Will new development banks help or hinder on climate change?
International Institute for Environment and Development’s (IIED). 6 July 2015.
Topic: Climate compatible development
Implementing REDD at the local level: assessing the key enablers for credible emission reduction and sustainable livelihood outcomes.
Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 157, 1 July 2015, Pages 238–249.
China’s “new normal”: structural change, better growth, and peak emissions
Study shows that China has entered a new phase of economic development – continuing to promote economic growth while driving down its GHG emissions. read more »
Understanding the demand for REDD+ credits
REDD (Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation), broadened to REDD+, has recently emerged as a potentially important component of the global policy mix to mitigate climate change. In this … read more »
Assessing the Relationship Between Human Well-being and Ecosystem Services: A Review of Frameworks
Agarwala, M., Atkinson, G., Palmer Fry, B., Homewood, K. Mourato, S. Rowcliffe, J.M., Wallace, G., and Milner-Gulland, E.J. (2014) In: Conservation and Society 12(4): 437-449. Abstract Focusing on the most … read more »
Editorial overview: Sustainability challenges: assessing climate change adaptation in Africa
Simon, D. and Leck, H (2015). In: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability
Rights to the forest, REDD+ and elections: Mining in Guyana
This paper examines the impact of electoral cycles and the introduction of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) policy upon the holding of small-scale mining property rights in Guyana. … read more »
What lies beneath: understanding the invisible aspects of municipal climate change governance
Municipal or local government climate governance has attracted much research attention with a proliferation of literature investigating institutional enablers and barriers to climate action. This paper addresses a gap in this literature through considering critically the role of informal/shadow systems and spaces; the significant inner social workings that constitute what we call the ‘invisible aspects’ of municipal institutions for learning and decision-making processes. read more »
Development Aid and Climate Finance
Eyckmans, J., S. Fankhauser, and S. Kverndokk (2015). In Environmental and Resource Economics
Conservation payments under uncertainty
The decision of whether to retain forest or convert to another land use is affected by uncertainty over future land use returns. This paper examines the design of conservation payments to landowners under uncertainty. Payments are either indexed to the returns from deforestation (agriculture), or to a market value associated with forest nonuse benefits. Payment size depends on the degree of correlation between payments and agricultural returns, and their relative volatility. Market-based payments for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) are simulated for Brazilian soybean growers. Payments indexed to carbon prices are larger than those indexed to international soybean prices. (JEL Q23, Q24) read more »