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Those who are working for more resilient food systems build on the work of farmers markets – a still popular venue to connect climate-smart food products with urbanites. Photo: Peter Morgan/Flickr Let's not forget what we learned during 2020 about the fragility of our food supply chains: the prevailing, globalized model is as fragile as a…
Before describing possible features of a future ecosocialism, it is worthwhile to consider why such a system is even needed. Why can’t the problems that ecosocialism would solve also be remedied within the current global capitalist system? Part I of this essay addresses that question by summarizing recent scientific reports on the state of the climate and extent of the ecological crisis; reviewing available methods and technologies that could be used to address the climate and ecological crises; and briefly describing capitalism’s structural inability to provide solutions at the scale of the crises. Part II then takes up the subject of the title, ecosocialism, along with strategies to move in that direction.
Rising demand for environmentally friendly investments is focusing attention on Spain's under-exploited solar and more established wind sector, helped by government
Renewable energy self-consumption: A Policy Brief from the Policy Learning Platform on Low-carbon economy
Self-consumption of renewable energy can provide financial, environmental and security benefits for households, businesses, grid operators-Distribution system operators (DSOs) and transmission system operators (TSOs) –and society at large, though the market is newly developing,and significant progress is still needed to both deepen market penetration, and ensure that the grid can manage resulting changes in energy flows. In many countries, solar photovoltaics (PV)is approaching grid parity, making self-consumption an attractive measure, with ‘prosumers’ able to self-consume their generated sustainable electricity and sell-off any excess into the energy grid. Where parity is not yet met, further political and economic support is needed and there are multiple options available for regions. The EU’s Clean Energy Package requires EU Member States to remove barriers to self-consumption, though the exact measures to be implemented are flexible and dependent on national and regional scenarios. For regions, enabling self-consumption puts consumers at the heart of the low-carbon transition and unleashes private investment, so is a potentially cost-effective strategy to meet renewable energy and emissions reductions targets. Although much is determined at the national level, regions have several options available for them to boost self-consumption. Download
With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing governments to spend on an unprecedented scale to sustain businesses and households, there has never been a better time to restore the state to its proper role as a rudder for the broader economy. The market alone is simply no match for the challenges of the twenty-first century.
Comment penser les conséquences politiques, collectives et individuelles de la pandémie de Covid-19 et du confinement ? Dans cet entretien, l’écrivain Alain Damasio remet notamment le concept de biopolitique au goût du jour, s’intéresse à notre rapport à la mort, vante le pouvoir de l’imaginaire et de l’expérience vécue, indispensables pour envisager une autre suite.
This article presents a transdisciplinary modeling framework, which builds on the original Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways methodology. To demonstrate the applicability of this framework the authors used it to explore the evolution of the small-scale solar photovoltaics share in Greece, towards the achievement of the national capacity targets of 2025 and 2030. Model outcomes facilitated the identification of several pathways achieving the capacity targets, while reducing the risk for retroactive policy changes. Overall, the presented study demonstrates potential to support the design of adaptive policies over contextual evolutions so that social, economic and technological aspects of integrative planning are balanced towards the achievement of climate targets.
Policy brief: Improving the convenience of public transport
A Policy Brief from the Policy Learning Platform on Low-carbon economy The shift to a low-carbon economy will rely heavily on the use of zero-emission vehicles and increased use of public transport. Whilst cities and regions will need to invest heavily in new vehicles, fleets and infrastructure, there is also a need to encourage citizen behaviour change. One of the major barriers tothe use of public transport involves shifting citizen preference from individual modes of transport, by overcoming perceptions that public transport can be slow, uncomfortable or unreliable.Improving the convenience of public transport can help to change these beliefs andalso to change behaviours, through interventions such as provision of accurate information and timetables, having easy routeplanning options, supporting multi-modal connectivity,using integrated smart ticketing options, operating on-demand services, and improving customer comfort. Download
In political systems based on cooperation, determining who to ally with and when always raises critical questions of identity, tactics, and strategy.
A Policy Brief from the Interreg Policy Learning Platform on Low-carbon economy The building sector is a significant contributor to Europe’s carbon emissions, and needs to be tackled in order reach our climate obligations underthe Paris agreement. However, numerous barriers in knowledge, awareness,trust, finance and market development mean that renovation rates of private households remain low, and of limited impact. Many policy interventions are possible for regions that wish to overcome these barriers, including information campaigns, provision of financing and training of construction companies. These instruments are well tested in Europe’s regions, but the process of home renovation remains complex and daunting for homeowners, and significant effort needs to be made to reduce fragmentation. One-Stop-Shops (OSS) bring together the full gamut of policy interventions into a single body, working with stakeholders to provide all required skills andknowledge for home renovation, significantly reducing the burden for homeowners to improvetheir energyperformance. Download
The Handbook of Sustainable Urban Development Strategies provides methodological support to cities, managing authorities and other stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of urban strategies under Cohesion Policy. In particular, it refers to Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) as supported by the European Regional Development Fund during the current programming period (2014-2020) and the upcoming one (2021-2027).
The Handbook is a policy learning tool, adaptable to the needs arising from different territorial and administrative contexts. It considers urban strategies as bridges between Cohesion Policy and local territorial governance systems.
The GIZ Open Regional Fund for South East Europe – Energy Efficiency (GIZ ORF-EE) has implemented a series of projects over the last eight years which have resulted in strong partnerships and cooperation with MPs from across the region. By supporting the work of parliamentarians through its regional collaboration, knowledge and experience exchange platform, GIZ ORF-EE, on behalf of German Government, has not only contributed to developing and adopting policies and laws to improve energy efficiency in the countries of the region, but also supported the countries in launching the energy transition process and changing their urban mobility paradigm.
We spoke with five MPs from the region and asked them about the cooperation with GIZ ORF-EE. In the second interview, following the success of the first one, you can read about the way MPs see their cooperation with the GIZ ORF-EE and national political schools, as well as their views on the status of energy transition processes in their respective countries.
Foreign policy and climate think tanks from Europe, Latin America, China, and Africa—RIE (Madrid), IDDRI (Paris), SEI (Stockholm), ODI (London), Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, LSE (London), Fundacion Torcuato Di Tella (Buenos Aires), Transforma (Bogota), E3G (Europe), South Centre (Developing countries, based in Geneva), Energy Foundation China (Beijing)—have gathered to identify 12 strategic conditions for increasing climate ambition in a conflictual geopolitical context.
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Renewable energy communities involve groups of citizens, social entrepreneurs, public authorities, and community organisations participating directly in the energy transition by jointly investing in, producing, selling, and distributing renewable energy. Beyond the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, there are many benefits for the communities involved, including economic development, the creation of new jobs, cheaper energy, self-sufficiency, community cohesion, and energy security. Regional authorities can support the emergence of energy communities by providing financing, expertise, and advice, and ensuring that regulatory issues can be easily understood and navigated.
Integrated Low- Carbon Strategies: A Policy Brief from the Policy Learning Platform on Low-carbon economy - IINTERREG EUROPE
Public authorities across Europe have an important role to play in the development of a sustainable and low-carbon economy, with transformations needed in every sector and area of public life. As such, multiple actors are involved in setting up strategies to direct public policy, across multiple departments and levels of governance – covering areas such as housing,
building codes, land-use, transport, energy, climate change mitigation and environmental policy. These strategies, often developed in silos, need to be harmonised and integrated to ensure that all are pulling in the same direction, and to make optimal use of limited resources. As well as cross-departmental (horizontal) co-operation, vertical co-operation between levels
of government also needs to be enabled. A number of projects and regions have already investigated the integration process and their results and guidelines can provide a number of lessons for others on how to optimally use resources, share data, engage with stakeholders and work across boundaries to develop and achieve regional aims. Download
While the world was locked down by coronavirus last year, Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest, chairman of Fortescue Metals Group, was on the move. The billionaire mining magnate and his entourage toured 47 countries over five months, managing to convince some of them to open their borders to the delegation despite the pandemic. But Forrest wasn’t searching […]
Innovation Networks: A Policy Brief from the Policy Learning Platform on Research and innovation
Innovation networks are central to the innovation process as they facilitate mutual learning and knowledge transfer among members.This policy brief explores the role of innovation networks within regional innovation ecosystems. Regional policy makers are designing and implementing innovation networks not only to promote learning and knowledge exchanges but also to reduce fragmentation in their innovation ecosystems. Due to different needs for regional interactions, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ innovation network policy intervention. The regional approach to find effective policy solutions for strengthening innovation networks makes Interreg Europe projects the ideal space for policy learning. This policy brief features five policy recommendations using the experience of Interreg Europe projects dealing with innovation networks to offer regions a path towards better regional innovation policymaking. Download
This manifesto provides an overview of the key items to take into consideration to ensure Better Knowledge, Better Policy and Better Funding, in terms of financial allocations and in-kind support, as a means to strengthen social and solidarity economy in Europe.
This Manifesto is currently being subscribed by a number of organisations throughout Europe, it is therefore to be seen as a starting point for dialogue and action to take place.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has lost control over his country’s capital. While there are signs that the illiberal leader will do all in his power to hurt the city, the opposition is using the potential of city diplomacy to highlight the other, more democratic side of Hungary. In January 2020, we spoke with former Green MEP Benedek Jávor, head of Budapest’s representation in Brussels, about the prospects and challenges for Budapest under green-left leadership.
Supporting local bioenergy development
A Policy Brief from the Policy Learning Platform on Low-carbon economy Bioenergy is one of the most flexible renewables, with the possibility to convert biomass into many different end-products for different applications. Whilst national and international frameworks support bioenergy generation, there is significant scope forregional authorities to act, with bioenergy development being dependent on local conditions, stakeholders, resources and action plans.Interreg Europe projects have found a number of relevant good practices that could be replicated in other regions to provide sustainable bioenergy for communities, whilst also creating new employment and supporting regional development. Regions interested in supporting bioenergy should consider existing good practices and available resources, and can make use of the significant number of support funds and platforms for implementing their projects. Download
Professor of human ecology Andreas Malm takes his reflections on fossil capitalism a step further to make a direct connection between the Green surge recently witnessed in some European countries and the electoral victories of far-right populist forces. For him, Greens must use this opportunity to push their fight for climate justice side-by-side with movements on the street.
Politics is the art of seizing the right moment to act. A call for the convergence of struggles between green socialism, the radical critics of modernity, and elite technocracy.
In a fast-evolving urban transport environment, micromobility is changing how people move on a daily basis. This brings new and urgent challenges for national policymakers and city officials. The report proposes a framework to define micromobility and suggests certain limits on mass and speed to classify vehicles. It proposes future-proof, balanced safety regulations proportional to the risks imposed. The analysis draws on the results of a workshop attended by 40 participants from 15 countries in October 2019.
We, decision makers at all levels of government together with organisations and networks of cities and communities of all sizes1, believe that strong cooperation through multi-level governance in the EU and co-creation with citizens are key to our mission of turning our cities and communities into smart and sustainable places where people enjoy living and working. We aim for a cohesive, digital Europe, where every community can enjoy the economic and social benefits of this transformation, while making sure not to leave anyone behind2. We therefore underline the need for sufficient public and private investment in digital services, technologies, infrastructures and skills to achieve this goal.
This paper on the zero carbon and circular challenge in the built environment puts forward several policy recommendations. In order to achieve the net-zero carbon goal by 2050, adapting the built environment is paramount: the EU estimates that the climate change-related damage to infrastructure could grow tenfold under a business-as-usual scenario. The paper advocates the need to come up with a comprehensive strategy for the building and construction sector which should build on the principles of sustainability and circularity. It also highlights the societal benefit generated by energy renovation and building upgrad
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