Contents:
Network news
Calls
Research
Events
Online
New Publications
Jobs and Training
Network news
1. SDRN Social Science Seminar on Well-being
Afternoon of 12th July 2012, Central London
With the first annual subjective well-being results due to be released by the Office for National Statistics next month,the topic of well-being is about to resurface. Given its relevance to the sustainability agenda, SDRN is holding a social science seminar on well-being, the ONS’ findings, and how our understanding of well-being may be used to inform public policy. The seminar will be held at the Royal Society in the afternoon on 12 July, following the meeting of the Network’s Advisory Committee. Precise time TBC. The seminar will be open to SDRN members on a first-come, first-served basis. To register for this event, please complete the online registration form. If you have further questions or comments regarding this event, please email Martha Bicket: m.bicket@psi.org.uk
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2. SDRN launches new online case study library
SDRN has compiled a library of real world examples of innovative sustainable development-related initiatives. Each case study seeks to convey the aims, background and nature of the initiative, the activities under way and, where available, the key challenges and critical success factors identified by those engaged in the initiative. An on-going project, the database will play host to a diverse range of case studies including those related to government priorities in the areas of the green economy, community renewable energy, sustainable local transport, local food production, environmental restoration and volunteering, waste prevention, wellbeing and equality, environmental education initiatives, and responsible business practice and social enterprise. The database can be accessed online here… http://sdrncs.wordpress.com/
If you know of a case study you would like us to consider including in the library, please let us know via our online form…
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Calls
1. Call for Papers – ‘Smart, Creative, Sustainable, Inclusive: Territorial Development Strategies in the Age of Austerity’ Regional Studies Association Winter Conference.
The Regional Studies Association are inviting abstracts for their winter conference which focus broadly on one or more of the following themes: The Uneven Spatial Impacts of Economic Crisis and Austerity; Responding to Austerity: Renewing Models of Territorial Development; Managing Decline and Peripherality: Shrinking Cities, Transition Towns and Other Approaches; Creative Cities/Regions in the Age of Austerity; Implementing Smart Growth Principles in the Age of Austerity; Models of Devolution and Decentralization: Where Next? The conference organisers are keen to attract papers and sessions which address a broad research and policy agenda, including contributions from any discipline which can offer relevant insights at local and regional levels. Papers which are collaborative, international or multi-disciplinary are especially welcome. Abstract submission closing date is Monday 9th July 2012. More…
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2. NEES Project call – ‘Best Practices in Natural Energy Efficiency and Sustainability’.
The Natural Energy Efficiency and Sustainability (NEES) Project is launching an open Call for producers, manufacturers and service providers to complete a Survey of their products and services that enhance energy efficiency in buildings. The Survey should be completed online, on the NEES web site under the section headed “Survey”. Submissions are sought from enterprises producing or installing locally produced ‘natural’ products, or providing services that improve the energy efficiency of new and existing domestic buildings. The term “natural” covers both renewable and recycled materials, such as timber from renewable forests, hemp and lime, straw bales and recycled paper. The eligible services span a wide range, stretching from timber-frame and bioclimatic design, to energy and sustainability assessments, and training that encourages change in local behaviour. The 1st Call is open, on-line, from June 1st to July 31st of this year. More…
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Research
1. Talking Climate Newsletter launches database of academic papers on climate change communication
The ‘Talking Climate’ newsletter has launched a fully searchable database of academic papers on climate change communication, with abstracts, author and journal details, and links to the original research where this is available. The database is intended to be a useful resource for researchers and practitioners who want to update themselves on the latest publications. Titles of latest papers added include: ‘Think global, act local: the effect of goal and mindset specificity on willingness to donate to an environmental organization’; ‘Public knowledge and concern about polar-region warming’; ‘Declining public concern about climate change: Can we blame the great recession?’; ‘Climate change or social change? Debate within, amongst, and beyond disciplines’. More…
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2. New Masters Course – MSc Environmental Sustainability, Birmingham City University (offering pathways in Green Economics, Planning and Policy, Design and Construction).
Birmingham City University has launched a new MSc designed to support and develop the skills needed for inter-disciplinary working amongst graduates and professionals from a variety of backgrounds employed, or seeking employment, in the environmental sector. The course aims to address a broad range of issues drawing on case studies and using real-life-like working scenarios. Emphasis is placed on problem solving, learning to communicate with professionals in other specialisms, non-specialists and the general public. More…
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3. Special Issue of ‘Energy & Environment’ on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
A new Special Issue of the journal ‘Energy & Environment’ has been published on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), and examines key current issues facing CCS. There are commentaries on the Longannet project and the cancellation of the proposed CCS project in Germany. Other perspectives are provided by Greenpeace, the Green Alliance, the Global CCS Institute, the Indian government and leading consultants. Academic contributions from social scientists stress the importance of values, justice, communities and place. Other social scientists look at debates over carbon lock-in and CCS, the influence of cultural values on how CCS is being regulated and how CCS fits into broader ideas about long-term transitions. More…
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4. New Masters course - MSc Sustainable Development in Practice, University of the West of England.
This September UWE launches a Master in Sustainable Development in Practice. The Institute for Sustainability, Health and the Environment (ISHE) had designed a multidisciplinary course on creating change in sustainability. Students will be challenged by a complex range of issues, examine current ways of working and consider how to create positive change both locally and globally. The course explores the theory and practice of sustainable design, behaviour change, cultural change and sustainable organisations. More…
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Events
1. SEEd event – ‘National Sustainable Schools Conference 2012 – Engaging our young people’.
London July 11th 2012.
This Sustainability and Environmental Education event aims to demonstrate how engaging in sustainability can save schools money, encourage more motivated students, lead to improved learning outcomes and better prepare pupils for their futures. The event is designed to encourage participants to acquire skills; share resources; learn from successes and then make plans to become more sustainable. Teachers can bring students and the event can be accessed online. The programme includes: Key note speeches from Peter Duncan, Actor and ex Chief Scout, The Cooperative, Cycling4SEEd, Building and Engineering Services Association; “How to” Workshops e.g. save money through sustainability, creating videos with students to engage your community, making school/community links and how to run a youth voice workshop on sustainability; Showcases of young people projects, and how your students can join in; Creating a school Sustainability Curriculum; Market place of organisations and resources; and after the conference there will be scheduled webinars to facilitate learning and develop ideas. More…
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2. Conference – ‘Smart Regulation for Smart Grids: An EU Overview’.
20th June 2012, Brussels.
This conference, co-organised by Cullen International and Eurelectric, is part of the official EU Sustainable Energy Week programme. It will bring together EU decision makers, regulators, electricity companies, ICT providers and other related stakeholders to discuss Smart Grid regulatory developments, as well as highlight innovative practices within member states in the context of the 2020 EU sustainable energy targets. Regulators face the challenge of striking the right balance between stakeholders’ different needs so that consumers can enjoy the benefits of a more efficient and sustainable energy market. Discussion will focus on the way in which decisions on regulatory models enable efficient Smart Grid implementation (such as cost-benefit analysis, price settlement schemes and Smart Grid incentives). More…
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3. University of West of England event – ‘Reuniting Health with Planning: healthier homes, healthier communities – learning from each other’.
17th July 2012, 9.30-3.30 pm, Council House, College Green, Bristol.
This UWE event will include representatives from the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), Bristol City Council, NHS Bristol and the WHO Collaborating Centre for Healthy Urban Environments. This event aims to provide the opportunity to improve understanding of the implications for the health of the region of the changes to the planning system and the reforms of the NHS, to learn from each other and to share good practice from across the region. It will also see the regional launch of the TCPA “How to reunite health with planning” handbook aimed to assist local authority planners and public health officers, those involved in the new public health structures, and other associated officers in housing and sustainability. More…
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4. WWF-UK webinar – ‘Selling Sustainability? In search of the retail business case for sustainable diets’.
Tuesday 17th July 2012, 3.15 – 4 pm.
WWF-UK are hosting a webinar to explore the role of retailers and government in promoting sustainable diets. WWF’s One Planet Food Programme aims to reduce the global environmental and social impacts of UK food production and consumption. Analysis by WWF-UK reportedly shows that western diets are unsustainable. The UK’s appetite for meat and dairy, which is seen as high by global standards, accounts for much of this oversized footprint. Governments and retailers are perceived to be well placed to shift meat and dairy consumption onto a more sustainable track. This webinar, building on the WWF/ Brook Lyndhurst report ‘Selling Sustainability? In search of the retail business case for sustainable diets’, will explore what retailers can do to drive change in consumption and what government needs to do to support this. To join this webinar please contact Nicola Loweth on nloweth@wwf.org.uk - the report is available from here…
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5. ARCC-CN conference – ‘The European Climate Change Adaptation Conference’.
18-19th September, Austin Court, Birmingham.
This conference will present the outputs and key messages emerging from a range of ARCC-CN projects focussing on adaptation and resilience to climate change in the built environment and infrastructure sectors. Researchers, policy makers and practitioners are invited to engage with current research, to explore the policy and practice implications and to consider future challenges and opportunities. Within the LWEC/EPSRC Adaptation and Resilience to a Changing Climate Coordination Network (ARCC-CN), 18 research projects cover aspects of climate change impacts and adaptation options with respect to buildings, the urban and sub-urban environments and infrastructure networks at the local, city and national level. The overall aim is to provide evidence for adaptation measures to make systems more resilient to environmental change in a socially acceptable and environmentally advantageous way. More…
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6. Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum Keynote Seminar – ‘Transforming the UK’s electricity market: one year on from the Reform White Paper and the Ofgem Review’.
Morning, Tuesday, 13th November 2012, Central London.
This seminar will focus on the latest developments and next steps in the implementation of the UK’s first financial support scheme for renewable heat. Recently the Government’s new timetable set out its intentions for both the domestic and non-domestic elements of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme. Discussion will focus on the early findings from the rollout of the non-domestic phase, launched in November 2011 and, following the Government’s proposed interim measures to ensure that RHI does not exceed its budget for the next financial year. Delegates will also assess the impact of the forthcoming Government consultation in July, which will be looking at a package of policy options for the delayed domestic rollout as the Government seeks to change the way heat is generated and used. The seminar will include keynote presentations from the Department of Energy and Climate Change and Ofgem. More…
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Online
1. Two-day Summit for Sustainability in Africa – Gabarone Declaration results in commitment to value natural capital and promote sustainable development.
This two-day summit, the first of its kind on the continent, resulted in the endorsement of the Gaborone Declaration by ten African countries and numerous public and private sector partners from within and outside Africa. The Declaration puts natural capital from the periphery to the centre of development planning. Two key conclusions were reached among the nations’ agreements: first, leaders reportedly reached unanimous consensus that the pattern of natural resources exploitation has failed to promote sustained growth and has been counterproductive; second, they reportedly agreed that the value of natural capital, or the wealth of benefits and services provided to people by biodiversity and ecosystems such as watersheds, forests, coral reefs, and grasslands, must be fully accounted and integrated into national and corporate planning and reporting practices, policies and programs. The Gaborone Declaration also reaffirmed African nations’ commitments to implement all existing conventions and declarations that promote sustainable development and additionally assured that the ten countries present will commit to annual reporting on their natural capital accounting efforts. More…
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2. Cheltenham Borough Council launches ‘The Big Green Bundle’.
‘The Big Green Bundle’ is a new online toolkit designed to help organisations deliver in-house staff engagement campaigns to support reduction of CO2 emissions. ‘The Big Green Bundle’ aims to help inspire participation among employees in green initiatives. ‘The Big Green Bundle’ is perceived as different because it uses Defra’s ‘environmental segmentation’ model to divide employees into seven different groups depending on their attitudes and beliefs towards the environment, environmental issues and behaviours. ‘The Big Green Bundle’ is aimed at the person (or team) within an organisation tasked with engaging staff on green issues. As well as the questionnaire and the guidance, ‘The Big Green Bundle’ is also designed to be a ‘one-stop-shop’ for a wide variety of resources, so a campaign coordinator should find everything they need to run a successful campaign in one place. More…
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3. ‘Grassroots Innovations’ website and workshop.
The newly launched ‘Grassroots Innovations’ website provides news and updates on research into sustainable development ‘from the bottom up’. Combining a blog, news updates and a research library, the website is intended to make it easier to find publications and news for specific projects across the Grassroots Innovations portfolio of research. In addition, the website has details of an international workshop on ‘Grassroots Innovations for Sustainability’ which was held in May 2012 at the University of Sussex. The workshop drew together 36 experts in grassroots innovations to discuss their work studying community-based solutions for sustainable development across a range of sectors including food, energy, housing, finance, governance and consumption. A key finding from the workshop is how vulnerable such initiatives are, being dependent on grant funding and volunteers, and needing support in terms of funding, information and expert advice. More…
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4. Launch of third ‘Happy Planet Index’.
The ‘Happy Planet Index’ is designed to measure the extent to which countries deliver long, happy, lives for the people that live in them, within environmental limits. The 2012 HPI report ranks 151 countries of which Costa Rica comes first and the UK 41st. The results indicate that progress is not simply defined by wealth, and that it is possible to live both happily and sustainably. The ‘Happy Planet Index’ intends to illustrate that while the challenges faced by nations are very different, the end goal is the same: to produce happy, healthy lives now and in the future. More…
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New Publications
1. European Environment Agency (EEA) report – ‘EEA Signals 2012 – Building the future we want’
‘EEA Signals 2012’ is an annual publication which aims to explain complex environmental issues for a non-expert audience. The 2012 edition explores the environmental impacts of our consumption and production patterns, and ways these can be changed to reduce their effect on the environment. This subject was chosen because it is a significant component of a ‘green economy’, one of the main themes of this year’s Rio+20 sustainable development summit. One story featured in the Report explores what cotton cultivation in Burkina Faso means for the rest of the economy and the society as a whole. Cotton cultivation requires large volumes of water and the pesticides can harm the workers. The report asks: Do the shelf prices of textiles we consume in Europe reflect the environmental costs of cotton production in Burkina Faso? Another featured story makes links between consumption of electronic gadgets and environmentally damaging mining around the world. The report also looks into waste and recycling as other stages in the lifecycles of many of the products we buy. The current economic system prioritises short term gain, risking the natural systems which underpin the economy, while a more equitable, greener economic model would help ensure Europe’s long-term prosperity, the report says. The report argues that sustainability is ultimately a matter of choices: policy choices, business choices and consumer choices. Global supply chains mean that the decisions of manufacturers, retailers and consumers in Europe can significantly affect the lives of people as far away as Burkina Faso. Consumer choices can generate employment and earnings, but can also lead to over‑exploited water resources and poisoned local people and ecosystems. More…
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2. European Environment Agency (EEA) Report – ‘Material Resources and Waste – 2012 Update’.
This EEA report argues that economic growth, technological progress and the way Europeans produce and consume resources all impact the environment. For the EU-27 Member States, the average annual use of material resources is nearly 15 tonnes per person. The bulk of this ends up as materials accumulated in the economy; the rest is converted into emissions or waste. More than five tonnes of waste per capita are generated each year. Forecasts predict that Europe will increase its use of materials as countries recover from the economic recession which started in 2008. The report states that targets set in the recent past have not always been met: the EU was expecting to become ‘the most resource efficient economy in the world’ and ‘substantially reduce waste generation’, according to the Sixth Environment Action Programme (6EAP) adopted in 2002. The adoption in 2010 of the Europe 2020 strategy, which identified resource efficiency as one of its flagship initiatives, provides new stimulus to develop an economy which is competitive, inclusive and provides a high standard of living with much lower environmental impacts. These goals can only be achieved when there is a considerable change in production and consumption patterns. In addition, the Report argues that Europe needs to curb illegal shipments of waste, tackle illegal or sub-standard landfilling, and fully implement its waste legislation. Full implementation of the EU Landfill Directive can, for example, have secondary benefits for climate change through reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of 62 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2020 compared to 2008. More…
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3. Natural England Review – ‘Microeconomic Evidence for the Benefits Investment in the Environment’.
Published in March 2012 - MEBIE – the Micro-Economic Benefits of Investment in the Environment Review is an in-house literature review. It focuses on ‘green infrastructure’ interventions and is structured using the ‘Ecosystem Approach’. It is designed to help Natural England staff make the case for the natural environment to decision makers such as Local Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships. It is structured to be easily accessible to staff, with benefits presented both in terms of major economic themes and in terms of individual ecosystem services. Each section aims to provide a critical review of the literature, which informs staff whether, and under what circumstances, the proposed benefits of investment in the ‘Natural Environment’ exist. This is followed by examples. Where there are monetised studies these are included, otherwise more qualitative examples are featured. Case studies are structured with bullet points, designed to make the case as effectively as possible whilst attempting to be evidence-based. Background to the examples is offered in footnotes, so that staff can understand where the evidence they are presenting has come from. More…
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4. Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) Report – ‘Enabling the Transition to a Green Economy’.
The Environmental Audit Committee has published a report on its ‘Green Economy’ inquiry. With current patterns of growth and development widely recognised as environmentally unsustainable, much focus has been placed on making the transition to a ‘green economy’ which is resource-efficient and low-carbon. The government has set out a timeline of green economy policies in ‘Enabling the Transition to a Green Economy’. This Report is intended to provide the clarity and certainty to the business community to innovate, invest and grow in a sustainable way. Recognising the important role of businesses in making the transition to a green economy, the Committee expressed concerns that current action is insufficient to generate the necessary innovation and adoption of ‘green’ technologies and practices. The report argues that the government needs to take the longer-term view. It recommends that the whole economy needs to be green and traditional sectors of the economy will need to be transformed. The Report further urges the government to: Develop minimum sustainability standards with stakeholders and businesses; Set out how data on natural capital in the National Accounts will be used; Develop targets for improving the state of the environment, similar to the ‘fiscal mandate’ for the public finances, and establish transparent reporting against such targets; Use the Natural Capital Committee’s work on a ‘natural asset stock check’ as one of the basket of indicators used to measure the green economy. The government will be responding to the report in due course. International efforts on this agenda will be taken forward at the UN Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development in June. More…
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5. Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) report – ‘Measurement for Management: CDP Cities 2012 Global Report’.
A new report published on 7 June by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has analysed the carbon and water strategies of 73 cities across the world. The report’s authors highlighted that 82% of cities identified the potential for economic growth as a result of their climate change mitigation and adaptation activity. The report, ‘Measurement for Management: CDP Cities 2012 Global Report’, places a special focus on the C40 Cities group, a network of the world’s largest cities working to reduce urban carbon emissions and accelerate climate change adaptation. Key messages from the report include: In terms of opportunities arising from taking action on climate change, 55% of cities anticipate the creation of green jobs, and 53% predict new business from clean tech industries or the development of new low-carbon economy technologies; With specific regard to the C40 cities, 84% of the C40 group expect economic benefits as a result of their climate change action; The Report suggests that financing climate change action remains problematic. Cities are largely financing their climate change actions without significant external support, and less than 1% of city-wide emissions reduction activities reported by cities are financed by world development banks. All of the reporting C40 cities and 81% of the total 73 disclosing cities are responding to the urgency of climate change by implementing a range of carbon emissions reductions activities, from education programs to waste management. More…
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6. Woodland Trust report – ‘Urban Air Quality’.
This 12 page Woodland Trust report argues that whilst air quality in the UK has improved in recent decades with concentrations of some pollutants such as oxides of nitrogen levelling off, there remain serious health issues relating to air pollution, particularly in towns and cities. Air quality is often listed as one of the potential benefits of increasing tree cover in urban areas, but the Report suggests that few urban greening projects appear to take into account how air quality goals can best be achieved. According to the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the economic cost from the impacts of air pollution in the UK is estimated at £9-19 billion every year. Amongst the worst affected are poorer urban areas, close to busy roads and inadequately served by green space. Estimates by the Environmental Audit Committee (2010) indicate that air pollution reduces life expectancy in the UK by seven to eight months. Increasing tree cover in urban areas can help mitigate the ‘urban heat island effect’. The ‘urban heat island’ occurs in towns and cities because the buildings, concrete and other hard surfaces such as roads absorb heat during the day and release it at night. The resultant effects can be dramatic; on some days there is a difference of as much as 10oC between city centres and the surrounding areas. The Report concludes that air quality remains a persistent problem in many towns and cities, with consequent costs to public health and the environment. Careful planning of green infrastructure can ensure that trees and other vegetation are well suited to maximise the opportunities for improving air quality. The Report suggests that careful selection of tree species can also help to ensure that the positive impacts are greatest and any negative impacts minimised. However the large scale planting of almost all tree species will have a positive effect on air quality (Donovan et al., 2005). The Report argues that careful, but not necessarily onerous, maintenance of tree cover in urban areas will ensure that trees thrive and continue to remove pollutants. More…
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7. RSPB and Green Alliance pamphlet – ‘Rio+20: where it should lead’.
As delegates head to the Rio+20 Earth Summit, RSPB and Green Alliance have published a pamphlet asking leaders from politics, business, NGOs, economics, science and the youth movement to give their views. The pamphlet argues that although progress has been made since 1992, sustainable development has not gained the traction those at the original summit would have hoped. The authors give opinions about why this is, the lessons we have learned and where we go next. Taken together, the authors argue these views make a powerful case for sustainable development being at the centre of any new settlement that emerges from the current economic crisis.
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8. Multiple authored report – ‘Active Travel, Active Scotland’.
A coalition of active travel and sustainable transport organisations (Cycling Scotland, Living Streets Scotland, Paths for All, Sustrans Scotland and Transform Scotland) have published a report setting out how local and national government in Scotland can help deliver growth in walking and cycling through a practical and achievable action plan. The report’s authors argue that active travel contributes to meeting a range of transport, health, social inclusion, local economic development, regeneration and climate change objectives, as well as being financially affordable and quick to deliver. To achieve its vision, the report states that a range of policy objectives would need to be met, including: 10% of all journeys by bike and 25% of all journeys by walking by 2020; The completion of the National Cycle Network; Delivery of on-road cycle training to all primary 6 pupils; The implementation of the active travel elements of Core Path Plans including the signing, maintenance and development of off road routes; Street audits leading to priority for pedestrians on all routes to key destinations in towns and cities; The re-allocation of road space to create traffic free cycle lanes on all arterial routes in all towns and cities. The report identifies a framework for working towards its vision, along with an accompanying action plan. Under each key theme, a number of actions required to help improve current performance are outlined, as well as identifying who should have a leading role in making this happen. More…
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9. Bloomberg New Energy Finance report – ‘The cost of meeting a 30% emission reduction target in Europe’.
A report published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance states that raising the European Union’s carbon reduction target for 2020 from 20% to 30% will cost EU countries under 0.04% of GDP, with some member states getting a net benefit. According to the report’s authors, a more ambitious programme of European emissions reduction between now and 2020 would cost no more than the equivalent of a few cups of coffee per person per year. The report argues that some countries - specifically Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, The report also argues that Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia stand to receive an economic benefit from any move to a 30% target, due to being able to sell surplus carbon allowances to other EU countries that are short of them. Countries facing the highest additional costs in absolute terms would be France, Germany, Italy and the UK, with between €1.1bn and €2.5bn per year of cost each. More…
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Jobs and Training
1. SDRN Website: Jobs and Training
Jobs and Training opportunities around the Sustainable Development Research network are updated frequently on the ‘Jobs and Training’ page of the SDRN website…
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The SDRN Mailing is a moderated information resource and dissemination service for SDRN members. You can make use of this service by sending any information for inclusion in the mailing to Ben Watson.
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