The Concept and Theoretical Implications of Carbon Emissions Rights Based on Individual Equity

Abstract

Climate change has become a hot topic in international environmental negotiations. For post-Kyoto international climate regime negotiations, many countries have proposed a variety of frameworks to share the emission reduction responsibilities and allocate carbon emission rights, and have tried to quantify the emission reduction obligations of all countries based on the perspectives of international equity and individual equity. In this paper, the authors have distinguished the concepts of carbon emissions rights based on these two perspectives respectively, have analyzed the relationship between carbon emissions per capita and economic development, and have calculated and compared the proportion of cumulative emissions per capita of different countries in history and future, and then authors conclude that emission reduction obligations should be allocated based on each country’s conditions, including historical emissions, development stage, and future demands. Developed countries should take the initiative to significantly reduce their emissions because they have already accomplished their industrialization process. However, developing countries are still in the process of industrialization, which requires more emission rights to meet their development needs. For China, the concept of carbon emissions based on individual equity can be used as a theoretical tool for the allocating the international carbon emissions rights.     

Harnessing community energy: the keys to climate mitigation policy adoption in US municipalities

Many US municipalities are engaged in climate change mitigation planning or efforts to reduce their communities' greenhouse gas emissions. However, most have adopted very few policies to implement their climate change mitigation goals, and many others are not pursuing climate change mitigation at all. This study examines municipalities' approaches to energy and climate issues and identifies the “keys to success” that influence the extent to which they adopt climate change mitigation policies.

Prior researchers have characterised climate change mitigation efforts as an example of multi-level governance, in which policies are formulated through a variety of networks and interactions between government actors and civil society. I find that municipalities that engage community interests and coordinate with neighbouring jurisdictions in their energy and climate planning processes are far more likely to adopt meaningful policies and conclude that such multi-level governance approaches are actually critical to the success of climate change mitigation planning.     

Cui bono: the Scottish Climate Challenge Fund and community benefits

This study adopted an open-ended exploratory approach to elicit the perspectives of a selection of six Climate Challenge Fund projects. This central idea is that communities' perspective on attempted carbon reduction initiative in their areas has use in other contexts and could enable better design of such interventions in future. The main finding was that emphasising local benefits was conducive to their achieving local involvement in the project. The results of this research should be tested in other contexts. Three broad implications for the design of community carbon reduction initiatives are raised in assuming these outcomes are correct. First, the community hosting such initiatives should be perceived to hold a degree of power over the project. Second, central authorities should not be overly prohibitive about the motivations of those participating in such projects. Finally, the use of non-environmental messaging has value in shifting people to more pro-environmental behaviours.     

Determinants of Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Compensatory Wetland Mitigation

Development projects that impact wetlands commonly require compensatory mitigation, usually through creation or restoration of wetlands on or off the project site. Over the last decade, federal support has increased for third-party off-site mitigation methods. At the same time, regulators have lowered the minimum impact size that triggers the requirement for compensatory mitigation. Few studies have examined the aggregate impact of individual wetland mitigation projects. No previous study has compared the choice of mitigation method by regulatory agency or development size. We analyze 1058 locally and federally permitted wetland mitigation transactions in the Chicago region between 1993 and 2004. We show that decreasing mitigation thresholds have had striking effects on the methods and spatial distribution of wetland mitigation. In particular, the observed increase in mitigation bank use is driven largely by the needs of the smallest impacts. Conversely, throughout the time period studied, large developments have rarely used mitigation banking, and have been relatively unaffected by changing regulatory focus and banking industry growth. We surmise that small developments lack the scale economies necessary for feasible permittee responsible mitigation. Finally, we compare the rates at which compensation required by both county and federal regulators is performed across major watershed boundaries. We show that local regulations prohibiting cross-county mitigation lead to higher levels of cross- watershed mitigation than federal regulations without cross-county prohibitions. Our data suggest that local control over wetland mitigation may prioritize administrative boundaries over hydrologic function in the matter of selecting compensation sites.     

Challenges and opportunities for REDD+: A reality check from perspectives of effectiveness,efficiency and equity

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) is a promising mechanism of payments for ecosystem services with the aim to effectively reduce emissions in an efficient and equitable manner. REDD+ is part of the Paris-agreement reached at the UNFCCC COP21 in December 2015, but questions on whether REDD+ will work and bring multi-benefits are still hotly debated. Moreover, the results and messages from research on REDD+ in different regions are mixed, context-based and fragmented. Here, we employ a survey among REDD+ stakeholders, researchers, and consultants to evaluate the opportunities and challenges of REDD+ for achieving effective, efficient and equitable outcomes and co-benefits (3E+). We substantiate our survey results with a literature review. Results suggest that the challenges in achieving the 3E+ relate to the disproportionality between deforestation drivers and mitigation measures, diverging perceptions of equity among REDD+ stakeholders, complexity of property rights, and fragile willingness of stakeholders to engage in REDD+. If these challenges can be successfully addressed by the involved stakeholder groups, they can be turned into opportunities for realizing REDD+.     

我国西部中小城镇防震减灾管理体系研究

分析了我国西部中小城镇防震减灾管理现状,借鉴发达国家防震减灾管理的经验,构建了西部中小城镇防震减灾管理体系,包括防震减灾法律保障、行政监管、地震监测预报和预警、防震减灾计划、建筑物和生命线工程的抗震性能保证、防震减灾教育与培训、基层单位对震灾的预防、地震救援组织建设、震灾应急救援服务等彼此关联、相互作用的子系统。指出其建设重点应放在建筑物和生命线工程抗震性能保证、行政监管、防震减灾计划、防震教育培训和基层震灾预防等方面。提出了深化西部中小城镇建设管理体制改革、提高防震减灾社会管理与公共服务水平、加强地震灾害应急救援体系建设等对策和建议。研究成果的运用将有助于增强西部中小城镇的防震减灾管理能力。     

Low carbon transition options for Australia

A rapid and sustained transition to new energy systems for Australia was explored using the OzECCO model implemented in a systems dynamics simulation package. OzECCO simulates the close relationship between energy use and economic productivity at a sectoral level to explore scenarios of economic and biophysical function based on a calibration period of 1981-2005 and a scenario period 2006-2051. The core scenarios showed that a fully renewable (the renewables transition) or an advanced fossil and nuclear transition (the conventional wisdom transition), can reduce accumulated CO2 emissions from the Australian economy for the period 2006-2051 by 50%. Adding a low growth economy where GDP averages less than 1% annually extends this to a 60% reduction. Extensive reforestation of more than 50 million hectares extends the total reduction to 70% over the 45 year period and provides at 2051 a per capita emissions level of one to two tonnes which will be necessary if developed and developing countries are to converge on equal atmospheric impacts with reasonable lifestyle opportunities. Central to both the renewables and conventional-wisdom scenarios are substantial reductions in the physical dimensions of personal consumption, and the transfer of these avoided consumption opportunities to an intergenerational sovereign wealth fund. This fund, held outside day-to-day domestic activities, can buffer Australian society and future generations against shocks, financial or physical, that might lie waiting and unanticipated in our future. This study did not explore phasing out Australia's extensive coal and natural gas exports although their impact on global atmospheric concentrations is significant. Domestic combustion and exported fuels will add 82 billion tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere in the scenario period 2006-2051, equivalent to a 20 ppm rise in atmospheric concentrations. The low-growth renewables transition with unconstrained exports reduces this rise to 15 ppm. The continued expansion of fuel exports thus expands atmospheric risk in physical terms but also entrains policy and strategic risks should carbon-based industries become pariahs in international commerce and political relations.     

城市和农村社区防灾减灾手册和挂图的设计与编制

介绍了城市和农村社区防灾减灾手册和挂图的设计和编制,包括设计和编制原则、编制流程、手册和挂图的内容与结构、挂图编制的主要表示方法以及编制的组织和实施过程。     

巨灾保险下减灾积极性的影响因素及激励措施——基于美国巨灾保险项目的经验

讨论了保险的损失补偿职能和防灾减灾功能的关系,分析了巨灾保险框架下影响被保险人、保险人和其他利害方减灾积极性的多种因素,并基于美国的实践经验,从巨灾保险制度自身设计、政府支持和社会其他利害方的配合这三个角度剖析了调动防灾减灾积极性的各种手段和政策措施。这些经验对我国巨灾保险体系的构建具有一定的借鉴意义。研究结论表明,在合理的制度下,巨灾保险将发挥重要的防灾减灾功能。     

虱外社区防灾减灾的经验及启示——以日本社区防灾减灾建设为例

本文以日本为例总结了国外社区防灾减灾经验以及对我国的启示。主要包括：完善社区减灾法律制度,制定社区防灾计划,制定社区灾害风险图,建设社区防灾无线网络和普及防灾减灾知识,重视企业参与防灾减灾活动。