Environment and Natural Resources Programme • Volume 8 • Number 14 • 25th July 2008
Resources
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If you have a relevant resource (books, papers, bulletins, etc.) you would like to see announced in this section, please forward a copy for review by the Bridges staff to Malena Sell at msell@ictsd.ch.
THE LIMITS TO TRAVEL: HOW FAR WILL YOU GO? By David Metz (Earthscan, 2008). Transportation is one of the biggest contributors to climate change. The Limits to Travel is the first book to address the links between why we travel, how we travel, and the environmental impacts of our actions that will ultimately limit our travel. The arguments in the book challenge conventional transport economics and policy, and are based on original analysis by the author, a former Chief Scientist at the Department of Transport, that will stimulate debate about both transport policy and the future contribution of travel to global warming.
GLOBAL TRENDS IN SUSTAINABLE ENERGY INVESTMENT 2008. By UNEP, July 2008. This analysis by the UN Environment Programme shows a surge in renewable energy investments in 2007, driven by oil prices and concerns about both climate change and energy security. The report also highlights the increasing proportion of investment in China, India and Brazil. To access the report (requires free registration), please refer to http://sefi.unep.org/english/globaltrends1.html.
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: AN EVALUATION OF WORLD BANK SUPPORT. By the IEG World Bank, July 2008. This evaluation looks at the effectiveness of World Bank Group support to the environment from 1990 to 2007. While there are difficulties in comparing the experience of the public and private sectors, a contribution of this evaluation is in bringing together findings on the World Bank, IFC (International Finance Corporation), and MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency), and assessing the effectiveness of the World Bank Group as a whole. In doing so, it also attempts to identify the external and internal constraints on Bank Group effectiveness and suggest ways in which some of them, particularly the internal ones, can be reduced. The report can be accessed online at the World Bank website, http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTOED/EXTENVIRONMENT/0,,contentMDK:21798364~menuPK:4681948~pagePK:64829573~piPK:64829550~theSitePK:4681890,00.html.
POLICY REPORT BY THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR CONTEMPORARY GERMAN STUDIES. By Alexander Ochs. This report examines the twin challenges of climate change and energy security for Germany and the United States. It focuses on the third industrial revolution - the revolution that has to occur to transform our current fossil fuel-based societies into an energy-secure, efficient and climate-friendly world - and makes a strong economic case for why it has to be initiated. The Policy Report can be accessed on AICGS website at http://www.aicgs.org/documents/pubs/polrep34.pdf. Mr. Ochs is also the Editor and founder of the Forum for Atlantic Climate and Energy Talks (FACET), an initiative that aims at enriching the transatlantic dialogue on climate change and energy by providing a platform for the open exchange of opinions. It can be accessed at http://aicgs.org/facet/.
A GREEN NEW DEAL. Report by the Green New Deal Group, a UK alliance of experts in energy, the environment and finance. The report calls for a co-ordinated response to the ‘triple crunch’ of climate change, high oil prices and the credit crisis. It is the first attempt to address the nature of broader financial and monetary reform necessary to create the investment framework needed for the energy transition to avert dangerous climate change. To access the full Green New Deal report, please refer to http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/z_sys_publicationdetail.aspx?pid=258.
WORLD TRADE REPORT 2008: TRADE IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD. World Trade Organisation, 15 July 2008. The World Trade Report is an annual publication that aims to deepen understanding about trends in trade, trade policy issues and the multilateral trading system. The theme of this year’s Report is ‘Trade in a Globalising World’. The report provides a reminder of what we know about the gains from international trade and highlights the challenges arising from higher levels of integration. It addresses a range of interlinking questions, starting with a consideration of what constitutes globalisation, what drives it, what benefits does it bring, what challenges does it pose and what role does trade play in this world of ever-growing inter-dependency. The report asks why some countries have managed to take advantage of falling trade costs and greater policy-driven trading opportunities while others have remained largely outside international commercial relations. It also considers who the winners and losers are from trade and what complementary action is needed from policy-makers to secure the benefits of trade for society at large. In examining these questions, the report reviews both the theoretical gains from trade and empirical evidence that can help to answer these questions. For further information and to access the report, please refer to http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/wtr08_e.htm.
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