简介:Fewotherpolicyzonesareascomplexastheissueofclimatechange.Ifthemorepessimisticprojectionsofclimatechangedoomarecorrect,thenthefailuretoaddresstheissueislikelytobecatastrophicandirreversible.TheInter-governmentalPanelonClimateChangehaspredictedthepotentialextinctionofmanyspeciesandthattheexistenceofsmall-islandandothervulnerablecountrieswillbethreatenedifbusiness-as-usualgreenhousegasemissionscontinue.Climatechangeisatransboundaryproblemandrequiresunprecedentedlevelsofcooperationbetweenstatesandseriousandsustainedresponsesfrommajoremitters.However,thegrowingdemandandconsumptionofnaturalresourcesforcontinuedenergysecurityandcornucopianeconomicgrowthhaveunderminedtheoutcomesofinternationalclimatechangenegotiations.Itisarguedherethatthereisastrongconnectionbetweenthemajoremitters’positionsatUnitedNations’climatetalks,theirpossessions,dependenceandconsumptionofnaturalresources,andthecontinuedunderminingofinternationalclimatechangepolicyforunsustainablegrowth.ThispaperassessestheresourcepoliticsoftheUS,China,India,Canada,Russia,andSaudiArabiaandtheirpositionsatclimatetalkstoshowthelinkbetweenlackofclimatechangepolicyprogressandthepositionsofthesemainplayers.
简介:Environmentandhealthhavebeenmoreandmorejointlyaddressedinrecentyears,thankstotheeffortsofseveralpublicandprivateinstitutions.Inthisscenario,aleadingrolehasbeenplayedbytheWorldHeathOrganisation(WHO).AspecificattentionwasdevotedtotheissuebytheEuropeanUnion(EU)EUinstitutionsandtheWHOOfficeforEurope,whichlists52countries(includingEurope,EasternEuropeanCountriesandTurkey,formerYugoslaviaandpartoftheformerSovietUnion).Theobjectivesofthepresentpaperaretogiveanoverviewofthemaindevelopmentsinthisarea,andtounderlinetheprogressmadetowardsacommonunderstandingofhealthandenvironmentissues,theadvantagesandlimitsofthesedevelopmentsandthechallengesforthefuture,tobetackledatagloballevel.
简介:TwoprevalentviewsarereviewedonChina'surbanizationfirstly.Then,thisarticlehighlightsthecharacteristicsandpatternofurbanizationintheworldbasedonthequadrantsmap,usingdataof118countriesorareas.TheresultsindicatethattheprocessofurbanizationintheworldexcludingthedataofChinahassloweddowngradually.AfurtherexplorationexaminesChina'surbanizationprocessandeconomicdevelopmentovertime,whichrevealsthatbothurbanizationlevelandthelevelofeconomicdevelopmentbelongtothelow-gradecoordinationpattern.Thelowlevelofurbanizationiscloselyconnectedwiththelowlevelofeconomicdevelopment.Actually,China'surbanizationgapappearedduring1985-1995,butithasbeeneliminatingthisurbanizationgapsince1995asaresultofrapidurbanizationgrowing.Thecomplicatedrealitiesrevealedinthisanalysischallengetheexistingtwoprevalentviews.
简介:Inrecentyears,China'senergydemandandGreenhousegas(GHG)emissionshavegrownveryfast,quiteanamountofwhichwasexportedasenergyembodiedingoodsininternationaltraderatherthanconsumeddomestically.Startingfromtheconceptofembodiedenergy,basedoninput-outputenergyanalysisapproach,inthispapertheenergyembodiedingoodsininternationaltradeofChinaduringtheperiodfrom2001to2006iscalculated.TheresultsshowthatalthoughChinahasbecomeanetimporterofpetroleumsince1993,Chinaisanetexporterofembodiedenergyduetointernationaltradeingoods.In2002,thetotalamountofenergyembodiedinexportedgoodswasabout410milliontce(tonofcoalequivalent,hereinafterreferredtoas'tce').Eliminatingtheamountofenergyembodiedinimportedgoodsofabout170milliontce,thenetexportofembodiedenergywasabout240milliontce,accountingfor16%oftheaggregateprimaryenergyconsumptionofthatveryyearinChina,andthenetexportofembodiedemissionswasabout150milliontonsofcarbon.WiththerapidgrowthofChina'sinternationaltrade,assumingnostructuralinput-outputchangesofamongsectors,in2006thenetexportofembodiedenergywentuptoabout630milliontce,anincreaseof162%over2002.Inaddition,thispaperalsoanalyzesthepossiblesourcesoferrorincalculation,andalsodiscussesthepolicyimplicationsaccordingtotheresultofthecalculation.
简介:Theestablishmentofaglobalmulti-regionalcarbonmarketisconsideredtobeacosteffectiveapproachtofacilitateglobalemissionabatementandhasbeenwidelyconcerned.TheongoingplannedlinkagebetweentheEuropeanUnion’scarbonmarketandanewemissiontradingsysteminAustraliain2015wouldbeanimportantattempttothepracticeofbuildingupaninternationalcarbonmarketacrossdifferentregions.Tounderstandtheabatementeffectofsuchaglobalcarbonmarketandtostudyitsenergyandeconomicimpactondifferentmarketparticipants,thisarticleadoptsaglobaldynamiccomputablegeneralequilibriummodelwithadetailedrepresentationoftheinteractionsbetweenenergyandeconomicsystems.Ourmodelincludes20economicsectorsand19regions,anddescribesindetail17energytechnologies.Bundledwithfossilfuelconsumptions,theemissionpermitsareconsideredtobeessentialinputsineachoftheproductionandconsumptionactivitiesintheeconomicsystemtosimulateglobalcarbonmarketpolicies.Carbonemissionpermitsareendogenouslysetinthemodel,andcanbetradedbetweensectorsandregions.Consideringthecurrentdevelopmentoftheglobalcarbonmarket,thisstudytakes2020asthestudyperiod.Fourscenarios(referencescenario,independentcarbonmarketscenario,EuropeUnion(EUh-Australiascenario,andChina-EU-Australiascenario)aredesignedtoevaluatetheimpactoftheglobalcarbonmarketinvolvingChina,theEU,andAustralia.Wefindthatthecarbonpriceinthethreecountriesvariesalot,from$32/tCO2inAustralia,to$17.5/tCO2intheEU,andto$10/tCO2inChina.Thoughtherelativeemissionreduction(3%)inChinaislowerthanthatintheEU(9%)andAustralia(18%),theabsoluteemissionreductioninChinaisfargreaterthanthatintheEUandAustralia.WhenChinaisincludedinthecarbonmarket,whichalreadyincludestheEUandAustralia,theprevailingglobalcarbonpricefallsfrom$22pertoncarbondioxide(CO2
简介:Carbon-motivatedbordertaxadjustment(BTA)aimstocompensateforthelossofcompetitivenessofcarbonintensiveproductsduetocarbondioxideabatementactions.Basedontheanalysisoftheinternationalbackgroundofcarbon-motivatedBTAs,thispaperdiscussesthefundamentalmotivationleadingtoUSpolicytransformation,thepotentialimpactsofthepolicyonChina'smanufacturingindustries,andthecompatibilityofthepolicytoWTOrules.Carbon-motivatedBTAsviolatethefundamentalprincipleoftheUNFCCC,andpotentiallyconflictwiththecoreWTOprincipleofnon-discriminationreflectedintheGATTArticlesIandIII.However,ArticleXXoftheGATTmaybeapplicable.Thus,theauthorsuggestsseveralmeasurestoalleviatetheimpactsofcarbon-motivatedBTAs,andputsforwardcountermeasuresbasedoncarbonconsumptionpercapita.