Article
«Оценка трансграничных рисков и глобальных последствий, обусловленных изменениями климата и развитием экономической деятельности в бассейнах крупных северных рек и морей Арктики»
Contemporary challenges and threats to sustainable development including safe use of transboundary resources of rivers and Arctic seas in condition of climate change are connected with cumulative impact of numerous factors. Ongoing environmental changes have transboundary nature and will have significant impact in international scale. In case of overlapping of factors of impact their nature and synergetic effect, mechanisms of their interrelated influence and possible negative consequences for global economy, environment and human health are not adequately known. Among the main obstacles to mitigation of climate change impact on the state of big river basins in the Arctic and Arctic seas are: the lack of critically important information and data, absence of modern concepts of climate change mitigation measures connected with impact on Arctic seas, uncoordinated and inefficient regulation and management, absence of unified interstate tools of marine spatial planning. The article contains the analysis of risks and global consequences of the ongoing climate change for water resources; characteristic of priority issues and their underlying root causes. It also contains the results of the analysis of risks connected with melting of permafrost and increase in thermal coast erosion, assessment of the role of transboundary cooperation of water issues for sustainable regional development. The authors also propose some measures for addressing the above issues based on the Strategic Programme of Actions on the Protection of the Russian Part of the Arctic developed by the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia.
Climate changes in Russia are analysed
The cumulative effects of a significantly changing climate are projected to have disastrous implications on the world’s natural habitats, and along with that, are projected to drastically increase the rate and likelihood of violent conflict globally, particularly in high-density, urban, poverty hotspots. Limiting the effects of a changing climate is thus critical in influencing multiple societal goals including equitable sustainable development, human health, biodiversity, food security and access to reliable energy sources.
This paper argues that the G7/8 has led global climate governance in ways other international environmental institutions have largely failed to do. It has done so largely by placing climate protection at the forefront of its policy objectives, alongside economic, health, energy and security goals, and reaching consensus repeatedly amongst its leaders on the importance of stabilizing emissions through energy efficiency, conservation, investment and technological innovation. Moreover, this chapter argues that the summit’s predominant capability, its constricted participation, democratic convergence and political cohesion – as well as the combined effects of global shocks – have all had positive impacts on the G7/8’s success in mitigating climate change.
Following a detailed process-tracing exercise over the summit’s 40-year history in which clear surges and retreats on global climate governance are outlined, this paper concludes by assessing the G7/8’s accountability record on climate mitigation and outlines a set of prescriptive recommendations, allowing for the delivery of a more tangible, coherent, results-driven accountability process for global climate governance.
Global climate change entails both threats and new opportunities for social and economic development of the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion. Taking into account the scale of climate change forecasted for the ASE, the importance of Altai-Sayan as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots as well as an important role assigned to the region in strategic plans of Russia’s economic development, the need to develop regional measures of adaptation to both negative and positive impacts of climate change raises no doubts. In particular, climate change is referred to as a new determinant of development and a security challenge to Russia and its regions in such strategic documents as: the RF Environmental Doctrine (2002), the RF Long-Term Social and Economic Development Concept for the period to 2020 (2008), the RF Forest Complex Development Strategy for the period to 2020 (2008), the RF National Security Strategy for the period to 2020 (2009), the RF Climate Doctrine (2009), the Energy Strategy of Russia for the period to 2030 (2009), the RF Food Safety Doctrine (2010) and the Strategy of Social and Economic Development of Siberia for the period to 2020 (2010).
Report contains extensive information on an array of thematic issues: current and predicted climate change, prognosis for change in plant communities and water resources, and impact of climate change on population, economy and services provided by natural ecosystems in the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion (ASE). It is not easy to identify the human-induced changes in global climate and their regional peculiarities against the backgrounds of natural climate variability and local impacts. This report will serve as a guide of future action aimed at studying climate change impacts and planning adaptation measures when the adverse impacts of climate change reveal themselves and/or when sufficient data is collected and reliable regional models are developed to allow climate change prediction.
Analysis of Climate change in Russia
Global climate change entails both threats and new opportunities for social and economic development of the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion. Taking into account the scale of climate change forecasted for the ASE, the importance of Altai-Sayan as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots as well as an important role assigned to the region in strategic plans of Russia’s economic development, the need to develop regional measures of adaptation to both negative and positive impacts of climate change raises no doubts. In particular, climate change is referred to as a new determinant of development and a security challenge to Russia and its regions in such strategic documents as: the RF Environmental Doctrine (2002), the RF Long-Term Social and Economic Development Concept for the period to 2020 (2008), the RF Forest Complex Development Strategy for the period to 2020 (2008), the RF National Security Strategy for the period to 2020 (2009), the RF Climate Doctrine (2009), the Energy Strategy of Russia for the period to 2030 (2009), the RF Food Safety Doctrine (2010) and the Strategy of Social and Economic Development of Siberia for the period to 2020 (2010).
The particularities of American political system impede the progress of US climate change regime at the federal level. The only possible way to create the comprehensive system of climate change regulation in the USA is thereby the bottom-to-up scheme proceeding from the diverse green initiatives at the level of firms, communities and states.
Smoking is a problem, bringing signifi cant social and economic costs to Russiansociety. However, ratifi cation of the World health organization Framework conventionon tobacco control makes it possible to improve Russian legislation accordingto the international standards. So, I describe some measures that should be taken bythe Russian authorities in the nearest future, and I examine their effi ciency. By studyingthe international evidence I analyze the impact of the smoke-free areas, advertisementand sponsorship bans, tax increases, etc. on the prevalence of smoking, cigaretteconsumption and some other indicators. I also investigate the obstacles confrontingthe Russian authorities when they introduce new policy measures and the public attitudetowards these measures. I conclude that there is a number of easy-to-implementanti-smoking activities that need no fi nancial resources but only a political will.
One of the most important indicators of company's success is the increase of its value. The article investigates traditional methods of company's value assessment and the evidence that the application of these methods is incorrect in the new stage of economy. So it is necessary to create a new method of valuation based on the new main sources of company's success that is its intellectual capital.
We address the external effects on public sector efficiency measures acquired using Data Envelopment Analysis. We use the health care system in Russian regions in 2011 to evaluate modern approaches to accounting for external effects. We propose a promising method of correcting DEA efficiency measures. Despite the multiple advantages DEA offers, the usage of this approach carries with it a number of methodological difficulties. Accounting for multiple factors of efficiency calls for more complex methods, among which the most promising are DMU clustering and calculating local production possibility frontiers. Using regression models for estimate correction requires further study due to possible systematic errors during estimation. A mixture of data correction and DMU clustering together with multi-stage DEA seems most promising at the moment. Analyzing several stages of transforming society’s resources into social welfare will allow for picking out the weak points in a state agency’s work.