Interdisciplinary Approaches to Climate Change for Sustainable Growth (Natural Resource Management and Policy, 47)

The book is an edited collection of contributions by a distinguished international panel of academics on the main scientific, juridical, and economic aspects involved in the mitigation and adaptation processes imposed by climate change. Explicitly interdisciplinary, the book transversally cuts through different disciplines offering an outline of a phenomenon that is too often left to specific and sectorial insights. The volume is divided into four parts. The first part introduces the main concepts of the book: climate change and sustainability, wellbeing, and mitigation and adaptation. The second part presents the scientific understanding of climate change and explores some of the more pressing issues driving policy development, such as the melting of the glaciers and the impact on coastal areas. The third part discusses significant experiences in the environmental policies both in the European Union and in the United States of America. The last section explains possible approaches to climate change, by exploring the legal and economic aspects of both adversarial and more lenient approaches towards a more sustainable world. It faces four main issues in the economic and juridical context: consumer behaviors, climate litigations, environmental litigations and the alternative forms of dispute resolution on environmental matters, with particular regard to environmental mediation. Offering a new vision of sustainable policies, this volume will be of interest to researchers and students of environmental policy, resource economics, environmental law, sustainable development, and public administration, as well as practitioners and policy makers working in related areas. Contents Chapter 1: Introduction Part I: Interpreting, Communicating and Composing a Complex Phenomenon Chapter 2: The Ideological Trick of Climate Change and Sustainability 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Green Is the New Black 2.2.1 Brief Evolution of Main Protest Movement’s Ideology 2.2.2 Students, the New Protest Vanguard 2.2.3 The Scientific Community Approval 2.3 Climate Skepticism and Right-Wing Populism 2.3.1 Right-Wing Ideology Reduces the Effect of Education on Climate Change 2.3.2 Out of the Palace: The Denial Countermovement 2.4 Conclusions References Chapter 3: Words Count: The Role of Language in Overcoming Climate Inertia 3.1 Introduction 3.2 The Climate Change Debate Follows a Global Trend 3.3 Living in Metaphors 3.4 Discussing the Italian Case: The Use of Metaphors in the Newspaper La Repubblica 3.4.1 War Metaphor 3.4.2 Illness Metaphor 3.4.3 Journey Metaphor 3.5 Conclusions References Chapter 4: Measuring Complex Socio-economic Phenomena. Conceptual and Methodological Issues 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Complexity and Knowledge 4.3 Complexity and Systems 4.4 Measurement in Social Sciences 4.4.1 General Aspects of Measurement 4.4.2 Measuring Socio-economic Phenomena: Conceptual and Methodological Aspects 4.5 Final Remarks References Part II: The Scientific Debate Chapter 5: Glaciers: Vanishing Elements of Our Mountains and Precious Witnesses of Climate Change 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Glacier Inventories: Useful Tools to Describe Glacier Evolution in a Changing Climate 5.2.1 The New Italian Glacier Inventory 5.2.2 The European Glacier Inventory 5.2.3 The Karakoram Anomaly Investigated by Satellite 5.3 Remote-Sensing to Describe Glacier Darkening 5.4 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for High-Resolution Mapping of Glacier Hazards and Thickness Changes 5.5 Remote-Sensing as a Tool for Studying Antarctica, the Ice Reserve of our Planet 5.6 Conclusions References Chapter 6: Rural Revival and Coastal Areas: Risks and Opportunities 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Assessing the Risks of Climate Change 6.2.1 Hazards 6.2.2 Exposure 6.2.3 Vulnerability 6.3 Adaptation of Coastal Systems to Climate Change Impacts 6.4 Coastal Natural Capital and Opportunities for Rural Communities 6.5 Conclusions and Recommendations References Chapter 7: Climate Change: From Science to Policies, Backward and Forward 7.1 Introduction: The Convergence of Politics and Science 7.2 Preliminary Concepts About Science and Politics 7.3 The Method: Relativism and Complexity 7.4 The Identification and Implementation of Goals 7.5 Measurement of Phenomena, Knowledge, and Awareness 7.6 Conclusion References Part III: Ethics and Policies Chapter 8: The EU Perspective from Setbacks to Success: Tackling Climate Change from Copenhagen to the Green Deal and the Next-Generation EU 8.1 Introduction 8.2 The EU Road to Paris 8.3 From Paris to the Green Deal and the Next-Generation EU 8.4 The Impact of COVID-19 8.5 EU Emissions Trading System 8.6 Effort-Sharing 8.7 Land Use and Forestry 8.8 Adaptation 8.9 Energy 8.10 Research and Innovation 8.11 European Green Deal Call 8.12 Road to Glasgow 8.13 Conclusion References Chapter 9: Carbon Pricing from the Origin to the European Green Deal 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Carbon Taxes 9.2.1 Economic Rationale and Optimal Structure of the Carbon Tax 9.2.2 Tax Base and Carbon Tax Rate 9.2.3 Costs and Benefits of the Carbon Tax 9.2.4 The European experience 9.3 Emission Trading System 9.3.1 Tradable Permits: From Principle to Practice 9.3.2 ETS International Experience 9.3.3 EU ETS: Origins and Reforms 9.3.4 EU ETS: Scope and Coverage 9.3.5 EU ETS: Allowance Allocation 9.3.6 EU ETS: Prices, Oversupply, and Price Containment 9.3.7 EU ETS and the EU Green Deal 9.4 "Price-based" vs “Quantity-based" Regulation 9.5 Conclusions References Chapter 10: Technology Innovation in the Energy Sector and Climate Change: The Role of Governments and Policies 10.1 Introduction. The Importance of Technology Innovation in the Energy Sector 10.2 The Role of Governments in Technology Innovation 10.3 Innovative Technologies, Energy Transition, and Covid-19 10.4 The International Cooperation on Technology Innovation 10.5 The Energy Transition Policies in the G7/ G8 Experience 10.6 The Energy Transition Policies in the G20 Experience 10.7 Conclusions References Chapter 11: How Emerging Technologies Are Finally Matching the Policy Leverage of Cities with Their Political Ambitions 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Technology Drivers Empowering Cities 11.2.1 Smart Grids 11.2.2 Energy Storage 11.2.3 Distributed Generation 11.3 City Policies that Leverage Technology Drivers 11.3.1 Energy Efficiency and Circularity 11.3.1.1 Energy Building Codes 11.3.1.2 Weatherization Programs for Low-Income Households 11.3.1.3 Energy Consumption Building Benchmark and Building Energy Performance Standards 11.3.1.4 Managing Traffic 11.3.2 Electricity Decarbonization 11.3.2.1 Renewable Power for Government Buildings 11.3.2.2 Promoting Distributed Generation (DG) Through Community Solar Projects 11.3.2.3 Building or Facilitating Solar and Storage Microgrids 11.3.3 Electrification 11.3.3.1 Improving Transit 11.3.3.2 Vehicle Electrification 11.3.4 Alternatives for Hard-to-Electrify Sectors 11.3.4.1 Hydrogen Cities 11.3.4.2 Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage 11.4 Conclusion References Chapter 12: Sustainable Transportation 12.1 Introduction: The Importance of Transportation Sustainability for Addressing Climate Change 12.2 Transportation Emissions Cause and Effects 12.3 Law and Policy to Reduce Driving Kilometers and Improve Transportation Efficiency 12.3.1 Orienting Land Use Around Walking, Biking, and Transit 12.3.2 Improving Transit Infrastructure 12.3.3 Congestion Pricing and Mileage/Kilometer Fees 12.4 Law and Policy to Improve Fuel Economy and Reduce Its Carbon Content 12.5 Key Technologies to Boost Sustainable Fuels 12.5.1 Low-Carbon Liquid Biofuels 12.5.2 Hydrogen 12.5.3 Battery Electric Vehicles 12.6 Law and Policies to Boost Deployment of Low- and Zero-Emission Fuels 12.6.1 Mandates 12.6.2 Incentives 12.6.3 Subsidies 12.6.4 Regulatory Streamlining and Electricity Rate Reform 12.7 Conclusion: Smart Policy and Private Sector Innovation Are Key to a Zero-Emission Transportation Future References Chapter 13: From Green to Social Procurement 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Toolkit for Understanding Sustainability in Public Procurement 13.2.1 Supply Chain 13.2.2 Life-Cycle Costing (LCC) 13.2.3 Circular Economy 13.3 Green and Social Procurement: The State of the Art 13.3.1 Sustainable Procurement: Respect of the Environment and of the Community 13.3.2 Standards in Procuring Green and Social Solutions 13.4 Enhancing the Transition: Procuring Innovation 13.5 Evaluate Suppliers’ Performance for a Sustainable Procurement 13.5.1 The Lowest Price Criterion 13.5.2 Criteria Based on Evaluation of Quality 13.5.3 Quality Criterion at a Fixed Cost 13.5.4 How to Design Evaluation Criteria for Assessing Sustainability 13.6 Preliminary Market Consultation 13.7 Abating Barriers with Social Procurement 13.7.1 Small- and Medium-Size Enterprises 13.7.2 Gender Equality 13.7.3 Young Professionals 13.7.4 Other Minorities 13.7.5 Command and Control: The Case of Switzerland 13.8 Centralization Versus Decentralization: Opportunities for Sustainability 13.9 The Role of e-Procurement for Promoting Sustainability 13.10 Monitoring and Performing Contracts: The Real Challenge for an Effective Sustainable Procurement 13.11 Concluding Remarks: Which Suggestions to Policy Makers? References Chapter 14: Climate, Sustainability, and Waste: EU and US Regulatory Approaches Compared 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Linking Climate, Sustainability, and Waste 14.2.1 Waste by the Numbers 14.2.2 The Interconnection Between Climate Change, Waste, and Sustainability 14.2.3 Economic and Waste Regulation Models 14.3 The Traditional Linear Economy and the United States 14.3.1 The Linear Model 14.3.2 Waste Laws in the United States 14.3.3 The US Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 14.3.4 State and Local Waste Regulation in the United States 14.3.5 Waste Management Trends in the United States 14.4 The Circular Economy and the European Union 14.4.1 The Circular Model 14.4.2 Circular Economy Regulatory Measures in the European Union 14.4.3 Regulatory Trends in the European Union 14.5 Comparisons 14.6 Conclusion References Chapter 15: Construction Industry and Sustainability 15.1 Construction Industry: The Elephant in the Glass Shop? 15.2 How Can the Construction Industry Improve Sustainability? 15.3 Strategic Planning for Whole-Life Sustainability 15.4 Construction Projects for Sustainable Energy Production and Energy Efficiency 15.4.1 Construction of Renewable Energy Projects 15.4.2 Construction of Smart Energy Infrastructure 15.4.3 Energy Efficiency of Buildings and Infrastructure 15.5 Construction Projects for Sustainable Water Use 15.5.1 Demand for Sustainable Water Infrastructure 15.5.2 Integrated Resource Management 15.5.3 Sustainable Construction of Water Infrastructure 15.5.4 Reuse 15.5.5 Water and Energy 15.5.6 Flood Protection 15.6 Waste Management Projects 15.7 The Construction Industry Fights Pollution 15.7.1 Cleaning Up the Construction Industry 15.7.2 Construction Innovations Fighting Pollution: Examples 15.7.2.1 Smog-Eating Photo-Catalysis 15.7.2.2 Smog-Eating Concrete 15.7.2.3 Bio-Carton 15.8 How to Reduce the Environmental Impact of Construction Materials 15.8.1 Life-Cycle Requirements for Sustainability 15.8.2 Reusing Existing Buildings 15.8.3 Designing for Reuse 15.8.4 Reusing Materials in New Built 15.9 From Sustainable Architecture to Carbon-Neutral Countries 15.9.1 Sustainable Architecture 15.9.2 Green Structures 15.9.3 Sustainable Transport and Urban Planning 15.9.4 Sustainable Land-Use Planning 15.9.5 Mega Projects, Mega Impact 15.9.6 Smart Carbon-Neutral Cities 15.10 Sustainable Construction Enablers 15.10.1 Regulations 15.10.2 Sustainability Standards and Voluntary Certification 15.10.3 Financial Instruments 15.10.4 Lean Thinking 15.10.5 Digital Technologies 15.10.6 Education and Innovations 15.10.7 Sustainable Procurement 15.11 Conclusion References Chapter 16: Impact of Climate Change in Agriculture: Estimation, Adaptation, and Mitigation Issues 16.1 Introduction 16.2 Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture and Food Security 16.2.1 Main Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies 16.3 Estimating the Economic Costs of Climate Change 16.3.1 Heterogeneity of Climate Impacts and Mitigation Policy 16.4 Methods to Estimate Damage Function from Climate in Agriculture 16.4.1 A Formal Model of Climate Change Impact in Agriculture 16.4.2 From Model to Empirical Estimation of Damage Functions 16.4.3 Empirical Evidence 16.5 Conclusion and Policy Implications References Part IV: People’s Behaviors to Address Climate Change: Proactive and Conflicting Actions Chapter 17: Climate Change and Consumer Behavior 17.1 Introduction 17.2 Consumer Awareness About Climate Change and Sustainable Behaviors 17.3 Understanding the Gap Between Intentions and Behaviors 17.3.1 The Role of Individual Time Preferences 17.3.2 The Double Reasoning System 17.3.3 Exogenous Factors 17.4 Food Production and Climate Change: How Can Consumers Contribute with Their Day-to-Day Behaviors? 17.4.1 Changing Diets: The Unsustainable (M)eat 17.4.2 Choosing Sustainable Product Alternatives 17.5 Demand-Side Policies for Promoting Climate-Friendly Behaviors 17.5.1 Information and Education-Based Policies 17.5.2 Nudging-Based Policies 17.5.3 Product Labeling for Both Informing and Nudging References Chapter 18: Climate Change Litigation: Losing the Political Dimension of Sustainable Development 18.1 Climate Change Litigation: Context and Purpose 18.2 Climate Change Litigation Fever: Reasons and Extension 18.3 The Subject Matter of Climate Litigation: The Right Sought 18.4 The Undefined Content of the “Right to the Climate” and the Environment as a Duty 18.5 The Limits of Climate Litigation and the Arising of a Related Problem 18.6 Judicial Decisions as Extrema Ratio 18.7 The Climate Problem as a Question of Identity and Return to the Principle of Sustainability References Chapter 19: The Judicial Review of Administrative Decisions with Environmental Consequences 19.1 Introduction 19.2 Environmental Judicial Review and the Sustainable Development Principle 19.3 Environmental Claims for Judicial Review 19.4 Transversal Characters of Environmental Judicial Review 19.4.1 Judicial Review on Environmental Matters as a Reaction to a Harm 19.4.2 Judicial Review on Environmental Matters as an Interpretation of the Law 19.4.3 Judicial Review on Environmental Matters as a Secondary Judgment 19.5 Environmental Judicial Review as an Instrument of Sustainable Development References Chapter 20: Mediation in Environmental Disputes 20.1 Introduction 20.2 Environmental Conflicts’ Features 20.3 Mediation: An Overview 20.4 Collaborative Approaches to Environmental Conflict: The “Decide, Announce, and Defend” (DAD) Approach 20.5 Supporting Dialogue and Mediation in Environmental Matters 20.6 Mediation and Facilitation in Environmental Matters in Italy: The Milan Chamber of Arbitration References Index Economists have long advocated the widespread use of carbon pricing as the chief policy to combat climate change. Consensus is growing also among governments and businesses on the fundamental role of carbon pricing in the decarbonization of the economy. For governments, carbon pricing can be a source of revenue, which is particularly important in an economic environment of budgetary constraints. Businesses increasingly evaluate the impact of mandatory carbon prices on their operations and use them as a tool to identify potential climate risks and revenue opportunities. Finally, long-term investors use carbon pricing to analyze the potential impact of climate change policies on their investment portfolios, allowing them to reassess investment strategies and reallocate capital toward low-carbon or climate-resilient activities. By and large, carbon pricing takes two basic forms: a carbon tax and an emission trading system. In this chapter, we briefly review these two instruments from a conceptual standpoint. We then review the actual experience with these instruments with reference to European countries and the European Union (EU), the region where those policies have been introduced and implemented first