63 research outputs found
a legitimate approach to account for social aspects in environmental governance?
While initially hailed to be the silver bullet for tackling climate change,
reducing oil dependency and providing an opportunity for rural development
especially in poorer regions, severe criticism concerning the environmental
and social performance of bioenergy has been raised recently. One potential
solution for this problem that is increasingly discussed now is the
certification of bioenergy. In the wake of this discussion, a broad range of
certification initiatives emerged during the last years. However, this issue
is predominantly debated in terms of the environmental implications.
Accordingly, governmental approaches to this issue often neglect the need for
including social aspects into sustainability principles and criteria, most
prominently here the EU Renewable Energies Directive (RED). Non-state
voluntary certification initiatives, by accounting for the social implications
of increased bioenergy production, could therefore be seen as complementary
governance instruments that are able to fill the void left by state
regulations in this respect. After briefly addressing the reasons why state
regulations tend to neglect social aspects concerning this matter, this paper
seeks to explore whether voluntary bioenergy certification schemes could
really be able to fulfill these hopes and provide the solution for the missing
consideration of social criteria for sustainable bioenergy. And how could
these private non-state initiatives do so in a politically and democratically
legitimate way? So as to deal with these issues from a scientific perspective,
a distinct analytical framework to evaluate the legitimacy of private
governance is presented. Based on this framework, five voluntary bioenergy
certification schemes are selected and their consideration given to its social
dimension is examined. In order to address the characteristics of our
conception of non-state legitimacy, the actor constellations behind these
certification initiatives are analyzed with a view to determine the structural
representation of social interests. Furthermore, we also give attention to the
control and accountability mechanisms incorporated into the certification
schemes that are supposed to safeguard the common welfare-orientation of the
initiatives. The results of this analysis shed some light on the particular
challenges and bottlenecks of ensuring social sustainability via non-state
voluntary certification systems in the bioenergy sector. In the concluding
chapter, these results are put into perspective and a more general discussion
on the potential of non-state voluntary governance approaches regarding the
social dimension of environmental governance are presented.early draf
Voluntary Bioenergy Certification: A Legitimate Approach to Account for Social Aspects in Environmental Governance?
Abstract While initially hailed to be the silver bullet for tackling climate change, reducing oil dependency and providing an opportunity for rural development especially in poorer regions, severe criticism concerning the environmental and social performance of bioenergy has been raised recently. One potential solution for this problem that is increasingly discussed now is the certification of bioenergy. In the wake of this discussion, a broad range of certification initiatives emerged during the last years. However, this issue is predominantly debated in terms of the environmental implications. Accordingly, governmental approaches to this issue often neglect the need for including social aspects into sustainability principles and criteria, most prominently here the EU Renewable Energies Directive (RED). Non-state voluntary certification initiatives, by accounting for the social implications of increased bioenergy production, could therefore be seen as complementary governance instruments that are able to fill the void left by state regulations in this respect. After briefly addressing the reasons why state regulations tend to neglect social aspects concerning this matter, this paper seeks to explore whether voluntary bioenergy certification schemes could really be able to fulfill these hopes and provide the solution for the missing consideration of social criteria for sustainable bioenergy. And how could these private non-state initiatives do so in a politically and democratically legitimate way? So as to deal with these issues from a scientific perspective, a distinct analytical framework to evaluate the legitimacy of private governance is presented. Based on this framework, five voluntary bioenergy certification schemes are selected and their consideration given to its social dimension is examined. In order to address the characteristics of our conception of non-state legitimacy, the actor constellations behind these certification initiatives are analyzed with a view to determine the structural representation of social interests. Furthermore, we also give attention to the control and accountability mechanisms incorporated into the certification schemes that are supposed to safeguard the common welfare-orientation of the initiatives. The results of this analysis shed some light on the particular challenges and bottlenecks of ensuring social sustainability via non-state voluntary certification systems in the bioenergy sector. In the concluding chapter, these results are put into perspective and a more general discussion on the potential of non-state voluntary governance approaches regarding the social dimension of environmental governance are presented
Umwelt-Dienstleistungen auf der Überholspur?
Umwelt-Dienstleistungen haben ein hohes Wertschöpfungs- und Export-Potenzial, das gegenwärtig unterschätzt und zu wenig gefördert wird. Viele Umwelt-Dienstleistungen bieten Vorteile für Exporteure, Zielländer und die Umwelt, wenn sozial-ökologische Kriterien eingehalten werden. Dienstleistungen können nicht nur Technologien begleiten, sondern ihnen den Boden bereiten
Internationalisierung von Umweltdienstleistungen
Einführung in das Schwerpunktthem
Weichenstellungen für ein (de)zentrales postfossiles Energiesystem
Die deutsche Energiewende bekommt durch das Abkommen von Paris Rückenwind – und neuen Erfolgsdruck. Dabei ergeben sich durch die geplanten Veränderungen des energiepolitischen Designs der Regierung neue Herausforderungen, die mit der Schlüsselfrage der (De-)Zentralität des Energiesystems zu tun haben
Klimaneutrale Städte als zentrale Bausteine der Energiewende
Städte sind heutzutage überwiegend Energiesenken. Damit tragen sie eine hohe Verantwortung für den Klimawandel und müssen deshalb aktiv zu dessen Eindämmung beitragen. Die deutsche Hauptstadt Berlin hat sich sogar vorgenommen, bis 2050 klimaneutral zu werden
Achtung Akzeptanzverlust!
Derzeit wird die Novelle des erfolgreichen Erneuerbare Energien-Gesetzes vorbereitet. Als überwiegend dezentrale Technologien sind erneuerbare Energien unabdingbar von gesellschaftlicher Akzeptanz abhängig. Die bisher breite Akzeptanz wird jedoch im Zuge der laufenden Novellierungsdebatte von Feinden und auch Freunden des EEG bedroht
Gutachten zum Klimaplan Brandenburg
GUTACHTEN ZUM KLIMAPLAN BRANDENBURG
Gutachten zum Klimaplan Brandenburg / Hirschl, Bernd (Rights reserved) ( -
Raus aus der Komfortzone und rein in die Konfliktarenen!
Auf den ersten Blick sieht man bei der Energiewende große Erfolge: Atomausstieg, Paris-Ziele, Kohleausstieg und ein CO2-Preis. Auf den zweiten Blick wird klar: Die Energiewende geht viel zu langsam voran, die Politik scheut sich vor vielen Klimaschutzkonflikten, und allzu oft wird nur über Ziele debattiert und nicht gehandelt. Das muss sich ändern
Von grünen Riesen und grauen Schleiern
Seit einiger Zeit nehmen die vier großen Energieversorger in Deutschland viel Geld für erneuerbare Energien in die Hand und vermarkten dies sehr effektiv. Wie viel jedoch in Wirklichkeit investiert wird und ob sie damit die politischen Ziele erreichen, wurde in einer neuen Studie untersucht
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