Sustainable development in Africa: agriculture, trade and climate change

This repository item contains a single issue of Issues in Brief, a series of policy briefs that began publishing in 2008 by the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future. This paper is part of The Project on Food and Development, a Pardee Center program of research, publications and symposia exploring the relationship between global food policy and development in its various dimensions. The project is generously supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands. The views expressed in this paper are strictly those of the author and should not be assumed to represent the views of Boston University or the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands.This paper looks at the confluence of trade, agriculture and climate change in Africa in the context of food and sustainable development. This paper is part of The Project on Food and Development, a Pardee Center program of research, publications and symposia exploring the relationship between global food policy and development in its various dimensions

The WTO dispute settlement system and the challenge of environment and legitimacy.

This thesis analyses the legitimacy of the WTO dispute settlement system, especially in the context of disputes involving questions concerning environmental protection. It argues that since the early 1990s, such disputes have posed important challenges to the legitimacy of the WTO. From the legal point of view, they have fuelled a lively doctrinal debate on fragmentation of international law and the role of non-WTO norms in the WTO dispute resolution mechanism. The thesis conceives legitimacy as a notion consisting of various interlinked components, including social, substantive, formal and procedural ones, and analyses the operation of the WTO dispute settlement system in light of these criteria. It shows that the compulsory but materially restricted jurisdiction of the WTO dispute settlement limits its ability to solve disputes involving non-trade interests and legal norms. The dissertation argues, however, that some of the ensuing problems could be remedied if the WTO dispute settlement system approached international environmental law in a more constructive, consistent and transparent manner. Turning to the formal and procedural elements of legitimacy, the thesis conceives the situation of the WTO dispute settlement system as a dilemma between the pressure to improve substantive legitimacy by considering environmental norms and interests, and the need to observe the limits of its judicial function. It explores tensions at the boundary between the WTO and its Member States, arguing that only limited potential exists to enhance the authority of the WTO dispute settlement through 'importing' substantive legitimacy. Finally, the dissertation highlights institutional and systemic problems arising from fragmentation of international law. Using the relationship between the WTO and the international climate change regime as an example, it concludes that the WTO dispute settlement system's legitimacy challenge involves two dimensions. Certain unexploited potential exists to improve the situation through the judicial techniques at the disposal of the WTO dispute settlement system. However, the more profound and systemic problems are incapable of solution by the WTO dispute settlement system or even by WTO negotiators alone. Instead, they would require broader international efforts

Ilmastonmuutos ajurina metsäsektorin muutokselle

Kirjoitus perustuu Tieteen päivien podcast-ohjelmaan 14.1.2021, jossa aiheena oli, mitä ilmastonmuutos merkitsee metsäsektorilla ja toisaalta mitä metsäsektori voi tehdä ilmastonmuutoksen hillitsemiseksi. Keskustelun puheenjohtaja oli Anneli Pauli, ja keskustelijat olivat eritaustaisia asiantuntijoita

The European Climate Law: Strengthening EU Procedural Climate Governance?

In 2021, the European Union (EU) adopted the so-called European Climate Law (ECL), enshrining in law the 2050 climate-neutrality objective and upgraded 2030 emission reduction target. The ECL bears the hallmarks of what we term ‘procedural climate governance’, which comprises the regulatory frameworks, instruments, institutions and processes that shape substantive climate policies and their implementation. This article identifies seven key functions of procedural climate governance—target-setting; planning; monitoring and evaluation; climate policy integration; scientific expert advice; access to justice; and public participation—and uses these for critically assessing the ECL. We argue that while the ECL has significantly strengthened important aspects of EU procedural climate governance, further reforms are needed for the EU to develop and implement the substantive policies towards a climate-neutral and climate-resilient economy and society and to bolster public support and ownership of the transition. The upcoming reviews of the ECL and the Governance Regulation provide a critical opportunity for strengthening procedural climate governance in the EU

Opas vapaaehtoisen hiilimarkkinoiden hyviin käytäntöihin : Vapaaehtoisten ilmastotekojen edistäminen ilmastoyksiköillä

Vapaaehtoisilta hiilimarkkinoilta voi ostaa ilmastoyksiköitä, joita käytetään ilmastoväittämien tekemiseen yritysten, tuotteiden ja palveluiden markkinoinnissa. Näiden yksiköiden tuottamiseen sekä niiden käyttöön liittyviin väittämiin on liittynyt kuitenkin paljon epäselvyyttä. Hyvien käytäntöjen mukaan uskottavien ilmastoväittämien tulee perustua kansainvälisesti vakiintuneet minimikriteerit täyttäviin yksiköihin. Ympäristöväittämiä koskevan lainsäädännön mukaisesti ilmastoväittämien tulee olla selkeitä, yksiselitteisiä, todenperäisiä ja niiden todenperäisyys tulee olla tarkistettavissa. Muutoin väittämää voidaan pitää harhaanjohtavana tai nk. ”viherpesuna”. Opas pyrkii kansainvälisten hyvien käytäntöjen kokoamiseen ja niiden selventämiseen kotimaisessa kontekstissa, jotta kotimaisten hiilimarkkinoiden luotettavuutta voidaan parantaa ja ilmastoväittämiin ja niihin liittyvien ilmastoyksiköiden tuottamiseen liittyvää epävarmuutta voitaisiin välttää. Opas kattaa hyvät käytännöt ilmastoyksiköiden tuottajille, yksiköiden käyttäjille ja yksityisille kuluttajille. Hyviä käytäntöjä tukee taustakartoitus ilmastoväittämien nykytilanteesta Suomessa ja vapaaehtoisia ilmastotekoja ja väittämiä koskevasta lainsäädännöstä. Lisäksi raportissa annetaan suosituksia väittämien kehittämiseksi ja valvonnaksi tulevaisuudessa. Tässä raportissa esitetyt hyvät käytännöt ja kansainväliset ohjeistukset perustuvat tilanteeseen kirjoitushetkellä. Kansainväliset ja kansalliset hyvät käytännöt, ohjeet ja sääntely kehittyvät jatkuvasti ja nopeasti

Guide to good practices for voluntary carbon markets : Supporting voluntary mitigation action with carbon credits

Organisations use carbon credits bought from voluntary carbon markets to make climate claims related to their organisations, products and services. However, there has been much uncertainty around the production of these credits and the claims related to those credits. Good practices dictate that credible offsetting and contribution claims should be based on mitigation outcomes that fulfil internationally established minimum criteria. According to the law on environmental claims, claims should be clear, unambiguous, truthful, and verifiable. Otherwise, the claim can be considered misleading or so-called "greenwashing". This guide aims to synthesize and clarify international good practices for the Finnish context to improve the trustworthiness of Finnish carbon markets and to promote clarity and trust in the quality of climate claims and the production of the credits on which those claims are based. The guide covers good practices for producers of carbon credits, those using carbon credits, and for consumers. Supporting background is presented on the current state of climate claims in Finland and current regulation on voluntary mitigation action and climate claims. In addition, the report gives recommendations for developing and supervising claims. The good practices and international guidance presented here are current as of the time of writing. International and national good practices, guidance, and regulation are developing continuously and rapidly