Policy sciences contributions to analysis to promote sustainability

The policy sciences, in offering the most comprehensive approach to policy analysis and the sociopolitical processes that shape policy outcomes, is particularly appropriate for guiding the analysis required to promote sustainability. This article presents the main components of the policy sciences framework and demonstrates its potency in the crucial task of deepening the problem definitions required to select and enact policies to promote sustainability. As such, it provides background for the policy sciences articles of this special feature.

绿色贸易转型政策框架及“十二五”重点政策探讨

绿色贸易转型政策框架,是指一切有利于促进我国对外贸易发展,同时缓解贸易资源环境代价和改善环境质量的贸易手段和措施构成的政策集合体系。本文基于环境保护部环境与贸易专家组(以下称专家组)多年研究探索基础上,依据贸易政策理论,构建促进绿色贸易转型的政策框架,梳理出主要绿色贸易手段的政策矩阵,并顺应"十二五"贸易政策取向和国家"十二五"环保规划目标,提出相应的重点政策建议:一是绿化海关进出口产品目录,进行产品环境分类管理;二是制定实行以征收出口环节的环境关税为主导的绿色贸易政策;三是对生态标志产品实施出口退税差别税率政策;四是推行鼓励进口替代政策,促进节能减排;五是及时修订外商投资产业指导目录,防范外商直接投资西部转移的环境风险;六是制定企业境外投资国别指导目录,把环境影响评价制度延伸至境外投资项目;七是健全进口废物贸易政策,有效防范废物贸易环境风险;八是适度提高人民币汇率,促进绿色贸易转型。     

新常态下我国环境政策的需求和建议

文章以新常态下经济社会新特点、新方向为出发点,分析了经济增速放缓、结构转型等对资源环境的新影响以及环境管理的新需求,并从释放政策潜力、激活市场活力、提高创新能力3方面,提出了我国环境政策发展的新思路与建议。     

Zero E-waste: Regulatory impediments and blockchain imperatives

• Copyrights on electronic products are impediments in promoting circular economy. • Manufacturers antagonize refurbishment and remanufacturing to maximize profit. • International harmonization of copyright laws will aid repair and remanufacture. • Blockchain–digital immutable ledgers–can promote trust among stakeholders. The concept of zero waste is an ideal situation that will require different solutions for different categories of waste. Electronic waste (E-waste), the fastest growing category of solid hazardous waste presents various unique challenges. Electronic product repair, reuse and remanufacture (3re) are crucial for effective source reduction of E-waste and the integration of the electronics industry into a circular or zero-waste economy framework. Increasingly, 3re implementation is restricted by regulatory difficulties, particularly the invocation of copyright laws. Here, we use the examples of electronic printer cartridges and restored compact discs (CDs) to identify the challenges and to explore solutions for managing the risks associated with E-waste through circular economy and the opportunities presented by innovative Blockchain solutions. A set of international consensuses on judicial definitions, such as 3re, refurbish fake/counterfeit product and copyright exhaustion, are proposed to accelerate source reduction in E-waste management toward the goal of zero waste.     

Conceptualizing controversies in the EU circular bioeconomy transition

The transition towards a circular bioeconomy (CBE) in the European Union is not without contestation. In particular, research has highlighted potential trade-offs of the large-scale production of bio-resources, for instance with environmental quality goals. To date, however, it remains underexplored in the CBE literature how controversies develop throughout a transition process. To address this gap, this paper explores where controversies are situated in a transition, how they change throughout, and how they influence the transition process. First, we suggest that controversies can be situated on and between different system layers within a transition. Second, we offer an explanation of how controversies evolve, as actors confirm, integrate, disintegrate and polarize underlying storylines. Third, these controversies can have both productive and unproductive outcomes while they unfold throughout a transition. We illustrate this understanding with the example of biorefineries as CBE key technology and discuss a research agenda on controversies in sustainability transitions.     

Evaluating the impact of water conservation on fate of outdoor water use: a study in an arid region

In this research, the impact of several water conservation policies and return flow credits on the fate of water used outdoors in an arid region is evaluated using system dynamics modeling approach. Return flow credits is a strategy where flow credits are obtained for treated wastewater returned to a water body, allowing for the withdrawal of additional water equal to the amount returned as treated wastewater. In the return credit strategy, treated wastewater becomes a resource. This strategy creates a conundrum in which conservation may lead to an apparent decrease in water supply because less wastewater is generated and returned to water body. The water system of the arid Las Vegas Valley in Nevada, USA is used as basis for the dynamic model. The model explores various conservation scenarios to attain the daily per capita demand target of 752 l by 2035: (i) status quo situation where conservation is not implemented, (ii) conserving water only on the outdoor side, (iii) conserving water 67% outdoor and 33% indoor, (iv) conserving equal water both in the indoor and outdoor use (v) conserving water only on the indoor side. The model is validated on data from 1993 to 2008 and future simulations are carried out up to 2035. The results show that a substantial portion of the water used outdoor either evapo-transpires (ET) or infiltrates to shallow groundwater (SGW). Sensitivity analysis indicated that seepage to groundwater is more susceptible to ET compared to any other variable. The all outdoor conservation scenario resulted in the highest return flow credits and the least ET and SGW. A major contribution of this paper is in addressing the water management issues that arise when wastewater is considered as a resource and developing appropriate conservation policies in this backdrop. The results obtained can be a guide in developing outdoor water conservation policies in arid regions.     

Protecting the environment through public procurement: The case of South Africa

This article deals with the use of the procurement or purchasing power of governments to protect the environment. The focus is on South Africa and the aim is to show that South African organs of state can use procurement as an environmental policy tool to contribute to sustainable development as they have commendably done so to address past discriminatory policies and practices. It is argued that such use does not fall outside the current legislative framework governing procurement and suggestions are made as to how environmental considerations could be incorporated throughout the procurement process, namely the preparatory stage; the drawing up of tender or technical specifications; ensuring the capability or responsibility of contractors; the use of criteria to compare different tenders; and ensuring that eventual performance under a contract is environmentally sound.     

Economic and social effects analysis of mineral development in China and policy implications

Mineral development has contributed greatly to China's economic and social development. Many challenges remain, however, including environmental pollution and resource waste in practice, as well as a dearth of systematic theoretical research. The goal of this study is to analyze the economic and social effects of various mineral developments in China from diversified perspectives, so as to provide the basis for the formulation of China's mineral development policy. The input–output effects, industrial linkage effects and income distribution effects of different mining industries are quantitatively analyzed by adopting basic hypotheses of input–output economics, industrial linkage model and income distribution antitheses based on the latest available official data from China Statistical Yearbook from 2004 to 2010 and the 2007 Input–Output Table of China. The empirical results obtained in this study indicate that all mineral development industries, especially coal mining and washing, and petroleum and natural gas extraction industries, have given a strong impetus to the increase of China's fixed asset investment and GDP. Moreover, they have provided a large number of jobs, thereby alleviating ongoing employment pressure, and they have also played a positive role in promoting China's technology investment. The analysis of industrial linkages demonstrates that mining industries are basic to the national economy and produce a significant impetus to its downstream industries, but create weak pull effects in terms of national economic development. From the perspective of income distribution, mining industries play an important role in increasing China's fiscal revenue and per capital income. Hence, China's mineral development policy should (1) encourage additional investment in technology for exploration and development to insure sufficient supply and expand the input effects; (2) attract additional talent to work in remote regions; (3) optimize the industrial structure and promote the industrial transformation in resource regions; (4) adjust the interest distribution between the central and local governments to enable the local regions to become more self-sufficient; and (5) enhance the legal environment so that companies can more readily undertake their social responsibilities voluntarily.     

我国城市大气污染控制综合管理对策

为探索"十二五"期间我国大气污染控制途径,本文针对我国大气颗粒物污染的区域性、复合性、复杂性特征和控制与治理任务的严峻形势,在回顾、总结和系统分析我国大气污染控制的历程和经验基础上,解析我国大气颗粒物的主要来源和途径,探讨大气颗粒物控制综合管理模式,提出大气颗粒物污染控制的相应政策建议。当前颗粒物成为我国大气污染最主要的污染物,且成为城市环境质量达标的关键指标,而目前大气环境质量管理体制和政策不能有效地解决颗粒物污染问题。因此,必须以保护人民身体健康为出发点,以改善城市和区域大气环境质量为目标,以削减一次颗粒物排放量为主线,以控制PM10、PM2.5以及其他污染物为重点,以科学的环境政策和产业与能源战略优化经济发展,综合运用法律、经济、信息、行政、技术等综合措施,尽快制定实施《城市环境空气质量综合管理办法》和《城市环境空气质量达标规划编制技术指南》,构建全国大气颗粒物污染控制政策措施体系。     

我国二恶英和多氯联苯的研究现状及对策分析

为了解二恶英(PCDD/Fs)和多氯联苯(PCBs)在中国的研究水平、研究能力和驱动力,本文对有关研究论文的数量、题材、内容、资助来源和研究机构进行了系统调查和分析。调查发现,国内相关研究尚处在起步阶段,研究的方向和重点还需要进一步调整,研究能力有限,研究机构间合作交流不充分。针对这些问题,提出了相应的对策建议。