Suchergebnisse

In December 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was adopted, setting limits on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of industrialized countries. The European Union agreed to reduce its emissions of GHG by 8% during the period 2008–2012 in comparison to their 1990 levels. Subsequently, in a scheme known as "burden-sharing", Portugal was allowed to increase its emissions by 27% in the same period. Large industrial facilities are responsible for a significant share of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and are object of a European Directive (2003/87/EC) establishing the scheme for GHG emission allowance trading within the European Union, launched with the purpose of allowing the reduction of GHG emissions cost-effectively. According to the Directive, Member States shall develop a National Allocation Plan (NAP) stating the total quantity of allowances that each one intends to allocate and how it proposes to allocate them among the activities included in the trading scheme. In this work, an analysis of the Portuguese industry is performed, focused on the energy consumption and CO2 emissions levels in the period 1990–2001 and on the estimation of the two parameters for the period 2002–2012, considering different economic growth scenarios and investments on energy reduction technologies. Results show that all the analysed sectors present a significant growth in CO2 emissions, exceeding the limit established in the frame of the Kyoto Protocol, and that measures other than cost-effective energy technologies will have to be implemented.

Actualizing the vision of Global Digital Health is a central issue on the Global Health Diplomacy agenda. The COVID-reinforced need for accelerated digital health progress will require political structures and processes to build a foundation for Global Digital Health. Simultaneously, Global Health Diplomacy uses digital technologies in its enactment. Both phenomena have driven interest in the term "Digital Health Diplomacy." A review of the literature revealed 2 emerging but distinct definitions that have been published very recently, each with its associated discourse and practice. This multiplicity of ideas demonstrates the myriad ways in which global digital and political systems are becoming increasingly entangled. Untangling these, this paper proposes and discusses 3 dimensions of Digital Health Diplomacy: "Diplomacy for digital health," "Digital health for diplomacy," and "Digital health in diplomacy." It calls upon digital health professionals, diplomats, political and social scientists, epidemiologists, and clinicians to discuss, critique, and advance this emerging domain.