Both conferences come at a time when governments are preparing their foreign and environmental ministries for the negotiations at Rio+20 in June. The French government, in particular, has been vocal in its support for creating a UN Specialized Agency for the Environment capable of centralizing international efforts for environmental protection and sustainable development. Fittingly, the conference at the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs centered on three topics: how to structure the new environmental system, how to ensure that valid scientific findings are integrated into global environmental policy, and how to ensure a democratic, multi-level model of governance.

At both conferences, scientific and governance policy experts, representatives from civil society organizations, and government officials were involved in the dialogue. Notable participants at “Towards New Global Governance for the Environtment” included Prof. Maria Ivanova, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, President of the UN General Assembly Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, and Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO.

The workshop took place on 26-28 June 2011, and brought together academics and policymakers. The goals of the workshop were to identify existing reform ideas and to generate new ones, grounded in rigorous academic analysis and tested against practice. We seek to provide concrete input as governments negotiate a new set of institutional arrangements for environment and sustainable development in the run up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development to be held in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012. The workshop also provided the opportunity to create a long-term, focused research and policy network.

In the follow up to the workshop a report has been published highlighting the main points agreed upon by the participants.

The main points of the report are: first, that there is consensus that the ultimate goal of the global governance system for environment and sustainable development is to solve environmental problems and to ensure human well-being within planetary limits. Second, that the main challenges of environmental governance are the fragmentation of agreements, goals and institutions, the dilution of authority within and beyond the environmental system, the imbalance of power among international regimes, the existence of weak anchor institutions for global environment, and the inadequacy of resources for environmental protection.

The report goes on to detail that effective international environmental governance requires the effective execution of three main functions: scientific assessment, policy and law development, and implementation. In lieu of this, governments have endorsed the principle that form follows function, identified six system-wide functional responses to the system challenges, and proposed five institutional reform options which have become the focal points in the lead up to the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). These options were suggested in the Nairobi – Helsinki outcome document.

The report further points out that participants did not deem any of the reform options sufficient by itself and sought to fill in the gaps in functions and strategy within the current system by developing an approach to evaluating the institutional forms currently under consideration dubbed ‘ The Redesigning of Initiatives Assessment’.

Finally, the report details the Action Agenda which specifies that no single institution is likely to possess the ability and authority to deal effectively with planetary issues. And that a holistic approach, engaging all existing institutions as well as a bold vision for new institutional arrangement is needed. The Action Agenda reflects the need for immediate inputs and ideas into the policy process for longer term research and action in environmental governance.
One main outcome of the meeting which was organised by the Federal Office for the Environment of Switzerland, the Global Environmental Governance Project of the Center for Governance and Sustainability at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and the World Trade Institute at the University of Bern, is already in progress with the Governance and Sustainability issue briefs series.

This series of short policy papers on governance and sustainability provides analytical input to contemporary analytical discussions on institutional reforms for environment and sustainable development. The issue briefs provide analytically grounded and politically plausible reform options that negotiators could consider in the run up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20 and beyond. To read more on the report summary and issue brief series click here.

To read more about the workshop click here.

The conference’s purpose is to identify new proposals to create a sustainable development agenda that can adapt in a world undergoing profound transformations. It will also provide a forum for different civil society organizations and stakeholders to discuss their expectations for global environmental governance reform and their role in the reform process.

Specifically, the conference will focus on three main issues:

• Governance that meets the needs and expectations of all actors in society;
• Governance based on a solid interface between science and policy and that uses the new technologies to modernize its operation; and
• A system of international governance built on a model of democratic association of all the actors in society.

Prof. Maria Ivanova, Director of the Global Environmental Governance Project and Co-Director of the Center for Governance and Sustainability at UMass Boston, will participate in the conference.

For more information click here.

The intensive course will focus on the developing field of global environmental governance theory. Students will learn about the role of environmental institutions, regime theory, environmental justice, international relations theory, and environmental governance and the global economy, among other topics. Lectures will also cover the empirical side of environmental agreements: formulating multilateral environmental agreements such as the UNFCCC, the Convention of Biodiversity, and the Kyoto Protocol; and the relationships between these regimes and other globalized institutions.

The course will consist of lectures and a group paper concerning environmental governance. Notable lecturers include Frank Biermann of the Free University of Amsterdam, Clive Spash of the Vienna University of Economics and Business, and Oran Young of the University of California at Santa Barbara. The course is intended to provide a strong theoretical foundation in environmental governance so that students will be prepared for careers in, and analysis of, environmental regimes, institutions, and agreements.

In addition to providing free tuition to accepted applicants, the Thor Heyerdahl school will cover room and board, visa fees, and flights to and from the school. The application is due on February 15^th.

For more information, click here.

The meeting will bridge this gap by engaging the national audience in vigorous and spirited dialogue, connecting them with national leaders from diverse faith, policy, academic and business communities, all working to engage key constituencies in a constructive, fact-based conversation about global warming. This public town hall meeting is being held in conjunction with a January 19 – 21 University of Michigan-based workshop on “Increasing Public Understanding of Climate Risks and Choices: What We Can Learn from Social Science Research and Practice,” jointly organized by the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Erb Institute. The event will be broadcast live on the internet on January 20, from 6:30 – 8:00PM EST, and questions can be submitted in advance or during the event. Those who are interested in participating can RSVP at the following link: http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/what_you_can_do/webcast-rsvp.html?autologin=true.