Climate engineering and human rights

ABSTRACT

In this Forum, three scholars discuss how climate engineering will pose novel human rights challenges, and may well force reconsideration of how human rights are applied as a guide to action. Following a short introduction, the first section introduces three competing approaches to human rights, arguing views which emphasize fairness or attempt to maximize satisfaction are more promising than one viewing human rights as inviolable ‘side-constraints’. The second section draws lessons from climate migration that are relevant for climate engineering in terms of incorporating a human rights approach to duties, rights, and participation. The final section compares the ‘needs-based’ and ‘rights-based’ approaches to humanitarian work in the face of climate change and climate engineering, raising concerns for duty-bearers and right-holders. The Forum’s conclusion draws together points of overlap and suggests a path forward for policy and research on this topic.     

Transnational environmental collective action facing implementation constraints – the case of nutrient leakage in the Baltic Sea Action Plan

While scholars have showed a long-standing interest for how to design effective environmental treaties and other international agreements, less interest has been paid to implementation phases of these agreements. This article takes the Eutrophication Segment in the Baltic Sea Action Plan as an example of a regional effort to reduce nutrient leakages, where national reporting of adopted strategies has been a key mechanism to improve implementation effectiveness. It is shown that although transnational collective action theory is a powerful tool to analyse underlying drivers and priorities in state implementation policies, a deeper analysis of domestic and external constraints can shed additional light on observed implementation gaps. Varying views among countries on, for example, the role of stakeholder participation, legitimacy and top-down governing versus multi-stakeholder governance approaches may comprise domestic constraints that make effective and efficient implementation problematic. In terms of external constraints, states’ balancing of action plan objectives versus other international commitments, such as other environmental treaties and EU Directives, is shown to potentially reduce implementation efficiency as well.     

Virtues and humanitarian ethics

This paper analyses the contribution of virtue ethics, the study of good character traits, to the humanitarian context. It argues that a virtue ethics perspective paints a realistic picture of the use of ethical standards in morally complex circumstances. Virtuous relief workers can employ standards in their thinking, but they are also committed to professional excellence that goes beyond any formal code. The concept of virtue ethics places a stress on moral development, which can be facilitated by role models that impart modest and feasible ideals. However, virtue ethics cannot provide simple guidelines on how to resolve difficult situations. It is possible that two virtuous persons can disagree on what should be done in a particular instance. In addition, a virtue ethics perspective emphasises the need for both individuals and organisations to discuss the actual purpose of relief work in order to pinpoint the virtues of a good relief professional.     

The humanitarian common logistic operating picture: a solution to the inter‐agency coordination challenge

Although significant progress has been made in developing the practice of humanitarian logistics, further improvements in efficiency and effectiveness have the potential to save lives and reduce suffering. This paper explores how the military/emergency services’ concept of a common operating picture (COP) can be adapted to the humanitarian logistics context, and analyses a practical and proven approach to addressing the key challenge of inter‐agency coordination and decision‐making. Successful adaptation could provide the mechanism through which predicted and actual demands, together with the location and status of material in transit, are captured, evaluated, and presented in real time as the basis for enhanced decision‐making between actors in the humanitarian supply network. Through the introduction of a humanitarian logistics COP and its linkages to national disaster management systems, local communities and countries affected by disasters and emergencies will be better placed to oversee and manage their response activities.     

Another avenue of action: an examination of climate change countermovement industries’ use of PAC donations and their relationship to Congressional voting over time

The political mobilization of American business elites in the 1970s and 1980s has been well studied by political scientists. Environmental sociologists have explored how industries in this elite countermovement have organized to prevent environmental legislation. The literature often focuses on the efforts of this movement to shape public opinion on climate change. However, political scientists argue business elites are running several parallel strategies simultaneously in order to protect their interests. FEC data are utilized in multilevel logit models to examine how donations from industrial Political Action Committees (PACs) relate to Congressional representative’s environmental voting behavior over a 20-year period. Industries associated with the environmental countermovement have increasingly used PAC donations over time, and every additional $10,000 a representative received from countermovement industries significantly decreased odds of their taking the pro-environmental stance even when controlling for representatives’ demographics, districts, Congressional polarization and time-period.     

有机磷农药二元混合物联合效应评价新方法的研究

以敌敌畏、乐果联合作用于线虫的毒理学实验为基础,基于FH插值法理论,通过较少的实验数据建立有机磷农药二元混合物联合效应模型,求解作用效应表达式并绘制联合效应三维曲面图;基于合并用药分析公式,计算联合作用评价q值并绘制农药浓度与q值的联合作用评价三维曲面图,结果表明敌敌畏与乐果混合物联合作用不仅表现为相加作用,而且还在局部低浓度表现为拮抗作用,与多元统计分析结果一致。上述研究表明FH插值法理论可作为二元有机磷农药联合效应分析及评价的一种新方法。     

牛粪堆肥升温菌剂的筛选及其作用机制

以糖、淀粉、蛋白质、纤维素培养基及菌株增殖倍数、菌株性能等为筛选方法,从牛粪低温堆肥中筛选不同原料重要功能菌并组成功能菌剂;以不同类别原料菌及单菌株发酵实验对升温机制进行研究。结果表明,芽孢杆菌、假单胞菌、纤维单胞菌及小孢霉菌等为重要功能菌;菌剂起温快,升温效果好,48 h堆体即由低温进入中温,5 d达到高温,腐熟时间可缩短至约17~18 d;糖功能菌升温效果最为显著,淀粉及蛋白质功能菌次之,纤维素功能菌升温能力较弱;菌株利用各种原料能力越强,增殖速度越快,对升温作用越大。各菌株充分利用基质各成分,紧密协同和促进,是低温堆体发酵升温的主要作用机制。     

Environmental evaluation for workplace violence in healthcare and social services

PROBLEM: Federal policy recommends environmental strategies as part of a comprehensive workplace violence program in healthcare and social services. The purpose of this project was to contribute specific, evidence-based guidance to the healthcare and social services employer communities regarding the use of environmental design to prevent violence. METHOD: A retrospective record review was conducted of environmental evaluations that were performed by an architect in two Participatory Action Research (PAR) projects for workplace violence prevention in 2000 and, in the second project in 2005. Ten facility environmental evaluation reports along with staff focus group reports from these facilities were analyzed to categorize environmental risk factors for Type II workplace violence. RESULTS: Findings were grouped according to their impact on access control, the ability to observe patients (natural surveillance), patient and worker safety (territoriality), and activity support. DISCUSSION: The environmental assessment findings reveal design and security issues that, if corrected, would improve safety and security of staff, patients, and visitors and reduce fear and unpredictability. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Healthcare and social assistance employers can improve the effectiveness of violence prevention efforts by including an environmental assessment with complementary hazard controls.     

中国城市建设用地集聚对利用效率的影响:机理、空间效应与分群差异

为探究城市建设用地集聚对城市建设用地利用效率的作用机理,文章基于2003—2017年中国278个地级及以上城市面板数据,通过构建多产出随机前沿生产函数模型测度城市建设用地利用效率,采用时间-空间双固定的空间杜宾模型探讨了不同程度的城市建设用地集聚对利用效率的影响机理与差异。结果表明:(1)从时空特征上来看,样本考察期内中国城市建设用地利用效率总体上呈稳步提升趋势,东部城市建设用地效率最高,西部次之,中部最低。(2)从全国维度的空间计量模型回归结果来看,城市建设用地集聚所带来的规模效应和外溢效应对城市建设用地利用效率具有改进作用,有利于利用效率进一步提升。(3)从不同城市建设用地集聚度分群回归结果来看,高集聚城市(东部发达地区)的直接效应显示随着城市建设用地集聚度的提高,利用效率也不断提高;间接效应中,建设用地集聚度的提高对周边城市的利用效率产生先带动后抑制的"倒U"形作用。低集聚城市(中西部欠发达地区)的直接效应和间接效应均显示,随着城市建设用地集聚的提高,其利用效率存在"先降后升"的"U"形曲线特征。可见,在城市发展的不同阶段,城市建设用地集聚对城市土地利用效率存在差异化影响。因此,中国城市发展应立足当前发展阶段特征,制定差别化的供地政策,促进城市建设用地集聚,针对性地提升区域要素利用效率,支撑经济社会进一步发展。