burkina Faso and Ghana, but instead policies contain elements of risk management practices which are also relevant to the adaptation of forest ecosystems. Some of these elements are found in policies on the management of forest fires, forest genetic resources, non-timber resources, tree regeneration and silvicultural practices. To facilitate and enhance the management of these elements, a number of recommendations are suggested. Their implementation will require experienced and well-trained forestry personnel, financial resources, socio-cultural and political dimensions, and the political will of decision makers to act appropriately by formulating necessary policies and mainstreaming adaptation into forest policy and management planning.