Environment and Energy, December, 2009

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The Indian Nuclear Industry: Status and Prospects

Nuclear Energy Futures Paper # 9
M. V. Ramana

This report offers a historical overview and assessment of the Indian nuclear industry, including India’s indigenous efforts and the role of foreign aid and expertise.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Bridging the North-South Divide on Climate Post-Copenhagen

CIGI Policy Brief #17

This policy brief asserts that the North-South divide is perhaps the most important hindrance to reaching an agreement at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) being held in Copenhagen in December 2009. According to the authors, movement across this divide will be necessary to reach a deal; however, the likelihood of a significant agreement, even post-Copenhagen, is unclear despite the current political momentum.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Reframing Global Environmental Governance: Results of a CIGI/CIS Collaboration

Working Paper #45
Jennifer Clapp and Steven Bernstein and Matthew Hoffmann

There are serious questions about the ability or willingness of states, individually and collectively, to respond to the most pressing environmental challenges. The erosion of confidence in and the dominance of a state-centric governance model has simultaneously resulted from and provoked significant innovation. Corporations, social and environmental organizations, private-public partnerships, substate governments, and even local communities have already begun to conceive and implement governance initiatives to address global environmental problems. This paper reflects upon these innovative institutional dynamics and assesses their prospects to produce effective, legitimate, and equitable outcomes. It concludes with a series of questions to guide future analysis and to better understand the prospects for improving the practice of global environmental governance.