Geopolitics. Iran

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forbes, A.

2009-01-01

Two articles in the Geopolitics subject: (1) Even before Iran's presidential election, its oil and gas industries were struggling to meet the nation's energy needs and export aspirations. Following what some see as a thinly-veiled military coup, the outlook looks even bleaker - not just for the Iranian people, but for the global energy economy; (2) South Pars, is Iran's portion of the world's largest non-associated gas field. Shared with Qatar, which calls its portion the North Field, this immense geological structure holds over half of Iran's 27,000 bcm (billion cubic metres) of proved gas reserves. That is more than any country in the world, except Russia. With gas riches like these, it is no surprise that Iran has long harboured ambitions to become one of the world's major exporters

Major economies Forum on energy and climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

The Major Economies Forum is intended to facilitate an open dialogue among major developed and developing economies, help generate the political leadership necessary to achieve a successful outcome at the United Nations climatic change conference in Copenhagen, and advance the exploration of concrete initiatives and joint ventures that increase the supply of clean energy while cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The Forum's second preparatory meeting was held in Paris in May 2009, mainly focused on greenhouse gas emissions reduction actions and objectives, the diffusion of clean technologies, the financing of activities for climate protection and adaptation to climatic change impacts

Geopolitics. Iran

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Forbes, A.

2009-09-15

Two articles in the Geopolitics subject: (1) Even before Iran's presidential election, its oil and gas industries were struggling to meet the nation's energy needs and export aspirations. Following what some see as a thinly-veiled military coup, the outlook looks even bleaker - not just for the Iranian people, but for the global energy economy; (2) South Pars, is Iran's portion of the world's largest non-associated gas field. Shared with Qatar, which calls its portion the North Field, this immense geological structure holds over half of Iran's 27,000 bcm (billion cubic metres) of proved gas reserves. That is more than any country in the world, except Russia. With gas riches like these, it is no surprise that Iran has long harboured ambitions to become one of the world's major exporters.

Quantifying the geopolitical dimension of energy risks: A tool for energy modelling and planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muñoz, Beatriz; García-Verdugo, Javier; San-Martín, Enrique

2015-01-01

Energy risk and security are topical issues in energy analysis and policy. However, the quantitative analysis of energy risk presents significant methodological difficulties, especially when dealing with certain of its more qualitative dimensions. The aim of this paper is to quantitatively estimate the geopolitical risk of energy supply with the help of a multivariate statistical technique, factor analysis. Four partial energy risk factors were computed for 122 countries, which were subsequently aggregated to form the composite GESRI (Geopolitical Energy Supply Risk Index). The results demonstrate that advanced economies present a lower level of geopolitical energy risk, especially countries with energy resources, while less-developed countries register higher levels of risk regardless of their energy production. Although this indicator is computed for countries, it can be aggregated for regions or corridors, and it could also be applied to model and scenario building. The different uses of the GESRI could eventually lead to practical implications in the energy policy field, as well as in the energy planning and energy management areas. - Highlights: • We quantitatively estimate the multidimensional geopolitical risk of energy supply. • Factor analysis was used to reveal energy risk, a variable not directly observable. • Advanced economies with energy resources present the lowest level of energy risk. • Less-developed countries obtain high risk values even when they are energy producers. • The proposed index can be used for energy planning and energy management purposes

Political Geography into Geopolitics – The Geopolitics of Decline

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bisera Mavric

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This article is dealing with the reasons for usage and development of Geopolitics in Germany between the two World wars. Hitler's ideas for German expansion are viewed as influenced by German geopolitics main figures and their ideas. German geopolitics in this work is represented as an attempt of strategic, valid and consistent manner of assessing its major international geopolitical aspirations. It was not only about ensuring survival in an extremely volatile geographic location but attempted to affect its immediate neighbors as well as the alignment of nations throughout the world's regions. The practical outcomes of imperial, geostrategic, and Nazi foreign policy plans were imminent. Hitler's ideas stemed from his conception of racial struggle and the natural consequences of the need for German expansion. Germany desired a more equitable distribution of wealth and territory within the international system. For many of the greatest empires, geography is often the destiny, and Germany at this critical and turbulent period of time was not an exception.

Geopolitical research in ukrainian science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. V. Dashevs’ka

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The intensity and diversity of political and geopolitical processes in Ukraine give greater empirical basis for Geopolitical Studies. However, the popularity of this research is purely populist currents, leaving only a quarter of all science research. The aim of the study is to examine the specific dynamics and geopolitical studies in modern Ukrainian political thought. This paper reviews the dissertation research of local scientists. It was noted that most of the work falls on political sciences, specialty 23.00.04 - political problems of international systems and global development. The main trends in domestic geopolitical studies: 1. Identification of Ukraine’s place on the geopolitical map of the world by analyzing the geopolitical position and historical and political research; 2. Study regional issues, bilateral relations between countries; 3. Research general issues of international security, terrorism and the role of Ukraine in the system of international security; 4. Analysis of ethnic and political problems in Ukraine and their impact on international relations; 5. Investigation euro integration aspirations of Ukraine as the only right in terms of the geopolitical position; 6. General geopolitical studies that examined the practice of various geopolitical theories and concepts in different times and different countries. The analysis presented dissertations and other scientific literature suggests domestic authors only the first stage of mastering such important political science as geopolitics.

ROMANIA: GEOGRAPHICAL AND GEOPOLITICAL POSITION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ciprian Beniamin Benea

2016-12-01

Romania is identified in population reduction’s number, in missing trust in her successful evolution, falling agriculture and deforestation. All these negative aspects have pushed back Romania from geopolitical point of view. As solution for regaining its geopolitical role, Romanian must have an educated population, which would be conscious about the important connection between geography and education, and between Romania’s geographical position and the needed tools for promoting it from geopolitical point of view. Cough between East and West, Romania belongs to both areas; much more, in the context of climate change, Romania’s land, fresh water, and cheap water transport possibilities on Danube and Black Sea (and well beyond it must be used at their real capacities. Only in that moment Romania’s special geographical position will made Romania an active geopolitical actor, helping Romanians to determine its fate in a sustainable manner.

The Geopolitics of Climate Change: Challenges to the International System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halden, Peter

2007-12-01

This report analyses the consequences of climate change and global warming for international politics in general and international security in particular. The report focuses on whether and in what way climate change may alter the conditions of international security. From this perspective, the initial effects of climate change will vary according to existing economic, political and social structures in different world regions. Organised violence is more likely in regions with weak states and conflictual inter-state dynamics than in those characterised by co-operative relations. In the short- to medium term, climate change is unlikely to alter the constitutive structures of international security. However, depending on the severity of climate change, these conditions may change over the long term. Such changes will probably depend on the secondary effects that change has on the world and regional economies. Climate change is unlikely to lead to an increase in conflicts in the short- to medium term, but a long-term development marked by unmitigated climate change could very well have serious consequences for international security. The report argues that, although necessary, mitigation and adaptation measures may have consequences for international politics. These are due to the changes in social and political systems that they entail

The Geopolitics of Climate Change: Challenges to the International System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Halden, Peter

2007-12-15

This report analyses the consequences of climate change and global warming for international politics in general and international security in particular. The report focuses on whether and in what way climate change may alter the conditions of international security. From this perspective, the initial effects of climate change will vary according to existing economic, political and social structures in different world regions. Organised violence is more likely in regions with weak states and conflictual inter-state dynamics than in those characterised by co-operative relations. In the short- to medium term, climate change is unlikely to alter the constitutive structures of international security. However, depending on the severity of climate change, these conditions may change over the long term. Such changes will probably depend on the secondary effects that change has on the world and regional economies. Climate change is unlikely to lead to an increase in conflicts in the short- to medium term, but a long-term development marked by unmitigated climate change could very well have serious consequences for international security. The report argues that, although necessary, mitigation and adaptation measures may have consequences for international politics. These are due to the changes in social and political systems that they entail.

European Union-Russia Oil and Gas Relationship and the Chinese Prospect. Geopolitics before Trade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mongrenier, Jean-Sylvestre

2014-01-01

The geopolitical conflict around Ukraine, risks and threats about Russia's gas exports toward Europe and the new Russian-Chinese gas contract (Shanghai, 20 may 2014) draw attention to the triangular relationship between Russia, Europe and China. Initially, EU's authorities wanted to make apolitical the energy issue but Russia's rulers have a strategic and geopolitical approach of it. Due to this interdependency, Vladimir Putin wants to open new markets in Asia in order to gain room for maneuver in Europe. If China's diplomacy is mainly determined by the energy needs of its economy, Moscow gives priority to power and its stakes

Teaching and Practicing Climate Politics at College of the Atlantic: Student-inspired, Student-driven

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Doreen Stabinsky

2015-06-01

Full Text Available College of the Atlantic students past and present play leadership roles in the international climate justice youth movement. Student interest in climate change politics at the global level, particularly within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, has inspired the development of a range of courses at COA in global environmental diplomacy. The courses provide a climate justice framework for understanding the geopolitics and political economy of the negotiations, serve to link students with key actors in the climate justice movement, and ultimately to contribute to their own development as climate justice leaders.

Economy of climate policy. Criticism and alternatives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van den Bergh, J.C.J.M.

2002-01-01

The economy of climate policy is characterized by notions as cost-benefit analysis, optimal policy and optimal timing. It is argued that the use of such notions reflects an unjustified optimism with respect to the contribution of economic science to the discussion on climate policy. The complexity of the biosphere and the uncertainty about climatic change, as well as their socio-economic consequences, are extensive. Another economic approach of the climate problem is suggested, based on complexity and historical justice. 12 refs [nl

Political economy of climate change, ecological destruction and uneven development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Hara, Phillip Anthony

2009-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to analyze climate change and ecological destruction through the prism of the core general principles of political economy. The paper starts with the principle of historical specificity, and the various waves of climate change through successive cooler and warmer periods on planet Earth, including the most recent climate change escalation through the open circuit associated with the treadmill of production. Then we scrutinize the principle of contradiction associated with the disembedded economy, social costs, entropy and destructive creation. The principle of uneven development is then explored through core-periphery dynamics, ecologically unequal exchange, metabolic rift and asymmetric global (in)justice. The principles of circular and cumulative causation (CCC) and uncertainty are then related to climate change dynamics through non-linear transformations, complex interaction of dominant variables, and threshold effects. Climate change and ecological destruction are impacting on most areas, especially the periphery, earlier and more intensely than previously thought likely. A political economy approach to climate change is able to enrich the analysis of ecological economics and put many critical themes in a broad context. (author)

GREEN ECONOMY AND CLIMATE CHANGE PREVENTION CYCLE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreea CONSTANTINESCU

2014-12-01

Full Text Available While experts in economics place transition to green economy on two directions - reducing ecological footprint and increasing human welfare - climate change specialists warn that effects of global warming will have a much greater impact in the future. It is natural to join scientific contributions in these two areas because both perspectives recognize the ravages made by industrialization, which triggered a serie of abrupt climate changes. For example, the average temperature in Europe has increased about 1oC. Based on these evidences, this article will show the usefulness of introducing a concept of full cycle to prevent climate change in the new paradigm that seeks to solve problems related to the fundamentals of sustainable development through transition to green economy. Using this method, this approach intends to be a new theoretical contribution which can act as support to efficiency of new clean technologies.

Geopolitics and the corporate investment decision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boulos, A.J.

1996-01-01

The impact of geopolitics in any international oil company's investment decisions, was discussed. Geopolitics in this context was defined as all government policies, be they economic, political strategic or military, that determine national interests, which a company has to take into account in making an investment decision. Geopolitical considerations have taken on added importance with the arrival of the Cold War and its aftermath, to the point where investment decisions based on traditional parameters such as geological productivity, rates of return, net present values, fiscal and contractual provisions frequently take a back seat to investment decisions that were taken with geopolitical impacts foremost in mind. From time to time, geopolitical factors can even pre-empt corporate investment decisions. The nature of geopolitics, its historical antecedents, the emergence of international rivalries following World War I, intensified after World War II, particularly after the formation of OPEC in 1973, the changing forms of resource ownership, and the general impact of geopolitical factors on corporate investment decisions were reviewed

Climate Change Consequences for Iowa'S Economy, Infrastructure, and Emergency Services

OpenAIRE

Swenson, David A.

2011-01-01

This is Chapter 6 in the state-mandated Regent's institution collaborative report, "Climate Change Impacts on Iowa, 2010: Report to the Governor and the Iowa General Assembly."Iowa's climate is changing, and that means Iowa's economy is changing. A changing Iowa economy will have consequences for agriculture, food production, Iowa's vaunted insurance agency, general energy use, Iowa's households, Iowa governments, and disaster services. This chapter profiles near and longer term consequences ...

Empire as a Geopolitical Figure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Parker, Noel

2010-01-01

This article analyses the ingredients of empire as a pattern of order with geopolitical effects. Noting the imperial form's proclivity for expansion from a critical reading of historical sociology, the article argues that the principal manifestation of earlier geopolitics lay not in the nation...... but in empire. That in turn has been driven by a view of the world as disorderly and open to the ordering will of empires (emanating, at the time of geopolitics' inception, from Europe). One implication is that empires are likely to figure in the geopolitical ordering of the globe at all times, in particular...... after all that has happened in the late twentieth century to undermine nationalism and the national state. Empire is indeed a probable, even for some an attractive form of regime for extending order over the disorder produced by globalisation. Geopolitics articulated in imperial expansion is likely...

Slovak Economy in the Years 1938/1939

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Mičko

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Slovak economy was significantly influenced by the change of geopolitical situation in Europe – pressure of Nazi Germany ended in Munich Agreement (Munich Dictate which determined political and economic future of Slovakia.

Neo-Gramscian Approach and Geopolitics of ICT4D Agenda

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tokunbo Ojo

2016-06-01

Full Text Available For the last two decades, the notion of Information Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D has had significant traction in both praxis and scholarly work of international development. While it has dystopia and utopia dimensions, ICT4D came out of particular history and intellectual climates. The historical and political contexts that shaped the ICT4D agenda deserve examination. Grounded within the canon of neo-Gramscian perspectives, this paper discusses the geopolitical construct of the ICT4D agenda and the agenda-building roles of international institutions in the process. In situating the ICT4D agenda in the geopolitical context, this paper highlights the institutional discursive structure and embedded geometries of power relations in the global communication and international development agenda.

The time scales of the climate-economy feedback and the climatic cost of growth

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hallegatte, Stephane [CIRED - CNRM, Nogent-sur-Marne (France)

2005-04-01

This paper is based on the perception that the inertia of climate and socio-economic systems are key parameters in the climate change issue. In a first part, it develops and implements a new approach based on a simple integrated model with a particular focus on an innovative transient impact and adaptation modelling. In a second part, a climate-economy feedback is defined and characterized. It is found that: (i) it has a 70-year characteristic time, which is long when compared to the system's other time-scales, and it cannot act as a natural damping process of climate change; (ii) mitigation has to be anticipated since the feedback of an emission reduction on the economy is significant only after a 20-year delay and really efficient after a one-century delay; (iii) the IPCC methodology, that neglects the feedback from impacts to emissions, is acceptable up to 2100, whatever is the level of impacts. This analysis allows also to define a climatic cost of growth as the additional climate change damages due to the additional emissions linked to economic growth. Usefully, this metric for climate change damages is particularly independent of the baseline scenario. (orig.)

The time scales of the climate-economy feedback and the climatic cost of growth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hallegatte, Stephane

2005-04-01

This paper is based on the perception that the inertia of climate and socio-economic systems are key parameters in the climate change issue. In a first part, it develops and implements a new approach based on a simple integrated model with a particular focus on an innovative transient impact and adaptation modelling. In a second part, a climate-economy feedback is defined and characterized. It is found that: (i) it has a 70-year characteristic time, which is long when compared to the system's other time-scales, and it cannot act as a natural damping process of climate change; (ii) mitigation has to be anticipated since the feedback of an emission reduction on the economy is significant only after a 20-year delay and really efficient after a one-century delay; (iii) the IPCC methodology, that neglects the feedback from impacts to emissions, is acceptable up to 2100, whatever is the level of impacts. This analysis allows also to define a climatic cost of growth as the additional climate change damages due to the additional emissions linked to economic growth. Usefully, this metric for climate change damages is particularly independent of the baseline scenario. (orig.)

Carbon geopolitics. International climate action and the problem of tropical deforestation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehrenstein, Vera

2014-01-01

The thesis explores the components of concerted action at an international scale by focusing on how the problem of CO_2 emissions attributed to tropical deforestation is handled in climate change negotiations. The constraint faced by actors is as follows: interventions led by a diversity of actors across the world need to be coordinated, in the pursuit of an objective agreed by all states represented at the United Nations whose sovereignty must be respected. Such process builds on operations that can be analyzed from the viewpoint of carbon geopolitics. Some of these operations are related to the spatial extension and the liberal and quantified dimensions of the enterprise. Decision-making at an international level must be organized, comparable carbon measurement methods must be created and incentive-based redistribution systems must be designed. Other operations are specific to the entities concerned by the treated phenomenon, so-called developing countries. The weakness of their technical equipment must be acknowledged, so-called bad governance in their administrations must be dealt with and their civil society must be listened to. The approach developed here is grounded in science and technology studies, a domain that has recently focused on the construction of markets and decision-making. Based on a multi-site investigation, the thesis examines a set of problems characteristic of concerted action at an international scale: international decision-making, project-based action, countries' preparation, the valuation of correct measures, trust-making in economic relationships and the production of consensus. It proposes to call international adjustment the tentative and fragile process through which the interest for climate protection of an international collective is maintained. (author) [fr

Energy politics and geopolitics - an analysis of the international tensions in the 21. century

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furfari, Samuele

2012-01-01

Necessary, unloved, abundant but often polluting, expensive but often wasted, energy remains the indispensable blood which irrigates the world economy, supplies the engine of economic growth, and generates together peace and conflicts. The energy questions have been first technical (resources extraction), economical (resources management) and geopolitical (resources property). Today they have become mainly political. With the development of emerging countries, the worldwide distribution of energy resources has become a worrying geopolitical issue for industrialized countries. These countries have to deal with contradictory political choices: the security of supplies on the one hand, and the sustainable development on the other hand. In this book, the author explains that despite a sustained development of renewable energy sources and an energy capacity in permanent progress, and despite a bad geographical distribution of resources, the fossil fuels still dominate the energy scene today and will do so for a long time. With some precise figures and clear explanations of geopolitical situations, the author shares with us his knowledge gained during several years of energy files management at the European Commission. (J.S.)

The Uncontrolled Economic Engine of the Developing Economies, Speeding up the Climate Shift

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, K. M.; Khan, M. A.

2014-12-01

As we progress into the 21st century, the world faces challenges of truly global nature bearing implications on the whole world in one way or another. The global economic engine has shifted from the western world (Developed Economies) to the eastern world (Developing Economies) which has brought about tremendous change in the climate related variables in this part of the world. As uncontrolled carbon emissions grow in the developing economies, the phenomenon of global warming and climate shifts become more and more prevalent. While this economic activity provides income for millions of households, it is contributing generously to the rapid degradation of the environment. Developing economies as it has been seen do not employ or abide by stringent regulations regarding emissions which result in uncontrolled emissions. In this particular scenario, it is a tedious task to convince governments in the developing economies to implement regulations regarding emissions because businesses in these economies deem such regulations to be economically unviable. The other side of the problem is that these uncontrolled emission are causing evident climate shifts which has had adverse impacts on the agricultural societies where shifting climates are leading to reduced agricultural output and productivity. Consequently the lives of millions associated directly or indirectly with agriculture are affected and on a more global level, the agricultural produce is decreasing which increases the chances of famine in parts of the world. The situation could have devastating impacts on the global economy and environmental standards and therefore needs to be addressed on emergency basis. The first step towards betterment could be the introduction of the carbon trading economy in the developing economies which would incentivize emission reduction and become more attractive and in the process sustaining minimum possible damage to the environment. Though carbon trading is a formidable first step

Climate changes, economy and growth: political relationships

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alex, Bastien

2017-03-01

The author addresses the relationships which may exist between climate change and economic growth, by discussing and criticising some common ideas, and the role of the economic parameter in the position of states within negotiations. These common ideas are: the struggle against climate change impedes economic growth, and green economy provides new growth levers. The author also discusses the fact that some countries may feel they have to slow down their growth because emerging countries are facing a strong development and thus have a strong impact on climate changes. He also outlines that political forces which are presently in power, tend to have a critical approach and speech on mitigation measures

The changing geopolitical landscape of energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lesourne, Jacques

2011-08-01

The author first discusses the impact of the financial crisis of 2008, and of the large-scale exploitation of shale gases in the USA on energy policies and on the geopolitical landscape of energy. Then, he discusses the influence that events which occurred in 2011 had on these issues: firstly, the Copenhagen and Cancun Conferences, secondly, the Fukushima accident, thirdly, the nuclear phasing-out by Germany and incidentally by Italy, and fourthly, the Arab Spring. In the next parts, he comments the consequences for the European energy policy, and the perspectives for the struggle against climate change

Tomorrow's Mores. The International System, Geopolitical Changes and Energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoogeveen, F.; Perlot, W.

2005-12-01

The objective of this study is to provide an analysis of key geopolitical changes in the international system, with particular attention for energy issues and the EU, and on the basis of this analysis define possible energy futures up until 2020. Four sub-objectives have been identified: (1) to understand the international system and the main actors shaping it; (2) to understand an actor's energy policy and how energy policy is determined; (3) to identify the most important developments within the energy system; and (4) to understand the EU's position in the changing geopolitical landscape. Chapter 2 describes the theoretical and analytical framework used for the study. In this chapter important theoretical notions and assumptions are explained. It starts with a quadrants model combining two axes of uncertainty (multilateral-uni/bilateral and politics-economy). It continues with the foundation, consisting of key factors of analysis and assumptions about an actor's energy policy, underlying the analysis and the positioning of actors in the quadrants. It also contains a section on scenario studies. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the developments in the energy sector, with a focus on challenges, risks and problems with relevance to foreign policy and geopolitics. The chapter is based on the information on energy carriers, EU energy policy and important energy issues that is discussed in further detail in Annex A, B and C, respectively. Chapter 4 analyses the geopolitical landscape, starting with a description of the international system prior to 1989. It contains an analysis of the present situation and presents three possible energy futures towards 2020. Past, present and future are analysed on the basis of the quadrants model. The chapter includes a description of the most important actors. In Chapter 5 the analysis of chapter 4 is used to look at the case of the European Union. The current place and role of the EU is discussed. The implications for the EU of a

The Emerging Geopolitics of Food: A Strategic Response to Supply Risks of Critical Imports for the Dutch Agro-Food Sector

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ridder, de M.; Jong, de S.; Selleslaghs, J.; Achterbosch, T.J.; Jongeneel, R.A.; Berkhout, P.; Heide, van der M.

2013-01-01

Interdependencies in the field of food, agriculture, and raw materials are growing. Global population growth, rising prosperity, and changing consumption patterns in emerging economies have increased the demand for all three. Geopolitical trends shape global markets for food, agriculture, and raw

Determining The Optimal Mix of Institutional Geopolitical Power And ASEAN Corporate Governance on the Firm Value of Malaysia’s Multinational Corporations (MNCs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wan Sallha Yusoff

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between institutional geopolitics, ASEAN corporate governance quality and the firm value of Malaysia’s multinational corporation (MNC. We used the data of MNCs in Malaysia that were active from 2009 to 2013 as an evidence of MNCs from emerging market economies. Descriptive analysis, factor analysis and panel data analysis have been utilized to test the equation model. We also propose optimization analysis by using differential evolution method to capture the optimal mix of institutional geopolitics and ASEAN_CG on the firm value of MNC. Results reveal that the geopolitics of G7(Canada, France, German, Italy, Japan, Europe, and the United States, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and ASEAN (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia are highly correlated with the firm value of Malaysia’s MNC. The power of institutional geopolitics, namely, military, material, and social power, influences firm value negatively and ASEAN_CG moderate the negative influence of institutional geopolitics on the firm value of MNC. Thus, it is importance for corporate management to understand the geopolitical changes of host countries’ and increase the compliance of ASEAN_CG in formulating their market value and segmentation strategies.

Geopolitical implications of climate change. Implicazioni geopolitiche dei mutamenti climatici

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mintzer, I [Center for Global Change, MA (USA)

1991-01-01

The geopolitical risks of rapid climate change have been divided into those that result from the direct effects of greenhouse warming and those that result from the indirect effects on patterns of precipitations. The most important direct stresses on international relations are the effects of sea level rise on coastal zones and those of warming water temperatures on coral reefs. The most important indirect stresses are related to the changes in precipitation patterns, in the frequency of weather related disasters and in crop production. The danger on low-lying areas is emphasized, with examples. In Egypt a one meter sea-level rise is estimated to flood an area containing about 15% of the population. A second set of potential risks is the possible destruction of coral reefs that protect many tropical islands, due to a combination of an increase of sea temperature and of marine pollution. Among the indirect effects of global warming, the changes in rainfall patterns could reduce water availability, thus increasing cross-border tensions in areas where river and lake resources are shared between different countries (as in the Middle East). Another important indirect effect is the decline in crop fertility that would dramaticllay increase demand for imported cereals. The opportunities to reduce the potential damages of global warming, from more resilient varieties of familiar cultivars to the introduction of communication facilities in rural areas and the development of decentralized network with food and medical supplies in the most vulnerable regions are presented. 1 ref., 2 figs., 1 tab.

Economy-wide Estimates of the Implications of Climate Change - A Rejoinder

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosello, F.; Roson, R.; Tol, R.S.J.

2008-01-01

[Ackermann, F., Stanton, E., 2008-this issue. A comment on economy-wide estimates of the implications of climate change: human health. Ecological Economics. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2007.10.006] criticise our recent paper [Bosello, F., Roson, R., Tol, R.S.J., 2006. Economy-wide estimates of the

The Political Economy of Health Co-Benefits: Embedding Health in the Climate Change Agenda

OpenAIRE

Annabelle Workman; Grant Blashki; Kathryn J. Bowen; David J. Karoly; John Wiseman

2018-01-01

A complex, whole-of-economy issue such as climate change demands an interdisciplinary, multi-sectoral response. However, evidence suggests that human health has remained elusive in its influence on the development of ambitious climate change mitigation policies for many national governments, despite a recognition that the combustion of fossil fuels results in pervasive short- and long-term health consequences. We use insights from literature on the political economy of health and climate chan...

The changing geopolitics of energy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milošević Zoran

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the changes in the global energy balance and the resulting geopolitics, which have in the recent years emerged as a result of the interplay of factors such as the rapidly increasing world’s energy consumption and the shift of the source of consumption eastwards to China and India. The apparent shortage of oil is exemplified by the “peak oil” theory, signalling a global struggle for oil and the need for new oil production, despite the apparent investor’s insecurity to commit under the current geopolitical and economic conditions. Against the backdrop of these disconcerting factors, the authors considered the emergence of shale gas, as a new and abundant energy source that may redirect the energy geopolitics towards more comfortable outcomes.

Arab space in the geopolitical perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jernej Zupančič

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The paper is analysing the geopolitical structure and dynamics of Arab space. Based on structural analysis of social, political, cultural and spatial changes the key-problems and geopolitical features are recognized. Arab space is – more or less – the largest ‘shatter belt’ known by contemporary crises and similar processes in the near past. These are caused by inner and, even more, by outer geopolitical factors in the large regional surrounding. The western economic and military forces are perhaps loosing the role of key-factor in the area. In the near future, Asiatic powers might play a dominant role.

The Impact of Climate Change on the United States Economy

Science.gov (United States)

Mendelsohn, Robert; Neumann, James E.

2004-08-01

Understanding the impacts of climate change on economic behaviour is an important aspect of deciding when to take policy actions to prevent or mitigate its consequences. This book applies advanced new economics methodologies to assess impacts on potentially vulnerable aspects of the US economy: agriculture, timber, coastal resources, energy expenditure, fishing, outdoor recreation. It is intended to provide improved understanding of key issues raised in the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. It concludes that some climate change may produce economic gains in the agriculture and forestry sectors, whereas energy, coastal structures, and water sectors may be harmed. The book will serve as an important reference for the scientific, economic, and policy community, and will also be of interest to natural resource/environmental economists as an example of economic valuation techniques. The volume will clearly be of main importance to researchers and policymakers in the US, but will also be influential as a model for assessment of impacts on economies worldwide.

Geopolitical drivers of future tourist flows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Craig Webster

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the major political and economic changes in the world and the likely impact that these changes will bring to tourism and hospitality industries. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a geopolitical perspective on the dynamics of tourist flows, stipulating that geopolitics has a major impact on the size, structure, and direction of these flows. Findings – The paper identifies six geopolitical drivers of tourist flows in the future, namely: the fall of the American Empire, the rise of the BRIC and the PINE countries, increased global political instability, increased importance of regional supranational organisations, greater control of the individuals on a global scale, and the greater importance and power of corporations than national governments. Originality/value – The paper critically evaluates the geopolitical drivers of tourist flows, their likely future development and the impact they have on tourism.

Geopolitical Geworfenheit

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Breitenbauch, Henrik Ø.

2015-01-01

the end of the Post-Cold War period and its aspiration to peaceful integration. The small states of the greater Nordic space are now rediscovering their inescapable geopolitical nearness to Russia. Drawing on RSCT and Nordic-Baltic integration literature, the article contributes to understanding...

Isolationism versus Geopolitics: The Dual Role of the Eurasian Economic Union in Global Governance

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Maxim Bratersky

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This article conceptualizes ongoing efforts to develop the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU, initiated by Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in 2011. Engaging with two major theoretical perspectives, it establishes to what extent the EEU’s construction and potential expansion is economic regionalism (interpreted also as an isolationist strategy driven by Russia led geopolitical motives. The political-economy debate of Eurasia goes beyond a common tariff area and a common market within the territory of the former USSR. Increasingly, it involves the establishment of a common monetary area. China’s Silk Road Economic Belt is building a foundation for a new Eurasia – one of the global economic and political players of this century. The economic reasons pursued by Russia in its Eurasian initiative are inseparable from economic problems of geopolitical significance. The overarching objective of Russian policy is to establish a regional economic fusion, with significant economic sovereignty and strong political influence; that is, to become the new centre of power in the global economy of the 21st century. Correspondingly, although Russian integration policy in Eurasia has not been formulated in an anti-American way, if it is successful the likely consequence will be the withdrawal of a significant segment of the global market from the economic dominance and political influence of western-led economic blocs.

The Race towards the Future: Geopolitics versus Technology. Implications for Romania

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Florin Bonciu

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The paper identifies two broad and unrelated processes that take place in contemporary world economy, the historical process of redefinition of the balance of power and spheres of influence which is characterized by the geopolitical dimension and the process of profound technological change determined by the forth industrial revolution which is characterized by the technological dimension. The research identifies a race not between the two processes per se, but between the implications of their outcomes. Depending on which of the two processes will succeed in redefining the architecture and predominant type of relations in the world economy the reality of the period from 2020 to 2030 - 2050 might be very different. Based on the conclusions of this research, the final part of the paper analyses the implications of these possible outcomes for Romania, given its current characteristics which resulted after 27 years of transition.

INTEGRATED APPROACHES TO GEOPOLITICS AND RISKS IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

OpenAIRE

Dr. Sheriff Ghali Ibrahim; Dr. Iro Uke

2016-01-01

The paper examines the nature and impact of geopolitics on the global oil and gas business. It shows the relationship between politics and what nature provides such as oil and gas and the interplay between and among nations, people and institutions within the framework of geopolitics. The paper adopts the secondary methodology in order to investigate the risks (impact) attached to geopolitics. Findings show that, the concept of geopolitics is so versatile and multidimensional, enveloped by a ...

THE GEOPOLITICS OF OIL AND CLIMATE CHANGE

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BACIU Adrian

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to present the role of oil in today’s world, society, and economy. It is important because anything nowadays is about oil, from economy, and society, to international politics. Since the development of air and road transportation, but especially after World War II, the transfer of wealth from some countries (the consuming countries to another countries (the producing countries is unique in human history; and the influence of the second group of countries in world politics is very high due to this situation.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\r\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

A new political economy of climate change

OpenAIRE

Damian , Michel

2016-01-01

International audience; This article responds to Jean Tirole, winner of the Nobel prize for economics in 2014 and the signatories of the international appeal launched by Toulouse School of Economics and the Climate Economics Chair at Paris Dauphine University who propose setting a universal carbon price and establishing a transcontinental emissions trading system. We hold that the Paris Agreement, which disregarded such recommendations, represents a paradigm shift. The new political economy o...

Information Factor in the Dynamics of Contemporary Geopolitical Processes

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A. V. Vilovatykh

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Th e role of information in shaping geopolitical situation needs a greater academic attention, because the infl uence of external actors in favour of theor political preferences forms the vectors of state development. Modern world’s turbulence is based on technologies of managing social reality. It requires a principally new methodology in evaluating and forecasting geopolitical processes. Nowadays it makes sense to speak of information factor of geopolitical dynamics, which shapes a new quality of geopolitical space.

Climatic servitude: climate change, business and politics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belouve, J.M.

2009-01-01

This book is together a contemporary history book and a global dossier about a topic of prime importance in our civilization. It treats of the history of science, of ideas and events put in the modern civilization context, of science situation and scientific controversies, of the media aspects, of carbon economy and its related business, of Al Gore's and Maurice Strong's biographies, and finally, it makes a critical geopolitical analysis and makes proposals for a renovated ecology. In the conclusion, the author shows how climate change has become the hobbyhorse of a new thinking trend, namely the New World Order, aiming at conducting people to the acceptance of constraining policies encompassing the energy security of nations, new taxes, a worldwide economic disruption, the limitation of the World's population, and a World governance supported by the United Nations and not constrained by classical democratic rules. (J.S.)

The Influence of Geopolitical Processes on Functioning of International Enterprises

OpenAIRE

Gawlik, Remigiusz

2012-01-01

The paper presents the influence of geopolitical processes on management of international enterprises. Basic geopolitical and managerial notions have been defined. The paper contains also a brief historical overview of development of geopolitics as a science. Key subjects of international law have been described. The author aims at attiring attention to the meaning of geopolitical issues for enterprise’s strategic planning phase and in consecutive managerial phases in international companies.

Expected utility and catastrophic risk in a stochastic economy-climate model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ikefuji, M. [Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University, Osaka (Japan); Laeven, R.J.A.; Magnus, J.R. [Department of Econometrics and Operations Research, Tilburg University, Tilburg (Netherlands); Muris, C. [CentER, Tilburg University, Tilburg (Netherlands)

2010-11-15

In the context of extreme climate change, we ask how to conduct expected utility analysis in the presence of catastrophic risks. Economists typically model decision making under risk and uncertainty by expected utility with constant relative risk aversion (power utility); statisticians typically model economic catastrophes by probability distributions with heavy tails. Unfortunately, the expected utility framework is fragile with respect to heavy-tailed distributional assumptions. We specify a stochastic economy-climate model with power utility and explicitly demonstrate this fragility. We derive necessary and sufficient compatibility conditions on the utility function to avoid fragility and solve our stochastic economy-climate model for two examples of such compatible utility functions. We further develop and implement a procedure to learn the input parameters of our model and show that the model thus specified produces quite robust optimal policies. The numerical results indicate that higher levels of uncertainty (heavier tails) lead to less abatement and consumption, and to more investment, but this effect is not unlimited.

Economy-Energy-Climate Interaction. The Model Wiagem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kemfert, C.

2001-09-01

This paper presents an integrated economy-energy-climate model WIAGEM (World Integrated Assessment General Equilibrium Model) which incorporates economic, energetic and climatic modules in an integrated assessment approach. In order to evaluate market and non-market costs and benefits of climate change WIAGEM combines an economic approach with a special focus on the international energy market and integrates climate interrelations by temperature changes and sea level variations. WIAGEM bases on 25 world regions which are aggregated to 11 trading regions and 14 sectors within each region. The representation of the economic relations is based on an intertemporal general equilibrium approach and contains the international markets for oil, coal and gas. The model incorporates all greenhouse gases (GHG) which influence the potential global temperature, the sea level variation and the assessed probable impacts in terms of costs and benefits of climate change. Market and non market damages are evaluated due to the damage costs approaches of Tol (2001). Additionally, this model includes net changes in GHG emissions from sources and removals by sinks resulting from land use change and forest activities. This paper describes the model structure in detail and outlines some general results, especially the impacts of climate change. As a result, climate change impacts do matter within the next 50 years, developing regions face high economic losses in terms of welfare and GDP losses. The inclusion of sinks and other GHG changes results significantly

Blackout: coal, climate and the last energy crisis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heinberg, R. [Post Carbon Institute in California, CA (United States)

2009-07-15

Coal fuels more than 30 per cent of UK electricity production, and about 50 per cent in the US, providing a significant portion of total energy output. China and India's recent ferocious economic growth has been based almost entirely on coal-generated electricity. Coal currently looks like a solution to many of our fast-growing energy problems. However, while coal advocates are urging us full steam ahead, the increasing reliance on this dirtiest of all fossil fuels has crucial implications for energy policy, pollution levels, the global climate, world economy and geopolitics. Drawbacks to a coal-based energy strategy include: Scarcity - new studies suggest that the peak of world coal production may actually be less than two decades away; Cost - the quality of produced coal is declining, while the expense of transportation is rising, leading to spiralling costs and increasing shortages; and, Climate impacts - our ability to deal with the historic challenge of climate change may hinge on reducing coal consumption in future years.

My Morning Coffee: The Effect of Climate Change on the Economies of Coffee-Producing Countries

Science.gov (United States)

Shilling, K.; Brauman, K. A.

2012-12-01

Through its effect on export crops, climate change will have important effects on economic systems and government capacity in sub-Saharan Africa. We show that climate change effects on three important export crops - coffee, cocoa and cotton - will undermine large portions of the economy, not just the rural farmers who grow these crops. Our analysis is based high-resolution data on crop location, temperature, and water requirements in conjunction with new projections for temperature increases and precipitation changes in sub-Saharan Africa. Our focus on export crops is distinct from most work on the effects of climate change on agriculture, which often focuses on subsistence and food crops. We posit that substantial and important effects on the economy and political systems will come from negative impacts on cash crops, which underpin many economies in sub-Saharan Africa. For instance, 3% of cropland in Uganda (and 2% in Ethiopia) is used for coffee production and over 3.5 million households are involved in the sector; by contrast, 7% of cropland in Uganda (and 11% in Ethiopia) is used for maize, which contributes much less to the formal economy. The relationship between the value of coffee exported and government revenue illustrates the importance of coffee to political and economic stability. A drop in the export value of coffee by 10% in Uganda will drive government revenue down by 20%, and while there is uncertainty around the exact impact of climate change, it is likely that production will take a turn for the worse. We use these factors to assess reliance of select country's economy on these crops, from the farmer to the exporter; the sensitivity of the crops to variation in the climate; and the subsequent impact on government capacity. Our research illustrates how strongly the impacts of climate change are linked to economic and political structures.

Energy and minerals industries in national, regional, and state economies

Science.gov (United States)

D. J. Shields; S. A. Winter; G. S. Alward; K. L. Hartung

1996-01-01

This report presents information on the contribution of the extractive industries to the domestic economy at different geopolitical scales. Areas where resource production is important to gross state or regional product, employment, or income are highlighted. Output, employment, value added, and personal and total income multipliers are reported for the energy and...

Progressive decommissioning of French nuclear power plants: economic and geopolitical impacts; Declassement progressif du parc nucleaire francais: impacts economiques et geopolitiques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Noel, P

1998-09-01

The author analyzes the french energy safety in the next twenty years. The first part is devoted to the electric production park structure in 2020, with a presentation of the electric power economy, the carbon cost introduction and the economic choices in the deregulation system. The second part discusses the economical and geopolitical impacts of a gas-nuclear substitution. (A.L.B.)

THE GEOPOLITICS OF THE CHINESE REFORM

OpenAIRE

Praj, Dusan; Restrepo, Juan Carlos

2017-01-01

The article looks at the new challenges the assertive Chinese foreign policy is representing for the regional geopolitical order in Asia. It follows the recent developments in the region mainly regarding the territorial disputes in the South China Sea and examines how the pressure in the regions are pushing China to look for other directions to its geopolitical projections, mainly toward the West implementing the New Silk Road project and deepening the cooperation with Russia. Meanwhile, the ...

The Political Economy of Health Co-Benefits: Embedding Health in the Climate Change Agenda

Science.gov (United States)

Workman, Annabelle; Blashki, Grant; Bowen, Kathryn J.; Karoly, David J.; Wiseman, John

2018-01-01

A complex, whole-of-economy issue such as climate change demands an interdisciplinary, multi-sectoral response. However, evidence suggests that human health has remained elusive in its influence on the development of ambitious climate change mitigation policies for many national governments, despite a recognition that the combustion of fossil fuels results in pervasive short- and long-term health consequences. We use insights from literature on the political economy of health and climate change, the science–policy interface and power in policy-making, to identify additional barriers to the meaningful incorporation of health co-benefits into climate change mitigation policy development. Specifically, we identify four key interrelated areas where barriers may exist in relation to health co-benefits: discourse, efficiency, vested interests and structural challenges. With these insights in mind, we argue that the current politico-economic paradigm in which climate change is situated and the processes used to develop climate change mitigation policies do not adequately support accounting for health co-benefits. We present approaches for enhancing the role of health co-benefits in the development of climate change mitigation policies to ensure that health is embedded in the broader climate change agenda. PMID:29617317

The Political Economy of Health Co-Benefits: Embedding Health in the Climate Change Agenda.

Science.gov (United States)

Workman, Annabelle; Blashki, Grant; Bowen, Kathryn J; Karoly, David J; Wiseman, John

2018-04-04

A complex, whole-of-economy issue such as climate change demands an interdisciplinary, multi-sectoral response. However, evidence suggests that human health has remained elusive in its influence on the development of ambitious climate change mitigation policies for many national governments, despite a recognition that the combustion of fossil fuels results in pervasive short- and long-term health consequences. We use insights from literature on the political economy of health and climate change, the science–policy interface and power in policy-making, to identify additional barriers to the meaningful incorporation of health co-benefits into climate change mitigation policy development. Specifically, we identify four key interrelated areas where barriers may exist in relation to health co-benefits: discourse, efficiency, vested interests and structural challenges. With these insights in mind, we argue that the current politico-economic paradigm in which climate change is situated and the processes used to develop climate change mitigation policies do not adequately support accounting for health co-benefits. We present approaches for enhancing the role of health co-benefits in the development of climate change mitigation policies to ensure that health is embedded in the broader climate change agenda.

EXECUTIVE VIEWPOINT ON THE GEOPOLITICS OF BUSINESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MUNOZ Mark

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The contemporary geopolitical environment has posed new challenges and opportunities for business organizations worldwide. With increasing international economic alignments and political conflict, organizations need to manage with innovative methodologies. These operational changes have an impact on the practice of public administration, finance, and law. With the intent of highlighting a real world case in geopolitical management, Professor Mark Munoz of Millikin University and undergraduate student Ashlee Colby interviewed Michael W. Ritscdorff, CEO of Dukane Corporation. Dukane Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of advanced technology products. Located in St Charles, IL, it has operated as a private corporation for 91 years and distributes products such as audio visual presentation products and ultrasonic thermal and friction assembly systems. The interview captures the company’s geopolitical mindset.

Russia at the beginning of 3rd millenium. Geopolitical resources and options

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrian Botezatu

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The authors present and analyze demographic and economic resources of Russia and also its geopolitical options, favored by the control of these resources. Geopolithically, nowadays Russia has great difficulties when it comes to demography, because of the decrease of birth rate, to the poor demographic density, low life expectancy and its population’s precarious general health state. All the same, nowadays Russia is the richest country in the world. Based on these considerations, the authors consider that Rusia could become a true super-power (according to Zbigniew Brzezinski’s considerations only if it will solve its demographical problems and will build a Western-style army and economy, based on its huge economic resources.

Philosophy of sufficiency economy for community-based adaptation to climate change: Lessons learned from Thai case studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kulvadee Kansuntisukmongkol

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Major components within the philosophy of a sufficiency economy include moderation, prudence, and self-immunity together with knowledge and morality. These components were proposed to safeguard local communities from adverse changes and crises. Climatic crises due to global warming can impact upon local agricultural production and consumption systems. Yet, it is still questionable whether communities following the sufficiency economy philosophy can cope with climate change. The objective of this research was to study the coping and adaptive capacity to climate change of local agricultural communities following the sufficiency economy philosophy and to analyze the success factors of adaptation to climate change. The research found five adaptive strategies leading to a resilient livelihood: (1 self-evaluation, (2 diversity dependency, (3 storage and reserve, (4 cooperation, and (5 mobility over space and time. These strategies help to reduce exposure and sensitivity, while increasing adaptive capacity to climate change with the aims of sustainability and adaptation for survival, and protecting natural resource bases for food and settlement security. Moderation, prudence, and self-immunity are critical success factors of adaptation measures, whereas local ecological knowledge with morality is a core enabling factor for adapting to climate change. These factors can be applied in community-based climate change adaptation in the National Adaptation Plan.

Geopolitics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nicola, S.; Belin, H.; Klare, M.T.; Ten Hoedt, R.; Forbes, A.; Ten Kate, W.; Van Geuns, L.; Van der Linde, C.

2008-01-01

The section Geopolitics holds 5 articles, 2 interviews, and 2 columns. The articles are (1) on the EU-Russian relations, (2) the energy diplomacy of the European Union with regard to the Mashreq countries and Iraq, (3) the undermined status of the USA as a result of rising oil prices; (4) oil projects in Kazakhstan, and (5) the future of the world's oil supply. The two one-page interviews concern a board member of Wintershall (Seele) on the Nord Stream pipeline problems, and the role of an Russian energy expert (Litvinenko) in the Russian energy policy. Both columns are on oil prices

Synergetic Paradigm of Geopolitical Confrontation in the Postmodern Era

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Sergey N. Teplyakov

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes current state and mechanisms of geopolitical struggle in postmodern information age that has come. The author judges from assumption that entirely new postmodern society appeared with expansion of information technology, accompanied by cardinal changes in mechanisms of political power. Information technologies have become one of the most important factors contributing to the transformation of modern society from industrial to informational (post-industrial. In modern conditions, ensuring national and global security is a comprehensive process that includes not only measures to ensure information and economic security individually, but also such an integrated component as providing both information and economic security. The author suggests that modem geopolitical confrontation is carried out based on the synergetic paradigm. The main tool is information and energy influence on enemy system weaknesses using information space control, organizing negative information campaigns and applying economic sanctions. If the main focus of geopolitical struggle in modern era was forced expansion of the territory, in information postmodern age control over economic and information space has become priority among forms of geopolitical struggle. Military expansion of modern era becomes substituted by information and economic expansionism of postmodern using synergetic paradigm of geopolitical confrontation in order to control and capture the opponent's political space.

Eurasian Union on the Viewpoint of China: Geopolitical Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guo Cheng

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This article is about geopolitical strategic analyze of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “Eurasian Union” strategy from Chinese viewpoint. The article describes historical background of Eurasian Union, its geopolitical purposes, achievements and weakness, particularly from China's national strategic design and stance of Central Asia in Eurasian Continent. The geopolitical analysis of possibility for Sino-Russian Alliance and realistic difficulties of it are provided. Different point of Chinese experts on Russia-West relations are given. Some of them believe that he Warsaw Pact and the Cold War revival in the CIS, its purpose is to play as geopolitical blunders against the Western countries under the leadership of NATO, IMF and the United States. While others, take into consideration the US-Russian Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, and Russia’s actively participation in the former Group of Eight, accession to WTO and other initiatives that indicates the current Moscow is not the Soviet Union, and does not exclude cooperation with existing international system dominated by the Western world. And finally, China's own Eurasian strategy design is represented, especially China’s foreign policy options on Central Asia as solutions to some current existing geopolitical differences between China and Russia’s own Eurasian Strategy in order to achieve mutual win-set goal.

The impact of climate change on the BRICS economies: The case of insurance demand.

Science.gov (United States)

Ranger, N.; Surminski, S.

2012-04-01

Session ERE5.1 Climate change impact on economical and industrial activities The impact of climate change on the BRICS economies: The case of insurance demand. Over the past decade, growth in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) economies has been a key driver of global economic growth. Current forecasts suggest that these markets will continue to be areas of significant growth for a large number of industries. We consider how climate change may influence these trends in the period to 2030, a time horizon that is long in terms of strategic planning in industry, but relatively short for climate change analysis, where the impacts are predicted to be most significant beyond around 2050. Based on current evidence, we expect climate change to affect the BRICS economies in four main ways: 1. The impact of physical climatic changes on the productivity of climate-sensitive economic activity, the local environment, human health and wellbeing, and damages from extreme weather. 2. Changing patterns of investment in climate risk management and adaptation 3. Changing patterns of investments in areas affected by greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation policy, 4. The impacts of the above globally, including on international trade, growth, investment, policy, migration and commodity prices, and their impacts on the BRICS. We review the evidence on the impacts of climate change in the BRICS and then apply this to one particular industry sector: non-life insurance. We propose five potential pathways through which climate change could influence insurance demand: economic growth; willingness to pay for insurance; public policy and regulation; the insurability of natural catastrophe risks; and new opportunities associated with adaptation and greenhouse gas mitigation. We conclude that, with the exception of public policy and regulation, the influence of climate change on insurance demand to 2030 is likely to be small when compared with the expected growth due to rising

Geopolitics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nicola, S.; Belin, H.; Klare, M.T.; Ten Hoedt, R.; Forbes, A.; Ten Kate, W.; Van Geuns, L.; Van der Linde, C.

2008-07-15

The section Geopolitics holds 5 articles, 2 interviews, and 2 columns. The articles are (1) on the EU-Russian relations, (2) the energy diplomacy of the European Union with regard to the Mashreq countries and Iraq, (3) the undermined status of the USA as a result of rising oil prices; (4) oil projects in Kazakhstan, and (5) the future of the world's oil supply. The two one-page interviews concern a board member of Wintershall (Seele) on the Nord Stream pipeline problems, and the role of an Russian energy expert (Litvinenko) in the Russian energy policy. Both columns are on oil prices.

The West, the Rest and the Knowledge Economy: A Game Worth Playing?

Science.gov (United States)

Kostrykina, Svetlana; Lee, Kerry; Hope, John

2018-01-01

The unprecedented geopolitical and economic shifts across the world have triggered much debate over the re-thinking of internationalisation of higher education (IoHE). This article discusses how a deeper understanding of the knowledge economy paradigm contributes to re-thinking IoHE, and how it reshapes the relations between the west and the rest…

Geopolitics: The Key to Understanding Soviet Regional Behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

1987-04-01

Soviet foreign policy. nertnngthis role, CO can begin to build a usable theoretical framwork for analyzing Soviet behavior in, utategiczlly inportant...the writings of the great geopolitical theorists, such as Mackinder, Spykman, and Gray, in developing a conceptual basis for understanding the la-tem...Histary,- British geographer Sir Halford J. mdcinder provided the conceptual framewrk for geopolitical theory by dividing the world into three vast regions

Geopolitics representation: Chile and Argentina in southern ice fields

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen Isabel Manzano Itura

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Geopolitics, from concept named in 1917 by Rudolf Kjellén has been in continuous evolution until today. Since the incorporation of the representations, the first concept has been of vital importance in different territorial conflicts’ analysis. By means of a geopolitical analysis, the present article intends to understand the geopolitical representations in the area of southern ice fields, the last boundaries issue that still remains in abeyance between Chile and Argentina and how is that both countries have discussed the problem on a basis of representations, in which maps have been the image of each one facing the other, favoring in this way competition between states.

Changing geo-political realities in the Arctic region

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Camilla T. N.

2014-01-01

This article analyzes and discusses how Denmark seeks to manage the changing geopolitical realities in the Arctic region specifically focusing on how Denmark seeks to manage its relations with China in the Arctic region.......This article analyzes and discusses how Denmark seeks to manage the changing geopolitical realities in the Arctic region specifically focusing on how Denmark seeks to manage its relations with China in the Arctic region....

Will climate change capitalism? The major change of the X XI century

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mistral, Jacques; Tirole, Jean; Rocard, Michel; Artus, Patrick; Benhamou, Francoise; Betbeze, Jean-Paul; Brender, Anton; Charpin, Jean-Michel; Chevalier, Jean-Marie; Contamin, Raphael; Fulda, Bruno; Geoffron, Patrice; Giraud, Pierre-Noel; Gonand, Frederic; Hassan, Fabien; Jacquet, Pierre; Jouvet, Pierre-Andre; Parker, Geoffrey; Perthuis, Christian de; Schubert, Katheline; Suwa-Eisenmann, Akiko

2015-01-01

After an introduction and an interview with an historian on the Little Ice Age of the 17. century, this collective book gathers several contributions. A first set discusses the possible change of capitalism under the influence of the carbon market. The authors discuss the political economy of global warming, the relationship between climate negotiation and carbon price, the ways companies take the carbon price into account in their decisions, and the energy and economic transitions. The second set of contributions discusses the influence of climate on the logics of political choices. The authors address the relationship between natural resources and growth, the macro-economic consequences of climate disruption, how to finance the climate, the virtuous relationships between finance and climate, and why it seems so difficult to act for the climate when considering political ambition and economic lucidity. The third and last set of contributions addresses the possible influence of climate change on geopolitics. The authors address and comment the situation of southern countries with respect to climate change, the American leadership challenged by climate issues, the threat China could be for climate more than for anything else, and the European energy strategy with respect to the COP21. A last article discusses the relationship between global warming and the evolution of the Arctic area

Economy of education: National and global aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oksana Ishchenko-Padukova

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Our paper focuses on the national economy of education. We assume that under the current conditions of the globalized world, the economy of education reveals its two-fold nature: on the one hand, it represents an element of the national economic system, and on the other, it is also a structural component of the global education system. Therefore, national economy of education is shaped up by both internal and external factors represented by national and international influences. We analyze here the functional composition and the methods of legal regulation of the economy of education under the conditions and provisions of the global geopolitical transformations. In addition, we use the empirical model of returns to education for showing the factors that impact the employability of young graduates at the labor market. Our results confirm the importance of education for achieving higher levels of income, both nationally and internationally. Finally, we come to the conclusion that its target function consists of the global promotion of national education and consolidation of national competitive position within the world education space.

Tadzhikistan-Russia: Geopolitical Relations at the Turn of the Century

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Zafari Sherali Saidzoda

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In this article the writer analyses the development peculiarities of the Tajik-Russian geopolitical relations during the establishment of Tajikistan foreign policy up to the commencement of multi-vector «open doors» policy in 2003-2004. Since the establishment of peace and stability in Tajikistan beginning from the year of 2000 the socio-economic development issues have been set as prior actions. To boost the economy, attraction of foreign investments, creation of new jobs and improvement of life standard of population were the issues to address. Political leaders of Tajikistan had no right to waste time making no headway. The country inevitably faced the issue of diversification of interstate and foreign economic relations, including outside the CIS. The article highlights that the foreign «open door» policy declared at the turn of2002-2003 implied mandatory modernization of the Tajik-Russian cooperation through strengthening its economic and human dimensions, adjusting the strategic partnership and alliance between the two states to the new global political realities. As to the geopolitical and military-political priorities, which Tajikistan had firmly adhered throughout the entire 1990th since its Independence, they actually remained unchanged even after 2002. The author points out the long-term Russian presence in the form of a large scale military base and military infrastructure on the territory of Tajikistan. The Republic is one of the most consistent, active and disciplined members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. During the first decade of the XXI century the political leaders of Tajikistan had been receiving offers from foreign non CIS countries with regard to deployment of military facilities on a fee basis on the territory of Tajikistan which were not even considered by the Government. Thus, the multi-vector foreign policy of «open doors» has been reflected in diversification of the international relations of

Concept of hegemony in contemporary geopolitical science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. A. Shepyelyev

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the main conceptual approaches to understanding the nature and patterns of functioning and development of hegemony in international relations. Analysed the contribution to the development of research hegemony in international relations, which has made the school world-system analysis. According to its founder F. Braudel, the hegemony of the world is a manifestation of inequality, the latter reveals the structural realities that are approved very slowly, very slowly disappear. The concept of a follower of Fernand Braudel, Emmanuel Wallerstein, according to which the hegemony reflects the ability of a particular state to make one part of the international system to its customers, and the second - to drive into a defensive position. The development of the «modern world-system» is defined by Wallerstein changes hegemony. Wallerstein argues that the State has the ability to create a stable geopolitical system of unequal social division of powers, which are part of the normal functioning of the capitalist world-economy. It is also noted that the pattern of ups and downs of world leaders - hegemony - are considered in the research of many scientists, including George Modelski. He develops a theory about hundred-year cycle of global leadership, using the term «selection» to describe the process of competition and the adoption of this role. Among the concepts of hegemony also highlighted the Charles Krauthammer’s conception of monopolarity, on which the present geopolitical structure of the world after the «cold war» - one pole of world power , consisting of the United States as the top of the industrial West. Analyzed the  Piter Taylor’s conception of global hegemony, which distinguishes the competitive and non-competitive era, successive, and the Nail Ferguson’s conception of imperialism. The paper shows that the problem of hegemony in the 70-th years passed from the purely theoretical plane into practical politics

Climate economics: post-Kyoto tracks; Economie du climat: pistes pour l'apres-Kyoto

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Godard, Olivier; Ponssard, Jean-Pierre [Laboratoire d' Econometrie, Ecole Polytechnique, Route de Saclay, 91128 Palaiseau (France)

2011-03-19

Commitments obtained by the Kyoto protocol will end in 2012. An impressive series of conferences - Bali (2007), Copenhagen (2009), Cancun (2010) to mention the main ones - were organised to prepare the post-2012 regime. Everything was supposed to be decided at the Copenhagen meeting but the state representatives came up against the obstacle. The pre-Copenhagen hope has given place to disillusion and has led to a turn-off towards a weekly coordinated regime which requires a strategic revision of approaches. This book presents the lessons learnt from the relative failure of these negotiations and proposes new paths for the future. It puts forward some strategic stakes that have to be taken into account for the future: the equity between very heterogeneous countries and populations, the industrial competitiveness, the carbon leaks and the violation of the most ambitious climate policies due to the heterogeneity of commitment levels, and the geopolitical reality. The world will have to live for a long time with heterogeneous carbon prices, themselves reflecting heterogeneous commitment levels. New modalities have to be defined which would manage to combine justice and efficiency. Two complementary paths are developed in this book: the establishing of adjustment mechanisms at borders and of international sectoral agreements. (J.S.)

The greenhouse effect: will we change the climate?; L'effet de serre: allons-nous changer le climat?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Le Treut, H

2004-07-01

This book presents the great climate factors, the changes resulting from the greenhouse effect and the corresponding human factors part, the atmosphere chemical composition and the biological and geo-political risks bound to the climatic changes. (A.L.B.)

International political economy of climate negotiations while taking into account the mitigation and adaptation costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ilasca, Constantin

2016-01-01

Our research focuses on the cooperation and climate governance in the post-Copenhagen era. Its main purpose is to observe and define the evolution of the climate regime, based on the positions of the European Union, China and the United States. These three countries can be considered as big emitters, major economies, as well as great powers. Two main drivers are taken into account in our analysis: mitigation and adaptation costs to climate change. The starting point for our research is to be found in the polarized evolution of the climate regime. The most illustrative aspect of this 'metamorphosis' is the shift, in 2009, from the top-down to the bottom-up architecture of the climate regime. Thus, we resort to a hybrid theoretical background, which consists of both international political economy and climate change economy. The joint contribution of the two approaches allows us to analyze international political economy with climate economy as an input, as well as the impact of international relations on the main economic framework of climate change. Our research is based on a specific cooperation model, known as the 'k-group' theory, as developed by Duncan Snidal (1985). Within this framework of mini-lateral cooperation, the thesis that we defend is that it is possible to have a climate k-group which may have a trigger effect in order to obtain an ambitious regime. The starting point for our argument is that this group can be considered as a 'club of the relevant', and that what it needs to achieve in order to constitute a k-group is to establish a 'coalition of the willing'. The capacity and the willingness to act are mainly influenced by the costs they have to bear, that is the costs to mitigate their emissions and to adapt to the climate change consequences. Meanwhile, the group's collective commitment depends on other countries' actions. More precisely, the incentive mechanism is built on the idea that cooperation is meant to widen, in order to eventually

Effects of climate change on the Swiss economy (national influences); Auswirkungen der Klimaaenderung auf die Schweizer Volkswirtschaft (nationale Einfluesse)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2007-07-01

This comprehensive final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) attempts to estimate the direct and indirect effects of climate change on the Swiss economy. The authors state that no grave damage to the Swiss economy that could be caused by climate change are to be expected by the year 2030. Estimates for the year 2050 are presented and a prognosis showing a substantial increase of damage after this date is presented. Tourism and energy installations are noted as being the areas that will be most affected. Other areas affected include infrastructure, human health, water supplies, forestry and the farming economy. The methodologies used in the preparation of the study are described. Scenarios are presented and discussed. An overview of the costs incurred as a result of climate-related change is presented.

Climate change and sustainable energy: actions and transition to a lower carbon economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosen, M.A.

2009-01-01

'Full text:' This presentation will address climate change and transition to a lower carbon economy in general and the importance of sustainable energy in such initiatives. The talk has two main parts. In the first part, the presenter discuss why non-fossil fuel energy options, which are diverse and range from renewables through to nuclear energy, are needed to help humanity combat climate change and transition to a lower carbon economy. Such energy options reduce or eliminate emissions of greenhouse gases and thus often form the basis of sustainable energy solutions. Nonetheless, carbon dioxide capture and sequestration may allow fossil fuels to be less carbon emitting. Sustainable energy options are not sufficient for avoiding climate change, in that they are not necessarily readily utilizable in their natural forms. Hydrogen energy systems are needed to facilitate the use of non-fossil fuels by allowing them to be converted to two main classes of energy carriers: hydrogen and select hydrogen-derived fuels and electricity. As hydrogen is not an energy resource, but rather is an energy carrier that must be produced, it complements non-fossil energy sources, which often need to be converted into more convenient forms. In addition, high efficiency is needed to allow the greatest benefits to be attained from all energy options, including non-fossil fuel ones, in terms of climate change and other factors. Efficiency improvements efforts have many dimensions, including energy conservation, improved energy management, fuel substitution, better matching of energy carriers and energy demands, and more efficiency utilization of both energy quantity and quality. The latter two concepts are best considered via the use of exergy analysis, an advanced thermodynamic tool. In the second part of the presentation, actions to address climate change more generally and to help society transition to a lower carbon economy are described. The role of sustainable energy in this

Geopolitics of oil markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liscom, W.L.

1991-01-01

Geopolitics can inject a great deal of uncertainty and cause fundamental shifts in the overall direction of oil markets, which would otherwise act in a fairly predictable and stable manner. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the response of the USA were definitely linked with oil, and the aftermath of the invasion left four geopolitical issues affecting world oil markets. The provision authorizing $1.6 billion in Iraqi oil exports under the United Nations sanctions was imposed with little concern about the potential impact of these exports on the oil market; Iraq could export as much as 1 million bbl/d and it is unlikely that exports would be stopped once the $1.6 billion limit is reached. By making up most of the supply shortfall during the Kuwait crisis, Saudi Arabia suddenly became the producer of over a third of OPEC oil supplies and now dominates OPEC. The Saudis have indicated it will swing production according to world demand, irrespective of what OPEC wants, so that world oil demand will return strongly and remain. Middle East politics in general will determine the stability of oil supplies in the region for many of the countries. A producer-consumer dialogue at the high governmental level has started, with a view to some type of multilateral understanding in the light of mutual interests in secure oil supplies. This is not likely to have a big impact on oil markets without participation and support from the USA. The recent changes in the Soviet Union have potential impacts in regard to the attraction of that market for Western investment, in particular to assist exports. The worldwide environmental movement will also play a geopolitical role in the world oil market due to its influence on oil taxation policies

Geopolitics, economy and international solidarity in the new South-South cooperation: the case of Bolivarian

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniele BENZI

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This article aims to show an overview of the energy cooperation scheme called PETROCARIBE, proposed in 2005 by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the Caribbean and Central American countries. It argues that the emergence of this project, like other South-South cooperation initiatives, is clearly linked to several strategic foreign policy goals, which basically refer to geopolitical, economic, security and, last but not least, international solidarity parameters. The first section outlines some general characteristics of South-South cooperation and current trends and debates. The following presents the peculiar features of the Bolivarian foreign and energy policies. The next presents a general description of the PETROCARIBE framework, working mechanisms and its most important projects. Finally, after a discussion on PETROCARIBE as a South-South cooperation initiative, by highlighting its scopes, problems and vulnerabilities, some conclusions are drawn.

Arctic Climate Change, Economy and Society (ACCESS): Integrated perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Crépin, Anne-Sophie; Karcher, Michael; Gascard, Jean-Claude

2017-12-01

This introduction to the special issue presents an overview of the wide range of results produced during the European Union project Arctic Climate Change, Economy and Society (ACCESS). This project assessed the main impacts of climate change on Arctic Ocean's geophysical variables and how these impending changes could be expected to impact directly and indirectly on socio-economic activities like transportation, marine sea food production and resource exploitation. Related governance issues were examined. These results were used to develop several management tools that can live on beyond ACCESS. In this article, we synthesize most of the project results in the form of tentative responses to questions raised during the project. By doing so, we put the findings of the project in a broader perspective and introduce the contributions made in the different articles published in this special issue.

Post-2020 climate agreements in the major economies assessed in the light of global models

Science.gov (United States)

Tavoni, Massimo; Kriegler, Elmar; Riahi, Keywan; van Vuuren, Detlef P.; Aboumahboub, Tino; Bowen, Alex; Calvin, Katherine; Campiglio, Emanuele; Kober, Tom; Jewell, Jessica; Luderer, Gunnar; Marangoni, Giacomo; McCollum, David; van Sluisveld, Mariësse; Zimmer, Anne; van der Zwaan, Bob

2015-02-01

Integrated assessment models can help in quantifying the implications of international climate agreements and regional climate action. This paper reviews scenario results from model intercomparison projects to explore different possible outcomes of post-2020 climate negotiations, recently announced pledges and their relation to the 2 °C target. We provide key information for all the major economies, such as the year of emission peaking, regional carbon budgets and emissions allowances. We highlight the distributional consequences of climate policies, and discuss the role of carbon markets for financing clean energy investments, and achieving efficiency and equity.

4. 'Energy and Geopolitics' Forum: Energy transition, which model for Europe? Report on works

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rouyer, Jean-Loup

2005-11-01

This 4. forum on energy and geopolitics, held in Nice in 2005, globally addressed the issue of energy production facing the continuously rising prices of petroleum and natural gas in the world: oil and gas perspectives in the world and in Europe, the role of renewable energies and energy management in the new European energy model (climatic change, demand management, supply and demand optimization), preparation of the Moscow G8 summit (energy security, technological risks, geopolitical unstableness, the Kyoto protocol, assistance to developing countries, energy conservation and efficiency); natural gas and electric power market evolutions as seen by French actors such as Gaz de France and Electricite de France, the natural gas industry in Europe, the Russian policy towards the European market, the Russian/European Union partnership (Common European energy policy, the EU-Russia energy dialogue, EU and Russia energy challenges in 2030/2040; the energy efficiency policy in the European Union and in the context of a cooperation with Russia

Export-import economics of the northern regions of Russia at the crossroad of international sanctions: past and present, geopolitics of compromise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikolai P. Zalyvsky

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In this article, the author discussed historical prerequisites for the inclusion of the North in the world economy and analyzed the participation of the Arctic territories of the Russian Federation in international trade 2000–2016. The impact of the Western sanctions and their influence on the dynamics and structure of foreign trade is also in a focus of the present article as well as the political economy provisions that allow overcoming the negative nature of international economic relations between the Russian Federation and Western countries. The author proves the expediency of changing the geopolitical positions of the West and Russia with a view to moving towards a compromise model of economic cooperation between the North of Russia and the EU and other countries.

Nitrogen use efficiency in the US economy: Towards mitigation of climate change impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Houlton, B. Z.; Boyer, E. W.; Finzi, A. C.; Galloway, J. N.; Leach, A.; Liptzin, D.; Melillo, J. M.; Rosenstock, T.; Sobota, D. J.; Townsend, A. R.

2011-12-01

Nitrogen (N) interacts strongly with climate change in determining the severity and extent of many human health and environmental issues, such as eutrophication, poor air quality, and the maintenance of a secure food system. We were motivated by such N-climate interactions and their environmental impacts as part of a broader assessment of N in the continental United States. We here seek to identify and quantify inefficiencies associated with intentional N creation (i.e., creating synthetic N fertilizers and cultivating N-fixing legumes) among the major N-dependent sectors of the United States economy. We define efficiency of N use as the proportion N directly incorporated into food, fiber, biofuel, and industrial goods from the pool of intentionally created N. We are interested in whether reductions in N use could be achieved without changing the current functioning of the major N-dependent economic sectors. Our analysis points to substantial inefficiencies in N use at the national scale. A large percentage of the N applied as synthetic fertilizer and fixed by legumes annually fails to enter the United States food supply. Much of the unincorporated N enters air, land and water, where it can impact human health and ecosystems. The climate change forcing of N is uncertain, though it appears that the combined effects of intentionally and unintentionally created N on climate is roughly neutral in the United States (i.e., net effect of N-enhanced C storage, nitrous oxide emissions, N-based aerosols, and tropospheric ozone on climate forcing). Thus, it is reasonable to expect that improved efficiencies in N use would have minimal negative side effects on the United States economy, human health and the environment. We suggest that policies aimed at improving N-use efficiencies are an alternative to direct climate mitigation strategies in offsetting several impacts of climate change on human health and ecosystem functioning.

Geopolitical model of investment power station construction project implementation

Science.gov (United States)

Malafeyev, Oleg; Farvazov, Konstantin; Zenovich, Olga; Zaitseva, Irina; Kostyukov, Konstantin; Svechinskaya, Tatiana

2018-04-01

Two geopolitical actors implement a geopolitical project that involves transportaion and storage of some commodities. They interact with each other through a transport network. The network consists of several interconnected vertices. Some of the vetrices are trading hubs, storage spaces, production hubs and goods buyers. Actors wish to satify the demand of buyers and recieve the highest possible profit subject to compromise solution principle. A numerical example is given.

Decarbonizing the Global Economy - An Integrated Assessment of Low Carbon Emission Scenarios proposed in Climate Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Hokamp, Sascha; Khabbazan, Mohammad Mohammadi

2017-04-01

In 2015, the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) reaffirmed to targeting the global mean temperature rise below 2 °C in 2100 while finding no consent on decarbonizing the global economy, and instead, the final agreement called for enhanced scientific investigation of low carbon emission scenarios (UNFCC, 2015). In addition, the Climate Action Network International (CAN) proposes Special Reports to address decarbonization and low carbon development including 1.5 °C scenarios (IPCC, 2016). In response to these developments, we investigate whether the carbon emission cuts, in accordance with the recent climate policy proposals, may reach the climate target. To tackle this research question, we employ the coupled climate-energy-economy integrated assessment Model of INvestment and endogenous technological Development (MIND, cf. Edenhofer et al., 2005, Neubersch et al. 2014). Extending MIND's climate module to the two-box version used in the Dynamic Integrated model of Climate and the Economy (DICE, cf. Nordhaus and Sztorc, 2013, Nordhaus 2014), we perform a cost-effectiveness analysis with constraints on anthropogenic carbon emissions. We show that a climate policy scenario with early decarbonization complies with the 2° C climate target, even without Carbon Capturing and Storage (CCS) or negative emissions (see van Vuuren et al., 2013, for negative emissions). However, using emission inertia of 3.7 percent annually, reflecting the inflexibility on transforming the energy sector, we find a climate policy with moderately low emissions from 2100 onwards at a cost in terms of Balanced Growth Equivalents (BGE, cf. Anthoff and Tol, 2009) of 0.764 % that requires an early (2035 vs. 2120) peak of investments in renewable energy production compared to a business-as-usual scenario. Hence, decarbonizing the global economy and achieving the 2 °C target might still be possible before 2100, but the window of opportunity is beginning to close. References: Anthoff, D., and Tol, R

The greenhouse effect: will we change the climate?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Treut, H.

2004-01-01

This book presents the great climate factors, the changes resulting from the greenhouse effect and the corresponding human factors part, the atmosphere chemical composition and the biological and geo-political risks bound to the climatic changes. (A.L.B.)

International political economy of climate negotiations while taking into account the mitigation and adaptation costs

OpenAIRE

Ilasca, Constantin

2016-01-01

Our research focuses on the cooperation and climate governance in the post-Copenhagen era. Its main purpose is to observe and define the evolution of the climate regime, based on the positions of the European Union, China and the United States. These three countries can be considered as big emitters, major economies, as well as great powers. Two main drivers are taken into account in our analysis : mitigation and adaptation costs to climate change. The starting point for our research is to be...

The Journal “Geopolitica” and Formation of the Italian Geopolitical School

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maximilian Al’bertovich Shepelev

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article reveals the origins, methodological features and the process of institutionalization of Italian geopolitical school, place and role of the journal “Geopolitica” in this process. The article analyzes the characteristics of Italian geopolitical perception of the world and its geostrategic priorities, formulated by the representatives of the Italian geopolitical schools in the period of its formation in 20-40-ies of the XX century (the Mediterranean - Mare nostrum, Euroafrica. The source of the formation of the Italian geopolitical school was the intellectual influence of irredentism un the age of the Risorgimento. The process of its formation was correlated with the formation of the modern national school of geographical science, in which was dominated the perception of geography as “utilitarian science” and developed the direction of “dynamic political geography”. Its specifical features was the “antideterminism” and “geographic humanism”, the recognition that the environment does not have absolute power over society, but political will is a determining factor in anthropogeographical area. The institutionalization of Italian political school promoted the creation of several research centres in the 20-30-ies and publishing from January 1939 to December 1942 magazine “Geopolitica”. The draft edition of this magazine received support from the minister of national education Giuseppe Bottai, it was headed by Professor Giorgio Roletto and his disciple, Ernesto Massi. Italian geopolitics maintained close ties with their German colleagues, but they were theoretically justified differences between “Latin” and “German” geopolitical worldviews. Unlike the German geopolitics, the concept of “living space” was used primarily in the economic sense, but it was not used in a racial-demographic sense. Italian geopolitics acted against the world order enshrined in the Treaty of Versailles, because it was protected

Climatic servitude: climate change, business and politics; La servitude climatique: Changement climatique, Business et Politique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belouve, J.M.

2009-07-01

This book is together a contemporary history book and a global dossier about a topic of prime importance in our civilization. It treats of the history of science, of ideas and events put in the modern civilization context, of science situation and scientific controversies, of the media aspects, of carbon economy and its related business, of Al Gore's and Maurice Strong's biographies, and finally, it makes a critical geopolitical analysis and makes proposals for a renovated ecology. In the conclusion, the author shows how climate change has become the hobbyhorse of a new thinking trend, namely the New World Order, aiming at conducting people to the acceptance of constraining policies encompassing the energy security of nations, new taxes, a worldwide economic disruption, the limitation of the World's population, and a World governance supported by the United Nations and not constrained by classical democratic rules. (J.S.)

South African oil dependency : geo-political, geo-economic and geo-strategic considerations

OpenAIRE

2012-01-01

Ph.D. There is little research undertaken on the economic assessment of oil security of supply from the dimensions of geo-politics, geo-economics and geo-strategy. This study seeks to bridge the gap by providing new analytical and empirical work that captures the impact of geo-politics, geo-economics and geo-strategy on oil supply, consumption and price. This study is the first to define, analyse and contextualise the South African oil security of supply from a geo-political, geo-economic ...

An overlapping generations model of climate-economy interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howarth, R. B.

1998-01-01

A numerically calibrated overlapping generations model of climate change and the world economy is examined in this paper. In the absence of inter-generational transfers, efficient rates of greenhouse gas emissions abatement rise from 16% in the present to 25% in the long run, while mean global temperature increases by 7.4 deg C relative to the pre industrial norm. A utilitarian optimum, which attaches equal weight to each generation's life-cycle utility, yields abatement rates that rise from 48% to 89%, with a long-run temperature increase of 3.4 deg C. A second-best utilitarian path, in which inter-generational transfers are by assumption institutionally infeasible, also supports stringent abatement measures

Climate - 30 questions to understand the Paris Conference

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Canfin, Pascal; Staime, Peter

2015-01-01

The authors, who participate in the negotiations on climate, propose an analysis and a description of the various geopolitical, economic and financial challenges which are part of the next conference on climate (Conference of Parties, COP 21) which is to take place in France in December 2015. They notably discuss to which extent France is an example, what Obama can do, why things are changing in China, who are the opponents in the struggle against climate change. While one of the main issue of this conference, and the possible cause of its failure, will be the financial issue, and particularly the promise made in 2009 to mobilise 100 billions dollars every year in favour of developing countries which are the most impacted by global warming, in an interview, one of the author evokes the content of his book: he discusses the general consensus about the human origin of climate change, evokes fossil industries and oil producing countries as opponents to an energy revolution, outlines that energy transition is at the heart of what he calls the Battle of Paris (the conference), outlines the important role France can play despite some weaknesses of its climate policy, the new momentum given by China and the USA. He considers low carbon economy as the main world challenge on the long term

Political economy constraints on carbon pricing policies: What are the implications for economic efficiency, environmental efficacy, and climate policy design?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jenkins, Jesse D.

2014-01-01

Economists traditionally view a Pigouvian fee on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, either via carbon taxes or emissions caps and permit trading (“cap-and-trade”), as the economically optimal or “first-best” policy to address climate change-related externalities. Yet several political economy factors can severely constrain the implementation of these carbon pricing policies, including opposition of industrial sectors with a concentration of assets that would lose considerable value under such policies; the collective action nature of climate mitigation efforts; principal agent failures; and a low willingness-to-pay for climate mitigation by citizens. Real-world implementations of carbon pricing policies can thus fall short of the economically optimal outcomes envisioned in theory. Consistent with the general theory of the second-best, the presence of binding political economy constraints opens a significant “opportunity space” for the design of creative climate policy instruments with superior political feasibility, economic efficiency, and environmental efficacy relative to the constrained implementation of carbon pricing policies. This paper presents theoretical political economy frameworks relevant to climate policy design and provides corroborating evidence from the United States context. It concludes with a series of implications for climate policy making and argues for the creative pursuit of a mix of second-best policy instruments. - Highlights: • Political economy constraints can bind carbon pricing policies. • These constraints can prevent implementation of theoretically optimal carbon prices. • U.S. household willingness-to-pay for climate policy likely falls in the range of $80–$200 per year. • U.S. carbon prices may be politically constrained to as low as $2–$8 per ton of CO 2 . • An opportunity space exists for improvements in climate policy design and outcomes

Climate protection and sustainable economy. For a new development political mission statement; Klimaschutz und nachhaltiges Wirtschaften. Fuer ein neues entwicklungspolitisches Leitbild

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kofler, Baerbel; Netzer, Nina (eds.)

2011-11-15

The book under consideration is devoted to climate protection and sustainable economy. It consists of the following contributions: (1) Climate protection and development policy - New allies in the fight against poverty? (B. Kofler); (2) In preparation for a wormer world - Adjustment to the climatic change using local resources (A. Schroeder); (3) Sustainable economy today - a development political consideration (H.-J. Luhmann); (4) The Clean Development Mechanism - No-Win instead of Win-Win for developing countries?; (5) New market based mechanisms for improving the climate protection in developing countries (K. Wentrup); (6) Global emission trading: market-economy instruments for a development-oriented climate policy? (S. Fischer); (7) The policy is needed - Central strategies for combating climatic change (R. Guenther); (8) Technology transfer: Political controversies, successes and problems of implementation (C. Gerstetter); (9) REDDplus - Forest protection as a chance for development and poverty reduction (K. Gerber); (10) What is climate justice? From the principle to political practice (T. Hirsch); (11) How much are 100 Billion Us-Dollar? Financing of climate protection between adequacy and creative bookkeeping (W. Sterk); (12) No money, no fun - Climate change financing has to be made more concrete (F. Schwabe); (13) Human rights - Common struggle against the climatic change (T. Rathgeber); (14) Climate change adaptation - Handling extreme events and damages: 'Loss and damage' (T. Hirsch); (15) Rio 2012 and the reform of the international environment governance (N. Simon).

Iran’s geopolitics in Eurasia after the nuclear deal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noemi Rocca

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Since the positive conclusion of the Iran nuclear deal, Iran is enhancing economic, military, energy and security ties with many countries, particularly with its Caucasus and Central Asian neighbours. Relations with Russia and China — which never stopped — are experiencing a new boom. Access to international financial markets — allowed by the progressive lifting of sanctions — coupled with the expected revenues from oil exports will modernise the Iranian industrial structure and make resources available for new infrastructure projects. This article approaches Iran’s geopolitics from a peculiar angle, that is through analysis of the offers Iran made in 2003 and 2005 to the United States and the European Union for solving the nuclear dispute. This article argues, firstly, that these proposals — focused not just on nuclear issues, but also on geopolitical matters — can shed light on how Iran shapes and conveys its geopolitical role in the Middle East and Central Asia; secondly, that such a role has been “legitimised” by global players like the United States, China, Russia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the European Union (i.e., the 5 + 1 countries which participated at the last round of the nuclear deal through the positive conclusion of the deal; and, finally, that Iran’s geopolitical role within the greater Eurasian space will increasingly assume more important dimensions.

Territorial'no-politicheskie i regional'nye geopoliticheskie sistemy: sootnoshenie ponjatij [Territorial-political and regional geopolitical systems: correlation of concepts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yelatskov Alexey

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The article examines the notions of ‘territorial political system’ and ‘regional geopolitical system' as well as a correlation between them from the viewpoint of the socalled activity-based geospatial approach. A regional geopolitical system includes geopolitical relations between the states within the region and those with powerful external actors. A geopolitical region itself can be characterized by integration, autonomization or a permanent geopolitical conflict. A territorial political system is studied in a broad sense (all political phenomena of a certain territory and in a narrow context (geopolitical relations of a certain territory. The latter is considered to be a subsystem of regional geopolitical system. The research results can be applied in the study of geopolitical regions and geopolitical systems. The article develops a methodology for regional geopolitical and political geographical studies. The author wishes to thank his colleagues from Saint Petersburg State University for their comments on earlier versions.

The Geopolitics of Water and Oil in Turkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

Throughout history, few nations have been as successful in leveraging their geographic location as Turkey. As the center of two of the most powerful civilizations of all time, the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, Turkey was the bridge between East and West, a bustling center of trade and a strategic economic and political nexus between regions of the world. In addition to its geographic power, Turkey has historically possessed substantial water resources. Unlike many water parched areas of the Middle East, Turkey's water capacity has allowed it to grow large populations and build elaborate cities. In the modern era, Turkey once again has an opportunity to regain its historical role, as the state where today's geopolitics of energy coincides with Turkey's traditional geopolitics of water. Turkey's central location, this time not between East and West, but between producers and consumers of energy, gives it a central, geopolitical role in world affairs, both in oil and gas. Moreover, Turkey's water resources can be utilized to reinforce Turkey's strategic energy role in the region, by building a strategy of cooperation with water-poor countries from the Levant to the Arabian Peninsula. Throughout history, water and energy have been among the most fundamental resources of civilization, at the very base of Maslow's hierarchy of needs essential to fostering human growth and development for thousands of years. It is seldom appreciated how linked water and energy truly are. Producing, transferring, and supplying energy requires a significant amount of water, just as the extraction, purification, and even desalination of water requires a significant amount of energy. As both energy and water grow scarcer throughout the future, nations such as Turkey can gain considerable influence as a result of their geographic locations and natural endowments. Turkey can benefit from pipeline diplomacy, taking advantage of its geographical location to make it a crossroads of multiple

The Geopolitics of Water and Oil in Turkey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2009-07-01

Throughout history, few nations have been as successful in leveraging their geographic location as Turkey. As the center of two of the most powerful civilizations of all time, the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, Turkey was the bridge between East and West, a bustling center of trade and a strategic economic and political nexus between regions of the world. In addition to its geographic power, Turkey has historically possessed substantial water resources. Unlike many water parched areas of the Middle East, Turkey's water capacity has allowed it to grow large populations and build elaborate cities. In the modern era, Turkey once again has an opportunity to regain its historical role, as the state where today's geopolitics of energy coincides with Turkey's traditional geopolitics of water. Turkey's central location, this time not between East and West, but between producers and consumers of energy, gives it a central, geopolitical role in world affairs, both in oil and gas. Moreover, Turkey's water resources can be utilized to reinforce Turkey's strategic energy role in the region, by building a strategy of cooperation with water-poor countries from the Levant to the Arabian Peninsula. Throughout history, water and energy have been among the most fundamental resources of civilization, at the very base of Maslow's hierarchy of needs essential to fostering human growth and development for thousands of years. It is seldom appreciated how linked water and energy truly are. Producing, transferring, and supplying energy requires a significant amount of water, just as the extraction, purification, and even desalination of water requires a significant amount of energy. As both energy and water grow scarcer throughout the future, nations such as Turkey can gain considerable influence as a result of their geographic locations and natural endowments. Turkey can benefit from pipeline diplomacy, taking advantage of its geographical location to

Energy politics and geopolitics - an analysis of the international tensions in the 21. century; Politique et geopolitique de l'energie - Une analyse des tensions internationales au 21eme siecle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Furfari, Samuele

2012-02-01

Necessary, unloved, abundant but often polluting, expensive but often wasted, energy remains the indispensable blood which irrigates the world economy, supplies the engine of economic growth, and generates together peace and conflicts. The energy questions have been first technical (resources extraction), economical (resources management) and geopolitical (resources property). Today they have become mainly political. With the development of emerging countries, the worldwide distribution of energy resources has become a worrying geopolitical issue for industrialized countries. These countries have to deal with contradictory political choices: the security of supplies on the one hand, and the sustainable development on the other hand. In this book, the author explains that despite a sustained development of renewable energy sources and an energy capacity in permanent progress, and despite a bad geographical distribution of resources, the fossil fuels still dominate the energy scene today and will do so for a long time. With some precise figures and clear explanations of geopolitical situations, the author shares with us his knowledge gained during several years of energy files management at the European Commission. (J.S.)

Communicating climate change – Learning from business: challenging values, changing economic thinking, innovating the low carbon economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katharina Kaesehage

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The risks and opportunities presented by climate change for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs have been largely overlooked by previous research. The subsequent lack of knowledge in this field makes it difficult for SMEs to engage with climate change in a meaningful, profitable, and sustainable way. Further, current research cannot explain why SMEs rarely engage with climate change. We examine critically 30 SMEs, which engage with climate change knowledges and 5 Innovation-Support-Organizations (ISOs that communicate climate change knowledges. Over a three-year period we explore why and how these businesses approach the knowledge gap between climate change science and business practice, drawing on a variety of ethnographic research methods: (1 in-depth semi-structured and open interviews; (2 participant observations; and (3 practitioners’ workshops. The results demonstrate that business’ mitigation and adaptation strategies are lay-knowledge-dependent, derived from personal values, space, and place identity. To enhance the number of SMEs engaging with climate change, maximize the potential value of climate change for the econo- my and establish a low carbon economy, climate change communication needs to target personal values of business leaders. The message should highlight local impacts of climate change, the benefits of engagement to (the local society and economy, and possible financial benefits for the business. Climate change communication therefore needs to go beyond thinking about potential financial benefits and scientific evidence and challenge values, cultures, and beliefs to stimulate economic, political, and social frameworks that promote values-based decision-making.

Towards climate justice: how do the most vulnerable weigh environment-economy trade-offs?

Science.gov (United States)

Running, Katrina

2015-03-01

The world's poor are especially vulnerable to environmental disasters, including the adverse consequences of climate change. This creates a challenge for climate justice advocates who seek to ensure that those least responsible for causing climate change do not bear unwanted burdens of mitigation. One way to promote climate justice could be to pay particular attention to the environmental policy preferences of citizens from poorer, lower-emitting countries. This paper examines opinions on environment-economy trade-offs and willingness to make personal financial contributions to protect the environment among residents of 42 developed and developing countries using data from the 2005-2008 World Values Survey, the 2010 Climate Risk Index, and World Bank development indicators. Results reveal that individuals in developing countries are less likely to support policies to prioritize environmental protection over economic growth but are more willing to donate personal income for pro-environmental efforts compared to citizens of more developed nations. Published by Elsevier Inc.

"Holy Rus": The Geopolitical Imagination in the Contemporary Russian Orthodox Church

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Suslov, M. D.

2014-01-01

The author analyzes the geographical and geopolitical ideas inherent in the concept of "Holy Rus" as used by Patriarch Kirill and other hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church.......The author analyzes the geographical and geopolitical ideas inherent in the concept of "Holy Rus" as used by Patriarch Kirill and other hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church....

Biophysical, Socioeconomic, and Geopolitical Vulnerabilities to Hydropower Development on the Nu River, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Desiree D. Tullos

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Rapid hydropower development is occurring in China's Yunnan province in response to increasing clean energy demands, exposing potential vulnerabilities of the area's ecosystems, communities, and geopolitical systems. Here, we present original data on the cultures, economics, hydro-politics, and environments of the Nu River basin, based on household surveys, analysis of geopolitical events, and hydrological, hydraulic, and landscape modeling. We identify sources of vulnerability and investigate relationships among biophysical, socioeconomic, and geopolitical elements that contribute to vulnerability. Our results illustrate the role of geographic isolation in intensifying vulnerability to hydropower development and how access to information, data uncertainty, and geopolitics influence the vulnerability of people and the environment. We emphasize specific needs for developing support mechanisms for social, ecological, and political groups that are vulnerable to hydropower development.

Bangladeshi immigrants in Italy: from geopolitics to micropolitics.

Science.gov (United States)

Knights, M

1996-01-01

"Bangladeshis are one of a wide variety of recently established immigrant groups in Italy, analysed here as an example of the interaction of geopolitics, employment and survival strategies, and the micropolitics of the community's organization in Italy. The geopolitics involves events in Bangladesh (change of government), Italy (the Martelli Law and other legislation), Europe (EU and other European policies, and the opening of eastern Europe as a routeway) and the Gulf. The micropolitics concerns mechanisms of immigration, migration sponsorship, connections to Italian political groups and clientelistic relationships within the community. Micropolitics also governs to a large extent the types of mostly informal work done by Bangladeshis in Rome." excerpt

GEOPOLITICAL STRATEGIES AND MODERNITY: MULTIPOLAR WORLD OF NOWADAYS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radenko Scekic

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The political map of the planet has transformed substantially during the last century. Former colonial powers had to be satisfied with the perfidious forms of political and economic control. The last decades were marked by the global dominance of the US and its allies, as well as the military superiority of the NATO pact. The beginning of the new millennium was filled with military and financial crises. On the global stage have appeared new economic and military powers and organizations such as the BRICS, the Eurasian Union, the economic power of China, and Russia's comeback in the geopolitical games. The former geopolitical theories become topical again.

The Militarization of State as a Factor of Geopolitical Competition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. V. Tolochko

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This article analyses the conception of collision between Russia and the West. It presents the history of U.S.-Soviet relations in the context of globalization. The authors note that, despite the end of the Cold War after breakup of the Soviet Union, the militarization of politics has not taken back seat as a geopolitical factor and has directly affected the various aspects of national and international security. The subject matter change of the participants in this process should be noted as a special feature of the militarization of modern globalization. The role of transnational and nongovernmental organizations escalating the situation in many unstable parts of the world is increasing. The neutral states and international organizations which purpose is far from of militarism begin to be enlisted for military and political actions. In the article the processes of geopolitical competition and militarization are considered on the example of the Russia-West confrontation and the bilateral relations between the superpowers are analyzed in the historical perspective. The article presents the uprise of the Cold War as a natural phenomenon. The Cold War was a deliberate policy of the US administration aimed at establishing of US dominance in the postwar world. This strategy involved the confrontation with its geopolitical opponents and not partnership relations. The USA could reach its foreign-policy goals only through the Cold War. One of the main methods of battle was the arms race aimed at the economic attenuation of the USSR. The paper focuses on the problems in the relations between Russia and the USA at the contemporary stage. The article designates the role of Russia which is countering and responding the expansion of geopolitical competition as well as projecting of its national achievements and spiritual values in the world. The article considers in the context of geopolitics and the militarization of the country the reform of power

Global Megacities Differing Adaptation Responses to Climate Change: an Analysis of Annual Spend of Ten Major cities on the adaptation economy

Science.gov (United States)

Maslin, M. A.; Georgeson, L.

2015-12-01

Urban areas are increasingly at risk from climate change with negative impacts predicted for human health, the economy and ecosystems. These risks require responses from cities, to improve the resilience of their infrastructure, economy and environment to climate change. Policymakers need to understand what is already being spent on adaptation so that they can make more effective and comprehensive adaptation plans. Through the measurement of spend in the newly defined 'Adaptation Economy' we analysis the current efforts of 10 global megacities in adapting to climate change. These cities were chosen based on their size, geographical location and their developmental status. The cities are London, Paris, New York, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Beijing, Mumbai, Jakarta, Lagos and Addis Ababa. It is important to study a range of cities in different regions of the world, with different climates and at different states of socio-economic development. While in economic terms, disaster losses from weather, climate and geophysical events are greater in developed countries, fatalities and economic losses as a proportion of GDP are higher in developing countries. In all cities examined the Adaptation Economy is still a small part of the overall economy accounting for a maximum of 0.3% of the Cities total GDP (GDPc). The differences in total spend are significant between cities in developed and rapidly emerging countries, compared to those in developing countries with a spend ranging from £16 million to £1,500 million. Comparing key sub sectors, we demonstrate that there are distinctive adaptation profiles with developing cities having a higher relative spend on health, while developed cities have a higher spend on disaster preparedness, ICT and professional services. Comparing spend per capita and as a percentage of GDPc demonstrates even more clearly disparities between the cities in the study; developing country cities spend half as much as a proportion of GPCc in some cases, and

Geopolitics and Eurasia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raul Netzahualcoyotzi

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The convergence and divergence among Europe, Asia and Africa about the Mediterranean as a geopolitical center, and the end of the cold war, are shaping a new continental security zone: Eurasia. Currently, this scene of conflict is witnessing wars with different features and characte­ristics, such as ethnicity and religion; interstate or global security concerns -as is the case of Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan; and border conflict as was the case between Georgia and Russia for the independence of South Ossetia. Control of this area means global domination of population and provision of energy during this century.

Climate and economy. Climate Policy Dossier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gielen, A.M.; Koutstaal, P.R.; De Groot, H.L.F.; Tang, P.J.G.

2001-01-01

In this introductory article an overview is given of what can be expected in this dossier on climate policy in the Netherlands, focusing on the economic analysis of climate policy and climatic change. Attention will be paid to flexible mechanisms to reduce the costs of such policy and visions of interested parties. 1 ref

The impacts of climate change on the Finnish economy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuoppamaeki, P [Research Inst. of the Finnish Economy, Helsinki (Finland)

1997-12-31

The purpose of the project was to evaluate the potential influence of global warming on the Finnish economy and well-being during the next 50 to 100 years. In order to achieve this goal a cost-benefit analysis was conducted which produced a quantitative estimate of the economic and partially non-economic effects of the climate change projected to happen in Finland. The analysis utilised the natural scientific evidence produced by other SILMU projects in partial sector models. Also a broader view of the phenomena and the possibilities for restricting greenhouse gas emissions was briefly discussed and surveyed. Two of the more important side-goals were to develop the methodology for country analysis and study the possibilities for adaptation

The impacts of climate change on the Finnish economy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuoppamaeki, P. [Research Inst. of the Finnish Economy, Helsinki (Finland)

1996-12-31

The purpose of the project was to evaluate the potential influence of global warming on the Finnish economy and well-being during the next 50 to 100 years. In order to achieve this goal a cost-benefit analysis was conducted which produced a quantitative estimate of the economic and partially non-economic effects of the climate change projected to happen in Finland. The analysis utilised the natural scientific evidence produced by other SILMU projects in partial sector models. Also a broader view of the phenomena and the possibilities for restricting greenhouse gas emissions was briefly discussed and surveyed. Two of the more important side-goals were to develop the methodology for country analysis and study the possibilities for adaptation

A dynamic perspective of the geopolitical supply risk of metals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Habib, Komal; Hamelin, Lorie; Wenzel, Henrik

2016-01-01

. In the context of strategic planning and innovation, and in scientific literature, this aspect is often referred to as geopolitical supply risk. In the past few decades, cobalt crisis, the oil embargo, and the more recent Rare Earth Elements (REEs) issue are the best examples regarding the geopolitical supply...... production distribution and more dependent on the location of current geological resources and the future discoveries, as well as on the technological development to improve profitability of mining the currently sub-economical resources....

The Western Balkans Geopolitics and Russian Energy Politics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhidin Mulalic

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The Energy politics is today at the center of the Russian and the Western Balkans relations. It is widely known that Russia has been playing significant role in world energy supply. Therefore, Russian energy companies have taken a leading role in the promotion of their businesses in the Western Balkans. The Western Balkans region has become geostrategic partner as a transit route for the integration of Russia into the global energy world market. With regards to the transportation of gas Western Balkans as a transit route is determined to fully realize South Stream project. In contrast to “a buffer zone” role, in the past few decades the Western Balkans gained an attention from Russia and became an important geopolitical bridge towards Western Europe. Such geopolitical and geostrategic planning of Russia is apparent with regards to gas and oil. Due to Russian South Stream gas pipeline project the Western Balkans became an important European energy transforming center. These new geostrategic games over the pipeline have also revived the Russian historical interests in the Balkans. This paper aims to analyze Russian-Western Balkans relations with special emphasis on energy politics and geopolitical and geostrategic interdependence of Russia and the Western Balkans.

The Knowledge Economy, Gender and Stratified Migrations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eleonore Kofman

2007-06-01

Full Text Available The promotion of knowledge economies and societies, equated with the mobile subject as bearer of technological, managerial and cosmopolitan competences, on the one hand, and insecurities about social order and national identities, on the other, have in the past few years led to increasing polarisation between skilled migrants and those deemed to lack useful skills. The former are considered to be bearers of human capital and have the capacity to assimilate seamlessly and are therefore worthy of citizenship; the latter are likely to pose problems of assimilation and dependency due to their economic and cultural ‘otherness’ and offered a transient status and partial citizenship by receiving states. In the European context this trend has been reinforced by the redrawing of European geopolitical space creating new boundaries of exclusion and social justice. The emphasis on the knowledge economy also generates gender inequalities and stratifications based on skills and types of knowledge with implications for citizenship and social justice.

The Knowledge Economy, Gender and Stratified Migrations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eleonore Kofman

2007-12-01

Full Text Available The promotion of knowledge economies and societies, equated with the mobile subject as bearer of technological, managerial and cosmopolitan competences, on the one hand, and insecurities about social order and national identities, on the other, have in the past few years led to increasing polarisation between skilled migrants and those deemed to lack useful skills. The former are considered to be bearers of human capital and have the capacity to assimilate seamlessly and are therefore worthy of citizenship; the latter are likely to pose problems of assimilation and dependency due to their economic and cultural ‘otherness’ and offered a transient status and partial citizenship by receiving states. In the European context this trend has been reinforced by the redrawing of European geopolitical space creating new boundaries of exclusion and social justice. The emphasis on the knowledge economy also generates gender inequalities and stratifications based on skills and types of knowledge with implications for citizenship and social justice.

After Van Gogh: The geopolitics of the tsunami relief effort in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mamadouh, V.

2008-01-01

The paper examines the Dutch humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake through the lens of geopolitics. It analyses the ways geopolitical representations shape non-state collective action, in this case the relief effort to help victims of the tsunami of 26 December 2004. Drawing on

Geopolitical aspects of Jewish presence in the Romanian principalities during the middle ages

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silviu Costachie

2007-11-01

Full Text Available „Geopolitical aspects of Jewish presence in the Romanian Principalities, during the Middle Ages” is probably one of the very few scientific articles about the geopolitical role of Jewish existence in Romanian territory during the last centuries. Few historians dared to deal with this topic, as it was regarded a very delicate issue. The author is the only geographer that managed to show us some geopolitical aspects regarding the immense role of this ethnic group in the political, economical and social life of the Romanian people during the Middle Ages. Based on various sources of information, and expressing all the facts from a geographical point of view, the author offers us an analytic study of the geopolitical role of Jews who had settled in Romanian territory between XIVth and XVIIIth centuries. Interesting facts are revealed regarding the way Romanian ‘voivodes’ came to the throne and the help they received from the Jews.

Languages contact and geopolitics of Romance languages

OpenAIRE

Louis-Jean Calvet

2017-01-01

In this article, we first conceive the contact between languages from different configurations to, secondly, analyze the geopolitics of the Romance languages, represented by the three great linguistic groups, that is, the French-speaking, Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking groups.---Original in French.

Climate change, economics and Buddhism. Part 2. New views and practices for sustainable world economies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daniels, Peter L.

2010-01-01

The evidence of impending and serious climate and other consequences of an expanding world economy based on fossil carbon energy continues to accumulate. This two-part paper examines the potential contribution of the world view and insights of Buddhism to this search. It presents both a conceptual and practical case that Buddhism can help shape and move towards an alternative and effective paradigmatic basis for sustainable economies - one capable of bringing about and maintaining genuine, high welfare levels across the world's societies. The first paper outlined a comprehensive analytical framework to identify the fundamental nature of anthropogenic climate change. Based on the integration of two of the most influential environmental analysis tools of recent decades (the DPSIR model and IPAT equation), the framework was then broadened to facilitate ideas from the Buddhist world view by injecting two key missing aspects - the interrelated role of (1) beliefs and values (on goals and behavior) and (2) the nature of well-being or human happiness. Finally, the principal linkages between this climate change analysis framework and Buddhism were explored. In this concluding paper, the systems framework is used to demonstrate how Buddhist and related world views can feed into appropriate and effective responses to the impending challenges of climate change. This is undertaken by systematically presenting a specific, if indicative, list of relevant strategies informed by the understanding of interconnectedness and other basic principles about the nature of reality and human well-being as proposed in Buddhism. (author)

Climate change, economics and Buddhism. Part 2. New views and practices for sustainable world economies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daniels, Peter L. [Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, Brisbane, 4111 (Australia)

2010-03-15

The evidence of impending and serious climate and other consequences of an expanding world economy based on fossil carbon energy continues to accumulate. This two-part paper examines the potential contribution of the world view and insights of Buddhism to this search. It presents both a conceptual and practical case that Buddhism can help shape and move towards an alternative and effective paradigmatic basis for sustainable economies - one capable of bringing about and maintaining genuine, high welfare levels across the world's societies. The first paper outlined a comprehensive analytical framework to identify the fundamental nature of anthropogenic climate change. Based on the integration of two of the most influential environmental analysis tools of recent decades (the DPSIR model and IPAT equation), the framework was then broadened to facilitate ideas from the Buddhist world view by injecting two key missing aspects - the interrelated role of (1) beliefs and values (on goals and behavior) and (2) the nature of well-being or human happiness. Finally, the principal linkages between this climate change analysis framework and Buddhism were explored. In this concluding paper, the systems framework is used to demonstrate how Buddhist and related world views can feed into appropriate and effective responses to the impending challenges of climate change. This is undertaken by systematically presenting a specific, if indicative, list of relevant strategies informed by the understanding of interconnectedness and other basic principles about the nature of reality and human well-being as proposed in Buddhism. (author)

World and energy. Geopolitical stakes. 1 - the clues to understand. 2 - the maps in hands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furfari, S.

2007-01-01

In the energy domain, globalization has become a visible reality since several decades, in particular since the first petroleum shock of 1974/1975, but in reality since the first world war when petroleum started to play a key role. The aim of this book is to explain geopolitics and to foresee the Earth's future at the time of a major energy turn. In the first volume, the author explores the different eras of the energy world. A large part is devoted to the main energy resources with some precision about reserves, exploitation means and their impacts on the environment and on the climatic change. The second volume describes the main energy markets and their foreseeable evolution through a geopolitical analysis of maps. A large part is devoted to the European supplies and to the East-West relations which control them, in particular because of the huge gas reserves of Russia and of its former satellite countries. Another part is devoted to the big wold consumers, the present day ones (the USA) and the new ones (China and India), who stake both on North-South relations (Middle East and South America for the USA and Africa for China and India), and on areas which were traditionally of Europe's interests. (J.S.)

Languages contact and geopolitics of Romance languages

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Louis-Jean Calvet

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this article, we first conceive the contact between languages from different configurations to, secondly, analyze the geopolitics of the Romance languages, represented by the three great linguistic groups, that is, the French-speaking, Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking groups.---Original in French.

Geopolitical transformations and military calls in the modern globalized world

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. F. Zagurska­Antoniuk

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The geopolitical development in globalized modern systems is analyzed in the article. Global problems have planetary nature. They relate to the interests of all the nations of the world, they pose a threat of degradation and end of civilization, they require immediate decision making, collective efforts and cooperation of all the nations. A number of problems in relationships between societies are examined, and the real ways of their solving are suggested. Some of them are connected to the relationships inside the world community: prevention of the nuclear conflict, overcoming the backwardness of the developing countries; the others reflect the crisis in the relationships between the society and the nature (demographic crisis, food crisis, resource crisis, ecological crisis, energy crisis and others. Some of the most difficult global threats of the XXI century – local armed conflicts and hybrid wars on geopolitical and territorial grounds (eg. between Israel and Palestine, Ukraine and Russian Federation etc. are considered in the article. These confrontations have become challenges for the whole world because they threaten with complete destabilization of the world order. Geopolitical development of modern societies has changed the priorities in the global problems. Some specialists consider energy and raw­materials problem as the priority, and the others – geopolitical division of territories and spheres of influence in the world. That is why, the problems of peace and disarmament, ecological, food, demographic, energy and raw­materials problems, overcoming of poverty and backwardness are among the most often mentioned global problems of the recent twenty years’ period.

Moscow – Third Rome as Source of Anti-Western Russian Geopolitic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Justyna Doroszczyk

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Moscow as the Third Rome is the basis of Russian thinking about the state and the Russian nation and also Russian geopolitics. It is a solid foundation of anti-Western tendency in Russian geopolitics. The belief about Russia’s providential mission is a tool of differentiation between the two types of civilizations and cultures – the “rotting” western world and the Russian world, which manifests as a cradle of traditional, conservative values that individualistic, materialistic Western civilisation has rejected.

Trans-Saharan geopolitics. The game and the stakes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chegrouche, L.

2010-01-01

The geopolitics of energy exports from the trans-Saharan region are similar to the Caspian great game' at the end of the last century. In North/West Africa as in West/Central Asia, the question of control over hydrocarbon reserves and lines of access to those reserves lies at the source of various conflicts. Rivalries are expressed through open and complex conflicts in which powers confront one another over oil-rich zones through proxy ethnic, religious or cultural groups, as dictated by the colossal economic interests at stake. The increasing number of conflicts - the Niger Delta, Darfur, the Azawak, etc. - is an illustration of this. The shock waves from this rivalry undermine regional peace and security, as well as the security of international energy supplies. The question here is to understand the game and the stakes of this trans-Saharan chess-board, to study its principal features and its energetic consequences. The national oil companies and states of the region can work around or through the geopolitical rifts caused by local rivalries and extra-regional appetites. There is therefore a need to understand the ways in which the players in the trans-Saharan 'great game' interact with one another, an to identifies the effects these interactions may have in the field of energy, in terms of potential reserves and transport projects. The TSGP is presented as an illustration of this geopolitical dynamics. (author)

Geopolitical hotspots : Saudi Arabia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roberts, J.

2004-01-01

This presentation reviewed the geopolitics of energy in the Middle East, with particular reference to Saudi Arabia as a potential hotspot. The author examined the question of who actually governs Saudi Arabia and the core relationship between Crown Prince Abdullah and the interior Minister, Prince Nayef. Issues regarding the country's social stability were discussed with reference to the high unemployment rate. The financial security of Saudi Arabia was also discussed with reference to the need for economic and political reform. Expectations for Saudi petroleum output were outlined along with regional spurs for energy competition and OPEC participation

ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF "GREEN ECONOMY" RUSSIA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. N. Botavina

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The article tells the story of the emergence of "green" economy, as opposed to the traditional "brown" ekonomike, given its concept shown shortcomings of the existing definitions of "green" economy, conclusions about the real possibilities of the transition to the growth of "green" economy. The relevance of this work lies in the fact that the changing paradigm of understanding the basis and essence of sustainable development of the national socio-economic systems necessitates the integration of economic and environmental solutions, this integration is seen as part of the concept of "green economy".The approach of this article is based on an interdisciplinary concept of quality management in relation to the specifics of functioning and development of the domestic socio-economic systems.The purpose / goal. The purpose of this article, and its main task is to systematize the areas of environmentally oriented development of economic entities, as well as the determination of the list of key provisions of environmental policy, which will provide further socio-economic development of Russia in line with the green economy. As a result, Russia as one of the great powers of the world will find a stable geopolitical situation.Methodology. The methodological basis of this article are comparative, economic and statistical analysis methods.Results. This article suggests some solutions to be included in the national environmental policy as a major incentive for the further transition to a green economy.Conclusions: The material contained in this article show the special role of the concept of "green economy" in the social and economic processes in the development of Russia's geo-economic stability. The above article aspects of the further development of the green economy in Russia can complement scientific and practical base solutions that provide active creation, implementation and use of green technologies to provide environmentally responsible sustainable

Coupled Climate-Economy-Biosphere (CoCEB) model - Part 1: Abatement share and investment in low-carbon technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Ogutu, K. B. Z.; D'Andrea, F.; Ghil, M.; Nyandwi, C.; Manene, M. M.; Muthama, J. N.

2015-04-01

The Coupled Climate-Economy-Biosphere (CoCEB) model described herein takes an integrated assessment approach to simulating global change. By using an endogenous economic growth module with physical and human capital accumulation, this paper considers the sustainability of economic growth, as economic activity intensifies greenhouse gas emissions that in turn cause economic damage due to climate change. Different types of fossil fuels and different technologies produce different volumes of carbon dioxide in combustion. The shares of different fuels and their future evolution are not known. We assume that the dynamics of hydrocarbon-based energy share and their replacement with renewable energy sources in the global energy balance can be modeled into the 21st century by use of logistic functions. Various climate change mitigation policy measures are considered. While many integrated assessment models treat abatement costs merely as an unproductive loss of income, we consider abatement activities also as an investment in overall energy efficiency of the economy and decrease of overall carbon intensity of the energy system. The paper shows that these efforts help to reduce the volume of industrial carbon dioxide emissions, lower temperature deviations, and lead to positive effects in economic growth.

Memoirs of law, sciences and technologies - Law and climate thematic issue; Cahiers droit, sciences et technologies - Dossier thematique droit et climat

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Torre-Schaub, M. [CNRS, IDHE ENS-Cachan (France); Jouzel, J. [IPSL-LSCE, CEA-CNRS, UVSQ, CE Saclay 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France); Boisson de Chazournes, L. [Faculte de droit, Geneve Univ. (Switzerland); Sadeleer, N. de; Denis, B. [Saint-Louis Univ., Brussels (Belgium); Godard, O. [CNRS-Ecole Polytechnique, Dep. Humanites et Sciences Sociales (France); Le Prestre, P. [Laval univ. (Canada); Maljean-Dubois, S. [CNRS, CERIC, Paul Cezanne Univ., Aix-en-Provence (France); Wemaere, M. [IDDRI, Dep. Climat et Energie (France); Rousseaux, S. [CNRS, Droit et Changement Social, Association Climaterre (France); Louchard, O. [Reseau Action Climat (France)

2009-07-01

extraordinary process of standards elaboration devoted to mitigate the difficulties generated by the global warming in various domains, like the building industry, the transports or the energy sectors. This book is organized in two parts. Part one deals with climate as a scientific question between science and governance: the inter-disciplinary nature in the center of the problem, the law and the universality of the fight against climatic change, the precaution principle and the fight against climatic change, the economy of climatic change, the civil society and the international climate policy. The second part treats of the globalization of the climate issue: regional climate geopolitics and international cooperation, the post-Kyoto perspectives of the international legal framework of fight against climatic change, the legal architecture of a future international agreement of fight against climatic change, the climate governance between old notions and new stakes, the legal stakes of the implementation of emissions trading markets, the emissions trading system in the European Communities, and the 'Grenelle de l'Environnement' experience feedback. (J.S.)

Robot Wars: US Empire and geopolitics in the robotic age

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Ian GR

2017-01-01

How will the robot age transform warfare? What geopolitical futures are being imagined by the US military? This article constructs a robotic futurology to examine these crucial questions. Its central concern is how robots – driven by leaps in artificial intelligence and swarming – are rewiring the spaces and logics of US empire, warfare, and geopolitics. The article begins by building a more-than-human geopolitics to de-center the role of humans in conflict and foreground a worldly understanding of robots. The article then analyzes the idea of US empire, before speculating upon how and why robots are materializing new forms of proxy war. A three-part examination of the shifting spaces of US empire then follows: (1) Swarm Wars explores the implications of miniaturized drone swarming; (2) Roboworld investigates how robots are changing US military basing strategy and producing new topological spaces of violence; and (3) The Autogenic Battle-Site reveals how autonomous robots will produce emergent, technologically event-ful sites of security and violence – revolutionizing the battlespace. The conclusion reflects on the rise of a robotic US empire and its consequences for democracy. PMID:29081605

Talk of Thierry Breton, minister of economy, finances and industry. Talk to the association of economy and finance journalists about national and international energy questions on May 22, 2006

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

The French minister of economy, finances and industry explains the reasons of the rise of oil prices (tensions on the supply and demand balance, late recovery of investments in producing countries, geopolitical factors) and the measures that the government wishes to implement in order to bear up this situation: project of merger between Gaz de France and Suez energy groups, change of oil companies behaviour with consumers (automotive fuels price transparency), energy saving information on all energy suppliers advertisements, reinforcement of energy independence (development of renewable energy sources and of alternate automotive fuels). (J.S.)

Should a vehicle fuel economy standard be combined with an economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions constraint? Implications for energy and climate policy in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karplus, Valerie J.; Paltsev, Sergey; Babiker, Mustafa; Reilly, John M.

2013-01-01

The United States has adopted fuel economy standards that require increases in the on-road efficiency of new passenger vehicles, with the goal of reducing petroleum use and (more recently) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Understanding the cost and effectiveness of fuel economy standards, alone and in combination with economy-wide policies that constrain GHG emissions, is essential to inform coordinated design of future climate and energy policy. We use a computable general equilibrium model, the MIT Emissions Prediction and Policy Analysis (EPPA) model, to investigate the effect of combining a fuel economy standard with an economy-wide GHG emissions constraint in the United States. First, a fuel economy standard is shown to be at least six to fourteen times less cost effective than a price instrument (fuel tax) when targeting an identical reduction in cumulative gasoline use. Second, when combined with a cap-and-trade (CAT) policy, a binding fuel economy standard increases the cost of meeting the GHG emissions constraint by forcing expensive reductions in passenger vehicle gasoline use, displacing more cost-effective abatement opportunities. Third, the impact of adding a fuel economy standard to the CAT policy depends on the availability and cost of abatement opportunities in transport—if advanced biofuels provide a cost-competitive, low carbon alternative to gasoline, the fuel economy standard does not bind and the use of low carbon fuels in passenger vehicles makes a significantly larger contribution to GHG emissions abatement relative to the case when biofuels are not available. This analysis underscores the potentially large costs of a fuel economy standard relative to alternative policies aimed at reducing petroleum use and GHG emissions. It further emphasizes the need to consider sensitivity to vehicle technology and alternative fuel availability and costs as well as economy-wide responses when forecasting the energy, environmental, and economic outcomes of

The construction of ‘geopolitical spaces’ in Russian foreign policy discourse before and after the Ukraine crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Svarin

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Focusing on discourses by the ruling elite, this article examines the construction of ‘geopolitical spaces’ in Russian foreign policy. Based on a critical geopolitical analysis, suggesting that territory, space and geographies are being actively (reformulated by those in power, this article analyzes how policy-makers define and articulate the importance of a particular geographical region for their foreign policy. It analyzes how the three ‘geopolitical spaces’ – Eurasia, the Euro-Atlantic and the Asia-Pacific – are defined by Russia's political leaders and how each space fulfils a particular function for the pursuit of Russian interests abroad. In a second part, this article takes into account the events in and around Ukraine starting in late 2013 and analyzes how Russia's discourse toward the traditional ‘geopolitical spaces’ changed as a result. It is argued, that while Russia previously strived for membership in each of the three ‘geopolitical spaces’, the Ukraine crisis and its impact on Moscow's relation with the West led to a reorientation of Russia's geopolitical vision toward the East and most importantly toward Eurasia. The establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union was instrumental for the promotion of a new vision of wider Eurasian integration.

Energy Globalization: Oil Geopolitics in Central Asia Big Race for the Caspian Oil

OpenAIRE

VOLKOVA, JANINA

2007-01-01

The research aims to show causal relations between recent global change in geopolitics towards energy resources, its effect on foreign policies of Russia, the USA and China; as well as the role of oil factor in their rivalry, development of the newly formed Central Asian (the Caspian region) states-donors and international relations in general . Globalization, geopolitics, oil factor, Russia, the USA, China, the Caspian Sea, international relations, Asia

Euro-Atlasian security: globalization, networking, and hybrid geopolitics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marácz, L.

2012-01-01

After the collapse of the Soviet Union it has been argued that classical geopolitics has been on the agenda again and that Mackinder's concepts, like World Island and Heartland will dominate geostrategic thinking. Although it is our contention that Mackinder's concepts can be used fruitfully for an

The geopolitics of Bolivarian foreign policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Maria Schenegoski

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The article performs a geopolitical analysis of the Bolivarian antissistêmico movement, highlighting especially the formation of Alba while regional alliances system from Venezuela power projection. Thus, the theoretical framework of World-Systems Analysis of Immanuel Wallerstein, is recontextualizado in addition to the categories of Center, outskirts and semiperiferia, and in such a way as to encompass the national power projects peripheral actors or semiperiféricos such as Venezuela.

A fair compromise to break the climate impasse. A major economies forum approach to emissions reductions budgeting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grasso, Marco [Univ. of Milan-Bicocca (Italy). International Environmental Policy; J. Roberts, Timmons [Brown Univ., Providence, RI (United States). Environmental Studies and Sociology; The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC (United States)

2013-04-15

Key messages of the study are: Given the stalemate in U.N. climate negotiations, the best arena to strike a workable deal is among the members the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF); The 13 MEF members—including the EU-27 (but not double-counting the four EU countries that are also individual members of the MEF)—account for 81.3 percent of all global emissions; This proposal devises a fair compromise to break the impasse to develop a science-based approach for fairly sharing the carbon budget in order to have a 75 percent chance of avoiding dangerous climate change; To increase the likelihood of a future climate agreement, carbon accounting must shift from production-based inventories to consumption-based ones; The shares of a carbon budget to stay below 2 deg C through 2050 are calculated by cumulative emissions since 1990, i.e. according to a short-horizon polluter pays principle, and national capability (income), and allocated to MEF members through emission rights. This proposed fair compromise addresses key concerns of major emitters; According to this accounting, no countries have negative carbon budgets, there is substantial time for greening major developing economies, and some developed countries need to institute very rapid reductions in emissions; and, To provide a 'green ladder' to developing countries and to ensure a fair global deal, it will be crucial to agree how to extend sufficient and predictable financial support and the rapid transfer of technology.

Connecting political economies of energy in South Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buescher, Bram

2009-01-01

The South African energy debate is and will remain a heated one. Given South Africa's history of racial inequality and contemporary concerns around sustainability, much of it rightly focuses on the links between energy, poverty and the environment. Yet, many contributions to the (mainstream) debate seem to have a somewhat one-sided focus that might hamper rather than stimulate the understanding of these links. They either display a strong technical, quantitative bias and/or lean towards rather simplistic ideas about policy processes and dynamics. The article argues that many of these analyses could benefit greatly from a critical focus on the political economy of energy: the political-economic power structures that influence both many energy policies and the issues of energy equality and sustainability. Two major global developments emphasise the importance of this focus: the recent financial crisis and South Africa's role in the increasingly tense geopolitics of energy in Africa. The article concludes with some suggestions on how currently disparate political economies of energy could be better connected.

Connecting political economies of energy in South Africa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buescher, Bram [Institute of Social Studies, Kortenaerkade 12, 2518 AX The Hague (Netherlands); Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg (South Africa)

2009-10-15

The South African energy debate is and will remain a heated one. Given South Africa's history of racial inequality and contemporary concerns around sustainability, much of it rightly focuses on the links between energy, poverty and the environment. Yet, many contributions to the (mainstream) debate seem to have a somewhat one-sided focus that might hamper rather than stimulate the understanding of these links. They either display a strong technical, quantitative bias and/or lean towards rather simplistic ideas about policy processes and dynamics. The article argues that many of these analyses could benefit greatly from a critical focus on the political economy of energy: the political-economic power structures that influence both many energy policies and the issues of energy equality and sustainability. Two major global developments emphasise the importance of this focus: the recent financial crisis and South Africa's role in the increasingly tense geopolitics of energy in Africa. The article concludes with some suggestions on how currently disparate political economies of energy could be better connected. (author)

Geopolitical location and plot in The Night Manager

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agger, Gunhild

2017-01-01

The Night Manager. Three perspectives are tested in combining the analysis of location with the development of the plot: the general concepts of universal and real geography; the idea of being located inside or outside a given context; and the associated notion of centre-periphery opposition. A geopolitical...

Child Geopolitical Agency: A Mixed Methods Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Habashi, Janette; Worley, Jody

2009-01-01

This study examines the geopolitical agency of Palestinian children. Mixed methodology was used to identify the etiologies contributing to processes of political socialization. Both qualitative and qualitative methods are equally distributed throughout this research. Focus groups and interviews with 12 Palestinian children, aged 10 to 13 years,…

Agent Model Development for Assessing Climate-Induced Geopolitical Instability.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boslough, Mark B.; Backus, George A.

2005-12-01

We present the initial stages of development of new agent-based computational methods to generate and test hypotheses about linkages between environmental change and international instability. This report summarizes the first year's effort of an originally proposed three-year Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project. The preliminary work focused on a set of simple agent-based models and benefited from lessons learned in previous related projects and case studies of human response to climate change and environmental scarcity. Our approach was to define a qualitative model using extremely simple cellular agent models akin to Lovelock's Daisyworld and Schelling's segregation model. Such models do not require significant computing resources, and users can modify behavior rules to gain insights. One of the difficulties in agent-based modeling is finding the right balance between model simplicity and real-world representation. Our approach was to keep agent behaviors as simple as possible during the development stage (described herein) and to ground them with a realistic geospatial Earth system model in subsequent years. This work is directed toward incorporating projected climate data--including various C02 scenarios from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third Assessment Report--and ultimately toward coupling a useful agent-based model to a general circulation model.3

Analysis on natural gas geo-politics in Central Asia-Russia region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feng, Dan

2010-09-15

In the year of 2009, some events happened in Central Asia-Russia Region. The transit countries of Nabucco pipeline signed the agreement and the project received considerable progress. The China-Turkmenistan pipeline achieved the completion of ventilation. All these could be landmarks in Central Asia-Russia's geo-political situation. Diversification strategy of gas imports in Europe and diversification strategy of export in Central Asia have been effectively promoted, and the relationship between China and Central Asia becomes closer. Now, the new supply pattern of the region is coming into being and the nature gas geo-political situation in the region is undergoing profound changes.

Bulgaria in the Current Geopolitical Situation

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-01

strength of our country as a geopolitical player in Europe and the Balkans. These projects include the Nuclear Power Plant -NPP "Belene", the...sentiment. P59F60 Montenegro dissolved Union with Serbia and individuate into a separate state. The "Declaration of Independence" declares that it...questions about human rights, minorities and refugees between Serbia and Montenegro , Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia are still not solved.P68F69P These

China: The Impact of Climate Change to 2030. Geopolitical Implications

Science.gov (United States)

2009-06-01

China ranks lower in resilience to climate change than Brazil , Turkey, and Mexico, but higher than India. • China can adapt its administrative...flooding and intensified storm surges, leading to degradation of wetlands, mangroves , and coral reefs. Agricultural growing seasons will lengthen and...dry areas, so both droughts and floods may increase. China ranks lower in resilience to climate change3 than Brazil , Turkey, and Mexico but higher

Geopolitical consequences of Rusophilism of Carpathian Rusyns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mazur Przemysław

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Rusophilism was an alternative for Carpathian Rusyns, including Lemkos, to Ukrainian nationalism. Russia used Interest in this ideology, for which the areas inhabited by Rusyns were geopolitically important. Positive attitude of this population could help to seize Central Europe and realize the imperial interests of Russia. The consequences are visible even today and are being used to destabilize the situation in Ukraine.

Geopolitical E-Analysis Based on E-Learning Content

Science.gov (United States)

Dinicu, Anca; Oancea, Romana

2017-01-01

In a world of great complexity, understanding the manner states act and react becomes more and more an intriguing quest due to the multiple relations of dependence and interdependence that characterize "the global puzzle". Within this context, an analysis based on a geopolitical approach becomes a very useful means used to determine not…

Climate Change and International Competition: the US Army in the Arctic Environment

Science.gov (United States)

2015-05-21

climate change and its potential environmental and socio -economic impacts .”4 Three working groups provide...additional energy commodities and commercial ventures, including oil and gas exploration, mineral extraction, commercial shipping, tourism , and fishing...scientific data on the impact , nature, and rate of climate change and the resulting environmental and geopolitical consequences. The IPCC’s principal

Energy geopolitics, an American perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henderson, Simon

2008-01-01

Even if geopolitics can be said not to exist for Americans who, like for example in the field of energy, believe that any problem can find a solution with the help of money and of the American ingenuity, and who are in fact only interested in a lower energy price, the author comments how energy issues are addressed by the candidates to the President election of 2008. The author notices that American people may have to realise, at least for a while, that their country is accused to bear a large share of responsibilities in environmental problems

Geopolitical development outside the Middle East

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gart, M.J.

1994-01-01

The passing of the threat of global conflict has been replaced by a world characterised by civil disorder and war in a number of countries which has implications for those engaged in the global energy business. Geopolitical considerations can be expected to be dominated by economic considerations and the slow recovery of the OECD nations from recession. Russian politics are driven by domestic constraints. Their continued decline in the oil industry is not likely to be reversed without massive investment. (author)

Memoirs of law, sciences and technologies - Law and climate thematic issue

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torre-Schaub, M.; Jouzel, J.; Boisson de Chazournes, L.; Sadeleer, N. de; Denis, B.; Godard, O.; Le Prestre, P.; Maljean-Dubois, S.; Wemaere, M.; Rousseaux, S.; Louchard, O.

2009-01-01

standards elaboration devoted to mitigate the difficulties generated by the global warming in various domains, like the building industry, the transports or the energy sectors. This book is organized in two parts. Part one deals with climate as a scientific question between science and governance: the inter-disciplinary nature in the center of the problem, the law and the universality of the fight against climatic change, the precaution principle and the fight against climatic change, the economy of climatic change, the civil society and the international climate policy. The second part treats of the globalization of the climate issue: regional climate geopolitics and international cooperation, the post-Kyoto perspectives of the international legal framework of fight against climatic change, the legal architecture of a future international agreement of fight against climatic change, the climate governance between old notions and new stakes, the legal stakes of the implementation of emissions trading markets, the emissions trading system in the European Communities, and the 'Grenelle de l'Environnement' experience feedback. (J.S.)

Economy of the north in the aspect of Russia's national security

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vitaliy Nikolaevich Lazhentsev

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews the following questions of studying of the North with reference to a problematics of national safety of Russia: economic maintenance of geopolitics in the zone of Arctic, optimization of distribution of mineral-raw, fuel and energy resources between the Russian and international markets, expansion of inter-regional technological cooperation, coordination of resourced and innovative strategy with representations about postindustrial economy, achievement of a condition of social well-being. The scientific explanation of the specified objects is aimed at formation of a special kind of state policy, notably — connection of separate parts of the country to the creation of the general bases of safe social and economic development. The economic-geographical analysis has allowed obtaining additional proofs on necessity, firstly, of maintenance of the North as an insurance reserve of a sustainable development of the country and, secondly, eliminating those reasons which could lead to undesirable position of the North as hypothetical destabilizing element of national economy.

The geopolitics of northern travels: enactments of adventure and exploration in the Norwegian-Russian borderland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Urban Wråkberg

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Critical geopolitics is used in analysing discourses on a micro-social level in the performances and enactments taking place during fact-finding tours and leisure journeys in northernmost Europe. The cases of journeys focussed are those of Scandinavians travelling along, and sometimes departing from, the highway between the Norwegian village of Kirkenes and the Russian city of Murmansk. In travels undertaken for professional or leisure purposes alike a hyperreal meta-script is enacted mediated on the cosmopolitan cultural experiences held collectively by the travellers; simulacra provide the context for the enactments of fact-finding and drama taking place during border-passage. It is argued that the characteristic montage-like sequence of events of border-crossings are interwoven with a geopolitical discourse, and that it should be understood as encompassing both language and practice in order to appreciate the geopolitics at work. Three ways in which geopolitics enters travels in the northern borderland between Scandinavia and Russia are identified: scenarios of future regional scenarios of future regional developments, popularisations of research obsessed with the problems of borders, and what has been termed here the geopolitical anecdote. In considering the aesthetics of the simulations taking place in cross-border travels this study suggests focussing the meta-script of the American and the European road movie film genres. The essay argues that the cosmopolitan mind of any traveller, and its collective mediated content of cultural and political discourses, has been underestimated so far in the socio-political research regarding the borderlands of the European north.

THE SUNNI-SHI'ITE RIVALRY AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE GEOPOLITICAL SITUATION OF THE MIDDLE EAST

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander A. Kuznetsov

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article "The Sunni-Shi'ite rivalry and its influence on the geopolitical situation of the Middle East" is dedicated to the sectarian conflicts in the Middle East region in last 30 years. Author considers the Islamic revolution of 1979 in Iran as the point of departure of this conflict. Author of the article makes a difference between the Shi'ite Islamic revolutionary doctrine of Khomeini and the Salafi Islamic fundamentalism of Saudi Arabia. Author realizes the analysis of the war between Iran and Iraq in 1980-1988. This analysis is emphasized on the regional geopolitical situation and positions of the outside actors (Saudi Arabia, USA, France, Germany. Then it is covered the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 and its geopolitical consequences. To the author's mind this aggression and further empowerment of the Shi'ite majority reduced to the civil war in Iraq and exacerbation of the sectarian conflict. Author of the article considers these events as a part of the geopolitical rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia to unfold in the areas of Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

The Sunni-Shi'ite Rivalry And Its Influence On The Geopolitical Situation Of The Middle East

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander A. Kuznetsov

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article "The Sunni-Shi'ite rivalry and its influence on the geopolitical situation of the Middle East" is dedicated to the sectarian conflicts in the Middle East region in last 30 years. Author considers the Islamic revolution of 1979 in Iran as the point of departure of this conflict. Author of the article makes a difference between the Shi'ite Islamic revolutionary doctrine of Khomeini and the Salafi Islamic fundamentalism of Saudi Arabia. Author realizes the analysis of the war between Iran and Iraq in 1980-1988. This analysis is emphasized on the regional geopolitical situation and positions of the outside actors (Saudi Arabia, USA, France, Germany. Then it is covered the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 and its geopolitical consequences. To the author's mind this aggression and further empowerment of the Shi'ite majority reduced to the civil war in Iraq and exacerbation of the sectarian conflict. Author of the article considers these events as a part of the geopolitical rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia to unfold in the areas of Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

The geopolitics and geo-strategy of climate change; Geopolitique et geostrategie du climat

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rocard, M

2010-02-15

Scientific consensus on the problems of global warming has taken a long time to emerge: on its extent; on its causes; and on its predicted consequences. It is just about achieved today. The article sets out the history of the negotiations that have led to the current situation, and then the setback (doubtless temporary, but none the less certain for all that) of the Copenhagen conference. It reminds us of what we know about global warming, and evokes its likely consequences: the desertification of entire regions in the centre of our continents and in the Mediterranean region, reductions in biological diversity, rising sea levels, melting polar ice caps, and growing tensions in the energy economy. (author)

Pentagon's secret report about climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwartz, P.

2006-01-01

This book reveals the content of a secret report ordered by the department of defense of the Pentagon which aims at foreseeing the possible consequences of a rapid climatic change on the security of the USA. The report is based on the most recent studies about the general climate conditions at the worldwide scale. They foresee for 2010 a fast cooling following several years of increasing warming up. A realistic detailed scenario of the geopolitical consequences of this change is made: floods, conflicts, populations migration, lack of drinkable water, starvation, generalized riots etc. (J.S.)

Bring European finance ministries kicking and screaming into geopolitics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Breitenbauch, Henrik Ø.

2017-01-01

the Atlantic, it is the ministries of finance that play the central role in controlling budgets — defense and otherwise. This means that real progress on raising European defense spending will require convincing the finance ministers and their top civil servants of the new realities of European geopolitics...

Geopolitical connections problems of oil and gas industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andreatta, F.

1998-01-01

The connections between diplomatic alignments and economic policy and the strategic nature of energy resources affect the foreign policies of major powers. The discovery of vast oil and gas deposits in Central Asia and the Transcaucasus represents an important alternative source other than the Middle East. However, it also presents serious geopolitical problems given the persistence of multiple regional conflicts [it

Evaluation of wind energy potential in the south-south geopolitical ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

South geopolitical zone of Nigeria using 10 year wind data obtained at a height of 10m as a possible location for energy generation from wind. The obtained ... Keywords: Mean wind speed, Wind power density, Wind energy, Renewable energy ...

Managerial Decision Making in Geopolitically Turbulent Environments

OpenAIRE

Gawlik, Remigiusz

2010-01-01

The presented paper is a presentation of final results of research led throughout past years on a group of Polish and international SME’s. The essential aim was the elaboration of a decision – making model including both qualitative and quantitative factors that influence decision – making processes. Most focus has been put on geopolitical determinants of international companies’ development. In order to narrow the research field, a further limitation has been made in the type of undertaken s...

Italy and gas: dependence and geopolitical problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giuffida, L.G.; Nicolosi, L.

2008-01-01

The increase in world energy demand is making natural gas a leading player, yet its supply in Italy is still inefficient because of internal and external factors of its geopolitical diversification. On the contrary, thanks to its geographical position and morphology our Country could represent the major point of gas exchange in central-southern Europe and transform itself from a country at the risk of emergency into one of the greatest gas hub in Europe [it

New energy equation: the geopolitical impact of US shale gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nardon, Laurence

2013-04-01

Shale gas exploitation in the US has renewed the industrial landscape and should bring about major geopolitical changes, in particular in the Middle East. This document is a reprint of a paper published in the April-June issue of 'Confrontations Europe' journal

Speed Bumps on the Road to Sustainability - Energy Technology and Geopolitics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mandil, C.; Taylor, P.; Van Der Linde, C.; Buchner, B.; Ramsay, W.C.; Lipponen, J.; Meier, A.; Berkeley, L.; Di Paola-Galloni, J.L.; Jaureguy-Naudin, M.; Charpin, J.M.; Segar, Ch.; Zaleski, P.; Lesourne, J.; Pires Santos, A.; Menard, D.; Neuhoff, K.; Oettinger, G.

2011-01-01

This document gathers the slides of the available presentations given at the 2011 issue of the annual Conference of the Ifri (French Institute of International Relations) Energy Program: 1 - An Energy revolution under way (Peter Taylor, Head of the Energy Technology Division, International Energy Agency); 2 - A look back at Cancun: 'top down' versus 'bottom up' (Barbara Buchner, Director of the CPI - Climate Policy Initiative - Venice office; 3 - CCS: Still in the Starting Blocks? (Juho Lipponen, Head of CCS Unit, International Energy Agency); 4 - Energy Efficiency: Does Anyone Care? (Alan Meier, Senior Scientist and Principal Investigator, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory); 5 - The Transport Sector: Anything Goes? (Jean-Luc di Paola-Galloni, Corporate Vice-President, Sustainable Development and External Affairs, Valeo Group); 6 - The Mediterranean Ring: Power or Politics? (Jean-Michel Charpin, Inspecteur General des Finances); 7 - Iran gas and Iraq oil (Chris Segar, Regional Analyst/Middle East and North Africa, International Energy Agency); 8 - Nuclear Power: New Players, New Game, New Rules (Pierre Zaleski, General delegate for the Center of Geopolitics of Energy and Raw Materials, Universite Paris-Dauphine); 9 - The Grid: a Generic Speed Bump (Antonio Pires Santos, Energy and Utilities Industry Leader, Southwest Europe, IBM); 10 - Intellectual Property Rights/Technology transfer (Dominique Menard, Partner, Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP); 11 - Energy Markets: Conducive to Sustainability (Karsten Neuhoff, Director of the CPI - Climate Policy Initiative - Berlin office, German Institute for Economic Research, DIW Berlin)

Speed Bumps on the Road to Sustainability - Energy Technology and Geopolitics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mandil, C.; Taylor, P.; Van Der Linde, C.; Buchner, B.; Ramsay, W.C.; Lipponen, J.; Meier, A.; Berkeley, L.; Di Paola-Galloni, J.L.; Jaureguy-Naudin, M.; Charpin, J.M.; Segar, Ch.; Zaleski, P.; Lesourne, J.; Pires Santos, A.; Menard, D.; Neuhoff, K.; Oettinger, G.

2011-07-01

This document gathers the slides of the available presentations given at the 2011 issue of the annual Conference of the Ifri (French Institute of International Relations) Energy Program: 1 - An Energy revolution under way (Peter Taylor, Head of the Energy Technology Division, International Energy Agency); 2 - A look back at Cancun: 'top down' versus 'bottom up' (Barbara Buchner, Director of the CPI - Climate Policy Initiative - Venice office; 3 - CCS: Still in the Starting Blocks? (Juho Lipponen, Head of CCS Unit, International Energy Agency); 4 - Energy Efficiency: Does Anyone Care? (Alan Meier, Senior Scientist and Principal Investigator, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory); 5 - The Transport Sector: Anything Goes? (Jean-Luc di Paola-Galloni, Corporate Vice-President, Sustainable Development and External Affairs, Valeo Group); 6 - The Mediterranean Ring: Power or Politics? (Jean-Michel Charpin, Inspecteur General des Finances); 7 - Iran gas and Iraq oil (Chris Segar, Regional Analyst/Middle East and North Africa, International Energy Agency); 8 - Nuclear Power: New Players, New Game, New Rules (Pierre Zaleski, General delegate for the Center of Geopolitics of Energy and Raw Materials, Universite Paris-Dauphine); 9 - The Grid: a Generic Speed Bump (Antonio Pires Santos, Energy and Utilities Industry Leader, Southwest Europe, IBM); 10 - Intellectual Property Rights/Technology transfer (Dominique Menard, Partner, Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP); 11 - Energy Markets: Conducive to Sustainability (Karsten Neuhoff, Director of the CPI - Climate Policy Initiative - Berlin office, German Institute for Economic Research, DIW Berlin)

The Geopolitics of Indian Energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Racine, Jean-Luc

2014-01-01

In her quest of power, India should address the challenge of energy security. More and more dependent of oil, gas, coal and uranium imports, the country has to address issues of prices, as well as issues of procurement, often in a challenging context in the near abroad and in the extended neighborhood. The geopolitics of Indian energy is henceforth linked both to New Delhi's economic diplomacy and to the 'grand strategy' of an emerging country in need of consolidation of its power base. Through such a process, the quest to energy security clearly illustrates the new geometries of the global order, where competition and cooperation are the rule of the game between unequal, but inescapable actors

Subjective Security in a Volatile Geopolitical Situation: Does Lithuanian Society Feel Safe?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vileikienė Eglė

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The geopolitical situation of Lithuania has deteriorated since the annexation of Crimea and the military conflict in Eastern Ukraine. It has affected the objective security of the state as well as subjective security of the Lithuanian population. This article analyses subjective security and deals with the subjective perception of geopolitical and military threats, mainly social attitudes towards national security and the willingness to defend the country. Article is based on theories of securitisation and human security and holds that individuals are the primary referents of security. Empirically, the article relies on the original data of the research project “Subjective Security in a Volatile Geopolitical Context: Traits, Factors and Individual Strategies”, funded by the Research Council of Lithuania. Article shows the dynamics of social attitudes towards security. Over the last 15 years, a clear shift towards the understanding of potential military threats has occurred. Nevertheless, the predominant concern about individual security, overshadowing security of the state and security of the global order, found in previous studies, has persisted. An individual, as a rule, feels most secure in his/her “closest” environment, e.g. family and friends, and least secure in the “farthest” environment, e.g. other continents.

Economic and geopolitical dimensions of renewable vs. nuclear energy in North Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marktanner, Marcus; Salman, Lana

2011-01-01

Addressing issues of renewable energy in North Africa must incorporate concerns regarding the compatibility of energy mixes with the nature of political regimes, their geopolitical relevance, and their socio-economic effects, in addition to economic cost-benefit deliberations. One important and under-researched aspect of nuclear energy refers to the trade-off between socio-economic development and political power conservation. Competing interests in North Africa's energy market as well as aspects of regional cooperation capacity are important when assessing the choice between renewable and nuclear energy. Therefore, the future course of meeting North Africa's energy needs is subject to a complex political and economic interplay between domestic and geopolitical development interests. The objective of this paper is to explore this complexity in more detail. We argue that the identification of any energy alternative as superior is hardly convincing unless certain standards of inclusive governance are met. We also find that it is important to highlight political-economic differences between energy importers like Morocco and Tunisia and energy exporters like Algeria, Libya, and Egypt. - Research highlights: → North Africa confronted with severe energy supply challenges in near future. → Trade-off between socio-economic development and political power conservation matters. → Economic and geopolitical dimensions of trade-off heterogeneous across North Africa.

Polio eradication efforts in regions of geopolitical strife: the Boko ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Polio eradication efforts in regions of geopolitical strife: the Boko Haram threat to efforts in sub-Saharan Africa. ... Targets of Boko Haram aggression in these zones include violence against polio workers, disruption of polio immunization campaigns, with consequent reduced access to health care and immunization.

Orientalism and the geoculture of the World System: Discursive othering, political economy and the cameralist division of labor in Habsburg Central Europe (1713-1815

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klemens Kaps

2016-08-01

Full Text Available This article addresses the question of to what degree the concept of geoculture can be brought in line with research on Orientalist stereotypes and imaginary. Following Said’s original definition of orientalism discourses of the 18th-century political economy are reassessed by focusing on their perception of spatial hierarchies in Eastern Europe. This article reconsiders these discourses as an active factor in the struggle for power and a tool in the hands of the geopolitical interests of absolutist monarchs in Prussia, the Habsburg Monarchy, and Russia in the age of mercantilism, as demonstrated by the Partitions of Poland-Lithuania. By focusing on the Habsburg Monarchy between the Spanish War of Succession and the Congress of Vienna, it is demonstrated here that, territorial landlocked empires within Europe used a similar language as colonial maritime empires in order to justify their geopolitical expansion and territorial domination of Eastern Europe. In a second step, it is shown that this discourse was part of the geopolitical culture of the World System and was instrumental in setting ideological conditions for cameralist-driven institutional transformations in favor of the core regions within the Habsburg dominions in Central Europe.

Climate-wise choices in a world of oil abundance

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, Adam R.; Masnadi, Mohammad S.; Englander, Jacob G.; Koomey, Jonathan; Gordon, Deborah

2018-04-01

Constrained oil supply has given way to abundance at a time when strong action on climate change is wavering. Recent innovation has pushed US oil production to all-time heights and driven oil prices lower. At the same time, attention to climate policy is wavering due to geopolitical upheaval. Nevertheless, climate-wise choices in the oil sector remain a priority, given oil’s large role in modern economies. Here we use a set of open-source models along with a detailed dataset comprising 75 global crude oils (~25% of global production) to estimate the effects of carbon intensity and oil demand on decadal scale oil-sector emissions. We find that oil resources are abundant relative to all projections of 21st century demand, due to large light-tight oil (LTO) and heavy oil/bitumen (HOB) resources. We then investigate the ‘barrel forward’ emissions from producing, refining, and consuming all products from a barrel of crude. These oil resources have diverse life-cycle-greenhouse gas (LC-GHG) emissions impacts, and median per-barrel emissions for unconventional resources vary significantly. Median HOB life cycle emissions are 1.5 times those of median LTO emissions, exceeding them by 200 kgCO2eq./bbl. We show that reducing oil LC-GHGs is a mitigation opportunity worth 10–50 gigatonnes CO2 eq. cumulatively by 2050. We discuss means to reduce oil sector LC-GHGs. Results point to the need for policymakers to address both oil supply and oil demand when considering options to reduce LC-GHGs.

From Moscow to Copenhagen. Russian views on climate change; Van Moskou naar Kopenhagen. Russische vergezichten op klimaatverandering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Agt, C.

2009-11-15

To fuel economic recovery and growth Russia will increase oil and gas supplies to the industrialized market economies of the Euro Atlantic in the West and the Asian Pacific growth economies in the East. Despite the post-Soviet economic collapse, Russia is still among the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, after the United States, China and the European Union. Moscow's foreign economic policies are spearheaded by natural gas, a clean burning fossil fuel pivotal to world economic transition to a less carbon intensive 'green' model. Despite the adoption of a new climate-change strategy and Russia's acknowledgement that it must play a responsible role in the run up to the Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen, Moscow's policy position is still aloof, due to geopolitical undercurrents and Russia's particular position in debates on the nature and cost of mitigation measures between industrialized countries and the emerging economies of the developing world. [Dutch] Door het economisch herstel en de economische groei zal Rusland leveringen van olie en gas aan de geindustrialiseerde markt economieen verhogen. Ondanks de economische achteruitgang van de voormalige Sovjet Unie is Rusland, na de Verenigde Staten, China en de Europese Unie, nog steeds een van de grootste uitstoters van broeikasgassen. Het buitenlandse economische beleid van Moskou wordt sterk bepaald door aardgas, dat een belangrijke rol speelt in de mondiale economische overgang naar een minder koolstofintensief 'groen' model. Ondanks de goedkeuring van een nieuw klimaat-verandering-strategie en de Russische erkenning dat het een verantwoordelijke rol moet spelen in de aanloop naar de klimaatveranderingtop in Kopenhagen, is het Russische beleid nog steeds afstandelijk, als gevolg van geopolitieke onderstromen en de bijzondere positie die Rusland inneemt in de debatten over de aard en de kosten van mitigerende maatregelen tussen de geindustrialiseerde landen en de

Talk of Thierry Breton, minister of economy, finances and industry. Talk to the association of economy and finance journalists about national and international energy questions on May 22, 2006; Intervention de Thierry Breton ministre de l'Economie, des finances et de l'industrie. Intervention devant l'Ajef sur les questions energetiques nationales et internationales, le 22 mai 2006

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-07-01

The French minister of economy, finances and industry explains the reasons of the rise of oil prices (tensions on the supply and demand balance, late recovery of investments in producing countries, geopolitical factors) and the measures that the government wishes to implement in order to bear up this situation: project of merger between Gaz de France and Suez energy groups, change of oil companies behaviour with consumers (automotive fuels price transparency), energy saving information on all energy suppliers advertisements, reinforcement of energy independence (development of renewable energy sources and of alternate automotive fuels). (J.S.)

Geopolitical drivers of foreign investment in African land and water resources

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sebastian, A.; Warner, J.F.

2013-01-01

Resource grabs, particularly land and water, can be a proxy for geopolitical influence. As such, ‘grabs’ become intertwined in international power relations and the competing collective goals and state priorities of economic development, poverty elimination, ecosystem management, energy,

The Dynamic of Geopolitics in the Middle East

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florin Iftode

2013-11-01

Full Text Available In a complex, dynamic and turbulent world the main confrontation is between fundamentally different values, between democracy and totalitarianism, and it is determined by the major aggression of international terrorism, of religious extremist origin. The objective of the paper is the presentation of geopolitical changes in the Middle East and the factors that influence them. In an increasingly globalized world one cannot stand by and be indifferent to what happens so close to Europe. In this environment, no country can stay isolated or stay neutral, no country is immune and no one should remain out of the global processes. As a result, the international security tends more and more to show its indivisible feature, and the international community is increasingly aware of its global responsibilities. In the undertaken study we conclude that the major tendencies, that govern the global developments in the post bipolar era, create legitimate concerns, posing new challenges, offering opportunities and presenting risks to national values and interests. This paper is intended to focus on: the reconfiguration of the area in the Asian West in the early 21st century; the Muslim world with its issues (see the Iran's geopolitical position; globalization, major factor in determining the behavior of key international actors.

The effects of window alternatives on energy efficiency and building economy in high-rise residential buildings in moderate to humid climates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yaşar, Yalçın; Kalfa, Sibel Maçka

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► We investigated energy and economy efficiency of window alternatives in Trabzon. ► Energy consumptions of eight window alternatives were simulated and discussed. ► Window alternatives’s life cycle costs were calculated and compared. ► We suggested appropriate energy and economy efficient window alternatives. ► The study defines useful guidelines to select appropriate window alternatives. - Abstract: Currently, focused efforts are being made to determine the influence of windows on the energy consumption and economy of high-rise buildings. Certain window designs and appropriate glazing systems reduce building energy consumption for heating and cooling and contribute to building economy. This paper addresses double-glazed window units that are composed of tinted glass; clear reflective glass; low emissivity (low-e) glass; and smart glass (one surface consists of a high-performance, heat-reflective glass, and other surface has a low-emissivity coated). These materials reduce the heating and cooling loads of buildings by providing solar control and heat conservation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of these alternative units, rather than readily available double-glazed units, in two types of flats. The flats have the same construction and operating system, but they have different plan types with regard to building energy consumption and building economy as it relates to life cycle cost analysis. For this study, we selected buildings in Trabzon, in Climate Region II of Turkey, due to its moderate-humid climate. F- and C-type high-rise residential blocks, with flats composed of two to three bedrooms, constructed by the Republic of Turkey’s Prime Ministry Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKİ) are used as models for the simulation. The flat plans in these blocks are modeled using DesignBuilder v.1.8 energy simulation software. The simulation results show that smart-glazed units and those with low emissivity

The political economy of an energy tax: the United Kingdom's Climate Change Levy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pearce, D. [University College, London (United Kingdom). Dept. of Economics

2006-03-15

Energy taxes designed to control energy consumption, and to assist the achievement of climate change control targets under the Kyoto Protocol, are fairly common in European Union countries. Yet many of these taxes bear little resemblance to the design guidance that is given in economics textbooks. Political economy analysis, in which the interaction of economics and political reality is emphasised, explains the gap between theoretical ideals and practical reality. A closer look at the factors that influence real world policy design should help policy-oriented economists in designing measures that have a greater chance of adoption. The end-result may well be nth-best solutions which simply have to be 'lived with'. But there may also be room for design improvements that still honour the political constraints of policy design. This paper illustrates these issues in the context of one tax, the UK Climate Change Levy. (author)

Inverting the moral economy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olwig, Mette Fog; Noe, Christine; Kangalawe, Richard

2017-01-01

Governments, donors and investors often promote land acquisitions for forest plantations as global climate change mitigation via carbon sequestration. Investors’ forestry thereby becomes part of a global moral economy imaginary. Using examples from Tanzania we critically examine the global moral...... economy’s narrative foundation, which presents trees as axiomatically ‘green’, ‘idle’ land as waste and economic investments as benefiting the relevant communities. In this way the traditional supposition of the moral economy as invoked by the economic underclass to maintain the basis of their subsistence...

Inverting the moral economy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olwig, Mette Fog; Noe, Christine; Kangalawe, Richard

2015-01-01

Governments, donors and investors often promote land acquisitions for forest plantations as global climate change mitigation via carbon sequestration. Investors’ forestry thereby becomes part of a global moral economy imaginary. Using examples from Tanzania we critically examine the global moral...... economy’s narrative foundation, which presents trees as axiomatically ‘green’, ‘idle’ land as waste and economic investments as benefiting the relevant communities. In this way the traditional supposition of the moral economy as invoked by the economic underclass to maintain the basis of their subsistence...

Education for a Green and Resilient Economy: An Educator Framework for Teaching Climate and Energy Literacy for K-12 Teachers Across the Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Niepold, F., III; Ledley, T. S.; Lockwood, J.; Youngman, E.; Manning, C. L. B.; Sullivan, S. M.

2015-12-01

The U.S. is embarking on a major transition to a green and resilient economy, a monumental change requiring all sectors and segments of the population to pull together. Transforming our nation's economic, energy, and environmental systems to in this way will require a sustained level of expertise, innovation, and cooperative effort unseen since the 1940s to meet the challenges involved. Education can - and must - help people understand the true connections, the linkages and interdependencies, between the environment, our energy sources and the economy which underpin and form the very foundation of the concept of a green and resilient economy. To produce such a literate future workforce and citizenry, the United States will need to make major new investments in our educational systems. Teachers across the nation are helping to increase science-based understanding and awareness of current and future climate change, enhancing climate and energy literacy in K-12 classrooms, on college and university campuses. There has been tremendous progress to date, but there is still more work to be done. The new academic standards in mathematics and science (the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)) represent a sea change from the nation's previous sets of standards. Addressing these standards in the currently over 40 percent of the nation's classrooms that have adopted or adapted the NGSS will demand that we prepare new and current teachers, who can effectively address the interdisciplinary nature of climate change and societal responses. To address this opportunity and need a collaboration between NOAA, TERC and CIRES has been established to develop an Educator Framework for Teaching Climate and Energy Literacy for K-12 teachers across the curriculum based on the NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. This collaboration is developing an effective way to frame the use of

Library Services To Prisoners In South East Geopolitical Zones Of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Prison inmates tend to be side -lined in information provision in Nigeria. Library services to prisoners are critical to their rehabilitation into the larger society on release. The paper is an assessment of Provision of Library services to prison inmates in South East Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria. The questionnaire method was ...

Negotiating the Geopolitics of Student Resistance in Global Feminisms Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Ergun, Emek

2013-01-01

This article discusses the geo-political operations of student resistance in global feminisms classrooms, a topic that is largely ignored in the feminist pedagogies literature, where a generic understanding of the feminist teacher as a white, American and/or Western, and upper-class PhD seems to dominate. Given that the number of minority faculty…

The geopolitics of energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eilts, H.F.

1995-01-01

The sources of world energy are largely in the underdeveloped, Third World Countries. Political stability is a critical factor in the geopolitics of energy and especially in under-developed countries. Energy consumers, like the US, the Europeans and the Japanese, whatever indigenous or nearby sources of energy may exist, remain heavily dependent on external oil and natural gas supplies. This situation will continue into the next century. Inevitably, therefore, they will be caught up in internal political and societal problems integral to the producing states. Similarly, issues affecting fossil fuel transportation to refineries and consuming facilities all over the world will affect energy costs and availability. Consumers are at the mercy of indigenous problems in producing states over which they have little or no control. As new production areas are sought throughout the world, intra-regional disputes over ownership of oil or natural gas will undoubtedly arise as efforts are made to find mutually agreeable solutions that assure consumers reasonably guaranteed supplies. (author)

The “New” Environmental Policy of the European Union: A Path to Development of a Circular Economy and Mitigation of the Negative Effects of Climate Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wysokińska Zofia

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper analyses the evolution of the new environmental policy of the European Union in the context of the efforts undertaken to moderate the negative effects of climate change. It describes all the activities in the European Union designed to implement new tools of the EU environmental policy, such as low carbon economy technologies, tools that improve the efficiency of managing the limited natural resources, the environmentally friendly transport package, etc. All of them are aimed at laying the foundations of the circular economy, which may also be referred to as a closed-loop economy, i.e., an economy that does not generate excessive waste and whereby any waste becomes a resource.

Closed windows, open doors: geopolitics and post-1949 Mainland Chinese immigration to Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu X-f; Norcliffe, G

1996-01-01

"Since 1949 there have been dramatic changes in the flow of migrants from Mainland China to Canada, which existing structural models of migration, emphasizing factors in the destination country, do not fully capture. Conditions in the country of origin, and geopolitical relationships between China and Canada, played a decisive role in this migration.... Changing geopolitical circumstances led China to develop an open-door policy between 1973 and 1989, leading to increasing flows of migrants to Canada. The political response in Canada to the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989 was to allow all Chinese students and workers in Canada to stay, if they so wished.... The result was a large inflow making MCIS the third-largest group of immigrants to Canada in the early 1990s." (EXCERPT)

Synergetic Paradigm of Geopolitical Confrontation in the Postmodern Era

OpenAIRE

Sergey N. Teplyakov

2014-01-01

The article analyzes current state and mechanisms of geopolitical struggle in postmodern information age that has come. The author judges from assumption that entirely new postmodern society appeared with expansion of information technology, accompanied by cardinal changes in mechanisms of political power. Information technologies have become one of the most important factors contributing to the transformation of modern society from industrial to informational (post-industrial). In modern con...

The Influence of Geopolitical Factors on the Tax Policy of Russia at the Contemporary Stage of Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pogorletskiy Aleksandr Igorevich

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The problems analyzed in the article are new to the domestic financial and tax research due to their emergent character. The article considers the influence of geopolitical factors on the tax policy of the Russian Federation and marks the most visible implemented or prospective changes in the Russian tax system under the influence of the facts and circumstances related to the geopolitical component of modern development. The focus is made on the three factors of geopolitical nature, the influence of which on public finances and taxes of Russia has already been or may be the most noticeable in the future. These factors include the growth of military spending on the backdrop of escalating tensions in the political relations between Russia and Western countries; the exchange of trade and economic sanctions between Russia and Western countries; the pursuit of enhanced tax sovereignty of the regions in the framework of the current centralized model of fiscal federalism. The possible consequences of the policy of sanctions imposed as the result of the new round of geopolitical confrontation between Russia and Western countries are analyzed. Among these consequences we should name the use of tax incentives to compensate the losses of exporters; the use of tax regulators at the financial market; the search for new sources of tax revenues for regional budgets; anti-offshore policy in relation to the Russian tax residents; the limitation of the benefits of using the consolidated groups of taxpayers; the possibility of creating a special (free economic zone in Crimea with the regime of preferential taxation. It is proved that the manifestation of geopolitics requires the serious understanding of its consequences in all spheres, including the system of public finances and taxes.

Post-Soviet gas sector restructuring in the CIS: a political economy approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirschhausen, C. von; Engerer, H.

1998-01-01

This paper analyses progress and obstacles to gas sector reform in the most important CIS-Countries (Russia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan), taking a political economy perspective. This reform process is embedded in a very specific post-Soviet institutional framework stemming from the legacy of socialism. Firstly, we review the evolution of the gas sector for the period 1992-1998. The paper then identifies the post-Soviet specifies of gas sector restructuring, to which any reform strategy and technical assistance have to he adapted. We derive concrete, process-oriented policy conclusions to accelerate the reform process in a market-oriented way. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the perspectives of gas sector restructuring in this geopolitically strategic area of the world. (author)

Opportunities for a Bio-based Economy in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sanders, J.P.M.; Hoeven, van der D.A.

2008-01-01

The shift to a bio-based economy for the Netherlands is not only required because of climate change, but also for industrial strategy reasons. Traditional strongholds of the Dutch economy like the Rotterdam harbour, the agricultural sector (including the greenhouse sector, and food and feed

The new role of Brazil in energy geopolitics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rousseau, I.

2009-01-01

Thanks to its efficient petroleum framework, Brazil has just found some very large deep off-shore fields (pre-halite layers), which, if confirmed, will allow the country to become a major international oil producer. There will be significant repercussions on Brazil. On the one hand, the prospect of high economic rents encourages it to assign its hydrocarbon industry a more social and national calling; on the other hand, this huge potential offers Brazil a new geopolitical dimension. This article examines both these avenues. (author)

Resource Geopolitics: Cold War Technologies, Global Fertilizers, and the Fate of Western Sahara.

Science.gov (United States)

Camprubí, Lino

2015-07-01

When, after years of geological and geophysical exploration, a phosphate mine was discovered at Bu-Craa in 1964, Western Sahara received renewed geopolitical attention. Several countries competing for the control of the world fertilizer market, including Morocco, Spain, France, and the United States, developed diverging strategies to gain control of the mineral. After intense negotiations revolving around the materiality of mining technologies and involving reserve estimations, sabotage, and flexing of diplomatic muscles, Morocco took over the Spanish colony in 1975. While this secured Morocco's place in the world market, it condemned the local population to exile and domination. This article explores three technological stages of the exploitation of phosphate in Western Sahara that underpin the geopolitical history. This perspective yields new visions of cold war technology and postcolonial markets.

USA, Russia and the Geopolitical Theatre in the South-Eastern Europe: The Place of Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florin Pintescu

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Core issues addressed in this article are: the existing threats to address the interests of the US geopolitical and geostrategical, particularly in South-Eastern Europe; the resources available to the American State for the protection of those interests; main features (elements geopolitical of Romania; importance for Romania's Alliance with US. Only states or groups of states that may threaten the economic interests of the U.S. military are originated from Eurasia: China, Russia, the Organization of Shanghai cooperation, the European Union. The main opponent of the U.S. in South-Eastern Europe is Russia. Geostrategical interests of Russia remains fundamentally the attempt to divide alliance NATO (in particular by providing the economic benefits of Germany and France and isolate Eastern Europe; in this way, the US military presence in Europe would become problematic. Currently, the US has enough economic and military means in order to avoid this situation.Geopolitical and geostrategical problems of Romania are of two kinds: external and internal. Externally, Romania has some diplomatic disagreements with Ukraine. At the same time, Romania was not able to resolve in the manner of the former Federal Republic of Germany, a consequence of the Second World War: the unification with the Republic of Moldova, the State created artificially by former USSR after the Second World War. Internally, the main geopolitical problems of Romania are the following: underdevelopment and the absence of real economic competitiveness of industry and agriculture; the demographic decline, lowering the standard of living of population. In the absence of support of the USA for Romania, this country will increase the degree of economic dependence towards Russia.

Constraints to Investment Upsurge in the Nigerian Economy ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

It is noteworthy that the Nigerian government has taken various salient steps toward enhancing the investment climate in the economy, particularly, by promoting the participatory role of the private-sector in socioeconomic development. Nonetheless the Nigerian investment climate remains cloudy owing to fundamental ...

Geography, the Integrating Discipline: Explaining China's Population-Driven Geopolitics to Students

Science.gov (United States)

Bouchat, Clarence J.

2008-01-01

This article demonstrates geography's role as an integrative discipline and its utility in connecting students to the world around them. A case study links China's demography and its geopolitics to the lives of U.S. students. The relationship of China's population pressures to its resulting economic growth, need for economic resources, and…

The Climate Change-Road Safety-Economy Nexus: A System Dynamics Approach to Understanding Complex Interdependencies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehdi Alirezaei

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Road accidents have the highest externality costs to society and to the economy, even when compared to the externality damages associated with air emissions and oil dependency. Road safety is one of the most complicated topics, which involves many interdependencies, and so, a sufficiently thorough analysis of roadway safety will require a novel system-based approach in which the associated feedback relationships and causal effects are given appropriate consideration. The factors affecting accident frequency and severity are highly dependent on economic parameters, environmental factors and weather conditions. In this study, we try to use a system dynamics modeling approach to model the climate change-road safety-economy nexus, thereby investigating the complex interactions among these important areas by tracking how they affect each other over time. For this purpose, five sub-models are developed to model each aspect of the overall nexus and to interact with each other to simulate the overall system. As a result, this comprehensive model can provide a platform for policy makers to test the effectiveness of different policy scenarios to reduce the negative consequences of traffic accidents and improve road safety.

H.arb al-Ma‘lūmāt: geopolitics of the Arab Information Channels After the Uprisings of 2011

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Massimo Di Rico

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The popular uprisings in the Middle East represented a moment of change in all Arab countries both at the national level and in terms of the regional geopolitical balance. In the analysis of these events particular importance was given to the influence of traditional and new digital media. The satellite news channel Al Jazeera in Arabic played an important role in the propagation of the uprising in the different countries of the region, both for its extensive coverage of the events, as well as for the credibility it had gained among the population since its establishment in 1996. But the position of the channel regarding the protests, and the use of different approaches according to the country, led it to lose an important part of its audience. For this reason, the upheavals, as well as the relevant geopolitical changes, also led to a reconfiguration of the region’s media ecosystem, with the establishment of new media and a more heterogeneous space where different satellite news channels, mainly linked to countries or political actors in the region, struggle to promote their views to an Arab audience. This new condition has led to the configuration of a new geopolitics of the information, parallel to the changing power balances at political level. A reflection on the relationship between geopolitics and information opens questions about the future role of these channels as foreign policy tools of the main actors in the geopolitical disputes.

Innovative energy technologies in energy-economy models: assessing economic, energy and environmental impacts of climate policy and technological change in Germany.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schumacher, K.

2007-04-18

Energy technologies and innovation are considered to play a crucial role in climate change mitigation. Yet, the representation of technologies in energy-economy models, which are used extensively to analyze the economic, energy and environmental impacts of alternative energy and climate policies, is rather limited. This dissertation presents advanced techniques of including technological innovations in energy-economy computable general equilibrium (CGE) models. New methods are explored and applied for improving the realism of energy production and consumption in such top-down models. The dissertation addresses some of the main criticism of general equilibrium models in the field of energy and climate policy analysis: The lack of detailed sectoral and technical disaggregation, the restricted view on innovation and technological change, and the lack of extended greenhouse gas mitigation options. The dissertation reflects on the questions of (1) how to introduce innovation and technological change in a computable general equilibrium model as well as (2) what additional and policy relevant information is gained from using these methodologies. Employing a new hybrid approach of incorporating technology-specific information for electricity generation and iron and steel production in a dynamic multi-sector computable equilibrium model it can be concluded that technology-specific effects are crucial for the economic assessment of climate policy, in particular the effects relating to process shifts and fuel input structure. Additionally, the dissertation shows that learning-by-doing in renewable energy takes place in the renewable electricity sector but is equally important in upstream sectors that produce technologies, i.e. machinery and equipment, for renewable electricity generation. The differentiation of learning effects in export sectors, such as renewable energy technologies, matters for the economic assessment of climate policies because of effects on international

Ukraine’s Geopolitical Position: Between East and West

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rexhepi Enis H.

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The paper analyses Ukraine’s geopolitical position and argues that Ukraine is slowly gravitating towards West. The paper gives a small hint of approximation process of Ukraine within EU and NATO, and argues how this approximation process is opposed by Russia, who wants Ukraine back to its influence. Occupation off Crimea by Russia violated international order, opening way to unstructured international ties out traditional UN bodies. The Ukraine’s destiny is unclear, Dnieper River may divide country in two, and the West faces biggest security and political threat after WWII.

The nexus between geopolitical uncertainty and crude oil markets: An entropy-based wavelet analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Uddin, Gazi Salah; Bekiros, Stelios; Ahmed, Ali

2018-04-01

The global financial crisis and the subsequent geopolitical turbulence in energy markets have brought increased attention to the proper statistical modeling especially of the crude oil markets. In particular, we utilize a time-frequency decomposition approach based on wavelet analysis to explore the inherent dynamics and the casual interrelationships between various types of geopolitical, economic and financial uncertainty indices and oil markets. Via the introduction of a mixed discrete-continuous multiresolution analysis, we employ the entropic criterion for the selection of the optimal decomposition level of a MODWT as well as the continuous-time coherency and phase measures for the detection of business cycle (a)synchronization. Overall, a strong heterogeneity in the revealed interrelationships is detected over time and across scales.

Global environmental impacts of the hydrogen economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Derwent, R.; Simmonds, P.; O'Doherty, S.; Manning, A.; Collins, W.; Stevenson, D.

2006-01-01

Hydrogen-based energy systems appear to be an attractive proposition in providing a future replacement for the current fossil-fuel based energy systems. Hydrogen is an important, though little studied, trace component of the atmosphere. It is present at the mixing ratio of about 510 ppb currently and has important man-made and natural sources. Because hydrogen reacts with tropospheric hydroxyl radicals, emissions of hydrogen to the atmosphere perturb the distributions of methane and ozone, the second and third most important greenhouse gases after carbon dioxide. Hydrogen is therefore an indirect greenhouse gas with a global warming potential GWP of 5.8 over a 100-year time horizon. A future hydrogen economy would therefore have greenhouse consequences and would not be free from climate perturbations. If a global hydrogen economy replaced the current fossil fuel-based energy system and exhibited a leakage rate of 1%, then it would produce a climate impact of 0.6% of the current fossil fuel based system. Careful attention must be given to reduce to a minimum the leakage of hydrogen from the synthesis, storage and use of hydrogen in a future global hydrogen economy if the full climate benefits are to be realised. (author)

The development of the ideas of classical geopolitics in Chile (19-20 centuries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yulia Alekseevna Shelepova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article attempts to answer the question if there is a geopolitical school in Chile. It revews the origins of political thought in Chile as well as first geopoliticians of the new independent republic, such as B. O’Higgins. It analyzes the key events of the two periods in the history of Chile’s foreign policy of the nineteenth century – the period of regional and continental power politics. The Pacific War (1879-1883 of the continental period allowed Chileans to expand their «living space» and approved Chile as a key power in South Pacific. The author studies the formation of various foreign policy concepts in 19-20 centuries, such as the South American version of the «balance of power», whose author was D. Portales; Chilean legalism, whose main supporter was A. Bello; Pacific strategy of R.K. Montalva, subsequently modified by A. Pinochet. An important element that influenced the formation and development of Chilean geopolitics in the twentieth century is the German factor, in particular, German school of geopolitics. The ideas of Social Darwinists, tested and subsequently modified, in accordance with the Chilean specifics, by scientists, militaries and politicians, played an important role in shaping Chile’s foreign policy. It supported, for example, the Chilean interests in Antarctica. The southern continent is a strategical point of the foreign policy and a part of the concept of «tricontinental state», which was promoted in the middle of 20 century.

Near-term technology policies for long-term climate targets--economy wide versus technology specific approaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanden, B.A.; Azar, Christian

2005-01-01

The aim of this paper is to offer suggestions when it comes to near-term technology policies for long-term climate targets based on some insights into the nature of technical change. We make a distinction between economy wide and technology specific policy instruments and put forward two key hypotheses: (i) Near-term carbon targets such as the Kyoto protocol can be met by economy wide price instruments (carbon taxes, or a cap-and-trade system) changing the technologies we pick from the shelf (higher energy efficiency in cars, buildings and industry, wind, biomass for heat and electricity, natural gas instead of coal, solar thermal, etc.). (ii) Technology specific policies are needed to bring new technologies to the shelf. Without these new technologies, stricter emission reduction targets may be considered impossible to meet by the government, industry and the general public, and therefore not adopted. The policies required to bring these more advanced technologies to the shelf are more complex and include increased public research and development, demonstration, niche market creation, support for networks within the new industries, standard settings and infrastructure policies (e.g., when it comes to hydrogen distribution). There is a risk that the society in its quest for cost-efficiency in meeting near-term emissions targets, becomes blindfolded when it comes to the more difficult, but equally important issue of bringing more advanced technologies to the shelf. The paper presents mechanisms that cause technology look in, how these very mechanisms can be used to get out of the current 'carbon lock-in' and the risk with premature lock-ins into new technologies that do not deliver what they currently promise. We then review certain climate policy proposals with regards to their expected technology impact, and finally we present a let-a-hundred-flowers-bloom strategy for the next couple of decades

Recent Trends in the World Gas Market: Economical, Geopolitical and Environmental Aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alessandro Toscano

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Natural gas is considered by energy experts to be the most promising fossil fuel for the 21st century, and as a matter of fact, the International Energy Agency (IEA introduced for the first time in the 2011 World Energy Outlook a high gas use scenario called the “Golden Age of Gas”. Natural gas is an easy to burn and clean fuel; its proven reserves are large and furthermore, enormous possibilities are offered by unconventional resources. There are anyway some geopolitical concerns in the global gas market, since the most important reserves are concentrated in a limited number of countries; the environmental impacts in the extraction of shale gas should also be taken into account. The paper presents an updated and thorough overview of recent advances and trends in the global gas market, highlighting the role of Europe in the World scenario. Statistical data from the main international reports are presented; economical, geopolitical and especially environmental aspects are presented and discussed.

Opportunities for a bio-based economy in the Netherlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanders, J.; Hoeven, D. van der

2008-01-01

The shift to a bio-based economy for the Netherlands is not only required because of climate change, but also for industrial strategy reasons. Traditional strongholds of the Dutch economy like the Rotterdam harbour, the agricultural sector (including the greenhouse sector, and food and feed industries) and the petrochemical industry will be affected by the new economic realities, and it is precisely to these sectors that a bio-based economy will offer new opportunities. (author)

Compliance to Standard Equipment Requirements by Exercise Therapy/Fitness Outfits in The South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oluwaseun S. Kubeyinje

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to assess the compliance of exercise therapy/fitness outfits in the south-south geopolitical zone of Nigeria to standard equipment requirements. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the conduct of the study using a sample size of 51centres/managers purposively selected from a population of 102 managers of fitness outfits in the six states of the south-south geopolitical zone of Nigeria. A self- developed structured questionnaire and a facility checklist were used to collect the data. Data collected were analysed using frequency counts and percentages. The study revealed in this analysis that only treadmills (66.7%, bicycle ergometers (66.7%, dumbbells (84.3% and weight racks (57.0% met the benchmark minimum in more than 50% of the exercise therapy/fitness outfits surveyed in six states of the south-south geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Most of the equipment surveyed were functional with the highest non-functionality occurring in treadmill machines in 9.8% of the surveyed centres followed by sit-up benches (5.9% and bicycle ergometers (3.9%. In conclusion, it could be deduced from the results that there’s gross inadequacy of equipment and low level of compliance to established standard in the exercise therapy/fitness outfits evaluated in the south-south geopolitical zone of Nigeria.

A deeper look at climate change and national security.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baker, Arnold Barry; Backus, George A.; Romig, Alton Dale, Jr.

2010-03-01

Climate change is a long-term process that will trigger a range of multi-dimensional demographic, economic, geopolitical, and national security issues with many unknowns and significant uncertainties. At first glance, climate-change-related national security dimensions seem far removed from today's major national security threats. Yet climate change has already set in motion forces that will require U.S. attention and preparedness. The extent and uncertainty associated with these situations necessitate a move away from conventional security practices, toward a small but flexible portfolio of assets to maintain U.S. interests. Thoughtful action is required now if we are to acquire the capabilities, tools, systems, and institutions needed to meet U.S. national security requirements as they evolve with the emerging stresses and shifts of climate change.

4. Climate protection forum of the State of Hessen: Protecting the climate profitably; 4. Hessisches Klimaschutzforum: Klimaschutz wirtschaftlich gestalten. Tagungsband

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schweer, R. (ed.)

2001-07-01

The speeches held on the conference deal with the situation of the climate protection from a scientific viewpoint, the perspectives of the Kyoto protocol for insurances and the economy, the answers of economy to the climate change, the trade with hothouse gas emissions and the ways of financing climate protection.

Geopolitical understanding of South Korea: development, tendencies and perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Celaya Figueroa

2007-06-01

Full Text Available The development of South Korea must be understood to the light of the environmental theories that insist on the paper of environment, including the geography and the culture, like conditioners of the political relations. The history of South Korea is confined in the history of the nations that from the opening from East to the West in the middle of century XIX play a important role like scene and reason for conflicts between the regional powers and, after 2ª World War, like scene of the conflict between the two superpowers. The objective of the present work is present Korea like a typical scene of the game of powers that represent geopolitics, for such effect is divided in three approaches: first it has to do with the geography of Korea like a strategic zone disputed by China, Japan and Russia in the middle of century XIX? the second approach talks about to the location of Korea like a geopolitical space where the two great triumphant ideologies of 2ª World War, Communism and Capitalism, and where a fight by this territory like political flag would be carried out? finally, the third approach talks about to the situation of two Coreas after the cold war locating the possible context of a possible reunification as well as scenes.

Scale interactions in economics: application to the evaluation of the economic damages of climatic change and of extreme events; Interactions d'echelles en economie: application a l'evaluation des dommages economiques du changement climatique et des evenements extremes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hallegatte, S

2005-06-15

Growth models, which neglect economic disequilibria, considered as temporary, are in general used to evaluate the damaging effects generated by climatic change. This work shows, through a series of modeling experiences, the importance of disequilibria and of endogenous variability of economy in the evaluation of damages due to extreme events and climatic change. It demonstrates the impossibility to separate the evaluation of damages from the representation of growth and of economic dynamics: the comfort losses will depend on both the nature and intensity of impacts and on the dynamics and situation of the economy to which they will apply. Thus, the uncertainties about the damaging effects of future climatic changes come from both scientific uncertainties and from uncertainties about the future organization of our economies. (J.S.)

Geopolitics of Caspian Oil and Gas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmet Tolga Turker

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper providesan analysis of increasing geopolitical competition over energyrich Central Asia andCaucasus by key actors such as theU.S.A., Russia andChina. In addition to an evaluation of theregion’s future as anenergyhub both forEast andWest,this paperexamineshow the regional conflicts such as the August2008 war between Russia and Georgia might affect prospects for Caspian energydevelopment and export.Even though both Russia and China have a commongoal of countering Western, particularly U.S., influence in the region, they bothhave their own agenda and distinct relationships with Western countries.In termsof oil and natural gas, only Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan have the potential toplay significant roles in the future.However the entire region will continue to bemajor area of conflict or cooperation forglobal powers.

Imperatives for an agricultural green economy in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Constansia Musvoto

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Globally, there are social, economic and environmental challenges related to sustainable development; these challenges include climate change, the need to feed a rapidly increasing population, high rates of poverty and environmental degradation. These challenges have forced us to rethink the way in which development takes place, resulting in the emergence of the concept of a �green economy�. A green economy results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing risks to the environment. It is based on principles which integrate social, economic and environmental considerations. South Africa has adopted the principle of green economic growth, and agriculture is one of the sectors that will drive this growth. Agriculture could address some of the sustainable development problems, but there are challenges related to resource availability, environmental impacts of agriculture and climate change. For agriculture to support a green economy it has to be productive, contribute to economic growth and not undermine the environment, social and cultural systems. The information base and policies required to support a green economy in general, and/or an agriculture-supported green economy have not yet been developed, as the green economy is an emerging concept in South Africa as well as globally. The generation of such information requires analysis and synthesis of green economy principles and agricultural imperatives into generic principles and practices for facilitating agriculture�s contribution to the green economy. In this paper, we conduct this analysis and synthesis and highlight the defining aspects of an agricultural green economy.

Planning Framework for a Climate-Resilient Economy

Science.gov (United States)

This framework can help communities assess their economic vulnerability to climate change and identify ways to build economic resilience and take advantage of opportunities that might arise as the climate changes.

"crimea is ours!" Russian popular geopolitics in the new media age

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Suslov, Mikhail D.

2014-01-01

This article analyzes how the Russian annexation of Crimea in March 2014 has been represented and discussed on social networks. It argues that the key metaphors and discursive strategies, which have been developed in the digital environment, have been prefigured in Russian geopolitical culture......-in-cheek criticism of the Western liberal model, the state inhibits the development of people’s political subject...

The Geopolitics of Power Projection in US Foreign Policy: From Colonization to Globalization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Houweling, H.; Amineh, M.P.

2003-01-01

This Chapter studies continuity and innovation in the geopolitics of America in projecting power beyond legally recognized borders. Exporting cultural symbols expressing what America has on offer plays as crucial a role in the opening of societies beyond borders as commodity exports and the

Global Energy Security and Its Geopolitical Impediments: The Case of the Caspian Region

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Amineh, M.P.; Houweling, H.

2007-01-01

This article discusses the global geopolitics of energy security in the post-Cold War environment. Energy companies headquartered in western countries have long history of accessing energy resources beyond borders through invasion of the host by their home state, followed by domination and the

Evolution of Russia''s geopolitical interests and priorities in Transcaucasia

OpenAIRE

Kuznetsov, Oleg

2012-01-01

The author presents his conception of the evolution of Russia's geopolitical interests in Transcaucasia (the Central and part of the Southern Caucasus) caused by a gradual transformation of the military-strategic, political, ideological (including religious) ideas of the Russian elites at different periods. The author relies on a wide range of recent historical and political scientific studies, as well as historiographic surveys and scholarly works of the imperial and Soviet periods, to clari...

Frontiers, Opportunities and Challenges for a Hydrogen Economy

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, John

2015-03-01

Energy carriers are the staple for powering the society we live in. Coal, oil, natural gas, gasoline and diesel all carry energy in chemical bonds, used in almost all areas of our civilization. But these carriers have a limited-use lifetime on this planet. They are finite, contribute to climate change and carry significant geopolitical issues. If mankind is to maintain and grow our societies, new energy carriers must be developed and deployed into our energy infrastructure. Hydrogen is the simplest of all the energy carriers and when refined from water using renewable energies like solar and wind, represents a sustainable energy carrier, viable for millennia to come. This talk with discuss the challenges for sustainable production of hydrogen, along with the promise and possible pathways for implementing hydrogen into our energy infrastructure.

Zivilmacht Europa: a critical geopolitics of the European Union as a global power

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bachmann, V.; Sidaway, J.D.

2009-01-01

The EU's global role is the focus of much media, political and scholarly commentary. This paper explores how ideas associated with the term ‘civilian power’ became an enduring geopolitical conception for an integrated Europe as a significant global actor. It traces their evolution from the early

Scale interactions in economics: application to the evaluation of the economic damages of climatic change and of extreme events; Interactions d'echelles en economie: application a l'evaluation des dommages economiques du changement climatique et des evenements extremes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hallegatte, S

2005-06-15

Growth models, which neglect economic disequilibria, considered as temporary, are in general used to evaluate the damaging effects generated by climatic change. This work shows, through a series of modeling experiences, the importance of disequilibria and of endogenous variability of economy in the evaluation of damages due to extreme events and climatic change. It demonstrates the impossibility to separate the evaluation of damages from the representation of growth and of economic dynamics: the comfort losses will depend on both the nature and intensity of impacts and on the dynamics and situation of the economy to which they will apply. Thus, the uncertainties about the damaging effects of future climatic changes come from both scientific uncertainties and from uncertainties about the future organization of our economies. (J.S.)

El lugar y el papel de la Or ganización del Tratado de Cooperación Amazónica (OTCA en la geopolítica brasileña y sudamericana - The place and role of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO in the geopolitics of South America and Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BORBÉLY, Anikó

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The geopolitics is a teory evolved in the beginning of the 20th century, part of the political geography that examines the international relations and makes scientific investigations about relationships of the countries. South America is one of the most important geopolitical zones of the World. In its future it will be very important how the countries of the southern hemisphere can utilize and make the best forms of the regional integration of economy and trade. If Amazonia will become a ’true common interest and case’, it may be an example for the (subregional integration of the ’most recent and soft’ problems. Such as, protection of environment and forest, protection of the biodiversity, waterpolicy etc. In this process Brazil has a very important role in the case of Amazonia. The gradual destruction of this region has diverse consequences. On the basis of these Amazonia and the thinking about the South American territory is becoming even more important.

The Household Economy Approach. Managing the impact of climate change on poverty and food security in developing countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John A. Seaman

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Climate change is expected to have severe effects on the populations of developing countries because many of these depend heavily on agriculture for income, have large impoverished rural populations which rely on agriculture for subsistence, and are financially and technically least equipped to adapt to changing conditions. Planning to target measures to support adaptation to reduce the impact of climate change on poverty and food insecurity requires methods of identifying vulnerable households. This paper describes an established approach to vulnerability assessment, the ‘Household Economy Approach’ (HEA and its potential application to the management of climate change in developing countries. The HEA is widely used by Governments and others, chiefly in Africa, for the assessment of household vulnerability to poverty and food security. HEA uses a model based on Amartya Sen’s entitlement theory and detailed social and economic data to simulate the impact of weather related, price, policy and other shocks on household income and food access, to provide information for decision making. In developing countries climate change will be experienced in terms of increased climate variability and an increased frequency of extreme events. HEA provides a way of managing the effects of year to year shocks to prevent impoverishment and the erosion of household resilience. It also provides the information needed to develop scenarios to support the design of policies to support longer term adaptation. HEA data has already been collected for large areas of Africa.

Economy and greenhouse effect. The money and the weather

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ekeland, I.; Brandouy, O.

2007-01-01

The economy theory of the growth is not really adapted to the environment: the future generations will be richer as us concerning the industry but not the environment. On the economy sector, many financial products appear to facing the climatic change and the carbon emissions reductions. The author presents these new products and their consequences in a social justice framework. (A.L.B.)

Lithium Geopolitics in South America and the divergents national public policies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernardo Salgado Rodrigues

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This article seeks to address the geopolitics of lithium in South America from the analysis of Argentine, Bolivian and Chilean public policies. Our hypothesis is that there is an institutional divergence between these countries with different projects related to this natural resource. From a geostrategic vision, we argued that regional integration can play a key role in the sovereignty of lithium for countries and their societies.

The economy of the climatic change; Economie du changement climatique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marvillet, J.

2011-01-15

In his introduction, the author recalls that the climatic warming up is admitted by everybody and that the Total firm follows the recommendations of the main point of the scientific community to integrate it in a permanent way in its approach. (O.M.)

Improving the circular economy via hydrothermal processing of high-density waste plastics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Thomas Helmer; Conti, Federica

2017-01-01

Rising environmental concerns on climate changes are causing an increasing attention on circular economies. The plastic economy, in particular, is in focus due to the accelerating consumption of plastics, mainly derived from virgin feedstock, combined with the lack of plastic recycling strategies...

Which consequences for the USA of its exit from the Paris agreement? An economic, commercial and geopolitical view

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hache, Emmanuel; Bourcet, Clemence; Palle, Angelique

2017-06-01

The authors discuss economic impacts which its exit from the Paris agreement may have on the US at the medium and long terms, and also the possible geopolitical reconfigurations which may result from this exit at the international level. Possible economic impacts are discussed in terms of loss of competitiveness, of image and of leadership in the international innovation dynamics. The authors also notice and comment that this exit process has already started in January 2017 with the exit form the Transpacific Partnership Treaty. They question the possible emergence of new leaders for international climatic issues, and discuss the consequences of this loss of political and moral influence of the US, and of China be this leader. The authors comment the domestic situation for the US in terms of political debate between Democrats and Republicans, but also by considering the fact that the environment policy is a power issue between local and federal authorities in the US

Fracking in the Polish press: Geopolitics and national identity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaspal, Rusi; Nerlich, Brigitte; Lemańcyzk, Szczepan

2014-01-01

In a context of resource scarcity and political instability, new energy sources and technologies are being explored in many parts of the world and exploited in some. One of these new energy sources is shale gas and one of the countries seeking to decrease its energy dependence and increase its energy security is Poland which is largely dependent on gas and oil imports from Russia. This article presents the results of a thematic content analysis of articles reporting on shale gas/fracking published in Gazeta Wyborcza and Rzeczpospolita, two leading Polish newspapers, from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2012. Findings suggest that in media reporting the geopolitical dimension of fracking overrides the technological/scientific dimension and that representations are overwhelmingly positive. Positive representations are bolstered through particular linguistic framings. It is argued that the Polish press has polarized the debate on fracking in a particular (positive) direction, which has silenced an open and constructive debate concerning energy policy in Poland and constructed criticism of fracking as counter-normative and “un-Polish.” The potential socio-political and policy implications of these media representations are discussed. - Highlights: • The general tone of Polish media reporting is positive and emphatic about the benefits of fracking. • The geopolitical dimension of fracking overrides the technological/scientific dimension. • The implementation of fracking is constructed as a national priority. • Opposition to fracking is constructed as counter-normative and “anti-Polish”. • Representations impede open and constructive dialogue about energy policy

Economy and greenhouse effect. The money and the weather; Economie et effet de serre. L'argent et le temps qu'il fait

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ekeland, I. [Universite de Colombie-Britannique, Vancouver (Canada); Brandouy, O. [Universite des Sciences et technologies de Lille, 59 - Villeneuve d' Ascq (France)

2007-01-15

The economy theory of the growth is not really adapted to the environment: the future generations will be richer as us concerning the industry but not the environment. On the economy sector, many financial products appear to facing the climatic change and the carbon emissions reductions. The author presents these new products and their consequences in a social justice framework. (A.L.B.)

The geopolitical background of the Ukraine crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trifković Srđa

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Animosity towards Russia-as-such, regardless of the ideological character of her regime, is a lasting constant in the policy of Washington and the West European governments subservient to the U.S. That policy rests on the geopolitical and cultural premises which have been fully internalized by the Western elites, and which are not subjected to any critical examination. Faced with this existential challenge, Russia has not yet articulated a comprehensive strategy of defense. This is largely due to the fact that her power structure is still significantly impacted by the influential circles of pro-Western technocrats unwilling to contemplate de-dollarization of the financial system, and the pernicious presence of parasitic oligarchs whose sole loyalty is with the location of their their ill-gotten gains.

Geopolitics of the High North and its consequences1

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Czarny Ryszard M.

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The increased interest in the Arctic by global players is generated by new economic opportunities related to commercial maritime transport, development of oil and gas deposits, mining, fisheries, and tourism. The natural results are closer economic and geopolitical relations between the Arctic and the rest of the world. Many observers perceive this development as a source of growing conflict because of competition related to control over the natural resources of the region. It seems also quite clear that the Arctic cannot follow its own original way of development which would be independent from the global power system.

The energy economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meritet, Sophie; Vaujour, Jean-Baptiste

2015-01-01

This introduction to the economy of energy applies the main economic concepts to the energy sector (nature of the good, supply, demand), proposes an overview of existing actors, and analyses challenges and tools of economic policy like network regulation, competition policy, independence and energy transition. By using recent examples, statistics and international comparisons, it gives elements to highlight issues like the relationship between shale gas exploitation and economic recovery in the USA, the choice between monopole and competition for electricity or gas supply, reaching greenhouse gas emissions of the energy sector by incentives or taxes, secure energy supplies in a changing international environment, ways to supply energy to everyone at prices guaranteeing economy competitiveness, or ways to evolve towards energy systems which would be more environment- and climate-friendly. The successive chapters address fundamentals issues (nature of the good, historical and technical overview), the State intervention (definition of an energy policy, steering the energy mix, ensuring secure supply), the reorganisation of industries and the protection of consumers, the relationship between energy and climate (worrying perspectives, progressive emergence of solutions). The last chapter addresses the future challenges like innovation, and disruptive innovations (smart grids, big data, batteries, CO 2 capture and storage, nuclear waste processing and management, development of nuclear fusion), and the issue of energy poverty

The key role of the meat industry in transformation to a low-carbon, climate resilient, sustainable economy.

Science.gov (United States)

Rijsberman, Frank

2017-10-01

Climate change, air pollution and refugees have become key global challenges threatening sustainability of lifestyles, economies and ecosystems. Agri-food systems are the number one driver of environmental change. Livestock production is the world's largest land user, responsible for half of greenhouse gas emissions from agri-food systems, and the source of repeated health crises. Poor diets have become the number one cause of ill health. Recommendations for a healthy diet emphasize plant-based food. Rapidly falling costs in information technology, biotechnology, renewable energy and battery technology will disrupt current energy and transportation systems and offer opportunities for responsible meat production. Growing consumer interest in healthy food, combined with innovative information systems, offer opportunities to create value through quality control and consumer information in integrated value chains. Meat scientists have a major role to play in the necessary transformation of global agri-food systems towards a new model of green economic growth that is climate resilient, sustainable and provides green jobs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pathways to Resilience in Semi-Arid Economies | CRDI - Centre de ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Pathways to Resilience in Semi-Arid Economies. How can populations become resilient to climate change while pursuing economic growth? This question is at the heart of a research project designed to support climate-resilient economic development in semi-arid lands. It will do so by addressing the conditions for ...

The Care Economy, Women's Economic Empowerment, and China's ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Over the past three decades, China's economy has grown rapidly, creating ... of care work on women's labour market outcomes and economic empowerment; ... Socially equitable climate action is essential to strengthen the resilience of all ...

Globalisation, Geopolitics and Energy Security in Central Eurasia and the Caspian Region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amineh, Parvizi Mehdi

2003-01-01

The demise of the Soviet Union and its subsequent break-up into 15 independent states gave rise to totally new political and strategic circumstances, which also extended into Central Eurasia and the Caspian Region. The eight newly independent states of this region have become one of the most important geopolitical areas in the post-Cold War era, due to a combination of its geographical position and significant oil and gas reserves. The region's resources are vital for advanced industrialised countries and figure prominently in Western geostrategic and economic interests in the twenty-first century. Intense competition, as well as co-operation, among various state and non-state actors for the control of these resources is emerging, also known as the New Great Game. The main actors involved in Central Eurasia and the Caspian region are identified as follows: inner circle actors (Russia, Iran, and Turkey), outer circle actors (China, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan), external actors (the United States, the European Union and its particular member states), and non-state actors (ethno-religious groups, Transnational Corporations, crime groups, etc.). The author analyses the New Great Game by using a neo-geopolitical perspective. An important element towards control of the region's energy resources is the construction of transport routes. The question of where to construct pipelines engenders considerable conflicts between the interested players that could create obstacles to building the most economically viable and secure pipelines. Transportation of energy resources to the global market is also subject to conflicts between different forces within the Central Eurasian region, including ethno-religious conflicts. Problems such as lack of infrastructure and technology, and finding a solution for the Caspian legal regime dispute could pose further obstacles to prospective pipeline construction. The book analyses these and other important local and geopolitical aspects to

Globalisation, Geopolitics and Energy Security in Central Eurasia and the Caspian Region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amineh, Parvizi Mehdi

2003-07-01

The demise of the Soviet Union and its subsequent break-up into 15 independent states gave rise to totally new political and strategic circumstances, which also extended into Central Eurasia and the Caspian Region. The eight newly independent states of this region have become one of the most important geopolitical areas in the post-Cold War era, due to a combination of its geographical position and significant oil and gas reserves. The region's resources are vital for advanced industrialised countries and figure prominently in Western geostrategic and economic interests in the twenty-first century. Intense competition, as well as co-operation, among various state and non-state actors for the control of these resources is emerging, also known as the New Great Game. The main actors involved in Central Eurasia and the Caspian region are identified as follows: inner circle actors (Russia, Iran, and Turkey), outer circle actors (China, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan), external actors (the United States, the European Union and its particular member states), and non-state actors (ethno-religious groups, Transnational Corporations, crime groups, etc.). The author analyses the New Great Game by using a neo-geopolitical perspective. An important element towards control of the region's energy resources is the construction of transport routes. The question of where to construct pipelines engenders considerable conflicts between the interested players that could create obstacles to building the most economically viable and secure pipelines. Transportation of energy resources to the global market is also subject to conflicts between different forces within the Central Eurasian region, including ethno-religious conflicts. Problems such as lack of infrastructure and technology, and finding a solution for the Caspian legal regime dispute could pose further obstacles to prospective pipeline construction. The book analyses these and other important local and geopolitical

Economy of climatic change. From mitigation to adaptation policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rousset, N.

2012-01-01

Climate change adaptation policies are the subject of this thesis. It has been showed that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992) and the response strategies construction are characteristic of a pollutionist approach. This approach led to envision the question of climate change as a classic pollution and environment issue. As a result, this approach has generated a double bias to the disadvantage of adaptation compared to mitigation policies: adaptation has been confined in a secondary and marginal role in climate policies structuring, and with an inoperative conceptual and methodological framework for its implementation. The thesis proposes a deconstruction of this climate change conceptualization. Moreover, the major limits that characterize mitigation policies call into question the predominance given to them in climate policies construction. The 'pollutionist' approach deconstruction allows at first to show that adaptation policies definition and operationalization need to go beyond (i) the standard analytic framework of climate policies and, (ii) the climate change conceptualization as a classic pollution and environment management issue. The thesis then argues that adaptation has to be integrated in development promoting policies, which means that adaptation needs to be conceptualized no longer as an ad hoc management of pollution effects issue, but as a development issue. Whether in the proper context of adaptation policies, or more largely of climate policies, the thesis leaves open the questions of the viability, but also of the organization and financing modalities, of a climate regime which fits within development promoting. (author)

Polish country study to address climate change: Strategies of the GHG`s emission reduction and adaptation of the Polish economy to the changed climate. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-01-01

The Polish Country Study Project was initiated in 1992 as a result of the US Country Study Initiative whose objective was to grant the countries -- signatories of the United Nations` Framework Convention on Climate Change -- assistance that will allow them to fulfill their obligations in terms of greenhouse gases (GHG`s) inventory, preparation of strategies for the reduction of their emission, and adapting their economies to the changed climatic conditions. In February 1993, in reply to the offer from the United States Government, the Polish Government expressed interest in participation in this program. The Study proposal, prepared by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry was presented to the US partner. The program proposal assumed implementation of sixteen elements of the study, encompassing elaboration of scenarios for the strategy of mission reduction in energy sector, industry, municipal management, road transport, forestry, and agriculture, as well as adaptations to be introduced in agriculture, forestry, water management, and coastal management. The entire concept was incorporated in macroeconomic strategy scenarios. A complementary element was the elaboration of a proposal for economic and legal instruments to implement the proposed strategies. An additional element was proposed, namely the preparation of a scenario of adapting the society to the expected climate changes.

Oil and the geopolitics of Central Asia: A "new 'great game'"?

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Sati, Saud M.

The nineteenth century rivalry between the Russian Empire and Great Britain over Central Asia, known as the "great game," was triggered by the quest for power and dominance. This study revisits Sir Halford Mackinder's thesis, which viewed the "heartland," consisting of Russia and Central Asia, as being crucial for international politics. It also discusses the influence of Mackinder's ideas on twentieth century geopolitical thinking. The study also examines the common assumption that the new "great game" in Central Asia is evolving around the exploitation of energy resources, and analyzes the consequences of this new factor for the geopolitical significance of the region. The landlocked nature of the Central Asian countries makes it necessary for them to rely on their neighbors for the export of oil and gas to international markets. Thus, the political and economic interests of Russia, Iran, and Turkey motivate them to compete with each other for export routes through their territories. This study also shows that the estimates of Central Asian proven oil reserves are characterized by considerable ambiguity. Estimates vary from seven to twenty-two billion barrels. Despite the fact that these proven oil reserves are limited compared to those of other regions, such as the Middle East, continued exploration is compatible with the Western strategy of energy resource diversification. Another primary aim of American involvement is to prevent the reintegration of Central Asia into the Russian federation and to block Chinese influence in Central Asia. This study reveals that realities in today's Central Asia are different from those of the nineteenth century. Central Asia now consists of independent countries; the competing powers have changed, with the exception of Russia; and oil has emerged as a new factor. However, the perpetual quest for power and dominance that marked the historical "great game" is still at work in the last decade of the twentieth century. Finally, the

Clean Cities Strategic Planning White Paper: Light Duty Vehicle Fuel Economy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saulsbury, Bo [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Hopson, Dr Janet L [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Greene, David [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Gibson, Robert [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)

2015-04-01

Increasing the energy efficiency of motor vehicles is critical to achieving national energy goals of reduced petroleum dependence, protecting the global climate, and promoting continued economic prosperity. Even with fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards and various economic incentives for clean and efficient vehicles, providing reliable and accurate fuel economy information to the public is important to achieving these goals. This white paper reviews the current status of light-duty vehicle fuel economy in the United States and the role of the Department of Energy (DOE) Clean Cities Program in disseminating fuel economy information to the public.

Inequality, climate impacts on the future poor, and carbon prices.

Science.gov (United States)

Dennig, Francis; Budolfson, Mark B; Fleurbaey, Marc; Siebert, Asher; Socolow, Robert H

2015-12-29

Integrated assessment models of climate and the economy provide estimates of the social cost of carbon and inform climate policy. We create a variant of the Regional Integrated model of Climate and the Economy (RICE)-a regionally disaggregated version of the Dynamic Integrated model of Climate and the Economy (DICE)-in which we introduce a more fine-grained representation of economic inequalities within the model's regions. This allows us to model the common observation that climate change impacts are not evenly distributed within regions and that poorer people are more vulnerable than the rest of the population. Our results suggest that this is important to the social cost of carbon-as significant, potentially, for the optimal carbon price as the debate between Stern and Nordhaus on discounting.

Mobilizing climate finance - A road-map to finance a low-carbon economy. Report of the Canfin-Grandjean Commission June 2015

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Canfin, Pascal; Grandjean, Alain; Cochran, Ian; Martini, Mireille

2015-06-01

This report presents the conclusions of the Canfin-Grandjean Commission and proposes to the President of the French Republic paths of action to mobilize increased public and private funding in the fight against climate change. It also forwards proposals on how the French government could advance the 'innovative climate finance agenda' in the various international forums in which it participates (G7, G20, IMF, OECD, etc.). The present report covers the financial instruments identified more than a decade ago as 'innovative' (financial transaction tax, carbon market auctions revenues, etc.). It, however, goes further to also look at the means of finding 'innovative' ways of using existing tools in the 'toolboxes' of both private and public actors to scale-up financial flows for the low-carbon economy. (authors)

Economy, policy and climatic change: skeptics are right?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robinson, C.

2008-01-01

A degree of scepticism about the present apocalyptic forecast on damaging climate change might be in order and one does not have to be a climate change denier. On a cooler view of climate change, a more constructive approach would be to recognize the huge uncertainties that exist and to seek flexible means of dealing with problems that may arise. A direct and centralized government action seems not very convincing. On contrary, well functioning markets will produce efficient and flexible solutions. [it

Will climate change exacerbate water stress in Central Asia?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siegfried, Tobias; Bernauer, Thomas; Guiennet, Renaud

2012-01-01

the Soviet Union collapsed. Will climate change exacerbate water stress and thus conflicts? We have developed a coupled climate, land-ice and rainfall-runoff model for the Syr Darya to quantify impacts and show that climatic changes are likely to have consequences on runoff seasonality due to earlier snow......-melt. This will increase water stress in unregulated catchments because less water will be available for irrigation in the summer months. Threats from geohazards, above all glacier lake outbursts, are likely to increase as well. The area at highest risk is the densely populated, agriculturally productive, and politically......Millions of people in the geopolitically important region of Central Asia depend on water from snow- and glacier-melt driven international rivers, most of all the Syr Darya and Amu Darya. The riparian countries of these rivers have experienced recurring water allocation conflicts ever since...

The Fantasy of Oil in War-torn Countries: A Geopolitical Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perouse de Montclos, Marc-Antoine

2014-01-01

A highly symbolic resource, oil is often seen as a curse and a source of armed conflicts. It is of course a reason for competition and a strategic asset to conduct a war. But its role should not obscure other factors of armed conflicts. From various examples in Africa, Asia and Latin America, this article thus shows how the fantasy of oil can stimulate the imagination and confuse the geopolitical analysis of war, especially in countries without oil

Ramses 2010 - World crisis and global governance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moreau Defarges, Ph.; Montbrial, Th. de

2009-01-01

2009: the world has changed and is learning to live with the crisis. Not only it is expected to last long but also it impacts the overall social life and in particular the political systems (through governments, elections..). The Ramses 2010 book presents the world through two main axes, crisis and governance, and analyses its geopolitical situation in 8 parts dealing with: world economy, energy and climate, USA, Europe, Middle-East/Maghreb, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It comprises 53 entries by country and/or topic with maps and key data (150 countries). (J.S.)

The Analysis of the Reaction of the Romanian Companies Supplying Electrical Energy to the Modification of the Geopolitical Context and of the Internal Legislative Frame

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasile Robu

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Supplying services in the electrical energy domain that corresponds qualitatively, at acceptable prices, in the context of the respect of the environment preservation standards and of the security of the supply, in accordance with the demands of the economic growth, represents a main component of the lasting development. In the 9th chapter of the 21st Agenda is stated that “energy is essential to the economic and social development and to a better quality of life”. At global level, given the current technological conditions and the permanent growth of the quantity of resources used, a large part of the energy is produced and consumed in an unsustainable manner. The necessity of controlling the greenhouse gas emissions and of other polluting substances imposes the increase of the efficiency of production, transportation, distribution and consumption of the energy and the growth of the use of renewable energy sources. All energy sources must be used in a manner that permits the respect of the environment on the whole. The operational research executed let us state that the defining elements of the geopolitical context influence the behaviour of the companies supplying electrical energy, which has an effect in any branch of the national economy. Such an approach is useful in the determination of the impact of the increase of electrical energy prices on the vulnerable sectors of the national economy.

Climate challenge 2012: growth and climate change - Socio-economical impacts of climate change. Conference proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orange-Louboutin, Mylene; Robinet, Olivier; Delalande, Daniel; Reysset, Bertrand; De Perthuis, Christian; Le Treut, Herve; Cottenceau, Jean-Baptiste; Ayong, Alain; Daubaire, Aurelien; Gaudin, Thomas

2012-01-01

The contributions of this conference session proposed comments and discussion on the relationship between climate change and 'green' growth, on the status of scientific knowledge on climate change (from global to local), on the way to perform carbon print assessment and to decide which actions to implement, on the costs and opportunity of impacts of climate change, on the economy of adaptation, on the benefits and costs of the adaptation policy, and on impacts of climate change on employment in quantitative terms and in terms of profession types

Comparative geopolitical analysis of “hotspots” in the Russian federation and in the Republic of Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vuković Nebojša

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The Russian Federation and the Republic of Serbia have experienced internal challenges to their own unity and coherence for a long time. This work represents the analysis of these challenges, which can be defined, geopolitically speaking, as “hotspots”. Relying on the observations of Russian political scientists, the author of this work analyzed the so-called “crisis potential” in four “hotspots” in the Russian Federation. In the Republic of Serbia, five areas are marked that emit instability and jeopardise (or can jeopardise its unity, peace and prosperity. Certain similarities are found between the compared “hotspots”, and differences as well. The region of North Caucasus is marked as the most dangerous “hotspot” in the Russian Federation, which has not been completely solved yet by the Russian federal authorities, due to the constant terrorist attacks. The purpose of the attacks is to extort from Russia the withdrawal from the area and create conditions for the political independence. The author found a geopolitical analogy to the North Caucasus “hotspot” (Chechnya in the Republic of Serbia on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija. In the conclusion, it is stated that, at present, disparate geopolitical processes are taking place in the two countries - the Federal Centre is strengthening in the Russian Federation and the Federal Subjects are losing their attributes of statehood, whereas in the Republic of Serbia, the centrifugal tendencies are gaining prominence that can completely fragment it.

Trans-Saharan geopolitics. The game and the stakes; Geopolitique transsaharienne. Le jeu et l'enjeu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chegrouche, L. [Universite Paris 1, 75 (France)

2010-02-15

The geopolitics of energy exports from the trans-Saharan region are similar to the Caspian great game' at the end of the last century. In North/West Africa as in West/Central Asia, the question of control over hydrocarbon reserves and lines of access to those reserves lies at the source of various conflicts. Rivalries are expressed through open and complex conflicts in which powers confront one another over oil-rich zones through proxy ethnic, religious or cultural groups, as dictated by the colossal economic interests at stake. The increasing number of conflicts - the Niger Delta, Darfur, the Azawak, etc. - is an illustration of this. The shock waves from this rivalry undermine regional peace and security, as well as the security of international energy supplies. The question here is to understand the game and the stakes of this trans-Saharan chess-board, to study its principal features and its energetic consequences. The national oil companies and states of the region can work around or through the geopolitical rifts caused by local rivalries and extra-regional appetites. There is therefore a need to understand the ways in which the players in the trans-Saharan 'great game' interact with one another, an to identifies the effects these interactions may have in the field of energy, in terms of potential reserves and transport projects. The TSGP is presented as an illustration of this geopolitical dynamics. (author)

Rethinking Borders in Japan: Internal, Cultural, and Geopolitical

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ingyu Oh

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Christopher Bondy. Voice, Silence, and Self: Negotiations of Buraku Identity in Contemporary Japan. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2015. 184 pp. $40 (cloth. Koichi Iwabuchi. Resilient Borders and Cultural Diversity. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2015. 137 pp. $75 (cloth/e-book. Akihiro Iwashita. Japan’s Border Issues: Pitfalls and Prospects. New York: Routledge, 2016. 144 pp. $160 (cloth. The books reviewed here address three different borders in present-day Japanese society: internal, cultural, and geopolitical. It is rare for three different authors to concurrently publish monographs on Japanese borders from three different angles. This may be a sign of increasing consciousness within Japan on the issues of diversity, multiethnicity, old and new forms of discrimination, and continuing border conflicts with neighboring countries...

Kenya's Climate Change Action Plan. Low Carbon Climate Resilient Development Pathway

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murphy, D.; Sawyer, D.; Stiebert, S.; McFatridge, S. [International Institute for Sustainable Development IISD, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada); Wuertenberger, L.; Van Tilburg, X.; Hekkenberg, M. [Energy research Centre of the Netherlands ECN, Policy Studies, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Owino, T.; Battye, W. [ClimateCare, Nairobi (Kenya); Mutia, T. [Regional Institute for Social Enterprise Kenya RISE, Nairobi (Kenya); Olum, P. [Climate Change Consultant (Kenya)

2012-12-15

Kenya Vision 2030 - the long-term development blueprint for the country - aims to transform Kenya into 'a newly industrialising, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens in a clean and secure environment'. A low carbon climate resilient development pathway, as set out in this Climate Change Action Plan, can help meet Vision 2030 goals through actions that address both sustainable development and climate change. This pathway can also help the Government achieve the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed development goals without compromising the environment and its natural resources. As Kenya realizes its development aspirations, there will be gains and risks. A growing population and economy with migration to cities will mean increases in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Resulting environmental and social conditions, including increased competition over resources, could intensify vulnerability to climate risks. Transitioning to a low carbon climate resilient development pathway can address future risks thereby improving Kenya's ability to prosper under a changing climate while reducing the emissions intensity of a growing economy. Moving forward on the 2010 National Climate Change Response Strategy will help Kenya transition to a low carbon climate resilient development pathway that puts people and livelihoods at the forefront. The strategy recognized the importance of climate change and development, and this Climate Change Action Plan is the logical next step. A yearlong multistakeholder participatory process involving the public sector, private sector and civil society resulted in this Action Plan that identifies priority climate change actions for Kenya for the short, medium and long term. The Government of Kenya takes climate change and its impact on development seriously. Climate change is considered a crosscutting issue that will be mainstreamed in the planning process both at the national

PROBLEM ASSESSMENT OF THE LEVEL INVESTMENT ACTIVITY IN THE NATIONAL ECONOMY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiana ANDREEVA

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In this article the fundamental importance of the investment sphere, forming of factors of production and defining the competitiveness of the national economy, as well as some of the problems of evaluation of the level of investment made in the national economy, the problems of attracting foreign direct investment, as the most important conditions for sustainable growth of the national economies. The special attention in the article is paid to the methods of factor analysis of the investment climate, as well as the General trends of changes in the business environment, as basic conditions for improving the level of investment activity of the national economy.

A strategic approach to a green economy.

Science.gov (United States)

Trumka, Richard L

2009-01-01

The crash has happened and we face dual market failures: climate change and the greatest economic crisis of our lifetimes. American labor believes that we must have a strategic approach to greening the economy centered on domestic investment in new technologies, the creation of good jobs, and leading a shared international response to both these issues. The nay-sayers are the same financial and industrial interests that advised the world economy into chaos. Their advice to us is more of the same: no rules, no regulations, free markets, and free trade. But now is the time for real change.

Modeling an emissions peak in China around 2030: Synergies or trade-offs between economy, energy and climate security

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qi-Min Chai

2014-12-01

Full Text Available China has achieved a political consensus around the need to transform the path of economic growth toward one that lowers carbon intensity and ultimately leads to reductions in carbon emissions, but there remain different views on pathways that could achieve such a transformation. The essential question is whether radical or incremental reforms are required in the coming decades. This study explores relevant pathways in China beyond 2020, particularly modeling the major target choices of carbon emission peaking in China around 2030 as China-US Joint Announcement by an integrated assessment model for climate change IAMC based on carbon factor theory. Here scenarios DGS-2020, LGS2025, LBS-2030 and DBS-2040 derived from the historical pathways of developed countries are developed to access the comprehensive impacts on the economy, energy and climate security for the greener development in China. The findings suggest that the period of 2025–2030 is the window of opportunity to achieve a peak in carbon emissions at a level below 12 Gt CO2 and 8.5 t per capita by reasonable trade-offs from economy growth, annually −0.2% in average and cumulatively −3% deviation to BAU in 2030. The oil and natural gas import dependence will exceed 70% and 45% respectively while the non-fossil energy and electricity share will rise to above 20% and 45%. Meantime, the electrification level in end use sectors will increase substantially and the electricity energy ratio approaching 50%, the labor and capital productivity should be double in improvements and the carbon intensity drop by 65% by 2030 compared to the 2005 level, and the cumulative emission reductions are estimated to be more than 20 Gt CO2 in 2015–2030.

The Military Coup and its Implications for the Thai Economy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmidt, Johannes Dragsbæk

The paper analyses the regional and international implications of the Thai military coup in September 2006. Focus is furthermore  attached to the economic consequences and the geo-political and geo-economic aspects related to the coup.......The paper analyses the regional and international implications of the Thai military coup in September 2006. Focus is furthermore  attached to the economic consequences and the geo-political and geo-economic aspects related to the coup....

Secure oil and alternative energy: the geopolitics of energy paths of China and the European Union

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Amineh, M.P.; Guang, Y.

2012-01-01

While intensive cooperation between China and the EU in the fields of energy use, environmental protection and sustainability is highly needed the question remains unanswered how this cooperation could be organized. This volume puts the geopolitical implementation of China's and the EU's energy

Scariest thing about climate change: climate flips

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beaulieu, P.

1997-01-01

The idea that an increase in greenhouse gases will cause the global average temperature to rise slowly over the next decades was discussed. Studies of ice core from Greenland have shown that in the past climate shifts seem to have happened quickly. Some scientists fear that increasingly frequent extreme weather events could be a sign that the climate system is nearing its threshold and a rapid climate flip may be just ahead. In the case of global climatic system, the danger is that stresses from greenhouse gas effects are pushing the present system over the threshold where it must flip into a new warmer system that will be stable, but different from the climate on which our agriculture, economy, settlements and lives depend. 4 refs

The Political Economy of Crisis and the Crisis of Political Economy: The Challenge of Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Graham Murdock

2015-10-01

Recent developments in the organisation of capitalism have given renewed urgency to critical political economy’s core concern with the shifting relations between capital, state and civil society and placed issues around communications and culture at the centre of debate. Successive responses to the crisis of capitalism in the 1970s and the 2008 financial crisis have extended marketization, consolidated corporate control over public culture, displaced and casualised labour, escalated product promotion, placed consumption fuelled by personal debt at the centre of models of growth, and generated rapidly widening inequalities in access and agency. At the same time, the political instabilities following the end of the Cold War have licenced a move from selective to saturation surveillance that has given the major capitalist states unprecedented entry into intimate life. The critical political economy culture and communications has seized the moment and produced powerful accounts and critiques of these shifts and their implications for democratic life. The first part of the paper offers a critical overview of this work. With some notable exceptions however, critical political economies of communications have not fully incorporated the climate crisis into their analyses. Yet communication systems, particularly digital systems, are central to the unfolding climate crisis, not simply as central spaces of public information (and misinformation and debate, but as arrays of infrastructures and machines that consume resources and power and foster patterns of use and disposal that exacerbate problems of waste and pollution and reinforce patterns of inequality, with those least able to cope likely to be the most affected. The second part of the paper expands on this argument The third and final part follows the implications of this analysis through arguing that critical communications policy not only needs to address the problem of curbing corporate and state abuses of control

Palestine, Israel and the Geopolitics of Western Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pío García

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The efforts of the international community in providing a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are still colliding with the demonstrations of force of the Government of Israel and its insistence on bilateral negotiation. Here it is argued that the understanding of the problem merits a review of the geopolitical game in Western Asia, where the major powers set up alliances and unleashed wars in their own interest. Since the United State-Israel Alliance remains unshakable in the region, the will of the international community to commit the United States to an end to confrontation through the multilateral recognition of the Palestinian State should be maintained without hesitation, since the alternative of a bilateral agreement with Israel does not offer more to Palestine than surrender.

From welcome to well . come: the mobilities, temporalities and geopolitics of contemporary hospitality – commentary to Gill

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roger Norum

2018-05-01

Full Text Available In this reflection, I take Nick Gill’s contribution to this issue on the politics of hospitality and welcome as a point of departure to address three specific concerns, framed by the context of contemporary global mobility. First, I argue that various aspects of the recent so-called European migration crisis enable us to further question some of the long-fixed categories through which mobile actors are often classified. Second, I speak to the critical nature of temporality as a governing factor not just in how states manage mobile peoples, but in how people imagine, understand and experience individual and group processes of welcome. Finally, I suggest that just as geopolitical discourse plays a clear role in how migration is understood and experienced, so too are geopolitics deeply embedded in the encounters, practices and regimes of hospitality across tourism.

Analysing Italian Regional Patterns in Green Economy and Climate Change. Can Italy Leverage on Europe 2020 Strategy to Face Sustainable Growth Challenges ?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesco BONSINETTO

2013-12-01

Full Text Available European cities and regions are facing the crucial challenge of greening their economy towards more sustainable patterns. Politicians and policy-makers should promote new policies for sustainable growth including renewables, greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency and biodiversity. All of these aspects can be considered as a boost for local and regional economy. In this regard, European countries and regions can benefit from the Europe 2020 Strategy which is defined as Europe’s blueprint for a smart, sustainable and inclusive future, providing a ten year roadmap for growth and jobs. EU2020S was designed as a European exit strategy from the global economic and financial crisis in view of new European economic governance. This study discusses the above issues regarding Italy and intends to provide some answers on the perspectives of the new EU2020S. It draws from a research project supported by ESPON, the S.I.E.S.T.A. Project, focused on the territorial dimension of the EU2020S. Therefore, this paper aims at analyzing Italian regional patterns on climate change, green economy and energy within the context of EU2020S and at providing policy recommendations for better achieving the goals of the Strategy.

Addressing the Climate Problem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Amundsen, Eirik S; Andersen, Peder; Mortensen, Jørgen Birk

Instruments chosen to pursue climate related targets are not always efficient. In this paper we consider an economy with three climate related targets for its electricity generation: a given share of “green” electricity, a given expansion of “green” electricity, and a given reduction of “black...

SAFETY PROBLEMS IN THE CASPIAN REGION IN THE CONTEXT OF CHANGE OF THE GEOPOLITICAL SITUATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. I. Abdullayev

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Article is devoted to research of geopolitical processes in Caspian region and to questions of regional security. In article is analyzed the influence on a situation in the region of the western countries. The questions connected with deliveries of hydrocarbonic resources from the countries of the Middle East are considered.

Towards a low carbon economy in the Amazon: the role of land-use policies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verburg, R.W.; Lindoso, D.; Debortolli, N.; Rodrigues Filho, S.

2011-01-01

Climate change, rising oil prices and the global financial crisis has put sustainability and ‘green growth’ of the economy on the political agenda. While the transition towards a “low carbon” economy in developed countries like in the European Union should mainly be found in renewable energy

The human dimensions of climate change: A micro-level assessment of views from the ecological modernization, political economy and human ecology perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Adua, Lazarus; York, Richard; Schuelke-Leech, Beth-Anne

2016-03-01

Understanding the manifold human and physical dimensions of climate change has become an area of great interest to researchers in recent decades. Using a U.S. nationally-representative data set and drawing on the ecological modernization, political economy, and human ecology perspectives, this study examines the impacts of energy efficiency technologies, affluence, household demographics, and biophysical characteristics on residential CO2 emissions. Overall, the study provides mixed support for the ecological modernization perspective. While several findings are consistent with the theory's expectation that modern societies can harness technology to mitigate human impacts on the environment, others directly contradict it. Also, the theory's prediction of an inverted U-shaped relationship between affluence and environmental impacts is contradicted. The evidence is somewhat more supportive of the political economy and human ecology perspectives, with affluence, some indicators of technology, household demographics, and biophysical characteristics emerging as important drivers of residential CO2 emissions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Syrian Energy Policies of the "Four Seas" and Their Geopolitical Repercussions

OpenAIRE

KARKAZIS, John; VIDAKIS, Ioannis; BALTOS, Georgios

2014-01-01

The article gives, first, a brief historical review of the development of the oil and natural gas sectors of Damascus. Next, the article focuses on oil pipeline networks in Syria, the geopolitical controversy introduced by them and the various investment projects in the energy sector pushed forward by the Syrian government. Finally, the article analyses president Assad’s grand energy policies of the “Four Seas” aiming to transform Syria to an energy networks hub in the Region and comments on ...

‘This place isn't worth the left boot of one of our boys’: Geopolitics, militarism and memoirs of the Afghanistan war

Science.gov (United States)

Woodward, Rachel; Jenkings, K. Neil

2012-01-01

This paper argues for the continued significance of the text as a source and focus in critical geopolitical inquiry. It establishes the utility of the military memoir in explorations of popular contemporary geopolitical imaginaries, and considers the memoir as a vector of militarism. The paper examines the memoirs written by military personnel about service in Afghanistan with the British armed forces, specifically about deployments to Helmand province between 2006 and 2012. The paper explores how Afghanistan is scripted through these texts, focussing on the explanations for deployment articulated by their authors, on the representations they contain and promote about other combatants and about civilian non-combatants, and the constitution and expression of danger in the spaces and places of military action which these texts construct and convey. The paper then turns to consider how a reading of the military memoir with reference to the genre of testimonio might extend and inform our understanding and use of these texts as a source for exploring popular geopolitics and militarism. PMID:23805031

Knowing the Damages is not Enough: The General Equilibrium Impacts of Climate Change

OpenAIRE

Kalkuhl, Matthias; Edenhofer, Ottmar

2016-01-01

We show that economies may exhibit a strong endogenous macroeconomic adaptation response to climate change. If climate change induces a structural change to the more productive sector, economies can benefit from climate change though productivities in both sectors are reduced. If climate change causes structural shifts towards the less productive sector, damages are exacerbated by the intersectoral reallocation of labor and intertemporal reallocation of capital. We further assess impacts on l...

Fuel demand on UK roads and dieselisation of fuel economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonilla, David

2009-01-01

Because of high oil prices, and climate change policy, governments are now seeking ways to improve new car fuel economy thus contributing to air quality and energy security. One strategy is to increase dieselisation rates of the vehicle fleet. Recent trends in fuel economy show improvement since 1995, however, efforts need to go further if the EU Voluntary Agreement targets on CO 2 (a greenhouse gas emission standard) are to be achieved. Trends show diesel car sales have accelerated rapidly and that the advantage of new car fuel economy of diesel cars over gasoline ones is narrowing posing a new challenge. We estimate the demand for new car fuel economy in the UK. In the long-run consumers buy fuel economy, but not in the short-run. We found that long-term income and price changes were the main drivers to achieve improvements particularly for diesel cars and that there is no break in the trend of fuel economy induced by the agreement adopted in the 1990s. Policy should target more closely both consumer choice of, and use of, diesel cars.

Anti-coal export strategy. Expedient in terms of global climate protection?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Umbach, Frank

2016-01-01

The German Environment Ministry had joined in the summer of 2014 the European and American trend, to stop in future the total financial support for the technology export of coal power plants. This disinvestment movement considerable face the opposition especially in developing countries, which are offered alternatives mainly on Chinese investment. In addition to the resulting far-reaching economic implications for Western companies, this development has an increasing expiry of the geopolitical influence of Europe and the United States to follow. Furthermore speak climate policy reasons against the end of the export credit financing. Overall, this development, prevents to achieve the widely shared climate policy goals because a lot of new and existing capacities can not be realized on the latest state of the art. [de

Effect of Geopolitical Forces on Neurosurgical Training in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Dempsey, Kara E; Qureshi, Mahmood M; Ondoma, Solomon M; Dempsey, Robert J

2017-05-01

The population of Sub-Saharan Africa suffers from a critical shortage and maldistribution of health care professionals, especially highlighted in surgical subspecialties, such as neurosurgery. In light of The Lancet report and the World Health Organization's directive to provide essential surgical care through the developing world, solutions need to be found to close this training and distribution gap. Methods correcting the situation will only succeed if one understands the geopolitical forces which have shaped the distribution of health care in the region and continue to this day. Solutions have evolved from service to service with education. The partnering organizations, the Foundation of International Education in Neurological Surgery and the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies, have supported neurosurgical training in the developing world, including curriculum, equipment, facilities, certification, and local acceptance, with a goal of developing a self-sustaining program within the developing country. These ideas heavily rely on partnerships to address classic geopolitical forces, including geography, drought, warfare, ethnic tensions, poverty, and lack of training facilities. Each can be addressed through partnerships, such as development of dyads with programs in developed countries and ongoing programs owned by the countries in question, but partnered with multiple international societies, institutions, and universities. This paper provides both a historic and topical overview of the forces at work which need to be addressed for success in delivering specialized care. This must always result in a self-sustaining program operated by the people of the home country with worldwide support through philanthropy and partnerships. Published by Elsevier Inc.

World and energy. Geopolitical stakes. 1 - the clues to understand. 2 - the maps in hands; Le monde et l'energie. Enjeux geopolitiques. 1 - les clefs pour comprendre. 2- les cartes en mains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Furfari, S. [Commission de Bruxelles (Belgium)

2007-07-01

In the energy domain, globalization has become a visible reality since several decades, in particular since the first petroleum shock of 1974/1975, but in reality since the first world war when petroleum started to play a key role. The aim of this book is to explain geopolitics and to foresee the Earth's future at the time of a major energy turn. In the first volume, the author explores the different eras of the energy world. A large part is devoted to the main energy resources with some precision about reserves, exploitation means and their impacts on the environment and on the climatic change. The second volume describes the main energy markets and their foreseeable evolution through a geopolitical analysis of maps. A large part is devoted to the European supplies and to the East-West relations which control them, in particular because of the huge gas reserves of Russia and of its former satellite countries. Another part is devoted to the big wold consumers, the present day ones (the USA) and the new ones (China and India), who stake both on North-South relations (Middle East and South America for the USA and Africa for China and India), and on areas which were traditionally of Europe's interests. (J.S.)

Ranking seasonal rainfall forecast skill of emerging and developing economies

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Landman, WA

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Some of the biggest emerging markets economies include countries in South America, Asia and Africa. In the global south, political and developmental similarities (e.g. climate variability occurring in conjunction with marked developmental challenges...

Effect of business regulation on investment in emerging market economies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Birungi Korutaro

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper provides an empirical analysis of the business regulatory factors that influence investment in a selection of 29 emerging market economies. Both theoretical and empirical literature on the effect of the regulatory environment on investment is reviewed. A panel data analysis over the period 2003–2007 reveals that investment is influenced by secure property rights and the degree of business entry regulation. The results carry important policy implications for improving the investment climate of emerging market economies.

Tourism, the Future of Economy in Albania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arjana Kadiu

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Tourism is one of the main pillars of economy for many countries in the world. It influences the economy and offers more employment possibilities every year. Mediterranean countries have a favorable, geographical position and climate to develop tourism. Most of these countries, have obtained higher incomes from this industry, and as a result, more prosperity and economic development. Today, about 30 % of the world’s tourists spend their vacations in the Mediterranean Region. Albania is one of these countries and it has great possibilities for the future.The nature of Albania, it’s geographical position and its panorama, the climatic and physical diversity of its territory, represent some of its rich resources and strengthness. Previously, Albania’s economy depended in agriculture and small industries. After the 90-s, when many citizens left the country, the situation changed and even that source of income became inconsiderable. Heavy or textile industry, were hardly developed. Tourism was hardly developed too. Only few investments were made in this sector. In October 2012, EU Commission recommended Albania to be granted the EU candidate status. Therefore, Albania’s economy has to be developed according to EU standards. In this paper we would like to assess, which may be some important and effective innovative management strategies for Albania’s tourism. What are some of the steps to follow in this direction? The article aims to make a comparison with Greece and Montenegro, as reference points, in order to understand these countries’ touristic strategies and try to adapt some of them or think about new effective ones. It aims to provide a profile that shows; strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The study will be based in official statistics and scientific literature. The study concludes that the economic benefits of tourism are considerable, immediate and there are many new ways to activate the natural sources of Albania.

Social and economic impacts of climate.

Science.gov (United States)

Carleton, Tamma A; Hsiang, Solomon M

2016-09-09

For centuries, thinkers have considered whether and how climatic conditions-such as temperature, rainfall, and violent storms-influence the nature of societies and the performance of economies. A multidisciplinary renaissance of quantitative empirical research is illuminating important linkages in the coupled climate-human system. We highlight key methodological innovations and results describing effects of climate on health, economics, conflict, migration, and demographics. Because of persistent "adaptation gaps," current climate conditions continue to play a substantial role in shaping modern society, and future climate changes will likely have additional impact. For example, we compute that temperature depresses current U.S. maize yields by ~48%, warming since 1980 elevated conflict risk in Africa by ~11%, and future warming may slow global economic growth rates by ~0.28 percentage points per year. In general, we estimate that the economic and social burden of current climates tends to be comparable in magnitude to the additional projected impact caused by future anthropogenic climate changes. Overall, findings from this literature point to climate as an important influence on the historical evolution of the global economy, they should inform how we respond to modern climatic conditions, and they can guide how we predict the consequences of future climate changes. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

From the “forgotten region” to the “great game” region: On the development of geopolitics in Central Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yelena Nikolayevna Zabortseva

2012-07-01

Could geopolitics be the key approach to frame complex developments in the region? Or is this the case when particular methodological “lenses” through which one could consider the world are counter-productive?

Cobenefits of climate and air pollution regulations. The context of the European Commission Roadmap for moving to a low carbon economy in 2050

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koelemeijer, R.; Eerens, H.; Van Velze, K. [Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency PBL, Den Haag (Netherlands); Colette, A.; Schucht, S.; Pere, J.C.; Bessagnet, B.; Rouil, L. [Institut National de l' Environnement Industriel et des Risques INERIS, Verneuil-en-Halatte (France); Mellios, G. [EMISIA, Thessaloniki (Greece)

2012-03-15

In 2011, the European Commission published its roadmap towards a competitive low-carbon economy for 2050. For this roadmap the possibilities of a far-reaching reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in Europe were assessed (a decrease of 80% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels). This report was written at the request of the European Environment Agency and examines the effects of such a reduction on air quality. Analysis of several existing scenarios indicates that climate policy, in general, leads to a decrease in air pollution in Europe.

The world economy facing the climate. Increasing responsibilities lead to new opportunities; L'Economie mondiale face au climat. A responsabilites accrues, opportunites nouvelles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gabus, A

2003-09-01

The respect of the Kyoto protocol the decrease of the greenhouse gases emission, will provide more constraints to the economy but also more opportunities. The author analyzes these constraints and the possible opportunities to propose then, an environmental, technological and institutional prospective of the greenhouse effect attenuation. (A.L.B.)

George Kubler Shifting South: Architecture History Following Geopolitics

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Sousa Santos, Eliana

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This essay aims to present the shifting relations between North America and the South - South America and the South of Europe - through the work of the historian George Kubler. At the beginning of his career as a scholar, Kubler was invited by the Department of State to participate in a conference on inter-American relations. Later, with the positioning of the United States in World War II, the transatlantic relationship between the US and Europe became more prominent. Kubler’s research interests followed this change: His research shift from South America to peripheral Southern Europe reflects an availability of funding given his country's geopolitical interests. So far, artists and other scholars have praised Kubler’s vast work regarding the art and architecture of different 'Souths' mainly as a sign of 'nonalignment' and of his attention to the condition of peripheral countries.

Bilateral engagement amid geopolitics: A case of India and Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Faisal Ahmed

2013-06-01

Full Text Available India’s engagement with West Asia including Iran has always been a balancing act hovering between economic necessities and strategic pursuits. The paper briefly traces the evolution of Indo-Iran engagements and also analyses their respective macroeconomic parameters. It also outlines and discusses three major geopolitical and geo-economic influences including sanctions on Iran, payment mechanism, and Iran’s business environment. Moreover, the issues pertaining to access to oil, transit route through Afghanistan and other trade facilitation measures have also been discussed. The paper also uses the revealed comparative advantage index to identify some potential areas of cooperation. Also, it argues that India needs to be more cautious and pragmatic in its strategic endeavours.

Geopolitics and security in post-cold-war South-East Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Regnier, P.

1997-01-01

The most likely scenario is the one in which South-east Asia acquires a greater autonomy, as in Scenario 1. The recomposition of ASEAN as a larger and yet solid entity is far-reaching and requires a lot of mutual internal efforts and policy coordination on external issues. As aforementioned, a situation somewhere between the two sub-scenarios of Scenario I could be achieved. The broadened identity of ASEAN will definitely contribute to the autonomization of South-east Asia as a whole, at least in general geopolitical and security terms. In addition, a greater convergence may develop in economic, strategic and even political areas and gradually produce a subregional order with its own local character and specificities

About the Glyph [T544.501] and the Classic Maya Geopolitical Communities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rogelio Valencia Rivera

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the Maya glyph [T544.501]. On one side the article offers a carefully review of the contexts where the hieroglyph appears for, from these, suggest that it may be a logogram with possible OCH ("entrance" reading. Moreover, considering the predominant appearance of this hieroglyph in contexts which relate to geopolitical groups, and beyond its phonetic value, the article also analyzes the historical dynamics that have experienced these Late Classic political groupings as narrate the texts where appears the glyph in question.

Towards sustained high oil prices and increasingly volatile

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Auverlot, Dominique; Teillant, Aude; Rech, Olivier

2012-09-01

It is particularly difficult to predict the evolution of global oil production and its ability to meet the demand: the main uncertainties are related to the magnitude of the growth of emerging countries, more or less rapid decline in the production of major oil fields current events as well as natural or accidental, but especially geopolitics, which may affect, at any time, production. In a tight market today, the rapid growth of emerging economies, disruption of the oil supply chain world, even its mere mention, could cause short-term loss of excess production capacity - largely concentrated in Saudi Arabia - an increase substantial progress and, as contemplated by the International Atomic Energy imbalances between global oil supply and demand. If, after 2020, production of conventional oil begins to decline and the demand from emerging markets continues to grow, more massive imbalances may arise, leading to potential geopolitical tensions. Control would then demand the best answer. Otherwise, the resources of unconventional hydrocarbons, considerable expected to meet the demand, provided that their development is fast enough and their operating conditions are environmentally friendly. A consensus is emerging today on keeping oil prices high (above $ 100 / barrel) and volatile in the coming years, allowing some producing countries to pursue their development, but for France amplifying the negative effects on the economic growth oil bill (more than 49 billion euros in 2011) weighs more heavily in our trade deficit. In all cases, climate issues, the weight of the oil bill on our economy, securing our energy supply and technical uncertainties or geopolitical oil production call for reducing our oil consumption, accelerated motion the transition to a low carbon economy and development of our own energy resources. Contents: - Current analysis of oil reserves; - Uncertainties about the evolution of world oil production; - What is the potential long-term oil production

U.S. Navy Climate Change Roadmap

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

Climate change is a national security challenge with strategic implications for the Navy. Climate change will lead to increased tensions in nations...with weak economies and political institutions. While climate change alone is not likely to lead to future conflict, it may be a contributing factor... Climate change is affecting, and will continue to affect, U.S. military installations and access to natural resources worldwide. It will affect the

The emerging threats of climate change on tropical coastal ecosystem services, public health, local economies and livelihood sustainability of small islands: Cumulative impacts and synergies.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernández-Delgado, E A

2015-12-15

Climate change has significantly impacted tropical ecosystems critical for sustaining local economies and community livelihoods at global scales. Coastal ecosystems have largely declined, threatening the principal source of protein, building materials, tourism-based revenue, and the first line of defense against storm swells and sea level rise (SLR) for small tropical islands. Climate change has also impacted public health (i.e., altered distribution and increased prevalence of allergies, water-borne, and vector-borne diseases). Rapid human population growth has exacerbated pressure over coupled social-ecological systems, with concomitant non-sustainable impacts on natural resources, water availability, food security and sovereignty, public health, and quality of life, which should increase vulnerability and erode adaptation and mitigation capacity. This paper examines cumulative and synergistic impacts of climate change in the challenging context of highly vulnerable small tropical islands. Multiple adaptive strategies of coupled social-ecological ecosystems are discussed. Multi-level, multi-sectorial responses are necessary for adaptation to be successful. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

AZERBAIJAN’S BALANCED FOREIGN POLICY TRAPPED IN A VOLATILE GEOPOLITICAL CONTEXT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabina STRIMBOVSCHI

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Following a study visit in Baku, the author exposes in this paper some of the research results, being also embedded the opinions of Azerbaijanis experts that were interviewed. The aim is to perform an analysis on the evolution of Azerbaijani state interpreted both from the European and Azerbaijani perspective. On the one hand, it is approached the development of the Republic of Azerbaijan after the collapse of Soviet Union and the way the Nagorno-Karabakh unsolved conflict has influenced Azerbaijan’s foreign policy. On the other hand, it is researched the manner in which the European Union – Azerbaijan relations have evolved since 1991, but especially once the Eastern Partnership has been created. Considering the fundamental purpose of the European Neighborhood Union, to ensure security, stability and prosperity in the EU’s vicinity, it is analyzed the impact of two multilateral platforms within the Eastern Partnership (Democracy, good governance and stability, and Energy security was achieved on the Republic of Azerbaijan. At the same time, it is investigated whether the European Union should accept an authoritarian leadership, as a legitimate actor and partner on the international stage just because the EU has a strategic interest to diversify its energy sources and, eventually, reduce the dependence on Russian Federation, or it should change its approach and adopt a firmer stance. Last but not least, are revealed the geopolitical frictions in the South Caucasus region and the reasons for which Azerbaijan tries to maintain its status as a sovereign and independent country, avoiding to ally with any geopolitical bloc, but opting for economic, energy and military cooperation with both sides.

Geopolitics of Baltic Sea Communication- Linking the Periphenes with the Centre

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bertil Haggman

2012-10-01

Full Text Available An attempt is made in this essay to explain the importanceof a new link around the Baltic Sea being constructed to thecore of Europe with a possible net of the Superspeed MaglevSystem Transrapid with a speed of 300 miles/hr.The geopolitics of Baltic Sea communication is to a greatextent based on the peripherial position of Europe's northeastemcountries. A Transrapid net around the Baltic Sea wouldlink these countries to the core of Europe. An imp01tant ingredientin the link are bridges and tunnels. The Oresund FixedLink with its fUnnel and bridge will be the first fiXed link betweenDenmark and the Scandinavian peninsula in hist01y andfully completed in the summer of 2000. A railway tunnel betweenElsinore (Denmark and Helsingborg (Sweden isneeded in the beginning of the 21st century as an additionallink. Other submarine tunnel projects of geopolitical importanceare the Fehmam Belt and Falster Belt [!X.ed links betweenGe1many and Scandinavia as well as Nontiilje (Sweden -Mariehamn (A land Islands -Abo/Turkku (Finland and Helsinki(Finland - Tallinn (Estonia tunnels.lmp01tant new possibilities exist for extending tunnel construction.The Symonds Group (an important London constructionand planning company is working on prefab submalinetunnels. These are expected to be used across the St.George Channel between Dublin and Holyhead (about 90km. The tunnel technique has been used for the Oresund FixedLink and the Danish tunnel section of the link was completedin March 1999. Sweden, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia,Lithuania and n01thwestem Russia would receive a structuralboost with substantial consequences with the new TransrapidNet and its submarine and bridge links.

Climate change and macro-economic cycles in pre-industrial europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Pei, Qing; Zhang, David D; Lee, Harry F; Li, Guodong

2014-01-01

Climate change has been proven to be the ultimate cause of social crisis in pre-industrial Europe at a large scale. However, detailed analyses on climate change and macro-economic cycles in the pre-industrial era remain lacking, especially within different temporal scales. Therefore, fine-grained, paleo-climate, and economic data were employed with statistical methods to quantitatively assess the relations between climate change and agrarian economy in Europe during AD 1500 to 1800. In the study, the Butterworth filter was adopted to filter the data series into a long-term trend (low-frequency) and short-term fluctuations (high-frequency). Granger Causality Analysis was conducted to scrutinize the associations between climate change and macro-economic cycle at different frequency bands. Based on quantitative results, climate change can only show significant effects on the macro-economic cycle within the long-term. In terms of the short-term effects, society can relieve the influences from climate variations by social adaptation methods and self-adjustment mechanism. On a large spatial scale, temperature holds higher importance for the European agrarian economy than precipitation. By examining the supply-demand mechanism in the grain market, population during the study period acted as the producer in the long term, whereas as the consumer in the short term. These findings merely reflect the general interactions between climate change and macro-economic cycles at the large spatial region with a long-term study period. The findings neither illustrate individual incidents that can temporarily distort the agrarian economy nor explain some specific cases. In the study, the scale thinking in the analysis is raised as an essential methodological issue for the first time to interpret the associations between climatic impact and macro-economy in the past agrarian society within different temporal scales.

The macroeconomic rebound effect and the world economy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barker, T.; Dagoumas, A. [Cambridge Centre for Climate Change Mitigation Research (4CMR), Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge, 19 Silver Street, Cambridge, CB3 9PE (United Kingdom); Rubin, J. [School of Economics, University of Maine, 5782 Winslow Hall, Orono, ME 04469-5782 (United States)

2009-11-15

This paper examines the macroeconomic rebound effect for the global economy arising from energy-efficiency policies. Such policies are expected to be a leading component of climate policy portfolios being proposed and adopted in order to achieve climate stabilisation targets for 2020, 2030 and 2050, such as the G8 50% reduction target by 2050. We apply the global 'New Economics' or Post Keynesian model E3MG, developing the version reported in IPCC AR4 WG3. The rebound effect refers to the idea that some or all of the expected reductions in energy consumption as a result of energy-efficiency improvements are offset by an increasing demand for energy services, arising from reductions in the effective price of energy services resulting from those improvements. As policies to stimulate energy-efficiency improvements are a key part of climate-change policies, the likely magnitude of any rebound effect is of great importance to assessing the effectiveness of those policies. The literature distinguishes three types of rebound effect from energy-efficiency improvements: direct, indirect and economy-wide. The macroeconomic rebound effect, which is the focus of this paper, is the combination of the indirect and economy-wide effects. Estimates of the effects of no-regrets efficiency policies are reported by the International Energy Agency in World Energy Outlook, 2006, and synthesised in the IPCC AR4 WG3 report. We analyse policies for the transport, residential and services buildings and industrial sectors of the economy for the post-2012 period, 2013-2030. The estimated direct rebound effect, implicit in the IEA WEO/IPCC AR4 estimates, is treated as exogenous, based on estimates from the literature, globally about 10%. The total rebound effect, however, is 31% by 2020 rising to 52% by 2030. The total effect includes the direct effect and the effects of (1) the lower cost of energy on energy demand in the three broad sectors as well as of (2) the extra consumers

The macroeconomic rebound effect and the world economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barker, T.; Dagoumas, A.; Rubin, J.

2009-01-01

This paper examines the macroeconomic rebound effect for the global economy arising from energy-efficiency policies. Such policies are expected to be a leading component of climate policy portfolios being proposed and adopted in order to achieve climate stabilisation targets for 2020, 2030 and 2050, such as the G8 50% reduction target by 2050. We apply the global 'New Economics' or Post Keynesian model E3MG, developing the version reported in IPCC AR4 WG3. The rebound effect refers to the idea that some or all of the expected reductions in energy consumption as a result of energy-efficiency improvements are offset by an increasing demand for energy services, arising from reductions in the effective price of energy services resulting from those improvements. As policies to stimulate energy-efficiency improvements are a key part of climate-change policies, the likely magnitude of any rebound effect is of great importance to assessing the effectiveness of those policies. The literature distinguishes three types of rebound effect from energy-efficiency improvements: direct, indirect and economy-wide. The macroeconomic rebound effect, which is the focus of this paper, is the combination of the indirect and economy-wide effects. Estimates of the effects of no-regrets efficiency policies are reported by the International Energy Agency in World Energy Outlook, 2006, and synthesised in the IPCC AR4 WG3 report. We analyse policies for the transport, residential and services buildings and industrial sectors of the economy for the post-2012 period, 2013-2030. The estimated direct rebound effect, implicit in the IEA WEO/IPCC AR4 estimates, is treated as exogenous, based on estimates from the literature, globally about 10%. The total rebound effect, however, is 31% by 2020 rising to 52% by 2030. The total effect includes the direct effect and the effects of (1) the lower cost of energy on energy demand in the three broad sectors as well as of (2) the extra consumers' expenditure

Technical Veil, Hidden Politics: Interrogating the Power Linkages behind the Nexus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeremy Allouche

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The nexus is still very much an immature concept. Although it is difficult to disagree with a vision of integration between water, food and energy systems, there are fewer consensuses about what it means in reality. While some consider its framing to be too restrictive (excluding climate change and nature, particular actors see it as linked to green economy and poverty reduction, while others emphasise global scarcity and value chain management. The nexus debates, however, mask a bigger debate on resource inequality and access, contributing to social instability. Indeed, the market-technical framing of the nexus by the World Economic Forum, located in international business imperatives and global neoliberal policy hides political issues such as inequality, the manufacture of scarcity and international political economy and geopolitics. By addressing these, we then propose a new framing of the nexus.

The soil in the bio-economy (Main report); De bodem in de bio-economie (Hoofdrapport)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Croezen, H.J.; Odegard, I.Y.R.; Bergsma, G.C. [CE Delft, Delft (Netherlands); Langeveld, J.W.A. [Biomass Research, Wageningen (Netherlands)

2013-03-15

The impact on soils of further development of the biobased economy has been investigated. Policymakers in the Netherlands and the EU are keen to see this grow to a share of 25-30% in the overall economy by 2030-2040. Under these plans biomass will be used in the energy sector (electricity, heat, gas), transport sector (biodiesel, bioethanol) and chemical industry. For 21 biomass supply chains this study examines the effects on the organic matter content of soils, the nutrient requirements (NPK), water consumption, land use, ecotoxicity and climate balance, including soil effects. The main result to emerge from the analysis is that there are major differences between the various biomass chains. Some have positive effects on soil organic matter balance, require low nutrient inputs and score well on climate balance, while others need up to ten times more inputs for the same contribution to the biobased economy. Chains in which nutrients are returned to the soil perform relatively better, for example ethanol production with return of the lignin fraction. Ethanol from sugarcane also scores fairly high, but only on condition that leaves and heads are not burned, but left on the field. The supply chains in question have also been translated into a number of complete scenarios for European conversion to a 25% biobased economy. This confirmed that varying the precise design of the scenarios has a major impact on soil parameters. Based on this analysis, we recommend that greater attention be paid to the soil effects of biobased supply chains in policies relating to the biobased economy, for example by including more detailed descriptions of soil-related aspects in sustainability criteria and subsidies. The results of the study are presented in a Main Report and in separate Appendices detailing agricultural aspects [Dutch] In opdracht van de Technische Commissie Bodem (TCB) heeft CE Delft samen met Biomass Research onderzocht wat de bodemkundige effecten zijn van het verder

Will Global Climate Change Alter Fundamental Human Immune Reactivity: Implications for Child Health?

Science.gov (United States)

Swaminathan, Ashwin; Lucas, Robyn M; Harley, David; McMichael, Anthony J

2014-11-11

The human immune system is an interface across which many climate change sensitive exposures can affect health outcomes. Gaining an understanding of the range of potential effects that climate change could have on immune function will be of considerable importance, particularly for child health, but has, as yet, received minimal research attention. We postulate several mechanisms whereby climate change sensitive exposures and conditions will subtly impair aspects of the human immune response, thereby altering the distribution of vulnerability within populations-particularly for children-to infection and disease. Key climate change-sensitive pathways include under-nutrition, psychological stress and exposure to ambient ultraviolet radiation, with effects on susceptibility to infection, allergy and autoimmune diseases. Other climate change sensitive exposures may also be important and interact, either additively or synergistically, to alter health risks. Conducting directed research in this area is imperative as the potential public health implications of climate change-induced weakening of the immune system at both individual and population levels are profound. This is particularly relevant for the already vulnerable children of the developing world, who will bear a disproportionate burden of future adverse environmental and geopolitical consequences of climate change.

Will Global Climate Change Alter Fundamental Human Immune Reactivity: Implications for Child Health?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashwin Swaminathan

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The human immune system is an interface across which many climate change sensitive exposures can affect health outcomes. Gaining an understanding of the range of potential effects that climate change could have on immune function will be of considerable importance, particularly for child health, but has, as yet, received minimal research attention. We postulate several mechanisms whereby climate change sensitive exposures and conditions will subtly impair aspects of the human immune response, thereby altering the distribution of vulnerability within populations—particularly for children—to infection and disease. Key climate change-sensitive pathways include under-nutrition, psychological stress and exposure to ambient ultraviolet radiation, with effects on susceptibility to infection, allergy and autoimmune diseases. Other climate change sensitive exposures may also be important and interact, either additively or synergistically, to alter health risks. Conducting directed research in this area is imperative as the potential public health implications of climate change-induced weakening of the immune system at both individual and population levels are profound. This is particularly relevant for the already vulnerable children of the developing world, who will bear a disproportionate burden of future adverse environmental and geopolitical consequences of climate change.

The geopolitics of $10 oil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1998-01-01

The market and the geopolitical implications of the possibility of $10 a barrel becoming the norm for oil prices in 1999 are examined. The low price will present budgetary difficulties for all the world's major oil producing countries with the exception of Brunei. In some countries, such as Nigeria and Venezuela, general financial and economic reform will become inevitable with the pressure for political reform to follow. If energy development is to continue in the Caspian region in a low price era, long term political stability will be necessary and a move towards democracy from the present autocracies may be necessary to achieve this. In the Middle East, countries are facing the erosion of their core financial base. Depressed oil prices could force Gulf States, which in the past have depended on their oil revenues alone, to introduce taxation as an alternative source of income. Hitherto, oil has meant power in political as well as in energy terms, but the diminished value of oil in a world where their are alternative energy sources will reduce the importance, even of key regions such as the Middle East. The power of OPEC is threatened by its failure to bring about the massive co-ordinated production cutbacks which alone might turn the market around. The beneficiaries of cheap oil will be the consuming nations, particularly those of East Asia where the pace of economic recovery will be speeded up. (UK)

Economic impacts of climate change in Australia: framework and analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ford, Melanie

2007-01-01

Full text: There is growing interest in understanding the potential impacts of climate change in Australia, and especially the economic impacts of 'inaction'. In this study, a preliminary analysis of the possible economic impacts of future climate change in Australia is undertaken using ABARE's general equilibrium model of the global economy, GTEM. In order to understand the potential economy-wide economic impacts, the broad climatic trends that Australia is likely to experience over the next several decades are canvassed and the potential economic and non-economic impacts on key risk areas, such as water resources, agriculture and forests, health, industry and human settlements and the ecosystems, are identified. A more detailed analysis of the economic impacts of climate change are undertaken by developing two case studies. In the first case study, the economic impact of climate change and reduced water availability on the agricultural sector is assessed in the Murray-Darling Basin. In the second case study, the sectoral economic impacts on the Australian resources sector of a projected decline in global economic activity due to climate change is analysed. The key areas of required development to more fully understand the economy-wide and sectoral impacts of climate change are also discussed including issues associated with estimating both non-market and market impacts. Finally, an analytical framework for undertaking integrated assessment of climate change impacts domestically and globally is developed

National policy response to climate change in South Africa | Garland ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The South African government has taken several steps in response to climate change and its associated threats to human health. The National Climate Change Response Plan White Paper defines government's vision for effective climate change response and transitioning to a climate-resilient, low-carbon economy.

Public opinion on renewable energy: The nexus of climate, politics, and economy

Science.gov (United States)

Olson-Hazboun, Shawn K.

extractive industries. I also find pervasive climate skepticism across study sites. These findings indicate the need for broad-based and non-partisan discursive frames for renewable energy. Last, these findings speak to the importance of the 'just transitions' concepts, and the need to incorporate those communities most marginalized by the current system of fossil fuels extraction and production as society moves forward toward a cleaner energy economy.

The Amazon Hydroelectric Dams, an Internal Geopolitical Issue in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broggio, Celine; Droulers, Martine; Pallamar, Juan-Pablo

2017-01-01

This paper develops a geopolitical analysis of dams and hydroelectric plants in the Brazilian Amazon since the mid-2000's. The implementation of these projects has provoked tensions within the federal government under the presidency of the Workers' Party and accelerated the erosion of the ideological and political platform called 'socio-environmentalism', a situation that has led to the break-up of the coalition leading to the political crisis of 2016 and the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. From a regional point of view, the dispute occurred in very different terms in the case of the Madeira hydroelectric power stations (Santo Antonio and Jirau in Rondonia) and in the case of the Xingu dam (Belo Monte in Para), worldwide covered by the media

National climate goals. Hurdle and opportunity for a climate consensus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bettzuege, Marc Oliver

2018-01-01

In the area of climate and energy policy, exploratory talks over the past few months have shown how important a common target architecture is as a compass for the coming legislative period. Three different levels can be distinguished: Paris (and thus Europe), Germany, sectors in Germany. Finding a balanced climate policy solution requires more exchange of views and less political dirigisme. In a dialogue between state and economy development paths could be spelled out together. [de

Carbon mitigation technologies for emerging economies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-05-15

A review of the various options being pursued to reduce carbon intensities in five developing countries, namely Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa. These are major emerging economies, all of which are vulnerable to adverse effects from climate change, with their governments having to balance economic, environmental and social priorities. All have large carbon footprints; however, in each case, they have made commitments to reduce carbon intensities over the period to 2030 and, in some cases, beyond.

FROM CIRCULAR ECONOMY TO BLUE ECONOMY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iustin-Emanuel, ALEXANDRU

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Addressing the subject of this essay is based on the background ideas generated by a new branch of science - Biomimicry. According to European Commissioner for the Environment, "Nature is the perfect model of circular economy". Therefore, by imitating nature, we are witnessing a process of cycle redesign: production-consumption-recycling. The authors present some reflections on the European Commission's decision to adopt after July 1, 2014 new measures concerning the development of more circular economies. Starting from the principles of Ecolonomy, which is based on the whole living paradigm, this paper argues for the development within each economy of entrepreneurial policies related to the Blue economy. In its turn, Blue economy is based on scientific analyses that identify the best solutions in a business. Thus, formation of social capital will lead to healthier and cheaper products, which will stimulate entrepreneurship. Blue economy is another way of thinking economic practice and is a new model of business design. It is a healthy, sustainable business, designed for people. In fact, it is the core of the whole living paradigm through which, towards 2020, circular economy will grow more and more.

The New Geographical Structures of the Capitalist World-Economy and the Role of the BRICS: a View from Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandre de Freitas Barbosa

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an alternative theoretical framework in order to understand the new nature of the capitalist world-economy and its corresponding international division of labor. It studies the meaning of BRICS by examining the once-held belief that the world was divided by a center, semi-periphery and periphery; it analyses the newly established divisions of intra-South and intra-North. These countries operate under various forms of capitalism, thus creating new power relations that work collectively from a geopolitical standpoint. Despite weak economic ties, with the exception of China, leaders of the BRICS are attempting to promote a reform within multilateral organizations and the G-20. The objective of this paper is to shed light on such challenges to this new strategy facing these countries, particularly from the perspective of Brazil’s foreign policy.

Shadows on Israeli Gas Success Story: a Political and Geopolitical Risk Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boncourt, Maite de

2015-12-01

In Israel, both the regional geopolitical context and domestic politics play an important role in the development of the offshore gas fields. The country has been a forerunner in the discovery of the Eastern Mediterranean basin, thanks to the dedication of the private sector and the support of the State. Today, the entire region is under the spotlights for its energy potential, but the development of the gas resources in Israel still has to deal with internal challenges, related notably to the governance of the sector and the stabilization of the legislative framework to attract investments. (author)

Achieving stringent climate targets. An analysis of the role of transport and variable renewable energies using energy-economy-climate models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pietzcker, Robert Carl

2014-07-01

technologies photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) in REMIND confirms the dominant role of these variable renewable energies for the decarbonization of the power sector. Recent cost reductions have brought PV to cost-competitiveness in regions with high midday electricity demand and high solar irradiance. The representation of system integration costs in REMIND is found to have significant impact on the competition between PV and CSP in the model: the low integration requirements of CSP equipped with thermal storage and hydrogen co-firing make CSP competitive at high shares of variable renewable energies, which leads to substantial deployment of both PV and CSP in low stabilization scenarios. A cross-model study of transport sector decarbonization confirms the earlier finding that the transport sector is not very reactive to intermediate carbon price levels: Until 2050, transport decarbonization lags 10-30 years behind the decarbonization of other sectors, and liquid fuels dominate the transport sector. In the long term, however, transportation does not seem to be an insurmountable barrier to stringent climate targets: As the price signals on CO{sub 2} increase further, transport emissions can be reduced substantially - if either hydrogen fuel cells or electromobility open a route to low-carbon energy carriers, or second generation biofuels (possibly in combination with CCS) allow the use of liquid-based transport modes with low emissions. The last study takes up the fundamental question of this thesis and analyses the trade-off between the stringency of a climate target and the resulting techno-economic requirements and costs. We find that transforming the global energy-economy system to keep a two-thirds likelihood of limiting global warming to below 2 C is achievable at moderate economic implications. This result is contingent on the near-term implementation of stringent global climate policies and full availability of several technologies that are still in

From Climate Change Awareness to Energy Efficient Behaviour

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Niamir, Leila; Filatova, Tatiana

2016-01-01

Understanding and predicting how climate will change, and whether and how a transition to low-carbon economies will develop over the next century is of vital importance. Nowadays there is high competition between countries to achieve a low-carbon economy. They are examining different ways e.g.

Nuclear power--the hope of green economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tian Jiashu; Wang Chuang

2010-01-01

The thesis introduces the current situation of nuclear power development and developed countries' attitude towards nuclear power as the demand for energy consumption is continuously increasing with the global economic and social development and the green house gas emission leads to global warming. By comparison of the impact to the environment and the generating cost between thermal power and nuclear power, it is of great significance to strengthen nuclear power development to carry out international cooperation on low-carbon economy and to enhance self-innovation for developing the green economy and dealing with climate change. Based on the analysis of nuclear industry development in China, the Mid-Long Term Development Plan for Nuclear Power has been set up, and challenges and objectives of nuclear and radiation safety regulation have been brought forward. (authors)

Point Climat no. 29 'Managing France's energy transition while safeguarding economic competitiveness: be productive'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sartor, Oliver; Leguet, Benoit

2013-01-01

Among the publications of CDC Climat Research, 'Climate Briefs' presents, in a few pages, hot topics in climate change policy. This issue addresses the following points: - Is the French energy transition compatible with economic growth and a 'competitive' French economy? Our answer is 'yes, with some conditions'. - The French economy is better positioned today for a meaningful energy transition than it has been for over 40 years. At the level of the macro-economy, a steady shift to higher energy prices is now much easier without hurting economic growth than it once was. - A small percentage of energy-intensive sectors may need targeted and temporary assistance with this transition

Climate Change and China as a Global Emerging Regulatory Sea Power in the Arctic Ocean

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cassotta Pertoldi-Bianchi, Sandra; Hossain, Kamrul; Ren, Jingzheng

2015-01-01

The impact of climate change in the Arctic Ocean such as ice melting and ice retreat facilitates natural resources extraction. Arctic fossil fuel becomes the drivers of geopolitical changes in the Arctic Ocean. Climate change facilitates natural resource extractions and increases competition...... on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Arctic Council (AC) are taken into consideration under climate change effects, to assess how global legal frameworks and institutions can deal with China’s strategy in the Arctic Ocean. China’s is moving away from its role as “humble power” to one of “informal...... imperialistic” resulting in substantial impact on the Arctic and Antartic dynamism. Due to ice-melting, an easy access to natural resources, China’s Arctic strategy in the Arctic Ocean has reinforced its military martitime strategy and has profoundly changed its maritime military doctrine shifting from regional...

Collaborative Economy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

collaborative economy and tourism Dianne Dredge and Szilvia Gyimóthy PART I - Theoretical explorations 2.Definitions and mapping the landscape in the collaborative economy Szilvia Gyimóthy and Dianne Dredge 3.Business models of the collaborative economy Szilvia Gyimóthy 4.Responsibility and care...... in the collaborative economy Dianne Dredge 5.Networked cultures in the collaborative economy Szilvia Gyimóthy 6.Policy and regulatory perspectives in the collaborative economy Dianne Dredge PART II - Disruptions, innovations and transformations 7.Regulating innovation in the collaborative economy: An examination...... localities of tourism Greg Richards 11.Collaborative economy and destination marketing organizations: A systems approach Jonathan Day 12.Working within the Collaborative Tourist Economy: The complex crafting of work and meaning Jane Widtfeldt Meged and Mathilde Dissing Christensen PART - III Encounters...

Climate plan 2004; Plan climat 2004

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2004-07-01

The Climate Plan is an action plan drawn up by the French Government to respond to the climate change challenge, first by 2010 (complying with the Kyoto Protocol target), and, secondly, beyond this date. Projections for France show that national emissions could be 10% higher than the Kyoto target in 2010 if no measures are taken. This is particularly due to increasing emissions in the sectors affecting daily life (residential-tertiary sectors, transport, etc.). For this reason, the Climate Plan contains measures affecting all sectors of the economy and the daily life of all French citizens with a view to economizing the equivalent of 54 million tonnes of CO{sub 2} each year by the year 2010, which will help to reverse the trend significantly. Beyond 2010, the Climate Plan sets out a strategy for technological research which will enable France to meet a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions four or fivefold by 2050. (author)

Great plains regional climate assessment technical report

Science.gov (United States)

The Great Plains region (GP) plays important role in providing food and energy to the economy of the United States. Multiple climatic and non-climatic stressors put multiple sectors, livelihoods and communities at risk, including agriculture, water, ecosystems and rural and tribal communities. The G...

China in the transition to a low-carbon economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Zhongxiang

2010-01-01

China, from its own perspective cannot afford to and, from an international perspective, is not allowed to continue on the conventional path of encouraging economic growth at the expense of the environment. Instead, China needs to transform its economy to effectively address concern about a range of environmental problems from burning fossil fuels and steeply rising oil import and international pressure on it to exhibit greater ambition in fighting global climate change. This paper first discusses China's own efforts towards energy saving and pollutants cutting, the widespread use of renewable energy and participation in clean development mechanism, and puts carbon reductions of China's unilateral actions into perspective. Given that that transition to a low carbon economy cannot take place overnight, the paper then discusses China's policies on promoting the use of clean coal technologies and nuclear power. Based on these discussions, the paper provides some recommendations on issues related to energy conservation and pollution control, wind power, nuclear power and clean coal technologies and articulates a roadmap for China regarding its climate commitments to 2050.

Transition to a green economy – a challenge and a solution for the world economy in multiple crisis context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alina-Mihaela BABONEA

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The concept of "Green Economy" is heavily debated recently because it is considered to be essential for the future global economy. This concept aims to find practical solutions that can be applied in international affairs regarding the environment development as a result of the massive problems caused by multiple crises that are no longer solvable. However, the international community is looking for long-term alternatives to improve the quality of life and eliminate poverty population as much as possible.To make sustainable economic development requires a transition with multiple implications for both the government and the private sector. In other words, you need a joint effort between public and private, in order to separate economic growth from excessive use of resources; the main objective should be considered the quality of life along with reducing the environmental and social deficit.The transition to a "Green Economy" means practicing a certain type of economy based on policies and investment that should be able to create a connection between economic development, biodiversity, ecosystem, climate change, health and welfare on the medium and long term. These premises must be connected together to achieve sustainable development – which is considered the resumption of economic growth at global scale.Switching to "Green Economy" implies a proper concern based on adequate knowledge, research and innovation in order to create a framework for promoting sustainable development on long term. This study aims to generate an overview on the concept of "Green Economy", considered by some experts as the main solution to the problems that countries of the world are facing nowadays. It is well known that the economic system is situated in a collapse and requires a rethinking from all points of view. A solution to adapt the economy and its development to these new global challenges can be the transition to "Green Economy", especially by integrating the

Re-Engineering Vocational and Technical Education (VTE) for Sustainable Development in North Central Geo-Political Zone, Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Sofoluwe, Abayomi Olumade

2013-01-01

The purpose of the study is to re-engineer vocational and technical education for sustainable development in the North Central Geo-Political Zone in Nigeria. The research design adopted was a survey inferential type. Stratified random was used to select 36 schools out of 98 schools while 920 students out of 3680 students were sampled. The data…

The European supply security of petroleum and natural gas in the coming years. Economical and geopolitical risks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van der Linde, C.

2001-01-01

An overview is given of the geopolitical risks for oil and gas and (inter)national strategies to limit those risks. The risk assessment is motivated by the increasing dependency for European countries on imports of oil and gas from the Russian Federation, Caspian Sea region and the countries around the Persian Gulf in the next decades [nl

The Genesis of the Russian Empire’s geopolitical strategy in the Pacific region (1724-1917 gg.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. O. Kovaleva

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The article considers the genesis’ peculiarities of the Russian Empire’s geopolitical strategy in the Pacific region. Geostrategy is defined, its main components distinguished. Geostrategy is divided into external (expansion and internal (organization of the territory of the state. The main regularities of development of new territories investigate. External expansion is analyzed in the context of relations with neighboring countries (Japan, China, Korea, USA.

Research on climate effects. Effects of climate changes. Proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, W.; Stein, G.

1991-01-01

Global changes affecting the earth are at the forefront of public interest, possibly caused by climate alterations amongst other things. The public expects appropriate measures from politics to successfully adapt to unavoidable climate changes. As well as an investigation into the causes of climatic changes and the corollaries between the different scientific phenomena, the effects on the economy and society must also be examined. The Federal Minister for Research and Technology aims to make a valuable German contribution to international Global Change Research with the focal point ''Effects of Climate Changes on the Ecological and Civil System''. The aim of the workshop was to give an outline of current scientific knowledge, sketch out research requirements and give recommendations on the focal point with regard to the BMFT. (orig.) [de

A New High Resolution Climate Dataset for Climate Change Impacts Assessments in New England

Science.gov (United States)

Komurcu, M.; Huber, M.

2016-12-01

Assessing regional impacts of climate change (such as changes in extreme events, land surface hydrology, water resources, energy, ecosystems and economy) requires much higher resolution climate variables than those available from global model projections. While it is possible to run global models in higher resolution, the high computational cost associated with these simulations prevent their use in such manner. To alleviate this problem, dynamical downscaling offers a method to deliver higher resolution climate variables. As part of an NSF EPSCoR funded interdisciplinary effort to assess climate change impacts on New Hampshire ecosystems, hydrology and economy (the New Hampshire Ecosystems and Society project), we create a unique high-resolution climate dataset for New England. We dynamically downscale global model projections under a high impact emissions scenario using the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) with three nested grids of 27, 9 and 3 km horizontal resolution with the highest resolution innermost grid focusing over New England. We prefer dynamical downscaling over other methods such as statistical downscaling because it employs physical equations to progressively simulate climate variables as atmospheric processes interact with surface processes, emissions, radiation, clouds, precipitation and other model components, hence eliminates fix relationships between variables. In addition to simulating mean changes in regional climate, dynamical downscaling also allows for the simulation of climate extremes that significantly alter climate change impacts. We simulate three time slices: 2006-2015, 2040-2060 and 2080-2100. This new high-resolution climate dataset (with more than 200 variables saved in hourly (six hourly) intervals for the highest resolution domain (outer two domains)) along with model input and restart files used in our WRF simulations will be publicly available for use to the broader scientific community to support in-depth climate

The Political Economy of Carbon Tax in South Africa | Mbadlanyana ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This is why many countries are trying to change environmentally harmful behaviour by introducing market-based mitigation measures such as carbon tax. This article engages with the discourse on the political economy of climate change, with a particular focus on South Africa, with the aim of assessing the viability of ...

Climate economics in progress 2011; Climate economics in progress 2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

De Perthuis, Christian [Paris-Dauphine University (France); Jouvet, Pierre-Andre [Paris-Ouest University (France); Trotignon, Raphael; Simonet, Gabriela; Boutueil, Virginie [Climate Economics Chair, Paris-Dauphine University (France)

2011-10-01

Climate Economics in Progress offers a global overview of the present status of action on climate change. Drawing on the most recent data, it analyzes the development of carbon markets in Europe and other parts of the world. It also examines the conditions for including major players such as China and new sectors such as agriculture, forestry and transport in the fight against global warming. The book is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand current advances in climate control, which could pave the way for a new form of economic growth. The book brings together a group of researchers whose goal is to make the link between academic research on the economics of climate change and the implementation of operational tools, thereby allowing the climate issue to be integrated into the functioning of the real economy

Real economy versus virtual economy - New challenges for nowadays society

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Associates Professon Dr. Veronica Adriana Popescu

2011-05-01

Full Text Available In the paper Real Economy versus Virtual Economy – New Challenges for Nowadays Society our goal is to present the importance of both real economy and virtual economy.At the begging of our research, we have presented the main views of some specialists concerning both virtual and real economy. After that we have compared the two types of economies and we have stressed the most important aspects connected to them. The main reason why we have decided to approach this complex subject is due to the increasing interest in the virtual economy matters and the relation that this particular type of economy develops with the real economy.

Economy, Geopolitics, environment: the triple gas issue in the relations between the Eu and Russia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bourguignon, D.

2008-01-01

With the political tinge it has recently acquired, natural gas has taken a central position in the relations between the EU and Russia Besides energy security, the issue has three levels: the first is the opening of markets or the maintaining of monopolies, as much in Russia as in the European Union. The line of fracture is complex, and at present, in spite of rhetoric support on the opening of markets, it is rather their protection which is on the agenda. The second level is that of energy diplomacy Brussels and Moscow come face to face primarily in Central Asia, on the basis of interests and using diametrically opposite instrument. However, their policies are characterised by weighty constraints. The third level is that of the fight against climatic change. Soaring in this field, there are several convergencies between the policies of Brussels and Moscow, particularly in terms of energy efficiency. With this new order, gas could watch itself grow in significance, or otherwise drop, in which case the relation between the EU and Russian would not go uninfluenced. (author)

Energy upgrading measures improve also indoor climate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Foldbjerg, Peter; Knudsen, Henrik Nellemose

2014-01-01

A new survey shows that the economy is what motivates Danish owners of single-family houses the most to start energy upgrading, and that improved indoor climate is also an important factor. After the upgrading, homeowners experience both improved economy and indoor climate. In a strategy...... to increase the number of homeowners who venture into a major energy upgrading of their house, the demonstrated positive side effects, more than energy savings, should be included in the communication to motivate homeowners. The barriers should be reduced by “taking the homeowners by the hand” and helping...... them to choose relevant energy-saving solutions as well as clarifying the financial consequences and opportunities....

The role of the US in the geopolitics of climate policy and stranded oil reserves

Science.gov (United States)

Jaffe, Amy Myers

2016-10-01

Computer-assisted technological innovation and breakthroughs in drilling are revolutionizing the energy landscape, creating greater uncertainty about the future trends for oil use. These new dynamics are prompting major oil producers to reconsider the commercial value of their assets, potentially changing the long-term outlook for oil prices. A shift in investment and production strategy by major oil-producing countries and large multinational companies to pre-empt the risk of stranded assets would have significant implications on energy markets. This Perspective surveys the competitive forces at play that are able to shift the dynamics of the global oil market and discusses their implications for US climate and energy policy. A declining long-term oil price might imply that energy and climate scientists and policymakers should revisit the road map of the optimum policies to promote the transition to lower carbon energy and to defend technology gains already achieved.

IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON RICE AGRICULTURE IN NIGERIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joshua Olusegun Ajetomobi

2011-01-01

This study employed the Ricardian approach to test the relative importance of climate normals (average long-term temperature and precipitation in explaining net revenue from Nigerian rice agriculture under irrigation and dry land conditions.   A survey was done by interviewing 1200 rice farmers from 20 rice producing states in Nigeria. The states covered all the six geopolitical zones in the country. The results showed that increase in temperature will reduce net revenue for dry land rice farms while net revenue rises with increase in temperature for irrigated rice farms. Precipitation had similar effects on rice net revenue. Increase in precipitation will cause reduction in revenue for dry land rice farms whereas it will cause increase in revenue for irrigated farms. The results clearly demonstrate irrigation as a significant techniques used by the farmers to adapt to the climate change. Other adaptation options include Keeping of livestock, engaging in off farm works and the use of different market channels.  Â

A Look at Global Climate Change Through Papal Encyclicals

Science.gov (United States)

Gutry-Korycka, Małgorzata

2017-12-01

The aim of this article is a comprehensive review of Papal Encyclicals in the context of global environmental and climatic change, against the backdrop of the activity of multinational institutions. The Encyclicals look to the future in teaching the faithful, in a manner which indicates that they are part of a goal-oriented policy, both in terms of scientific research, and concrete economic, social, and geopolitical activity. Attention has also been paid to the relationship between the activity of humankind, and global environmental change, particularly of the biotic and climatic variety. If this aggressive anthropogenic activity cannot be deemed responsible for initiating global warming, it may certainly be seen to have "encouraged" it. The impulses behind sustainable development, as well as the instruments of its implementation, and the inspiration behind the idea, have also been discussed. The achievement of this goal, necessitating the balancing of anthropological aspirations and the long-term security of the environment are also referenced in the Encyclicals.

Financial risk and the transition to a low-carbon economy. Towards a carbon stress testing framework - Working Paper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chenet, Hugues; Thomae, Jakob; Janci, Didier; Dupre, Stan; Hubert, Romain; Robins, Nick; Cruickshank, Peter

2015-07-01

On July 27 at Moody's in New York, 2 deg. Investing Initiative launched the report 'Financial risk and the transition to a low-carbon economy' in partnership with UNEP Inquiry and I4CE. The report reviews the main approaches to assessing carbon risk along the investment chain and discusses barriers to its integration in decision making. The report identifies two categories of climate-related financial risks to financial institutions: risks arising from physical climate change and 'carbon risk' which arise from the transition to a low-carbon economy following one of the possible decarbonization pathways. The authors show that to date, risk factors resulting from climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy are generally not taken into consideration by mainstream risk assessment and management frameworks; there are multiple reasons for this. The report reviews a number of 'climate and carbon stress test' initiatives that suggest the materiality of these risks along the investment chain. The materiality of these risks for financial institutions and the financial system remains unclear. Financial regulators and policy makers, notably in France, the United Kingdom, and at the G20 level have nevertheless started responding to the issue

Cultivating success: the need to climate-proof Tanzanian agriculture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chambwera, Muyeye; MacGregor, James

2009-09-15

All farming is a gamble with nature. The impacts of climate change, however, can pit farmers against impossible odds – particularly in poor, geographically vulnerable nations with largely agrarian economies. Tanzania is one such country. Some 80 per cent of its workforce is in agriculture and, with climate change set to lower yields in key crops, the implications for its economy are serious. Where, how and when climate impacts will hit is key – as is an action plan for averting the highest costs. Policy needs to focus immediately on helping farmers adapt to climate impacts by addressing both food production and marketing efficiencies. This is crucial: Tanzania is a test case for economic impacts predicted throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Replicating this policy approach in other low-income countries is essential if low-carbon growth and other development priorities are to become realities.

Climate Vulnerability Assessments : An Assessment of Climate Change Vulnerability, Risk, and Adaptation in Albania’s Power Sector

OpenAIRE

World Bank

2009-01-01

Energy security is a key concern in Albania, which relies on hydropower for about 90 percent of its electricity production. While renewable energy resources like hydropower play a fundamental role in moving the world towards a low-carbon economy, they are also vulnerable to climatic conditions. Climate variability already affects Albania's energy production to a considerable extent, and cl...

Resource Extraction in a Political Economy Framework

OpenAIRE

Ryszka, Karolina

2013-01-01

We analyze resource extraction in a political economy setting by introducing a political leader who optimizes both his own and the society's welfare function. We find that accounting for the private utility of a political elite, its higher discount rate and a different time horizon generally speeds up extraction. The higher than optimal resource extraction is not only relevant in welfare terms, but also regarding possible consequences with respect to climate change. The effect of higher extra...

Equity in climate-economy scenarios: the importance of subnational income distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baer, Paul

2009-01-01

It is widely accepted that climate change raises equity considerations, and this has been addressed in various explicit and implicit ways in scenario-based climate and climate-policy research. In this paper I look in particular at the IPCC's well-known 'Special Report on Emissions Scenarios', in which equity is primarily quantified as the distribution of income between countries, and highlight the need for more explicit treatment of equity both within and across national borders. I apply an existing method for modeling subnational income distributions and show that this affects the results of welfare calculations of the type used in economic analyses of climate policy. Additionally, I suggest ways in which this kind of equity analysis could be applied to questions that address broader considerations of climate policy and development, such as burden sharing in the allocation of obligations, and conclude with remarks that frame the scenario development process in the context of what I call 'the contested storyline of the present'.

Climate change, productivity shocks and demand for freight ground transportation in Atlantic Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yevdokimov, Y. |; New Brunswick Univ., Fredericton, NB; Byelyayev, O.

2005-01-01

A study was conducted to determine the impacts of climate change on the transportation sector in a regional context. The purpose was to analyze potential climate change impacts on demand for freight transportation in Atlantic Canada through its association with other sectors of the regional economy. Freight transportation is designed to meet transportation demands of commodity producers who must deliver their goods to final users. Since it is a by-product of profit maximization and cost minimization by producers of all types of commodities in various sectors of the economy, this study modelled climate change impacts as productivity shocks in relevant sectors of the economy. A computerized simulation was then used to determine how the consequences of these shocks influence the demand for freight transportation. This was accomplished by collecting climate related data in Atlantic Canada as well as aggregate economic data that reflects the economic performance of the regional economy. A growth model that links regional economy to freight transportation was then developed and different scenarios for future developments associated with climate change impacts were evaluated. Computer simulation with Mathcad-8 showed that the conditions specified in the best-case scenario, expected-case scenario and worst-case scenario resulted in a cumulative loss in demand for ground freight transportation of 7.213, 582.127 and 610.92 billion tonne-kilometers respectively, over the 2001-2100 period. In general, the results of the computer simulation demonstrated a considerable decrease in the demand for ground freight transportation in Atlantic Canada resulting from climate change impacts. The loss in demand was found to occur mostly in the first half of this century, with some recovery in the second half because the economic system would adapt to new climate conditions. It was recommended that policy instruments such as regulations or taxes, should be put in place to reduce the impacts

Green gold. 15 tax proposals for a green and innovative economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Engelen, D.; Wit, R.; Blaauw, K.; Winckers, J.

2010-06-01

This publication contains 15 proposals for green taxes in the Dutch economy. The benefit of these 15 proposals is over 11 billion euros per year and leads to a reduction of CO2 emissions of at least 12.5 megatons per year. Greening taxes involves a budget neutral shift from taxing labor and profits to taxing environmental pollution and the depletion of natural resources. The proposals reward businesses and citizens which invest in the development and application of innovative green solutions. This leads to an improvement of climate, environment and nature as well as the competitiveness of the Dutch economy. [nl

Modern Climate Change and Mountain Skiing Tourism: the Alps and the Caucasus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nina M. Pestereva

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Relevance of the research of modern climate change is beyond all doubts at the moment. Climate is, first of all, a significant share of any country’s resources. Losses due to global climate change can affect virtually all branches of economy and social aspects, including energy production, eco-systems, agriculture, forests, construction, transport, tourism etc.Climate change imposes certain mode of economy, a strategy of economy’s development years ahead. According to forecasts, for example the one of European environmental agency (EEA, one of the first “hostages” of climate change will be winter tourism and alpine skiing resorts. Climate change seriously influences incomes of countries and certain regions located in mountain areas and developing winter sports.Yet, forecasts of climatologists on modern climate change trends are ambiguous and sometimes controversial. For this reason definite scientific and practical interest is raised by research in climate change trends in mountain areas based on mostly state network of meteorological stations.

Entrepreneurship Development and Business Climate of Kazakhstan

Science.gov (United States)

Kydyrova, Zhamilya Sh.; Satymbekova, Katira B.; Kerimbek, Galymzhan E.; Imanbayev?, Zauresh O.; Saparbayev?, Saule S.; Nurgalieva, Ainash A.; Ilyas, Akylbek A.; Zhalbinova, Saule K.; Jrauovai, Kuralay S.; Kanafina, Ainura T.

2016-01-01

The goal is to explore the state of development of entrepreneurship and business climate for the formation of a clear mechanism of state support for small and average business in conditions of economy modernization. A special science-based methodology was developed to monitor the condition of entrepreneurship development and business climate in…

The Climate Web Library - All the reference reports on climate changes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wasse, Gwenael

2012-01-01

This document gathers bibliographical information (title and original title, theme, authors, publication date, link to browse the document, and abstract) of documents addressing climatic change (generalities and mechanisms, temperatures, dry periods and rainfalls, snow and ice, oceans, extreme events, sources and sinks of greenhouse gases and feedbacks, breaking points and hazardous changes), impacts and consequences of climate change (pollution and health, soft water, ecosystems, food, agriculture and forestry, coasts and low altitude areas, populations and societies, economy), emissions of greenhouse gases (present emissions, evolution scenarios)

Collaborative Economy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

that are emerging from them, and how governments are responding to these new challenges. In doing so, the book provides both theoretical and practical insights into the future of tourism in a world that is, paradoxically, becoming both increasingly collaborative and individualized. Table of Contents Preface 1.The...... collaborative economy and tourism Dianne Dredge and Szilvia Gyimóthy PART I - Theoretical explorations 2.Definitions and mapping the landscape in the collaborative economy Szilvia Gyimóthy and Dianne Dredge 3.Business models of the collaborative economy Szilvia Gyimóthy 4.Responsibility and care...... in the collaborative economy Dianne Dredge 5.Networked cultures in the collaborative economy Szilvia Gyimóthy 6.Policy and regulatory perspectives in the collaborative economy Dianne Dredge PART II - Disruptions, innovations and transformations 7.Regulating innovation in the collaborative economy: An examination...

Collaborative Economy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

collaborative economy and tourism Dianne Dredge and Szilvia Gyimóthy PART I - Theoretical explorations 2.Definitions and mapping the landscape in the collaborative economy Szilvia Gyimóthy and Dianne Dredge 3.Business models of the collaborative economy Szilvia Gyimóthy 4.Responsibility and care...... and similar phenomena are among these collective innovations in tourism that are shaking the very bedrock of an industrial system that has been traditionally sustained along commercial value chains. To date there has been very little investigation of these trends, which have been inspired by, amongst other...... in the collaborative economy Dianne Dredge 5.Networked cultures in the collaborative economy Szilvia Gyimóthy 6.Policy and regulatory perspectives in the collaborative economy Dianne Dredge PART II - Disruptions, innovations and transformations 7.Regulating innovation in the collaborative economy: An examination...

Climate change and human health

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Warren, John A; Berner, James E; Curtis, Tine

2005-01-01

In northern regions, climate change can include changes in precipitation magnitude and frequency, reductions in sea ice extent and thickness, and climate warming and cooling. These changes can increase the frequency and severity of storms, flooding, or erosion; other changes may include drought...... or degradation of permafrost. Climate change can result in damage to sanitation infrastructure resulting in the spread of disease or threatening a community's ability to maintain its economy, geographic location and cultural tradition, leading to mental stress. Through monitoring of some basic indicators...... communities can begin to develop a response to climate change. With this information, planners, engineers, health care professionals and governments can begin to develop approaches to address the challenges related to climate change....

The Institutional Vision of the Geopolitics of Water Resources in Venezuela (State, Nation and Government)

OpenAIRE

Carlos Javier Lizcano Chapeta

2017-01-01

In the global, regional and local context, water resources are a strategic element from the geopolitical point of view, given the scarcity of water and the management that must be given to this problem from States, governments and nations. In this sense, the purpose is to analyze the strategic importance that has been given to water resources in Venezuela, taking into account the vision of the State, government and nation. A documentary design is used, of descriptive type, and as a data colle...

Techno economic systems and excessive consumption: a political economy of 'pathological' gambling.

Science.gov (United States)

Reith, Gerda

2013-12-01

This article argues that gambling is a paradigmatic form of consumption that captures the intensified logic at the heart of late modern capitalist societies. As well as a site of intensified consumption, it claims that gambling has also become the location of what has been described as a new form of 'social pathology' related to excess play. Drawing on Castells' (1996) notion of techno-economic systems, it explores the ways that intersections between technology, capital and states have generated the conditions for this situation, and critiques the unequal distribution of gambling environments that result. It argues that, while the products of these systems are consumed on a global scale, the risks associated with them tend to be articulated in bio-psychological discourses of 'pathology' which are typical of certain types of knowledge that have salience in neo-liberal societies, and which work to conceal wider structural relationships. We argue that a deeper understanding of the political and cultural economy of gambling environments is necessary, and provide a synoptic overview of the conditions upon which gambling expansion is based. This perspective highlights parallels with the wider global economy of finance capital, as well as the significance of intensified consumption, of which gambling is an exemplary instance. It also reveals the existence of a geo-political dispersal of 'harms', conceived as deteriorations of financial, temporal and social relationships, which disproportionately affect vulnerable social groups. From this, we urge an understanding of commercial gambling based on a critique of the wider social body of gambling environments within techno economic systems, rather than the (flawed) individual bodies within them. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2013.

On the political economy of international climate agreements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Altamirano-Cabrera, J.C.

2007-01-01

Global cooperation is crucial to tackle climate change. However, cooperation on such a scale has proven to be difficult given the public good nature of the problem. Abatement of greenhouse gases (GHGs) results in benefits at a global scale. This translates into strong free-rider incentives that

The economic costs of 'decarbonising' the world economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burniaux, J.M.; Chateau, J.

2008-01-01

Complete text of publication follows: In the context of growing scientific evidence about a relationship between ongoing climate change and man-made Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emissions, policy makers will meet in Copenhagen at the end of 2009 in order to negotiate a new agreement to reduce GHGs emissions. The previous agreement - the Kyoto Protocol that was signed in 1997 and will end in 2012 - encompassed relatively modest emission reductions undertaken by a group of countries (Annex 1 countries). Such a partial action gave rise to concerns about the effectiveness of such a scheme - potentially undermined by the existence of carbon leakages - and its adverse effect on the international competitiveness of the energy-intensive industries in the Annex 1 countries. More importantly, it is now clear that industrialized countries alone are unable to stabilize the earth climate, an objective that is out of range without the active participation of the emerging economies. Therefore, the scenarios that will be discussed at the Copenhagen meeting will need to be much more ambitious, with emissions objectives that will imply a major restructuring of the world economy, putting it on the way of growth without carbon. This presentation will address the trade-offs between economic growth and environmental risks in the choice of a post-Kyoto strategy

Estimates of the long-term U.S. economic impacts of global climate change-induced drought.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ehlen, Mark Andrew; Loose, Verne W.; Warren, Drake E.; Vargas, Vanessa N.

2010-01-01

While climate-change models have done a reasonable job of forecasting changes in global climate conditions over the past decades, recent data indicate that actual climate change may be much more severe. To better understand some of the potential economic impacts of these severe climate changes, Sandia economists estimated the impacts to the U.S. economy of climate change-induced impacts to U.S. precipitation over the 2010 to 2050 time period. The economists developed an impact methodology that converts changes in precipitation and water availability to changes in economic activity, and conducted simulations of economic impacts using a large-scale macroeconomic model of the U.S. economy.

[Climate- and vector-borne diseases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bygbjerg, I.C.; Schioler, K.L.; Konradsen, F.

2009-01-01

The predicted changes in climate have raised concerns that vector-borne diseases may emerge or expand in tempered regions. Malaria, leishmaniasis and tick-borne illnesses are discussed in terms of climate change and their endemic potential, especially in Denmark. While climate may play an important...... role in disease patterns, it is evident that transmission potential is governed by a complex of factors, including socio-economy, health-care capacity and ecology. In Denmark, malaria and leishmaniasis are unlikely to become public health problems, whereas the potential for tick-borne illnesses may...

Climate Change and Agricultural Vulnerability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, G.; Shah, M.; Van Velthuizen, H.

2002-08-01

After the introduction Chapter 2 presents details of the ecological-economic analysis based on the FAO/IIASA agro-ecological zones (AEZ) approach for evaluation of biophysical limitations and agricultural production potentials, and IIASA's Basic Linked System (BLS) for analyzing the world's food economy and trade system. The BLS is a global general equilibrium model system for analyzing agricultural policies and food system prospects in an international setting. BLS views national agricultural systems as embedded in national economies, which interact with each other through trade at the international level. The combination of AEZ and BLS provides an integrated ecological-economic framework for the assessment of the impact of climate change. We consider climate scenarios based on experiments with four General Circulation Models (GCM), and we assess the four basic socioeconomic development pathways and emission scenarios as formulated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its Third Assessment Report. Chapter 3 presents the main AEZ results of the impact of climate change on agriculture. Results comprise environmental constraints to crop agriculture; climate variability and the variability of rain-fed cereal production; changes in potential agricultural land; changes in crop-production patterns; and the impact of climate change on cereal-production potential. Chapter 4 discusses the AEZ-BLS integrated ecological-economic analysis of climate change on the world food system. This includes quantification of scale and location of hunger, international agricultural trade, prices, production, land use, etc. It assesses trends in food production, trade, and consumption, and the impact on poverty and hunger of alternative development pathways and varying levels of climate change. Chapter 5 presents the main conclusions and policy implications of this study

The great climate debate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sudhakara Reddy, B.; Assenza, Gaudenz B.

2009-01-01

For over two decades, scientific and political communities have debated whether and how to act on climate change. The present paper revisits these debates and synthesizes the longstanding arguments. Firstly, it provides an overview of the development of international climate policy and discusses clashing positions, represented by sceptics and supporters of action on climate change. Secondly, it discusses the market-based measures as a means to increase the win-win opportunities and to attract profit-minded investors to invest in climate change mitigation. Finally, the paper examines whether climate protection policies can yield benefits both for the environment and the economy. A new breed of analysts are identified who are convinced of the climate change problem, while remaining sceptical of the proposed solutions. The paper suggests the integration of climate policies with those of development priorities that are vitally important for developing countries and stresses the need for using sustainable development as a framework for climate change policies.

Strategic Program for Biodiversity and Water Resource Management and Climate Change Adaptation in Pakistan

Science.gov (United States)

Sher, Hassan; Aldosari, Ali

2014-05-01

Population pressure, climate change and resulting extreme weather scenarios, armed con?ict and economic pressure have put the situation of Pakistan's biodiversity at risk. Melting glaciers, deforestation, erosion, landslides and depletion of agricultural areas are aggravating the regulation of water ?ow in Pakistan. In Pakistan agro-biodiversity is central to human survival and play vital role in the economy of the country. It contributes 21% to the GDP, employs 45% of the labor force and contributes 71% of the export earnings. Agro- biodiversity in Pakistan is greatly affected by short term climate variability and could be harmed signi?cantly by long-term climate change. As the duration of crop growth cycle is related to temperature, an increase in temperature will speed up crop growth and shorten the duration between sowing and harvesting. This shortening could have an adverse effect on productivity of crops. The present assessment also revealed that hydrological cycle is also likely to be in?uenced by global warming. Since the agricultural crops are heavily dependent on the water, and water resources are inextricably linked with climate; therefore, the projected climate change has serious implications for water resources of the country. The freshwater resources, in Pakistan, are based on snow- and glacier-melt and monsoon rains, both being highly sensitive to climate change. The country speci?c current information strongly suggests that: decrease in glacier volume and snow cover leading to alterations in the seasonal ?ow pattern of Indus River System; increased annual ?ows for a few decades followed by decline in ?ows in subsequent years; increase in the formation and burst of glacial lakes; higher frequency and intensity of extreme climate events coupled with irregular monsoon rains causing frequent ?oods and droughts; and greater demand of water due to higher evapotranspiration rates at elevated temperatures. These trends will have large impact on the spatial

Networked Authoritarianism and the Geopolitics of Information: Understanding Russian Internet Policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nathalie Maréchal

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In the aftermath of the 2016 U.S. election, researchers, policymakers and the general public are grappling with the notion that the 45th president of the United States may very well owe his electoral victory to a sophisticated propaganda effort masterminded by the Kremlin. This article synthesizes existing research on Russia’s domestic information controls, its internet policy at the global level (notably via internet governance processes, and the country’s resurgence as a major geopolitical player to argue that policymakers as well as the general public should consider these themes holistically, particularly as they formulate responses to what many see as the Russian threat to Western liberal democracy. Russia may have lost the Cold War, but it is now waging information warfare against the liberal democracies of Europe and North America in a sophisticated bid to win the next round. Russia does not view internet governance, cybersecurity, and media policy as separate domains. Rather, all the areas covered by those disciplines fall under “information security” for Russian foreign policy. The paper begins by tracing the history of information controls within what is now the Russian Federation before discussing the role of information and internet policy in Russian foreign policy, drawing connections between the Russian government’s control and manipulation of information—including its internet policy—in the domestic and international arenas. Next, it discusses the spread of networked authoritarianism and suggests that a “geopolitics of information” will become increasingly necessary in the coming years. Just as networked authoritarianism establishes strategic infrastructures to control the message domestically and intervene in global media systems, liberal democracies need to rethink media and communication infrastructures to ensure they foster pluralist, rights-respecting societies that are resilient to authoritarianism and

Climate Change Through a Poverty Lens

Science.gov (United States)

Rozenberg, J.; Hallegatte, S.

2017-12-01

Analysis of the economic impact of climate change typically considers regional or national economies and assesses its impact on macroeconomic aggregates such as gross domestic product. These studies therefore do not investigate the distributional impacts of climate change within countries or the impacts on poverty. This Perspective aims to close this gap and provide an assessment of climate change impacts at the household level to investigate the consequences of climate change for poverty and for poor people. It does so by combining assessments of the physical impacts of climate change in various sectors with household surveys. In particular, it highlights how rapid and inclusive development can reduce the future impact of climate change on poverty.

Pedagogical Reflections on Internalizing Geopolitical Representations in Print Media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wisam Khalid Abdul-Jabbar

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This essay explores how print media conceals implicit hegemonic texts that common readers unsuspectingly tend to internalize. These geopolitically infused texts are set to appropriate the reader’s worldviews by sublimating the kind of perceptions and notions they want to promote. This paper raises questions and awareness about how academia responds to these acts of internalization. These geopolitical texts, which dominate most of the print media and other resources, function at an imperceptible level to legitimize presuppositions and mould the world based on its own political imaginaries. To decode and interpret these largely shrewd texts requires a literacy skill that students need to acquire in different academic disciplines. This essay, therefore, explores how print media, such as newspapers and comics, attempts to legitimize knowledge through reports and stories that work at the subliminal level. Since all readers, students, instructors or researchers are vulnerable observers (Behar, 1996, because of our fallible human nature, the act of internalizing mediascaped knowledge becomes alarmingly simple and crucially effective on the way we are directed to perceive the world. By analogy, geopolitical texts are these id-instigated drives that the superego often suppresses and filters into dreams and fiction and yet they ominously somehow found their way out; they stealthily found expression and now they paint reality with their own biased colors. Can readers in the context be dream catchers? Cet article explore la manière dont les médias écrits dissimulent les textes hégémoniques implicites que les lecteurs ordinaires semblent assimiler à leur insu. Ces textes géopolitiquement insufflés sont appelés à approprier la vision du monde des lecteurs en sublimant le type de perceptions et de notions qu’ils souhaitent promouvoir. Cet article soulève des questions et sensibilise l’opinion sur la manière dont le monde universitaire r

Water-ecosystem-economy nexus under human intervention and climate change: a study in the Heihe River Basin (China)

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Y.; Tian, Y.; Wu, X.; Feng, D.

2017-12-01

Recently, "One Belt and One Road" initiative, namely, building the "Silk Road Economic Belt" and "21st Century Maritime Silk Road", has become a global strategy of China and has been discussed as China's "Marshall Plan". The overland route of "One Belt" comes across vast arid lands, where the local population and ecosystem compete keenly for limited water resources. Water and environmental securities represent an important constraint of the "One Belt" development, and therefore understanding the complex water-ecosystem-economy nexus in the arid inland areas is very important. One typical case is Heihe River Basin (HRB), the second largest inland river basin of China, where the croplands in its middle part sucked up the river flow and groundwater, causing serious ecological problems in its lower part (Gobi Desert). We have developed an integrated hydrological-ecological model for the middle and lower HRB (the modeling domain has an area of 90,589 km2), which served as a platform to fuse multi-source data and provided a coherent understanding on the regional water cycle. With this physically based model, we quantitatively investigated how the nexus would be impacted by human intervention, mainly the existing and potential water regulations, and what would be the uncertainty of the nexus under the climate change. In studying the impact of human intervention, simulation-optimization analyses based on surrogate modeling were performed. In studying the uncertainty resulted from the climate change, outputs of multiple GCMs were downscaled for this river basin to drive ecohydrological simulations. Our studies have demonstrated the significant tradeoffs among the crop production in the middle HRB, the water and environmental securities of the middle HRB, and the ecological health of the lower HRB. The underlying mechanisms of the tradeoffs were also systematically addressed. The climate change would cause notable uncertainty of the nexus, which makes the water resources

Resolution on the program energy-climate; Resolution sur le paquet energie-climat

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2008-07-01

This document presents the resolutions proposed in the resolution proposition n. 1261 and concerning the european Commission program on the energy policies and the climate change. Twelve resolution are presented on the energy sources development, the energy efficiency, the energy economy and the carbon taxes. (A.L.B.)

From Rio 1992 to Rio 2012. Twenty years of negotiations on climate: for which result? Which role for Europe? Which futures?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dahan, Amy; Aykut, Stefan C.

2012-01-01

In a first part, the authors propose an overview of the history of the process of negotiations on climate, recall its framework and operation modalities (governance by the United Nations, operation of climate institutions), and outline geopolitical evolutions and significant landmarks (notably the Copenhagen conference). They also question the present credibility of negotiations on climate. Then, they focus on Europe as a major actor of this history, recall the different steps by which Europe gained a peculiar leadership status (Europe as an actor of international negotiations, relationship between climate and European building, evolution of the European ambition). Thirdly, by drawing some lessons from the 2012 Rio Conference, they give an overview of deadlocks, blocks and opportunities on the way to resolve the problem, not only within the United Nations framework but also at different scales. They notably discuss the evolution towards a large energy transition, and the position of Europe in front of commitments with respect to climate

Climate Change And Hydrologic Instability In Yemen

Science.gov (United States)

Kelley, C. P.; Funk, C. C.; McNally, A.; Shukla, S.

2015-12-01

Yemen is one of the most food insecure nations in the world. Its agriculture is strongly dependent on soil moisture that is heavily influenced by surface temperature and annual precipitation. We examine observations of rainfall and surface temperature and find that the rainfall, which exhibits strong interannual variability, has seen a moderate downward trend over the last 35 years while surface temperature has seen a very significant rise over the same period. Yemen has high vulnerability and low resilience to these climate changes stemming from many geopolitical and socioeconomic factors. The threshold of resilience has been crossed as Yemen is embroiled in chaos and conflict. We examine the relationship between climate change and agricultural and water insecurity using observed data and the Noah land surface model. We further used atmospheric reanalyses to explore the atmospheric teleconnections that affect the anomalous regional circulation. According to these investigations the robust surface temperature increase over recent decades, expected to continue under climate change, has strongly depleted the soil moisture. This drying of the soil exacerbated the acute hydrologic insecurity in Yemen, stemming predominantly from unsustainable groundwater use, and was likely a contributing factor to the ongoing conflict. We show that during naturally occurring dry years and under climate change this region experiences anomalous dry air advection from the northeast and that these regional circulation changes appear to be linked to tropical sea-surface temperature forcing and to the Northern Hemisphere midlatitude circulation. These results are an important example of the emerging influence of climate change in hydrologically insecure regions.

Climate and environmental change in China. 1951-2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin, Dahe; Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, BJ; Ding, Yongjian; Mu, Mu

2016-01-01

Through numerous color figures and tables, this book presents the most up-to-date knowledge on climate and environmental change in China. It documents the evidence and attribution of climate and environmental changes in the past few decades and discusses the impacts of climate change on environments, economy, and society. The book further provides projections of climate change and its impacts in the future. Finally, it offers the climate change mitigation and adaption technologies with strategic options which will be of interest for policy makers, researchers and the general public as well.

Climate and environmental change in China. 1951-2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qin, Dahe [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou (China). Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute; Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, BJ (China). State Meteorological Administration; Ding, Yongjian [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou (China). Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute; Mu, Mu (ed.) [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao (China). Inst. of Oceanology

2016-02-01

Through numerous color figures and tables, this book presents the most up-to-date knowledge on climate and environmental change in China. It documents the evidence and attribution of climate and environmental changes in the past few decades and discusses the impacts of climate change on environments, economy, and society. The book further provides projections of climate change and its impacts in the future. Finally, it offers the climate change mitigation and adaption technologies with strategic options which will be of interest for policy makers, researchers and the general public as well.

The Geopolitics of Central Asia after the Annexation of Crimea in 2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Razma Ainis

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The annexation of Crimea accomplished by Russia in 2014 is the event that stands out sharply in the context of post-Cold War international relations: it was the first time after the end of WWII in Europe that a part of the territory of a sovereign state was forcefully annexed. This means that the re-drawing of borders and revisionism are back in international relations as the principles and ways of policy making. It would be plausible to assume that the consequences of an event of such scale would be noticeable not only in its direct neighborhood but as well in more distant, though geopolitically sensitive contexts. The article explores the impact that Russia‘s Crimea campaign has had on the geopolitics of Central Asia and what consequences could be deemed plausible in the future. It is assumed that, due to the annexation of Crimea, international relations started polarizing around the two centers of power: the West and Russia. This trend brings the mentality of strategic confrontation back into international relations. The polarization seemingly becomes a geopolitical factor, which influences the power dynamics in Central Asia in its cultural-informational, military and economic aspects. From the cultural-informational perspective, the polarization is incompatible with the provisions of multivector foreign policies, and pursued by the Central Asian states; therefore, they attempt to neutralize the trend by withholding from taking clear-cut positions with regard to the Ukrainian events. Such a stance, however, does not provide for hedging against military threats, which are perceived as rather real in Central Asia because of the Russian modus operandi in Ukraine, as well as due to the seemingly catalyzing impact of current Russian policies on the local separatist forces and radical Islamic groups. Apprehension about a replication of a Crimean scenario as well as the asymmetric character of military threat may push the Central Asian states to

Climate Change and the Representative Agent

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Howarth, R.B. [Environmental Studies Program, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755 (United States)

2000-02-01

The artifice of an infinitely-lived representative agent is commonly invoked to balance the present costs and future benefits of climate stabilization policies. Since actual economies are populated by overlapping generations of finite-lived persons, this approach begs important questions of welfare aggregation. This paper compares the results of representative agent and overlapping generations models that are numerically calibrated based on standard assumptions regarding climate economy interactions. Under two social choice rules - Pareto efficiency and classical utilitarianism - the models generate closely similar simulation results. In the absence of policies to redistribute income between present and future generations, efficient rates of carbon dioxide emissions abatement rise from 15 to 20% between the years 2000 and 2105. Under classical utilitarianism, in contrast, optimal control rates rise from 48 to 79% this same period. 23 refs.

Comparison between response dynamics in transition economies and developed economies

Science.gov (United States)

Tenenbaum, Joel; Horvatić, Davor; Bajić, Slavica Cosović; Pehlivanović, Bećo; Podobnik, Boris; Stanley, H. Eugene

2010-10-01

In developed economies, the sign of the price increment influences the volatility in an asymmetric fashion—negative increments tend to result in larger volatility (increments with larger magnitudes), while positive increments result in smaller volatility. We explore whether this asymmetry extends from developed economies to European transition economies and, if so, how such asymmetry changes over time as these transition economies develop and mature. We analyze eleven European transition economies and compare the results with those obtained by analyzing U.S. market indices. Specifically, we calculate parameters that quantify both the volatility asymmetry and the strength of its dependence on prior increments. We find that, like their developed economy counterparts, almost all transition economy indices exhibit a significant volatility asymmetry, and the parameter γ characterizing asymmetry fluctuates more over time for transition economies. We also investigate how the association between volatility and volatility asymmetry varies by type of market. We test the hypothesis of a negative correlation between volatility and volatility asymmetry. We find that, for developed economies, γ experiences local minima during (i) “Black Monday” on October 19, 1987, (ii) the dot-com bubble crash in 2002, and (iii) the 2007-2009 global crisis while for transition economies, γ experiences local maxima during times of economic crisis.

Territorial Contradictions of the Rise of China: Geopolitics, Nationalism and Hegemony in Comparative-Historical Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sahan Savas Karatasli

2017-02-01

Full Text Available There is debate in the literature regarding whether China can become a new world hegemonic power in the 21st century. Most existing analyses focus on economic aspects of world hegemony-building processes and ignore its macro-political dimensions. This article starts with the premise that reshaping the geopolitical configuration of the inter-state system is an important part of world hegemony-building processes. One of the ways in which previous and current world hegemonic powers established their world hegemonies was through the inclusion of new nations by co-opting, supporting or sometimes selectively leading a section of nationalist movements into independence. Our comparative analysis shows that, as of now, contemporary China has not been following this historical pattern. Compared to Mao-era China, which was perceived as a champion of national liberation—at least when colonial and semi-colonial areas were at stake—today’s People’s Republic of China (PRC is emerging as a champion of the global geo-political status quo. The current Chinese government is not actively pursuing the transformation of the inter-state system or seeking to create instabilities at different levels. This is because, unlike previous and current world hegemonic powers, during its rise to global preeminence, Chinese territorial integrity has been challenged due to rapid escalation of nationalist/secessionist movements within its own state boundaries. Hence, the PRC's foreign policy has consistently been concerned with creating and preserving macro-political stability at national and international levels.

Is nuance possible in climate change communication?

Science.gov (United States)

Donner, S. D.

2015-12-01

One of the core challenges of climate communication is finding the balance between honestly portraying the science, with all its complexity, and effectively engaging the audience. At a time when all politics are partisan and the media measures value in clicks, complicated stories can become black-and-white. This loss of nuance is acute in tales told of climate change impacts in the developing world, particularly in the low-lying island states of the Pacific. Atoll countries like Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands and the Maldives are certainly existentially threatened by climate change and sea-level rise. Yet the islands and their residents are also more resilient than the dramatic headlines about sinking islands would have you think. Casting the people as helpless victims, however well-intentioned, can actually hurt their ability to respond to climate change. This presentation examines the risks and benefits of providing such nuance on a climate issue that the public and policy-makers generally view as black-and-white. Drawing on efforts a decade of research in Kiribati and other small island developing states in the Pacific, I describe how a mix of cultural differences, geopolitics, and the legacy of colonialism has made the Pacific Islands a narrative device in a western discussion about climate change. I then describe in detail the challenging process of writing a popular magazine story which questions that narrative - but not the long-term threat of sea-level rise - and the personal and political aftermath of its publication. Building upon this humbling experience and findings from psychology, communications and science and technology studies, I outline the key benefits and risks of engaging publicly with the nuances of a climate change issue, and provide a template for effectively communicating nuance in a politically charged atmosphere.

International climate protection legislation. The way towards a global climate agreement in the sense of common but differentiated responsibility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jahrmarkt, Lena

2016-01-01

Climate Change is one of the most important issues in the 21st century. Its extensive impacts regarding society, policy, economy and environment and its threats require an effective reaction at the international level. But does the newly adopted Paris Agreement comply to the expectations? Or how could an effective Climate Agreement be achieved to meet climate effectiveness and climate justice? To answer these questions this study analyses the development of international climate change law in a comprehensive way. In combination with analysing the principle of common, but differentiated responsibility it is possible to present new aspects for a climate Agreement by learning from failures of the past and embracing the raising threat brought about by climate change.

Climatology in support of climate risk management : a progress report.

OpenAIRE

McGregor, G.R.

2015-01-01

Climate risk management has emerged over the last decade as a distinct area of activity within the wider field of climatology. Its focus is on integrating climate and non-climate information in order to enhance the decision-making process in a wide range of climate-sensitive sectors of society, the economy and the environment. Given the burgeoning pure and applied climate science literature that addresses a range of climate risks, the purpose of this progress report is to provide an overview ...

Business strategies for climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duchene, Patrice-Henry; Colas, Julien; Boulharouf, Zoubeida; Chalendar, Pierre-Andre de; Baecher, Cedric; Fonta, Philippe; Gay, Guillaume; Timbaud, Xavier; Rivallain, Mathieu; Salomon, Thierry

2015-03-01

Studies published in 2014, whether by IPCC scientists or New Climate Economy economists, showed that it is still possible to combat climate change without having to give up on economic growth and human development. This applies both to emerging countries which do not want to give up on their promised growth and to developed countries that fear having to surrender their lifestyles. Positioning ourselves on a greenhouse gas emission trajectory enabling us to limit global warming to 2 deg. C by the end of this century nonetheless requires a far-reaching and immediate response coordinated by all economic and political stakeholders. Companies know that they have a major role to play in dealing with the climate challenge. They are ready to change direction, as the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Kimoon urged them to do in September 2014. Companies of all sizes engaged in this process innovate and develop technological, organisational and financial solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the consequences of climate change. They are adjusting their strategies and economic models in response to these new challenges. It is these solutions that are presented in this publication 'Business strategies for climate'. All sectors of the economy are concerned; companies in all sectors can take a forward-looking approach to the changes caused by climate change and mobilise their resources to provide effective responses in line with the issues at stake. Global economic growth is resulting in a huge increase in the demand for mobility and transport. Companies are working on ways to improve vehicles, develop engines that are less fossil-fuel dependent, and on finding new ways for people to move around and to transport goods. The challenge is considerable: it will involve working with the growing need for transport while at the same time massively reducing the sector's greenhouse gas emissions. Cities are home to an ever-increasing number of people

Geopolitics of Natural and Energetic Resources in Vietnam: an Economically Viable Anchor?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mottet, Eric; Lasserre, Frederic

2015-01-01

Since the 1990's, Vietnam has been mutating into an economic dragon together with an unprecedented demographic boom. The high growth expresses itself through an increased demand for energy and raw materials. Though Vietnam is endowed with quite a number of resources, most of them are available in limited amounts. Medium-term estimates reckon the country's fossil resources will not meet the domestic demand. Consequently, Hanoi is planning the development of a national energy policy focused on three sectors: hydroelectricity, renewable energies, and civilian nuclear programme. For lack of strict work plans and adequate financing, the Vietnam energy development plan does not sound technically and financially feasible without the help of foreign players whose presence on the national territory exacerbates the local, national and regional geopolitical stakes

Climate policy. The dirt, the country and the world. Part 1. Solo climate policy is damaging symbol politics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, P.

2008-01-01

This article assumes that the objective of climate policy is to limit climate change. The alternative goal of security of supply was not considered. Some measures can be defended in view of both objectives. This is for example the case with energy saving. It is evident that the climate problem becomes increasingly urgent. If the Netherlands or Europe choose individual climate policy, some 'leakage effects' are unavoidable. Such symbol politics harm the economy, whereas the climate does not benefit. On a national and European scale all means must be put to use to bring global collaboration closer at the shortest possible term. [mk] [nl

Japan in the 21st Century Geopolitics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pío García

2015-06-01

Full Text Available In 1853, Japan was forced to come out of its feudal isolation and become a part of the worldwide business network. Its opening up did not mean surrendering to external powers, but rather becoming immersed in an imperialist struggle, from which it would come out defeated in 1945. Nevertheless, Japan’s prostration was temporary, given that in the post-war period it became an unconditional ally of the same super power that had blocked its military aspirations with two atomic bombs. The strategic agreement with the USA remained intact even after the Cold War had ended. Moreover, the verbal struggle and show of frce in the Senkaku / Diaoyutai Islands, in 2012, facilitated a return to power which was more akin to the dictates of Washington and its security plan in the Pacific political wing. Today, the confrontation in Northeast Asia presents the Korean-American-Japanese block, on one side, and the Sino-Russian-North Korean, on the other, on a fork which must be seen as a new bipolar scheme which will guarantee the regional strategic equilibrium. However, progressive changes are expected in the balance of power in both the Asian sector and the rest of the world, due to the impact of growing Chinese economic, political and military power on geopolitical agreements, including the Japanese-American one.

Nuclear Power and Climate Change: Construction and Consequences of a Geopolitical Rhetoric in France and Sweden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer, Teva

2017-01-01

The political awakening to the climate- change issue in the 1980's has durably de-structured the antinuclear movements. Previously held as the highest global threat, atomic energy became a potential solution to the contemporary environmental challenges thanks to its low emissions of greenhouse gases. However, it appears that these upheavals have not identically impacted every country, as evidenced by the diversity of reactions after the Fukushima accident. Relying on the study of two highly nuclearized countries, France and Sweden, this article intends to analyze the consequences of the climate argument on the balance of power between actors of the conflict over atomic energy's future. While in France, this new issue triggered an internal crisis within the antinuclear movement which did not structurally influence the conflict, it led in Sweden to a complete reorganization of the debate, thus facilitating the return of nuclear power in 2011 in the country

Knowledge Economy

OpenAIRE

Kerr, Aphra; O Riain, Sean

2009-01-01

We examine a number of key questions regarding this knowledge economy. First, we look at the origin of the concept as well as early attempts to define and map the knowledge economy empirically. Second, we examine a variety of perspectives on the socio-spatial organisation of the knowledge economy and approaches which link techno-economic change and social-spatial organisation. Building on a critique of these perspectives, we then go on to develop a view of a knowledge economy that is conteste...

Geopolitics of petroleum. A new market. New risks. New worlds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lestrange, C. de; Paillard, Ch.A.; Zelenko, P.

2005-02-01

The aim of this book is to shade light on a complex world in complete evolution, the stakes of which for today's societies being proportional to the energy and economical importance of petroleum. The big petroleum fear of consuming countries and the reactions linked with oil shocks are now old stories. The producing countries are today at least as vulnerable to price variations and fluxes restrictions as the consumers of developed countries. Two countries, USA and Saudi Arabia, and one organisation, the OPEC, play a key role in the regulation of this system, the equilibrium of which is now threatened by the reinforcement of preoccupations like environment and human rights protection. New challenges occur: the increase of demand, the concentration of offer, some technological changes that would limit the petroleum needs in the future, and the increasing insecurity of key oil-producing regions. At a shorter term, the geopolitical context of Middle-East is the most worrying. (J.S.)

Modeling technical change in climate analysis: evidence from agricultural crop damages.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Adeel; Devadason, Evelyn S; Al-Amin, Abul Quasem

2017-05-01

This study accounts for the Hicks neutral technical change in a calibrated model of climate analysis, to identify the optimum level of technical change for addressing climate changes. It demonstrates the reduction to crop damages, the costs to technical change, and the net gains for the adoption of technical change for a climate-sensitive Pakistan economy. The calibrated model assesses the net gains of technical change for the overall economy and at the agriculture-specific level. The study finds that the gains of technical change are overwhelmingly higher than the costs across the agriculture subsectors. The gains and costs following technical change differ substantially for different crops. More importantly, the study finds a cost-effective optimal level of technical change that potentially reduces crop damages to a minimum possible level. The study therefore contends that the climate policy for Pakistan should consider the role of technical change in addressing climate impacts on the agriculture sector.

Energy policy in China: implications for global climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

ZhongXiang Zhang [University of Groningen, Groningen (Netherlands)

1998-12-31

This is the first systematic and comprehensive analysis of the economic implications of carbon abatement for the Chinese economy. It evaluates the economics of climate change and provides national, cost-effective policies for climate change. The book consists of three main parts, firstly, an analysis of the Chinese energy system to increase awareness of the implications of this sector for China`s future carbon dioxide emissions, secondly, a macroeconomic analysis of carbon dioxide emissions limits using a newly-developed computable general equilibrium model of the Chinese economy; and finally, a cost-effective analysis of carbon abatement options by means of a technology-oriented dynamic optimization model.

Climate and energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1996-01-01

The dossier on Climate and Energy encompasses contributions addressing the following topics: Climate research in Germany, perspectives of the energy of the future; Energy-conserving building design, construction and retrofitting; Companies developing ecological awareness and ecological performance; World population, energy consumption and greenhouse gas abatement; On the uncertainty involved in political evaluation of the global climate change; Economic aspects of the carbon dioxide issue; Ozone - polar stratospheres - clouds and ozone hole; Ozone - vertical ozone distribution in the antarctic region; Sudden climate change; Sulfate aerosols and climate change; Symptoms of the global climate change; IKARUS - greenhouse gas abatement strategies; Energy from fossil fuels; Renewable energy sources; Nuclear fusion; Is there a chance for nuclear energy?; Least-cost planning leading to energy-conserving power plants; Pleading for a sustainable energy economy; Why we both love and destroy nature. The concluding two contributions are interviews highlighting two statements: We will persist in our intention to achieve the declared objectives for greenhouse gas abatement, and: We cannot do without nuclear energy. (RHM) [de

Microrregião Pajeú: economia, clima e desenvolvimento da agricultura através de modelo digital do terreno | Micro region Pajeú: economy, climate and development of agriculture through model digital terrain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nina Iris Verslype

2016-04-01

precipitation, population, Human Development Index and Gross Domestic Product, in order to view the development of the region studied. Municipalities analyzed were: Afogados da Ingazeira, Brejinho, Calumbi, Carnaíba, Flores, Iguaraci, Ingazeira, Itapetim, Quixaba, Santa Cruz da Baixa Verde, Santa Terezinha, São José do Egito, Serra Talhada, Solidão, Tabira, Triunfo e Tuparetama. With climate analysis was possible to realize that the micro region has presents a hot climate with long periods of drought and irregular precipitation alternating between the months of January and May, yet the local economy stands out in livestock is the most developed activity of the Brazilian wilderness

Adapting to climate change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arndt, Channing; Strzepek, Kenneth; Tarp, Finn

2011-01-01

Mozambique, like many African countries, is already highly susceptible to climate variability and extreme weather events. Climate change threatens to heighten this vulnerability. In order to evaluate potential impacts and adaptation options for Mozambique, we develop an integrated modeling...... framework that translates atmospheric changes from general circulation model projections into biophysical outcomes via detailed hydrologic, crop, hydropower and infrastructure models. These sector models simulate a historical baseline and four extreme climate change scenarios. Sector results are then passed...... down to a dynamic computable general equilibrium model, which is used to estimate economy-wide impacts on national welfare, as well as the total cost of damages caused by climate change. Potential damages without changes in policy are significant; our discounted estimates range from US2.3 to US2.3toUS7...

Climate change and the dinosaurs of today

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burton, I.

1991-01-01

A regional response is suggested to the threat of environmental change caused by global warming. Regions should seek to understand the threats and opportunities inherent in climate change and variability, and recognizing the persistent and high uncertainty of both climate and economy, should seek to enhance their own adaptive capacity to deal with the changes. The purpose of regional research should be to identify specific actions that may be taken at the regional level that are resilient. The efforts should include not only government but also business, industry, and other private and independent sector organizations or stakeholders. Critical questions that should be answered include: how the climate will change; how the changes will affect other parameters; what the economic impacts of the changes will be; what the mix of products, inputs, outputs, goods and services, imported and exported, will be; what the comparative advantages of the region will be; what extent these rely on inputs that may be affected by climate change, both positively and negatively; and what steps can be taken to change the shape and direction of the economy and society that will reduce vulnerability and improve resiliency. 1 ref., 1 fig

UNDERGROUND ECONOMY, INFLUENCES ON NATIONAL ECONOMIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CEAUȘESCU IONUT

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of research is to improve the understanding of nature underground economy by rational justification of the right to be enshrined a reality that, at least statistically, can no longer be neglected. So, we propose to find the answer to the question: has underground economy to stand-alone?

Producing an integrated climate-land-energy-water (CLEW) model for glaciated regions in the developing world

Science.gov (United States)

Delman, E. M.; Thomas, B. F.; Famiglietti, J. S.

2013-12-01

Growing concern over the impact of climate change on global freshwater resources has spurred a demand for practical, basin-specific adaptation tools. The potential for water stress is particularly inflated in the glaciated watersheds of the developing world; widespread and rapid glacial retreat has forced regional resource managers to reconcile the reality of a diminishing supply with an overall increase in demand, while accounting for the underlying geopolitical and cultural context. An integrated approach, such as the development of a Climate-Land-Energy-Water (CLEW) model that examines relationships among climate, land-use, and the energy and water sectors, can be used to assess the impact of different climate change scenarios on basin sustainability and vulnerability. This study will first constrain the hydrologic budget in the Río Santa Watershed of Peru using satellite imagery, historical and contemporary stream discharge data, hydrologic modeling, climatic data analysis, and isotopic and chemical tracers. Ultimately, glacier retreat will be examined at the watershed scale and be used as an input in the CLEW model framework to assess hydrologic budget scenarios and the subsequent impact on regional economic and environmental sustainability.

Linear Economy Versus Circular Economy: A Comparative and Analyzer Study for Optimization of Economy for Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sariatli Furkan

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Upon visiting the existing literature on the subject of linear vs. circular economy, this paper finds that, the blueprint of the current economy is hardly sustainable by using the comparative benchmarking method that drained from literature. The intrinsic mechanics of the linear economy, by relying on the wasteful take - make - dispose flow, is detrimental to the environment, cannot supply the growing populace of our planet with essential services and it naturally leads to strained profitability. Elements of a plausible solution to the challenges have been around for decades, although they have only recently been compiled in to the conceptual framework of circular economy. The core ideas of Circular Economy are elimination of waste by design, respect for the social, economic and natural environment and resource-conscious business conduct. Built on the backbone of these principles, the circular economy has demonstrated to deliver tangible benefits and viability to address the economic, environmental and social challenges of our days.

The resilience of the Indian economy to rising oil prices as a validation test for a global energy-environment-economy CGE model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guivarch, C.; Hallegatte, St.; Crassous, R.

2008-09-01

This paper proposes to test the global hybrid computable general equilibrium model IMACLIM-R against macro-economic data. To do so, it compares the modeled and observed responses of the Indian economy to the rise of oil price during the 2003-2006 period. The objective is twofold: first, to disentangle the various mechanisms and policies at play in India's economy response to rising oil prices and, second, to validate our model as a tool capable of reproducing short-run statistical data. With default parametrization, the model predicts a significant decrease in the Indian growth rate that is not observed. However, this discrepancy is corrected if three additional mechanisms identified by the International Monetary Fund are introduced, namely the rise in exports of refined oil products, the imbalance of the trade balance allowed by large capital inflows, and the incomplete pass-through of the oil price increase to Indian customers. This work is a first step toward model validation, and provides interesting insights on the modeling methodology relevant to represent an economy's response to a shock, as well as on how short-term mechanisms - and policy action - can smooth the negative impacts of energy price shocks or climate policies. (authors)

The resilience of the Indian economy to rising oil prices as a validation test for a global energy-environment-economy CGE model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guivarch, Celine; Hallegatte, Stephane; Crassous, Renaud

2009-01-01

This paper proposes to test the global hybrid computable general equilibrium model IMACLIM-R against macroeconomic data. To do so, it compares the modeled and observed responses of the Indian economy to the rise of oil price during the 2003-2006 period. The objective is twofold: first, to disentangle the various mechanisms and policies at play in India's economy response to rising oil prices and, second, to validate our model as a tool capable of reproducing short-run statistical data. With default parameterization, the model predicts a significant decrease in the Indian growth rate that is not observed. However, this discrepancy is corrected if three additional mechanisms identified by the International Monetary Fund are introduced, namely the rise in exports of refined oil products, the imbalance of the trade balance allowed by large capital inflows, and the incomplete pass-through of the oil price increase to Indian customers. This work is a first step toward model validation, and provides interesting insights on the modeling methodology relevant to represent an economy's response to a shock, as well as on how short-term mechanisms - and policy action - can smooth the negative impacts of energy price shocks or climate policies. (author)

Climate: an issue of security or of strategic control?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mascre, D.

2010-01-01

For the United States, climate has become a national security issue. In September 2009 the CIA created a Centre for Climate Change to monitor space and the biosphere, and to verify the levels of pollution of every country worldwide. This initiative is more than just a new mission; it marks a change of policy which acknowledges the new security-related troika of climate, economy and strategic control. (author)

Climate prosperity, parallel paths: Canada-U.S. climate policy choices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) has conducted a study on the economic risks and opportunities of climate policies for Canada in the Canada-United States relationship background. This research aims to inform future policy decisions and provide ideas on means to serve Canadian interests in the context of this climate changing world. The NRTEE's research presented in this report focuses on the economic and environmental implications for Canada of harmonizing with the U.S. on climate policy. The document follows two main objectives: evaluate the consequences of U.S. climate policy choices for Canada and identify the policy options that would lead to a long-term reduction of emissions, taking into account the economic risks associated to policy choices in the U.S. and in Canada. According to the NRTEE, the government of Canada should take under consideration the benefits of the implementation of its own strategy for harmonization. This document provides a path leading to the achievement of a climate policy harmonization with the United States. 52 refs., 18 tabs., 24 figs.

Trading scheme 'key' to low-carbon economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley has emphasised the importance of getting the economics of environmental policy right by introducing market-based mechanisms for pricing emissions. 'Market-based mechanisms such as emissions trading are central to moving to a low-carbon economy,' he said in his latest blueprint. 'A functioning carbon market will deliver a price signal, so there is a long-term incentive to cut emissions further, and a mechanism for trading, so that energy can be allocated efficiently in the economy. It will also encourage greater private investment in clean energy technology.' Mr Beazley said the new market would also reward the many companies who were already adapting to a carbon-constrained world. 'This includes those global companies in Australia that already operate in emissions trading markets overseas. An effective price signal for carbon in Australia will allow these companies to benefit directly from their good corporate citizenship and long-term vision.' Mr Beazley has committed a federal Labor government to work with state governments and business to establish the national trading scheme. He also criticised the Federal Government for refusing to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, which he argued excluded Australian businesses from participating in the emerging global carbon trade. This made it harder for businesses to break into the market for cleaner production technologies overseas. While again admitting Kyoto was not perfect, Mr Beazley said ratification would see Australia part of what would potentially be 'the biggest market in the world by 2020'. He said the recent Asia Pacific Climate Change Pact was a positive step but was not an alternative to Kyoto. 'Above all, it has no economic mechanisms to drive further change. 'Without ratifying Kyoto some of our businesses are missing out on effective participation in international schemes that offer substantial financial rewards for greenhouse gas reductions. 'By ratifying Kyoto and adopting

The Copernicus programme and its Climate Change Service (C3S): a European answer to Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Pinty, Bernard; Thepaut, Jean-Noel; Dee, Dick

2016-07-01

In November 2014, The European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) signed an agreement with the European Commission to deliver two of the Copernicus Earth Observation Programme Services on the Commission's behalf. The ECMWF delivered services - the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) - will bring a consistent standard to how we measure and predict atmospheric conditions and climate change. They will maximise the potential of past, current and future earth observations - ground, ocean, airborne, satellite - and analyse these to monitor and predict atmospheric conditions and in the future, climate change. With the wealth of free and open data that the services provide, they will help business users to assess the impact of their business decisions and make informed choices, delivering a more energy efficient and climate aware economy. These sound investment decisions now will not only stimulate growth in the short term, but reduce the impact of climate change on the economy and society in the future. C3S is in its proof of concept phase and through its climate data store will provide global and regional climate data reanalyses; multi-model seasonal forecasts; customisable visual data to enable examination of wide range of scenarios and model the impact of changes; access to all the underlying data, including climate data records from various satellite and in-situ observations. In addition, C3S will provide key indicators on climate change drivers (such as carbon dioxide) and impacts (such as reducing glaciers). The aim of these indicators will be to support European adaptation and mitigation policies in a number of economic sectors. The presentation will provide an overview of this newly created Service, its various components and activities, and a roadmap towards achieving a fully operational European Climate Service at the horizon 2019-2020. It will focus on the requirements for quality-assured Observation

Middle East geopolitics and the great new game

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El Mallakh, D.H.

1998-01-01

The dynamics of supply and demand of OPEC oil was the focus of this presentation. The geopolitics involved in moving crude oil from land-locked Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan was also discussed, along with the constraints imposed by the lack of adequate means to move land-locked crude oil and natural gas, and the reality of additional investments of $8 billion to $20 billion that will be needed over the next 10 to 20 years to establish a pipeline network. A look at U.S. crude oil imports shows that OPEC's share reached a high at 85 per cent of total imports in 1977, but declined steadily to bottom out at 41 per cent in 1985. Issues of supply security have been invoked in avoiding overdependence on Middle East (Gulf) oil imports, based on concern over the region's political instability, including inter-state conflicts. The heavy reliance of governments in the Gulf states on oil exports for much of their revenue, the implications of current demographics in the region, and the probability of unmet expectations leading to rising discontent, have important implications for future oil supply and demand from the Middle East. Much of the paper is devoted to the exploration of these implications. 6 tabs

Climate changes, biofuels and the sustainable future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zidansek, Aleksander; Blinc, Robert; Jeglic, Anton; Kabashi, Skender; Bekteshi, Sadik; Slaus, Ivo

2009-01-01

Climate change is one of the most dangerous problems of the contemporary world. We can either adapt to the corresponding changes or try to reduce their impact by significantly reducing fossil fuel burning. A hydrogen-based economy using energy from biomass, solar, wind and other renewable sources and/or nuclear energy seems to be a viable alternative. Here we analyse the possibilities of the biofuels to replace fossil fuels and their potential to contribute to hydrogen economy. (author)

Climate changes, biofuels and the sustainable future

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zidansek, Aleksander; Blinc, Robert [Jozef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Jamova 39, Ljubljana (Slovenia); Jozef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, Ljubljana (Slovenia); Jeglic, Anton [Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana (Slovenia); Kabashi, Skender; Bekteshi, Sadik [Faculty of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Prishtina, Kosovo (RS); Slaus, Ivo [Ruder Boskovic Institute, Bijenicka 54, Zagreb (Croatia)

2009-08-15

Climate change is one of the most dangerous problems of the contemporary world. We can either adapt to the corresponding changes or try to reduce their impact by significantly reducing fossil fuel burning. A hydrogen-based economy using energy from biomass, solar, wind and other renewable sources and/or nuclear energy seems to be a viable alternative. Here we analyse the possibilities of the biofuels to replace fossil fuels and their potential to contribute to hydrogen economy. (author)

Holocene climate change and the evidence for solar and other forcings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beer, J.; van Geel, B.; Battarbee, R.W.; Binney, H.A.

2008-01-01

Future climate change may have considerable effects on the hydrologic cycle and temperature, with significant consequences for sea level, food production, world economy, health, and biodiversity. How and why does the natural climate system vary on decadal to millennial time-scales? Do we

Considerations in Starting Climate Change Research

Science.gov (United States)

Long, J. C. S.; Morgan, G.; Hamburg, S.; Winickoff, D. E.

2014-12-01

Many have called for climate engineering research because the growing risks of climate change and the geopolitical and national security risks of climate remediation technologies are real. As the topic of climate engineering remains highly controversial, national funding agencies should evaluate even modest outdoor climate engineering research proposals with respect to societal, legal, and risk considerations in making a decision to fund or not to fund. These concerns will be extremely difficult to coordinate internationally if they are not first considered successfully on a national basis. Assessment of a suite of proposed research projects with respect to these considerations indicates we would learn valuable lessons about how to govern research by initiating a few exemplar projects. The first time an issue arrives it can be very helpful if it there are specific cases, not a broad class of projects. A good first case should be defensible and understandable, fit within the general mandate of existing research programs, have negligible physical risk, small physical scale and short duration. By focusing on a specific case, the discussion can be held with limits and help to establish some track record in dealing with a controversial subject and developing a process for assigning appropriate scrutiny and outreach. Even at an early stage, with low risk, small-scale experiments, obtaining broad-based advice will aid in dealing with the controversies. An independent advisory body can provide guidance about a wide spectrum of physical and social risks of funding the experiment compared to societal benefit of gaining understanding. Clearly identifying the research as climate engineering research avoids sending research down a path that might violate public trust and provide an important opportunity to grow governance and public engagement at an early stage. Climate engineering research should be seen in the context of all approaches to dealing with the climate problem

Green Economy, A Proposal to Safeguard the Life on the Planet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oscar Eduardo Cabrera Venot

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Many organizations around the world dedicate their efforts to the presentation of plans and proposals for the conservation of the planet and its inhabitants based on the preservation of the environment, and specifically attacking the causes of global warming, inflicted by greenhouse effect. All these efforts are to be welcomed, the proposals become tangible facts and in the world population must be sensitized on their role as an individual in this scenario. But behind all this there are interests of economic order that significantly affect the economies of entire nations, and that is where the main obstacles to the implementation of conservation programs are presented. This essay, based on a literature review and analysis of literature sources, aims to show the main aspects to the author, should be considered in an eco-economy, a term introduced by Brown in 2006, or a green economy, for that some reflections on the present world economy are presented, then present some considerations on the variables that are stressing the planet on climate change and biological bases. Then some aspects of a new world economic order as to fuels, new materials, feeding the population, protection of forests and redesign of cities are considered. Finally, reflected on the stabilization of the world population, rules for restructuring the economy and acceleration of the transition process.

Is Time the Best Metric to Measure Carbon-Related Climate Change Potential and Tune the Economy Toward Reduced Fossil Carbon Extraction?

Science.gov (United States)

DeGroff, F. A.

2016-12-01

Anthropogenic changes to non-anthropogenic carbon fluxes are a primary driver of climate change. There currently exists no comprehensive metric to measure and value anthropogenic changes in carbon flux between all states of carbon. Focusing on atmospheric carbon emissions as a measure of anthropogenic activity on the environment ignores the fungible characteristics of carbon that are crucial in both the biosphere and the worldwide economy. Focusing on a single form of inorganic carbon as a proxy metric for the plethora of anthropogenic activity and carbon compounds will prove inadequate, convoluted, and unmanageable. A broader, more basic metric is needed to capture the entirety of carbon activity, particularly in an economic, profit-driven environment. We propose a new metric to measure changes in the temporal distance of any form or state of carbon from one state to another. Such a metric would be especially useful to measure the temporal distance of carbon from sinks such as the atmosphere or oceans. The effect of changes in carbon flux as a result of any human activity can be measured by the difference between the anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic temporal distance. The change in the temporal distance is a measure of the climate change potential much like voltage is a measure of electrical potential. The integral of the climate change potential is proportional to the anthropogenic climate change. We also propose a logarithmic vector scale for carbon quality, cq, as a measure of anthropogenic changes in carbon flux. The distance between the cq vector starting and ending temporal distances represents the change in cq. A base-10 logarithmic scale would allow the addition and subtraction of exponents to calculate changes in cq. As anthropogenic activity changes the temporal distance of carbon, the change in cq is measured as: cq = ß ( log10 [mean carbon temporal distance] ) where ß represents the carbon price coefficient for a particular country. For any

Twenty Years of Global Climatic Governance Impasse: For Another Order of Governmentality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dahan, Amy

2014-01-01

At once a scientific question and political problem, climate change has given rise to a complex system of arenas, institutions, experts and varied actors. They are all engaged in a process of world governance in the aim of finding solutions. That being the case, how is one to explain the fact that this process has achieved so little in the way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions? In order to answer this question, I focus on the manner in which the framing of the climate problem has been conceived, understood and embodied in negotiations. I review several of its characteristic elements: the pollution paradigm, globalization, the top-down strategy of 'burden sharing', market and compensation mechanisms, the specific interactions between science and politics, which entail various models of expertise and give rise to contradictory expectations, and, finally, the theme of adaptation, which has come to occupy an increasingly important place on the UN's governance agenda for reasons relating to reconfigurations of the geopolitics of climate. The failure of the Copenhagen Conference (2009), which was presented as a decisive moment for dealing with climate issues at a planetary level, challenges this framing, and calls for a rethinking of the order of governmentality of the climate problem. To that end, I put forward a few proposals and suggestions for future study

Exploring the connections between green economy and informal economy in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suzanne Smit

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The notion of an inclusive green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication requires an approach that engages with the informal economy. However, the informal economy is generally ignored or undervalued in discussions on the green economy. This paper set out to bolster this argument by identifying the ways in which the green economy and the informal economy may be connected by establishing the extent to which policies and plans relating to green economy connect with the informal economy, and recognising several informal green activities. The barriers and opportunities for connecting the two spheres were also explored as well as possible ways in which such activities may be supported at different levels of organisation. In the case of South Africa, many informal green activities that contribute to sustainable livelihoods are recognised. However, issues pertaining to procedure, process and participation hinder the transition to a truly inclusive green economy.

Climate economics in progress 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Perthuis, Christian; Jouvet, Pierre-Andre; Trotignon, Raphael; Simonet, Gabriela; Boutueil, Virginie

2011-01-01

Climate Economics in Progress offers a global overview of the present status of action on climate change. Drawing on the most recent data, it analyzes the development of carbon markets in Europe and other parts of the world. It also examines the conditions for including major players such as China and new sectors such as agriculture, forestry and transport in the fight against global warming. The book is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand current advances in climate control, which could pave the way for a new form of economic growth. The book brings together a group of researchers whose goal is to make the link between academic research on the economics of climate change and the implementation of operational tools, thereby allowing the climate issue to be integrated into the functioning of the real economy

Intertemporal social choice and climate stabilization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Howarth, R.B. [Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (United States). Environmental Studies Program

2001-07-01

This paper examines the implications of alternative approaches to intertemporal social choice in a numerically calibrated model of interactions between global climate change and the world economy. Under cost-benefit analysis, relatively modest steps towards greenhouse gas emissions abatement are justified as economically efficient. Under classical utilitarianism and the precautionary principle, in contrast, aggressive steps towards climate stabilization emerge as socially optimal. The paper reviews the value judgement that support each of these normative approaches, arguing that the precautionary principle is most loosely tied to the goals and objectives of the Framework Convention on Climate Change. (Author)

Climate politics in the Lower Mekong Basin. National interests and transboundary cooperation on climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baadsgaard Lange, R.; Moerck Jensen, K.

2013-09-01

Climate change is expected to intensify water security concerns in international river basins. UNFCCC and DAC-donors have been important generators of political attention to the climate agenda among governments in the Mekong Basin in relation to regional cooperation, national policy-making and capacity building. However, the formal commitment to climate action is not necessarily reflected in the everyday business of development. In this paper we use a political economy approach to understand when and how climate change becomes a political priority for the governments of Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, and for transboundary cooperation. Uneven distribution of climate hazards and vulnerabilities create different national risk perceptions and commitment to climate action. Donor funding and national development strategies are also strong drivers of climate action and inaction. Climate change is sometimes used as a scapegoat for domestic policy failures and as a tool to acquire donor funding. We recommend prioritizing climate action in the context of immediate development challenges and 'no regrets' interventions that are likely to enhance adaptive capacity and governments' commitment. (Author)

Relații internaționale și studii europene Criza geopolitică din Ucraina (The geopolitical crisis in Ukraine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Constantin MANOLACHE

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The geopolitical crisis in Ukraine represents the effects of changes in the ex-Soviet countries after the collapse of communism in 1990, fleshing the hegemonic security and defence policy of the Russian Federation and the reactions of international organizations (EU, UN, NATO, OSCE and the great powers, especially the United States. Different historical developments of the eastern and western parts of Ukraine demonstrate a territorial, political, social, cultural and religious division which manifests itself after the collapse of the USSR and Ukraine's independence declaration on 24 August 1991. From a religious point of view, the division is evident in that the western part of Ukraine is predominantly Catholic and the eastern part belongs to the orthodox religion. Instability in Ukraine is accompanied by the danger of disintegration, the threat coming from the inside, and is determined by the economic crisis, the political situation, misunderstandings between political groups and conflicts between the main regions. The western part of the country, represented by Ukrainian nationalists, opts for independence from Moscow, orientation towards the West and integration into Euro-Atlantic structures, while the pro-Russians from the East and South (especially in Crimea Peninsula and Donetsk Basin want to develop close cooperative relations with the Russian Federation and Ukraine's integration in the economic, political and security of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS.

Relații internaționale și studii europene Criza geopolitică din Ucraina (The geopolitical crisis in Ukraine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Constantin MANOLACHE

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The geopolitical crisis in Ukraine represents the effects of changes in the ex-Soviet countries after the collapse of communism in 1990, fleshing the hegemonic security and defence policy of the Russian Federation and the reactions of international organizations (EU, UN, NATO, OSCE and the great powers, especially the United States. Different historical developments of the eastern and western parts of Ukraine demonstrate a territorial, political, social, cultural and religious division which manifests itself after the collapse of the USSR and Ukraine's independence declaration on 24 August 1991. From a religious point of view, the division is evident in that the western part of Ukraine is predominantly Catholic and the eastern part belongs to the orthodox religion. Instability in Ukraine is accompanied by the danger of disintegration, the threat coming from the inside, and is determined by the economic crisis, the political situation, misunderstandings between political groups and conflicts between the main regions. The western part of the country, represented by Ukrainian nationalists, opts for independence from Moscow, orientation towards the West and integration into Euro-Atlantic structures, while the pro-Russians from the East and South (especially in Crimea Peninsula and Donetsk Basin want to develop close cooperative relations with the Russian Federation and Ukraine's integration in the economic, political and security of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS.

Comparative estimates of Kamchatka territory development in the context of northern territories of foreign countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrey Gennadyevich Shelomentsev

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The article promotes an approach to assess the prospects of regional development on the basis of the synthesis of comparative and historical methods of research. According to the authors, the comparative analysis of the similar functioning of the socio-economic systems forms deeper understanding what part factors and methods of state regulation play in regional development, and also their place in socio-economic and geopolitical space. The object of the research is Kamchatka territory as the region playing strategically important role in socio-economic development of Russia and also northern territories of the other countries comparable with Kamchatka on the bass if environmental conditions such as Iceland, Greenland, USA (Alaska, Canada (Yukon, and Japan (Hokkaido. On the basis of allocation of the general signs of regional socio-economic systems and creation of the regional development models forming the basis for comparative estimates, the article analyses the territories, which are comparable on the base of climatic, geographic, economic, geopolitical conditions, but thus significantly different due to the level of economic familiarity. The generalization of the extensive statistical material characterizing various spheres of activity at these territories, including branch structure of the economy, its infrastructure security, demographic situation, the budgetary and financial sphere are given. It allows defining the crucial features of the regional economy development models. In the conclusion, the authors emphasize that ignoring of the essential relations among the regional system elements and internal and external factors deprives a research of historical and socio-economic basis.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S): Open Access to a Climate Data Store

Science.gov (United States)

Thepaut, Jean-Noel; Dee, Dick

2016-04-01

In November 2014, The European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) signed an agreement with the European Commission to deliver two of the Copernicus Earth Observation Programme Services on the Commission's behalf. The ECMWF delivered services - the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) - will bring a consistent standard to how we monitor and predict atmospheric conditions and climate change. They will maximise the potential of past, current and future earth observations - ground, ocean, airborne, satellite - and analyse these to monitor and predict atmospheric conditions and in the future, climate change. With the wealth of free and open data that the services provide, they will help business users to assess the impact of their business decisions and make informed choices, delivering a more energy efficient and climate aware economy. These sound investment decisions now will not only stimulate growth in the short term, but reduce the impact of climate change on the economy and society in the future. C3S is in its proof of concept phase and through its Climate Data Store will provide • global and regional climate data reanalyses; • multi-model seasonal forecasts; • customisable visual data to enable examination of wide range of scenarios and model the impact of changes; • access to all the underlying data, including climate data records from various satellite and in-situ observations. In addition, C3S will provide key indicators on climate change drivers (such as carbon dioxide) and impacts (such as reducing glaciers). The aim of these indicators will be to support European adaptation and mitigation policies in a number of economic sectors. At the heart of the Service is the provision of open access to a one stop shop (the Climate Data Store) of climate data and modelling, analysing more than 20 Essential Climate Variables to build a global picture of our past, present and future climate and developing

Climate plan 2004

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

The Climate Plan is an action plan drawn up by the French Government to respond to the climate change challenge, first by 2010 (complying with the Kyoto Protocol target), and, secondly, beyond this date. Projections for France show that national emissions could be 10% higher than the Kyoto target in 2010 if no measures are taken. This is particularly due to increasing emissions in the sectors affecting daily life (residential-tertiary sectors, transport, etc.). For this reason, the Climate Plan contains measures affecting all sectors of the economy and the daily life of all French citizens with a view to economizing the equivalent of 54 million tonnes of CO 2 each year by the year 2010, which will help to reverse the trend significantly. Beyond 2010, the Climate Plan sets out a strategy for technological research which will enable France to meet a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions four or fivefold by 2050. (author)

Climate protection laws in Taiwan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiu, Yen-Lin Agnes

2014-01-01

The contribution on climate protection laws in Taiwan is first describing the international position and cooperation with UNFCCC, The national climate protection policy covers energy and industry, trading and economy, forestry and agriculture, traffic and local affairs, society and education. The description of the actual legislation includes the constitutional framework, environmental legislation, air pollution legislation, environmental compatibility regulations, renewable energy development legislation, energy management laws, legal drafts concerning reduction of greenhouse gas emission and energy taxes. Finally the competences and responsibilities of authorities are summarized.

Human economy and natural economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masullo Andrea

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The decline of economy is due to its dependency from a virtual value, the currency, the coin, that in the recent phase of consumerism is so far from real value: human capital and natural capital. If human economy wants to continue to produce wellbeing, it must accept to be a subset of natural economy, intercept flux of matter produced by its circular mechanisms, put constraints in it, i.e. machines and structures, to direct it temporarily for our advantage, and finally release it to the same original flux, in an still usable state. In this way it will assume a function no more parasitic but symbiotic. It will be connected to natural cycles without destroying it, recovering the co-evolutionary link between nature and culture, building an economic web suited to the ecological web; thus we will have a mosaic characterised by biodiversity, technological diversity, and cultural diversity, able to produce a durable prosperity.

Global climate convention

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simonis, U.E.

1991-01-01

The effort of negotiate a global convention on climate change is one of mankind's great endeavours - and a challenge to economists and development planners. The inherent linkages between climate and the habitability of the earth are increasingly well recognized, and a convention could help to ensure that conserving the environment and developing the economy in the future must go hand in hand. Due to growing environmental concern the United Nations General Assembly has set into motion an international negotiating process for a framework convention on climate change. One the major tasks in these negotiations is how to share the duties in reducing climate relevant gases, particularly carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), between the industrial and the developing countries. The results and proposals could be among the most far-reaching ever for socio-economic development, indeed for global security and survival itself. While the negotiations will be about climate and protection of the atmosphere, they will be on fundamental global changes in energy policies, forestry, transport, technology, and on development pathways with low greenhouse gas emissions. Some of these aspects of a climate convention, particularly the distributional options and consequences for the North-South relations, are addressed in this chapter. (orig.)

Exploring the energy-water-food-climate nexus for the Indian Economy in 2030

Science.gov (United States)

Taheripour, F.; Hertel, T. W.; Gopalakrishnan, B. N.

2014-12-01

The economy of India is expected to face serious environmental challenges over the coming decades. Population growth, coupled with economic growth of nearly 7%/year to 2030 will translate into strong growth in energy demands - particularly electricity. The electricity sector's claim on total available water could grow from 4% to more than 10% in India in 2030, if the use of wet cooling technologies persists (IGES 2013). Water-saving, dry cooling technologies are available for coal-fired power plants, but this requires significant investment and must be done at the time of construction. Growing water demands from electricity generation, when coupled with industrial, residential and commercial demands, are projected to result in water shortages for irrigation in some key river basins such as Indus, Ganges, Subernarekha, Krishna, and Chotanagpui (Rosegrant et al., 2013). The resulting pressure on agricultural production is likely to be exacerbated by climate change, which itself may increase demands for irrigation as an adaptation strategy to higher temperatures and more variable rainfall (AgMIP, 2013). In this paper we examine the impact of water scarcity on economic growth, food, and energy security in India using an enhanced version of the GTAP-AEZ-WATER model. We find that investments in water-saving technology in the electricity sector are less costly than developing new water supply. However, even when these technologies are implemented, we project shortfalls in water available for irrigated agriculture. These shortfalls result in the contraction of irrigated area and diminished food production relative to the unconstrained baseline. However, trade could help India to mitigate a portion of this pressure by importing more food products from water abundant regions. In addition, allowing for the trading of water within river basins helps to alleviate some of the consequences of water scarcity.

Bioenergy and the Sustainability Transition: from Local Resource to Global Commodity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnson, Francis X.

2007-07-01

The looming threat of climate change and the invaluable role of energy in development have complicated the global transition to sustainable energy while also increasing the urgency of the transition. Bioenergy has a key role in this transition due to its unique characteristics among renewable energy sources, the concentration of bioenergy potential in major developing country regions, and the close relationship between biomass resources and carbon management strategies. This paper offers a conceptual model for bioenergy's role in the transition, outlining its key elements and their significance with respect to environment and development. In spite of the globalising economy, the security of energy supply continues to be threatened by geo-political conflicts. Continued expansion of energy consumption is constrained by its environmental impacts. At the same time two billion persons have little or no access to modern energy services. The diversity and flexibility of bioenergy systems offers opportunities to bridge some of the key divisions-technical, political, economic, and environmental-that have complicated international efforts to address climate change and promote equitable development of global resources. The challenge is to take advantage of the heterogeneity of biomass resources to facilitate the most effective use of those resources in the emerging bio-economy. (auth)

Economic and Geopolitical Integration between Morocco and Algeria

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Sanhaji, Hamid

2005-01-01

.... Greater integration will achieve two main goals. First, it will help both economies by boosting trade between the two countries and by preventing "political" barriers from undermining economic exchange...

An Interaction of Economy and Environment in Dynamic Computable General Equilibrium Modelling with a Focus on Climate Change Issues in Korea : A Proto-type Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joh, Seung Hun; Dellink, Rob; Nam, Yunmi; Kim, Yong Gun; Song, Yang Hoon [Korea Environment Institute, Seoul (Korea)

2000-12-01

In the beginning of the 21st century, climate change is one of hottest issues in arena of both international environment and domestic one. During the COP6 meeting held in The Hague, over 10,000 people got together from the world. This report is a series of policy study on climate change in context of Korea. This study addresses on interactions of economy and environment in a perfect foresight dynamic computable general equilibrium with a focus on greenhouse gas mitigation strategy in Korea. The primary goal of this study is to evaluate greenhouse gas mitigation portfolios of changes in timing and magnitude with a particular focus on developing a methodology to integrate the bottom-up information on technical measures to reduce pollution into a top-down multi-sectoral computable general equilibrium framework. As a non-Annex I country Korea has been under strong pressure to declare GHG reduction commitment. Of particular concern is economic consequences GHG mitigation would accrue to the society. Various economic assessment have been carried out to address on the issue including analyses on cost, ancillary benefit, emission trading, so far. In this vein, this study on GHG mitigation commitment is a timely answer to climate change policy field. Empirical results available next year would be highly demanded in the situation. 62 refs., 13 figs., 9 tabs.

Europeans' attitudes towards climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-07-01

This report presents the results of a survey on Europeans' attitudes towards climate change which was carried out in January and February 2009. The survey focuses on: Citizens' perceptions of climate change in relation to other world problems; Citizens' perceptions of the seriousness of climate change; The extent to which citizens feel informed about climate change - its causes, consequences and ways of fighting it; Citizens' attitudes towards alternative fuels and CO2 emissions; Whether citizens feel that climate change is stoppable or has been exaggerated, and what impact it has on the European economy; Whether citizens have taken personal action to fight climate change. This Eurobarometer survey was carried out by TNS Opinion and Social network between 16 January and 22 February 2009. The interviews were conducted among 26,718 citizens in the 27 Member States of the European Union, the three candidate countries for accession to the European Union (Croatia, Turkey and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) and in the Turkish Cypriot Community.

Directed Technical Change and Climate Policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Otto, V.M.; Löschel, A.; Reilly, J.

2006-01-01

This paper studies the cost effectiveness of climate policy if there are technology externalities. For this purpose, we develop a forward-looking CGE model that captures empirical links between CO2 emissions associated with energy use, directed technical change and the economy. We find the

Role of the Ottoman Geopolitics During the First World War

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Burak Çınar

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Ottoman Empire had the potential to influence policy on three continents, to expand the war broken out in Europe in 1914, thanks to its geographical position. To continue the war, Germany had to get rid of containment of the Triple Entente, and found the solution to maximize to benefit from the Ottoman geopolitics. Germans succeeded in driving the Ottomans. When the war spread with the Ottoman Empire’s entry into the war, Germany took a breath in Europe. Thanks to the newly emerging fronts Ottoman forces drew many Russian and British Colonial divisions on its own divisions. Accumulation of the British divisions in Egypt; reinforcement of fronts emerged in Gallipoli, Palestine and Iraq; and opening a second front to Russia was by courtesy of the Ottomans. This was providing strategic advantage to the Germans. And the Entente powers saw German defeat completing the containment after the Ottoman Empire out of war. Thus the British took on the Ottomans despite numerous fronts. This blow would change the Middle East map.

Why the New Economy is a Learning Economy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lundvall, Bengt-Åke

In this paper it is shown that the intense focus on the new economy reflected real change as well as 'hype?. The basic reason why new economy-growth could not be seen as sustainable is that introducing advanced technologies can only take place successfully when it is accompanied by organizational...... change and competence-building among employees. Any strategy that gives technology an independent role as problem-solver is doomed to fail. Danish data of a unique character are used to demonstrate that the key to economic performance is to promote learning at different levels of the economy....... In the conclusion it is argued that there is a need for a new type of knowledge and learning oriented Keynesianism in order to get close to the kind of growth rates characterizing the high days of the new economy adventure in the US....

The Sharing Economy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Avital, Michel; Carroll, John M.; Hjalmarsson, Anders

2015-01-01

The sharing economy is spreading rapidly worldwide in a number of industries and markets. The disruptive nature of this phenomenon has drawn mixed responses ranging from active conflict to adoption and assimilation. Yet, in spite of the growing attention to the sharing economy, we still do not know...... much about it. With the abundant enthusiasm about the benefits that the sharing economy can unleash and the weekly reminders about its dark side, further examination is required to determine the potential of the sharing economy while mitigating its undesirable side effects. The panel will join...... the ongoing debate about the sharing economy and contribute to the discourse with insights about how digital technologies are critical in shaping this turbulent ecosystem. Furthermore, we will define an agenda for future research on the sharing economy as it becomes part of the mainstream society as well...

Developing and Using Green Skills for the Transition to a Low Carbon Economy

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Mike

2015-01-01

One of the strategies being advocated in response to climate change is the need to transition to a low carbon economy. Current projections show that within this transition, new jobs will be created, some eliminated and most others subjected to change. This article reports findings from interviews with a selection of twenty participants who are…

Scale interactions in economics: application to the evaluation of the economic damages of climatic change and of extreme events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hallegatte, S.

2005-06-01

Growth models, which neglect economic disequilibria, considered as temporary, are in general used to evaluate the damaging effects generated by climatic change. This work shows, through a series of modeling experiences, the importance of disequilibria and of endogenous variability of economy in the evaluation of damages due to extreme events and climatic change. It demonstrates the impossibility to separate the evaluation of damages from the representation of growth and of economic dynamics: the comfort losses will depend on both the nature and intensity of impacts and on the dynamics and situation of the economy to which they will apply. Thus, the uncertainties about the damaging effects of future climatic changes come from both scientific uncertainties and from uncertainties about the future organization of our economies. (J.S.)

From Climate Change Awareness to Energy Efficient Behaviour

OpenAIRE

Niamir, Leila; Filatova, Tatiana

2016-01-01

Understanding and predicting how climate will change, and whether and how a transition to low-carbon economies will develop over the next century is of vital importance. Nowadays there is high competition between countries to achieve a low-carbon economy. They are examining different ways e.g. different energy efficient technologies and low-carbon energy sources, however they believe that human choices and behavioural change has a crucial impact, which is many times discussed in the literatur...

The Financial Sector Facing the Transition to a Low-Carbon Climate-Resilient Economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boissinot, Jean; Huber, Doryane; Camilier-Cortial, Isabelle; Lame, Gildas

2016-01-01

Successfully addressing global warming requires decisive actions and hinges on a 2 deg. C-consistent reallocation of capital and financial flows. The implementation of adequate climate policies will be decisive to foster this process. The financial sector can play a complementary role to enhance the effectiveness of these policies, as the recognition of the risks and opportunities related to climate change contributes to this reallocation. Understanding the issues at play, the availability of data on the financial consequences of climate change as well as an appropriation of climate issues by the financial sector are key factors for risk management. Several policy measures have been implemented in this respect, particularly in France

Spillover Effects of the Russian Economy: Regional Specificity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Anatolyevna Fedorova

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the study is to evaluate the strength and direction of the distribution of the foreign direct investments (FDI in regional economy. The subject matter of the research is FDI to the regions of Russia. The subject of the study is relevant as it makes possible to estimate the long-term consequences from the restrictions of the West countries (in connection with sanctions against the inflow of the foreign capital to the regions of the Russian Federation. The study is based on the following hypotheses: 1. Russian regional economy has horizontal (distribution of effects from FDI within an industry and vertical spillover effects (distribution according to a technological chain, from product suppliers to product consumers. Vertical effects are more important and have greater amplitude than horizontal effects. An industry competition is one of the causes of negative horizontal spillover effect, and the scale of the company is the reason of positive horizontal spillover effect. 2. FDI generates the positive regional spillover effects on the productivity of domestic firms in the Russian economy. 3. Regional industry specificity influences the sign and magnitude of spillovers from FDI. 4. Time sensitivity is revealed for horizontal spillovers, so the regional effects may change the direction. As an empirical basis of the study, the statements of 23567 Russian companies with FDI and 25354 Russian enterprises without FDI for the 5 years were used. The methodology of the research is the calculation of spillover effects, Cobb-Douglas production function and panel data regression. The study has found, that the direct vertical spillover effects are almost absent. That means that industrial consumers do not notice the effect of inward FDI. At the same time, the converse effect related to the product suppliers is positive, but as the direct effect, it is not more important in any group of regions then the horizontal effect. The Russian economy has a

The American Climate Prospectus: a risk-centered analysis of the economic impacts of climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Jina, A.; Houser, T.; Hsiang, S. M.; Kopp, R. E., III; Delgado, M.; Larsen, K.; Mohan, S.; Rasmussen, D.; Rising, J.; Wilson, P. S.; Muir-Wood, R.

2014-12-01

The American Climate Prospectus (ACP), the analysis underlying the Risky Business project, quantitatively assessed the climate risks posed to the United States' economy in six sectors - crop yields, energy demand, coastal property, crime, labor productivity, and mortality [1]. The ACP is unique in its characterization of the full probability distribution of economic impacts of climate change throughout the 21st century, making it an extremely useful basis for risk assessments. Three key innovations allow for this characterization. First, climate projections from CMIP5 models are scaled to a temperature probability distribution derived from a coarser climate model (MAGICC). This allows a more accurate representation of the whole distribution of future climates (in particular the tails) than a simple ensemble average. These are downscaled both temporally and spatially. Second, a set of local sea level rise and tropical cyclone projections are used in conjunction with the most detailed dataset of coastal property in the US in order to capture the risks of rising seas and storm surge. Third, we base many of our sectors on empirically-derived responses to temperature and precipitation. Each of these dose-response functions is resampled many times to populate a statistical distribution. Combining these with uncertainty in emissions scenario, climate model, and weather, we create the full probability distribution of climate impacts from county up to national levels, as well as model the effects upon the economy as a whole. Results are presented as likelihood ranges, as well as changes to return intervals of extreme events. The ACP analysis allows us to compare between sectors to understand the magnitude of required policy responses, and also to identify risks through time. Many sectors displaying large impacts at the end of the century, like those of mortality, have smaller changes in the near-term, due to non-linearities in the response functions. Other sectors, like

A comparative review of multi-risk modelling methodologies for climate change adaptation in mountain regions

Science.gov (United States)

Terzi, Stefano; Torresan, Silvia; Schneiderbauer, Stefan

2017-04-01

Keywords: Climate change, mountain regions, multi-risk assessment, climate change adaptation. Climate change has already led to a wide range of impacts on the environment, the economy and society. Adaptation actions are needed to cope with the impacts that have already occurred (e.g. storms, glaciers melting, floods, droughts) and to prepare for future scenarios of climate change. Mountain environment is particularly vulnerable to the climate changes due to its exposure to recent climate warming (e.g. water regime changes, thawing of permafrost) and due to the high degree of specialization of both natural and human systems (e.g. alpine species, valley population density, tourism-based economy). As a consequence, the mountain local governments are encouraged to undertake territorial governance policies to climate change, considering multi-risks and opportunities for the mountain economy and identifying the best portfolio of adaptation strategies. This study aims to provide a literature review of available qualitative and quantitative tools, methodological guidelines and best practices to conduct multi-risk assessments in the mountain environment within the context of climate change. We analyzed multi-risk modelling and assessment methods applied in alpine regions (e.g. event trees, Bayesian Networks, Agent Based Models) in order to identify key concepts (exposure, resilience, vulnerability, risk, adaptive capacity), climatic drivers, cause-effect relationships and socio-ecological systems to be integrated in a comprehensive framework. The main outcomes of the review, including a comparison of existing techniques based on different criteria (e.g. scale of analysis, targeted questions, level of complexity) and a snapshot of the developed multi-risk framework for climate change adaptation will be here presented and discussed.

Global vs climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watson, H.L.; Bach, M.C.; Goklany, I.M.

1991-01-01

The various agents of global change that will affect the state of natural resources 50-100 years from now are discussed. These include economic and population growth, technological progress, and climatic change. The importance of climatic change lies in its effects on natural resources and on human activities that depend on those resources. Other factors affecting those resources include the demand on those resources from an increasing population and from a growing economy, and a more efficient use of those resources that comes from technological changes and from the consequences of economic growth itself. It is shown that there is a considerable ability to adapt to climatic change, since humans already have an intrinsic ability to adapt to the wide variations in climates that already exist and since technological developments can make it easier to cope with climatic variability. It appears that agents other than climatic change are more significant to the future state of natural resources than climatic change. Criteria for selecting options for addressing climatic change are outlined. Technological change and economic growth are seen to be key response options, since the vulnerability to climatic change depends on economic resources and technological progress. Specific options to stimulate sustainable economic growth and technological progress are listed. 16 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs

Economy and Climate Change The Paris Conference - December 2015

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viorel Pop

2016-01-01

This paper, other than being a brief listing of Summits dealing with climate changeissues also describes the evolution of the CO2 atmosphere percentage as well as theconsumption of carbon based fuels - the reason for the highly increasing raise in theconcentration of the most nominated greenhouse effect gas that causes the rise oftemperature on our planet.

Strategic resources - Europe and the World

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Godement, F.

2005-01-01

This document analyzes the geopolitical aspects of the energy security policy of Europe, its vulnerability with respect to other regions of the world with strong economic development and consumption (North America and East Asia), the failures of the European energy policies, and the dangers for Europe of strong changes in the rest of the World: Middle East's geopolitical instabilities, increased consumption of energy and raw materials by emerging economies, general discontinuity for raw material prices, emergence of non-OPEC oil and gas producers, high import dependency ratios from non-OECD countries. Then it analyzes the global energy scarcity hypothesis according to different scenarios: resurgence of geopolitical conflicts around resources, geopolitical spill-over from increased scarcity of resources, or interplay of market forces and business strategy. Finally, it sounds two alarms regarding energy policy: the decline of active energy saving policies across Europe, and the threat of liberalization on energy security policy. (J.S.)

Strategic resources - Europe and the World

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Godement, F

2005-07-01

This document analyzes the geopolitical aspects of the energy security policy of Europe, its vulnerability with respect to other regions of the world with strong economic development and consumption (North America and East Asia), the failures of the European energy policies, and the dangers for Europe of strong changes in the rest of the World: Middle East's geopolitical instabilities, increased consumption of energy and raw materials by emerging economies, general discontinuity for raw material prices, emergence of non-OPEC oil and gas producers, high import dependency ratios from non-OECD countries. Then it analyzes the global energy scarcity hypothesis according to different scenarios: resurgence of geopolitical conflicts around resources, geopolitical spill-over from increased scarcity of resources, or interplay of market forces and business strategy. Finally, it sounds two alarms regarding energy policy: the decline of active energy saving policies across Europe, and the threat of liberalization on energy security policy. (J.S.)

Strategic resources - Europe and the World

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Godement, F

2005-07-01

This document analyzes the geopolitical aspects of the energy security policy of Europe, its vulnerability with respect to other regions of the world with strong economic development and consumption (North America and East Asia), the failures of the European energy policies, and the dangers for Europe of strong changes in the rest of the World: Middle East's geopolitical instabilities, increased consumption of energy and raw materials by emerging economies, general discontinuity for raw material prices, emergence of non-OPEC oil and gas producers, high import dependency ratios from non-OECD countries. Then it analyzes the global energy scarcity hypothesis according to different scenarios: resurgence of geopolitical conflicts around resources, geopolitical spill-over from increased scarcity of resources, or interplay of market forces and business strategy. Finally, it sounds two alarms regarding energy policy: the decline of active energy saving policies across Europe, and the threat of liberalization on energy security policy. (J.S.)

Integrated economy - energy - environment policy analysis : a case study for the People's Republic of China

OpenAIRE

Zhang, Z.

1996-01-01

This study is the first systematic and comprehensive attempt to deal with the economic implications of carbon abatement for the Chinese economy in the light of the economics of climate change, of which this dissertation is the results. It consists of nine chapters. After a brief introduction, Chapter 2 discusses some economic aspects of climate change. This in turn will serve as a good guide to pursuing the case study for CO ₂

Climate change impacts on extreme events in the United States: an uncertainty analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Extreme weather and climate events, such as heat waves, droughts and severe precipitation events, have substantial impacts on ecosystems and the economy. However, future climate simulations display large uncertainty in mean changes. As a result, the uncertainty in future changes ...

An Exploratory Analysis of the Impact of Climate Change on Macedonian Agriculture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jordan Hristov

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Using a mixed input–output model, this study examines potential changes in sector output and water requirements in Macedonia arising from climate change. By defining three climate change scenarios and exogenously specifying the warming shocks for five key agricultural sub-sectors, the effects on the economy were quantified. The results indicated that except for cereals and grapes, agricultural production would benefit from the low climate change scenario due to moderate changes in precipitation and temperature and longer cropping period, while there would be negligible effects on the rest of the economy. Contrary, the medium and high climate change scenarios would negatively affect agriculture due to increase in temperature and decline in precipitation, with severe losses in grape, apple and cereal production, but again with low effects on other economic sectors. As a result, water consumption by agriculture sector will increase by around 6% in the low climate change scenario, and decrease by around 8% and 16% in the medium and high climate change scenarios, respectively, relative to the current agriculture water consumption. Capital investment in irrigation equipment could mitigate the negative climate change impacts in the medium and high climate change scenarios. However, it would impose additional stresses on the existing limited water resource over time.

Spatio-Temporal Changes and Their Reasons to the Geopolitical Influence of China and the US in South Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shufang Wang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The current international society has entered an era of large-scale power transfer. Government interests have gradually transferred from national strength to national influence. As such, how to quantitatively present the fuzzy geopolitical influence (i.e., geo-influence has attracted greater attention from scholars. The proposed concept of geo-influence conforms to this trend of power structure change in international relations, and provides a reference for national sustainable development on the international stage. This study sets up an index system and a mathematical model of geopolitical influence, and explores the spatio-temporal changes of the geo-influence of China and the United States (US in South Asia over the past decade. Three primary results are found as follows: (1 In general, the geo-influence of China and the US in South Asia increased between 2003 and 2012. In terms of growth rate, the geo-influence of China in South Asia grew much faster than that of the US; (2 The overall strength and geo-influence show non-linear relationships. Strong national overall strength does not necessarily mean that one country has the strongest geo-influence; (3 National geo-influence is inversely proportional to the friction of distance. The larger the friction of distance is, the smaller national geo-potential is, and vice versa.

Integrated economy - energy - environment policy analysis : a case study for the People's Republic of China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhang, Z.

1996-01-01

This study is the first systematic and comprehensive attempt to deal with the economic implications of carbon abatement for the Chinese economy in the light of the economics of climate change, of which this dissertation is the results. It consists of nine chapters. After a brief

How German Geopolitics passed through the Netherlands, 1920-1945: a case study in the geography of one of geography’s ‘projects’

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Pater, B.C.; van der Wusten, H.

2013-01-01

German geopolitics emerged from the early 1920s. It was noticed in the Netherlands but not broadly embraced. In public discourse the term ‘geopolitics’ was hardly ever used between the First and Second World Wars but it became a bit more common with the looming threat of a second war and during the

REVISITING EUROPE’S GEOPOLITICAL LANDSCAPE AFTER THE UKRAINE CRISIS: AMERICA’S BALANCE OF POWER STRATEGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sotiris Serbos

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The unveiling of the economic crisis in Europe foregrounds the resurgence of geopolitics in transatlantic foreign policy analysis. With the EU project still at risk, a fragmented Europe allows Russia to gain ground and challenge the European power balance at large. We argue that the U.S. will seriously try to avert such a path and even loss of commitment towards further EU integration. In order to keep Europe united, we stress that the U.S. can exploit the Ukraine crisis by compelling Europe’s pivotal player (Germany towards a European leadership fully committed to EU integration as its ideal option.

Central Asia in the Iranian geopolitical imagination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edward Wastnidge

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This article charts Iran’s relations with Central Asia following the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. This event gave Iran a new set of neighbours to the north, and this came at a time when Iran was undergoing changes in the direction of its foreign policy from radical idealistic goals, such as the export of the Islamic Revolution, to more pragmatic aims, including giving priority to its own national interests and pursuing good neighbourly relations. Since 1991, Iran has attempted to develop relations towards the Central Asian states, both bilaterally and through various regional fora. Iran’s actions have been based, in part, on a greater commitment to regionalism that has been evident in Iranian foreign policy since the early 1990s. This has focused on cultivating economic, infrastructural and cultural links with the region, rather than any form of ideological crusade, and has helped reduce Iran’s international isolation. Following a historical contextualisation and explanation of the place that the lands of Central Asia hold in the Iranian geopolitical imagination, the article explores the key concerns of Iran in the region. It will examine Iran’s position on what it perceives as being the key issues shaping its Central Asian diplomacy, namely regional economic cooperation, pipeline politics, the status of the Caspian Sea, security cooperation and cultural diplomacy. This provides a revealing case study of how Iran perceives itself as a vital player in the region, seeking to emphasise the benefits of its geostrategic location, relative stability, and increasing international role following the nuclear deal.

Hydrogen energy economy: More than utopia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weber, R.

1992-01-01

Under the pressure of increasing climate changes in the last years the attitude towards hydrogen technology has changed. Germany has taken a leading position in hydrogen research. Above all there is not only government-sponsored research but also industrial research. It is even assumed that an energy economy on the basis of solar energy as well as of hydrogen is technically possible. If the fact that the total power of all cars in the FRG amounts to 200.000 MW - twice as much as all power stations - is taken into consideration it should be possible to produce in large-scale production decentralized solar or hydrogen energy converters at similar kilowatt rates. (BWI) [de

Climate variability and climate change vulnerability and adaptation. Workshop summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhatti, N.; Cirillo, R.R.; Dixon, R.K.

1995-01-01

Representatives from fifteen countries met in Prague, Czech Republic, on September 11-15, 1995, to share results from the analysis of vulnerability and adaptation to global climate change. The workshop focused on the issues of global climate change and its impacts on various sectors of a national economy. The U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC), which has been signed by more than 150 governments worldwide, calls on signatory parties to develop and communicate measures they are implementing to respond to global climate change. An analysis of a country's vulnerability to changes in the climate helps it identify suitable adaptation measures. These analyses are designed to determine the extent of the impacts of global climate change on sensitive sectors such as agricultural crops, forests, grasslands and livestock, water resources, and coastal areas. Once it is determined how vulnerable a country may be to climate change, it is possible to identify adaptation measures for ameliorating some or all of the effects.The objectives of the vulnerability and adaptation workshop were to: The objectives of the vulnerability and adaptation workshop were to: Provide an opportunity for countries to describe their study results; Encourage countries to learn from the experience of the more complete assessments and adjust their studies accordingly; Identify issues and analyses that require further investigation; and Summarize results and experiences for governmental and intergovernmental organizations

Climate variability and climate change vulnerability and adaptation. Workshop summary

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhatti, N.; Cirillo, R.R. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States); Dixon, R.K. [U.S. Country Studies Program, Washington, DC (United States)] [and others

1995-12-31

Representatives from fifteen countries met in Prague, Czech Republic, on September 11-15, 1995, to share results from the analysis of vulnerability and adaptation to global climate change. The workshop focused on the issues of global climate change and its impacts on various sectors of a national economy. The U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC), which has been signed by more than 150 governments worldwide, calls on signatory parties to develop and communicate measures they are implementing to respond to global climate change. An analysis of a country`s vulnerability to changes in the climate helps it identify suitable adaptation measures. These analyses are designed to determine the extent of the impacts of global climate change on sensitive sectors such as agricultural crops, forests, grasslands and livestock, water resources, and coastal areas. Once it is determined how vulnerable a country may be to climate change, it is possible to identify adaptation measures for ameliorating some or all of the effects.The objectives of the vulnerability and adaptation workshop were to: The objectives of the vulnerability and adaptation workshop were to: Provide an opportunity for countries to describe their study results; Encourage countries to learn from the experience of the more complete assessments and adjust their studies accordingly; Identify issues and analyses that require further investigation; and Summarize results and experiences for governmental and intergovernmental organizations.

Modeling and predicting abstract concept or idea introduction and propagation through geopolitical groups

Science.gov (United States)

Jaenisch, Holger M.; Handley, James W.; Hicklen, Michael L.

2007-04-01

This paper describes a novel capability for modeling known idea propagation transformations and predicting responses to new ideas from geopolitical groups. Ideas are captured using semantic words that are text based and bear cognitive definitions. We demonstrate a unique algorithm for converting these into analytical predictive equations. Using the illustrative idea of "proposing a gasoline price increase of 1 per gallon from 2" and its changing perceived impact throughout 5 demographic groups, we identify 13 cost of living Diplomatic, Information, Military, and Economic (DIME) features common across all 5 demographic groups. This enables the modeling and monitoring of Political, Military, Economic, Social, Information, and Infrastructure (PMESII) effects of each group to this idea and how their "perception" of this proposal changes. Our algorithm and results are summarized in this paper.

Monetary compensations in climate policy through the lens of a general equilibrium assessment: The case of oil-exporting countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waisman, Henri; Rozenberg, Julie; Hourcade, Jean Charles

2013-01-01

This paper investigates the compensations that major oil producers have claimed for since the Kyoto Protocol in order to alleviate the adverse impacts of climate policy on their economies. The amount of these adverse impacts is assessed through a general equilibrium model which endogenizes both the reduction of oil exportation revenues under international climate policy and the macroeconomic effect of carbon pricing on Middle-East's economy. We show that compensating the drop of exportation revenues does not offset GDP and welfare losses because of the time profile of the general equilibrium effects. When considering instead compensation based on GDP losses, the effectiveness of monetary transfers proves to be drastically limited by general equilibrium effects in opened economies. The main channels of this efficiency gap are investigated and its magnitude proves to be conditional upon strategic and policy choices of the Middle-East. This leads us to suggest that other means than direct monetary compensating transfers should be discussed to engage the Middle-East in climate policies. - Highlights: • We endogenize the interplay between climate policy, oil markets and the macroeconomy. • We quantify the transfers to compensate climate policy losses in oil-exporting countries. • We assess the general equilibrium effect of monetary transfers in opened economies. • The macroeconomic efficiency of transfers is altered by general equilibrium effects. • Monetary compensation schemes are not efficient for oil exporters in climate policy

Creativity, Innovation and Arts Learning: Preparing All Students for Success in a Global Economy

Science.gov (United States)

Ruppert, Sandra S.

2010-01-01

The United States is competing in a dynamic global economy in which two assets--a skilled, versatile and highly adaptable workforce and the capacity for creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship--provide a decisive edge. To succeed in today's economic climate, the U.S. needs a well-educated, technically proficient workforce in all sectors and…

Quantifying China's oil import risks and the impact on the national economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Mei; Gao, Cuixia; Shen, Bo

2014-01-01

With an increase in China's oil imports, China's oil supply will also continue to be effected by the socio-economic stability of oil-exporting countries and the safety of oil transport routes. This paper introduces a systematic and quantitative method to evaluate the influence of China's oil import risks (OIR) on the national economy and industrial sectors from a perspective of apply chain process. For this analysis, China's OIR is quantified by integrating oil exporting country risk and the risks from oil transportation routes. Country risk is defined as the oil-exporting country's political risk caused by political changes or internal conflicts. Transport risk is defined as the risk of shipping routes affected by pirate attacks and geopolitics. Second, the relationship between China's OIR and oil import costs is analyzed using a multiple linear approach. Third, an input–output analysis method is used to research the effect of the cost of China's oil imports on the cost of investment within China's domestic sectors. This research finds that the corresponding impact on GDP is 3494.5 million dollars given an increasing by 10% of China's OIR. And the impact on domestic sectors differs from sector to sector. Finally, this paper puts forth recommendations to improve long-term oil supply security in China. - Highlights: • Quantifies China's OIR while taking into consideration the risks from oil-exporting countries and the risks from oil transportation routes. • Explores the relationship between China's OIR and oil import costs using a multiple linear regression approach. • Analyzes the effects of China's OIR on the investment cost of domestic sectors with an input–output analysis. • Investigates the impact of China's OIR on the domestic economy

CLIMATE CHANGE AND CROP PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA: AN ERROR CORRECTION MODELLING APPROACH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. B. Eregha

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Climate change is termed as one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century and this has posed threat to agricultural dependent economies. In fact report had it that developing economies are at disadvantage as they stand to experience some of the severe effects from climate change. It is against this backdrop that this paper examines the impact of climate change on crop production in Nigeria. Ten crops were selected and three climatic variables were used for the study. Data for the study were extracted from the Food and Agricultural Organisation database, World Development Indicator and the CBN Statistical Bulletin and the data covers the period 1970-2009. Analysis of data was done with cointegration approach. The study revealed that the effect of climatic variables on crop production varies depending on the type of crop and seasonal properties and length of days of the crop. In general, climate change effect was found to be pronounced on the output of the crops. It is therefore recommended that various adaptation strategies necessary for increased output of these crops be adopted by farmers and this can better be achieved with proper enlightenment programmes for the farmers.

Global demographic change and climate policies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gerlagh, Reyer; Jaimes, Richard; Motavasseli, Ali

2017-01-01

Between 1950 and 2017, world average life expectancy increased from below-50 to above-70, while the fertility rate dropped from 5 to about 2.5. We develop and calibrate an analytic climate-economy model with overlapping generations to study the effect of such demographic change on capital markets

Resolution on the program energy-climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

This document presents the resolutions proposed in the resolution proposition n. 1261 and concerning the european Commission program on the energy policies and the climate change. Twelve resolution are presented on the energy sources development, the energy efficiency, the energy economy and the carbon taxes. (A.L.B.)

Building a new energy network in North East Asia. A perspective from post-Fukushima Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shibutani, Yu

2012-01-01

The accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (NPS) has accelerated Japan's drive for less dependence on nuclear and fossil energy and more green renewables, which inevitably require a new energy strategy. In this paper, a new strategic scenario for moving 'beyond a single economy' is proposed to incorporate Japan with the North East Asian (NEA) energy market in regards to its electricity grid and natural gas pipeline network while preserving nuclear power by strengthening safety. Suggestions are also made that Japan should open more doors for new comers in a manner of open-access towards member economies of NEA. However, there are persistent geopolitical constraints and risks in NEA. The connection of Japan's energy network to its regional neighbors would avoid the tendrils and tentacles of geopolitics that wrap around NEA, and subsequently provide opportunities to build on common energy interests. (author)

Monitoring, reporting and verifying emissions in the climate economy

Science.gov (United States)

Bellassen, Valentin; Stephan, Nicolas; Afriat, Marion; Alberola, Emilie; Barker, Alexandra; Chang, Jean-Pierre; Chiquet, Caspar; Cochran, Ian; Deheza, Mariana; Dimopoulos, Christopher; Foucherot, Claudine; Jacquier, Guillaume; Morel, Romain; Robinson, Roderick; Shishlov, Igor

2015-04-01

The monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of greenhouse-gas emissions is the cornerstone of carbon pricing and management mechanisms. Here we consider peer-reviewed articles and 'grey literature' related to existing MRV requirements and their costs. A substantial part of the literature is the regulatory texts of the 15 most important carbon pricing and management mechanisms currently implemented. Based on a comparison of key criteria such as the scope, cost, uncertainty and flexibility of procedures, we conclude that conventional wisdom on MRV is not often promoted in existing carbon pricing mechanisms. Quantification of emissions uncertainty and incentives to reduce this uncertainty are usually only partially applied, if at all. Further, the time and resources spent on small sources of emissions would be expected to be limited. Although provisions aiming at an effort proportionate to the amount of emissions at stake -- 'materiality' -- are widespread, they are largely outweighed by economies of scale: in all schemes, MRV costs per tonne are primarily driven by the size of the source.

Rossijskaja jenergeticheskaja diplomatija i mezhdunarodnaja jenergeticheskaja bezopasnost' (geopolitika i jekonomika [Russian energy diplomacy and international energy security (geopolitics and economics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiznin Stanislav

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This article considers national energy security as a component of foreign policy and diplomacy and analyses the current state of Russian energy policy, the role of Russia in global energy geopolitics and the factors affecting it. The author examines energy diplomacy as an instrument of foreign policy at both global and regional levels taking into account the changes in the corporate policy of energy companies.

Moneyless Economy

OpenAIRE

Das, Subhendu

2012-01-01

Moneyless economy (MLE) does not have any money in the economy. All products and services are free for all people. This means everybody must work, work for free, and get everything they want for free also. Any work that a society needs is considered legitimate. MLE is not socialism. MLE has the ability to provide a lifestyle that anyone wants. We show that it is possible to run the exact same economy that we have now, in the exact same way, and without money. Any government of any country can...

Economy-wide estimates of the implications of climate change. Human health

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bosello, Francesco [Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Venice (Italy); Roson, Roberto [International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste (Italy); Tol, Richard S.J. [Centre for Marine and Climate Research, Hamburg University, Hamburg (Germany)

2006-06-25

We study the economic impacts of climate-change-induced change in human health, viz. cardiovascular and respiratory disorders, diarrhoea, malaria, dengue fever and schistosomiasis. Changes in morbidity and mortality are interpreted as changes in labour productivity and demand for health care, and used to shock the GTAP-E computable general equilibrium model, calibrated for the year 2050. GDP, welfare and investment fall (rise) in regions with net negative (positive) health impacts. Prices, production, and terms of trade show a mixed pattern. Direct cost estimates, common in climate change impact studies, underestimate the true welfare losses. (author)

An analysis of climatic impacts and adaptation strategies in Tanzania

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ojoyi, MM

2015-03-01

Full Text Available International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management An analysis of climatic impacts and adaptation strategies in Tanzania Mercy M. Ojoyi School of Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa... of feedback results from analysis of variance tests conducted. Major indicators of climate variability and change include: increased dry spells (39.7 per cent), drying of rivers (34.7 per cent), a reduction in water flows (14.6 per cent) and poor economy...

The Spatial Recourses and Limitations of the Russian Economy Modernization: the Example of the North-West Macro Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergey Valentinovich Kuznetsov

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the results of the research dedicated to the role of space in the modernization of the economy of the North-West maсro-region of Russia conducted in 2012–2014, within the framework of the Presidium of Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS №31 "The role of space in the modernization of Russia: natural and socio-economic potential." The analysis is based on the methodology, which was developed at the Institute of Regional Economy of RAS. Possibilities of modernization of the Russian economy are due to competitive advantages, "inherited characteristics" and public policy of regions and major macro-regions development. Recourses of modernization have a spatial component, which significantly affects the positioning of the region, its companies, firms and projects in the globalized geo-economic space. It is noted that the characteristics of multi-factor situation, taking into account the “inherited characteristics” of spatial development, the nature of geopolitical and geo-economic situation, transformation of the socio-economic area, evaluation the role of internal and external factors, including the impact of globalization and the state regional policy, as well as assessment of the role of internal spatial inversion of macro-region and innovation potential of regional development mostly define the corridors for modernization of the economy of the regions. It is found that four groups of factors highlighted in this study allow to take into account the wide range of opportunities and constraints for the modernization of the economy of the North-West macro region. On the basis of interdisciplinary synthesis within the geospatial paradigms, taking into account the developments of domestic economists-regionalists, economic geographers and western views in the framework of the space science, the idea of A. I. Tatarkin about "new sources of territorial competitiveness" was confirmed, by the example of a model region of the North

78 FR 46799 - Use of Market Economy Input Prices in Nonmarket Economy Proceedings

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-02

...The Department of Commerce (``Department'') is modifying its regulation which states that the Department normally will use the price that a nonmarket economy (``NME'') producer pays to a market economy supplier when a factor of production is purchased from a market economy supplier and paid for in market economy currency, in the calculation of normal value (``NV'') in antidumping proceedings involving NME countries. The rule establishes a requirement that the input at issue be produced in one or more market economy countries, and a revised threshold requiring that ``substantially all'' (i.e., 85 percent) of an input be purchased from one or more market economy suppliers before the Department uses the purchase price paid to value the entire factor of production. The Department is making this change because it finds that a market economy input price is not the best available information for valuing all purchases of that input when market economy purchases of an input do not account for substantially all purchases of the input.

The Sharing Economy

OpenAIRE

Reinhold, Stephan; Dolnicar, Sara

2017-01-01

Peer-to-peer accommodation networks in general, and Airbnb in specific, are frequently referred to as part of the sharing economy. This chapter provides an overview of key characteristics of the sharing economy, discusses how these characteristics relate to peer-to-peer accommodation, and positions peer-to-peer accommodation networks within the sharing economy.

China's response to climate change issues after Paris Climate Change Conference

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yun Gao

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The Paris Climate Change Conference was successfully concluded with the Paris Agreement, which is a milestone for the world in collectively combating climate change. By participating in IPCC assessments and conducting national climate change assessments, China has been increasing its understanding of the issue. For the first time, China's top leader attended the Conference of the Parties, which indicates the acknowledgement of the rationality and necessity of climate change response by China at different levels. Moreover, this participation reflects China's commitment to including climate change in its ecology improvement program and pursuing a low-carbon society and economy. In order to ensure the success of the Paris Conference, China has contributed significantly. China's constructive participation in global governance shows that China is a responsible power. These principles such as the creation of a future of win–win cooperation with each country contributing to the best of its ability; a future of the rule of law, fairness, and justice; and a future of inclusiveness, mutual learning, and common development will serve as China's guidelines in its efforts to facilitate the implementation of the Paris Agreement and participate in the design of international systems.

China's response to climate change issues after Paris Climate Change Conference

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

GAO Yun

2016-01-01

The Paris Climate Change Conference was successfully concluded with the Paris Agreement, which is a milestone for the world in collectively combating climate change. By participating in IPCC assessments and conducting national climate change assessments, China has been increasing its understanding of the issue. For the first time, China's top leader attended the Conference of the Parties, which indicates the acknowledgement of the rationality and necessity of climate change response by China at different levels. Moreover, this participation reflects China's commitment to including climate change in its ecology improvement program and pursuing a low-carbon society and economy. In order to ensure the success of the Paris Conference, China has contributed significantly. China's constructive participation in global governance shows that China is a responsible power. These principles such as the creation of a future of winewin cooperation with each country contributing to the best of its ability;a future of the rule of law, fairness, and justice;and a future of inclusiveness, mutual learning, and common development will serve as China's guidelines in its efforts to facilitate the implementation of the Paris Agreement and participate in the design of international systems.

Environmental impact of climate change in pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, S.; Raja, I.A.

2014-01-01

Climate change results in the increase or decrease in temperature and rainfall. These have significant impact on environment - impinge agricultural crop yields, affect human health, cause changes to forests and other ecosystems, and even impact our energy supply. Climate change is a global phenomenon and its impact can be observed on Pakistan's economy and environment. This paper contains details concerning the climate change and environmental impacts. It takes into account current and projected key vulnerabilities, prospects for adaptation, and the relationships between climate change mitigation and environment. The purpose of the study is to devise national policies and incentive systems combined with national level capacity-building programs to encourage demand-oriented conservation technologies. Recommendations are also made to abate the climate change related issues in country. (author)

Long-run evolution of the global economy - Part 2: Hindcasts of innovation and growth

Science.gov (United States)

Garrett, T. J.

2015-10-01

Long-range climate forecasts use integrated assessment models to link the global economy to greenhouse gas emissions. This paper evaluates an alternative economic framework outlined in part 1 of this study (Garrett, 2014) that approaches the global economy using purely physical principles rather than explicitly resolved societal dynamics. If this model is initialized with economic data from the 1950s, it yields hindcasts for how fast global economic production and energy consumption grew between 2000 and 2010 with skill scores > 90 % relative to a model of persistence in trends. The model appears to attain high skill partly because there was a strong impulse of discovery of fossil fuel energy reserves in the mid-twentieth century that helped civilization to grow rapidly as a deterministic physical response. Forecasting the coming century may prove more of a challenge because the effect of the energy impulse appears to have nearly run its course. Nonetheless, an understanding of the external forces that drive civilization may help development of constrained futures for the coupled evolution of civilization and climate during the Anthropocene.

Climate Change, Economic Growth, and Health

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ikefuji, M.; Magnus, J.R.; Sakamoto, H.

2010-01-01

This paper studies the interplay between climate, health, and the economy in a stylized world with four heterogeneous regions, labeled ‘West’ (cold and rich), ‘China’ (cold and poor), ‘India’ (warm and poor), and ‘Africa’ (warm and very poor). We introduce health impacts into a simple integrated

Perspectives on Eco Economics. Circular Economy and Smart Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristina Balaceanu

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The implementation of sustainable development principles in contemporary economic thinking has generated the conceptual remodeling that expresses the new mechanisms of the economy. Thus, the concept of circular economy meet the theoretical representation of an economic system oriented towards the re-use of waste as raw materials and limiting the production of waste that cannot come back into the economic circuit. Circular economy is one that involves even its concept of operation, recovery and regeneration, as much as possible of resources, aiming to preserve, at the highest level, the value and usefulness of products, components and raw materials, distinguishing between technical and biological cycles. In this way, we can find solutions for two major issues affecting today's economy: the limited nature of resources and the pollution generated by the waste resulting from economic activities.

The climate regime before and after Copenhagen: science, policy, and the two-degrees target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aykut, S.C.; Dahan, A.

2011-01-01

The article discusses the political results of the Copenhagen Conference and evolutions in the international climate arena including geopolitical shifts, new issues on the agenda and a changing cartography of the main actors. As recent attacks on the climate regime concern both its political governance and the peculiar relationship between science and politics that developed through its main institutions (IPCC and the Conference of the Parties), we retrace in a first part the construction of the climate arena and in a second part the framing of the problem between climate science, expertise, and politics. Drawing on this historical sketch, we suggest the years 2000 were characterized by a convergence of top-down approaches in climate expertise and policies, structuring action and discourse around quantified reduction targets, temperature and concentration thresholds, and carbon budgets. The bottom-up character of the voluntary reduction commitments in the Copenhagen Accord is a serious setback to this approach. A central figure in this context is the threshold of 'dangerous warming' of two degrees. The Copenhagen Accord - endorsed in the Cancun compromise - elevates this figure to an official target of the U.N. negotiation process, thereby accentuating the tension between a newly assumed 'Real politic' and an alarming expertise. The article analyzes the construction of the two-degrees target and the role it plays in the climate regime. We conclude by discussing several contributions to the Post-Copenhagen debate. (authors)

Emission policies and the Nigerian economy. Simulations from a dynamic applied general equilibrium model