重点耗能行业能效对标管理政策建议

能效对标管理是改善企业经营管理、提高企业竞争力最有效的管理工具之一。介绍了能效对标管理在国内外的应用、存在的障碍及相关对策建议。     

金融风暴中循环经济的一个悖论——论保护废旧物资回收利用体系政策

在华尔街金融风暴中,废旧物资回收利用链条一度陷于瘫痪,资源循环利用遭受阻断,循环经济发展受到严重影响。企业对再生资源利用选择水平与废品回收率的价格所存在的两难关系,决定了合理的价格水平和稳定的价格决定机制是关系到促进再生资源综合利用水平不断提高,循环经济顺利发展的必要条件。因此,政府需要进一步完善保护废旧物资回收利用体系政策,化解矛盾,促进循环经济发展。     

新税政对再生资源行业影响巨大

2009年1月1日,再生资源行业开始实行新的税收政策。新税政的实施,对再生资源行业影响巨大。结合企业实际情况,论述了由于新税政实施而使企业负担加重、经营困难等具体问题。同时,为促进再生资源回收行业的发展,保证新税政的顺利实施,提出具体建议和措施。     

政府灾害应急管理体系的国际比较研究

2008年的南方雪灾和汶川大地震凸显出我国灾害应急管理体系的严重缺陷.本文旨在比较研究美日等几个先进国家灾害应急管理系统,以期为我国灾害应急管理体系的完善提供有益的借鉴.总的来说,我国灾害处理者对灾害管理的科学认识还不够,灾害法律法规体系和组织机构也不完善,救灾体系中存在着大量的非救灾人员和非专业救灾设备.针对以上问题,本文认为我国应尽快完善救灾应急管理系统的法律法规,促进我国救灾组织机构和以及设立培训机构以培养优秀的专业救灾队伍.     

论公众参与环境影响评价制度

概述了环境影响评价制度的涵义,分析了传统公众参与环境影响评价制度的缺失,并提出解决机制缺失的对策,尤其强调工业生态学理念的重要性。环境评价与环境公共政策的有机结合对于环境影响评价制度的完善有着较强的理论可操作性与实践意义.     

安全伦理与安全生产——解析安全伦理命题,制定“道德的”安全生产激励政策

从分析社会发展对安全伦理命题的关注和中国安全生产问题所引发的道德问题入手,指明安全伦理命题对社会经济政治发展的正面作用;依据道德选择和道德评价时所诉诸的安全伦理原则,区分"道德的"和"不道德的"两种安全生产伦理范式,并在该基础上提出一个制定"道德的"安全生产激励政策的选择方案:建立国家工业事故预防的伦理战略和伦理指导制度;制定"公平的"、"合理的"安全资源分配政策;制定中小企业的"道德的"安全生产管理战略;建立安全活动领域的防腐败机制,维护社会正义;从"人权"道德规范出发,创立新的安全生产规范。     

Hydrogen and transportation: alternative scenarios

If hydrogen (H₂) is to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and oil use, it needs to displace conventional transport fuels and be produced in ways that do not generate significant greenhouse gas emissions. This paper analyses alternative ways H₂ can be produced, transported and used to achieve these goals. Several H₂ scenarios are developed and compared to each other. In addition, other technology options to achieve these goals are analyzed. A full fuel cycle analysis is used to compare the energy use and carbon (C) emissions of different fuel and vehicle strategies. Fuel and vehicle costs are presented as well as cost-effectiveness estimates. Lowest hydrogen fuel costs are achieved using fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage. The fuel supply cost for a H₂ fuel cell car would be close to those for an advanced gasoline car, once a large-scale supply system has been established. Biomass, wind, nuclear and solar sources are estimated to be considerably more expensive. However fuel cells cost much more than combustion engines. When vehicle costs are considered, climate policy incentives are probably insufficient to achieve a switch to H₂. The carbon dioxide (CO₂) mitigation cost would amount to several hundred US$ per ton of CO₂. Energy security goals and the eventual need to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations could be sufficient. Nonetheless, substantial development of related technologies, such as C capture and storage will be needed. Significant H₂ use will also require substantial market intervention during a transition period when there are too few vehicles to motivate widely available H₂ refueling.

Climate change,adaptive capacity and policy direction in the Canadian North: Can we learn anything from the collapse of the east coast cod fishery?

Scientific evidence gathered over the past five years suggests that northern Canada and the Arctic have undergone, and are undergoing, formidable environmental changes linked to global climate change. Environmental change in the north is expected to persist and intensify over the course of the next century. When large-scale environmental changes take place, they inevitably affect people, especially when the cultures and livelihoods of those people depend on their relationship with the environment. Managing the local impacts of these changes is a matter of adaptation. This paper discusses some of the policy implications of adaptation––government interventions aiming to build communities’ and regions’ capacities to adapt to environmental changes. Three arguments for adaptive capacity building interventions in the north are discussed, and these arguments are augmented by a comparative review of government reactions to the collapse of the cod fishery in Atlantic Canada. Reactive and proactive policy approaches are discussed, and it is suggested from the comparison that proactive approaches to intervention are desirable for building adaptive capacity.

Public policy as a part of transforming energy systems: framing bioenergy in Finnish energy policy

Government interventions have been identified as important for energy systems change, because they can either facilitate or hinder transitions toward more sustainable energy systems. This article analyses how bioenergy options have been framed in Finnish policy strategies and how the framing has changed over time. The empirical material includes the content of 15 government programmes and nine national energy/climate strategies. On the basis of this assessment, both the link between bioenergy framings in strategies and the actual transformation of Finnish bioenergy systems are explored.On the basis of bioenergy framings, the development of energy policy can be divided into three phases: support for domestic energy sources in 1979-1991, support for wood- and industry-based bioenergy in 1992-1998, and diversified bioenergy in the context of climate change in 1999-2010. For two decades, primarily wood-based bioenergy was supported despite alternative technological developments occurring elsewhere. After the turn of the millennium, the importance of climate policy increased and alternative bioenergy sources were raised on the government policy agenda, also resulting in some new policy instruments. Rather than adopting a visionary outlook to guide system transformation, climate and energy policy has strengthened those technological options that have been selected elsewhere. If public policies are to enhance the shift toward low-carbon, sustainable energy systems, they would need to be more comprehensive, be more consistent over time, and emphasise energy use more.     

Adapting to climate change: reducing water-related risks in Europe – EU policy and research considerations

Climate change impacts on the hydrological cycle, e.g. leading to changes of precipitation patterns, have been observed over several decades. Higher water temperatures and changes in extremes hydrometeorological events (including floods and droughts) are likely to exacerbate different types of pressures on water resources with possible negative impacts on ecosystems and human health. In addition, sea-level rise is expected to extend areas of salinisation of groundwater and estuaries, resulting in a decrease of freshwater availability for humans and ecosystems in coastal areas. Furthermore, climate-related changes in water quantity and quality are expected to affect food availability, water access and utilisation, especially in arid and semi-arid areas, as well as the operation of water infrastructure (e.g. hydropower, flood defences, and irrigation systems). This paper serves as an introduction to the special issue of Environment Science & Policy dealing with climate change impacts on water-related disasters. It provides a brief background about relevant EU water policies and examples of EU-funded research trends which illustrate on-going efforts to improve understanding and modelling of climate changes related to the hydrological cycles at scales that are relevant to decision making (possibly linked to policy).