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The main purpose of the article is to improve sustainable development policies through international relations. The object of the study is the system of sustainable development in a particular country. The scientific task is to build a modern methodological approach to assessing various types of challenges and threats. The proposed approach is based on the use of methods of system analysis, pairwise comparison and hierarchical analysis. As a result, the most significant challenges and threats that impede effective sustainable development policies and international relations in the country were identified. The innovativeness of the results obtained is revealed through the presented matrices of the most significant challenges and threats. The study is limited by taking into account the specifics of sustainable development exclusive to one country. Prospects for further research should be considered through the prism of expanding and taking into account not only international relations but also other factors in ensuring sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to comprehensively review current research on the transformation within the automotive industry, with a specific focus on electrification, which has driven structural shifts. The exploration of three key dimensions forms the crux of this review: the technical aspects of the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and the diverse perspectives on EVs as an innovative icon; the array of policy interventions linked to the transition and their distinctive features; and the intricate interplay of discourse and practices integral to the concept of a just transition. Examining these dimensions reveals a disparity between aspirational ideals and current realities in the transformative phase. While the shift to EVs revolutionizes automobile design, the mirroring hypothesis of a concomitant revolution in production and organizational paradigms lacks empirical support. The socio‐ecological transition encounters conflicts between transformative advocates, arguing for robust interventionist policies to overhaul the prevailing social‐technical automotive regime, and status quo upholders favoring an ecological modernization of the regime. Furthermore, the article underscores nuanced tensions in negotiating a just transition amid diverse stakeholder positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the debate over the need to address ecological and social concerns has grown substantially. Phenomena such as the Gilets Jaunes in France or the ecological versus social disputes in industrial sites (such as, for example, the ILVA steel plant in Taranto) have constituted a trade-off in terms of potentially conflicting policies, making the understanding of the various underlying preferences very important. Furthermore, growing environmental concerns have challenged more traditional views anchored on the predominance of social and employment concerns. The article, in line with the research questions raised in the introduction of the Symposium, intends to contribute to the above-mentioned debate addressing the following questions: did the European Union take an 'eco-social' path? If so, how and why? The article illustrates the growing intertwining of social and environmental policies at the EU level and tries to explain its genesis by focusing on the role of the various actors involved. The main argument is that the European Commission, and in particular the President of the Commission, developed an eco-social agenda in order to obtain further institutional (i.e. internal) and socio-political (i.e. external) legitimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte is the property of De Gruyter 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.)

The limitations and possibilities of the state in solving societal problems are perennial issues in the political and policy sciences and increasingly so in studies of environmental politics. With the aim of better understanding the role of the state in addressing environmental degradation through policy making, this article investigates the nexus between the environmental policy outputs and the environmental performance. Drawing on three theoretical perspectives on the state and market nexus in the environmental dilemma, we identify five distinct pathways. We then examine the extent to which these pathways are manifested in the real world. Our empirical investigation covers up to 37 countries for the period 1970–2010. While we see no global pattern of linkages between policy outputs and performance, our exploratory analysis finds evidence of policy effects, which suggest that the state can, under certain circumstances, improve the environment through policy making. Related Articles: Båtstrand, Sondre. 2015. "More than Markets: A Comparative Study of Nine Conservative Parties on Climate Change." Politics & Policy 43(4): 538–61. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12122. Tawiah, Vincent. 2022. "Does Political Ideology Affect the Stringency of Environmental Policy?" Politics & Policy 50(3): 631–53. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12465. Viniegra, María Eugenia Ibarrarán, and Salimah Mónica Cossens González. 2007. "Climate Change Research and Policy in Mexico: Implications for North American Security." Politics & Policy 35(4): 684–701. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2007.00080.x. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft is the property of Springer Nature 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.)

This article traces the rise of a new approach to market governance among economists during the 1970s and 1980s in West Germany called Ecological Modernization. Its advocates crafted a range of state levers that aimed to place economic growth on a sounder environmental foundation. These energy and environmental economists defy easy categorization and complicate the conventional dichotomy between Keynesianism and neoliberalism that has often characterized the history of postwar economic thought. By trying to actively restructure the economy and reshape consumer behavior, these new experts designed the policy instruments that today are being suggested to fight climate change. This article shows how many of these ideas originated in the United States during the 1970s but never cohered into a new paradigm there. Eventually they found a more receptive home in Western Europe, specifically West Germany, during the 1980s. By tracing this divergence in economic thought, this essay aims to shed light on why the United States and West Germany have followed different policy trajectories in matters of energy and the environment since the 1990s. It also seeks to provide an intellectual history for some of the most pressing energy and environmental policy instruments today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Social Sciences Research / Sosyal Bilimler Arastirmalari Dergisi is the property of ODU Journal of Social Sciences Research 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.)

Positive values serve as a catalyst to the formation of sustainable behaviours at the individual level, which contributes to the achievement of a nation's sustainable development goals. With that, the current study introduces a new conceptual framework based on fi ve pivotal values or goals of Maqāṣid al-Sharī'ah--preserving religion, life, intellect, progeny, and wealth--which serve as predictors in the framing of sustainable behaviours. This study presents an overview of goal-action research, establishes the identifi ed research gaps and study's aims, which is then followed by an extensive review of Maqāṣid al-Sharī'ah and its fi ve goals. The proposed Maqāṣid al-Sharī'ah-based framework for sustainable behaviours offers new avenues to further establish novel understanding on the universal views of Islam, which are also applicable for the non-Muslim community. Moreover, this conceptual framework provides an alternative perspective to the normative Western viewpoint on sustainable behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Collectivus. Revista de Ciencias Sociales is the property of Universidad del Atlantico 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.)

As an environmental policy that directly brings economic benefits to farmers, ecological compensation should achieve the dual goals of ecological environmental protection and rural poverty reduction. With the implementation of various ecological compensation projects, a large number of studies began to focus on the impact of ecological compensation projects on rural labor transfer employment. However, most of the existing studies focus on a specific project and fail to consider a comparative analysis of different types of projects. Therefore, this study used the survey data of 1279 rural laborers in the Yanqing District of Beijing to analyze the impact of different types of ecological compensation projects on the transfer employment of rural labor from the perspective of self-development capacity. The results show that post-based ecological compensation projects provide a low quality of posts and weaken the initiative of participants to further expand their employment channels. Land-based projects downsize agricultural production and reduce the agricultural production activities of participants, without significantly increasing their likelihood of transfer employment. In the long run, the current implementation of ecological compensation projects may cause problems regarding labor surpluses and land restoration. This study has certain practical application value and practical guiding significance for further improving the design of ecological compensation mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper engages with China's currently most prominent environmental policy concept: ecological civilisation. As this concept is becoming a cornerstone of China's strategy of socialist modernisation, we examine whether and how the term can enable ecological protection in China and beyond. We argue that ecological civilisation, while a recently emerged discourse, builds on established environmental governance practices in China that shape its manifestation in political action. To illustrate this argument, we explain how two philosophical principles central to ecological civilisation discourse, "holism" and "harmony", have been expressed in environmental political practice in Communist China. Building on this analysis, we suggest that ecological civilisation discourse may have a profound impact in certain policy domains (e.g., resource conservation and ecological conservation redlines), but limited transformative capacity in others (e.g., environmental litigation and resource extraction). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper engages with China's currently most prominent environmental policy concept: ecological civilisation. As this concept is becoming a cornerstone of China's strategy of socialist modernisation, we examine whether and how the term can enable ecological protection in China and beyond. We argue that ecological civilisation, while a recently emerged discourse, builds on established environmental governance practices in China that shape its manifestation in political action. To illustrate this argument, we explain how two philosophical principles central to ecological civilisation discourse, "holism" and "harmony", have been expressed in environmental political practice in Communist China. Building on this analysis, we suggest that ecological civilisation discourse may have a profound impact in certain policy domains (e.g., resource conservation and ecologi cal conservation redlines), but limited transformative capacity in others (e.g., environmental litigation and resource extraction). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2030 Agenda has influenced the design of public policies in Colombia and other countries in the region, but there are many gaps in the way a global policy can be interpreted and adapted to the territories. Thus, this article aims to critically evaluate the public policy of sustainability implemented in the Colombian Caribbean and to suggest contributions from an intercultural socioenvironmental justice perspective. For this purpose, the public policy of sustainability that orients the plans for the use of insular ecosystems in Cartagena de Indias has been examined and confronted with local evidence that shows significant changes in the forms of life and ecological degradation in multi-temporally analysed coverages. Methodologically, this research is based on three aspects: the theoretical discussion of the notions of sustainability and justice in public policies, spatial databases to analyse the transformation of landscapes and ethnographic work with Afro-descendant peoples to recognise their socioecological systems. We found that the public policy of territorial planning aligned with the 2030 Agenda nominally includes a rights approach, but management practices or governance structures do not consider the very high asymmetry in land tenure, the growing private and non-participatory regulation of coasts and the sea or the exclusion of Afro-descendant peoples who claim tenure and autonomy rights. Then, we propose integrated dimensions of sustainability that overcome the socioecological negativity observed and articulate criteria of intercultural justice in public, social and environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social dimension to sustainability is now widely accepted as important alongside environmental and economic sustainability. Safety and security as one of the aspects of social sustainability has been undertheorized in the built environment fraternity. Research has proven that theories that dominate the field of urban safety come from social sciences, but the motives of this paper are to report and discuss findings from a critical review of local and international literature in the role of other perspectives, especially those developed by built environment professionals and practitioners. In addition, this paper assesses the design deficiencies of urban public spaces (UPS) that lead to them creating an environment for criminality and exposure to threats and vulnerabilities. The review findings reveal, firstly, that safety and security in UPS is associated with the environmental design features such as accessibility and visibility, etc. Secondly, surveillance measures in UPS do not address safety concerns, but concentrate mainly on controlling the space, rather than people, because it interferes with spatial planning. This paper argues that spatial structures cause citizens to do crime. An innovative urban management is necessary, and it would result from a synergy between social and structural elements of a city. To guarantee inclusive and accessible landscape designs, personal safety should be part of the design features of UPS. Spatial planning, as a discipline, should incorporate measures to combat crime in the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an imperative need to transition towards sustainable societies to mitigate the consequences of the ongoing social-ecological crisis. This transition not only requires technical advancements, but also the reconsideration of our environmental paradigms and policies shaping the inter-relationships between human societies and natural ecosystems. The perspective of "ecologically unequal exchange" is receiving increasing attention in the academic debate, highlighting the unequal distribution of environmental costs and benefits across different regions, social groups, and generations. This theory posits that such inequalities arise from unaccounted dynamics of global development perpetuated by current environmental and trade policies. Through these, regions of the Core have achieved high levels of consumption and economic growth by exploiting the natural resources and labor of the global Periphery and Semi-periphery, while leaving behind a legacy of ecological degradation, social injustice, and debt. This article contributes to the understanding of ecologically unequal exchange theories, their evolution over time and related implications for sustainability policies. To do so, we perform a bibliometric analysis to assess the evolution and trends of ecologically unequal exchange literature in English-language journals followed by a literature review illustrating the origins of the concept, the theoretical debate, and empirical advances in the field. We find ecologically unequal exchange to be a rising research area with increasing empirical focus, fostered by interdisciplinary collaboration. Moreover, we juxtapose theories of ecologically unequal exchange with the contrasting paradigm of "Ecological Modernization" and the narratives of green growth and decoupling that underpin contemporary global sustainability policies, to elucidate key distinctions. • A bibliometric network analysis and literature review on "Ecologically Unequal Exchange" perspectives was performed. • These argue current international trade and environmental policies can trigger unfair, path dependent development dynamics. • Our results show literature is growing and experiencing increasingly empirical focus and multi-disciplinary collaboration. • Empirical research shows evidence of Ecologically Unequal Exchange through multiple analytical methods • These can be used to critically examine the validity of de-coupling and green growth policies through a holistic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is based on the analysis of discourse relevant to an environmental policy, named the Toronto Green Standard (TGS). The study found that while the TGS is dominated by economic-focused environmental discourse, the earliest stages of TGS creation were dominated by 'transformative' discourses that problematized development and sought ecological protections and social equity. And while the incompatibility of policy making with transformative discourse has been noted by environmental discourse scholars, along with the compatibility of economic-focused discourse, this study highlights precise mechanisms in the institutional policy making process, which have the effect of excluding transformative discourse and prioritizing economic-focused discourse. The process whereby this discursive exclusion and prioritization takes place is referred to in this study as 'transformative exclusion'. Despite policy maker interests in transformation, transformative exclusion has the effect of reproducing economic-focused discourse, current power relations and inequalities through environmental policy. This study introduces a new thread of importance for discourse analysis of policy, in identifying precise mechanisms of transformative exclusion within institutional policy making processes. By first identifying them, ideally these mechanisms of discursive force will be challenged, so that institutional policy may one day be welcoming to discourses of transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the science of ecology is often understood in antimodernizing terms, this article shows how ecology in China has become a means to articulate green modernization and sustainable development. As scholars predominantly focus on the policy rhetoric surrounding China's national modernization and sustainable development program called "ecological civilization building," the origins of how ecology came to take on developmental meanings remain obscure. This article highlights moments of global exchange and knowledge production by Chinese Marxists, earth systems scientists, and economists that produced eco-developmental logics. These logics define an interventionist role for the state, frame urbanization as moral progress, and refashion the role of the peasantry from the revolutionary vanguard to a backward social force impeding modernization. Ecological sciences in China, therefore, lay an epistemological foundation for legitimizing state-led technocratic practices of socioenvironmental engineering and naturalizing social inequalities between "urban" and "rural" people. In highlighting Chinese scientists' agency in producing knowledge, this article counters diffusionist accounts of science as singular systematically organized branches of knowledge that emanate from the West. Instead, I demonstrate how ecology is contingent on the historical and political conditions through which it takes on meaning. In the context of China, ecology has become integral to environmental governance, state formation, and uneven relations of power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The approaches currently dominating sustainable urban planning are based on a paradigm which assumes that economic growth can be decoupled from economic degradation through smarter technological solutions and institutional reform within existing social structures. However, decoupling can only be partial. Environmental sustainability, therefore, requires that, sooner or later, growth in consumption and production must cease. Policies for combining environmental and social sustainability would be sharply at odds with key mechanisms inherent in the capitalist economy. Urban sustainability thus requires profound changes. On the ontological plane, planning theory must move away from anti-realist constructivism and hermeneuticism, towards realism. On the empirical plane, it is necessary to move away from disciplinary tunnel vision towards a critical realist version of interdisciplinarity, within key research fields such as housing research and transportation research. On the political plane, urban sustainability must move from growth to degrowth, from inequality to equality, and from capitalism to eco-socialism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely acknowledged that policies for a more sustainable society require narratives outside the status quo. This contribution studies the EU's environmental policy narrative of a circular economy (CE), which many consider promising in this respect. The results demonstrate that the CE narrative was created to transform EU policy discourses 'from within' but eventually perpetuated the established discourse of ecological modernization. This perpetuation resulted from specific strategic practices used to create the CE narrative, which (1) concealed conflict, (2) strengthened the agency of incumbents, and (3) excluded alternative voices. The analysis uses empirical evidence from 28 interviews with key stakeholders, 84 policy documents and participant observation data at the European Union (EU) level. The results suggest that the development of narratives outside the status quo depends on strategic practices that address (future) conflicts and offer new agency to change agents as well as transition strategies to incumbents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theories of the environmental state – treadmill of production and ecological modernization – have dominated discussion of the political economy of environmental change. While the former contends that the state's mitigation of labor–capital relations engenders ecological instability, the latter posits that the state's use of business-friendly incentives can goad producers and consumers to adopt sustainable practices. However, these theories largely focus on dynamics related to class, labor, and markets, and thus overlook the role that race and racism play in the political economy. In contrast, this article argues that racial politics are not peripheral influences, but rather are central to the political economy in which environmental policy formation occurs. The author advances the argument with the concept of the racial fix, which refers to the idea that race and racism are mechanisms for circumventing barriers that slow the treadmill of production. Synthesizing long-standing and emerging research, the author outlines three dimensions – spatial, political, and cognitive – that constitute the racial fix. Overall, this article not only shows how race and racism serve as building blocks for environmental state formation, but also articulates new theoretical paths for studying the relationship between race and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In January 2019, the South Korean president Moon Jae In announced his plans for the transformation of the South Korean economy into a "hydrogen economy." This involves the replacement of fossil fuels for the production of energy on a large scale. The government's plan supports the use of hydrogen fuel cells (HFCs) for industrial and residential energy production and promotes the replacement of vehicles with internal combustion engines that burn fossil fuel by cars that are powered by HFCs. This study is primarily interested in the plans of the South Korean government to facilitate the production of hydrogen for mobile purposes and to promote fuel cell vehicles (FCVs); and it investigates whether this South Korean policy can be considered a case of ecological modernization. Ecological modernization is a concept that has been developed in a European context and was adopted by the European Union as its main principle in environmental policy making. The new South Korean policy is outlined in the government's Hydrogen Economy Roadmap which specifies the measures that have to be taken to initiate the transformation of the South Korean transport system based on hydrogen and announces several ambitious goals which the government wants to achieve with this program until 2022, 2030, and 2040, respectively. At its center is an effort to build a nationwide network of hydrogen gas stations, to reduce the price of hydrogen by more than half, and to facilitate the purchase of FCVs. It was found that the overall environmental benefits of this program would be meager in the medium-term, but in the long term it could contribute to a considerable reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and of fine dust, depending on the technology that is used to produce hydrogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After Congress passed the 1899 Weed Removal Act, the District of Columbia Health Officer struggled to enforce it. The discourses around the legislation reveal a disconnect between visions for order, beauty, and dignity and the uncontrollable conditions on the ground. Planning visions were for an ordered built environment flanked with orderly "nature," but the weedy materiality of the city thwarted attempts to keep nature in its human-intended place. Through archival research of government reports, newspaper articles, photographs, and cartoons, this article explores how urban weeds complicate discourses of "urban nature" through a case study of early-twentieth-century Washington. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adoption of the UN 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represents a milestone in international sustainability politics. The broad and ambitious agenda calls for a reconsideration of established principles and practices of sustainability governance. This article examines how the 2030 Agenda changes the notion of policy integration, which represents a fundamental principle of sustainability governance. In general, policy integration denotes forms of cross-cutting policymaking to address the complexity of real-world problems. In the context of the sustainability discourse, the concept has long been interpreted as environmental policy integration, referring to the integration of environmental concerns into other sectoral policies. Based on a review of the current SDG literature, we examine whether and how this interpretation has changed. In so doing, the reasons (why?), objects (what?) and modes (how?) of policy integration in the context of the 2030 Agenda are specified. The analysis reveals that the 2030 Agenda promotes a comprehensive, reciprocal, and complex form of goal integration which differs markedly from environmental policy integration. This novel understanding of policy integration for sustainable development calls for future research on its impact and relevance in political practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Public Art is the property of Shanghai Fine Arts Publisher Ltd. co. 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.)

This study calls into question the effectiveness of Ecological Entrepreneurship (EE) as a solution to abuses on the natural world in the absence of political will power and appropriate governance and visionary clarity at the macro-level of society. This article uses a range of literature on EE to discuss the limitations and ideological underpinnings of EE. Findings support that EE is rooted in mainstream science and technology and, therefore, offers predominantly market-based solutions. The study critically examines the limitations of EE as a concept as well as practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ankara Review of European Studies (ARES) / Ankara Avrupa Çalışmaları Dergisi (AAÇD) is the property of Ankara University European Union Research Centre 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.)

Ecological Modernization theory emerged during the 1980s in response to other environmental sociology theories that mostly denunciate industrialization and modernization as culprits of environmental degradation. The basic view of Ecological Modernization is to find a balance between development of society and nation as well as environmental protection. Some scholars believe that this is the best module to develop a country, while others criticize it as a pro-capitalist concept. As Malaysia is now pushing its status towards becoming a developed and high-income nation, people's wellbeing as well as environmental protection needs to be highly considered. Taking Ecological Modernization as fresh perspective to view the country's development plan, this paper aims to understand whether the essence of Ecological Modernization was embedded in Pakatan Harapan's political manifesto during the 14th general election. As political manifesto serves as initial policy making guidelines, it is imperative to understand the Pakatan Harapan future plans for the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing involvement of cities in the fight against climate change is probably one of the most significant features of today's environmental governance. Beyond contributing to mitigation and adaptation efforts, urban climate action also helps in understanding how urban societies and spaces are being transformed in a context of global environmental change. This paper looks in particular at these sociospatial transformations, by presenting an empirical research on Quebec City's climate policy. Since 2004, Quebec City has implemented various mitigation initiatives, but without being able to reduce its emissions. In fact, its policy approach has been mainly symbolic and has not encouraged the institutionalization of the climate issue in planning and governance practices. The case of Québec City shows that climate change is contributing to the renewal of environmental policies, but it also highlights the difficulty of decarbonizing urban socio-technical systems that have mainly developed around automobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brazilian scientific community and non-governmental groups have been working to establish forest restoration programs, compensating for deforestation and mitigating losses from biodiversity and ecosystem services. In contrast, the previous Brazilian government moved in an opposite direction, revoking legal acts and providing scope for the rural producers to sustain non-compliance activities according to the legal regulations. Among rural producers, there is a recognized conflict between agricultural production and forest restoration programs, which results in a chaotic condition where the implementation of the environmental laws is impaired. In this context, restoration projects are often practiced without effective integrated territorial planning. This scenario challenges the success of large-scale restoration programs. The Brazilian government needs to effectively adopt sound guidelines already suggested to promote a genuine state of governance, fostering restoration programs, and moving the country's development towards an ecologically planned environment. • Landowners hamper forest restoration programs instituted by the Brazilian Government. • Forest restoration is not voluntarily practiced in Brazil. • Restoration initiatives have been practiced without effective territorial planning. • By relaxing the environmental laws the previous government fostered non-compliance. • Bringing science and society together is crucial to ensure effective policy outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In scholarly and political debates on transformation towards sustainability or along social-ecological lines, employees and trade unions are hardly ever mentioned. The latter still largely represent a perspective that could be summarized as "jobs versus environment" and formulate their environmental strategies within the confines of ecological modernization, if indeed at all -- i.e. they do not question the orientation towards growth, capitalist power and production relations or a destructive societal nature relations. It was strong trade unions who won historical achievements for large parts of the population, but these achievements simultaneously deepened the problematic aspects of a mode of production and living which we call the "imperial mode of living". This antinomy needs to be considered and dealt with politically. This paper examines the results of a multi-year empirical project on the views of Austrian trade unions on social-ecological transformation. It shows that, while there are already some important initiatives, these do not address the main challenge, i.e. the imperial mode of living. However, some entry points for a possible politicization of unsustainable production and consumption emerge from our research, along with a view of the role of trade unions in this politicization. One approach is to overcome the narrow equation of well-being with capitalist economic growth and to replace it with a more comprehensive understanding of well-being and quality of life. • The literature on social-ecological transformation insufficiently explores the role of employees and trade unions. • Research results on "social-ecological entry points" for trade unions are presented. • Trade unions formulate environmental policies in the confines of ecological modernization. • The imperial mode of living is based on unsustainable consumption and production patterns. • This mode of (production and) living needs to be addressed by trade unions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy (RE) illustrates well the logic of ecological modernisation (EM). This logic has successfully transformed RE from a fringe idea owned by largely environmental actors to a mainstream one embraced by a broader constituency. This mainstream embrace inevitably (re)shapes the renewables enterprise. Not all renewables actors today are driven by environmental goals. Instead, key actors, particularly in corporate or community domains, nurture competing norms and aspirations. How the renewables project is envisaged and the goals it is directed to serve can thus differ considerably. Understanding these differences is important since transformations in the energy domain will not only impact climate protection but shape social futures in significant ways. The analysis proceeds in two interrelated steps: first, empirically – conducting an exploration of some of the main projects and actors in the contemporary Australian RE space; and second, theoretically – considering these empirical developments through an EM lens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, European regional policy has seen a surprising popularity of macro-regional strategies. We focus on the example of the Alpine strategy EUSALP and discuss which potential comes along with its underlying regionalization logics. We argue, firstly, that the still young regionalization process of the EUSALP neither follows the understanding of a homogenous nor that of a functional space in the classical understanding. Instead, the EUSALP addresses pre- and inner-alpine areas that are politically interlinked. This pattern we label as ‘interrelational spaces’. Secondly, we discuss if the interrelations cover the concept of ‘common challenges’ that the official political documents put in the forefront. We reflect to what extent the macro-regional strategy can respond to these challenges from a spatial perspective. In doing so, we refer to two Alpine case studies - transport policy (Brenner) and eco-system services (Po River catchment area). We conclude that the large perimeter and the governance setting bear the potential to address key challenges of the Alpine region. However, the weak instrumental toolbox leaves us sceptical if the EUSALP is capable to make a real difference in the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is environmental expertise? The background to this question is that many scholars consider environmental expertise crucial for discovering, diagnosing, and solving environmental problems but do not discuss in any depth what constitutes expertise. By investigating the meaning and use of the concept of expertise in three general theories within environmental sociology-the treadmill of production, risk society, and ecological modernization- and findings from science and technology studies (STS), this article develops a sociological understanding of environmental expertise: what it is and how it is acquired. Environmental expertise is namely about group belonging and professional socialization around specialized skills; that is, it concerns both substantial competence and social recognition. The implications of this general view on expertise are then used to enrich theories in environmental sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the practical aspect of implementation of the idea of sustainable development in the EU Cohesion Policy in the 2014-2020 programming period in Poland. The objective of the study is to determine the relations between the idea of sustainable development and instruments of its implementation, and the identification of the scope of influence of Cohesion Policy tools on sustainable development of functional urban areas (FUA). The paper presents the author's set of sustainable development indicators (SDI) and relevant analyses of their implementation in the financial and spatial aspect in 26 FUAs. Detailed analyses covered one of the new instruments of territorial development, namely Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI). The paper provides evidence which proves that the dominant sphere in the financial and spatial support is the modernisation of transport and energy engineering infrastructure, with potentially multiple effects, as well as the development of a structurally diverse labour market. The least support is provided to the strengthening of integrated management. The tested approach is applicable in reference to other functional areas in the EU. It can contribute to the determination of the extent to which the implementation of the Cohesion Policy supports sustainable development of cities and their functional areas. The application of SDI contributed to the understanding of the process in reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The local level has gained prominence in climate policy and governance in recent years as it is increasingly perceived as a privileged arena for policy experimentation and social and institutional innovation. However, the success of local climate governance in industrialized countries has been limited. One reason may be that local communities focus too much on strategies of technology‐oriented ecological modernization and individual behavior change and too little on strategies that target unsustainable social practices and their embeddedness in complex socioeconomic patterns. In this paper we assess and compare the strategies of "low‐carbon municipalities" (top‐down initiatives) and those of "intentional communities" (bottom‐up initiatives). We were interested to determine to what extent and in which ways each community type intervenes in social practices to curb carbon emissions and to explore the scope for further and deeper interventions on the local level. Using an analytical framework based on social practice theory we identify characteristic patterns of intervention for each community type. We find that low‐carbon municipalities face difficulties in transforming carbon‐intensive social practices. While offering some additional low‐carbon choices, their ability to reduce carbon‐intensive practices is very limited. Their focus on efficiency and individual choice shows little transformative potential. Intentional communities, by contrast, have more institutional and organizational options to intervene in the web of social practices. Finally, we explore to what extent low‐carbon municipalities can learn from intentional communities and propose strategies of hybridization for policy innovation to combine the strengths of both models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse sustainable forest management in Poland in the years 2009-2015. The concept of sustainable development itself has also been analysed as the starting point for sustainable forest management development. Based on the conducted analysis of statistical data, it was attempted to answer the question about the condition of sustainable forest management in Poland.Design/methodology/approach Two basic research methods were used in the presented paper. The first of them was the analysis of existing data. The conducted analysis covered the subject literature, reports and analyses referring to forest management. The second applied research method was the statistical analysis which covered structure analysis and dynamics analysis.Findings It can be adopted, within the framework of general conclusions, that the condition of sustainable forest management in Poland is moderately satisfactory, with the reservation of the need to maintain and intensify all processes and projects aimed at the implementation of the broadly approached concept of sustainable development.Originality/value The core of the study is focused on the statistical analysis of selected forest management aspects in Poland in the context of the assessment of sustainable forest management condition, with particular emphasis on forest cover, defoliation, forest area, restoration and afforestation, tree planting, wood harvesting, average wood sales price, excluding land from forest production for non-forest purposes. The importance of environmental education was also highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological modernization projects are crucial drivers for transforming economies and territorial policies in small scale islands. Social factors and public behavior are determinants for successful implementation of this transition strategy that refers to several domains in parallel, e.g., energy transition, biodiversity conservation, environmentally friendly agri-culture and green-services sector. In this paper, we propose a technique to ordinate and plot combined values-choices of individuals in a 4 phase/2D plane regarding the implementation of ecological modernization policies organized around four traits, i.e., speed and quantity of the process, organizational complexity and governance origin of a project. Results are intriguing. Arrangements of combined individual choices appear with a main sequence corresponding to the fatalist anthropological rationality category according to Douglas’ model of polyrationalities. There are differences between public quantitative and qualitative evaluations of specific projects; these differences are maximized when conservation plans are confronted to specific energy facilities. We propose the idea that this technique could be an instrument for scrutinizing public engagement with- and appreciation of—biodiversity conservation in the emerging field of culturomics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) contain a set of 17 measures to foster sustainable development across many areas. It offers a good opportunity to reinvigorate sustainable development research for two main reasons. First, it comprises many areas of SD research, which have become mainstream thanks to the UN SDGs. Second, the fact that the UN and its member countries have committed to attaining SDGs by 2030 has added a sense of urgency to the need to perform quality research on SD on the one hand, and reiterates the need to use the results of this research on the other. Even though the basic concept of sustainability goes back many centuries, it has only recently appeared on the international political agenda. This is partly due to an awakening of the fact that the human ecological pressure on the planet is still much larger than what nature can renew or compensate for. Based on this state of affairs, this paper presents an outline of the process leading to the agreement on the UN SDGs, and looks at some of the ecological aspects as a result of continued pressure of human activities on natural resources. Furthermore, a set of research needs is proposed – also based holistically on updated research trends – discussing the degree of urgency of some measures and explaining why the UN SDGs need to be accorded greater priority in international sustainable development research efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: We investigate the effects of environmental policy (Climate Change Act – CCA), sustainable development frameworks (Global Reporting Initiative – GRI; UN Global Compact – UNGC) and corporate governance (CG) mechanisms on environmental performance (carbon reduction initiatives – CRIs; actual carbon performance – GHG emissions) of UK listed firms. We use the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation technique to analyse data consisting of 2245 UK firm‐year observations over the 2002–2014 period. First, we find that the CCA has a positive effect on CRIs, and this effect is stronger in better‐governed firms. Second, we find that the GRI‐based framework is positively associated with CRIs. Third, we find that firms with poor CG structures have lower actual carbon performance compared with their better‐governed counterparts. Overall, our evidence suggests that firms can symbolically conform to environmental policy (CCA) and sustainable development frameworks (GRI, UNGC) by engaging in CRIs without necessarily improving actual environmental performance (GHG emissions) substantively. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urgency of the research. Implementation of efficient environmental policy is a modern development priority in the countries corresponding to the sustainable development doctrine common in the UN. Target setting. Consideration of the issues related to environmental taxation system of economic entities in Ukraine is reasonable for the purpose of determining taxation efficiency and effectiveness. Actual scientific researches and issues analysis. Scientific papers of O. M. Harkushenko, V. R. Didukh, A. M. Yanshyna and other scientists hold a prominent place among researches aimed at studying the issues related to environmental taxation. Uninvestigated parts of general matters defining. Applied researches of environmental regulation issues through environmental taxation mechanism in individual branches of economy are still relevant and required in order to determine taxation effectiveness and efficiency. The research objective. This article is aimed at determining main trends of environmental tax impact on financial activities of oil and gas enterprises in Ivano-Frankivsk region. The statement of basic materials. We analysed pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources in 2013-2016 by oil and gas enterprises in Ivano-Frankivsk region. In order to assess fiscal efficiency of environmental taxation we compared dynamics of rental payments and environmental tax payments for atmospheric air pollution. Conclusions. The main trends were determined through data analysis by volumes of mineral resources extraction, level of emission of pollutants, environmental tax rates. These trends indicate the absence of financial incentives for oil and gas enterprises in Ivano-Frankivsk region to reduce pollutant emissions and introduce innovations in improving environmental friendliness of production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how indigenous narratives suggests eco-activism and sustainable futures. Topics discussed include science fiction urges us to focus on eco-activism and sustainable futures in order to prevent environmental catastrophe; history of science fiction and its treatment of racialized and Indigenous characters; and George Miller's "Mad Max: Fury Road," which depicts how lust for fossil fuel energy precipitates the end of the world.

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Sustainable development aims at addressing economic, social, and environmental concerns, but the current lack of responsive environmental governance hinders progress. Short-term economic development has led to limited actions, unsustainable resource management, and degraded ecosystems. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) may continue to fall short of achieving significant progress without a better understanding of how ecosystems contribute to achieving sustainability for all people. Ecosystem governance is an approach that integrates the social and ecological components for improved sustainability and includes principles such as adaptive ecosystem co-management, subsidiarity, and telecoupling framework, as well as principles of democracy and accountability. We explain the importance of ecosystem governance in achieving the SDGs, and suggest some ways to ensure that ecosystem services are meaningfully considered. This paper reflects on how integration of these approaches into policies can enhance the current agenda of sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]