Toward Transformative Policies
Environmental Sustainability: Drivers, Barriers, Incentives, and Critical Success Factors
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Chenaz Seelarbokus
It is an observed fact that states participate differentially in International Environmental Agreements (IEAs). This non-uniformity can be in terms of the number of IEAs or the type of IEAs ratified by the state. What factors can account for this differential level of state participation in IEAs? In an attempt to arrive at some potential answers to the above question, this research develops the Sustainability Capital Framework (SCF) for IEC, as proxied through an analysis of state participation in IEAs. The SCF integrates both domestic state conditions and systemic factors within the national and international realm. The SCF is premised, first, on the concept of sustainability capital and thereafter, on the foundational framework for sustainability to be realized. Adopting a strategic management approach, the SCF frames IEC in terms of the drivers, barriers, critical success factors (CSFs), and incentives for IEC. In terms of the CSFs, this research argues that for the drivers and incentives to work effectively to overcome the barriers and enhance the capabilities of states to adopt IEAs, there are certain key conditions that must be met. These CSFs can be thought of as the foundation upon which our strategies and policies can bear fruit, and without which there can be no great aspiration for success. Focusing on the CSFs allows us to develop transformative policies rather than mere adaptive ones. This research discusses six core CSFs.
Environmental Policy Innovation and Continuation of the Status Quo
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session J.R. "Jones" Estes
“Innovation” plays a significant role in the policy realm because it allows one to overlay individual priorities upon it. Consequently, it is a term used by all sides in the policy process. This can make it difficult for citizens and policy-makers to recognize, track, and advocate a policy agenda. Critical analyses of policy innovation claim that, within contested policy arenas, such as education and the environment, the values embedded in different understandings of innovation must be clarified. This paper focuses on how the concept of innovation is defined in the environmental policy arena by comparing the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon oil spills. Twenty years apart, the spills momentarily reminded the United States of the catastrophic risk associated with oil production. In the wake of each event there was criticism of abatement and clean up technologies, environmental regulation, and a clamor for change. This paper examines the aftermath of each spill for evidence of environmental policy innovation as measured through improvements to the regulation of oil extraction, transportation, and spill abatement and clean up. As we move toward sustainable environmental policies, defining policy innovation increases transparency and allows governments and citizens to be more effective in the pursuit of environmental protection. The oil industry provides a significant example of the challenges to policy innovation faced by citizen and policy-makers at all levels. If we are not clear about what constitutes policy innovation, we risk continuation of the status quo under the guise of innovation.
An Appraisal of Canada’s Preparedness for Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Rachael Ileh Edino
The September 2015 unanimous adoption of the United Nations resolution ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,’ also known as the sustainable development goals (SDG), by 193 member states of the General Assembly including Canada, presented world leaders with a great opportunity. It was an opportunity to end poverty, hunger, and inequality, and put the world on track to sustainable development. As governments and other stakeholders strive to meet the Agenda’s ambitious goals, auditors too have a crucial role to play. Following adoption of the goals, the UN and the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) called on supreme audit institutions (SAIs) to audit the efficient, effective, transparent, and accountable implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The audit process is expected to help advance thinking and action on SDG by the governments. This is important following the inability of countries to meet the millennium development goal (MDG) i.e. the predecessor of the SDG, which was the largest global human development mobilization in operation from 2000 – 2015. The SDG emerged as a second chance for world leaders to build on the successes of the MDG and fill the gaps. This paper examines Canada’s preparedness for implementation of the SDG and related recommendations.
Implementation of the Paris Agreement: Transparency and Accountability of Signatory States’ Progress in Mitigating Carbon Emissions
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jiyun Jeoung
Based on nation’s voluntary ambition to mitigate carbon emissions, the Paris agreement was set in 2015. The agreement provides a durable framework guiding the global effort for decades to come. The aim is to create a continuous cycle that keeps the pressure on countries to raise their ambition over time. To promote rising ambition, the agreement established two linked processes, each on a five-year cycle. The first process is a “global stock-taking” to assess collective progress toward meeting the agreement’s long-term goals. Parties will then submit new NDCs, “informed by the outcomes of the global stock-taking.” With regard to the assessment of mitigation progress, the transparency is important to maintain the purpose of the agreement for a long time. However, the implementation of it remains uncertain In this regard, this research will find out the standard to measure the transparency in implementing the mitigation assessment based on UNFCCC documents, National Reports, and other resources with quantitative and qualitative analysis.
