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Swedish energy policy relies heavily on the promotion of renewable energy, in particu-lar wind power. Notwithstanding a substantial political and economic support for this development, the installed capacity of wind power in Sweden remains fairly small both in relation to the corresponding development in other countries and in absolute num-bers. The starting point for this study is that the implementation of a planning policy, such as the Swedish development goal for wind power, is partly dependent on the re- quirements of the law. In other words, in the face of supposedly strong economic incen-tives to promote wind power, barriers to the implementation might be found embedded in the institutional system. The purpose of this study is thus, primarily, to describe and analyse the function of Swedish law with reference to the implementation of renewable energy policy objectives, with focus on the development of wind power. This involves legal rules related to planning, location and operation of windmills. The legal system is evaluated in respect of its capacity to facilitate or impede the development of wind power. Secondly, the study includes a comparative analysis of the corresponding legal functions in Denmark, Norway and England. The result of the analysis of Swedish law indicates that the legal system governing the implementation process encompasses bar- riers to the development of wind power. The main obstacles are found in the system for physical planning and the concession system, although quite a few hindering individual provisions have also been disclosed. The lack of sufficient control functions together with an extensive municipal power creates an unpredictable and ineffective planning system that basically lacks confidence for an efficient implementation of wind power. The installation of windmills may further require as many as five different types of permits, which risks to seriously hamper the development due to lengthy processes and appeals. Among the individual rules, the location requirement in the Swedish Environ-mental Code strikes as notably hindering; the requirement to objectively assess alterna-tive sites has in several cases obstructed the installation of windmills. Overall, the im- plementation deficits are considerable. The examination of the corresponding legal functions in Denmark, Norway and the United Kingdom presents some very important differences with respect to planning control and permit requirements, as well as regard-ing substantial provisions. Generally, it looks as if there is a correlation between the level of overarching control over the physical planning on the one hand, and the poten-tial to successfully implement renewable energy policy objectives on the other. Time-limits for permit procedures, legal standards for emissions, explicit rules for the balanc-ing of opposite interests and so forth, are other interesting features that may be em-ployed in Sweden. A realization of the Swedish wind power planning goal will thus presumably require changes of the law. The most important issue is perhaps to reduce the implementation deficits by improving the legal framework governing the planning and installation processes. A few of the discussed factors emerge as crucial in this re-spect and that is roughly: to remove the general permit requirement, and thus leave the entire trial to the planning system; and to breach the municipal planning monopoly. ; Godkänd; 2008; 20081124 (ysko)

Swedish energy policy relies heavily on the promotion of renewable energy resources, in particular wind energy and in 2002 the Swedish Government adopted a national planning goal of a yearly wind power generation of 10 TWh by 2015, which implies a substantial increase from the current 0.6 TWh level. The main purpose of this study is to analyse relevant functions of the Swedish law with reference to the im-plementation of wind power; the overarching question at issue being in what respects the law impedes respectively facilitates the development of wind power, and to compare the results from the Swedish analysis with the corresponding functions in Danish law, and b) to present some implications for the choice between different legislative measures to meet the Swedish wind power planning goal. The results are based on in-depth studies of relevant legal rules and case law, and the overall indi-cations are: a) on one hand, that several of the Swedish legal rules in connection with the overarching management and use of land and water areas are vaguely formulated and provide an extensive room for discretion, which makes the outcomes unpredictable and increase the uncertainties associated with wind power investments, b) on the other hand, that certain specific rules regarding the location of the wind-mills, together with the requirement to objectively assess alternative sites for the installation have shown to seriously hamper the establishment of windmills in Sweden, c) that the strong support for the munici-pal self- governance in connection with the system for physical planning in Sweden implies that great stress is laid on the existence of territorial plans for wind power, which in turn implies that windmills are unlikely to be established without municipal consent, and finally d) that the installation of windmills on Swedish territory may require as many as five different permits, which imply time-consuming (and hence costly) processes with unpredictable outcomes. The results from the analysis of the corresponding Danish system reveal a quite different situation; the specific and precise regulations regarding the installation of windmills in Denmark imply a lot less room for discretion which reduce the uncertainty in connection with the investment decision. Moreover, that the vertically integrated planning system in Denmark greatly enhances the possibilities to implement national planning objectives on the regional, municipal and local level. ; Godkänd; 2006; 20070109 (haneit)

Industrial pollution accounts for a large proportion of global pollution, and in the European Union, an integrated pollution and prevention approach based on individual performance standards has been implemented to regulate emissions from industrial plants. Crucial for the assessment of the licensing conditions are the Best Available Technique (BAT) requirements, which should be set in accordance with the recently introduced Industrial Emissions Directive (IED). In this paper, we review and assess the licensing of industrial plants in one of the Member States, namely Sweden. Specifically, we discuss how the existing regulations (including the IED) manage to address potential trade-offs between important regulatory design issues, such as flexibility, predictability and the need to provide continuous incentives for environmental improvements. The analysis indicates that while the EU regulations provide flexibility in terms of the choice of compliance measures, in Sweden, it enters an existing regulatory framework that adds a lot of uncertainty with respect to the outcome of the licensing processes. An important challenge for the implementation of the IED is to implement performance standards that lead to continuous incentives to improve environmental performance in industrial sectors without, at the same time, adding new uncertainties. While standards ideally should be both flexible and predictable, achieving one of these criteria may often come at the expense of the other. ; Validerad; 2014; 20140819 (patriks)

Rebellinnen verändern die WeltSie waren Künstlerinnen, Herrscherinnen, Wissenschaftlerinnen - oder auch Piratinnen, Räuberinnen und Betrügerinnen. Die Weltgeschichte ist voll von aussergewöhnlichen Frauen. Doch warum haben wir bisher so wenig von ihnen gehört?Diese unterhaltsamen Kurzbiografien erzählen von 49 spannenden Frauen aus aller Welt, die Erstaunliches bewirkten und dabei die Regeln ihrer jeweiligen Zeit brachen:Bà Tri_u, die vietnamesische Widerstandskämpferin, die zur Verteidigung der Freiheit ein eigenes Heer anführte.Soraya Tarzi, die erste Königin Afghanistans, welche die Modernisierung des Landes massgeblich mit vorantrieb.Edith Margaret Garrud, die britische Jiu-Jitsu-Lehrerin, die Suffragetten in Selbstverteidigung trainierte.Maria Skobzowa, die russische Nonne, die sich im Zweiten Weltkrieg dem französischen Widerstand anschloss.Wofür haben diese Frauen gelebt, wovon haben sie geträumt, wofür haben sie sich starkgemacht? Die preisgekrönte Journalistin Maria Pettersson erzählt vom Leben dieser starken Frauen.Eine wunderbare Schmökerlektüre mit modernen Illustrationen: Für alle, die sich gerne von aussergewöhnlichen Frauenbiografien inspirieren lassen

This study reviews how the issue of ash dieback has been placed on the political agenda in the UK, a country where the disease has affected one of the largest national extents, thus representing a particularly severe case. Comparisons are made between how the scientific community framed the ash dieback threat and the resulting response strategy and how both the media and the British government framed the problem. Representing one example of media framing, the study analyses one British newspaper's coverage of the disease and the response strategies (the Daily Telegraph). The analysis highlights a gap between the biologically rooted perspective and the perspective of policymakers, where policy must manoeuvre between disparate viewpoints and needs. Crucially, none of Pautasso et al.'s (Biol Conserv 158:37–49, 2013) five plant-science-based solutions were explicitly adopted by the British Government in their response strategy to ash dieback disease. The same is true of the biological control recommendations offered by Kirisits et al. (J Agric Ext Rural Dev 4(9):230–235, 2012). Instead, the government adopted a broader, more comprehensive approach than that recommended by plant scientists. The present analysis thus provides an example of a holistic perspective on the multiple competing factors that policymakers must navigate in their attempts to delineate action. It highlights instances in which proposed biological responses were rendered less applicable by a failure to understand the agenda-setting process and the policy-making arena. The present findings suggest that an improved understanding of the factors influencing agenda setting and policy action is essential to arriving at a more effective and integrated understanding of responses to biological threats. ; Future Forests

This study reviews how the issue of ash dieback has been placed on the political agenda in the UK, a country where the disease has affected one of the largest national extents, thus representing a particularly severe case. Comparisons are made between how the scientific community framed the ash dieback threat and the resulting response strategy and how both the media and the British government framed the problem. Representing one example of media framing, the study analyses one British newspaper's coverage of the disease and the response strategies (the Daily Telegraph). The analysis highlights a gap between the biologically rooted perspective and the perspective of policymakers, where policy must manoeuvre between disparate viewpoints and needs. Crucially, none of Pautasso et al.'s (Biol Conserv 158:37–49, 2013) five plant-science-based solutions were explicitly adopted by the British Government in their response strategy to ash dieback disease. The same is true of the biological control recommendations offered by Kirisits et al. (J Agric Ext Rural Dev 4(9):230–235, 2012). Instead, the government adopted a broader, more comprehensive approach than that recommended by plant scientists. The present analysis thus provides an example of a holistic perspective on the multiple competing factors that policymakers must navigate in their attempts to delineate action. It highlights instances in which proposed biological responses were rendered less applicable by a failure to understand the agenda-setting process and the policy-making arena. The present findings suggest that an improved understanding of the factors influencing agenda setting and policy action is essential to arriving at a more effective and integrated understanding of responses to biological threats. ; article; 2019-02-15T15:17:42.671+01:00

Invasive alien species constitute an increasing risk to forestry, as indeed to natural systems in general. This study reviews the legislative framework governing invasive species in the EU and Sweden, drawing upon both a legal analysis and interviews with main national level agencies responsible for implementing this framework. The study concludes that EU and Sweden are limited in how well they can act on invasive species, in particular because of the weak interpretation of the precautionary principle in the World Trade Organisation and Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreements. In the Swedish case, this interpretation also conflicts with the stronger interpretation of the precautionary principle under the Swedish Environmental Code, which could in itself provide for stronger possibilities to act on invasive species. ; Issue 2 Supplement