Most climate change mitigation policies, including those of higher education institutions, do not include food system greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE). Yet the food system contributes ∼30% of ...anthropogenic GHGE, mostly from animal source foods. Food system changes are necessary to meet GHGE mitigation targets and could do so relatively inexpensively and rapidly with major health, social and environmental co-benefits. To estimate the potential impact of integrating higher education institution climate and food policies, we used the case of the University of California (UC), comprising 10 campuses with 280,000 students. The UC is a leader in climate and food research, and has major policy initiatives for mitigating climate change and for promoting healthy, sustainable food systems. Like most higher education institutions, the UC climate change mitigation target for 2025 covers only Scope 1 and 2 GHGE (campus-generated and purchased energy), yet Scope 3 GHGE (indirect, including food system) are often institutions' largest. We created scenarios using results of studies of US dietary changes, and existing, planned or potential UC food system changes. These scenarios could reduce UC Scope 3 food emissions by 42-55%, equivalent to 8-9% of UC's targeted energy GHGE reduction, and 19-22% of offsets need to reach that target. These results have implications for broader climate policy in terms of food systems' high GHGE, the health, environmental, economic and social benefits of food system changes, and ways these changes could be implemented. To our knowledge this is one of the first empirical studies of the potential for integrating climate and food policy in HEIs.
Key policy insights
Most higher education institution climate policies, including those of the University of California (UC), do not include food system GHGE
Research at higher education institutions makes major contributions to understanding the need to reduce food system GHGE to achieve Paris Agreement goals
Higher education institutions, including UC, have made many food system changes, but their climate co-benefits are not optimized, documented or integrated with climate policies
Our food system change scenarios show that UC's food system could substantially reduce GHGE
These changes can incentivize UC and other higher education institutions to integrate their climate and food policies.
The World Health Organization has recommended that Member States consider taxing energy-dense beverages and foods and/or subsidizing nutrient-rich foods to improve diets and prevent noncommunicable ...diseases. Numerous countries have either implemented taxes on energy-dense beverages and foods or are considering the implementation of such taxes. However, several major challenges to the implementation of fiscal policies to improve diets and prevent noncommunicable diseases remain. Some of these challenges relate to the cross-sectoral nature of the relevant interventions. For example, as health and economic policy-makers have different administrative concerns, performance indicators and priorities, they often consider different forms of evidence in their decision-making. In this paper, we describe the evidence base for diet-related interventions based on fiscal policies and consider the key questions that need to be asked by both health and economic policy-makers. From the health sector's perspective, there is most evidence for the impact of taxes and subsidies on diets, with less evidence on their impacts on body weight or health. We highlight the importance of scope, the role of industry, the use of revenue and regressive taxes in informing policy decisions.
Aviation constitutes about 2.5% of all energy-related CO
2
emissions and in addition there are non-CO
2
effects. In 2016, the ICAO decided to implement a Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for ...International Aviation (CORSIA) and in 2017 the EU decided on faster emission reductions in its Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), which since 2012 includes the aviation sector. The effects of these policies on the expected development of air travel emissions from 2017 to 2030 have been analyzed. For the sample country Sweden, the analysis shows that when emissions reductions in other sectors are attributed to the aviation sector as a result of the EU ETS and CORSIA, carbon emissions are expected to reduce by −0.8% per year (however if non-CO
2
emissions are included in the analysis, then emissions will increase). This is much less than what is needed to achieve the 2°C target. Our analysis of potential national aviation policy instruments shows that there are legally feasible options that could mitigate emissions in addition to the EU ETS and CORSIA. Distance-based air passenger taxes are common among EU Member States and through increased ticket prices these taxes can reduce demand for air travel and thus reduce emissions. Tax on jet fuel is an option for domestic aviation and for international aviation if bilateral agreements are concluded. A quota obligation for biofuels is a third option.
Key policy insights
Existing international climate policies for aviation will not deliver any major emission reductions.
Policymakers who want to significantly push the aviation sector to contribute to meeting the 2°C target need to work towards putting in place tougher international policy instruments in the long term, and simultaneously implement temporary national policy instruments in the near-term.
Distance-based air passenger taxes, carbon taxes on jet fuel and quota obligations for biofuels are available national policy options; if they are gradually increased, and harmonized with other countries, they can help to significantly reduce emissions.
The paper assesses evidence concerning the effects of transportation's black carbon emissions on climate change, public health, and food production; and it discusses policy issues posed by the ...emissions. Black carbon emission mitigation policies at all levels offer significant potential climate, health, and food co-benefits, and they are attractive in terms of economic cost-effectiveness and political feasibility. The paper presents an analysis of regulatory issues in maritime shipping and aviation, which are increasingly salient, and which are largely independent of the revelations of “diesel gate” in the motor vehicle industry. Yet, there are linkages in the technological and policy issues of the motor vehicle industry and issues confronting maritime shipping and aviation. Black carbon emissions are among the core regulatory policy issues in all three industries, and they have not been adequately addressed by policymakers. The paper concludes with specific policy recommendations at all governance levels.
•Black carbon (BC) emissions cause serious damage to health, food and climate.•Reductions of BC emissions have virtually immediate co-benefits.•Impacts of BC emissions are experienced at local, regional and global levels.•Diverse technologies and policies can reduce emissions in all transport sectors.•Regulatory issues vary across aviation, shipping and motor vehicle sectors.
The Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set ambitious targets for environmental, economic and social progress. Climate change mitigation policies play a central role in this ...process. To maximize the benefits and minimize the negative effects of climate change mitigation policies, policymakers need to be aware of the indirect and often complex social and inequality impacts that these policies may have and the pathways through which these impacts emerge. Better understanding of the distributional and inequality impacts is important to avoid negative social and distributional outcomes as countries ratchet up their climate policy ambition in the post-Paris context. This paper synthesizes evidence from the existing literature on social co-impacts of climate change mitigation policy and their implications for inequality. The analysis shows that most policies are linked to both co-benefits and adverse side-effects, and can compound or lessen inequalities depending on contextual factors, policy design and policy implementation. The risk of negative outcomes is greater in contexts characterized by high levels of poverty, corruption and economic and social inequalities, and where limited action is taken to identify and mitigate potentially adverse side-effects.
Key policy insights
The risk of adverse social outcomes associated with climate change mitigation policies, including worsening inequality, increases as countries ratchet up their ambition to meet the Paris Agreement targets. Many policies that have so far only been piloted will need to be up-scaled.
Negative inequality impacts of climate policies can be mitigated (and possibly even prevented), but this requires conscious effort, careful planning and multi-stakeholder engagement. Best results can be achieved when potential inequality impacts are taken into consideration in all stages of policy making, including policy planning, development and implementation.
Climate change mitigation policies should take a pro-poor approach that, in best case scenarios, can also lead to a reduction of existing inequalities.
Roughly one in ten adult Americans find their walking slowed by progressive chronic conditions like arthritis, back problems, heart and lung diseases, and diabetes. In this passionate and deeply ...informed book, Lisa I. Iezzoni describes the personal experiences of and societal responses to adults whose mobility makes it difficult for them to live as they wish—partly because of physical and emotional conditions and partly because of persisting societal and environmental barriers. Basing her conclusions on personal experience, a wealth of survey data, and extensive interviews with dozens of people from a wide social spectrum, Iezzoni explains who has mobility problems and why; how mobility difficulties affect people's physical comfort, attitudes, daily activities, and relationships with family and friends throughout their communities; strategies for improving mobility; and how the health care system addresses mobility difficulties, providing and financing services and assistive technologies. Iezzoni claims that, although strategies exist to improve mobility, many people do not know where to turn for advice. She addresses the need to inform policymakers about areas where changes will better accommodate people with difficulty walking. This straightforward and engaging narrative clearly demonstrates that improving people's ability to move freely and independently will enhance overall health and quality of life, not only for these persons, but also for society as a whole.
As China is faced with the double dilemmas of environmental pollution and energy security, new-energy vehicles (NEVs) come with high expectations, which need to be guided by an “invisible hand”. To ...analyse the optimal functioning power of policies and determine the direction of future policy implementation, this paper utilizes the COPA framework (i.e., analysis from four dimensions of contents, outlook, power, and authorities) to analyse policy evolution in respect of the new-energy vehicle industry (NEVI). In addition, a quantitative table of policy power is designed to construct the policy effects in various periods. Furthermore, this paper employs threshold model and quantile regression model to explore the threshold effect of policy power on the policy implementation effects and the transformation of policy implementation effects at different development stages, respectively. The results are as follows. (1) The Chinese NEVI policy continues to attach importance to government-guided consumption and government-supported technical development, with the major issuing form still being “notices”. Although “moderate” industrial policies are adopted as the main policies, the issuance strength has been rising periodically, and the functioning strength has been maintaining a steady rise year by year. The non-definition of the competent authorities is one of the key factors that affect the development of the NEVI. (2) The policy power has a significant threshold effect on its functioning strength. When the policy strength exceeds the threshold value of 69, the effect of the policy will nearly double; thus, to promote the technological innovation of NEVs, it is necessary to formulate high-intensity policies. (3) The effect of industrial policy will differ greatly at different development stages. Along with the gradual formation of market orientation of the NEVI, the effect of industrial policies has weakened gradually. Properly reducing the subsidy of NEVs will achieve the optimal allocation of government resources.
•Policy evolution of China NEVI is analysed based on COPA framework.•A threshold model is employed to explore the threshold effect of policy power on the policy implementation.•A quantile regression model is utilized to investigate the transformation of policy implementation effects.•It is necessary to formulate high-power policies to promote the process of technological innovation of NEVI.•Reducing the subsidy intensity of NEVI will achieve the optimal allocation of government resources.
As wages stagnate but living costs keep rising, the pressure on working people grows more intense. The issue of living standards has become one of the most urgent challenges for politicians in both ...Britain and America.
'The squeezed middle' brings together experts from both sides of the Atlantic to ask what the UK can learn from the US. American workers have not benefited from growth for an entire generation - the average American worker earned no more in 2009 than in 1975. Now British workers are undergoing a similar experience. No longer can they assume that when the economy grows their wages will grow with it.
This collection brings together for the first time leading economic and policy thinkers to analyse the impact of different policies on those on low-to middle incomes and to explain what lessons the UK can learn from America's 'lost generation'.
This timely book is essential reading for everyone concerned about the living standards crisis, an issue which could decide elections as well as shaping the future for millions of working families.
Jurisdictions use an assortment of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Climate policy mixes have often evolved through the ad hoc layering of new policies onto an existing policy mix, rather ...than deliberate design of a complete policy portfolio. This can lead to unanticipated interactions between policies which can support or undermine policy objectives and is further complicated where climate policy is implemented at multiple jurisdictional levels. In the context of Canada and its four most populous provinces, we examine the development of climate policy mixes across jurisdictional levels between 2000 and 2020 and evaluate policy interactions. We develop an inventory of 184 climate policies, and examine each in terms of instrument type, implementation timing, technological specificity, and expected abatement. We evaluate interactions between overlapping policies both within jurisdictional levels (horizontal) and across jurisdictional levels (vertical) for their impact on emissions abatement using a policy coherence analysis framework. We find that subsidies and R&D funding were the most abundant policies (58%), although pricing and flexible regulation are expected to achieve the most abatement. Sub-national jurisdictions have often acted as policy pilots preceding federal policy implementation. We evaluate 356 policy interactions and find 74% are consistent in adding abatement. Less than 8% have a negative impact by reducing abatement, although vertical interactions between federal and provincial policies were more often negative (11%) than horizontal interactions at the federal (<3%) or provincial (<2%) levels. Although the impact of many interactions is unknown (13%), we generate interaction matrices as a foundational roadmap for future research, and for policy-makers to consider potential interactions when designing and assessing policy effectiveness.
Key policy insights
Climate policy mixes have expanded and diversified over the period 2000-2020 across jurisdictions in Canada.
Sub-national jurisdictions have often acted as policy 'pilots' by implementing policy before the adoption of similar national level policy.
Climate mitigation policy interactions are predominantly supportive toward achieving additional emissions abatement.
Vertical interactions between federal and provincial policy can undermine the additionality of policy effort by sub-national jurisdictions.
These findings emphasize the need for better coordination in climate policy mix design between national and sub-national jurisdictions.
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