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Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities are the principal cause of accelerated global climate change and climate risk. A country faces a coupling of GHG emissions in proportion to increases in the gross domestic product (GDP) in the initial stage of its economic development. In the later period of economic development, the decoupling of GHGs from GDP can be achieved by efficient technology and environmental awareness. What makes some developing countries achieve decoupling? This study analyses the effects of three financial measures–foreign direct investment (FDI), climate change aid and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)–which influence both GDP and GHGs in developing countries. For the empirical analysis, this study utilizes a panel regression using data from 97 countries between 2000 and 2018. The results suggest that the effectiveness of reducing GHG emissions and decoupling differ among the three previously mentioned financial measures. Climate change aid induces decoupling while coupling follows the CDM. FDI lacks statistical significance. A proportion of renewable energy from the total electricity is associated with strong decoupling. Well-designed climate finance measures that consider developing countries' socio-economic conditions and renewable energy adoption can induce GHG mitigation as well as economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does community-based learning (CBL) influence student attitudes toward civic participation? One of CBL's primary aims is to improve college student civic participation. As yet, however, little is known about the educational effects of CBL classes on student community and political participation. Using a quasi pre--post experiment with experimental and control groups, we found that civic participation is more likely to increase in students taking CBL classes as students are more willing to participate in community activities such as organizing student groups and volunteering at local organizations. Statistical analyses suggested that students in CBL classes are more likely to engage in the political process by petitioning local authorities than by participating in the voting process. Additionally, the analyses indicated that students are more likely to actively participate in local organizations voluntarily and that they are more likely to organize student groups to address local issues. We therefore conclude that designing CBL classes that emphasize tangible local issues with hands-on experience could facilitate students' attitudes toward political and community participation.

What do citizens demand of their governing bodies to cope with the spread of emerging infectious diseases after recognizing the growing danger? What are the similarities and differences in political participation via online citizen petitions regarding COVID-19 across cities with different degrees of pandemic experience? This study aims to answer these questions by examining citizen petitions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in urban areas of South Korea. The pattern of citizens' requests is a part of integrative socio-ecological and political systems with spatial and temporal dimensions. We compare the pattern of online citizen petitions in four Korean cities, namely Seoul, Busan, Daegu, and Incheon, some of which were epicenters of the COVID-19 outbreak. By applying relevant big data analysis techniques such as text mining, topic modeling, and network analysis, we compare the characteristics of citizen petitions on COVID-19 in the four cities, particularly whether (and how) they want financial or welfare support or COVID-19 prevention. We find that cities that experience a rapid spread are likely to have more petitions for prevention than for support. By comparison, cities without such experience are likely to have more petitions for support. This study contributes by tracing citizen and local government interactions in response to emerging infectious diseases by empirically analyzing the related big data on petitions. Policy implications suggest that urban authorities should listen to analyze and respond to the urgent needs of citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, several governments have adopted various forms of green stimulus policies (GSP) to manage environmental challenges and revitalize their national economies during crises. However, research on the varieties of GSPs within a country and the possible drivers of this diversity remain scarce. This study qualitatively compares the green growth and green new deal policies adopted under two different administrations in South Korea. Although both GSPs share similar components, they vary in their focus on nuclear energy and international cooperation. This study postulates that these differences are associated with the degree to which each administration saw GSP through the lens of a developmental state. Besides providing a comparative tool for examining GSPs and their elements, this research contributes to GSP research in a non-Western developed-country setting by highlighting how domestic factors shape the nature and composition of GSPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores why the levels of decoupling between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and economic growth vary across time and countries by examining to which extent carbon pricing instruments are driving this decoupling. We expect that the implementation of carbon pricing instruments facilitates decoupling, as they are designed to achieve cost‐efficient GHG reduction. We analyze a panel data of 29 European countries between 1996 and 2014 to examine the relationships between two carbon pricing instruments (emission trading (ETS) and carbon tax) and emission intensity (GHG emissions per unit of GDP) which we use to measure decoupling trends. Results from two‐way fixed effects models show that emission trading contributes to decoupling, whereas our evidence does not support the role of carbon tax. Furthermore, emission trading is negatively associated with both emission intensity and GHG emissions, implying that it contributes to strong decoupling. Using coarsened exact matching (CEM), our results suggest that even a single emission trading policy (e.g., EU‐ETS) across different jurisdictions may render a heterogeneous effect on decoupling depending on their socioeconomic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipal agreements have been instrumental in communicating commitment to addressing climate change at the local level. However, what is the practical implication of this potentially symbolic decision? This study examines the power of mayoral participation in climate change agreements in driving the proliferation of sustainable or 'green' building in a city as a mechanism to reach its climate change goals. In addition, mayors can localize what is otherwise a public good by framing green buildings as having other tangible impacts on a community. We analyze the impact of political leadership on green building projects in 591 cities in 50 U.S. states, controlling for a variety of city- and state-level variables. Hierarchical models indicate that mayoral leadership in climate change policy fosters green building, while state-level predictors are not as important as city policy in creating green buildings. Our research concludes that local governments can be a very effective venue in addressing broad climate change goals. KEY WORDS: political leadership, green building, climate change policy, multilevel governance, Introduction The emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is an inherently global problem that finds itself beset with classic forms of common pool resource consequences and constraints. The difficulties associated with [...]

On 16 September 2014, Indonesian lawmakers unanimously agreed to ratify the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP), becoming the last ASEAN member state to ratify. Eight of the 10 member states had ratified by 2006, and nine had ratified by 2010. Although the ratification bill reached the Indonesian Parliament during the 2000s, it was always disapproved. This article seeks to re-examine Indonesia's lengthy delay and address its long-awaited ratification. Accordingly, we build on Robert Putnam's theory of ratification from two-level game theory and develop a framework for analysing delayed ratifications. Although the negotiated AATHP was 'soft' and thus low-cost for domestic stakeholders, key domestic stakeholders had little appetite for ratification and limited substantive pressure came from neighbouring governments during the 2000s. However, in the context of heightened public concern and calls for government action and positive palm oil industry responses to international pressures, persistent international pressure and measures during the 2010s, particularly from Singapore, provided parliamentarians with enough incentive to symbolically ratify the agreement. Addressing Indonesia's delayed ratification is important in understanding ASEAN's ongoing struggle to combat transboundary haze pollution and offers a useful case study in the still-developing area of ratifications in the environmental regime formation literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the renewable energy sector, in general, is increasingly gaining ground with regard to energy mix, the electricity generation capacity from renewable energy sources varies from country to country. This study aims to examine the driving factors and the obstacles that explain the variation in the renewable energy generation capacities. A panel data analysis of the World's leading economies (18 countries out of G-20 countries) from 2009 to 2013 assesses the association between installed renewable energy generation capacity and its drivers. The findings of this study suggest that financial investment from public and private sector is crucial to enhancing renewable energy generation capacity in leading economies. In addition to regulation and economic incentive policies, policies that ensure financial investment such as investment risk reduction measures can facilitate renewable energy capacity growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]