Political Geography: Asia / Publication Year: 3 selected / Topic: Environment

1. Climate Change in Japan’s New Defence and Security Strategies

Author:: Alistair D B Cook
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: Japan has taken concrete steps to integrate climate change into its defence and security strategy going forward, and to provide the necessary budget for implementing the relevant measures needed in mitigating the impacts of this threat. This may signal a more prominent leadership role for Japan on climate security in the Indo-Pacific.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Climate Change, and Environment
Political Geography:: Japan and Asia

2. China and the new globalization

Author:: Franklin D. Kramer
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Atlantic Council
Abstract:: The unitary globalized economy no longer exists. Driven in significant part by security considerations, a new and more diverse globalization is both required and being built. The transition is ongoing, and its final form is yet to be determined. Many of the causal factors for this very significant change revolve around China and the consequent responses to its actions by the United States, other democracies of the transatlantic alliance, and the advanced democratic economies of the Indo-Pacific. There are other important factors generating this new globalization including the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war both on energy markets and on trade and investment with Russia generally, as well as the global requirements for mitigating and adapting to climate change. However, China has been a critical element in what might be described as the “maximum trade-centered globalization,” which has dominated trade and investment policy in the three decades since the end of the Cold War. This issue brief describes the still-developing new globalization focusing on the issues surrounding China. A fundamental challenge that China presents arises because its actions have generated significant security and economic challenges, yet it nonetheless is a massive trade and investment partner for the “advanced democratic economies” (ADEs),1 which for purposes of this analysis include the Group of Seven (G7) countries,2 plus Australia, Norway, the Republic of Korea, and the European Union. Adapting to a new globalization requires establishing a strategic approach that resolves the inherent contradictions between those conflicting considerations.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Diplomacy, Environment, Politics, Science and Technology, Economy, Business, and Energy
Political Geography:: China, Europe, Eurasia, Canada, Asia, United States of America, and Indo-Pacific

3. Economic and Environmental Impacts of China’s New Nationwide CO2 Emissions Trading System

Author:: Lawrence Goulder, Xianling Long, Chenfei Qu, and Da Zhang
Publication Date:: 05-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Asia Society
Abstract:: China’s National Emissions Trading System (ETS) has already become the world’s largest ETS and is expected to contribute substantially toward meeting China’s pledge to peak its carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. The new system is based on a tradable performance standard (TPS), a rate-based system under which each covered facility receives from the government in each compliance period a certain number of emissions allowances based on its output and the government’s assigned “benchmark” ratio of emissions per unit of output. Economic and Environmental Impacts of China’s New Nationwide CO2 Emissions Trading System describes the results from a multi-sector multi-period general equilibrium model designed to assess the potential economic, energy mix, and emissions impacts of different future policy options under China’s National ETS over the period 2020–2035, by sector and province and in the aggregate
Topic:: Environment, Economy, Trade, and Carbon Emissions
Political Geography:: China and Asia

4. Korea Matters for America/America Matters for Korea (2023)

Author:: East-West Center
Publication Date:: 04-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: East-West Center
Abstract:: The 4th edition of Korea Matters for America/America Matters for Korea, part of the Asia Matters for America initiative, maps the trade, investment, employment, business, diplomacy, security, education, tourism, and people-to-people connections between the United States and South Korea at the national, state, and local levels. This publication and the AsiaMattersforAmerica.org website are resources for understanding the robust and dynamic US-Indo-Pacific relationship.
Topic:: International Relations, Climate Change, Economics, Education, Environment, Politics, Science and Technology, Governance, Population, Public Health, and Travel
Political Geography:: Asia, South Korea, North Korea, North America, and United States of America

5. Time to say goodbye? The impact of environmental regulation on foreign divestment

Author:: Haiou Mao, Holger Görg, and Guopei Fang
Publication Date:: 09-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
Abstract:: We look at divestments by foreign firms – a topic that has received comparatively little attention in the literature – and investigate how changes in the regulatory environment in the host country may impact on such divestment decisions. We use the implementation of China’s Two Control Zone (TCZ) policy as a “quasi-natural experiment”, using detailed firm level combined with city level data for the empirical analysis. Our results show that the implementation of TCZ policy has led to higher probabilities of divestments by foreign firms in targeted TCZ cities and industries. The mechanism behind this seems to be a TCZ-induced increase in discharge fees and efforts to reduce SO2 emissions. Allowing for heterogeneity of effects, we find that the effect is particularly strong for firms from source countries with less stringent environmental regulation, and those using less advanced technology. We furthermore show that firms using intermediates from polluting industries also experience a higher probability of divestment.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, Foreign Direct Investment, Regulation, Business, and Divestment
Political Geography:: China and Asia

6. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from State-Owned Enterprises: A Preliminary Inventory

Author:: Alex Clark and Philippe Benoit
Publication Date:: 02-2022
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
Abstract:: State-owned enterprises (SOEs) play a major role in the production of goods and services across many of the world’s largest economies, particularly in electricity generation, oil and gas, and heavy industry. SOEs (defined in this report as companies for which 50 percent or more of voting shares are held by a government) are also major sources of greenhouse gas emissions. The governments that control these SOEs are also signatories to the Paris Agreement on climate change. State ownership provides these governments with a major direct point of control over the climate and energy outcomes of these companies, both in terms of reducing emissions and directing future investment into low-carbon technologies and infrastructure. Improving the measurement of SOEs’ contribution to both national and global-level emissions provides important information to help understand to what extent SOEs should be targeted and to design strategies to maximize their potential role in the broader energy transition. This report provides an accounting of direct emissions associated with SOEs globally. It is challenging to comprehensively identify every SOE, as the total is estimated at well over 100,000. In addition, most identified SOEs do not disclose their emissions nor are estimates of these emissions available in the public domain. Despite these limitations, data compiled for this report covering almost 300 major SOEs suggest that SOEs globally are responsible for at least 7.49 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) annually in direct (Scope 1) emissions. While the true scale of SOE-related emissions is likely to be substantially higher, particularly when accounting for national oil companies and iron and steel manufacturers that do not currently report their emissions, this figure is over 1 GtCO2e greater than various previous estimates, and larger than the total annual emissions of any country except China.
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, and Green Technology
Political Geography:: China, Asia, and Global Focus

7. Mine Action and the Environment in Karabakh

Author:: Emil Hasanov
Publication Date:: 04-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: The now‑liberated areas of Azerbaijan are contaminated by mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), the clearance thereof being one of Baku’s highest post‑conflict priorities. Before proceeding any further, we must provide proper definitions of these terms, since they are technical in nature and thus may not be familiar to the general reader. According to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti‑Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction that was adopted in Oslo in 1997 and entered into force in 1999 (it is colloquially called the AntiPersonnel Mine Ban Convention, or APMBC), an anti‑personnel mine “means a mine designed to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a person and that will incapacitate, injure or kill one or more persons.” An antivehicle or antitank mine is effectually the same thing, except that it is designed to explode when triggered by a vehicle. Together, they fall under the catchall term mine, which the same document defines as a “munition designed to be placed under, on, or near the ground or other surface area and to be exploded by the presence, proximity, or contact of a person or a vehicle.” Furthermore, explosive remnants of war (ERW) are defined as explosive munitions left behind after a conflict has ended. They include unexploded artillery shells, grenades, mortars, rockets, air‑dropped bombs, and cluster munitions. If such weapons fail to detonate as intended for whatever reason, they are called unexploded ordnance (UXO); if, on the other hand, they have not been used during an armed conflict and have been left behind by the party that brought them to the battlefield, they are called abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO). Lastly, cluster bombs or cluster munitions, which are defined as weapons containing from several to hundreds of explosive submunitions. They are dropped either from the air or fired from the ground and are designed to break open in mid‑air, releasing submunitions and saturating an area that can be as wide as several football pitches. Based on past practice, the failure rate of cluster munitions to explode as intended stands at between 10 and 30 percent.
Topic:: Climate Change, Economics, Environment, Mining, and Recovery
Political Geography:: Central Asia, Asia, and Azerbaijan

8. How China’s Environments Changed its Modern History: An interview with Micah Muscolino

Author:: Micah Muscolino and Rustam Khan
Publication Date:: 03-2022
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: The Toynbee Prize Foundation
Abstract:: It is hard to imagine the environmental calamities of our age without invoking China today. The “world’s factory” – as it is colloquially and sometimes derogatively called – has come to forefront of many discussions about the need to avert the dangers of planetary degradation. Images such as the thick carpets of smog covering Beijing or gripping documentaries, such as Death by Design (AMBRICA, 2016) and Plastic China (Jiu-Liang Wang, 2016), have revealed how China’s social and natural landscapes have experienced the ‘Anthropocene’s’ coming of age. In such narratives, the environment in China is usually seen as the victim of unfettered industrial production and global consumption starting with the country’s ‘reform and opening up’ period in the late 1970s. But to what extent does this periodization and the logics of the Anthropocene that rest upon it make sense against the longer historical record? A wave of scholarship has scrutinized the abstract idea of the environment in China’s restless history over the past two centuries. Bracketing the origins of the today’s environmental crises exclusively within the globalization debate is to miss something important. Namely, ecological thinking featured prominently in the country’s experiences with modernization, colonialism, and nation-building starting in the long 19th century. Micah Muscolino’s work is a great example that rethinks the conventional framework of modern Chinese history. Muscolino shows how the making of Qing, National, and PRC rule were often built on its relationships to natural resources. He has also come to see many similarities between today’s environmentalist transformations and China’s past. China stands, as he asserts, at the heart of the world’s present-day predicaments. The Toynbee Prize Foundation had the pleasure of interviewing Professor Micah Muscolino. He is the author of two acclaimed monographs, Fishing Wars and Environmental Change in Late Imperial and Modern China (2009) and The Ecology of War in China: Henan Province, the Yellow River, and Beyond, 1938-1950 (2015). With his Ph.D. in Chinese history from Harvard in hand, Muscolino taught at St. Mary’s College of California, Georgetown University, and the University of Oxford, before taking up the Pickowicz Endowed Chair in Modern Chinese History at UC San Diego in 2018. He took the time to tell us more about the China’s past and present entanglements with the environment.
Topic:: Environment, Globalization, History, Displacement, Ecology, and Food Crisis
Political Geography:: China and Asia

9. Planetary health: An alternative framework for disaster governance in ASEAN?

Author:: S. Nanthini and Lina Gong
Publication Date:: 08-2022
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the search for a better way of managing human activities and their environmental impact thereby zeroing in on the specific actions needed to maintain a balance for Planet Earth’s sustainability.
Topic:: Environment, Health, International Cooperation, Governance, Sustainability, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: Asia and ASEAN

10. ndonesia’s 2060 Net-Zero Ambition: The Challenges Ahead

Author:: Margareth Sembiring
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: Recent developments in Indonesia’s sustainability outlook that includes a net-zero goal by 2060 are pointing to stronger commitments to reducing carbon emissions from energy use. At the same time, short- to medium-term realities, and a lack of public trust may derail the long-term sustainability vision.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, Sustainability, and Carbon Emissions
Political Geography:: Indonesia and Asia

11. Climate finance in Asia: Assessing the state of climate finance in one of the world’s most climate vulnerable regions

Author:: Christopher Roy
Publication Date:: 11-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Asia is particularly vulnerable to climate hazards including extreme temperatures, flooding, droughts, cyclones, and sea level rise. The most vulnerable communities need financial support to help adapt to the climate crisis – they cannot do so alone. Developed countries have promised $100 bn in climate finance to developing countries every year until 2025. This promise has not been met. Asian countries have outlined the support they require and delivering on these needs is integral to bringing climate justice to those most vulnerable to – yet least responsible for – the climate crisis. We find that the climate finance provided to Asia is woefully inadequate to support the necessary adaptation actions and vulnerable communities are suffering as a result.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, Finance, and Climate Finance
Political Geography:: Asia

12. China's Course to Carbon Neutrality

Author:: Cory Combs
Publication Date:: 09-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Asia Society
Abstract:: China is in the midst of a wholesale economic transformation, driven by the central government’s pursuit of sustainability in all its forms: economic, social, and environmental. At the heart of this transformation sit Xi Jinping’s “dual carbon” targets: one to peak emissions before 2030, and the other to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. However, such straightforward guiding targets belie the monumental complexity of unraveling and then rebuilding the fossil fuel–driven economy that enabled China’s rapid rise as a global economic power. The difficulties of moving China’s economy up the value chain – particularly from low-grade, emissions-intensive industrial manufacturing toward high value-add, green and low-carbon production – are compounded by the immense political frictions posed by entrenched interests and bureaucratic inertia. In this context, it is imperative for observers – particularly those keen on engaging with China during its grand green transformation experiment – to understand the many pieces, players, and problems involved. To this end, this report takes stock of China’s planning and reform efforts across the domains of climate, energy, and industrial upgrading since the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025) was adopted. It then assesses the key drivers and constraints shaping these efforts, with the aim of elucidating the most likely path ahead – even as Beijing itself continues to map it out.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, Economy, Sustainability, and Carbon Emissions
Political Geography:: China and Asia

13. Taiwan Matters for America/America Matters for Taiwan

Author:: East-West Center
Publication Date:: 09-2022
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: East-West Center
Abstract:: The inaugural edition of Taiwan Matters for America/America Matters for Taiwan, part of the Asia Matters for America initiative, maps the trade, investment, employment, business, diplomacy, security, education, tourism, and people-to-people connections between the United States and the Taiwan at the national, state, and local levels. This publication and the AsiaMattersforAmerica.org website are resources for understanding the robust and dynamic US-Indo-Pacific relationship.
Topic:: International Relations, Climate Change, Economics, Education, Environment, Politics, Science and Technology, Governance, Culture, Population, and Travel
Political Geography:: Taiwan and Asia

14. New Opportunities for the United States-Kingdom of Thailand Alliance in the Indo-Pacific

Author:: Lance D. Jackson
Publication Date:: 09-2022
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: East-West Center
Abstract:: In March 2022, the East-West Center in Washington (EWCW), in collaboration with the Royal Thai Embassy, Washington, DC, convened a two-day seminar in which experts from Thailand and the United States discussed issues and opportunities for the US-Thailand alliance. The workshop included a diverse array of discussants hailing from government, military, academic, think tank, and private sector backgrounds. This report, which adheres to the “Chatham House Rule” under which observations referred to in the report are not attributed to any individual participant, is a summary of the group discussions and the key themes from the seminar. The recent signing of the United States-Thailand Communique on Strategic Alliance and Partnership and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) focused on promoting supply chain resilience on July 10, 2022, highlight the pertinence of this report and the associated seminar. The topics detailed in this report aligned with many of the pressing issues addressed in the Communique and MOU, including expanding law enforcement cooperation, deepening cybersecurity collaboration, supporting resilient transportation corridors, advancing military modernization, and catalyzing Thailand’s bio-circular-green (BCG) economy. The report also covered topics and key themes from a series of jointly produced public webinars and an Asia Pacific Bulletin series of policy briefs on US-Thai affairs.
Topic:: International Relations, Climate Change, Economics, Education, Environment, Politics, Science and Technology, Governance, Population, Leadership, Public Health, and Travel
Political Geography:: Asia, North America, Thailand, Southeast Asia, United States of America, and Indo-Pacific

15. Stories of Kinship, Care, and COVID-19: Connecting Nepal and Himalayan New York

Author:: Sienna Craig
Publication Date:: 04-2021
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:: For centuries, people from Mustang, Nepal, have relied on agriculture, pastoralism, and trade as a way of life. Seasonal migrations to South Asian cities for trade as well as temporary wage labo abroad and Mustang-based tourism have shaped their experiences for decades. Yet, more recently, permanent migrations to New York City are reshaping lives and social worlds. Drawing on more than two decades of fieldwork and friendship with people in and from Mustang, The Ends of Kinship: Connecting Himalayan Lives between Nepal and New York, the book on which this presentation is based, combines narrative ethnography and short fiction to explore how individuals, families, and communities care for each other and carve out spaces of belonging in and through diaspora, at the nexus of environmental, economic, and cultural change. This presentation will also discuss how COVID-19 has impacted the lives of Himalayan and Tibetan New Yorkers, and how regional cultural practices and Tibetan Buddhist philosophies are shaping responses to this pandemic. This event was organized by the Modern Tibetan Studies Program and cosponsored by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University.
Topic:: Agriculture, Environment, Diaspora, Ethnography, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: New York, Asia, Nepal, and Tibet

16. Climate Variability and Steppe Empires: New Findings and Future Directions

Author:: Nicola Di Cosmo
Publication Date:: 03-2021
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:: Nicola Di Cosmo, Henry Luce Foundation Professor of East Asian History, Institute for Advanced Study; Associate Member at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University Moderated by: Gray Tuttle, Leila Hadley Luce Professor of Modern Tibetan Studies, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Columbia University Three decades of climatological research in Mongolia and neighboring regions have transformed our knowledge about the environmental history of Inner Asian empires. The processes that gave rise to these political formations, many of which have played a distinct and crucial role in Chinese history, are still very poorly understood. High-resolution climatic reconstructions, when placed in historical contexts, provide clues about the nomads' responses to climatic variability, and thus illuminate critical nexuses between economic production, social structures, and political change. By illustrating a range of representative historical cases studies, this lecture will explore both the nature of the data and the methods that historians and climatologists have adopted to gauge the impact of climate upon pre-modern nomadic peoples.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, Politics, History, and Economy
Political Geography:: China, Mongolia, and Asia

17. Gains Associated with Linking the EU and Chinese ETS under Different Assumptions on Restrictions, Allowance Endowments, and international Trade

Author:: Malte Winkler, Sonja Peterson, and Sneha Thube
Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
Abstract:: Linking the EU and Chinese Emission Trading Systems (ETS) increases the cost-efficiency of reaching greenhouse gas mitigation targets, but both partners will benefit – if at all – to different degrees. Using the global computable-general equilibrium (CGE) model DART Kiel, we evaluate the effects of linking ETS in combination with 1) restricted allowances trading, 2) adjusted allowance endowments to compensate China, and 3) altered Armington elasticities when Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets are met. We find that generally, both partners benefit from linking their respective trading systems. Yet, while the EU prefers full linking, China favors restricted allowance trading. Transfer payments through adjusted allowance endowments cannot sufficiently compensate China so as to make full linking as attractive as restricted trading. Gains associated with linking increase with higher Armington elasticities for China, but decrease for the EU. Overall, the EU and China favor differing options of linking ETS. Moreover, heterogeneous impacts across EU countries could cause dissent among EU regions, potentially increasing the difficulty of finding a linking solution favorable for all trading partners.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, International Trade and Finance, Regional Cooperation, and European Union
Political Geography:: China, Europe, and Asia

18. Water and Fire at Kyrgyz-Tajik Border: Ferghana Valley’s Security Environment could take a Turn for the Worse

Author:: Kristiina Silvan
Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:: The latest clash between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan casts a shadow over the region’s already fragile security situation. The simmering conflict in Central Asia’s Ferghana Valley could potentially escalate into an open armed conflict between the two states.
Topic:: Security, Environment, Territorial Disputes, Water, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Central Asia, Asia, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan

19. How Is the Asian Economy Recovering from the COVID-19 Pandemic? Evidence from the Emissions of Air Pollutants

Author:: Kazunobu Hayakawa
Publication Date:: 03-2021
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:: This study empirically examines how economic and social activities in Asia were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic by using the emissions amounts of various air pollutants to represent those activities. Review of the emissions data suggests that from 2019 to 2020, the amount of emitted air pollutants decreased in most subnational regions in Asia. Data also show how economic and social activities have restarted in some regions; regression analyses are used to uncover the regions that restarted early. Regional characteristics are identified by employing a remotely sensed land cover dataset (i.e. ESALC) and OpenStreetMap. Results reveal that for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, economic and social activities in cropland, industrial estates, accommodations, restaurants, education, and public services still have not returned to normal.
Topic:: Environment, Economy, Pandemic, COVID-19, Air Pollution, and Economic Recovery
Political Geography:: Asia and Southeast Asia

20. Understanding Climate Change on the Tibetan Plateau: Climate Data and Community Knowledge

Author:: Emily Yeh, Huatse Gyal, Kelly Hopping, Hung Nguyen, Boniface Fosu, and Brendan Buckley
Publication Date:: 07-2021
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:: The Tibetan Plateau spans more than one million square miles at the center of Eurasia with an average elevation of over 12,000 feet - by far the most extensive high-altitude region on Earth. Resulting from the collision of continental plates more than 50 million years ago, the Tibetan Plateau continues to play a major role in determining the climate that we experience today. More recently, the Tibetan Plateau has seen more significant warming than surrounding regions due to its higher altitude. As such, Tibetan communities are at the forefront of experiencing the impacts of climate change and their knowledge of such changes may contribute to better understanding the effects of a changing climate on this most significant region. This round table brought together social science researchers working with Tibetan pastoralist communities on the Tibetan Plateau and climate scientists who have worked in the Himalayas and Asia to discuss how interdisciplinary approaches might enrich understandings of climate change on the Tibetan Plateau and contribute to our knowledge of global climate change.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, Pastoralism, and Social Science
Political Geography:: Asia and Tibet

21. What Railway Deals Taught Chinese and Brazilians in the Amazon

Author:: Adriana Erthal Abdenur, Maiara Folly, and Maurício Santoro
Publication Date:: 08-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: Over the past decade, Chinese investments in Brazil have expanded and diversified considerably, especially ones involving infrastructure. Chinese investors have also diversified geographically. Increasingly, major Brazilian infrastructure projects are being planned or implemented with Chinese backing in environmentally sensitive regions such as the Amazon rain forest and the Cerrado, a large savanna region in Central-West Brazil. Chinese actors have become directly involved in such projects against a backdrop of sharpening debates about sustainability and other consequences of large-scale infrastructure projects. This is especially true in protected areas such as land populated by Indigenous groups and conservation units. A notable example is the Ferrogrão project, a major railway line designed to cross sections of the Amazon and Cerrado to deliver goods to Brazilian ports. This paper examines the diverse ways that Brazilian and Chinese actors have learned from each other as they negotiate the terms of these deals. It also explores how these learning processes have been conditioned by intense domestic political debates over these projects in Brazil. Official documents and secondary sources reveal that, rather than a set Chinese way of doing business or a stock Brazilian response, such projects entail dynamic institutional learning. Such learning is shaped not only by the particulars of the Ferrogrão project but also by Chinese actors’ broader engagement with Brazilian infrastructure projects over the past ten years.
Topic:: Environment, Infrastructure, Investment, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Brazil, South America, and Amazon Basin

22. An Overview of Agricultural Support Policies in Turkey: A Comparative Regional Analysis

Author:: Hakan Uslu
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:: Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:: The agricultural sector is seriously affected by changes in many economic, social, or environmental factors. Hence, the necessity of supporting the sector by governments in various ways has become an indisputable reality. However, regional characteristics must be taken into account in order for these supports to reach their goals. Using a dataset spanning from 2002 to 2020, the current study comparatively analyses the changes in the agricultural support and agricultural production, income, and the value of products in two agricultural regions of Turkey, Central Anatolia and Southeast Anatolia regions. The results highlight that the increase in agricultural income is very low in both regions compared to the substantial changes in agricultural support policies. Additionally, the increase in the values of agricultural products in both regions is much higher than the increase in agricultural income, suggesting that the costs in agricultural activities are too high in the analysed regions.
Topic:: Agriculture, Economics, Environment, Governance, and Rural
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, and Asia

23. Increasing Global Climate Ambition and Implications for Korea

Author:: Jinyoung Moon, Soo Hyun Oh, Youngseok Park, Sunghee Lee, and Eunmi Kim
Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:: Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, wider and decisive actions to tackle climate change and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been called for in the international community. Many countries are seeking a sustainable economic recovery plan that reflects climate change and environmental considerations. The private sector has also been trying to expand environmentally sustainable investments and disclose relevant information on climate change. In particular, major GHG emitters such as China, the United States (U.S.), European Union (EU), Japan and Korea have pledged to move forward carbon neutrality. For this goal, the EU has established action plans for the European Green Deal, including a plan for introducing a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). In this context, this study aims to propose policy recommendations for Korea by analyzing measures to strengthen reduction targets and the economic impact of the EU's CBAM. The following implications can be derived. First, it is necessary to support low-carbon transition efforts in industries. Second, it is also important to support low-carbon technological innovation. Third, monitoring and response measures for the CBAM should also be prepared. Fourth, the private sector should expand voluntary efforts to reduce emissions and environmentally sustainable investment. Lastly, it is necessary to actively engage in international cooperation, not only in terms of reducing GHG emissions but also responding to climate change.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, Science and Technology, Sustainability, Carbon Emissions, and Paris Agreement
Political Geography:: Asia and South Korea

24. Climate, State, and Sovereignty: Self-Determination and Sea Level Rise

Author:: Christina Hioureas and Alejandra Torres Camprubi
Publication Date:: 06-2021
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
Abstract:: Climate change and sea-level rise are existential threats to low-lying island States, which face the looming submergence of their territory and the correlative depopulation and severe restrictions on their governmental capacity, at a national and international levels. Four States are particularly endangered because they are exclusively (or almost exclusively) composed of coral islands and atolls below 10 or even five meters of altitude. They are Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. In its Fifth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change foresaw an average rise of sea level of 98 cm by 2100. This prospect, often regarded as conservative, in fact represents a possible death sentence for these States. As a result, low-lying island States are considering and deploying legal and physical strategies to protect their continuity as States, sparking new debates on the potential evolution of the law on Statehood and the international law of the sea.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, Sovereignty, Governance, and Self Determination
Political Geography:: Asia, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Maldives

25. The Southern Gas Corridor and the New Geopolitics of Climate Change

Author:: Morena Skalamera
Publication Date:: 04-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: It has been argued that the U.S. shale revolution, the Trump Administration’s energy policies, and the global shift towards low‑carbon energy sources and renewables have contributed to shape a new energy order—one that challenges the market power traditionally enjoyed by petro‑states. Nowhere are these developments more relevant than in Azerbaijan, as the country’s expensive investments in the Southern Gas Corridor come under increasing pressure. Unless Azerbaijani gas can be decarbonized at a competitive cost, it may risk becoming redundant within a couple of decades as Europe embraces a greener future. Geopolitics and Geo‑economics The Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) is a $45bn mega‑project ($25bn for the development of the Shah Deniz II field and at least $15bn for the delivery system) to supply natural gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe and, by so doing, reduce reliance on Russian imports. This is a priority that has taken on urgency in the wake of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and the sharp deterioration in relations between Moscow and Brussels that ensued. Currently, the SGC is made up of two pipelines to deliver gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz II field to Turkey and Europe—one called TANAP that is already operational and runs the length of Turkey, and another known as TAP stretching from Turkey’s border with Greece across Albania to Italy, which started pumping gas in late 2020. This is how a leading ADA University policy expert described the situation to me in October 2020, in light of technical delays in the pipeline’s inauguration and the big changes in energy markets described above: “the TAP pipeline is 90 percent completed and will be inaugurated soon. Unlike oil pipelines, whose flexible delivery to the end‑consumer can be sorted out once they are built— as oil travels via tanker, rail, etc.— gas pipelines are more rigid investment endeavors. [...] You don’t agree on a gas pipeline unless you have secured a buyer on the other end.” While natural gas supplies from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field are already contracted, the project has seen numerus twists and turns since it was signed with great fanfare at the end of 2013. The SGC is an expensive endeavor and the institutions that lined up to finance it are a testament to the degree of strategic importance it carries for the EU. The project has, indeed, been designated as one of the EU’s “priority projects.”
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Natural Resources, and Gas
Political Geography:: Europe, Asia, and Azerbaijan

26. Climate Politics and the Crisis of the Liberal International Order

Author:: Felipe Leal Albuquerque
Publication Date:: 08-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contexto Internacional
Institution:: Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:: The election of Donald Trump brought disarray to the climate change regime. The changes in what was up to then a promoter of the liberal international order (LIO) exacerbated existing tensions while creating new ones. This paper investigates how that challenge impacted the behaviours of Brazil, China and the European Union (EU) by comparatively analysing their dissimilar positions with respect to three indicators before and after Trump’s coming into power. These indicators are individual pledges and climate-related policies; approaches to climate finance; and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC). The analysis first shows how the US started eroding the broader LIO and the climate change regime to then delve into the behaviours of the three respective key players concerning climate talks. I sustain that the EU, despite its inner divisions, is already counteracting Washington, whereas China is combining a pro-status quo position based on a rhetorical condemnation of the United States. Brazil, in turn, had a transition towards a climate-sceptic government, shifting from being a cooperative actor to abdicating hosting the COP25.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, Liberal Order, Multilateralism, and International Order
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Brazil, South America, North America, and United States of America

27. Planetary Health and Triple Planetary Crisis: Relevance for Multilateral Cooperation on Biodiversity Protection and Conservation in Southeast Asia

Author:: Margareth Sembiring
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a search of its causes. Among the various theories available, nature decline offers a compelling explanation for the outbreak and the spread of the disease. This coincides with the formulation of the term ‘triple planetary crisis’ which refers to simultaneous issues of pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss confronting the world today. These propositions give biodiversity protection a stronger focus and gain planetary health concept greater traction. In this regard, biodiversity protection and conservation measures at the regional level are particularly important given their transboundary coverage. Despite existing initiatives, they have yet to yield to outcomes sufficient to address triple planetary crisis. The rise of planetary health concept amidst this pandemic time could potentially
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, Multilateralism, Conservation, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: Asia

28. Community Gardens: Singapore’s “Fourth Food Basket”?

Author:: Jose M. L. Montesclaros and Paul Teng
Publication Date:: 11-2021
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: Can community gardens be a potential “basket” in Singapore’s food security strategy? As a “Fourth Food Basket” community gardens can complement imports, commercial domestic production, and overseas production, especially through the use of digital technologies.
Topic:: Environment, Science and Technology, Community, and Digital Revolution
Political Geography:: Asia and Singapore

29. Illegal Trafficking of Plastic Waste: The Italy–Malaysia Connection

Author:: Elisa Murgese
Publication Date:: 04-2020
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:: China’s 2018 import ban on mixed “recyclable” plastic waste revealed deep-rooted problems in the global recycling system and uncovered the wasteful and harmful nature of the recycling trade. Repercussions have been global. In April 2019, Greenpeace East Asia took a closer look at the top plastic waste importers and exporters globally. This data details the 21 top exporters and 21 top importers of plastic waste from January 2016 to November 2018, measuring the breadth of the plastics crisis and the global industry’s response to import bans. Two core trends emerged from China’s ban and the Greenpeace analysis.
Topic:: Crime, Environment, Trafficking, and Waste
Political Geography:: Europe, Malaysia, Asia, and Italy

30. Sustainable Water Resource Development Scenarios and Water Diplomacy in the Lower Mekong Basin: Policy Implications

Author:: Han Phoumin
Publication Date:: 09-2020
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:: This paper uses the current results of the Basin-wide water resource development scenario assessment of the Council Study of the Mekong River Commission Secretariat (MRCS) to analyse potentials benefits for economic development to meet the ambitious goal of the riparian states of the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) countries for poverty reduction and, at the same time, analyse the risks of potential trans-boundary trade-off, which will require an appropriate mechanism to be in place. The scenario assessment results present both opportunities and risks associated with different levels of water resource development in the Mekong countries and the implications of the water diplomacy for both the lower and uper mekong basin. All scenarios could be broadly placed into three main categories with different timeframes and assumptions. Scenario M1 – the early development scenario – characterises baseline water resource developments in 2007; Scenario M2 – the medium-term definite future scenario – characterises existing, under-construction, and firmly-committed water related developments in 2020; and Scenario M3 – the long-term planned development scenario – characterises the planned water developments in 2040 in addition to those assigned for 2020 for implementation over the following 2 decades. The main scenarios aggregate combinations of water resource developments enabling the cumulative assessment of environmental, social, and economic effects in the Member Countries. The Scenarios will bring both economic opportunities in terms of benefits from water resource development as well as risks related to biodiversity changes, the environmental damages and losses of livelihoods, and the dependency on the natural resources of the Mekong River. Each of the scenario results presents the trans-boundary trade-off which requires appropriate skills, capacities of the LMB riparian countries, and water diplomacy to discuss and negotiate for the solutions. Finally, this paper provides some suggestions and policy implications that could be possible mechanisms and solutions for sustainable water resource development in the Mekong region.
Topic:: Environment, Natural Resources, Water, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: Asia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos

31. he Effects of Prenatal Exposure to Plentiful Rainfall on Cognitive Development in Viet Nam

Author:: Nobuaki Yamashita and Trong-Anh Trinh
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
Abstract:: We examine the impact of exposure to plentiful rainfall while in utero on the cognitive development of the same children from ages 5 to 15 from the Young Lives Project in Viet Nam. Using variations in the month and place of birth, we show that positive income shocks, proxied by above-average rainfall, are associated with better cognitive development up to age 8. The effect is more pronounced when positive shocks occurr early in gestation. However, we find that such positive effects are not sustained in the longer term and are completely absent at ages 10, 12, and 15. Our results call for effective and early policy interventions providing a sustained pathway for the cognitive development of children in weather disaster-prone regions.
Topic:: Environment, Natural Disasters, and Weather
Political Geography:: Asia and Vietnam

32. Water Security in Southeast Asia: Regional, National, and Sub-national Challenges

Author:: Christopher Chen and Angelo Paolo L. Trias
Publication Date:: 05-2020
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: Water is a fundamental element of survival and growth on Earth. As a prerequisite for life and an important economic resource, it supports all aspects of everyday activity. Ensuring that water is available, accessible and safe for current and future generations is among humanity’s greatest challenge. One of the most important Non-Traditional Security (NTS) challenges facing Southeast Asia is water security. This NTS Insight explores water security issues in Southeast Asia and examines the ways it threatens states and societies. While water security challenges are not new in the region, the nature of issues are changing, making it important to assess how such threats are defined, negotiated, and managed. The NTS governance process begins with identifying and understanding NTS challenges, and ways they are securitised. By looking at case studies at the sub-national, national and regional level, this paper seeks to present some of the major water security issues in the region, how they affect states and societies, and why they merit urgent attention and resources. This Insight explains why addressing sub-national water security challenges require consultative and participatory approaches that facilitate open democratic dialogue and local collective action. It will also lay out how deliberate planning, careful implementation, and judicious monitoring of water management policies are needed at both the national and regional levels. Further, while it is not easy to reconcile developmental goals with environmental protection, the gravity of the situation requires more preventive diplomacy and subregional collaborative mechanisms which are geared towards averting water conflicts. Overall, it aims to help formal and informal NTS actors working through various channels to gain further understanding of emerging water security challenges in Southeast Asia.
Topic:: Security, Environment, Natural Resources, and Water
Political Geography:: Asia and Southeast Asia

33. How to Design a Co-benefit Framework Between Air Quality Improvement and Climate Policy: The Case of South Korea

Author:: Tae Yong Jung
Publication Date:: 11-2020
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:: The South Korea case study indicates the co-benefits of air quality and climate change policy, by designing relevant legal and institutional frameworks in a more comprehensive and holistic way.
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Science and Technology, Law, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: Asia and South Korea

34. New ESG Practices in China and its Implications for Foreign Actors

Author:: Reza Hasmath
Publication Date:: 10-2020
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:: China’s implementation of new ESG practices suggests a serious shift towards meeting global standards and domestic-level sustainable development objectives. The new ESG regime also has the potential to be a tool for Chinese foreign policy in the 2020s.
Topic:: Economics, Environment, Governance, Business, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: China and Asia

35. Water Politics and the Human Geographies of the Aral Sea Crisis

Author:: Vincent Artman
Publication Date:: 09-2020
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:: The ecological dimensions of the death of the Aral Sea are fairly well known. Once the fourth largest lake in the world, the Aral has all but disappeared since 1960. The complex and fragile ecosystems that once characterized the Aral Sea basin have been supplanted by the parched landscape of the Aralkum Desert, leading to a dramatic collapse of biodiversity. Desertification, in turn, has profoundly altered the regional climate, for the absence of the sea’s moderating influence has resulted in drier, hotter summers and more frigid winters.
Topic:: Agriculture, Energy Policy, Environment, Water, Geopolitics, and Crisis Management
Political Geography:: Kazakhstan, Asia, and Aral Sea

36. Adapting to Climate Change in Southwestern Bangladesh: Need for Transformational Measures?

Author:: Shababa Haque, M. Feisal Rahman, and Saleemul Huq
Publication Date:: 07-2020
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:: While climate change continues to threaten all nations, the full severity of its impacts is yet to be understood. A range of root factors including geographic location, socioeconomic conditions, and political landscape will determine the particular risks and hazards faced by different countries and communities. The southwestern coast of Bangladesh, for example, is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Salinity increases in the region continue to threaten local livelihoods and may render traditional adaptation strategies unsustainable in the long run. This article first discusses how increasing salinity affects existing adaptation strategies in coastal Bangladesh. It then argues that adaptation approaches without consideration for long-term impacts or system-wide change will ultimately be insufficient.
Topic:: Agriculture, Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: Bangladesh, South Asia, and Asia

37. China Leverages Tibetan Plateau’s Water Wealth

Author:: Brahma Chellaney
Publication Date:: 06-2020
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:: While the international attention remains on China’s recidivist activities in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, where it continues to incrementally expand its strategic footprint, Beijing is also quietly focusing its attention on the waters of rivers that originate in the resource-rich, Chinese-controlled territory of Tibet.
Topic:: Development, Environment, Science and Technology, Territorial Disputes, Water, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: China, Asia, and Tibet

38. Managing US-China Rivalry in the Arctic: Small states can be players in great power competition

Author:: Luke Patey
Publication Date:: 10-2020
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Many fear that strategic competition between the US and China threatens longstanding regional cooperation and stability in the Arctic. But if they recognise their own political and economic significance and work collectively, the Nordic states and Canada can still play an instrumental role in steering the region’s future away from confrontation. Recommendations: Recognise how US–China strategic competition represents a false binary for policy choices in the Arctic. Understand how economic connectivity provides room for manoeuvre against big power pressure. Encourage participation of non-Arctic states with similar economic and political norms on natural resource and infrastructure development.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Climate Change, Diplomacy, Environment, Oil, Power Politics, Gas, and Economy
Political Geography:: China, Asia, North America, Arctic, and United States of America

39. No Sanctuary: China’s New Territorial Dispute with Bhutan

Author:: Felix Chang
Publication Date:: 07-2020
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Foreign Policy Research Institute
Abstract:: Resting at the eastern end of Bhutan is the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary. Spanning some 750 square kilometers, it is spread out across a densely forested area of the Himalayan Mountains. The sanctuary is far better known for its unique flora and fauna (including the red panda and, reputedly, the fabled yeti) than its geographic boundaries. But the latter is precisely what brought it to international attention in June 2020. Early that month, Bhutan sought a grant for the sanctuary from a global environmental organization that funds sustainable development projects. Unexpectedly, China’s representatives to that organization opposed the grant. Their reason: China considers the sanctuary to be “disputed territory.”
Topic:: Development, Environment, Territorial Disputes, and History
Political Geography:: China, Asia, and Bhutan

40. COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impacts on China’s Energy Sector: A Preliminary Analysis

Author:: Kevin Tu
Publication Date:: 06-2020
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
Abstract:: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is inflicting high human costs in China and around the world. The stringent quarantine measures imposed by the Chinese government have severely affected the country’s economic activity, with profound energy and climate implications
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Public Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: China and Asia

41. Is China Still a Developing Country? And Why It Matters for Energy and Climate

Author:: Philippe Benoit and Kevin Tu
Publication Date:: 07-2020
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
Abstract:: China’s dramatic economic growth in the 21st century has made it not only the second largest economy in the world but also a powerhouse in the global energy system. Now, as the top energy consumer and the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, China is being closely watched and judged as its impact on energy markets and climate grows more profound. Looking forward, many issues are expected to shape the evolution of China’s energy sector, not least of which is its development status. While China’s economic might makes it a superpower alongside the United States, it still faces many of the major challenges of a typical developing country, such as widespread energy poverty, including 400 million people without access to clean cooking, significant air pollution, and dependence on increasing energy use to fuel future economic growth. Its modest income per capita qualifies it as a middle-income developing country. Evaluating China’s development status is not just an academic exercise. How China views itself and its challenges and how the international community classifies it carry real-world consequences that can significantly impact how the country manages its energy needs going forward, what fuels it uses, how it interacts with energy and other partners, and the level of its contributions and commitment to climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts worldwide. Understanding the nature and implications of China’s development situation can help in designing energy policies and fostering an international framework that better promote sustainable growth both within the country and globally. This paper examines how the usual criteria employed by international organizations to determine a country’s development standing have become increasingly difficult to apply to China, given the dramatic changes it has undergone over the past several decades, notably from an energy perspective. The paper finds that China combines significant characteristics of both developing and developed countries and examines the energy and environmental implications of this hybrid status.
Topic:: Climate Change, Development, Energy Policy, and Environment
Political Geography:: China and Asia

42. Green Stimulus Proposals in the United States and China

Author:: David B. Sandalow and Xu Qinhua
Publication Date:: 08-2020
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
Abstract:: On June 14, 2020 New York time and June 15, 2020 Beijing time, the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University and Center for International Energy and Environment Strategy Studies at Renmin University convened a joint Zoom workshop on green stimulus programs in the US and China. The workshop offered a chance for scholars from the two universities to explore the recent economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic, stimulus measures adopted to date and green stimulus proposals in both countries. Participants also discussed other measures to promote clean energy and low-carbon development in the US and China.
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Green Technology, and Paris Agreement
Political Geography:: China, Asia, North America, and United States of America

43. How the US and China Could Renew Cooperation on Climate Change

Author:: Aimee Barnes, Fan Dai, and Angela Luh
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
Abstract:: Averting global climate catastrophe depends in large part on progress by the world’s two greatest powers and emitters: the United States and China. However, relations between these two countries—particularly on climate action—have deteriorated over the past four years. With a new presidential administration set to enter the White House in January 2021, there is an opportunity for the US and China to build trust and cooperation on climate change in a way that supports a cooperative and dynamic bilateral relationship more broadly. This commentary takes a close look at the Biden-Harris presidential platform with respect to climate action and China, and assesses China’s domestic and international climate efforts, particularly with respect to the status of its 14th Five-Year Plan. Importantly, what emerges from this examination is a starting point for China and the US to improve their relationship through climate action and collaboration. China’s announcement that it would seek to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 is an important step towards such cooperation.[1] The most promising potential areas for US-China cooperation fall into three broad categories: renewing a shared commitment to global climate governance under the Paris Agreement; building trust to enable renewed bilateral cooperation, such as on technology innovation and investments; and supporting subnational leaders' progress in both countries through platforms where they can productively convene. Recognizing that a climate-safe future is bound up in our mutuality, these two world powers can promote a new era of climate action and resiliency.
Topic:: Climate Change, Diplomacy, Energy Policy, Environment, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:: China, Asia, North America, and United States of America

44. North Korean Phone Money: Airtime Transfers as a Precursor to Mobile Payment System

Author:: Yonho Kim
Publication Date:: 09-2020
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: More than one in five North Koreans have cell phones, and increasingly rely on them to conduct financial transactions. Many of these transactions involve trading cell phone airtime, or “phone money,” for goods and services, and even for offering bribes. This report examines the potential for airtime trading to evolve into a formal mobile money system, which could enhance market activity and stability while providing opportunities for the country to engage with the international community.
Topic:: Economics, Environment, Science and Technology, and Communications
Political Geography:: Asia and North Korea

45. China’s Impact on Conflict Dynamics in the Red Sea Arena

Author:: USIP China-Red Sea Arena Senior Study Group
Publication Date:: 04-2020
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:: The Red Sea arena—which this report defines as the eastern and western shores of the Red Sea, from the Arabian Peninsula to Egypt and the Horn of Africa, and the strategic waterways that run between, including the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and the Suez Canal—has long been a center of political turbulence, regional rivalries, and geopolitical interest. Historic political transitions currently underway in Sudan and Ethiopia, burgeoning economic investments amid fragility and debt in the Horn, continued conflict and humanitarian crisis in Yemen, Middle Eastern rivalries and their impact on regional conflict dynamics, and the growing presence of China have further heightened geopolitical interest in this arena. This report focuses on China’s influence and activities in the region and its relationships with twelve Red Sea arena states: Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Yemen.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Economics, Environment, Geopolitics, and Conflict
Political Geography:: China, Asia, and Red Sea

46. Parameters for Developing Cross-border Sustainable Infrastructure

Author:: Jyotsna Bapat
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations
Abstract:: India, till 2014, had bilateral trade and infrastructure agreement treaties with its Asian neighbours. India, through the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), has been investing in trilateral and multilateral infrastructure projects since 2014, with its littoral (coastal) and inland neighbours in Asia. While it demonstrates the growing potential of infrastructure diplomacy, it also puts India in direct competition with China, which through its own infrastructure initiative, has been involved in building physical infrastructure in India’s neighbours. This paper argues that taking into account environmental security as a parameter for developing cross border sustainable infrastructure, during signing of MoUs in these treaties, will provide a unique opportunity for India to develop norms for environmental and social security framework/policy, training assistance, and capacity building in its funded projects in other countries.
Topic:: Environment, Infrastructure, Geopolitics, Multilateralism, and Social Security
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, and Asia

47. Strangers to strategic partners: Thirty years of Sino-Saudi relations

Author:: Jonathan Fulton
Publication Date:: 08-2020
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Atlantic Council
Abstract:: This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Saudi Arabia. Over the past three decades, the bilateral relationship has transitioned from one of marginal importance for both countries to a comprehensive strategic partnership, largely on the back of a trade relationship founded on energy. This report begins with a brief historical overview of Sino-Saudi relations, describing how the two countries transitioned from mutual hostility to diplomatic relations, and then how political and economic cooperation strengthened the relationship to the point that they signed a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016. It then discusses how the partnership has developed through the 1+2+3 cooperation pattern, especially through projects linking China’s Digital Silk Road with Saudi vision 2030, as well as nascent levels of security cooperation. It ends with an analysis of the bi- lateral relationship within the context of the US-Sino-Saudi triangle: How does it affect each state’s larger strategic interests, and can issues where their interests diverge put a ceiling on future Sino-Saudi ties?
Topic:: Diplomacy, Environment, Politics, Bilateral Relations, Economy, Business, and Energy
Political Geography:: China, Middle East, Asia, Saudi Arabia, and Gulf Nations

48. Enhancing US-Japan cooperation on clean energy technologies

Author:: Reed Blakemore and David W. Yellen
Publication Date:: 10-2020
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Atlantic Council
Abstract:: Japan’s October 2020 pledge to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 presents an opportunity to expand the robust US-Japan energy partnership into additional clean energy areas. But with a stark divide on energy policy in the United States, how can the US-Japan energy partnership appeal to disparate visions of the energy transition and be politically durable? In the wake of Japan’s net-zero announcement, the Global Energy Center is launching this new report, “Enhancing US-Japan cooperation on clean energy technologies,” which explores how the United States and Japan can increase the politically durable foundation for clean energy cooperation in their already robust energy partnership. Reed Blakemore and David W. Yellen analyze which technologies could form such a foundation, and they recommend that the two countries prioritize technologies that address three interrelated goals: enhancing energy security and resilience, becoming more competitive and spurring economic growth, and reducing remissions. The report suggests a path forward for the United States and Japan, not only to expand bilateral clean energy cooperation, but also to lay the groundwork for a broader Indo-Pacific partnership on clean energy markets and technologies.
Topic:: Security, Energy Policy, Environment, Bilateral Relations, Geopolitics, Renewable Energy, and Energy
Political Geography:: Canada, Asia, North America, and United States of America

49. Historical injustice and “Bogus” claims: Large infrastructure, conservation and forest rights in India

Author:: Kanchi Kohli
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: This essay examines the role of India’s 2006 Forest Rights Act in the procedures that regulate transfer of forest land to large infrastructure projects. Specifically, it shows the gap between the legally mandated requirements and how these are implemented in project approval processes. This is illustrated through a case study of the coal mining approvals in the Hasdeo Arand forest region in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh. The essay also outlines the different actors who have influenced the discourses on forest rights of Adivasi and other forest dwelling communities and what they identify as factors that challenge the implementation of this law on the ground. It juxtaposes this analysis in the context of the recent decision of the Supreme Court of India on eviction of forest dwellers and examines whether that would bring in any structural change in the way the law is implemented.
Topic:: Environment, Human Rights, Infrastructure, Courts, Conservation, and Land Rights
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, and Asia

50. Making the Law Count: Environment justice stories on community paralegal work in India (Version 2)

Author:: Vimal Kalavadiya, Vinod Patgar, Vijay Rathod, Mahabaleshwar Hegde, Manju Menon, Krithika A. Dinesh, Hasmukh Dhumadiya, Bharat Patel, Tania Devaiah, Jayendrasinh Ker, Harapriya Nayak, Santosh Dora, Vimal Kalavadiya, Sandeep Patel, Debayan Gupta, Bipasha Paul, and Kanchi Kohli
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: The Centre for Policy Research-Namati Environmental Justice Program trains and supports a network of community paralegals or grassroots legal advocates who work with communities affected by pollution, water contamination and other environmental challenges. They use the legal empowerment approach to make communities aware of laws and regulations that can help secure much needed remedies for these problems that often arise out of noncompliance or violation of environmental regulations. As part of their work, the community paralegals write about their cases to create public awareness on the use of law outside of courts as well as engage the readers in these issues. This is an updated collection of published stories written by paralegals and their team members working in coastal Gujarat, Northern Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Keonjhar, Odisha. These are a combination of case stories and opinion pieces on issues of industrial non-compliance that have adversely affected many local communities. Each article tries to highlight the gap between the law on paper and its implementation in reality, while putting forth the conviction that putting law in the hands of ordinary people can shift the balance of power in support of justice.
Topic:: Civil Society, Environment, Law, and Justice
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, and Asia

51. Closing the Enforcement Gap: A community led groundtruthing of the expansion of a National Highway Project in Uttara Kannada

Author:: Centre for Policy Research
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: Linear projects like highways have the potential to change existing land use of large areas. These changes are not limited only to the stretches made for transportation of vehicles. The effects of construction are also visible on landscapes on both sides of highways. This study presents the findings of a two-year long groundtruthing study carried out between June 2016 and August 2018 along 187 kilometres of National Highway 66. The study is a collaborative effort of the Centre for Policy Research-Namati Environmental Justice Programme and communities from towns and villages situated between Karwar and Kundapur, especially the 27 Panchayats, in the district of Uttara Kannada in Karnataka. The study presents evidence of non-compliance of environmental safeguards resulting in social, economic and health impacts on the local communities in the project areas. It also highlights several aspects that were not taken into account in the project’s impact assessments. The study includes a broad assessment of the project’s scale of direct impacts. During the course of the study, the following types of non-compliance were identified: Permissions for blasting, groundwater and river water withdrawal were not taken; Dumping soil on wetlands and creeks caused flooding and salt water intrusion; The construction caused soil erosion and landslides along embankments; Non-submission of six-monthly compliance reports by the project proponent; Non-compliance of other laws and compensation agreements; The report includes a case study of a stone crusher unit operating in Bogribail village and causing water and dust pollution.
Topic:: Development, Environment, Infrastructure, Law, Social Policy, and Pollution
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, and Asia

52. Synthesis Report on State of Water: A Look at the Legal and Regulatory Framework Governing Water Services across Jurisdictions

Author:: Maanav Kumar and Parag Mohanty
Publication Date:: 03-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: This study looks at the development of legal and regulatory framework governing drinking water and sanitation services in South Africa, England and United States. Around 780 million worldwide do not have access to clean drinking water and almost 2.5 billion people lack access to improved sanitation according to data published by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In such a situation, it becomes extremely important to study the legal and regulatory measures used internationally to control, manage and improve these resources. This study, covering South Africa, England and USA, sets out to identify, comprehend and analyze these legal frameworks and structures; examine the control exercised by national, state/provincial as well as municipal governments over water and sanitation-related questions; and the responsive measures being taken by them to preserve the water resources and their quality for future generations. The authors have observed that in presence of varying geographical, historical and social factors, while it would be impossible to compare each model against the other on the basis of merit, it becomes increasingly important for governments to balance the individual’s right to water with the planet’s ecological balance.
Topic:: Environment, Government, Natural Resources, Water, Law, Regulation, Legislation, and Sanitation
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, Asia, and Global Focus

53. Closing the Enforcement Gap: Groundtruthing of Environmental Violations in Bodai-Daldali, Chhattisgarh

Author:: CPR-Namati Environmental Justice Program
Publication Date:: 02-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:: Janabhivyakti, the Centre for Policy Research-Namati Environmental Justice Program and Oxfam India have jointly conducted a groundtruthing study of environmental violations in the Bodai-Daldali bauxite mine located in the Kabirdham district of Chhattisgarh. A groundtruthing study is the process of comparing the facts as mentioned in official documents with the impacts being reported by affected communities. The methodology included undertaking group discussions with the affected communities. During the group discussions, impacts which the communities were facing were discussed first. This was followed by brief discussions on the various laws and institutions which are available for dealing with impacts arising out of environmental violations. The violations were confirmed by government reports and independent research studies. These reports and studies date back to the year 2007, and some of the impacts have been in existence since the beginning of the mining operations, and have been recorded in the aforementioned reports.
Topic:: Environment, Law Enforcement, Social Policy, and Justice
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, and Asia

54. (De)globalization of International Plastic Waste Trade: Stakes at Play and Perspectives

Author:: Eugénie Joltreau
Publication Date:: 09-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI)
Abstract:: The world plastic production has been multiplied by 23 since 1964 to reach 348 million tonnes (mt) in 2017. This production level is expected to double in the next 20 years, largely because of the significant growth in plastic consumption in developing countries. Today, China is the largest producer of plastics (representing nearly 30% of global production) and the European Union (EU) comes second (18.5%) with 64 mt. About 40% of plastics are single use, and thus quickly accumulate as waste. For example, in the EU, plastic packaging waste accounts for more than 60% of the total plastic waste generated each year (16.3 mt in 2016). Since the 2000s, the backbone of the EU’s waste management policy has been to define mandatory recycling objectives along with a reverse financing scheme requiring producers to take over a significant part of their products’ waste management costs. In line with these objectives, the European recycling rate for plastic packaging waste should reach 50% by 2025, against about 42% in 2016 (6.9 mt). In the EU, 30% of total plastics were collected for recycling (in 2016), and half of it was exported for recycling, mainly to China. Yet in 2017, China announced a ban on the importation of almost all plastic waste effective as of early 2018. Since then, over-dependence on China for recycling plastics has put the global recycling industry in crisis. Without the possibility to export their waste, the ability of the EU and other developed economies to reach ambitious recycling objectives is called into question. It also sheds light on the limits of plastic recycling and of low-cost recycling strategies.
Topic:: Energy Policy, Environment, Sanitation, and Recycling
Political Geography:: China, Asia, and European Union

55. Designing High-seas Marine Protected Areas to Conserve Blue Carbon Ecosystems: A Climate-essential Development?

Author:: Cameron S. G. Jefferies
Publication Date:: 11-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:: The high seas are a critical biodiversity reservoir and carbon sink. Unfortunately, the oceans, generally, and the high seas, in particular, do not feature prominently in international climate mitigation or climate adaptation efforts. There are, however, signals that ocean conservation is poised to occupy a more significant role in international climate law and policy going forward. This paper argues that improved conservation and sustainable use of high-seas living marine resources are essential developments at the convergence of climate action and ocean governance that should manifest, at least in part, as climate-informed high-seas marine protected areas.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, Water, Maritime, and Conservation
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, North America, and Global Focus

56. Free Willy! Japan Resumes Commercial Whale Hunting

Author:: Veronika Bílková
Publication Date:: 11-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Institute of International Relations Prague
Abstract:: In late 2018, Japan announced that it would withdraw from the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling and leave the International Whaling Commission. It did so due to its disapproval of the ban on commercial whaling, which has been in force for the Parties of the Convention since 1986, and to its decision to resume whalle hunt since the summer of 2019. This reflection first gives an overview of the evolution and the structure of the international legal regime related to whaling and of the history of Japan’s relationship with this regime. It then shows that the Japan’s attempt to justify the resumption of commercial whaling by the principle of sustainable use of living marine resources cannot be successful for both practical and normative reasons.
Topic:: Environment, Treaties and Agreements, Law, Hunting, and Whaling
Political Geography:: Japan and Asia

57. Belt and Road in Latin America: A regional game changer?

Author:: Pepe Zhang
Publication Date:: 10-2019
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Atlantic Council
Abstract:: Four new BRI trends to watch: (i) enforcement of transparency, debt, and environmental safeguards; (ii) growing participation of the private sector; (iii) the role of the advanced economies in BRI; and (iv) new BRI sectors beyond infrastructure Governments and companies in Latin America and the Caribbean should engage and help shape an evolving BRI, mindful of both the opportunities and risks involved The United States can play a key role in setting standards for economic development projects in the region and beyond
Topic:: Energy Policy, Environment, Financial Markets, and Trade
Political Geography:: China, Asia, South America, and Latin America

58. Poverty, institutions and environmental degradation: Fishing commons governance and the livelihood of rural households amid mangrove deforestation in Puttalam, Sri Lanka

Author:: P. Perera and Risa Morimoto
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
Abstract:: Mangrove forests are critical to protecting our environment against the damaging impacts of climate change. While a third of global mangrove species are found in Sri Lanka, considerable mangrove deforestation has occurred over the last few decades, primarily due to the expansion of shrimp farming. This has degraded the mangrove ecosystem and led to the depletion of fish population, in turn affecting the livelihoods of local communities who depend predominantly on fishing for their survival. This study quantitatively analyses household survey data collected from local communities in and around the Puttalam lagoon, northwest Sri Lanka, to explore the institutions that are used for fishing commons governance (using Elinor Ostrom’s (1990) design principles as a theoretical underpinning) and their relation to poverty and environmental (and commons) degradation. The analysis finds that mangrove conservation is considered important regardless of poverty level and that poverty is related to greater institutional adherence. While adherence to the design principles leads to greater sustenance of the fishing commons, certain design principles are found to be more important than others. In this study, we found monitoring is the most important design principle.
Topic:: Environment, Poverty, Governance, Institutions, Rural, Fishing, and Deforestation
Political Geography:: Asia and Sri Lanka

59. Brazil and China facing global environmental challenges

Author:: Izabella Teixeira, Ana Toni, Tatiana Rosito, Akio Takahara, Gabriel de Barros Torres, Marco Túlio Scarpelli Cabral, Wi Wang, and Wenhong Xie
Publication Date:: 11-2019
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI)
Abstract:: At its 15th meeting, the China Analysis Group promoted insightful discussions on global environmental challenges shared by Brazil and China, highlighting priority topics for bilateral cooperation in the short-, medium- and long-term, within and beyond the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Despite the huge potential for bilateral cooperation in areas ranging from the bio-economy to climate-resilient cities, participants consensually noted a lack of bilateral frameworks dedicated to sustainable development between China and Brazil – for instance, the absence of a sub-committee aimed at environmental cooperation within the Sino-Brazilian High-Level Coordination and Cooperation Committee (COSBAN). Ultimately, better exploring the co-benefits associated to bilateral cooperation on shared environmental challenges – including but not restricted to climate change – could contribute to strengthening multilateral frameworks and global environmental cooperation. The speakers at the 15th meeting were CEBRI Trustee Izabella Teixeira; Vice-President of the Institute of Science and Development (ISD) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Wang Yi; Professor of Contemporary Chinese Politics at the University of Tokyo Akio Takahara; Head of the Environment Division II at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Marco Túlio Scarpelli Cabral; and China Programme Manager at Climate Bonds Initiative Wenhong Xie. The event's commentator was CEBRI Senior Fellow Ana Toni, and the coordinator was Senior Fellow Tatiana Rosito.
Topic:: Development, Environment, Bilateral Relations, and Sustainable Development Goals
Political Geography:: China, South Asia, Asia, and Brazil

60. Ecological Fiscal Transfers and Subnational Budgets: Did Forest-Based Fiscal Devolution Lead Indian States to Increase Forestry Expenditure?

Author:: Jonah Busch, Avani Kapur, and Anit Mukherjee
Publication Date:: 10-2019
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development
Abstract:: Later this year, India’s 15th Finance Commission will review the formula used by its predecessor to determine how much central tax revenue will be devolved to each state for fiscal years 2020-21 through 2024-25. Currently, 7.5 percent of the fiscal devolution (an estimated $6.9-12 billion per year) is allocated in proportion to their forest area circa 2013. These “ecological fiscal transfers” (EFTs) provide Indian states with the incentive to increase their forestry budgets as an investment in increased future shares of central taxes. In this paper, we look at whether states are yet taking advantage of this opportunity. We find that states increased their forestry budgets by 19 percent in three years after the introduction of EFTs relative to three years prior. However, this increase is considerably less than the 42 percent overall budget increase over the same time period. We surmise that states are not yet certain that EFTs will continue in such a way that increases in forest cover will be rewarded with increases in revenue. We recommend that the 15th Finance Commission resolve this uncertainty for states by (i) keeping forests in the devolution formula, and (ii) updating the reference year (e.g. 2019). By doing so India’s EFTs can fulfill their potential as an innovative mechanism for incentivizing states to protect and restore forests, thereby mitigating climate change.
Topic:: Environment, Governance, Fiscal Policy, Ecology, and Forest
Political Geography:: India and Asia

Search

Search Constraints

Search Results

Refine your search

Topic

Political Geography

Content Type

Journal

Publishing Institution

Author

Publication Year

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS