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The pulp and paper industry (PPI) has several opportunities to contribute to meeting prevailing climate targets. It can cut its own CO2 emissions, which currently account for 2% of global industrial fossil CO2 emissions, and it has an opportunity to produce renewable energy, fuels, and materials for other sectors. The purpose of this study is to improve understanding of the decarbonization prospects of the PPI. The study provides insights on the magnitude of needed annual renewal rates for several possible net-zero target years of industrial fossil CO2 emissions in the PPI and discusses decarbonization opportunities, namely, energy and material efficiency improvement, fuel switching, electrification, renewable energy production, carbon capture, and new products. The effects of climate policies on the decarbonization opportunities are critically evaluated to provide an overview of the current and future business environment of the European PPI. The focus is on Europe, but other regions are analyzed briefly to widen the view. The analysis shows that there are no major technical barriers to the fossil-free operation of the PPI, but the sector renovates slowly, and many new opportunities are not implemented on a large scale due to immature technology, poor economic feasibility, or unclear political environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pulp and paper industry (PPI) has several opportunities to contribute to meeting prevailing climate targets. It can cut its own CO2 emissions, which currently account for 2% of global industrial fossil CO2 emissions, and it has an opportunity to produce renewable energy, fuels, and materials for other sectors. The purpose of this study is to improve understanding of the decarbonization prospects of the PPI. The study provides insights on the magnitude of needed annual renewal rates for several possible net-zero target years of industrial fossil CO2 emissions in the PPI and discusses decarbonization opportunities, namely, energy and material efficiency improvement, fuel switching, electrification, renewable energy production, carbon capture, and new products. The effects of climate policies on the decarbonization opportunities are critically evaluated to provide an overview of the current and future business environment of the European PPI. The focus is on Europe, but other regions are analyzed briefly to widen the view. The analysis shows that there are no major technical barriers to the fossil-free operation of the PPI, but the sector renovates slowly, and many new opportunities are not implemented on a large scale due to immature technology, poor economic feasibility, or unclear political environment.

This paper assesses four relevant climate actions in Indian agricultural sector through the lens of United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to understand how climate actions (SDG 13) are linked with other SDGs and their targets and what measures can be taken to scale up these actions. Four board categories of climate actions are considered for this exercise: shift to less-flooded paddy water management practices; minimizing overuse of nitrogen-based fertilizer, system of rice intensification and climate smart agricultural practices. A mixed method has been followed: first, scoping review of literature between 2010 and 2022 is undertaken to capture the growing body of literature and then a normalized weighted score is used to understand the net strength of the linkages. Scoping review helped in identifying 100 studies spanned across Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and the eastern part of Peninsular India. Findings from the scoring method suggest that these practices have linkages with 15 SDGs and as many as 43 SDG targets. Almost all linkages are positive (synergy) but there are a few negative linkages (trade-offs) as well. Trade-offs include exacerbating inequalities including gender, high upfront cost, requirement of skilled labor, lack of access to information and finance. This paper provides a detailed description of these trade-offs and suggests measures to tackle and minimize them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much recent philosophical discussion has explored the political value of holding onto certain hopes for shared ends. This paper considers whether there is correlative political value of letting go of certain hopes or at least of refraining from publicly affirming particular hopes for our collective future. For instance, recently a coalition of scientists and governance scholars have called on governments, international agencies, and other actors to agree to a moratorium on a controversial climate-change mitigation strategy known as solar geoengineering. They argue that there is no place for hope for a successful global solar geoengineering strategy in a just and inclusive climate policy portfolio. This paper asks: (i) what sort of demand are these coalitions making? (ii) Is giving up hopes the sort of thing that is warranted for people to do on the basis of these calls? And (iii) is this the sort of thing that can be legitimately demanded of others? Ultimately, I defend both the political value of our own letting go of certain hopes as well as the legitimacy of making such demands on others (at least in certain cases). This is because what I take people to be doing when they make such demands of others is not necessarily to get others to create new desires or to be more or less optimistic about a certain course of action; rather they are making such demands to outline the terms of continued political engagement as they work towards a shared future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a thorough examination of methane capture from Polish coal mines, contextualized within the framework of the European Union's (EU) climate policy objectives. Through a strategic analysis encompassing the interior of coal mines, the surrounding environment, and the macro environment, this study elucidates the complex dynamics involved in methane emissions and capture initiatives. The key findings include a declining trend in absolute methane emissions since 2008, despite fluctuations in coal extraction volumes, and a relatively stable level of methane capture exceeding 300 million m3/year since 2014. The analysis underscores the critical role of government support, both in terms of financial incentives and streamlined regulatory processes, to facilitate the integration of methane capture technologies into coal mining operations. Collaboration through partnerships and stakeholder engagement emerges as essential for overcoming resource competition and ensuring the long-term success of methane capture projects. This paper also highlights the economic and environmental opportunities presented by methane reserves, emphasizing the importance of investment in efficient extraction technologies. Despite these advancements, challenges persist, particularly regarding the low efficiency of current de-methanation technologies. Recommendations for modernization and technological innovation are proposed to enhance methane capture efficiency and utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the study is to assess the importance of climate and energy policy instruments in fuel poverty reduction policy in Poland. Design/methodology/approach: The paper applies the method of regression analysis to assess the impact of climate and energy policy factors on fuel poverty in Poland. For this purpose, a literature review was carried out on the factors influencing fuel poverty and the development of climate and energy policy, particularly decarbonisation in the European Union, in order to identify potential determinants of fuel poverty. An empirical analysis was carried out of electricity and gas price developments and decomposition analysis of these prices in Poland in the studied period, and it was assessed using regression analysis which factors, among the instruments of energy and climate policies, determine fuel poverty in Poland. Findings: The main finding is that climate and energy policies influence fuel poverty in Poland, especially share of renewable energy sources in energy mix and expenditures on environment protection. It was also found that macroeconomic policy instruments, which determine the level of income per capita and thus disposable income, have a statistically significant impact on fuel poverty in Poland. In addition, it was found that such instruments as taxes and social transfers are worth using for this purpose. Research limitations/implications: It is recommended to deepen long-term research on the impact of these policies on fuel poverty. For the time being, the lack of long-term data limits the possibility for long-term analysis. Practical implications: Unfortunately, there is a lack of detailed data on income decomposition in decile groups, which limits the possibility to accurately estimate the long-term level of fuel poverty in Poland. Social implications: The regulation of fuel poverty would make it possible to constantly monitor the phenomenon and to apply instruments that would precisely limit this social phenomenon. Originality/value: The paper provides information on the impact of climate and energy policy on fuel poverty in Poland. So far there have only been analyses of the scale of the phenomenon, not of the factors. It is addressed to fuel poverty practitioners and policy makers in the field of social and energy policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of policy entrepreneurs has gained increasing attention in studies of policy change, including climate policy and governance. It foregrounds the role of agency in understanding policy change. However, agency of policy entrepreneurs in the policy process is political and conceals the power that shapes how public problems and policies are framed and defined. Thus, policy entrepreneurs should be confronted with the challenge of generating legitimacy, accountability, and justice in their actions and the implementation of their targeted policy change. Drawing on political–philosophical theories of liberal and deliberative democracy as well as environmental and ecological democracy this paper outlines a conceptual framework for critical analytical as well as normative research on strategies and impacts of policy entrepreneurs on democratic governance, primarily in climate policy but also more generally. Empirical research on the strategies and impacts of policy entrepreneurs in recent policymaking on climate change mitigation in the EU and Sweden identifies several deficits related to the democratic principles of legitimacy, accountability, and justice. It is found that policy entrepreneurs from different social spheres use cultural–institutional entrepreneurship to influence beliefs and perceptions on problems and policies. In addition, it is found that public sector policy entrepreneurs use structural entrepreneurship on ideological grounds to change existing power relations in climate governance. In all, the paper brings ideology and politics into research on policy entrepreneurs. It is suggested that not only the strategies used, but also the ideologies of the actors that use them, are decisive for the impacts of policy entrepreneurs, and thus, whether their advocacy will adhere to democratic norms and facilitate or hamper a just transition to climate neutrality and sustainability. The paper ends with proposals on how policy entrepreneurs can act more democratically, how to deal with populist policy entrepreneurs wanting to erode democracy, and conditions for climate justice movements to take responsibility and act in a more entrepreneurial way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies, such as direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS), will be critical in limiting the rise of the average global temperature over the next century. Scaling up DACCS technologies requires the support of a complex array of policies and infrastructure across multiple overlapping policy areas, such as climate, energy, technology innovation and resource management. While the literature on DACCS and other CDR technologies acknowledges the path-dependent nature of policy development, it has tended to focus on abstract policy prescriptions that are not rooted in the specific political, social and physical (infrastructural) context of the implementing state. To address this gap, this paper provides a country-level study of the emerging DACCS policy regime in Canada. Drawing on the existing literature that identifies idealized (acontextual) policy objectives that support DACCS development and effective regulation, we identify the actionable policy objectives across six issue domains: general climate mitigation strategies; energy and resource constraints; carbon storage and transport regulation and infrastructure; financing scale-up and supporting innovation; removal and capture technology availability and regulation; and addressing social acceptability and public interest. Using a database of Canadian climate policies (n = 457), we identify policies within the Canadian (federal and provincial) policy environment that map to the idealized policy objectives within each of these domains. This exercise allows us to analyze how key policy objectives for DACCS development are represented within the Canadian system, and enables us to identify potential niches, and landscape influences within the system, as well as gaps and potential barriers to the system transition process. This paper contributes to our understanding of national DACCS policy development by providing a framework for identifying components of the DAC system and linking those components to desired policy outcomes and may provide a basis for future cross-country comparisons of national-level DACCS policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant emission reductions are needed in the transport sector to reach climate change mitigation objectives. Backcasting, a type of scenario-analysis approach, is a useful tool for the analysis of possible alternative transport futures and strategies to arrive at these futures when the business-as-usual projection is no longer sustainable. The backcasting approach consists of establishing desirable futures and examining the pathways by which those futures can be reached. This paper focuses on the policy packaging phase of a transport backcasting study carried out in the context of Malta as a case study. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the existing literature on transport and climate change using the case of Malta, which presents a context of high dependency on private cars and difficulty in transitioning to sustainable mobility. This paper tests the usefulness of a practice-based approach to transport backcasting. The results of this backcasting framework are a set of climate policies that target different elements of mobility practices and suggest that interventions for sustainable mobility should go beyond transport and target other spheres of social life. Collaboration between stakeholders and participation of citizens during the backcasting process was key to making the policy design process more participatory. Results of this study show how new approaches can open possibilities for a transition towards more sustainable mobility and contribute to widening the knowledge in the field of transport backcasting studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the multifaced aspects and consequences of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) from an Australia-China Relationship perspective. Design/methodology/approach: This paper leverages the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis to examine both the internal and external factors that affect Australia and China in the context of the CBAM. In addition, we employ the PEST (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) framework to identify effective strategies for Australia-China cooperation following the implementation of the CBAM. Findings: Our analysis reveals numerous mutual interests and opportunities for bilateral collaboration, despite challenges and threats, positioning the CBAM as a potentially significant catalyst for joint initiatives. Practical implications: This paper proposes 10 potential areas for Australia and China cooperation from the political economic social and technological PEST dimensions. Originality/value: This paper makes a pioneering attempt to explore potential strategies, both individually, and together, that Australia and China can adopt to manage the impact and consequence of CBAM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Media reporting and academic research into young climate civil society organisations (CSOs) often focus on organisations using direct, confrontational and often controversial actions, but to what extent is this a true picture of young climate organisations? This paper examines the differences between young and old climate and environmental CSOs in the Netherlands. Drawing on niche theory, it uses set-theoretic typology building to examine the ways in which 39 young and old Dutch CSOs construct configurational organisational niches by narrowing down their membership and issue, using innovative strategies and developing stable financing sources. It finds that although there are significant differences between young and old CSOs in how they narrow down their membership and issues, their strategies are not significantly different: in other words, a focus on civil disobedience alone does not paint the whole picture of young climate groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition from fossil fuels poses risks to communities and industries dependent on carbon-heavy work. This article calls for geographical scholarship to engage more fully with the experiences of those 'stranded communities' at risk of such change. It critically reviews examples of deindustrialisation and the decline of coal communities to demonstrate how energy transitions will animate new work and extend geographical understandings of economic restructuring. This paper closes with an agenda for new scholarship to proactively envision decarbonisation in ways that are anticipatory and preventative of future processes of labour restructuring and loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first climate action stocktake cycle under the Paris Agreement was completed in 2023 to assess global progress on mitigation, adaptation, and climate finance goals. State-driven action needs to be complemented by sectoral efforts, and this paper builds on the first Tourism Stocktake undertaken in 2023 that examined climate action in the tourism sector. First, an expert elicitation survey was conducted to validate and deepen the findings from the stocktaking activity. Second, an analysis of the Stocktake's 40 metrics was undertaken against six criteria of indicator quality. The expert survey revealed a sector still in the early stages of implementing its climate response, with a consensus that 2030 tourism emission reduction targets would not be achieved. Tourism policy and investment were deemed inconsistent with climate ambitions, and current adaptation is insufficient for projected climate change, so that future impacts will restrict tourism development in some destinations. Analysis of the metrics exposed significant data gaps and a core set of 13 robust metrics to measure change over the next stocktaking cycle is identified. The paper concludes with recommendations to advance sector capabilities and collaboration to monitor progress on climate action for an updated Tourism Stocktake in 2026. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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While the EU is working toward the implementation of the world's first Carbon Border Adjustment (CBA) Mechanism, a gap remains between the ways in which carbon leakage and CBAs are discussed in policy spheres and economic evidence on these topics. The aim of this paper is to bridge this gap by presenting the EU's policy context, systematically reviewing the economic literature on carbon leakage and CBAs, and discussing potential future research avenues. Three channels of leakage are identified in our literature review: the competition, energy and innovation channels. The main finding of this paper is that while the competition channel is well understood and taken into account by policymakers, the energy and innovation channels are generally not considered. Policy recommendations are provided to better account for these two channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policies designed to control greenhouse gases imply domestic tradeoffs and international externalities, which lead to both domestic and international conflicts, influencing their feasibility and implementations. Our paper investigates two quantitative aspects within this debate. We intend to quantify the impact of: (a) the internalization of international externalities; and (b) the damage associated with a short-term view of climate policies. In this respect, we adopt the innovative (in this field) idea of model predictive control to formalize moving-horizon policy strategies and, thus, to build counterfactuals characterized by a different horizon for all policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]