Transalpine transport policies: towards a shared approach

In recent years crossing the Alps has become a central issue in European transport policy. The increase in global transport flow has contributed to bringing two themes to the centre of attention : making transalpine transportation easier and reducing the negative impact of this on the Alpine environment. The resulting debate has shown that there are conflicting transport policy proposals. The main reasons behind such differences are not so much the different evaluations of the trends in transalpine transport, and not only the diverging local and national interests, but rather the implicit reference to three alternative policy paradigms: ‘competition’, ‘sustainability’ and ‘de-growth’. The aim of this paper is twofold : 1) to identify the links between policy paradigms and the transalpine transport policy framework ; 2) to propose a multilevel and multi-criteria approach to transalpine transport policy. The explicit consideration of policy paradigms and the structured participation of citizens and stakeholders are at the heart of such a new and more widely shared approach.Alps; Transport Policy; Participated multi-criteria; Policy paradigms

Heterodox environmental economics: theoretical strands in search of a paradigm

Heterodox environmental economics is mainly based on non-mainstream economic theories; more precisely it refers to institutional and Schumpeterian economics. Starting from these theoretical foundations, heterodox environmental economics radically differs from the mainstream approach to environmental economics and policy. Three basic concepts are at the hearth of such a different vision: resource regimes, as institutional structures established to manage natural resources; environmental appraisals, as “value articulating” institutions conditioned by the incommensurability of conflicting values; transitions, as dynamic processes that are needed to unlock existing “socio-technical” systems. But a stable community of researchers defining themselves as ‘evolutionary/institutional environmental economists’ still does not exist. Time will tell if existing connections between some research groups will generate the social core of a nascent paradigm.Environmental economics; Environmental policy; Institutional economics; Evolutionary theories of economic change

STRUCTURE, AGENCY AND CHANGE IN THE CAR REGIME. A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

This paper is aimed at filling the gap between the already well structured literature on the 'car regime' and the debate on policies for sustainable transport. Two main results emerge from the literature on the past and current evolution of the car regime: ? the car regime was established thanks to the ability of purposeful private actors to use the technology of internal combustion to influence markets and institutions, and finally society as a whole; ? previous attempts to make urban and regional mobility more sustainable fail because multiple – and mutually reinforcing – path-dependence phenomena lock the society into the car regime. For the future, the dominant scenario appears to be the internal transformation of the existing car regime, which is currently driven by the automotive industry and based on hybrid technology; the emergence of an alternative electric car regime – driven by producers of batteries and managers of electric utilities – remains a secondary option. Further research is needed to understand how – starting from the existing alternatives to the car and the innovations in the car itself – a coalition of public and private actors may be promoted and sustained to create a new regime of sustainable mobility.Car-based mobility; Regime; Sustainable Transport; Transport Policy

Gravitationally-induced entanglement between two massive particles is sufficient evidence of quantum effects in gravity

All existing quantum gravity proposals share the same deep problem. Their predictions are extremely hard to test in practice. Quantum effects in the gravitational field are exceptionally small, unlike those in the electromagnetic field. The fundamental reason is that the gravitational coupling constant is about 43 orders of magnitude smaller than the fine structure constant, which governs light-matter interactions. For example, the detection of gravitons -- the hypothetical quanta of energy of the gravitational field predicted by certain quantum-gravity proposals -- is deemed to be practically impossible. In this letter we adopt a radically different, quantum-information-theoretic approach which circumvents the problem that quantum gravity is hard to test. We propose an experiment to witness quantum-like features in the gravitational field, by probing it with two masses each in a superposition of two locations. First, we prove the fact that any system (e.g. a field) capable of mediating entanglement between two quantum systems must itself be quantum. This argument is general and does not rely on any specific dynamics. Then, we propose an experiment to detect the entanglement generated between two masses via gravitational interaction. By our argument, the degree of entanglement between the masses is an indirect witness of the quantisation of the field mediating the interaction. Remarkably, this experiment does not require any quantum control over gravity itself. It is also closer to realisation than other proposals, such as detecting gravitons or detecting quantum gravitational vacuum fluctuations

Getting out of the car: an institutional/evolutionary approach to sustainable transport policies

Orthodox economics sees transport as a market which can be made more sustainable by improving its self-regulating capacity. To date this static approach has not been able to limit the growing demand for transport and its increasing environmental impact. Better results might be obtained by using evolutionary and institutional economics. Starting from these theories, a sustainable transport policy should be based on three fundamental considerations. First, transport is not a market, but a sum of systems affected by path-dependence and lock-in phenomena. Second, transport is not sustainable because it is locked in environmentally sub-optimal systems. Third, structural changes in technologies and organisations, institutions, and values are needed to establish more sustainable transport systems. We give an example of the use of an institutional/evolutionary approach to sustainable transport policies in the transition from the system of mass motorisation to the new urban mobility system

Why we need to quantise everything, including gravity

There is a long-standing debate about whether gravity should be quantised. A powerful line of argument in favour of quantum gravity considers models of hybrid systems consisting of coupled quantum-classical sectors. The conclusion is that such models are inconsistent: either the quantum sector's defining properties necessarily spread to the classical sector, or they are violated. These arguments have a long history, starting with the debates about the quantum nature of the electromagnetic fields in the early days of quantum theory. Yet, they have limited scope because they rely on particular dynamical models obeying restrictive conditions, such as unitarity. In this paper we propose a radically new, more general argument, relying on less restrictive assumptions. The key feature is an information-theoretic characterisation of both sectors, including their interaction, via constraints on copying operations. These operations are necessary for the existence of observables in any physical theory, because they constitute the most general representation of measurement interactions. Remarkably, our argument is formulated without resorting to particular dynamical models, thus being applicable to any hybrid system, even those ruled by "post-quantum" theories. Its conclusion is also compatible with partially quantum systems, such as those that exhibit features like complementarity, but may lack others, such as entanglement. As an example, we consider a hybrid system of qubits and rebits. Surprisingly, despite the rebit's lack of complex amplitudes, the signature quantum protocols such as teleportation are still possible

Which conceptual foundations for environmental policies? An institutional and evolutionary framework of economic change

This paper draws on institutional and evolutionary economics and contributes to an approach to environmental policy which diverges from mainstream prescriptions. The 'socio-technical system' is the core concept: this is a complex made of co-evolving institutions, technologies, markets and actors that fulfils an overall societal need (such as housing, production, mobility, etc.). A systemic and dynamic analysis of those structural changes which are needed to create more sustainable socio-technical systems is provided; actors – and their ability to influence politics and policy – are explicitly taken into consideration. Unsustainable socio-technical systems feature a relevant resistance to change, because they are embedded in the very structure of our society and because of the conservative action of dominant stakeholders; this is why no environmental policy will be effective unless it aims at 'unlocking' our societies from their dominance. But also a constructive side of environmental policy is needed in order to establish new and more sustainable socio-technical systems; consistently, environmental policy is viewed as a combination of actions that can trigger, make viable and align those institutional, technological and economic changes which are needed to reach sustainability. Again, actors (for change) are at the heart of this vision of environmental policy: as subject, because the creation of new and sustainable socio-technical systems is made possible by (coalitions of) actors for change; as object, because environmental policy – to be effective – must actively support the empowerment, legitimation and social networking of such coalitions. A ‘chicken and egg’ problem remains: who comes first? Actors for change advocating policies for sustainability or policies for sustainability supporting actors for change?Environmental policy; Economic dynamics; Institutional economics; Evolutionary economics; Socio-technical systems

WHICH CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES? AN INSTITUTIONAL AND EVOLUTIONARY FRAMEWORK OF ECONOMIC CHANGE

This paper draws on institutional and evolutionary economics and contributes to an approach to environmental policy which diverges from mainstream prescriptions. The 'socio-technical system' is the core concept: this is a complex made of co-evolving institutions, technologies, markets and actors that fulfils an overall societal need (such as housing, production, mobility, etc.). A systemic and dynamic analysis of those structural changes which are needed to create more sustainable socio-technical systems is provided; actors – and their ability to influence politics and policy – are explicitly taken into consideration. Unsustainable socio-technical systems feature a relevant resistance to change, because they are embedded in the very structure of our society and because of the conservative action of dominant stakeholders; this is why no environmental policy will be effective unless it aims at 'unlocking' our societies from their dominance. But also a constructive side of environmental policy is needed in order to establish new and more sustainable socio-technical systems; consistently, environmental policy is viewed as a combination of actions that can trigger, make viable and align those institutional, technological and economic changes which are needed to reach sustainability. Again, actors (for change) are at the heart of this vision of environmental policy: as subject, because the creation of new and sustainable socio-technical systems is made possible by (coalitions of) actors for change; as object, because environmental policy – to be effective – must actively support the empowerment, legitimation and social networking of such coalitions. A 'chicken and egg' problem remains: who comes first? Actors for change advocating policies for sustainability or policies for sustainability supporting actors for change?