The article provides an overview of the number of illegal entries into the Member States of the European Union in the Mediterranean area. At the same time, separate reviews are presented for each of the three areas – the Eastern Mediterranean, the Central Mediterranean and the Western Mediterranean. The review period is limited by the last phase of the "migration crisis" of 2015/2016 and the COVID-19 pandemic, which also affected the number of illegal entries of third-country nationals into the EU. The paper presents exclusively statistical data relating to the external borders of Spain, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria. These four countries are the most represented in terms of the number of illegal entries of migrants through the southern borders of the EU. Other countries on the southern borders of the EU - Portugal, France, Croatia, Malta and Cyprus - have an insignificant share in the number of illegal entries of migrants or do not record such entries at all via sea borders. By presenting the trends in the number of illegal entries into the EU by the third-country nationals over a longer period, an attempt is made to give an insight into the possible influences that lead to stagnation or the progression of the analysed numbers in relation to possible factors of influence. The sources of data are the statistics of international organisations in charge of dealing with migrants, primarily the IOM, where the numerical data are also given in graphical representations in order to better present the statistical data. Special emphasis is placed on the East-Mediterranean route, which has a direct impact on the state of illegal migration to the so-called Western Balkan route and the Republic of Croatia. The analysed data show that after the end of the "migration crisis" in 2015, when the majority of illegal entries were recorded in the Eastern Mediterranean, already in 2016 the eastern and central routes in the Medi-terranean were equal in terms of the number of illegal entries, despite the fact that a large number of illegal entries of migrants via the East-Mediterranean route covered the entire first quarter of 2016. Already in 2017, the central part of the Mediterranean once again took the lead in the number of illegal entries of migrants through the southern borders of the EU. Spain and Greece were almost equal in number of illegal entries that year, with Greece representing a large decrease compared to 2016, while for Spain 2017 recorded an increase in illegal entries compared to the previous year. During 2018 and 2019, a new drastic change is taking place: the number of illegal entries significantly decreased in Italy, while the number in Greece, and even in Spain in one period, grew quite significantly. However, this decrease in the number of illegal entries via Italy had such a share in the total number of illegal entries that overall there was reason for optimism regarding the development of the situation of illegal migration in the Mediterranean. Finally, 2020 and 2021 were marked by the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting migratory routes in the eastern, central and western Mediterranean completely differently. While the number of illegal entries in Greece dropped dramatically in both mentioned pandemic years, the number of illegal entries in the central and western Mediterranean raised significantly. Moreover, the number of illegal entries increased in these pandemic years even in Bulgaria, which borders Greece and forms part of the East-Mediterranean illegal migration route. By analysing the state of illegal migration in the Mediterranean area, and especially in the Eastern Mediterranean, the article tries to gain insight into the factors that influence the state of illegal migration in this part of the EU's external borders. An overview of illegal migration trends in the Mediterranean in the period from 2016 to 2021 serves as a basis for reconsidering how the activities of the border authorities have influenced these trends and whether these activities have a significant impact on illegal migration and to what extent. Therefore, trends in illegal migration are presented as a phenomenon that is subject to change under the influence of various factors. The terms "push" and "pull factors" are used in paper to a lesser extent as scientific terms, and more as a framework in which the aforementioned variables are placed, with the help of which the bodies in charge of monitoring the external borders of the EU try to predict the mindsets of the migrants when making a decision on choosing a migration route. From analysed examples, it can be seen that a decline in the interest of migrants from Asia and Africa to enter the territory of the Union cannot be expected. The intensity of these movements is constantly changing, depending on the push factors, but it is difficult to foresee a change in the trend especially due to unexpected effects of the deterioration of the overall political, economic, humanitarian and climate picture in the world.
Scientific evidence for climate change and the exacerbating role of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is indisputable. A large part of the GHG emissions can be attributed to urban built infrastructure including residential buildings, and therefore, must go through a process of decarbonization. Specific policy measures are carefully drafted in order to accelerate the decarbonization process, especially in the EU and Switzerland. The overall goals of these policies are clear. Buildings that use fossil fuels based energy systems must be upgraded, in order to utilize renewable energy and improve energy efficiency. Potential renewable energy technologies for heating, cooling, domestic hot water, and electricity are solar thermal collectors, solar photovoltaic panels, ground/air source heat pumps, biomass boilers, etc. Furthermore, energy efficiency improvement measures mainly include, but are not limited to, better thermal insulation of the building envelope components such as windows, walls, roofs, floors, etc. Clearly, there is a multitude of available technological alternatives to improve a building's energy and carbon performance, each one of which has its own economic and environmental costs and benefits. Furthermore, the above-mentioned technologies can either be implemented at the individual building scale, or alternatively, at a relatively larger district scale. Given the large variety of available alternatives, optimization modeling can be a powerful tool for the effective design of energy systems and retrofit measures for buildings and districts. Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) are a common choice for residential buildings for providing heating and cooling services. However, there are limitations to the availability of geothermal energy, especially if large number of systems are installed and operating simultaneously in a given urban area. This is mainly due to the cooling of the ground as a result of consistent heat extraction and can be prevented by injecting into the ground, excess solar thermal energy in summer. As a result the availability of geothermal energy in winter can be increased and a sustainable and efficient operation of the heat pump can be ensured in the long-term. Therefore, from a modeling point of view, the optimal design of energy systems that include GSHPs must account for the above-mentioned effects. The main goal of this thesis is the development of computational methods in order to determine the optimal design of renewable energy systems and building envelope retrofits for residential buildings and districts. A comparison between the building and district scale design alternatives is performed based on economic and environmental objectives. This thesis also attempts to address the challenges associated with the modeling of optimal design and operation of GSHPs in the short and the long-term. To this end, the main objectives of this thesis include (i) The development of methods for the calculation of building energy demand and renewable energy potential for residential buildings and districts at high spatial and temporal resolution. (ii) The development of a modeling framework for the simultaneous optimization of the design and operation of a renewable energy system and building envelope retrofitting measures at both building and district scale, with a special emphasis on the detailed modeling of GSHPs (iii) The application of the developed framework to a Swiss district case study in order to quantify and compare the total costs and CO2 emissions of various design alternatives at the two different building and district scales, and study in detail the design and operation of GSHPs in the short and long-term. An optimization framework consists of a multi-objective bi-level optimization approach, which minimizes the total costs and CO2 emissions of the energy system and building retrofit measures. The optimization includes a novel formulation of GSHPs including borehole heat exchangers (BHEs), which allows for the analysis of the impact of HP operation on the ground temperature, the impact of seasonal solar regeneration on the ground temperature and the performance of the heat pump, and incorporation of these effects into the design process. The optimization framework is applied to a Swiss district case study in order to evaluate both building and district scale energy systems, and a quantitative analysis is presented comparing the two. Key findings indicate that for the economic performance of district scale energy system is better as compared to the building scale energy systems, when cost optimal design solutions are desired. On the other hand, the environmental performance of building scale energy systems is better as compared to district scale energy systems, when carbon optimal design solutions are desired. Furthermore, the potential for seasonal solar regeneration towards the improvement of short-term performance of the heat pump and maintenance of long-term sustainability of the geothermal potential, is higher at the relatively larger district scales as compared to building scale.
Land-use change, particularly the conversion of natural forest to agriculture to sustain the growing global population, has severe environmental impacts, including emission of greenhouse gases, diminished biodiversity, and altered soil functions. Agriculture intensification further reduces the fertility of soil, negatively impacting the sustainability of agriculture production and increasing the loss of soil organic carbon, which contributes to climate change. This thesis aims to assess the impacts of land-use systems on soil fertility and carbon sequestration. Due to its agricultural based economy, land is the most valuable resource in Nepal. The study site ''Chitwan district'' lies in the Terai region, a plain in southern Nepal. Known as the grain house of Nepal, the Terai region covers 17% of the country's total land area. Forests are dominated by Shorea robusta Roth and possess high economic value and biological diversity. People are extremely dependent on forests for timber and non-timber forest products. After eradication of malaria in the 1950s, the government introduced a resettlement and migration scheme from the Middle Mountain region to different parts of the Terai region, resulting in, massive deforestation to support cultivation and new settlements which continues to this day. Hence, the forest cover has been continuously declining. Agricultural intensification through conventional farming practices is also being implemented to feed the growing population. Soil samples were collected from three major land-use systems: forest, organic and conventional farming in Chitwan district, Nepal. The content of soil organic carbon (C), total nitrogen (N), microbial biomass (C and N) and six enzyme activities (β-glucosidase, cellobiohydrolase, chitinase, leucine aminopeptidase, tyrosine aminopeptidase, and sulfatase) were significantly higher under organic farming than conventional farming and forest, especially in topsoil layer. However, acid phosphatase activity was significantly higher (up to 6 fold) under conventional farming than forest and organic farming. The pools varying in P availability were estimated by P sequential fractionation approach (Hedley, 1982). The concentration of microbial biomass P, easily-available P, moderately available P, non-available P, and total P were much higher under organic farming than conventional farming and forest. However, the ratio of C to organic P was greater (>100) under conventional farming and forest than under organic farming, indicating the limitation of P in the former two land use systems. Indeed, higher acid phosphatase activity under conventional farming and forest is responsible for hydrolyzing organic P to be made available for plant growth. Various organic based management practices, i.e., application of farmyard manure and vermicompost, incorporation of crop residues, and cropping system under organic farming, contributed to increases in soil organic matter (SOM) and microbial properties, which play significant roles in maintaining soil fertility status. The decomposition of native SOM is regulated by availability of nutrients under different land use systems. Microbial-necromass, formed by fast growing r-strategist microorganisms under starvation conditions, contributed to increased decomposition of SOM (i.e. positive priming effect (PE)) following addition of 14C labelled glucose without nutrients to soil under organic farming. Conversely, K (slow growing) and L- (stress tolerant) microbial strategists in soil under conventional farming and forest, respectively, were responsible for the relatively low decomposition process. Addition of either a single nutrient (N or P) or multiple nutrients (N and P) with C showed opposing effects on decomposition processes in soil under different land use systems. Microorganisms utilized the added N and C under conventional farming and forest, which suppressed the decomposition process and caused a negative PE in these soils. Conversely, the microorganisms activated after P and C addition mined SOM to meet their demand for N, resulting in a positive PE in all land use systems. The decomposition of SOM was suppressed in soil under conventional farming and forest, however, microbial biomass was stable after addition of multiple nutrients. This could be due to reduction in active microbial biomass, which contributes to respiration in soil, instead of total microbial biomass. Additionally, bacterial community structure may be modified by protozoan infiltration following N addition, decelerating the decomposition process in these two land use systems. Microbial biomass increased by 18% in soil under organic farming after addition of multiple nutrients. Thus, the decomposition process increased to fulfil the metabolic requirements of an increased microbial population, resulting in a strong positive PE. The dominance of fast growing r-strategists in organic farming showed that microorganisms will utilize available C and nutrients for their growth, thus, higher incorporation of C into their biomass. Furthermore, microbial immobilization of N or P will be higher, which can be released and taken up by plants during turnover of microbial biomass or microbial death. Hence, organic farming has a great potential to promote soil fertility and C sequestration. In conclusion, the land-use change to organic farming positively affected soil and microbial properties, resulting in improved soil fertility and enhanced carbon sequestration. Farming, which aims at enhancing soil carbon pools and microbial activity, can address the challenge of sustaining food security while protecting the environment.
euenergy policy objectives are directed at three highly interdependent areas: energy supply security, competitiveness and decarbonization to prevent climate change. In this paper, we focus on the issue of energy supply security. Security of energy supply for the immediate and medium-term future is a necessary condition in the current context of the global political economy for the survival of the Union and its component member states. Since the Lisbon Treaty entered into force, energy policy no longer comes onto the agenda of the European Commission through the backdoor of the common market, environment and competitiveness. The Treaty created a new legal basis for the internal energy market. However, securing external supplies as well as deciding the energy mix, remain matters of national prerogative, though within the constraints of other parts of eu's legislation in force. Without a common defense policy, the highly import dependent Union and its members face external instability in the energy rich Arab Middle East and North Africa.Concern about energy security has been triggered by declining European energy production as well as the strain on global demand exerted by newly industrializing economies such as China and India and the Middle East, as well as the political instability in this reserve-rich part of the world. This paper explores the following two topics [1] the current situation and past trends in production, supply, demand and trade in energy in the eu, against the background of major changes in the last half decade and [2] threats to the security of the supply of oil and natural gas from import regions.Fossil fuel import dependence in the eu is expected to continue to increase in the coming two decades. As global trends show, and despite new fields in the Caspian region and the Eastern Mediterranean, conventional fossil oil and gas resources remain concentrated in fewer geopolitically unstable regions and countries (i.e. the Middle East and North Africa (mena) and the Caspian Region (cr) including Russia), while global demand for fossil energy is expected to substantially increase also within the energy rich Gulf countries. This combination directly impacts eu energy supply security. It should be noted that the trend towards higher levels of import dependence was not interrupted when the era of low energy prices, between 1980 and 2003, came to an end.Within the eu itself, domestic resistance to the development of unconventional resources is an obstacle to investment in unconventional sources in this part of the high-income world. This should therefore not put at risk investments in either renewables or alternative sources at home or conventional resources mainly in the Arab-Middle East.The situation is exacerbated by the spread of instability in the Arab-Middle Eastern countries. There are three domestic and geopolitical concerns to be taken into consideration:(1) In the Arab-Middle East, threats to eu energy supply security originate in the domestic regime of these countries. Almost all Arab resource-rich countries belong to a type ofpatrimonial, rentier-type of state-society relation. These regimes rely on rents from the exploitation of energy resources and the way in which rents are distributed.Regimes of this type are being challenged. Their economies show uneven economic development, centralized power structures, corruption and poverty at the bottom of the social hierarchy. The discrimination of females is a major obstacle to the development of the service sector. At present, even the monarchies fear the spread of violent conflict.Offshoots of these consequences have proven to cause civil unrest, exemplified by what optimists have called the 'Arab Spring.'(2) The second concern is the domestic and global impact of Sovereign Wealth Funds (swfs) managed by Arab patrimonial rentier states. swfs have proven to be an asset in both developing and developed economies due to their ability to buffer the 'Dutch Disease,' and to encourage industrialization, economic diversification and eventually the development of civil society. In patrimonial states, however, swfs are affected by corruption and the diversion of funds away from long-term socioeconomic development to luxury consumption by political elites. In fact, Arab swfs underpin the persistence of the Arab patrimonial rentier state system.(3) Finally, the post-Cold War, me and cea geopolitical landscape is shifting. The emergence of China and other Asian economies has increased their presence in the Middle East due to a growing need for energy and the expansion of Asian markets. The recent discovery of energy resources in the us has led to speculation that there will be less us presence in the region. There would be a serious risk to eu energy security if emerging Asian economies were to increase their presence in the Middle East as us interests recede.
Die Veränderung des weltweiten Klimas macht deutlich, dass die Entwicklungen der globalen Märkte neben ökonomischen Aspekten zunehmend auch die Erhaltung und Verbesserung der Umweltzustände anstreben müssen. Für die Definition von Umweltzielen und -regularien wurden durch verschiedene nationale und internationale Gremien Kriterien und Ansätze beschrieben, welche häufig als Vorgaben an Unternehmen auf nationaler Ebene weitergegeben werden. Ein Beispiel hierfür ist der Handel mit CO2-Zertifikaten, bei dem Unternehmen den von ihnen ausgestoßenen Anteil von CO2 durch Zertifikate abdecken müssen. Damit Unternehmen diese gesetzlichen Auflagen einhalten und die damit verbundenen monetären Belastungen reduzieren können, müssen geeignete Maßnahmen zur Reduktion des negativen Umwelteinflusses aller unternehmerischen Aktivitäten entwickelt werden. Für die Ermittlung des Umwelteinflusses eines Unternehmens wurden bereits verschiedene Methoden entwickelt, wie beispielsweise der ISO Standard 14000 und das Life Cycle Assessment. Diese Methoden zielen jedoch häufig nur auf die Erfassung des Umwelteinflusses von Produkten ab und reichen nicht aus, eine ganzheitliche Optimierung des Umwelteinflusses eines Unternehmens und seiner Abläufe zu erreichen. Umweltaspekte müssen direkt in das Management und die strategische Entwicklung von Unternehmen integriert werden. Sie müssen in der Lage sein, den Umwelteinfluss des unternehmerischen Handelns abzubilden, zu analysieren und hinsichtlich der konventionellen Optimierungskriterien Kosten, Qualität, Zeit und Flexibilität abzuwägen, ohne dabei auf eine schnelle und flexible Anpassung an sich verändernde Marktsituationen zu verzichten. In dieser Dissertation wird eine Erweiterung des existierenden Geschäftsprozessmanagements unter Einbeziehung zugehöriger Methoden und Werkzeuge eingeführt, welche es Entscheidungsträgern ermöglicht, die strategische Entwicklung eines Unternehmens durch ökologische Aspekte zu ergänzen. Die entwickelten Konzepte zeigen, wie Key Performance Indicators, unterstützende IT-Infrastrukturen und die strategische Unternehmensgestaltung für die Integration dieser Aspekte erweitert werden müssen. Zur Unterstützung der vorgestellten Erweiterungen des Geschäfts¬prozess-managements wurde ein allgemeines Vorgehens¬modell definiert, welches aus ökologischer Sicht die Definition von Key Ecological Indicators, die Abbildung von Ressourcen auf Prozessmodelle und -aktivitäten, die Definition spezifischer Monitoringmodelle und die ökologische Analyse von Geschäftsprozessen abdeckt. Die Umsetzung dieser Aspekte wird jeweils exemplarisch durch spezifisch entwickelte Methoden aufgezeigt. Für das Management von Geschäftsprozessen auf Basis der analysierten Informationen definiert die vorliegende Arbeit einen auf Patterns basierenden Ansatz. Hierzu wurde eine Menge von Green Business Process Patterns identifiziert und dokumentiert. Die Entwicklung eines Pattern Support Frameworks hilft Entscheidungsträgern anschließend, diese Patterns für eine zielorientierte Optimierung von Geschäftsprozessen einzusetzen. Ausgehend von konkreten Problemstellungen begleitet das Pattern Support Framework damit die Identifikation geeigneter Patterns, welche im Anschluss auf konkrete Lösungsimplementierungen übertragen werden können. Die in der vorliegenden Arbeit eingeführten Konzepte erlauben es Entscheidungsträgern, neben ökonomischen auch ökologische Entscheidungsaspekte in der Entwicklung von Geschäftsprozessen zu berücksichtigen. Die Verbesserung des Umwelteinflusses zielt damit nicht nur direkt auf den ökologischen Fußabdruck eines Produktes oder Services ab, sondern ermöglicht eine durchgängige Restrukturierung aller an der Erzeugung oder Bereitstellung beteiligten Abläufe. Die entwickelten Prototypen zeigen exemplarisch die Implementierung der verschiedenen Konzepte und unterstützen sowohl Entscheidungsträger als auch Optimierungsteams bei der Verbesserung des Umwelteinflusses. Die Anwendbarkeit der Konzepte und Werkzeuge wird zudem in einer Fallstudie validiert. ; Changes in the worldwide climate more and more reveal that the development of global markets and the associated enterprises not only have to consider economic objectives but also to an increasing degree the environmental influence of organizational acting. Definitions for environmental targets, prescriptive limits, and legislative regulations have been discussed and elaborated by various national and international committees. Most of these definitions are resulting in statutory requirements for enterprises, like the trade of CO2-certificates, for example. In order to be compliant with those legislative regulations as well as to improve public perception and to adapt changing customer requirements, organizations need suitable methods to capture and reduce their environmental impact. To determine the environmental influence of an organization different standards and frameworks have been developed, like the ISO Standard 14000 and the Life Cycle Assessment. These methods widely aim at improving the environmental impact of products yet are not very comprehensive with respect to improving an organization and its business processes. Environmental aspects have to be integrated in the management and strategic development of organizations. They need to be able to indicate the environmental influence of an organization's activities, to analyze them and integrate and balance them with respect to existing optimization criteria. Nevertheless, environmental aspects must not hinder the quick and flexible adaption of businesses to changing market demands. In this dissertation an extension of common Business Process Management is introduced. Furthermore, associated methods and tools are provided to support stakeholders with an ecologically driven strategic development of businesses. Particularly, the developed concepts describe how Key Performance Indicators, supporting IT-Infrastructures and the strategic business development must be extended in order to integrate heterogeneous environmental aspects into existing business process management approaches. To support the use of the introduced concepts and methods a generic procedure model is introduced. This model mainly focuses on how Key Ecological Indicators are defined, how resources are mapped to processes and their activities, how monitoring models are defined, and how an environmental-based analysis is performed. Each of these aspects is exemplarily addressed by a suitable method. Moreover, to allow stakeholders a subsequent restructuring of business processes, a pattern-based optimization approach is introduced as well as a set of Green Business Process Patterns. To ease the identification of suitable Patterns for restructuring a business process a Pattern Support Framework is provided. Based on the earlier analysis of the Key Environmental Indicators the Pattern Support Framework supports the identification of individual patterns that subsequently can be mapped to concrete solution implementations. The introduced concepts of this dissertation allow stakeholders to consider both economic and ecological aspects for the development of business processes. Therefore, the optimization of the environmental footprint does not only focus on products and services but also allows restructuring business processes in a holistic way. The feasibility of the introduced concepts is evaluated by a prototypical implementation. Moreover, the applicability of the concepts and tools is validated in a case study.
This thesis is an attempt to better understand the sometimes tumultuous relations between international oil companies (IOCs) and the Russian state by examining conflicts over regulatory practices and the enforcement of environmental regulations, and their interpretation in the Western media. This research focuses on two cases, one involving Royal Dutch Shell, the majority owner of company Sakhalin Energy, and the other involving BP's Russian joint venture, TNK-BP. The two cases were selected as windows on the changing relationship between the state and IOCs in Russia during a specific political era – the first two presidencies of Vladimir Putin. This was also a period during which oil prices rose steadily and remained at historically high levels. Such periods tend to strengthen the hand of oil-producing states and strain their relations with IOCs. Sakhalin Energy is the operator of the Sakhalin II project, and was until December 2006 controlled by Shell and later by the Russian state company Gazprom. TNK-BP was the main owner of the Kovykta natural gas field which was central to the conflict – initially between the Russian authorities and a united TNK-BP and later on between the Western and Russian shareholders in TNK-BP. In the cases of both BP and Shell, the Russian authorities accused the IOCs of violating formal regulations, such as environmental regulations. The sanctions that the Russian authorities imposed on the IOCs and their motivations for doing so were the subject of extensive discussion among IOCs, other Western actors and the Western media. This dissertation aims to find out how Western actors such as the media and IOCs understand the rules of the game in Russia, relating it to Alena Ledeneva's work. Ledeneva (2006) outlines a framework explaining the enforcement of regulations and regulatory practices in Russia and their use and abuse for informal purposes. Her main point is that law enforcement practices in Russia differ from those in the West because in Russia regulations are often used selectively and manipulatively for purposes unrelated to the actual legal dispute. Ledeneva's framework is written from a Russian perspective, assuming that Russians understand law enforcement and regulatory pressure in Russia as selective and manipulative. The lack of respect for the law among the Russian public, in combination with the great difficulty of complying with the complicated legal framework, results in a situation in which the law can be used against anyone at any time. The two cases analysed in this dissertation are clear examples of this phenomenon. On the background of shortcomings in Russia's legal and regulatory system, such as incoherency and the use of informal practices to bypass complicated formal procedures, the Russian authorities were effectively able to pressure Shell and BP into giving up control over major oil and gas projects. The analysis of both conflicts shows that regulatory pressure on Shell and BP increased gradually, until both companies ultimately gave in, resulting in a reduction or take-over of their shares in oil and gas projects by Gazprom. It also shows that both companies actively involved the public in their conflicts with the Russian authorities by launching public debate emphasizing the negative aspects of the investment climate and the impact on foreign investment in Russia, in unsuccessful attempts to put counter-pressure on Russian policy-makers. The storylines in the Western media made clear these negative impacts by stressing how the enforcement of formal regulations in Russia is driven by ulterior motives. However, uncertainty remains as to whether these storylines were the direct result of the influence of BP and Shell and their strategies towards the Western media. Both Shell and TNK-BP clearly understood that the core issue was not the violation of environmental regulations or licence agreements, but competing interests in large-scale oil and gas projects. Both companies faced situations in which full compliance with the formal rules was impossible due to the shortcomings of the law itself. For Shell, compliance with the regulations would have meant violating the company's own environmental action plan. Similarly, complying with the licence agreements of the Kovykta field was impossible without the approval of gas exports to China from the field. Both Shell and BP appeared to understand Russian society as Ledeneva stipulates that it works, as a system of interconnected formal and informal levels in which the informal level is dominant. However, their strategy of challenging the authorities within this system by publicly pressuring them indicates that they either still failed to understand the system fully, or misread the policy shift towards foreign companies in the petroleum sector, or overestimated their own strength. Most likely it was a combination of these misconceptions that got the two companies entangled in protracted conflict. Moreover, Western actors forgot an important lesson that has been repeated many times in the past around the world: when oil prices rise, oil-producing states tend to lean forward and IOCs need to be prepared for tough negotiations.
The aim of the emission trading system is to reduce emissions at the least cost to the economy and to bring environmental and economic benefits. Although the emission trading theory claims that the methodology of allocation under the conditions of a perfect market does not influence the effectiveness of the emission trading system, analysis of the Emission Trading Scheme of the European Union (EU ETS) has showed a link between the methodology chosen and its effectiveness. The article analyses the impact of the grand fathering, benchmarking and auction allocation methods on the effectiveness of the EU ETS. The article presents a comparative analysis of the national allocation plans of the EU Member States and discusses the potential demand for the allowances in the market.The implementation of the EU ETS showed that the primary and secondary market of the emissions' allowances will be highly influenced by the allocation methods applied by the EU Member States. In theory, however, in the perfect market of allowances, the market depends on the price of the allowances only. The variety of methods applied on micro and macro levels leads to market distortions. Only a few countries have used the auctioning option to distribute the allowance, while the majority of the countries allocated the allowances for free through grand fathering and benchmarking.Due to surpluses of allowances in the EU New Member States it is likely that there will be a general surplus of allowances within the EU ETS. This precondition implies a low price of the allowances and a little liquidity of the market. The surplus of allowances and windfall profit of the electricity producers decrease the effectiveness of the system, although, following the theory of the emission trading, the price of the allowance shall be equal to the marginal emission reduction costs. In practice, the marginal costs will be lower than the price of the allowances due to the surplus of the allowances.The environmental impact of the EU ETS in the trading period 2000-07 is minor. The EU Member States, potential buyers, will use the project based on the Kyoto flexible mechanisms to meet the national greenhouse gas reduction targets. The inclusion of the external credits generated by the Joint Implementation and Clean Development Mechanisms will potentially reduce the price of the allowances in the EU ETS market.Lithuania has applied grand fathering, benchmarking and auctioning approaches in the National Allocation Plan 2000-07. The analysis concludes that Lithuanian electricity producers could become potential sellers of the allowances. During the preparation of the National Allocation Plans for 2008-12, attention should be paid to the minimisation of market distortions and harmonisation of the methodologies applied in the EU Member States. The harmonisation of the benchmarks at the EU level will promote the use of cleaner fuels and from the theoretical point of view will increase the environmental effectiveness of the EU ETS. However, such a harmonisation will not be favourable for Lithuanian enterprises that combust heavy fuel oil or orimulsion. Under harmonised benchmarks, the companies with older technologies installed would have a deficit of allowances and would have to buy the allowances or to invest in cleaner technologies. On the one hand, the harmonisation will indirectly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, however. on the other hand this will increase the costs for the companies and subsequently the cost of electricity and heal in Lithuania. Therefore, the method should be selected taking into account and evaluating the social and economic effects to companies and the national economy.The uncertain long-term EU climate change strategy and undetermined Lithuanian long-term greenhouse gases reduction targets minimize the reliability of the investments in the sectors covered by the EU ETS. In order 10 promote the EU ETS and an active participation of the companies in the system, it is necessary to determine clearly the national strategy and allocation rules in the trading periods 2008-12 and post 2012. It is also vital to harmonise the definition of a combustion installation as well as allocation methods for new Moreover, it is important to ensure a balanced level of emission reduction in all sectors of the national economy. ; Prekybos apyvartiniais taršos leidimais tikslas yra mažiausiomis sąnaudomis sumažinti išmetamų šiltnamio dujų kiekį. Nors teorija teigia, kad apyvartinių taršos leidimų (ATL) paskirstymo metodai esant tobulai konkurencijai neturi įtakos prekybos apyvartiniais taršos leidimais sistemos efektyvumui, Europos Sąjungos (ES) prekybos ATL sistemos įgyvendinimas parodė paskirstymo metodų ir prekybos ATL sistemos efektyvumo ryšį. Straipsnyje aptariama istorinio ir aukciono metodų įtaka prekybos ATL sistemos efektyvumui bei analizuojami santykinių taršos rodiklių taikymo būdai. Be to, lyginami ES nacionaliniuose ATL paskirstymo planuose naudoti metodai bei analizuojama galima ATL paklausa rinkoje. Pagrindinis straipsnio tikslas - išanalizuoti ATL paskirstymo metodus, įvardyti diskutuotinus klausimus ir rekomenduoti, kaip padidinti ES prekybos ATL sistemos efektyvumą.
On February 3, 1999, President Clinton signed Executive Order 13112 (E.O.) which calls on state transportation agencies to work to prevent and control the introduction and spread of invasive species. Nonnative flora and fauna can cause significant changes to ecosystems, upset the ecological balance, and cause economic harm to our nation's transportation, environmental, agricultural and recreational sectors. For example, introduced plants, such as Phragmites and purple loosestrife, throughout New York State have choked out native plant species and consequently clogged roadway drainage ways and altered environmental habitat. Transportation systems can facilitate the spread of plant and animal species outside their natural range. Those species that are likely to harm the environment, transportation safety, human health, or economy are of particular concern. The NYS Department of Transportation maintains approximately 16,500 miles of highway and annually spends over $9.1 million on vegetation management. Funding for this project is integretated as part of the normal department operational vegetation management budget. The threat from invasive species is increasing with human population growth, global trade and disturbance of the environment. Effectively dealing with the problem of invasive plant species presents a significant conservation challenge, both biologically and politically. The prevention of new plant invasions, early detection and monitoring of infestations of invasive plants, and effective control of established invasions through area-wide partnerships have been identified as key objectives in an overall national strategy for invasive plants. Stopping potentially invasive species before they spread from transportation corridors may be the best option for short-term protection. The department is implementating a proactive environmental initiative to attempt to eradicate certain existing invasive populations, and control the colonization and spread of species that have demonstrated negative effects to natural systems. Highway corridors provide opportunities for the movement of invasive species through the landscape. Invasive plant or animal species can move on vehicles and in the loads they carry. Invasive plants can be moved from site to site during spraying and mowing operations. Weed seed can be inadvertently introduced into the corridor during construction on equipment and through the use of mulch, imported soil or gravel, and sod. Some invasive plant species might be inadvertently planted in erosion control, landscape, or wildflower projects. Thousands of miles of New York State rights-of-ways traverse public and private lands. Many of these adjacent lands have weed problems and the highway rights-of-way provide corridors for further spread. NYSDOT has an opportunity to address roadside vegetation management issues on both their construction activities and maintenance programs with new levels of cooperation and communication with other state agencies and conservation organizations. Under the E.O., Federal-aid and Federal Lands Highway Program funds cannot be used to carry out actions that are likely to cause or promote the introduction or spread of invasive species in the United States or elsewhere unless all reasonable measures to minimize risk of harm have been analyzed and considered. NYSDOT plans on implementing a 10-point invasive transportation vegetation management plan consisting of the following components: (1) Developing a prioritized list of threatening flora or fauna based upon regional environments. (2) Field and GIS mapping of existing invasive populations. (3) Integration of invasive species identification and analysis as part of the department's normal NEPA /SEQR processing. (4) Evaluation of potential impacts caused by construction or maintenance activities. (5) Development of preventive best management practices. (6) Testing, execution and evaluation of eradication measures. (7) Annual reviews and updates of the vegetation management plans. (8) Progression of innovative design solutions to reduce the opportunities for the introduction or spread of invasive species. (9) Promote a climate of interagency cooperation and sharing of coordinated research with public and private sectors. (10) Increase employee and public knowledge through outreach training of the effects of invasive species to the users. An important design component of the plan is consideration of invasive species during all phases of the environmental process. For example, during scoping, discussions with stakeholders should identify the potential for impacts from invasive species and include possible prevention and control measures. The actual NEPA analysis should include identification of any invasive terrestrial or aquatic animal or plant species that could do harm to native habitats within the project study area. In summary, the NYSDOT is committed to the integration of E.O. 13112 as part of the department's planning, design, construction and operations programs. This E.O. came at an opportune time to become another facet of the department's nationally recognized transportation environmental initiative.
Background Sustainable United Nations (SUN) is an initiative of UNEP that coordinates operational activities and supports different UN organizations in their efforts to implement the UN climate neutral strategy and environmental management systems (EMSs). The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Swedish EPA), with its long experience of working with international standards for EMS and coordinating and guiding 190 government agencies in their environmental management systems work, is supporting the work of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) by advising the SUN team and building the capacity of UN entities to establish and maintain EMSs. The Swedish EPA - UNEP partnership (2014-2018), funded by Sida, is laying the foundations for the future mainstreaming of environmental management in UN. These efforts are focusing on the environmental impacts of internal management offacilities and operations1. A broader process hosted by the UN Environment ManagementGroup (EMG) encompasses both environmental and social impacts and expands the scope beyond facilities and operations to include programmes and projects. Collaboration with the EMG Secretariat is therefore an integral part of the partnership. An important issue for the donor is the gender perceptive, which should also be taken into consideration whenever relevant, when implementing and maintaining an EMS. One of the main purposes of the United Nations (UN) is to help nations work together to improve the lives of poor people, to conquer hunger, disease and illiteracy,and to encourage respect for each other's rights and freedoms2. For the UN tosucceed in its purposes and to be a credible organization, it needs to account for its environmental impact, reducing risks and unintended negative impacts and maximizing benefits to people and their environment. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were endorsed by the General Assembly in September 2015. These will function as a common basis for the work of all UN organizations. Implementing an EMS will provide UN agencies with a documented, systematic and transparent tool to motivate, track and report on progress over time, whilst working towards the internalisation of the environmental dimension of the SDGs in their management processes in a systematic manner. Purpose The purpose of the stocktaking exercise was to provide an overview of the current status of environmental management systems of different UN organizations, to make sure future activities in the Swedish EPA - UNEP partnership build on existing work, and to reach a better understanding of how to introduce EMSs to the UN system. Based on the findings made, the stocktaking exercise provides recommendations for improvements. Methodology The experts at the Swedish EPA, in collaboration with the SUN team and the sustainability focal points in the UN EMS Working Group, have conducted a stocktaking exercise on the stage of development and implementation of EMSs across the UN system. The stocktaking exercise report references EMS requirements under accepted international standards such as ISO 14001:2015, and is based on the Swedish EPA experts' experiences and findings in the field. Knowledge of the UN status quo on EMSs was obtained through reviews of documentation from a selection of UN organizations and UN bodies, and information from IMG focal points. Conclusions The stocktaking exercise shows that many UN organizations work actively on environmental issues both at corporate management level and in their programming. The results from a minor EMS survey conducted in April 2015 reflect that the majority of the responding organizations are in the initial stage of the EMS implementation. Given that the UN is governed by many Member States and driven by a political process, decision-making takes long time. There are a number of constraints under which the UN operates, particularly the many stakeholders with varied interests, which could make it difficult to secure a consensus around environmental measures. Implementing an EMS gives an opportunity for UN organizations to contribute to the One UN initiative for a more coherent and efficient delivery. The One UN reform is focused on more coherent programmes, strengthened accountability, monitoring and evaluation, and improved outcomes. An EMS directly supports this effort by providing a systematic and uniform approach to improved control, efficiency and reporting. EMS in UN organizations can bring many benefits. Implementing an EMS gives an opportunity for the UN organizations to demonstrate that they have relevant policiesand systems in place to satisfy the environmental requirements from stakeholders. The General Assembly has signalled expectations of the UN to walk the talk on sustainability measures, while environmental requirements are becoming a precondition for funding from donors such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF). EMS in UN organizations represents an opportunity to mainstream environmental considerations in policies, strategies, projects and programmes. Literature studies, experience from Swedish EPA's guidance to public agencies, and discussions with members if the EMS working group as part of the stocktaking exercise, confirms that it is very important for the implementation of any EMS to ensure that senior management and staff are all involved in its development and implementation. Experience from the work in guiding 190 public authorities in Sweden has shown that when organizations include both operations and facilitates, and programmes and projects in their EMS, it will engage the senior management and the staff to a greater extent, and the understanding of an EMS in the daily work will increase. A properly functioning environmental management system results in improved management of natural resources and identified cost efficiencies such as improved management of electricity, fuel and travel3, and could free up funding for applying the mandated objectives of the various missions of the United Nation organizations. Recommendations The main recommendations for creating proper institutional conditions to implement an EMS are described below. They are described according to best practice, with the purpose to limit the environmental impact, speed up the implementation of EMS and to reduce the costs for the implementing organizations. Each recommendation must be undertaken within a context of respect for the institutional obligations arising from other policies, such as policies on gender and indigenous peoples. These together may form the approach to internalising sustainable development principles in UN corporate management. The recommendations are not given in a specific order of priority since they are connected to each other. Literature, discussions with members of the EMS working group, and the earlier experience of the Swedish EPA experts, confirms that the leadership, the involvement of staff and the integration of the EMS in the existing management structure, is crucial for a successful EMS implementation within the UN. Certain core functions should be managed on a common UN-wide basis, to streamline and coordinate efforts, and to avoid duplication of efforts and costs. This brings advantages such as economies of scale and a coherent way of working with sustainability issues in the spirit of the One UN reform. According to best practice, the UN system is recommended to adopt the following activities, through a permanent central coordination: Develop the existing central EMS support, by increasing the number of training activities, and the exchange of experience between the organizations, for achieving more powerful synergies Identify how the Sustainable Development Goals, and also standards for best practice on social responsibility, can be tools and the next steps for the UN organizations for working in a systematic manner with both environmental and social issues. Make sure that competence in environmental law is available to support UN organizations. Provide and encourage the use of coherent and common EMS guidelines and voluntary templates customized for the UN, e.g. for initial environmental review and for developing internal environmental objectives. Develop EMS indicators that the UN organizations should report on centrally and to their governing body, and accelerate the work with the four endorsed sustainability indicators (GHG gases, water use, waste management and environmental training). Coordinate internal environmental audits between the UN organizations, by supporting the auditors with regards to training and sharing experience. The internal auditors could audit each other's organizations. Consider how the EMS support may be extended from environmental aspects in operation and facilities to environmental aspects in policymaking, programming and projects. Develop how the gender perspective could be integrated in a logical structurefor an EMS based on the PDCA-cycle (Plan, Do, Check and Act). Through the work of SUN and the IMG on Environmental Sustainability, many of the above mentioned steps are already well underway. At the end of the stocktaking exercise report, a mapping of existing networks and teams working with environmental sustainability within the UN can be found. Also actions taken concerning internal environmental sustainability, such as strategic plans and major projects, are described, together with a timeline over internal commitments on environmental sustainability within the UN system. According to best practice, each UN organization is recommended to adopt the following activities: Conduct a SWOT4 - or PESTLE5 - analysis, to reach a better understanding of the factors that impact the EMS and the environmental context in which the organization operates. Show how the demands from relevant stakeholders have been internalized into the organization's own policy, strategic documents and at the operational level. Include environmental objectives and environmental performance measures in the "Senior Manager's Compact". Make the support from senior management visible, by sponsoring an initialenvironmental review, adopting an environmental policy, ensuring organization- wide communication of the environmental work and endorsing internal environmental objectives. Integrate both environmental objectives and action plans in existing strategic documents and activity plans. Make sure that the allocation of resources, not least human resources, for the EMS is an integrated part of the ordinary budget process already in place. Improve the monitoring and management of significant environmental aspects. Complement possible emergency management systems already in place, with procedures for environmental consideration. Integrate environmental risks and opportunities considerations in existing risk management, and evaluate possible changes in the EMS, such as a revised list of significant environmental aspects. Ensure appropriate competencies to be able to conduct regular evaluations of adherence to environmental compliance obligations. Conduct regular environmental audits and environmental management reviews. Include sustainability considerations in purchasing and procurement, which can have an impact on the enabling of a green economy. Develop the work to continuously identify nonconformities and taking corrective action in the environmental work, and integrate it in the existing handling of nonconformities for other areas, such as quality, conformity with project procedures etc. Describe the results of the monitoring and evaluation of the environmental performance in an annual sustainability report, used for communication with donors, UN staff, and other stakeholders, to ensure the mechanism for accountability and transparency within the UN. Have a tolerant and encouraging culture, where identified nonconformities are found to represent opportunities for improvement, and have well- functioning communication channels for the exchange of experiences, all to accomplish continual improvement.
The Problem setting. Due to the rapid development of digital technologies, the issue of status settlement and the use of artificial intelligence technologies is especially relevant. This fact indicates the need and importance of finding answers to the question and aims to intensify and unite the efforts of the scientific community to address relevant issues. One of the areas of scientific research is the doctrinal development of new phenomena and processes that have arisen and are taking place in the state and legal sphere under the influence of digitalization of economics, management and law. The tasks of scientific research are to comprehend the impact of the digitization process on the state and legal sphere of society; law as such; assessment of the transformations that are taking place and identification of trends in their dynamics; forecasting the state of these phenomena in the future; formulation of fundamental and applied problems of legal science in terms of doctrinal development of the laws of development and functioning of law, state and legal sphere of society in the conditions of digital reality, determination of approaches to their solution.
Recent research and publications analysis. An analysis of recent research and publications shows that scientific research on this issue is carried out mainly within the economic, political, computer, legal sciences, although the problems and prospects of digitization of law require a deep and thorough philosophical, including philosophical and legal understanding. The rapid development of new technologies, in particular artificial intelligence technologies, the Internet of Things, cloud technologies, etc., is contributing to changes in current legislation. Today, advanced economies are already pondering the question of regulating the status and use of AI technologies. While these are only the first bold steps, in the future, all of these can affect global changes in the legal system - perhaps full-fledged comprehensive institutions of law, even the branches of law.
Paper objectiv. The purpose of this article is a philosophical and legal understanding of the impact of digitalization on the state and legal sphere of society and law as such.
Paper main body. One of the practical aspects of digitalization is the manifestation of the state's ability to provide various services. If necessary, citizens receive certificates, records, statements, responses to electronic inquiries, electronic payments. Other practical aspects, provided that these technologies are used wisely, can improve welfare in education, public safety, and health. In addition, digital imaging can also help address common global issues, such as climate change and greater access to health care and mobility.
At the same time, according to many researchers, along with the benefits of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, new types of ethical issues are being raised, namely compliance with legal ethics standards by artificial intelligence systems and justice, the most important of which are respect for human rights and democratic values. , as well as the danger of transferring prejudices from the analog to the digital world. Researchers have linked the legal challenges of using artificial intelligence technologies in legal practice to a number of issues. In particular, with such as: ensuring data confidentiality; access to confidential law enforcement information; lack of regulatory framework for the use of artificial intelligence systems in legal practice; protection of intellectual property; risk assessment of the use of artificial intelligence systems by a lawyer when working with a client; other potential problems of lawyer's liability; dangers of unauthorized access and modification of artificial intelligence systems by attackers; damage to artificial intelligence systems by malicious virus programs; violation of the terms of providing advice from artificial intelligence systems in case of technical problems, etc. Therefore, the development of systems that transparently use artificial intelligence and are responsible for their results is critical. Artificial intelligence systems must function properly and safely.
According to experts, the unresolved in Ukraine of many political and legal issues related to the rapid development of the information and communication sphere with the advent of digital technologies has become dangerous. It is obvious that the transformations in society associated with these processes require new approaches to the development of national policies for the digitalization of society, which should be based on international agreements. Due to these transformations, there is a need to develop strategic documents that will regulate this area. These documents should be flexible and designed to take into account the maximum amount of data, as well as ensure the free development of innovative technologies and prevent possible risks.
Issues of development of the digital economy and society of Ukraine do not fully meet today's conditions, not enough account is taken of the transformations that have emerged and are currently taking place both in law and in the field of legal regulation under the influence of digitalization. Digital technologies are able to change the image of law, to influence its regulatory potential and efficiency, to open the way or to block its action in new dimensions of social reality. Traditional rather than digital vision of law, legal technologies and certain types of legal activity by legislators is a consequence of the lack of relevant scientific developments that will identify and explain the impact of the digitization process on the law and the legal sphere of society. The practical need for this kind of research is now greater than ever. In order to satisfy it, scientists should intensify work in this direction.
Conclusions of the research. The new digital reality puts forward new requirements for legal science and legal practice, including the development of effective tools and models of legal regulation of various spheres of public life. In modern conditions, law becomes not only a means, a tool that provides digitalization of the economy, government and other segments of social life, but also the object of digitalization. With the development of digital technologies, the contradiction between the need for quality both in terms of form and content of regulations, as well as the ability to meet it in a short time. The task of the state is both to provide favorable conditions conducive to digitalization and to create opportunities for their implementation.
Introduction. Many developed countries regard chemical industry as a key branch of economy having a significant impact on the general economic situation. Presently, the chemical industry, which is highly science-intensive and one of the most actively promoted in the world market, is largely on a par with mechanical engineering. Despite numerous scientific papers dealing with the peculiarities, obstacles and prospects of the chemical industry's development in Ukraine, the issues related to the peculiarities of the chemical enterprises' development in the conditions of a long-term economic crisis still require further investigation. The purpose of the article is to analyze the peculiarities of the Ukrainian chemical enterprises' development under the conditions of a political and economic crisis. Results The adverse conditions, which the Ukraine's industry, namely basic chemistry and metallurgy, currently faces, have primarily resulted from the impact of the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 and internal problems that the country has encountered since the beginning of 2014, especially due to the hostilities in the east. Chemical production in Ukraine, unlike that in other countries of the world, is based mainly on the outdated technologies that have remained since the Soviet Union times, which leads to the increased resource consumption and reduces its competitiveness in the world market; this further prevents the reduction of costs and innovative production in the sectors of the economy that consume chemical products. A characteristic feature of the chemical industry is a very complex production structure, comprising approximately 200 interconnected industries, which are divided into four major groups: mining, chemical production, pharmaceuticals production, rubber and plastics production. Ukraine ranked 13th in comparison with EU countries in terms of exports of chemical products, and 8th in terms of imports. During the period under review, two positive points in the dynamics of the rating of exports of chemical products in Ukraine can be identified: in 2011, Ukraine managed to rise by one step in the list in terms of exports of chemical products, and in 2017, in the conditions of crisis, domestic chemical enterprises managed to adapt and stabilize the situation. The linear rate of decline in exports of chemical products is US $ 403.1 million per year, while the decrease in imports of chemical products occurs at the rate of US $ 168.3 million per year. In 2018, production of chemical products - basic chemistry and pharmaceuticals in the aggregate occupy the seventh place in the composition of Ukraine's industry following the sales and the supply of energy, food production, metallurgy, mining, machine building, production of coking coal and oil refining. During the period under review, the structure of the chemical production has gradually changed: since 2011, the share of basic chemistry was decreasing, whereas the share of pharmaceuticals was simultaneously increasing. In 2018 compared to 2017, the share of pharmaceutical products decreased slightly while the share of the production of basic chemical products increased. Positive dynamics of GDP (in actual prices) and the volume of the chemical products sales in Ukraine for the period 2010-2018 is primarily due to the increase in the overall price level in the country's economy. By region, the most sensitive to the changes in the chemical markets would be the regions with the highest concentration of chemical industries. In 2017, the share of the chemical industry in Ukraine is the highest in the Dnipropetrovsk region (26.81%) and the lowest in the Chernivtsi region (0.16%). The dynamics of the chemical products sales volumes has been analyzed with the regions leaders and outsiders in chemical production having been identified. The impact of the crisis on the chemical industry has been determined based on the comparison of the main performance indicators of chemical enterprises in the pre-crisis 2013 and 2015 - the second year since the onset of the economic crisis. Conclusions. The study found that one of the main obstacles to the development of the industry is outdated technological equipment, which cannot be overcome due to the lack of own funds and an unsatisfactory investment climate in the country. Compared with the production of basic chemical products, pharmaceutical production has had better results, which appears natural, since the age group of the population of retirement and pre-retirement age in Ukraine - the main buyers of medicines - is dominant. As a result of the study, the main problems that currently impede the development of the chemical industry have been identified and the main ways of the industry's development have been proposed. The prospects for the development of the chemical industry are related to the following: improvement of the structure of the chemical enterprises' resource potential, adapting it to the requirements of time; increasing innovation activity and investment attractiveness; state stimulation of the process of technical and technological updating of production funds and innovation activity; raising the level of mechanization and automation at all stages of the production process; reconstruction of a number of chemical enterprises and closing of outdated and unprofitable ones. ; Анотація. В статті представлено результати дослідження особливостей економічного розвитку хімічної галузі в Україні. Визначена роль хімічного виробництва в господарстві країни та частка галузі в структурі промисловості. Представлена порівняльна характеристика експорту та імпорту хімічної продукції України з країнами ЄС, визначена рейтингова позиція України за цими показниками, проаналізовані тенденції зовнішньоекономічної торгівлі України продукцією хімічної галузі. Проаналізована динаміка обсягів реалізації хімічної продукції, в тому числі визначені регіони лідери та аутсайдери хімічного виробництва. На основі порівняння основних показників роботи хімічних підприємств в докризовому 2013 році та 2015 році, другому з початку економічної кризи, визначений вплив кризи на галузь. В ході дослідження встановлено, що однією з головних перешкод розвитку галузі є застаріле технологічне обладнання, а подолати цю перешкоду не вдається через відсутність власних коштів та незадовільний інвестиційний клімат країни. В порівнянні з виробництвом основної хімічної продукції фармацевтичне виробництво має кращі результати діяльності, що природно, оскільки в Україні вікова група населення пенсійного та передпенсійного віку – основних покупців лікарських засобів – є домінуючою. В результаті проведеного дослідження визначені основні проблеми, що сьогодні гальмують розвиток хімічної промисловості та перелічені основні шляхи розвитку галузі.
Abstract: The services provided by energy commodities are essential for human wellbeing but the reliance on fossil-fuels is jeopardising the livelihood of future generations and ecosystems, through global warming and other cause-effect pathways. There is an urgent need to transform the energy system, but this transformation may create unforeseen problems if not planned comprehensively. Many energy transitions plans rely on energy system optimisation models (ESOM), but these models are ill-prepared to evaluate the range of environmental stressors and their effects, and have oversimplified representations of production systems. An integrative approach combining ESOMs with life cycle assessment (LCA) can overcome the limitations of ESOMs, helping to avoid the 'backfire' of mitigation policies. This thesis gives an overview of the limitations of existing approaches linking ESOMs and LCA and implements a novel approach to overcome them. Several questions related to the energy transition in the province of Quebec (Canada) are assessed with the North American TIMES Energy Model (NATEM). The main scenario investigated, modelling the consequences of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation targets, is assessed from a life cycle perspective. To link both the optimization and the LCA models, a set of functions and procedures are encoded in an open-source software, that can be reused in other assessments. Results show that just a relatively narrow number of processes drive the changes in GHG, and this feature can be used to simplify the linking between TIMES and LCA models. The integrated ESOM-LCA assessment applied to Quebec indicates that global warming (GW) mitigation policies would reduce impacts on human health and biodiversity. This reduced impact is driven by reduced climate change but also other cause-effect mechanisms such as reduced water scarcity and metal contamination. Additionally, full-year building simulations of Quebec detached houses introduced as new technological options in NATEM suggest that better insulated buildings would reduce the total costs of GW mitigation. The introduction of low-carbon technologies could raise the costs of energy services by 20% but these costs could be substantially lowered with demand-side measures. ESOMs provide an interesting but limited perspective to plan energy transitions. The softlink of ESOMs with LCA is a viable approach to give a more comprehensive view of relative importance of cause-effect pathways affecting human health and biodiversity. The integrated assessment is a powerful tool to analyse a wide range of issues related to the needed energy transitions. Understanding the underlying assumptions and principles of models is also important to interpret and design assessments. To facilitate this kind of analysis, researchers should facilitate the reusability of their works, agreeing on output formats, documenting the code underlying the analyses, and providing tools to integrate models. To this end, scriptable open-source software tools are extremely useful. This thesis attempts to put a step forward in this direction. ; Les services énergétiques sont essentiels au bien-être humain, mais l'utilisation de combustibles fossiles pour répondre à la demande énergétique compromet les moyens de subsistance des générations futures et des écosystèmes, par le réchauffement climatique et d'autres menaces. Il est donc urgent de transformer le système énergétique existant. Cependant, cette transformation peut créer des problèmes imprévus si elle n'est pas planifiée de manière cohérente et complète. Plusieurs plans de transition énergétique reposent sur des modèles d'optimisation des systèmes énergétiques (MOSE), mais ces modèles sont peu adaptés pour évaluer les facteurs de stress environnementaux et leurs effets, et ils adoptent des représentations trop simplistes des systèmes de production. L'hypothèse de base de cette thèse est qu'une approche combinant les MOSE et l'analyse du cycle de vie (ACV) peut permettre de surmonter les limites des MOSE, en aidant à éviter des imprévus dans les politiques de réduction de gaz à effet de serre. Cette thèse donne un aperçu des limites des approches existantes reliant MOSE et ACV et met en oeuvre une méthodologie possible pour les surmonter. Plusieurs questions liées à la transition énergétique au Québec sont évaluées à l'aide d'un modèle TIMES (NATEM) pour la province de Québec. Le scénario de modélisation des conséquences des objectifs de réduction des gaz à effet de serre (GES) est ensuite évalué selon une perspective de cycle de vie. Pour relier les deux modèles, un ensemble de fonctions et de procédures est codé dans un langage open source (Python), qui peut être réutilisé dans d'autres évaluations. Les résultats montrent que seul un nombre relativement restreint de processus est à l'origine des changements dans la quantité de GES. Cette observation est utilisée pour simplifier la liaison entre les modèles TIMES et ACV. L'évaluation intégrée MOSE-ACV appliquée au Québec indique que les politiques de réduction de GES peuvent réduire les impacts sur la santé humaine et la biodiversité. Cette réduction d'impacts est due à la mitigation du changement climatique, mais également à d'autres mécanismes de cause à effet tels que la réduction de la pénurie d'eau et de la contamination par les métaux. De plus, la liaison des MOSE avec des modèles de simulation énergétique de bâtiments suggère que des bâtiments mieux isolés réduiraient les coûts totaux de réduction de GES. L'introduction de technologies à faibles émissions de carbone pourrait augmenter les coûts des services énergétiques de 20%, mais ces coûts pourraient être considérablement réduits grâce à des mesures axées sur la demande énergétique. Les MOSE offrent une perspective intéressante, mais limitée, pour planifier les transitions énergétiques. La liaison des MOSE avec ACV est une approche viable pour donner une vue plus complète de l'importance relative des mécanismes qui affectent la santé humaine et la biodiversité. L'évaluation intégrée est un outil puissant pour analyser une large gamme de problèmes liés aux transitions énergétiques. Comprendre les hypothèses et principes sous-jacents des modèles est également important pour interpréter les résultats. Pour faciliter ce type d'analyse, les chercheurs doivent faciliter la réutilisation de leurs travaux, en convenant des formats de sortie, en documentant le code sous-jacent aux analyses et en fournissant des outils pour intégrer les modèles. À cette fin, les outils open-source scriptables sont extrêmement utiles. Cette thèse tente de faire un pas en avant dans cette direction.
China is experiencing rapid and large scale urbanization, and the resulting local and global urban environmental challenges are unprecedented. The Chinese Government has fully recognized these challenges and is aiming to promote more sustainable urbanization in line with the objectives of the eleventh five year plan, which calls for 'building a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly society'. Various initiatives are being pursued to support this objective, both at the national and local levels. At the local level, cities have responded by developing 'eco-cities', which aim to promote a more sustainable urbanization model. More than one hundred eco-city initiatives have been launched in recent years. One such initiative is the Sino-Singapore Tianjin eco-city. The purpose of this report is to review the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City (SSTEC) project from a comprehensive perspective with a view to achieving the following principal objectives: (i) create a detailed knowledge base on the project; (ii) provide policy advice on key issues, especially those related to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) project; (iii) estimate SSTEC's Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction potential; and (iv) contextualize the project among the broader ecological urban development initiatives in China. Broadening the World Bank's engagement beyond the GEF was assessed as important given the project's complexity, and its potential to shed light on China's sustainable urban development challenges
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China (PRC) currently controls an estimated 8 percent of Africa's mining sector, less than half its Western competitors, but still an increase from 6.7 percent in 2018. Although this statistic underlines the often inflated and alarmed perception Western media sometimes fosters about China's mining operations in Africa, it nevertheless highlights the China Communist Party's (CCP) goal to grow China's footprint across Africa's mining sector. China's government and private mining companies operate mining sites in various African countries, as well as a small but growing number of processing sites to readily process extracted raw minerals. In the DRC, for example, China boasts at least 7 cobalt processing entities, but mainly ships raw minerals back to China for processing and manufacturing to meet global demand for critical minerals and finished products. What concerns the US is China's monopoly over mining in Africa's copper belt (the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia), and its substantive recent investments into lithium production in Zimbabwe, which holds Africa's largest reserves of lithium. These investments allow China to dictate the global supply chain for renewable batteries and electric vehicles (EVs). In the DRC, the country with the world's largest reserves of cobalt and high grade copper, China currently owns 72% of the cobalt and copper mines including the Tenge Fungurume Mine, which alone produces around 12% of the world's cobalt production. China's mining operations in these three countries give the PRC a significant lead in semiconductor and battery production, and thus in the field of climate security technologies. This leaves the rest of the world increasingly dependent on Chinese innovation and manufacturing to drive global energy transitions and address climate change, according to a study by the Georgetown University Center for Security Studies. China's opaque extractive mining contracts in Africa also contribute to numerous human and labor rights violations as well as negative environmental impacts on African mining communities.The US must increase its investment in Africa's critical mining sector to curtail its growing reliance on a China dominated renewable energy supply chain. It must also build goodwill with local African populations by working to safeguard the labor and environmental rights of mining dependent localities, areas where China's investments have underperformed. With these goals in mind, the US should employ the following policies:Incentivize the US private sector to invest in African mining. A strong presence of private US mining companies in Africa's copper belt and lithium mining areas will be pivotal in decoupling the US from a China dominated renewable energy supply chain. The US government should provide subsidies and tax credits to private US mining companies that invest in greenfield mining discoveries in Africa. The US government should also provide lower import quotas on raw or processed cobalt, copper, and lithium from specific African countries to make African mining a more attractive investment option for US companies. Prioritize critical mineral agreements (CMA) with African counterparts. Currently, there is no US-Africa CMA or bilateral CMA between the US and any individual African states. To address this gap, the US should incorporate critical and strategic minerals of importance into the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The US should also work to incorporate African countries into international agreements like the Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance (SCMA) and Minerals Security Partnership (MSP). For critical minerals of greatest importance, the US should seek individualized trade agreements with countries like the DRC and Zambia. The US-DRC-Zambia Memorandum of Understanding offers a great starting point toward developing bilateral CMAs with both countries. Any regional or bilateral CMA should address supplementary infrastructure development to support Africa's critical mining sector. The Lobito Development Corridor can serve as a model for US-led infrastructure development adjacent to Africa's mining sector. China realized decades ago that CMAs are key to having a share of Africa's critical minerals. The US should employ a similar strategy but go a step further by making sure US-Africa CMAs promote greater transparency and accountability in Africa's critical mining sector.Bolster transparency and accountability in Africa's critical minerals mining sector. Claude Kabemba, Executive Director at Southern Africa Resource Watch, explained during a recent Wilson Center discussion on "China's Critical Mineral Investments in Africa", there are no wholly "good or bad investors in Africa". In fact, some of China's investment in Africa's critical mining sector are brownfield operations first established by Western companies. In 2016, for example, an investment firm led by Hunter Biden facilitated the sale of the Tenge Fungurume Mine from US mining company Freeport-McMoRan to Chinese company China Molybdenum.Both Western and Chinese actors, government and private sector, have exploited Africa's critical minerals for their economic goals often at the detriment of local African communities. As the US seeks to re-enter Africa's critical minerals space, it must learn from past errors and work to mitigate labor and environmental rights issues. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act should be updated to include current minerals of critical and strategic importance. The law should also address conflict minerals across the entirety of Africa to further enhance transparency and accountability in the supply chain. The SCMA and Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act can serve as guidelines for developing legislation that addresses labor and environmental issues specific to Africa's critical mining sector. Collaborating with African civil society groups will be key to encouraging transparency and accountability across Africa's critical minerals sector. By taking actionable steps to bolster these, the US can show Africa that its investments in this sector are a superior alternative to those of China. A mutually beneficial US-Africa critical minerals partnership will be important for development in Africa and for US competition in the critical and strategic minerals supply chain.
