Governing sustainability: a dialogue between Local Agenda 21 and transition management

Since the 1990s, the local level of governance has become increasingly important in addressing the challenge of sustainable development. In this article, we compare two approaches that seek to address sustainability locally, namely Local Agenda 21 and transition management. Discussing both approaches along six dimensions (history, aim, kind of change, governance understanding, process methodologies, and actors), we formulate general insights into the governance of sustainability in cities, towns, and neighbourhoods. This dialogue illustrates two related modes of thinking about sustainability governance. We touch upon the importance of an integrated perspective on sustainability transitions through which sustainability is made meaningful locally in collaborative processes. We suggest that the explicit orientation towards radical change is a precondition for governing sustainability in a way that addresses the root causes of societal challenges. Governing sustainability should address the tensions between aiming for radical change and working with status quo-oriented actors and governing settings. We conclude that governing sustainability should be about finding creative ways for opening spaces for participation, change, and experimentation, that is, for creating alternative ideas, practices, and social relations. These spaces for innovation encourage a reflexive stance on ways of working and one's own roles and attitudes, thereby preparing a fertile terrain for actors to engage in change from different perspectives.     

Ecological citizenship and democracy: Communitarian versus agonistic perspectives

Grassroots environmental movements have recently started to question the focus on sustainable consumption as a main strategy to tackle climate change. They prefer to address individuals as citizens rather than as consumers, and focus on collective rather than individual change. Two prominent movements in this regard are Transition Towns and Climate Justice Action. While both movements criticise conventional approaches, they put forward entirely different strategies for what has to happen instead. Based on extensive qualitative research, this article analyses how these movements manifest themselves in Flanders (Belgium). The focus is on their different accounts of how and why collective practices have to be built, and the place they attribute to ‘the political’ in this. The analysis reveals the existence of two different forms of ecological citizenship: one communitarian, the other agonistic.     

环境分权、市场分割与碳排放

中国有着庞大的环境管理队伍以及巨大的国内市场,科学的环境管理制度以及高度一体化的国内市场将深刻改变碳排放格局,然而,已有研究对于这些影响碳排放的体制性因素既缺乏足够的理论分析也缺乏实证检验。有鉴于此,本文首先分析了环境分权和市场分割影响碳排放的理论机理,并提出了三个理论假设,进一步地,本文以环境管理人员在不同层级政府的配置衡量环境分权度,以相对价格法衡量市场分割程度,基于1995-2012年的省际面板数据,从实证层面检验了环境分权和市场分割对碳排放的影响效应。结果显示:环境分权和市场分割都显著地加剧了碳排放,原因在于分权的环境管理体制安排扭曲了激励,无法对碳排放形成真实有效的约束,而市场分割则恶化了碳排放在区域间的配置效率。同时,环境分权与市场分割对碳排放的共同影响作用上存在互补效应,即环境分权程度越高,市场分割对碳排放的负面影响效应越大,反之,市场分割程度越高,环境分权对碳排放的负面影响效应也越大。这主要是由于环境分权与市场分割是地方政府一对互补的策略行为,在环境分权较高的地区,地方政府进行市场分割的能力越强,而在市场分割较高的地区,地方政府争取环境事务管理权的动力越强。因此,在既定的碳排放约束下,中央政府一方面需要适度集中环境事务管理权限,进一步优化环境事务管理机构设置以及人员队伍在不同层级政府间的配置,提高对碳排放的管控效率,另一方面需要打通省际壁垒,加快区域市场一体化建设,优化碳排放的区域配置,提高碳排放效率。     

欧盟碳配额现货与期货价格关系及对中国的借鉴

基于欧盟碳市场配额现货与期货的发展经验和对我国统一碳市场建设的借鉴,本文以2005-2012年欧盟碳排放权交易体系(EU ETS)欧盟配额的现货和期货价格为样本研究二者之间的关系。本文运用单位根检验(ADF检验)的方法验证现货与期货价格的序列平稳性,并在序列平稳的前提下基于协整理论研究现货价格与期货价格的长期均衡关系,反映了二者间的静态关系。但短期内这一静态关系并不成立,反而表现出一定的动态性,短期价格的变动能够真实地反映市场需求,对价格的形成起着重要作用,因而采用向量误差修正模型重点研究二者间的短期动态关系。研究表明:1碳现货价格与期货价格间有着不同程度的影响,二者存在长期均衡,但短期内受市场特定因素的影响,二者又有所偏离;2期货价格反应灵敏,偏离均衡后调整速度快于现货,而且期货的滞后期价格对现货价格影响显著,这更加突显了碳期货的价格发现作用;3期货市场涉及了投资者对市场的预期和判断,较现货交易包含了更多的投机性,价格更为灵活,波动频繁,增加了市场风险。最后,根据结论对我国碳市场建设提出一些启示和建议:针对现货与期货价格之间的动态关系,应当积极开发和利用碳期货市场,通过期货的价格发现功能形成合理碳价,同时需要增强期货市场与现货市场的透明度,实现信息的传递与分享,最终实现期货市场对现货市场的补充和完善;为规避期货价格的波动性所带来的风险,需要建立一套完善的风险防控体系,在风险可控的前提下利用期货价格对市场进行预期,及时引导市场价格,形成完善的价格机制,为全国统一碳市场建设提供价格基础。     

中国碳市场波动溢出效应研究

自2013年以来,中国已先后建立了七个区域性碳市场。研究中国碳市场之间的波动溢出效应,有助于发现在碳市场运行初期起价格引导作用的区域市场,为其它地区碳市场的发展和全国碳市场的建立提供建议。本文选择广东、湖北和深圳三个交易量最大的区域碳市场为样本,利用多元GARCH(1,1)-BEKK模型,检验其波动溢出效应。为了消除履约期的影响,本文根据履约期将样本划分为阶段一(2014年7月1日—2015年6月30日)和阶段二(2015年7月1日—2016年7月19日),分阶段进行了检验,并从市场有效性的视角解释了检验结果。波动溢出效应检验结果显示:在阶段一内,广东碳市场对湖北碳市场、湖北碳市场对深圳碳市场、深圳碳市场对广东碳市场分别存在单向的波动溢出效应;在阶段二内,只存在深圳碳市场对广东碳市场的单向波动溢出效应;在整个样本期内,只存在深圳碳市场对广东碳市场的单向波动溢出效应。基于方差比的市场有效性检验结果显示:无论是阶段一、阶段二或整个样本期,三个碳市场均没有达到弱式有效。本文进一步在多重分形检验的基础上,利用多重分形谱宽度,比较了三个碳市场的非有效性程度,结果显示:在阶段一、阶段二和整个样本期,三个碳市场有效性大小关系分别为:湖北广东深圳、深圳湖北广东、广东深圳湖北。可见,三个碳市场早期的波动溢出效应不完全符合市场有效性大小关系,而较晚期的波动溢出效应符合市场有效性大小关系,这证明了中国碳市场在阶段二相比阶段一更为成熟。本文最后对中国碳排放权交易市场的发展提出了政策建议。     

液氮泡沫发生器内流动特性研究

低温液氮与泡沫混合液直接接触产生氮气泡沫是一种新型的掺混形式,利用液氮高汽化比的特点,搭建液氮泡沫可视化实验装置,进行氮气-水两相流及液氮泡沫流动特性的研究。结果表明,液氮相变产生大量氮气,其与泡沫液混合产生泡沫,温度有所回升,最终趋于泡沫混合液温度;管路沿程压降较小;液氮射流破碎及流动过程可分为6个区域:低温液氮区、向上循环翻滚区、滞留区、泡沫与泡沫混合液混合区、致密泡沫区、泡沫混合液区。流体向下游流动过程中持续发泡;为防止管路结冰,需合理控制泡沫混合液与液氮流量。     

Morphological characteristics of flashing jet throughout superheated liquid release

Many release problems involve two-phase releases of hazardous materials of superheated liquids with high energy into the atmosphere. Such accidents are accompanied by violent phase transition and form catastrophic flashing jets. In this work, experimental and theoretical analyses were conducted to investigate dynamic characteristics of flashing jet morphology and their dependence on pressure-decay dynamics under different storage pressures, superheats, and nozzle diameters. Flashing jet morphology and angle throughout two-phase releases were captured by a high-speed camera, and the corresponding source pressure in the superheated liquid tank was measured simultaneously. Results show that three typical phases, expansion, stabilization, and decay, are characterized throughout two-phase release based on the evolution of flashing jet morphology. The jet initially expands gradually due to the enhancement of phase transition intensity, and then keeps stable when the intensity reaches its maximum, and terminally decays rapidly due to the depletion of superheated liquid. Phase transition intensity at the nozzle exit is mainly controlled by the pressure-decay dynamics. Bubbles nucleation inception sites gradually move upstream of the nozzle during the pressure decay process increasing the phase transition intensity. The increase of storage pressure, superheat and nozzle diameter promotes the mechanical and thermodynamic effects on the jet breakup. The significant increase of mechanical and thermodynamic effects effectively accelerates droplets evaporation and further affects flashing jet morphology.     

Carbon trading thickness and market efficiency in a socialist market economy

Unlike the European Union emission trade system (EU ETS), China’s pilot ETSs implemented diversified policy designs instead of using a uniform framework. Variance ratio test is used to evaluate the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) in China’s carbon trading markets. The results of two versions of variance ratio tests indicate that the carbon trading market in Hubei is considered weak form efficient, and the socialist market economy does not necessarily lead to market inefficiency in carbon trading markets. Thin trading activities generate market frictions and bias the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) tests.     

贸易开放、劳动力转移和就业

长久以来主流国际贸易模型中充分就业的假设使经济学界忽略了对贸易开放如何影响就业的分析,而哈里斯-托达罗模型则为此提供了一个可供扩展的框架.将哈里斯-托达罗模型扩展到存在贸易开放的情况后,本文发现如果一国的比较优势为制造品,贸易开放将会减少就业,这是因为制造品价格的提高会吸引更多的劳动力从农业向制造业转移,而制造业部门劳动力市场刚性的存在则阻碍了劳动需求的增加.为了研究我国改革开放以来贸易开放对就业的影响机制,并且考虑到就业的持续性,本文利用我国省际面板动态数据进行实证研究,并使用国有企业和政府部门劳动力占比度量我国劳动力市场刚性程度.实证研究结果发现当不考虑劳动市场刚性时,由于我国的比较优势是劳动密集型产品,贸易开放能增加就业;而当劳动力市场刚性较大时,劳动力转移过程反而促使贸易开放减少我国的就业,恰好验证了本文的理论分析结果.该文的政策含义则意味着政府应努力降低劳动力市场刚性以促使贸易开放增加就业.     

新休假制度下长沙市城郊旅游市场分析

在我国新休假制度下,城郊游短线旅游受到越来越多旅游者的青睐。通过问卷调查,采用SPSS分析方法,得出长沙市城郊旅游市场在人口学和市场结构方面的一些特征。在市场分析的基础上,选择长沙市城郊旅游的目标市场,并针对相关问题对城郊旅游开发提出了一些建议,如以创造旅游者体验为核心提升景点价值;针对不同类型的消费者采取差异化的价格,宜采用多样化的促销方式和以直接营销渠道为主。