Arsenic and Other Metal Contamination of Groundwaters in the Industrial Area of Thessaloniki, Northern Greece

In groundwater, used for drinking water supply in the greater industrial area of Thessaloniki, in Northern Greece, concentrations of total arsenic exceeded the WHO provisional guideline value and the EU maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 μg/L. The concentration of total arsenic was in the range between 4–130 μg/L, whereas the median value was 36 μg/L and the average concentration 46 μg/L. Nine out of the eleven wells contained total arsenic at concentration higher than 10 μg/L and it should be stressed that 6 of them contain arsenic at concentrations between 10 (new MCL) and 50 μg/L (previous MCL). The examined groundwaters were found to contain elevated concentrations of manganese and phosphate. Arsenic had a positive correlation with the pH, indicating the possible effect of pH on arsenic mobilisation. These findings emerge the problem of contamination from arsenic, since, according to the EU directive 98/83, all drinking water sources within the European Union should have achieved compliance with the new limits by 12/2003, implying that the situation requires urgent remedial action.     

A project-based system for including farmers in the EU ETS

Farmers in the EU do not trade greenhouse gases under the Kyoto agreement. This is an empirical puzzle because agriculture is a significant contributor of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the EU and may harvest private net gains from trade. Furthermore, the US has strongly advocated land-use practices as 'the missing link' in past climate negotiations. We argue that farmers have relatively low marginal reduction costs and that consequences in terms of the effect on permit price and technology are overall positive in the EU Emission Trading System (ETS). Thus, we propose a project-based system for including the farming practices in the EU ETS that reduces the uncertainty from measuring emission reduction in this sector. The system encourages GHG reduction either by introducing a new and less polluting practice or by reducing the polluting activity. When doing so, farmers will receive GHG permits corresponding to the amount of reduction which can be stored for later use or sold in the EU ETS.     

欧盟甲烷减排战略对我国碳中和的启示

欧盟于2020年10月出台了《欧盟甲烷减排战略》,以支撑其中长期温室气体减排目标。该战略共提出了五个领域的24个行动方案。欧盟将油气行业作为重点,设置了两个强制性的政策来完善能源部门的温室气体监测、报告和核查制度,并禁止天然气放空和燃烧。农业领域以加强全生命周期甲烷排放核算、减排技术等方面研究,编制最佳减排实践和技术清单为主要措施。在废弃物管理领域,欧盟将主要修订废弃物管理方面的立法和废水处理标准并加强监管。全球层面,欧盟提出希望联合包括中国在内的主要油气进口国家,推动建立全球性的监测、报告和核查标准,分享其甲烷超级排放源探测的卫星数据等措施。我国提出2060碳中和愿景后,下一阶段温室气体减排将会从能源相关二氧化碳减排为主扩展到全部温室气体减排。建议我国和欧盟在甲烷减排方面开展广泛合作,借鉴欧盟的经验,尽快制定我国甲烷减排近期、中期、远期目标和行动计划,推广甲烷减排技术,加强科学研究和技术研发,探索在国家碳市场交易体系中纳入甲烷等非二氧化碳气体的时机和方案,鼓励大型能源企业加入国际甲烷减排倡议以提高能力,逐步完善我国甲烷减排相关政策和制度环境,打造我国在低碳领域的经济和技术竞争力。     

欧盟航空排放交易系统及其对中国利益相关方的影响

在应对气候变化问题上,欧委会坚持将民航纳入排放交易系统。欧盟已经通过指令立法程序,自2012年1月1日起正式将在欧盟境内起降的所有欧盟和非欧盟航班排放纳入欧盟温室气体排放交易系统（EUETS）,试图通过“上限—交易”的模式来限制航空的温室气体排放。本文解读了欧盟这一法律和政策,并分析了欧盟将国际民航纳入EUETS后,中国的航空公司、乘客及航空减排政策和行业发展将受到的潜在影响。     

The vertical integration of Lisbon and sustainable development strategies across the EU: How different governance architectures shape the European coherence of policy documents

In Europe, sustainable development (SD) is pursued with not one but two overarching strategies, i.e., the so-called Lisbon and SD strategies. While the Lisbon Strategy is a genuinely European response to global economic and social pressures, SD strategies are national efforts corresponding with international (mainly United Nations) guidance to better coordinate and integrate economic, social and, in particular, environmental policies. The present paper explores the vertical coordination and coherence of the two pan-European strategies. After reviewing the international background of SD strategies and the EU origins of the Lisbon strategy, the paper characterizes and compares the governance architectures of the two strategies. With a solid background on how vertical policy integration functions in the two processes, the paper then shows how this affects the coherence of respective strategy structures and monitoring indicators. Based on an extensive empirical stocktaking study of the objectives and indicators in Lisbon and SD strategies across Europe it is shown that, despite the stronger European coordination through the Open Method of Coordination, the Lisbon process entailed only slightly more coherent national strategies than international guidance did in the context of SD strategies. Thus, the paper concludes that the influence international organizations such as the UN and the OECD have on national policy-making must not be underestimated.     

Better regulation by new governance hybrids? Governance models and the reform of European chemicals policy

The EU is presently in a transition phase from environmental policy-making by law towards other governance approaches based upon networking, voluntary commitments, benchmarking and other forms of “soft law”. Those new governance approaches often claim to lead to “better regulation”, while adopting a more consensus-oriented and participatory style, taking economic aspects more seriously into account, allowing for more flexibility and autonomy for the private sector and Member States alike, mobilising a broader knowledge base or adopting more integrated and holistic approaches than previous sectoralised and compartmentalised policies.While the limitations of traditional regulatory approaches are widely accepted and cited, it is far from evident, that “new modes of governance” have greater capacity to solve problems than the old ones. There is an argument, that “better regulation” might by synonymous to a withdrawal and weakening of the regulatory state and hence effectively of the aspirations and objectives of environmental policies.An interesting case for an approach, combining the strengths of the old and the new approaches is the ongoing reform of chemicals policies. While some observers claim, that the proposed directive, “REACH” might belong to the outdated category of overcomplex and bureaucratic regulation, a closer look shows that there are many new forms of governance in REACH. This mixture or old and new may open a more realistic and promising perspective on the reform of European policy-making.In our paper we assess the effects and the interplay of the combination of different modes of governance using the example of REACH. We are particularly concerned with the question in how far the representation of interests may change when new modes of governance are introduced.     

欧盟经济与环境关系问题浅议——基于经济发展、能源消耗与温室气体排放的统计分析

基于Eurostat New Cronos数据库提供的欧盟25个国家2003年的GDP、能源消耗与温室气体排放数据,在SAS系统下,运用描述性分析与回归分析,检测了欧盟25个国家经济发展、能源消耗与温室气体排放之间的相关性.研究表明:GDP、能源消耗和温室气体排放三者之间存在正相关性;相对经济发展的环境代价而言,欧盟新成员国的环境影响问题较欧盟15国更严重.     

Ten years of international scientific cooperation in fisheries,aquaculture and coastal zones: some preliminary lessons

The paper examines preliminary experiences with international scientific cooperation in fisheries, aquaculture and coastal zone issues through 90 projects in successive European Research Framework Programmes (FP4–FP6: 1994–2006). FPs had increasingly ambitious objectives in response to international commitments, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Millennium Development Goals, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and dialogue with partner regions. Sustainable aquatic food production in the context of respect for ecosystems was a central concern. Engagement with different social actors and attention to investment in education, people and institutions enabled uptake of research results in education, innovation and some impact. The emphasis in several recent projects on more integrated analyses and knowledge products in the public domain is an encouraging response to the growing crisis of aquatic resource systems. It is suggested that significant up-scaling will be required. This might be done through institutional internalisation and better translation of research results into policy developments supportive of transitions towards sustainable production systems and ecosystem rehabilitation. Capacity building to use research in novel ways and other enabling mechanisms need to be put in place to increase societal and environmental benefits of the research.

潍河流域水质管理模型

水质管理模型包括河流模型、农业非点源污染模型和水库富营养化模型。河流模型选择ＱＵＡＬ２ＥＵ模型并加以改进,增加了模拟ＣＯＤ转化,底泥泛起和水体养鱼的非点输入功能,并将非点源模型和水库模型作了技术处理使之同河流模型有机结合在一起。     

Measuring and explaining the EU’s effect on national climate performance

ABSTRACT

To what extent has the European Union (EU) had a benign or retarding effect on what its member states would have undertaken in the absence of EU climate policies during 2008–2012? A measurement tool for the EU policy’s effect is developed and shows a benign average EU effect with considerable variation across countries. The EU’s policy effectiveness vis-à-vis its member states is explained by the EU’s non-compliance mechanism, the degree of usage of the Kyoto flexible mechanisms, and national pre-Kyoto emission reduction goals. Time-series cross-sectional analyses show that the EU’s non-compliance mechanism has no effect, while the ex-ante plans for using Kyoto flexible mechanisms and/or the ambitious pre-Kyoto emission reduction targets allow member states to escape constraints imposed by EU climate policy.