The quest for more sustainable buildings that produce less waste and water as well as use energy more ciently has been going on for more than thirty years. Change towards a more sustainable construction industry is influenced by many factors, the effects of which are difficult to predict. Still, voluntary building assessment systems have become increasingly popular around the world address the issues that mandatory building codes habe not been able to tackle. This is also the case in the United States, a country in which environmental decisions are made at multiple levels, notably federal, state, county and local level. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and many more voluntary schemes such as Green Globes, BREEAM or Built it Green have pushed into the market. The efficiency of these schemes is still widely debated but they have become a de facto reality for many building professionals. One topic that has been neglected, however, in both academic and policy discussions is how professionals (architects, engineers, real estate developers etc.) perceive and react to the change from statemandated building codes to voluntary market-based schemes and what their motivations for the use of these schemes are. In this paper, building on 14 face-to-face interviews with building professionals in Massachusetts and New York State, an online survey is currently being developed to investigate these questions. The aim of the 3nal paper will be to distinguish behavioural responses between professional groups as well as LEED AP accredited and nonaccredited professionals.

With their accession to the EU in 2004, Poland and Hungary had to implement the Natura 2000 programme for biodiversity protection. In both countries NGOs have been active throughout the implementation process. Forms and outcomes of NGO involvement, however, differed. Hungarian NGOs were very influential during the site designation phase, working closely with the governmental authorities and contributing considerably to the country’s site proposal. In Poland, the form of NGO’s involvement changed from opposition towards the government (publication of a Natura 2000 shadow list) to close cooperation with public institutions, resulting in a significant expansion of site designations. This paper analyses the role and impact of NGOs on Natura 2000 implementation in Poland and Hungary and seeks explanation for the observed differences with reference to the theoretical background of policy networks and advocacy coalitions. The qualitative data used for the study is based on in-depth interviews with NGOs representatives and officials of public institutions engaged in Natura 2000 implementation. The comparison shows that the existing architecture of the sector of biodiversity governance is decisive for NGO activities and determines their role and impact. In the European multilevel governance setting new formal and informal opportunities were given to NGOs. In both countries NGOs became stronger during the Natura 2000 process. We argue that this was a result of the establishment of multi-level policy networks between the European Commission, NGOs and public institutions, based on resource dependencies. These networks were powerful enough to overcome dominating policy patterns in both countries. The differences found between Hungary and Poland could be explained by different discoursive positions of the responsible ministries. The change of government in Poland in 2007 shifted the discourse towards supporting conservation, which enabled the formation of an advocacy coalition between the government and NGOs.

This paper examines how exposure to both socio-economic and environmental stressors and the interaction between the two affect the population of the Northern coast of the São Paulo State, Brazil. It provides a useful way to examine the multiple and overlapping processes of environmental and social- economic change. Pathways to increased vulnerability are multidimensional, so that socio-economic conditions may mediate the impacts of environmental change, but changing environmental conditions may also alter socio-economic capacities to maintain particular livelihood strategies. By analysing the region, this paper argues that the adaptive capacity is, in general, largely determined by the socio-economic context and the social vulnerability. The finding indicates that socio-economic change brought about in the last four decades due to intense urbanisation, tourism exploitation and increasingly economic activities have deepened social and environmental problems, increasing the vulnerability of particular groups to climate variability and change. The cross-scale nature of the problems and the cross-level interactions of these processes pose significant challenges for governance structures and institutions in place in the region that fail to address the root causes of vulnerability and the consequences of a changing environment and climate.

Initiated in 2002 by the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD, www.agassessment.org) is an interesting experience of an international expertise process aiming at improving global governance for sustainable development. It aimed to understand how agricultural knowledge, technologies and sciences could contribute to reduce hunger and poverty, improve rural livelihoods and at the same time reach environmental objectives. It involved the large mobilization of international scientific expertise, but also the participation of a diversity of stakeholders, and a validation of reports by an intergovernmental plenary. The design of the process was inspired by other global assessments like the IPCC and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Among these international assessments, IAASTD is particularly important as its focus on agriculture necessarily puts the stress on trade-offs and synergies between social and environmental implications of development. Assessing if and how IAASTD managed to reach its objectives will prove useful for other assessment processes, particularly in order to understand how social and economical controversies at the heart of the debate on sustainable development might be structured and dealt with by international expertise processes. Regarding the initial objectives of this assessment and its participatory approach, many analysts criticize IAASTD because it did not reach a consensus among all stakeholders. In this paper, we propose to consider also the alternative perspective of analysis, where this assessment serves an advocacy strategy for a new approach of global agriculture. In this alternative perspective, IAASTD can be considered successful. We also propose to consider that the difference between the two analytical frameworks can be useful in order to re-analyze recommendations for global assessments, and to reopen the diversity of the roles that expertise might play in global debates about environment and development where controversies are central.

Traditionally, the evolution of governance mechanisms has been studied at a macro level, whereas the impacts of institutions and regimes are investigated at a micro-level. There has been insufficient attention paid to understanding the vertical linkages of institutions from the international level down to the household level. Similarly, there has been little research on the interactions of horizontally linked institutions at multiple scales and what impacts they have on achieving policy outcomes and affecting local livelihoods. As states continue to negotiate the future of a global climate regime, it is important that better understand its potential distributional and human security implications; the current segmented research approach masks these consequences. The proposed research seeks to address this research gap with both methodological and substantive contributions through an in-depth investigation of forest carbon regimes. More specifically, the proposed research will examine the institutional relationships in three Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) countries in order to understand the potential impacts of the introduction of a new, global regime. By mapping the causal relationships between institutions and livelihoods and identifying the horizontal and vertical networks across scales, this research will provide scholars and policy makers with a more robust understanding of how global governance architectures directly impact local communities. This paper presents one component of the proposed research: the Laos case study. The Forest Carbon Partnership Fund identified Laos as one of the first REDD- Ready countries to receive pilot funding for forest conservation. REDD, however, has the potential to contribute to uncertainty for communities, increasing vulnerability among the marginalized poor. By creating new property rights systems and restricting access for forest-dependent villagers, REDD transforms the traditional institutions that help provide stability in communities.

The current discussion about global warming and the possibility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through hydropower has given a new turn to the debate about dams, resulting in the re-evaluation of this otherwise disputed technology. This trend materializes in the massive financial support that the United Nation’s carbon offsetting scheme Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) mobilizes for the construction of new hydropower plants in developing countries. As defined in the Kyoto Protocol, CDM projects are supposed to avoid greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously contributing to sustainable development. The objective of this chapter is to analyze to what extent carbon-offsetting-dams are able to live up to this ‘win-win’ expectation. By identifying considerable challenges and constraints it is argued that the contribution of large hydropower projects to climate protection as well as their sustainability impact is in many cases highly doubtful. Given the controversial effects large dams may have on the local level it is discussed in which respect carbon-offsetting-dams constitute a form of ‘carbon colonialism’ that results in the exacerbation of one of the most problematic aspects of global warming: the asymmetries of problem causation and burdensharing.

Vulnerability assessments performed for long term environmental changes in the global, sub global, national or local level regularly employ up-scaling and down-scaling of information. Such techniques do not always account for the interplay of the factors across the levels in different scales. As a result, the current studies may give an incomplete understanding of the dynamics of a complex adaptive system (CAS) that is responsible for shaping its vulnerability to a risk. This working paper is an attempt to understand the concepts of dynamic complexity in a CAS and reasons for complementarity and contrast when observed through different scales of analysis. Through a literature survey we arrive at a point that there is no single solution in scientific studies or management approaches for understanding and solving systemic problems in a CAS like socio-ecological system (SES). This leads us to look towards approaches that facilitate learning from different understandings of the same problem and negotiation among groups with different viewpoints. Finally, a case of an agro-ecosystem in the Brahmaputra basin in India is cited to illustrate such complexity and problems for decision making for adaptation. We pose three research questions- • How can we have an integrated model of the causal mechanisms that lead to an irreversible change in a multilevel SES? • How do we form an appropriate and acceptable strategy for adaptation when the state of a system changes? • What is the appropriate form of governance which can maintain the ecological resilience for adaptation during periods of environmental change?

The hypothesis examined here is that Earth system scientists have become less relevant, or even irrelevant, to Earth system governance. We explore whether this proposition is true and, if it is, why this situation has arisen. By undertaking a review of current national efforts (in the UK and Australia) and a novel proposal regarding the use of the IPCC as a global governance tool, we try to discover under what, if any, circumstances Earth system science is valued in the development of environmental governance. These discussions lead us to the conclusion that targeted Earth system research (e.g. risk and resilience of systems and quantification of benefits of system components) can be genuinely valuable for future environmental governance. We, therefore, invite consideration of how Earth system researchers might be (re-) integrated into global Earth system governance development to the benefit of all.

To avoid negative outcomes of rising biofuel production and use, and to reduce simultaneously greenhouse gas emissions, the European Commission linked its mandatory biofuel blending requirements to sustainability criteria defined in the Directive on the Promotion of the Use of Energy from Renewable Sources (2009). Several voluntary, private standard initiatives are controlling the compliance along the value chain. Given that little experiences exist as to the certification of a large scale commodity like biofuels, there are many challenges to overcome. One point in question is the participation of small scale farmers in this complex and price bonded process. Is it possible to create methodologies to ensure the participation of smallholders? Additional uncertainties exist as to the implementation of control tools to avoid the jeopardizing of biodiversity or land with high carbon stocks. The objective of this study is to scrutinize the implementation of the sustainability criteria and its effects on crucial aspects as the inclusion of smallholder properties in certification schemes, effects on biodiversity or land use change. In addition, this work examines the possible limits of certification in the context of biofuel production and its claims for sustainable production patterns.

Hydrological changes such as variability in water availability, extreme events like floods and droughts or water pollution pose a serious challenge to effective management of internationally shared water resources – no matter whether they are induced by climate change, large infrastructure projects in the river basin or other forms of environmental change. To address these management challenges, many states have established transboundary River Basin Organization (RBOs). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ability of such RBOs to respond to exogenous environmental and man-made changes by identifying institutional mechanisms and management practices that have been established by the respective institutions or their member states to react to transformations in the basins’ environment. Drawing on the literature of neoinstitutionalist theory and hydropolitics approaches, a comprehensive analytical framework is being developed. It consists of the following determinants of adaptation capacity: Membership structure, functional scope, decision-making mechanisms, data and information sharing, dispute-resolution mechanisms, finances and donor support. Subsequently, the framework is applied to two case studies, the Okavango and the Mekong River Basin. The paper concludes that the adaptation capacity of RBOs depends significantly on these factors, however, further research to quantify their respective impact and to test hypotheses on a larger number of cases is needed.

This paper analyzes the different notions of justice that have informed the debate about adaptation to climate change in the international arena and examines current adaptation funding mechanisms in order to understand whether they embody the equity criteria that inspire them. At first it underlines that the concept of justice has been attributed multiple connotations and that non industrialized and industrialized countries adopt different rationales when discussing climate change. In addition, it describes how justice and equity are at the center of the debate about adaptation. Since vulnerability to climate change effects is function of local wealth distribution and of the local degree of social resilience, the paper emphasizes that adaptation governance is concerned with the equitable distribution of benefits and burdens of the effects of climate change and with the obligations of industrialized countries toward non industrialized nations, but also, at the same time with matters of procedural justice. After analyzing how current international financial mechanisms in support of adaptation embody different notions of equity, it points out that there are doubts that the current funding methods reflect the justice concerns that inspire global adaptation policies and suggests that they should be deeply reformed.

To facilitate more sustainable consumption different actors have introduced various labelling schemes providing information about a product’s environmental, social or other attributes. Based on case studies of existing labelling schemes this paper analyses how sustainability related product labels try to shape the production and consumption system by enabling political consumerism and facilitating a more sustainable modification of the supply chain. Labelling schemes are thereby understood as representing a new form of governance, which to be effective, needs the legitimisation from all actors that are essential for these processes. On the one hand this offers opportunities from empowering non-­‐governmental actors and being dissolved from national boundaries; on the other hand it sets clear limitations for the instrument.

This paper will explain and analyse how the Mexican state calls on private actors to ensure higher level of compliance with domestic environmental regulations and what are the outcomes of such dynamics in terms of environmental governance. The paper argues that it is in developing countries, where the state has little resources to ensure that business actors will comply with existing environmental regulations that voluntary regulations need to be assessed. In Mexico, the framework within which voluntary regulations take place is actually designed and shaped by the state but increasingly operated by private actors.