In March, 2011, China officially adopted its 12th Five-Year Plan, a blueprint for China’s development from 2011 to 2015. Its green targets will shape the country’s action on the environment over the next five years. But what are they? How were they decided? And what do they tell us about China's future path? In this book, chinadialogue brings together expert views from China, the United States and Europe on the significance of the Five-Year Plan, for China - and the wider world.
In its flagship report, the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) elaborates explicitly on the fact that the technological potential for comprehensive decarbonisation is available, outlines business and financing models for the transition, and points out that the political instruments needed for a climatefriendly transformation are widely known. The council also describes how the requisite transformation encompasses profound changes to infrastructures, production processes, regulation systems and lifestyles, and extends to a new kind of interaction between politics, society, science and the economy. Various multilevel path dependencies and obstacles must be overcome. Furthermore, the transformation can only succeed if nation states put global cooperation mechanisms before their own shortterm oriented interests, in order to make a trend reversal, particularly as far as the global economy is concerned, towards climatefriendliness and sustainability possible. And not least, from a global perspective, this is also about issues of fairness – issues that need resolving.
The report, Universal Ownership – Why environmental externalities matter to institutional investors, found that, large institutional investors are, in effect, “Universal Owners”, as they often have highly-diversified and long-term portfolios that are representative of global capital markets.
The Second Environmental Performance Review of Azerbaijan takes stock of the progress made by Azerbaijan in the management of its environment since the country was first reviewed in 2003.
The Second Environmental Performance Reviews of Bosnia and Herzegovina takes stock of the progress made by Bosnia and Herzegovina in the management of its environment since the country was first reviewed in 2004.
The mature, sustainable Bioeconomy will help deliver global food security, improve nutrition and health, create smart bio-based products and biofuels, and help agriculture, forestry, aquaculture and other ecosystems to adapt to climate change. This White Paper describes the chances of and the frame for an integrated and sustainable bioeconomy in Europe. It shows how the Bioeconomy can address the grand societal challenges and, sets out a vision for 2030 together with a set of policy recommendations needed to achieve it.