Uncertainty,Irreversibility and the Timing Problems of Environmental Policy

Abstract

Most environmental issues and policy designing are uncertain and irreversible; therefore, the timing of environmental policy implementation becomes especially important. This paper establishes a random dynamic programming model and analyzes the optimal timing problems in environmental policy under uncertain variables. This model results indicate that two variables have a significant impact on the timing of environmental policy implementation and they work in opposite directions: on one hand, the more uncertain the economy is, the higher the cost of policies implementation will be, and consequently the incentive to immediately adopt the policy will be stronger. On the other hand, the higher the uncertainty of the environment is, the stronger the irreversibility of ecological harm caused by pollutants per unit will be. Therefore, the government should implement new environmental policies as early as possible in order to gain more ecological benefits.     

中国西部地区生态扶贫策略研究

西部地区是我国贫困面最大、贫困程度最深的地区,同时也是生态环境最脆弱的地区.改革开放以来,虽然西部地区社会经济发展水平得到了一定的提高,但与东中部地区的收入差距却在不断的扩大.同时,随着全国贫困人口绝对规模的减少,贫困人口的分布进一步向西部地区集中,生态环境在诸多致贫因素中越来越突出.文章从西部贫困地区与生态脆弱区和重要生态功能区空间分布的关联性以及地区贫困对生态环境的影响等方面深入解析了西部地区贫困和生态环境互为因果的耦合机理;分析了当前西部地区扶贫开发面临的生态环境、资金、人力资本、管理体制等方面的严峻挑战;提出了生态扶贫的概念和基本内涵,即:生态建设与扶贫开发同步进行,生态恢复与脱贫致富相互协调;设计了原地扶贫和离地扶贫两大生态扶贫模式,并提出了不同生态扶贫模式的特点、实施范围和基本内容.原地扶贫通过创造生态管护就业岗位,发展当地特色生态绿色产业体系,实现贫困人口在当地就业,增加贫困人口的收入.同时,通过拓展整村推进和本地教育工程,改善贫困地区生产、生活条件,提高贫困人口稳定脱贫能力.离地扶贫则以生态移民为主,并结合城镇化战略,引导贫困地区劳动力向城镇和东部沿海地区转移,通过异地就业、生活实现脱贫.最后,提出了实施生态扶贫战略的相关政策建议,包括以教育为核心的人力资本开发,以特色农副产品开发、特色生态旅游和绿色品牌建设为核心的特色优势产业发展,以及以生态移民制度和政府管理体制为核心的制度建设创新等.     

Policy options to promote Chinese new energy vehicles consumption

Inspired by the green revolution, new energy vehicles (NEVs) provide a fresh, alternative mode of transportation for Chinese consumers that reduce their reliance on traditional, gasoline/diesel-based cars. However, despite strong government support for NEVs in China, the level of uptake by consumers remains slow. Using Shanghai as a case study, this article provides a much-needed insight into local consumers’ motivations to invest in NEVs through a survey of 100 Shanghai residents. Results indicate that current NEV promotion policies do not have a significant impact on the cognitive trade-off of NEV consumption under the “Integrated Consumer Behavior Model,” mainly due to inconvenient charging facilities, technical concerns regarding battery, higher prices, and wait-and-see attitudes regarding the pilot policy environment. Drawing on experiences from Sweden and New Zealand, this research serves to enhance knowledge on consumer attitudes towards NEVs and assist policy makers in developing more effective green consumption promotion campaigns in the future.     

Multilevel assessment of a large-scale programme for poverty alleviation and wetland conservation: lessons from South Africa

The implementation of large-scale programmes for environment and development presents two main challenges: the tensions between both goals and the disconnect across policy levels. To contribute to overcoming these challenges, we assess a national multi-partnership programme for poverty alleviation and wetland restoration in South Africa: Working for Wetlands. We analyse this innovative polycentric programme at the macro and micro levels. At the national level, we assess the policy development and implementation model. At the local level, we analyse its impact on livelihoods and on opinions about development and the environment at a specific location. We use data from in-depth interviews across scales, household surveys (n = 47) and focus group discussions. The strengths of this programme can inform more effective design of further large-scale environment and development policies. However, critical issues originated at the national scale are likely to hinder the permanence of improvements at the micro level.     

The territorial dimension of environmental sustainability in Italy along the urban–rural continuum

Single territories contribute in different ways to the transition towards a more environmentally sustainable development (SD), according to their structural features. This study returns a multi-dimensional picture of the territorial divides of environmental sustainability across Italy, analysing how it correlates with rurality, with a focus on the urban–rural continuum. Italy represents an interesting case study because of its peculiar territorial urban–rural structure. We first assess the environmental sustainability targets across Italian NUTS 3 regions and their capital cities using two composite sustainability indexes, by referring to both standard values (i.e. conforming to legislation) and optimum values (i.e. desired values). Then, we investigate the relationship between environmental sustainability and rurality. Results suggest that a positive link between the two exists, being stronger at city level. Among major policy implications, the environmental dimensions of territorial cohesion should be integrated more strongly in key European policies to reach a more balanced SD.     

A dominant coalition and policy change: an analysis of shale oil and gas politics in India

This paper identifies the coalitions involved in the topic of shale oil and gas development in India and identifies the circumstances surrounding a change in policy in 2013 by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to promote shale exploration. Using the Advocacy Coalition Framework as the theoretical lens, the data are collected primarily from newspaper articles from 2010 to 2015 to identify coalitions, including actors’ positions, priorities, and interactions. The findings show the presence of a dominant advocacy coalition in favor of shale oil and gas development with priorities about energy security and a regulatory framework. The findings indicate some internal coalition disagreement, but stronger internal coalition agreement. Policy change was preceded by a spike in disagreement internal to the dominant coalition. This paper shows how a change in a dominant coalition can precede a change in policy, offers a replicable method of identifying and measuring coalitions via newspaper content analysis, provides a rare application of the Advocacy Coalition Framework outside of North America and Western Europe, and provides evidence of support for shale oil and gas development in India.     

Is Learning without teaching possible? The productive tension between network governance and reflexivity

ABSTRACT

Theories of reflexive governance are closely linked with the claim that more traditional modes of coordination have been replaced by networked structures, allowing reflexivity to emerge and reflexive learning to function as a steering mechanism in rapidly changing policy contexts. This paper explores this connection between reflexivity, governance, learning and networks in societal transitions, focusing particularly on the claim that networks will deliver reflexive learning. Using network theories from both policy networks and network governance and a case study of the Canadian agricultural biotechnology (agbiotech) policy network, it suggests that the kind of learning produced in networks will be a function of network structure. In particular, higher order reflexive learning will be compromised by the inevitability of the political struggle for nodality or central place in networks and the ensuing distribution of opportunities for bridging and bonding activities. Networks such as the Canadian agbiotech policy network that may promote learning but not necessarily reflexive learning are increasingly disadvantaged in contemporary policy settings.     

我国天然气分布式能源产业政策发展及相关建议

天然气分布式能源具有能效高、清洁环保、安全性好、削峰填谷等诸多优点。发展天然气分布式能源是扩大天然气应用和实现资源就地转化的重要方向和选择,是我国能源发展战略的一部分,同时也能够提升天然气优化利用水平,提高能源利用效率,促进节能减排和绿色低碳发展,深化能源行业及电力行业供给侧结构性改革。对我国天然气分布式能源产业政策进行详细分析,对江苏、上海、浙江等重点地区天然气分布式能源项目调研基础上,系统提出当前天然气分布式能源存在的问题,并在合理布局、天然气价格市场化、经济政策、核心技术研发等多方面提出相关政策建议。     

广义物质循环模型及对循环经济的政策内涵

在传统经济增长模式下。我国资源开采、生产、消费及消费末端各个环节的环境问题都十分突出。然而传统的物质循环并不能从根本上解决我国经济增长与生态环境之间的矛盾。在总结传统物质循环的特点与局限性的基础之上。提出了旨在提高经济系统全过程资源效率与环境绩效的广义物质循环的概念及理论模型；剖析了广义物质循环的资源与环境政策内涵，并据此提出我国资源环境的生命周期政策途径；最后以广义物质循环的内涵及基本原则为指导。深入探讨了我国循环经济发展的资源政策与环境政策。本文认为。建立与发展以广义物质循环为核心的循环经济增长模式。是我国实现经济与环境持续协调发展的根本途径。