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Eco-efficiency has emerged as a management response to waste issues associated with current production processes. Despite the popularity of the term in both business and government circles, limited attention has been paid to measu...
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Eco-efficiency has emerged as a management response to waste issues associated with current production processes. Despite the popularity of the term in both business and government circles, limited attention has been paid to measuring and reporting eco-efficiency to government policy makers. Aggregate measures of eco-efficiency are needed, to complement existing measures and to help highlight important patterns in eco-efficiency data. This paper aims to develop aggregate measures of eco-efficiency for use by policy makers. Specifically, this paper provides a unique analysis by applying principal components analysis (PCA) to eco-efficiency indicators in New Zealand. The study reveals that New Zealand's overall eco-efficiency improved for two out of the five aggregate measures over the period 1994/1995-1997/1998. The worsening of the other aggregate measures reflects, among other things, the relatively poor performance of the primary production and related processing sectors. These results show PCA is an effective approach for aggregating eco-efficiency indicators and assisting decision makers by reducing redundancy in an eco-efficiency indicators matrix.
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Scientifically derived environmental indicators are central to environmental decision analysis. This article examines the interface between science (environmental indicators) and policy, and the dilemma of their integration. In th...
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Scientifically derived environmental indicators are central to environmental decision analysis. This article examines the interface between science (environmental indicators) and policy, and the dilemma of their integration. In the past, science has been shown to dominate many policy debates, usually with unfavorable results. The issue, therefore, is not whether science can determine policy but how science can be part of a more holistic analysis that incorporates other critical perspectives. This article discusses the importance of considering alternative views (as represented by different scientific indicators) within the policy debate. Six example ozone indicators, constructed from the same raw data, are used to illustrate this point. Two represent newly developed indicators that respond to present-day policy questions at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The article concludes with a brief discussion of how such indicators can be used to better define a policy question, inform the policy debate, and evaluate policy alternatives.
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摘要 :
Scientifically derived environmental indicators are central to environmental decision analysis. This article examines the interface between science (environmental indicators) and policy, and the dilemma of their integration. In th...
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Scientifically derived environmental indicators are central to environmental decision analysis. This article examines the interface between science (environmental indicators) and policy, and the dilemma of their integration. In the past, science has been shown to dominate many policy debates, usually with unfavorable results. The issue, therefore, is not whether science can determine policy but how science can be part of a more holistic analysis that incorporates other critical perspectives. This article discusses the importance of considering alternative views (as represented by different scientific indicators) within the policy debate. Six example ozone indicators, constructed from the same raw data, are used to illustrate this point. Two represent newly developed indicators that respond to present-day policy questions at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The article concludes with a brief discussion of how such indicators can be used to better define a policy question, inform the policy debate, and evaluate policy alternatives.
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Policy targets are used to improve the implementation of domestic and international actions, in a national context and in international frameworks. But how can domestic and international experience be useful for climate policy? Ca...
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Policy targets are used to improve the implementation of domestic and international actions, in a national context and in international frameworks. But how can domestic and international experience be useful for climate policy? Case studies point to the value of defining policy targets more broadly than final outcomes, which in the case of climate policy are CO_2 emission reductions. There is a need for robust policy instruments to reduce uncertainties and accelerate feedback loops within appropriate time-frames. A recurring theme is the importance of engagement across all stakeholders to create ownership and confidence in the ability to deliver against policy targets.
Policy relevance: Policy targets have a potential role in domestic implementation and international cooperation for three reasons. First, it is difficult to define absolute emission targets for developing countries. Experiences from other sectors' use of indicators reveal the positive impact of measures beyond final outcomes as the basis for the definition of targets. Second, the main impact of many of the actions and policies that enable transition to a low-carbon growth trajectory is typically witnessed in the long term. If only long-term targets are used, then it is difficult to recognize and support early contributions. This could result in less effort being dedicated to the initial actions that are necessary to achieve long-term change. Defining policy targets more broadly can improve recognition and delivery of initial actions. Third, for effective international cooperation, Parties need to be able to define the level of their contribution towards achieving the joint objective. Experience from other sectors is useful to inform the selection of the most suitable indicators and ensure effective delivery.
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Indicators are more and more drawn on for policy making and assessment. This is also true for energy policy. However, while numerous different energy price figures are available, subordinate energy cost indicators are lacking. Thi...
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Indicators are more and more drawn on for policy making and assessment. This is also true for energy policy. However, while numerous different energy price figures are available, subordinate energy cost indicators are lacking. This paper lays out a general concept for such indicator sets and presents a flexible framework for representative and consistent energy cost indicators with an underlying weighting principle based on consumption shares. Their application would provide interesting new insights into the relationship between energy cost burdens of different sectors and countries. It would allow for more rigorous analysis in the field of energy economics and policy, particularly with regard to market monitoring and impact assessment as well as ex-post-policy analysis.
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Drawing up environmental policy options is a complex activity which involves defining and weighing the merits and risks of various alternative courses of action governments could pursue. In its modern version, this task typically ...
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Drawing up environmental policy options is a complex activity which involves defining and weighing the merits and risks of various alternative courses of action governments could pursue. In its modern version, this task typically involves formal policy analysis or policy appraisal', that is, policy work specifically undertaken to generate and evaluate policy options in order to address problems or issues on a policy agenda. Indicators play a powerful but under-investigated role in this process. To shed light on this issue, the paper conducts a case study of the design and evolution of policy indicators in water security policy formulation, examining both their utilization and impact. The paper documents the origins of water security policy indicators; assesses their relevance and influence in policy formulation and identifies the reasons for the emergence of certain preferred indices, despite their having several well-known limitations. In particular, the discussion flags the significance of the political advantages surrounding their ease of use and interpretation, rather than their technical merits, as a key factor affecting the continued utilization and influence of specific indicators in environmental policy and planning.
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It is axiomatic that indicator systems are indispensable in informing the societal transition toward sustainability. However, our understanding of how sustainability indicators systems are linked to policy systems and processes is...
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It is axiomatic that indicator systems are indispensable in informing the societal transition toward sustainability. However, our understanding of how sustainability indicators systems are linked to policy systems and processes is still limited. Using a 'policy orientation' as an analytical strategy, we investigate the processes surrounding the creation, diffusion, dissemination, and utilisation of sustainability indicators at the national scale of policy-making. Utilising an empirical case study of Malaysia, this paper seeks to answer two questions: How are indicators currently used in policy systems; and, have sustainability indicators had policy impacts in the past? The latter is addressed using policy learning as a frame of analysis.
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It is axiomatic that indicator systems are indispensable in informing the societal transition toward sustainability. However, our understanding of how sustainability indicators systems are linked to policy systems and processes is...
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It is axiomatic that indicator systems are indispensable in informing the societal transition toward sustainability. However, our understanding of how sustainability indicators systems are linked to policy systems and processes is still limited. Using a 'policy orientation' as an analytical strategy, we investigate the processes surrounding the creation, diffusion, dissemination, and utilisation of sustainability indicators at the national scale of policy-making. Utilising an empirical case study of Malaysia, this paper seeks to answer two questions: How are indicators currently used in policy systems; and, have sustainability indicators had policy impacts in the past? The latter is addressed using policy learning as a frame of analysis.
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This study aimed to evaluate climate mitigation policy packages in various countries' nationally determined contributions by introducing four intermediate policy goals: decarbonizing energy, improving energy efficiency, reducing d...
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This study aimed to evaluate climate mitigation policy packages in various countries' nationally determined contributions by introducing four intermediate policy goals: decarbonizing energy, improving energy efficiency, reducing demand for energy services, and enhancing carbon sinks and reducing emissions of non-CO2 gases. The methodology was examined by using data of China, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US. Climate mitigation policies introduced between 1990 and 2015 in the five countries were categorized into four intermediate policy goals. Six indicators were introduced to measure actual outcomes, each representing one of the four intermediate policy goals. A comparison between the policy categorizations and the indicator outputs led to the conclusion that the number of policies implemented partially reflects the countries' efforts to achieve specific policy goals, even though the stringency of each policy was not taken into account. This comparison was also useful in identifying key policies that were effective in achieving policy goals, even if there was a relatively small number of policies. The methodology was useful in generating policy recommendations to fulfil all the four intermediate goals in a balanced manner.
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Comparative indicators, with which local governments monitor and evaluate policy progress, help effective implementation of public policy toward sustainable development (SD). However, such policy tools have been less developed at ...
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Comparative indicators, with which local governments monitor and evaluate policy progress, help effective implementation of public policy toward sustainable development (SD). However, such policy tools have been less developed at the local level. This study proposes conceptual frameworks of sustainable development indicators (SDIs) taking Japanese municipal governments as examples. The results illustrated five SDIs thereby indicating four approaches, and highlighted the most feasible and optimal frameworks. The former, supported by the vast majority of local governments, had a strong predilection for socioeconomic policies while disregarding environmental aspects despite their holistic aim, reflecting the current trend of sustainability at the local level in Japan. In contrast, the latter tended to encompass three dimensions of SD in a balanced manner, focusing largely on well-being. Hence, this framework helped complement the lack of environmental orientation and potentially maintain the consistency of public policy.
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