Measuring and explaining the EU’s effect on national climate performance

To what extent has the European Union (EU) had a benign or retarding effect on what its member states would have undertaken in the absence of EU climate policies during 2008–2012? A measurement tool for the EU policy’s effect is developed and shows a benign average EU effect with considerable variation across countries. The EU’s policy effectiveness vis-à-vis its member states is explained by the EU’s non-compliance mechanism, the degree of usage of the Kyoto flexible mechanisms, and national pre-Kyoto emission reduction goals. Time-series cross-sectional analyses show that the EU’s non-compliance mechanism has no effect, while the ex-ante plans for using Kyoto flexible mechanisms and/or the ambitious pre-Kyoto emission reduction targets allow member states to escape constraints imposed by EU climate policy. © 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Umwelt und Sicherheit: Die Rolle von Umweltschwellenwerten in der empirisch-quantitativen Modellierung

Current research on environmental security is dominated by empirical-qualitative approaches. Due to methodological shortcomings, these approaches have been unable to demonstrate if there is a general link between environmental degradation and the outbreak of violent conflict. This report shows how environmental thresholds, as part of an empirical-quantitative approach, can serve as a sufficient condition for the outbreak of violent conflict. The results of such research will assist political decision-makers to assess the challenges of environmental degradation for international security. (orig.)Available from TIB Hannover: RR 5801(41) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

Reversing course: Germany's response to the challenge of transboundary air pollution

Perhaps like no other country, Germany has radically changed its policies towards regulating air pollution in the European context. Acting originally as a dragger in the 1970s to regulate transboundary air pollutants due to pessimism about the relationship between causes and effects, Germany responded very decisively to its own damage assessment in the early 1980s. In particular the adverse effects to forests ('Waldsterben' or forest decline) led to the formulation of strict air pollution regulations in the domestic context, efforts to spread the regulatory system within the European Union, and activities within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe to foster stronger, continent-wide emission reductions. Using three conceptual models (rational actor, domestic politics, and social learning), we show that Germany deviated strongly from the ideal policy cycle consisting of (i) domestic policy formulation, (ii) international negotiations, as well as (iii) implementation and compliance with the provisions of international environmental agreements. Both national policy-making as well as partial implementation have been well on the way towards compliance even before Germany entered international negotiations on substantive protocols. Therefore, one may conclude from this country study that push countries may use the results of their national policy processes to influence the policy of other countries. (orig.)SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: RR 5801(42) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman