challenges and institutional arrangements

Adaptation to climate change has become an integral part of climate change policies across the world. Based on the limited literature on the governance of climate change adaptation, the paper first highlights four key challenges governments face in this context, i.e. (i) how to better integrate adaptation policies horizontally across policy sectors and (ii) vertically across levels of government, (iii) how to integrate knowledge in adaptation policy decisions, and (iv) how to involve stakeholders in adaptation decisions. The paper then shows how selected OECD countries address these challenges when developing and implementing adaptation policies and instruments. We identify the most important governance mechanisms on the national level which constitute a distinct governance structure in each surveyed country, and highlight their objectives and specific foci on one or more governance challenges. The paper analyses dominant modes of emerging interaction patterns in the respective governance arrangements.Draft pape

Calcia-doped yttria-stabilized zirconia for thermal barrier coatings: synthesis and characterization

Doping with other oxides has been a stabilization method of ZrO2 for thermal barrier coating applications. Such a stabilized system is 7-8mol% YO1.5-doped zirconia (7YSZ), which has been in use for around 20years. In this study, calcia (CaO) and yttria (Y2O3) have been used for doping ZrO2 to produce a stable single-phase cubic calcia-doped yttria-stabilized zirconia (CaYSZ). This has been synthesized using wet chemical synthesis as well as by solid-state synthesis. Unlike partially stabilized zirconia where 5mol% CaO is doped into ZrO2, CaYSZ has been found to be stable up to 1600°C. Detailed CaYSZ synthesis steps and phase characterization are presented. Wet chemical synthesis resulted in a stable single-phase CaYSZ just after 4h treatment at 1400°C, whereas a 36h annealing at 1600°C is required for CaYSZ synthesis during solid-state processing. The CaYSZ has been found stable even for 600h at 1250°C. Coefficient of thermal expansion and sintering temperature of CaYSZ was found to be 11×10−6K−1 and 1220°C, respectively, which are comparable to 7YSZ. An increase in sintering rate with increasing dopant concentration has also been observe

Politikintegration in einem föderalen Staat: Klimaschutz im Gebäudesektor auf Österreichisch

Obwohl Österreich jahrzehntelang als umweltpolitischer Vorreiter galt, verfehlte es sein Kyoto-Ziel so deutlich, dass es EU-weit zu den Schlusslichtern beim Klimaschutz zählt. Ein Teil der als "environmental federalism" bekannten Literatur legt nahe, dass dies auch am föderalen politischen System liegen könnte: diese haben angeblich Vorteile bei der Lösung lokaler, jedoch Nachteile bei der Lösung nationaler oder globaler Umweltprobleme (wie z.B. Klimawandel). Der vorliegende Artikel analysiert, inwiefern Föderalismus für das Scheitern der österreichischen Klimapolitik mitverantwortlich ist. Er konzentriert sich dabei aus zwei Gründen auf den Gebäudesektor: Erstens liegen die wichtigsten Kompetenzen für die Regulierung dieses Sektors in der Hand der neun Bundesländer. Zweitens spielt der Gebäudesektor aufgrund seiner Energieintensität eine entscheidende Rolle beim Klimaschutz. Basierend auf einer qualitativen Analyse zum Zusammenwirken von EU-, Bundes- und Landespolitiken seit 1997 (dem Jahr als Österreich das Kyoto-Protokoll ratifiziert hat) kommen wir zu dem Schluss, dass der österreichische Föderalismus eine ambitionierte Integration von Klimaschutz in den Gebäudesektor erschwerte, die schlechte klimapolitische Performanz Österreichs allerdings nicht ausschließlich darin begründet ist.This paper addresses two related puzzles. The first puzzle is that parts of the environmental federalism literature suggest that federal states are ill-equipped to solve nation-wide or global environmental problems such as climate change, but climate policy scholars usually emphasise the opposite. The second puzzle is that Austria (a federal EU Member State) is regularly praised as an environmental policy leader but has missed its Kyoto target by far. The paper addresses both puzzles by analysing to what degree federalism is responsible for Austria's poor mitigation performance. Since the nine Austrian provinces are mainly responsible for regulating the building sector that accounts for about 25% of total energy consumption and 13% of the greenhouse gas emissions, the analysis focuses on the integration of climate change mitigation in building policies. The empirical core of the paper analyses all major EU, federal and provincial policies that aimed to green the building sector since the signing of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. After showing that these policy outputs cannot explain considerable sectoral emission reductions, we conclude that Austrian federalism did not facilitate but hinder climate change mitigation because it added a vertical dimension to an already complex horizontal integration challenge. However, since federalism can by far not explain Austria's failure to reach its Kyoto target domestically, we also conclude that it is only one of many independent variables that shape climate change mitigation. Finally, we show that Austria is neither an environmental policy leader nor a laggard, but an opportunist

Die Umsetzung der österreichischen Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie. Erfahrungen und Einsichten von Beteiligten.

Series: Research Paper Series of the Research Focus Managing Sustainabilit

The role of governments in corporate social responsibility: characterising public policies on CSR in Europe

Corporate social responsibility (CSR), Public policies on CSR, Business self-regulation, Business–government relations, New governance, Business–society relations, Societal co-regulation, Sustainable development,

Towards a new pattern of strategy formation in the public sector: first experiences with national strategies for sustainable development in Europe

Despite lengthy debates about planning versus incrementalism, there is still no consensus on what strategy processes should look like in the public sector. In the environmental policy field, the decline of formal policy planning was nonetheless followed by a surge of national strategies for sustainable development (NSSDs). After summarizing this development, we highlight some key characteristics, good practices, and weaknesses of NSSDs with regard to participation, horizontal and vertical policy integration, policy implementation, and monitoring. It is shown that NSSDs go well beyond former environmental policy plans, not just in terms of their thematic scope, but foremost because they resemble evolving rather than static strategy processes. Finally, we explore what model of strategy formation may be adequate for the public sector in general. Based on the empirical evidence presented here and by drawing on strategic management theory, strategic public management is proposed as an ideal pattern for strategy formation, which reconciles planning and incremental learning.

Business-society relations in Central-Eastern and Western Europe: How those who lead in sustainability reporting bridge the gap in corporate (social) responsibility

Summary In Western Europe, corporate (social) responsibility (CR) has become a popular concept that no major company can afford to ignore. However, what about the major companies from the new Central-Eastern Europe (CEE) Member States? The present paper is one of the first attempts to analyse the understanding and relevance of the CR of some major CEE companies that are leaders in sustainability reporting. This analysis is conducted in direct comparison with a similar analysis on major Western European companies. Methodologically, the paper intertwines two qualitative strands of research: an analysis of 19 CR reports (12 from CEE and 7 from Western Europe) provides a general impression about the understanding of CR across different socio-political contexts. This report-based depiction is complemented by two surveys of 22 companies (11 from CEE and 11 from Western Europe). The surveys show the relevance that the companies attach to specific CR issues. Overall, the paper concludes that the understanding of CR is context-specific, but also that, in the case of major companies that are leading in CR reporting, the differences are not as stark as one might expect.Corporate (social) responsibility (CR) Corporate sustainability Sustainable development Stakeholder management Sustainability reporting Environmental reporting Global Reporting Initiative/GRI Central-Eastern Europe (CEE) Eastern Europe Western Europe

Assessment Practices in the Policy and Politics Cycles: A Contribution to Reflexive Governance for Sustainable Development?

This article examines systematic assessment practices linked to sustainable development policies. We consider five types of assessment-monitoring, policy evaluation, formal audit, peer review, and specialist reporting-and explore their fate in the policy and electoral politics cycles. In contrast to traditional views of the policy cycle, we note that systematic assessments provide complementary feedback around the entire policy cycle. However, despite this omnipresence, their policy relevance is usually severely limited, inter alia because the policy cycle captures only parts of the political reality. A major concern for politicians (but not necessarily for policy or governance scholars) that goes far beyond the formulation and implementation of policies is the broader cycle of electoral politics that determines the state's political personnel as well as government priorities. Here, we highlight that the findings of systematic assessments are often lost in a cacophony of voices to which politicians are more carefully attuned, such as media responses and opinion polls, implying that scientific evidence is simply 'overwritten' with other kinds of evidence representing alternative rationalities and priorities. Despite numerous shortcomings, the true value of systematic assessment practices lies in their potential to furnish ammunition to state and non-state actors interested in securing change

Calcia-doped yttria-stabilized zirconia for thermal barrier coatings: Synthesis and characterization

ISSN:0022-2461ISSN:1573-480