| 1. |
- Havenhand, Jonathan N., 1959, et al.
(författare)
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Ecological and functional consequences of coastal ocean acidification : Perspectives from the Baltic-Skagerrak System
- 2019
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Ingår i: Ambio. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 48:8, s. 831-854
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ocean temperatures are rising; species are shifting poleward, and pH is falling (ocean acidification, OA). We summarise current understanding of OA in the brackish Baltic-Skagerrak System, focussing on the direct, indirect and interactive effects of OA with other anthropogenic drivers on marine biogeochemistry, organisms and ecosystems. Substantial recent advances reveal a pattern of stronger responses (positive or negative) of species than ecosystems, more positive responses at lower trophic levels and strong indirect interactions in food-webs. Common emergent themes were as follows: OA drives planktonic systems toward the microbial loop, reducing energy transfer to zooplankton and fish; and nutrient/food availability ameliorates negative impacts of OA. We identify several key areas for further research, notably the need for OA-relevant biogeochemical and ecosystem models, and understanding the ecological and evolutionary capacity of Baltic-Skagerrak ecosystems to respond to OA and other anthropogenic drivers.
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| 2. |
- Jagers, Sverker C., 1967, et al.
(författare)
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The impact of compensatory measures on public support for carbon taxation: an experimental study in Sweden
- 2019
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Ingår i: Climate Policy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1469-3062 .- 1752-7457. ; 19:2, s. 147-160
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study aims at better understanding how, and to what extent, perceptions of a policy instrument's distributional effects impact on policy support, focusing on the case of CO2 taxes on petrol in Sweden. Through a large-scale (N = 5000) randomized survey experiment with a 2 x 3 factorial design, the extent to which perceptions of fairness determine attitudes to a suggested increase of the Swedish CO2 tax is explored. Furthermore, the study considers whether these effects change with the level of the suggested tax increase, as well as whether negative sentiments can be alleviated by combining it with a compensatory measure in the shape of a simultaneous income tax cut financed by the revenues from the tax increase. The results show that a higher tax increase is both viewed as more unfair and enjoys weaker support. Furthermore, compensatory measures can be a powerful policy design tool to increase perceptions of the policy as fair, but the effect of compensation on policy support is conditioned by the individual's left-right ideological position. Whereas people self-identifying to the right react favourably to compensatory measures, people self-identifying to the left become less supportive of a tax increase when combined with a simultaneous cut in income taxes. Key policy insights Perceptions of fairness are highly important for explaining public support for climate policy tools, specifically CO2 taxes. Compensatory measures can be a powerful policy design tool to increase perceptions of the policy as less unfair. However, the effect of compensatory measures on policy support is conditioned by ideological position, and only successful among people to the ideological right. In contexts dominated by right-wing ideals, a combination of a tax and a compensatory scheme may be a successful route forward towards increased climate policy support. In left-oriented contexts the results imply that a CO2 tax without compensation seems more likely to increase support.
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| 3. |
- Sterner, Thomas, 1952, et al.
(författare)
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Policy design for the Anthropocene
- 2019
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Ingår i: Nature Sustainability. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2398-9629. ; 2, s. 14-21
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2019, Springer Nature Limited. Today, more than ever, ‘Spaceship Earth’ is an apt metaphor as we chart the boundaries for a safe planet1. Social scientists both analyse why society courts disaster by approaching or even overstepping these boundaries and try to design suitable policies to avoid these perils. Because the threats of transgressing planetary boundaries are global, long-run, uncertain and interconnected, they must be analysed together to avoid conflicts and take advantage of synergies. To obtain policies that are effective at both international and local levels requires careful analysis of the underlying mechanisms across scientific disciplines and approaches, and must take politics into account. In this Perspective, we examine the complexities of designing policies that can keep Earth within the biophysical limits favourable to human life.
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| 4. |
- Jagers, Sverker C., 1967, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental management from left to right – on ideology, policy-specific beliefs and pro-environmental policy support.
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0964-0568 .- 1360-0559. ; 61:1, s. 86-104
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Due to growing environmental challenges, the demand for effective management through pro-environmental policy measures is increasing. The effectiveness is, however, largely determined by the degree to which the policy measures are supported by the actors affected by them. A consistent finding in the literature is that ideology (or subjective positioning on the left–right dimension) affects environmental policy support, with left-leaning individuals being more pro-environmental. A major caveat with previous research is that it seldom makes a distinction between different kinds of policies. Therefore, we are concerned with investigating how different ideological positions affect attitudes towards different forms of environmental protection. Using unique survey data, we show that ideology is related to conceptions about the fairness and effectiveness of different policy tools, which in turn steer preferences. In that sense, this paper makes the discussion on the effects of ideological position on pro-environmental policy support more nuanced.
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| 5. |
- Harring, Niklas, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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The significance of political culture, economic context and instrument type for climate policy support: a cross-national study
- 2019
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Ingår i: Climate Policy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1469-3062 .- 1752-7457. ; 19:5, s. 636-650
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While many countries have pledged to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the choice of national climate policy measures demonstrates widespread variation. Although system of government, path-dependency and economic entanglements can explain a certain amount of variation in policy choice, research also points specifically towards the highly politicized nature of climate policy instruments and their sensitivity to public support as explanatory factors for cross-national differences. Previous studies hypothesize that various country-specific contextual factors determine both general preferences for environmental protection and the public’s preferences for different types of policy instruments. One suggestion is that countries’ prevailing political cultures have significant consequences for such public support. Another supposition is that, since countries differ in their economic dependency on climate detrimental industry such as fossil fuel production, this should be a significant factor determining both public attitudes and subsequent political decisions. This paper applies unique, original data from four countries with significant variation in (i) political-cultural contexts (Sweden and Norway vs New Zealand and Australia and (ii) economic dependency (Norway and Australia vs Sweden and New Zealand) to analyze how, and to what extent, these two contextual variables interact with, and moderate, the effect of individual-level factors on support for climate policy measures in the four countries. Furthermore, the paper explores variations in support for different types of CO2 taxes (directed towards individual consumers, industry, and fossil-fuel producers) in the four countries.
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| 6. |
- Poulton, M. M., et al.
(författare)
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State of the World's Nonfuel Mineral Resources: Supply, Demand, and Socio-Institutional Fundamentals
- 2013
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Ingår i: Annual Review Environment and Resources. - : Annual Reviews. - 1543-5938 .- 1545-2050. ; 38, s. 345-371
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Current material supply-demand imbalances are driven by situational rather than physical scarcities, resulting in a growing interest among government, civil society, and industry groups to consider not only the availability of mineral resources, but also the sustainability implications of their production. This, in turn, places increasing pressure on mining companies to broaden their concerns when planning new mining projects, covering its "social license to operate" by incorporating strategies for limiting negative socioenvironmental impacts alongside calculations of the project's economic viability as well as balancing a large number of potential stakeholders. Accordingly, understanding also the sociopolitical context of mineral development is crucial for the creation of sustainable practices within the mining industry. By applying a sustainable development framework, this article outlines the complex web of challenges associated with sustainable mineral extraction, ranging from technological and economic development to political and institutional concerns on how to govern and manage scarce resources in a globalized world.
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| 7. |
- Povitkina, Marina, et al.
(författare)
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Democracy, development and the marine environment - A global time-series investigation
- 2015
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Ingår i: Ocean & Coastal Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0964-5691 .- 1873-524X. ; 105, s. 25-34
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Is democracy favorable or adverse for the management of marine resources? While some studies find democracy to increase the likelihood of achieving sustainable development, others propose that democracy rather has negative effects on the environment. This paper contributes explicitly to this debate, but also adds insights from research arguing that the effects of democracy are conditioned by surrounding institutions. Building on this literature, we argue that the way democracy works - whether it is an instrument for collective action beneficial to the environment or an instrument for patronage and clientelism - depends on levels of economic development. The overall objective of the article is to test this proposition empirically. Employing time-series cross-section analysis and using Marine Trophic Index as a proxy for the health of marine ecosystems, we investigate the impact of democracy on the marine environment in a global sample from 1972 to 2006. The analysis provides interesting insights regarding the conditional role of economic development. We report negative effects of democracy in low income settings, but find that this pattern is reversed when economic development has reached a certain threshold. Finally, we discuss how democracy affects the prospects for sustainable development and based on our conclusions offer suggestions for future research. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 8. |
- Boräng, Frida, 1977, et al.
(författare)
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Political determinants of electricity provision in small island developing states
- 2016
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Ingår i: Energy Policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0301-4215 .- 1873-6777. ; 98, s. 725-734
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper approaches provision of affordable and reliable electricity in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) as a case of public good provision. It aims to contribute to our understanding of how regime type and the quality of implementing institutions within political systems affect the prerequisites for successful electrification in SIDS. More specifically, we analyse the independent and interdependent effects of level of democracy and control of corruption on per capita household electricity consumption in SIDS, using data from 34 SIDS over the period 1996-2009. The results show that although the independent effects of level of democracy and control of corruption are sensitive to model specification, these two factors do have an interdependent impact on per capita household electricity consumption: democratization has positive effects on provision of electricity to the general population only when there is a certain level of corruption control in place. The results imply a) that it is important for policy actors to acknowledge the interaction between regime type and the quality of implementing institutions, and b) when planning electrification projects in SIDS, it is necessary to have information about the social and political context in order to design the most effective projects. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 9. |
- Bastos Lima, Mairon G., et al.
(författare)
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Large-scale collective action to avoid an Amazon tipping point - key actors and interventions
- 2021
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Ingår i: Current Research in Environmental Sustainability. - : Elsevier BV. - 2666-0490. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The destruction of the Amazon is a major global environmental issue, not only because of greenhouse gas emissions or direct impacts on biodiversity and livelihoods, but also due to the forest's role as a tipping element in the Earth System. With nearly a fifth of the Amazon already lost, there are already signs of an imminent forest dieback process that risks transforming much of the rainforest into a drier ecosystem, with climatic implications across the globe. There is a large body of literature on the underlying drivers of Amazon deforestation. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the behavioral and institutional microfoundations of change. Fundamental issues concerning cooperation, as well as the mechanisms facilitating or hampering such actions, can play a much more central role in attempts to unravel and address Amazon deforestation. We thus present the issue of preventing the Amazon biome from crossing a biophysical tipping point as a large-scale collective action problem. Drawing from collective action theory, we apply a novel analytical framework on Amazon conservation, identifying six variables that synthesize relevant collective action stressors and facilitators: information, accountability, harmony of interests, horizontal trust, knowledge about consequences, and sense of responsibility. Drawing upon literature and data, we assess Amazon deforestation and conservation through our heuristic lens, showing that while growing transparency has made information availability a collective action facilitator, lack of accountability, distrust among actors, and little sense of responsibility for halting deforestation remain key stressors. We finalize by discussing interventions that can help break the gridlock.
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| 10. |
- Morf, Andrea, 1968, et al.
(författare)
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Balancing sustainability in two pioneering marine national parks in Scandinavia
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ocean & Coastal Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0964-5691 .- 1873-524X. ; 139, s. 51-63
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Even though marine protected areas (MPAs) have become central instruments in the endeavour towards sustainable development, our knowledge on how different institutional designs influence outcomes is limited. Using a comparative case study design, this paper explores the interplay between institutional arrangements and management outcomes in two adjacent yet institutionally slightly differing MPAs, encompassing a shared marine trench and a partially inhabited archipelago landscape namely the Koster Sea National Park in Sweden and the Outer Hvaler National Park in Norway. How can differences in the institutional designs governing the two parks, be linked to differences in sustainability outcomes? What lessons can be learnt for the design of MPAs? The study shows that institutional design influences management outcomes in some respects but not in others. Differences in overall management systems had no noticeable effects on sustainability outcomes and how they were perceived, while the differing objectives of the parks and how they are made operational seem to have affected the outcomes. But they have also influenced actors' expectations and their assessment of outcomes. According to this study, conservation arrangements can be broadened beyond mere nature protection. However, the study also underlines the challenges of locally adapted and participatory institutional designs and emphasises the importance of taking users' varying expectations related to social and economic values into account throughout the whole process. The establishment of national parks is no guarantee for broader sustainable development per se; this also requires resources and proper embedding and integration with relevant sectors and tiers in the overall management system. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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