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Copyright of Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales is the property of Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicas y Naturales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente is the property of Universidade Federal do Parana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Germany has reduced its emissions of greenhouse gases more than almost any other industrialized democracy and is exceeding its ambitious Kyoto commitment. Hence, it is commonly portrayed as a climate-policy success story, but the situation is actually much more complex. Generalizing Germany's per-capita emissions to all countries or its emissions reductions to all industrialized democracies would still very likely produce more than a two-degree rise in global temperature. Moreover, analyzing the German country-case into eleven subcases shows that it is a mixture of relative successes and failures. This analysis leads to three main conclusions. First, high relative performance and high environmental damage can coexist. Second, we should see national cases in a differentiated way and not only in terms of their aggregate performances. Third, researchers on climate policies should more often begin with outcomes, work backward to policies, and be prepared for some surprises. Ironically, the most effective government interventions may not be explicit climate policies, such as the economic transformation of eastern Germany. Moreover, the lack of policy-making in certain areas may undercut progress made elsewhere, including unregulated increases in car travel, road freight, and electricity consumption. Research on climate and environmental policies should focus on somewhat different areas of government intervention and ask different questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article compares and contrasts what the author terms the California Effect and the Washington Effect upon Canadian climate policy as of 2012. According to the article, the political relationship between the U.S. and Canada concerning climate change policy includes state-level policy initiatives and national level influences. The author argues that Canadian governments have been negatively influenced to implement greenhouse gas emission policies because of a lack of U.S. commitments to mandate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The article examines the possibility of regulatory action by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its potential impact upon Canadian climate change policy.

The article examines the impact of federalism on Canadian environmental policies and attempts to establish a pattern of intergovernmental cooperation and competition concerning the outcome of environmental policies on climate change as of 2012. The article discusses public opinion concerning environmental costs, regional differences in economics and ecology, and decentralized jurisdictions attempting to enforce environmental regulations. The author argues that there is no Canadian consensus on national policies concerning greenhouse gas emission (GGE) reductions.

This paper provides (for the nonspecialist) a highly streamlined discussion of the main issues, and controversies, in the design of climate mitigation policy. The first part of the paper discusses how much action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the global level is efficient under both the cost-effectiveness and welfare-maximizing paradigms. We then discuss various issues in the implementation of domestic emissions control policy, instrument choice, and incentives for technological innovation. Finally, we discuss alternative policy architectures at the international level. (JEL Q54, Q58) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how carbon emissions have been increasing in British Columbia (B.C.) each year since 2010, and it mentions the B.C. government's climate action policies and the proposed impact of a carbon tax on emissions in the Canadian province. The B.C. economy is addressed, as well as the B.C. government's policy on greenhouse gas mitigation. Canada's National Inventory Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is examined.

Discusses the efforts of President Bill Clinton in bridging the gap between two audiences for his climate change policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2008 as of October 30, 1997. Two key elements to the sketchy domestic policy proposed by the president; The concessions that the United States seeks,including agreement by three countries to participate in joint implementation.

Looks at Britain's Labour government's attempt to take the high ground in the climate change debate when it confirmed a pre-election promise to cut United Kingdom greenhouse-gas emissions to 80 percent of 1990 levels by 2010. The praise by John Prescott, secretary of state for superministry combining environment, transport and the regions, of his predecessor's attempts to raise the profile of environmental issues.