Paris Conference Research Articles

Achieving Turkey’s INDC Target: Assessments of NCCAP and INDC Documents and Proposing Conceivable Policies

In 2015, Turkey submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) before the Paris Conference of the Parties (COP 21), expressing its intention to decrease emissions level at a rate of 21% from business as usual. This emissions reduction target is important as it is the first one for Turkey. However, Turkey faces unemployment problems and needs to sustain its growth. In this study, an Environmentally Extended Social Accounting Matrix (SAM), based on 2012 Input–Output data, was created, emissions reduction potentials of the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) together with the INDC were calculated, and alternative policies to reduce emissions to the target level and to boost the economy were proposed separately. The study finds that both the preparation and implementation of the previous national documents are problematic, and that Turkey was not meticulous about implementation of the climate mitigation policies in the previous national documents. The study also finds that reaching the emissions target with the INDC policies seems impossible and more conceivable policies are needed, and recommends that the INDC target and document itself should be revised substantially.

Global Climate Governance and Disaster Risk Financing: China's Potential Roadmap in Transitional Reform

Insurance industry participates in the United Nations December 2015 climate conference in Paris and offers products that are regarded as essential to financial resilience in the face of climate disaster risk. In China, however, the government traditionally has played the central role in catastrophe disaster aid, relief, and compensation. Nonetheless, the government’s Whole-Nation System needs reform and a shift to an insurance-based model because (a) the current system is not financially sustainable; and (b) a private insurance system would do a better job than government regulation alone in mitigating climate change risks. To accomplish this shift, the Whole-Nation System (regulation by government) should be combined with catastrophe insurance (regulation by insurance) to capitalize on the strengths of the private market and public government oversight. Under such a proposed hybrid system, the government should support private sector efforts to make catastrophe insurance the key vehicle for the financing and loss mitigation of climate change risks.

Making research matter: how can I become a more effective Gestalt therapist?

"Abstract: This paper is developed from a presentation at the Gestalt Research Conference in Paris, May 2017. Focusing on the question, ‘How can I become a more effective Gestalt therapist?’, I argue that the discipline of reflexive enquiry is an accessible way for all therapists to research their practice. I give examples from my work as supervisor and therapist where I have explored my interest in the haptic use of materials in therapy to inform and support the development of my practice. Keywords: practice-based research, reflexivity, sand tray, clay, haptic, creative methods."

Out of the Paris Conference: a step into exploring practice-based research in Gestalt therapy

"Abstract: In this paper, the four conveners of the Paris Conference (May 2017) tell us why and how a research tradition in Gestalt therapy is starting to grow: the uniqueness and relevance of Gestalt therapy merits joining the psychotherapy research field to receive legitimation and the Gestalt community has already undertaken good research projects and achieved valuable results. The Gestalt community is now mobilised and the success of the Paris Conference seems to be a turning point. The authors continue by discussing how research can fit with Gestalt anthropology and show how this emerging tradition is connected with and part of the wider field of contemporary psychotherapy research. Finally, they focus on the training and development of the reflexive awareness of the therapist, advocating a more research-oriented attitude. Keywords: Gestalt therapy, psychotherapy research, training, self-awareness."

Full spark authority in a highly boosted ethanol DISI prototype engine

The need for a reversal of the global climatic condition has stimulated the emergence of various agreements in favour of the environment. Among the most famous are the Paris Conference and the 2020–2030 Route, which have the purpose of reducing the emission of pollutant gases in the atmosphere to avoid a possible climatic catastrophe. Therefore, internal combustion engines are undergoing a period of significant change, since the automotive industry must reduce its environmental impact, mainly by reducing fuel consumption and using sustainable and renewable energy matrices instead of fossil fuels. In this sense, the objective of this work is to propose a combustion technique for a 1.0-l turbocharged engine with direct injection of ethanol, in order to reach the limits of its fuel conversion efficiency. For that purpose, the research has involved a variety of calibration strategies, such as homogeneous mixture preparation, the use of split-injection and the adoption of water injection for mitigating any abnormal combustion phenomenon. Moreover, water injection made it possible to push further up to full spark authority. A numerical approach by a 1D model (GT-Power™) was made to predict the engine’s fuel conversion efficiency and investigate its power at high engine speeds. The experimental results demonstrate a downsizing capability of up to 65%, in addition to achieving a fuel conversion efficiency up to 43.0% using a water injection strategy. Furthermore, the numerical results showed the possibility of achieving up to 45.5% fuel conversion efficiency by means of turbo-matching improvements.

The development of Ethiopia's Climate Resilient Green Economy 2011–2014: implications for rural adaptation

Anthropogenic climate change is predicted to have severe impacts on national economies and individual livelihoods, particularly for the world’s poorest populations. Measures to address climate change include both mitigation to reduce emissions and adaptation to climate change impacts. Prior to the Paris Conference of Parties 21 in 2015, few low-income countries had made extensive progress on either mitigation or adaptation. Ethiopia’s Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) policy, introduced in 2011, stands out as an unusual example in its scope to reduce future emissions while also promoting adaptation through economic development. The formation of Ethiopia’s CRGE between 2011 and 2014 demonstrates how a low-income country can rapidly develop a comprehensive policy for climate change using green growth. A case from the Rift Valley, however, illuminates the challenges facing government efforts to have its climate policy reach its predominantly rural population. Using multiple methods of key informant interviews, analysis of policy documents, and survey data collected during three years of study, 2012–2014, the data suggest a confluence of factors contributed to the design and emergence of Ethiopia’s climate policy, notably Ethiopia’s institutional autonomy and capacity. Despite being at the global forefront of climate policy for low-income countries, the reach of the Ethiopian state to implement programmes in the rural sector remains limited. Ultimately, Ethiopia is a bellwether for the combined mitigation and adaptation policy responses needed in many low-income countries to promote sustainable development in the face of climate change.

Przewrót Gabriele D’Annunzia w Rijece (1919–1920) w kontekście stosunków włosko-jugosłowiańskich

Gabriele D’Annunzio coup in Rijeka (1919–1920) in the context of Italian-Yugoslavian relationsAbstractThe question of domination over the Adriatic Sea was a thorny issue in the interwar relationship between Italy and Yugoslavia. The dispute over the city of Rijeka (Fiume at that time), which after the coup launched by Gabriele D’Annunzio in September 1919 further aggravated the relations of Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, involved in the conflict at the same time the Entente states. Rijeka was the city of non-uniform national structure, and an important economic centre, becoming at the same time a symbol of intersecting Italian and Yugoslavian influences on the Adriatic.The controversy over Rijeka was not a typical one, as it took place in the background of the peace conference in Paris after the end of the Great War. The Entente States, i.e. France, the United States, and Great Britain, had different and conflicting visions of the city’s status. This indecision was used by D’Annunzio, who in 1919–1920 strengthened his rule in Rijeka. Initially, the Italian government was ambiguous on the poet’s coup, while the diplomacy of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes regarded the coup as Italian attack against Rijeka. Thus, the question of normalisation of the city’s status became a complex process, requiring the consideration of many aspects within the framework of Italian-Yugoslavian relations.The present article analyses these aspects of the relationship between Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in the context of D’Annunzio coup mounted in September 1919. Another important value of the text resides in the fact that it is based on archival materials, including archival press reports (mainly from the Polish, Serbian, and French press of that time), which made it possible to present the problem against the rich and broad social and political background of the conflict over Rijeka. Переворот Габриеле д’Аннунцио в Риеке (1919–1920) в контексте итальяно-югославских отношенийАннотацияВопрос господства над Адриатикой был невралгическим пунктом в итальяно-югославских отношениях в межвоенный период. В этом отношении особенно сформировался конфликт о Риеку, который в результате переворота, совершенного Габриеле д’Аннунцио в сентябре 1919 года, усугубил отношения между Италией и КСХС, одновременно втягивая в эту проблему государства Антанты. Риека была городом с неоднородной этнической структурой, а заодно важным центром экономики и символом пересекающихся итальянского и югославского влияний над Адриатикой.Спор о Риеку был нетипичен. Он проходил на фоне Парижской мирной конференции, созванной после завершения Великой войны. Совещающиеся государства Антанты т.е. Франция, США и Великобритания, высказывали разные и противоречивые концепции статуса города. Этой нерешимостью воспользовался д’Аннунцио, который в 1919–1920 гг. утверждал свою власть в Риеке. Поначалу итальянская сторона неоднозначно высказывалась о перевороте поэта, а дипломатия КСХС утверждала, что имело место итальянское наступление на Риеку. Итак, вопрос нормализации статуса города оказался сложным процессом, требующим учета многих аспектов в рамках итальяно-югославских отношений.Эти аспекты в отношениях Италии с КСХС в контексте переворота, совершенного д’Аннунцио в Риеке в сентябре 1919 года и стали предметом обсуждения в данной статье. Основная источниковая ценность текста заключается в архивных материалах, прежде всего, архивных донесениях прессы (главным образом польских, сербских и французских), благодаря которым стало возможным обсуждение, с учетом различных контекстов, прежде всего, общественных и политических, конфликта о Риеку.

Monique Verdin’s Louisiana Love: An Interview

“Monique Verdin’s Louisiana Love: An Interview” provides insights into the aesthetic choices and activism of Houma photographer and documentarian Monique Michelle Verdin. The interview begins with a discussion of Houma kinship relations with both land and water, considering the ecological devastation that corporate colonialism and climate change have wreaked on south Louisiana. This line of questioning leads to a discussion of her 2012 documentary, My Louisiana Love, of which she is both a producer and the central figure. She explains that she was trying to tell the story of her tribe, which inevitably led to documentation of how the gas and oil industry has ravaged south Louisiana’s wetlands through both pollution and pipeline construction. We also discuss how the personal losses in the film, resulting from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (2005) and BP’s 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, make her own pain a focus that ultimately demonstrates intergenerational trauma. The interview then moves on to the ways in which her artistic work led to her activism, particularly by recording the damage sustained by the Gulf of Mexico and the coast due to the BP oil spill. The conversation describes how she has since created alliances with diverse Native peoples as the Gulf Coast representative for the Indigenous Environmental Network and through national and international activism, including at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP 21). The interview concludes with Verdin’s thoughts on environmental issues concerning south Louisiana today, including the proposed Bayou Bridge Pipeline and the impending resettlement of the Isle de Jean Charles tribe of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw due to rising sea levels.

Alliance Under Stress. Wilson's Fourteen Points and their Impact on Romania

The Fourteen Points have become part of a whole political narrative dealing with the birth of a new world order or more exactly with the apparent failure to deliver a functional new world order after the cataclysm of 1914-1918. At the same time any discussion about Wilsonianism leads to questions debates about unilateralism or internationalism or about the acceptance or refusal of interdependence by the United States in world politics. As US policies have fluctuated so much during the recent past it is perhaps natural to return to the founding father of the US global role. This dominant version has also obscured another aspect: while Wilson may have won the battle with posterity and identified himself with the new international order, phrases such as „national rights”, „the principle of nationalities” were already in common use in April 1917. In the short term the Fourteen Points were clearly perceived by Romanian officials as a challenge to their peace program. US refusal to endorse Romanian objective was troubling and the Peace Conference in Paris would prove that Wilson was indeed a reluctant supporter of Romania’s territorial agenda.

China’s Evolving Image in International Climate Negotiation: From Copenhagen to Paris

As the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, China has been a key party in global climate negotiation. External perceptions of China’s role in climate negotiation are significant for China’s domestic policy-making process and international climate efforts. Based on the case studies of two most historic climate talks, the Copenhagen and Paris climate conferences, this article attempts to examine the evolution of external perceptions on China’s role in international climate negotiation by three criteria: acceptability, credibility and constructiveness. The study shows that external perceptions of China’s role in international climate talks have changed considerably since 2009. At the Copenhagen conference, China was regarded as a “dead weight” or even a “wrecker,” though it managed to attain most of its negotiating goals. At the Paris conference, however, China was widely recognized as a global climate leader whose endeavor was indispensable for the conclusion of the Paris Agreement.

Enhancing the open space of Jabodetabek area, Indonesia

Jabodetabek area is planned to be developed as a sustainable development region. The Government of Indonesia (GoI) committed in Paris Conference that the target of GHG emissions would be reduced by 29% up to 2030 with her own efforts and by 41% with supported by international assistance. This research attempts to apply specific methods such as stratified planting method to improve the quality of green open space by increasing the absorbed carbon level. The study showed that with the planting vegetation of stratified model, the total capacity of the mainland to absorb CO2 gas is quite significant increase with approximately 20% compared to that of homogeneous vegetation. The stratified planting model is worthwhile to achieve the commitment of the GoI mentioned above.

Италия, Греция, державы Антанты и вопрос о Додеканесских островах в дипломатической борьбе 1915—1923 годов

The history of Italy’s diplomatic struggle for recognition of Italian control over the Dodecanese Islands during the period of Italy’s participation in the World War I and in the period of post-war settlement of territorial problems at the Paris and Lausanne peace conferences is considered. The article proves that during the World War I and during the post-war peace conferences Italy, referring to the articles of the London Treaty of 1915, sought international recognition of its possession of the Dodecanese Islands. It is reported that Greece, which also participated in the war on the Entente side, sought to establish its own control over the Islands of the archipelago. It is noted that in the current situation, Italy had undoubted advantages over Greece, primarily because the Islands were really under Italian control. It is shown that the discussion of the issue was seriously affected by the defeat of Greece in the war of 1919-1922 with Turkey, after which Greece could no longer be a real rival of Italy in the struggle for the Dodecanese Islands. It is reported that the outcome of the Lausanne peace conference in 1923 was the legal recognition of the Islands as the possession of Italy, with which both Turkey and Greece were forced to reconcile.

Iran’s commitments toward meeting the goals of Paris Agreement: harnessing the global temperature rise

Since its inception in Rio, 1992, United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) has held 23 Conference of Parties (COP). COP21 of Paris, December 2015, by consensus, is a breakthrough in more than 25 years of debates and disputes over climate change and global warming issues. COP21 invites the world players to reduce the Global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, to limit Planet’s temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius, if not below 1.5, by the end of the 21st century. To meet the challenge, the main recommendations of the agreement are as follows: COP21 invites its member to propose an intended Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), towards meeting its goals, proportionate to their administrative, economic, and technological capabilities. NDCs are required to be Measurable, Reportable, and Verifi able (MRV). NDCs should be revised every 5 years on the basis of knowledge and experience gained in the process. COP21 urges the developed countries to assist the developing ones, technology-, fi nance-, and knowhow-wise to develop and execute their NDCs. Recommendations of COP12 are nonbinding. Islamic Republic of Iran is a member of UNFCCC since 1996. President H. Rouhani attended the Paris Conference and pledged to reduce Iran’s GHG emissions: a) Voluntarily by 4% in the period 2020-30; and b) Conditionally by an additional 8% by 2050. The reference year for GHG reductions is 2010 on BAU basis. Conditions for the 8% reduction are, the availability of fi nancial and technological means, and lifting of the sanctions imposed upon the country. Again, the pledges are non-binding, as for all UNFCCC parties. A Working Group on Climate Change (WGCC), stationed in the Department of Environment of Iran (DOE), is the liaison with UNFCCC. WGCC is given the task of drawing up Iran’s NDC. A fi rst draft of this document is now available to public.

Beyond the Paris Agreement: Climate Change Policy Negotiations and Future Directions

At the conclusion of the Paris conference, this paper provides a review of the history of international negotiations on global warming for the past three decades with an emphasis on details of Paris agreements. Founding documents of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are reviewed. Major outcomes as well as conflicts on the stringency of global mitigation efforts observed from the series of Conferences Of the Parties (COP) since 1992 are explained: Rio Earth Summit, Kyoto Protocol, Copenhagen Accord, Cancun Agreement, Durban Platform, and Paris Agreement. The development of the financial instrument called the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the tensions among the parties on the fund are reviewed. The paper describes the current states of the global negotiations on various fronts at the aftermath of the Paris COP. The paper concludes by putting forth future directions of the negotiations and the ideal policies that can be agreed upon at the international level, which focus on adaptation, technologies, incentives, and exchanges.

Thermoelectric Power Plant for Compensation of Hydrological Cycle Change: Environmental Impacts in Brazil

Brazil has abundant water resources and depends on them for hydroelectric power generation. In 2011, 81.9% of the electricity in the country was produced by hydropower. A significant change in the Brazilian hydrological cycle reduced this percentage to 64% in 2015. The scarcity of rain decreased the volumes in the reservoirs of the hydroelectric power plants located mainly in the Southeast, Center-West and Northeast regions. In this scenario, the National Operator System authorized the use in full load of thermoelectric plants powered by natural gas, biomass and coal. As a result, thermoelectric generation grew 329%, increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The intensification in the use of thermoelectric energy leads to a vicious energy–environment cycle, as it increases the CO2 emissions. Brazilian government is aware of the necessity of electricity generation, and future uncertainties generated by the instabilities of hydrological cycles may jeopardize the country’s energy security. The country has proposed programs to encourage energy generation by other renewable sources (wind and solar) and avoid the use of thermoelectric plants, which increase the generation costs and environmental impacts. This could compromise the goals of reducing carbon emissions signed by Brazil at Paris Conference (COP21).

UNESCO Experts’ Meeting on the Safeguarding of Syria’s heritage

Armed conflicts are one of the primary reasons that endanger heritage and the symbolic value of cultures. Both the protection of cultural legacy and the promotion of the plural interests and identities that intersect and construct heritage in times of war should be reinforced with an effi-ient strategy and effective actions. The unprecedented destruction of renowned cultural heritage sites in Syria has not remained unnoticed. The contentious violations that occurred during the hostilities of Syria’s ongoing conflict have drawn the attention of international organisations such as UNESCO, ICOMOS, ICCROM, and ICOM.
 Following the constant media reports and aerial photos of heritage destructions in Syria, UNESCO held an experts’ meeting in Berlin to discuss its safeguarding. The meeting was envisioned as a follow-up to the implementation of the UNESCO action plan for the Emergency Safeguarding of Syria’s Cultural Heritage (UNESCO 2014). The three-day conference (2 - 4 June 2016) aimed to continue the work of the 2014 Paris conference, supported by the three-year EU-funded project on the Emergency Safeguarding of the Syrian Cultural Heritage.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS TOWARDS GREENER ENVIRONMENT IN THE WORLD

Climate change is a multi-dimensional global problem. Its causes and impacts are distributed and felt across the International system, surpassing the traditional boundaries and jurisdictions of the states. The complex politics of climate change results from the global economy's interdependence on green house gas emissions. This paper attempts to explore the politics of climate change between developed and developing countries, International relations practice and environment issues in various International conferences. The historical perspective of climate change issues eliberated since Stockholm conference to the latest Paris conference is analysed. Adaptation, mitigation, finance, technology all these issues are highlighted in the paper. The paper has viewed that the International policy on environment is being shaped by inequality of bargaining power between the North and South. The developing countries under the leadership of India have taken firm position against the developed nations on the issue of green house gas emission, funding and technology, the paper has argued. Towards the end, this paper has focused on possible measures to address the problems of climate change through foreign policy initiatives, trade and investment, adaptation and mitigation.

Mapping states’ Paris climate pledges: Analysing targets and groups at COP 21

Abstract Prior to the 2015 Paris Conference of the Parties (COP), every state was requested to submit a pledge of their own design. To date, there has been a lack of large-n studies that provide a broad picture of these pledges. We employ Discourse Network Analysis to examine critically the climate pledges of all 162 actors at the Paris COP. Our research offers four main contributions. First, we provide data regarding the mitigation and adaptation components of every national pledge. Second, we identify six types of mitigation targets, and visually cluster every state according to these formats. Third, we argue that the pledges of the Umbrella Group of non-EU developed states, and of the group of oil exporting countries, showed greater internal similarity than the group comprising Brazil, China, India and South Africa. Finally, we critique the method as a means of analysing the new global climate governance context and argue that the method offers an innovative and unique means of understanding this complex policy landscape, when applied in a specific and focused manner.

Factors Driving the Promotion of Hydroelectricity: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis

AbstractIn the wake of the COP21 conference in Paris, the transition to a low‐carbon energy supply remains a central issue on the political agenda. The deployment of renewable energies is often challenged by multiple issues (e.g., public acceptance, landscape protection, and so forth). Political actors try to overcome such challenges with various measures; however, the policy instruments used vary greatly in their strength. This article questions what factors lead to the adoption of strong policy instruments promoting hydroelectricity. Explanatory factors are derived from Kingdon's multiple streams framework and are analyzed with fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis within the Swiss cantons. The findings show that the strength of policy promoting hydroelectricity depends on the conjunction of mainly two factors: ambitious climate targets and an already well‐established hydroelectricity sector that generates large tax revenues for the cantons. Depending on the context, the strength of left‐wing and green parties as well as the current level of exploitation play an important role with the aforementioned factors.

“How nationality influences Opinion”: Darwinism and palaeontology in France (1859–1914)

This paper discusses the “non-reception” of Darwin's works and concepts in French palaeontology and palaeoanthropology between 1859 and 1914. Indeed, this integration was difficult, biased and belated, for ideological, intellectual and epistemological reasons: Clémence Royer's biased 1862 translation of Darwin's Origin of Species pulled its ideas toward “social darwinism”, making them less attractive to the natural sciences. - French nationalism and the authority of religion, which imposed Cuvier's thinking until late into the century - the dominance of Lamarckian and neo-Lamarckian transformism in France, both in biology and in paleontology, which proposed the notion of orthogenetic laws and environmental determinations, and refused darwinian evolutionary mechanisms - obstacles inherent to the application of Darwin's concepts to palaeontology, namely the impossibility to identify evolutionary mechanisms through the fossil record, which was stressed by Darwin himself and underlined in turn by 19th century French palaeontologists.However, as I argue, in the course of the examined period, French palaeontology grew from refusal to a better understanding and evaluation of Darwin's thinking. The quest for intermediary forms, the construction of branching evolutionary trees and the attempts to reconstruct human biological and cultural evolution were important efforts toward an integration of some aspects of Darwinian views and practices into French palaeontology and plaeoanthropology. The 1947 Paris conference which brought together American Neo-darwinists and French paleontologists made Darwinian concepts better understood and triggered a revival of French palaeontology from the 1960s.