Anita Engels

Risks of communication: discourses on climate change in science, politics, and the mass media

This paper summarizes the results of a research project analyzing communication about global warming among those in the fields of science, politics, and the media in Germany between 1975 and 1995. The methodology of discourse analysis has been applied to investigate the changing perceptions of climate change over time and the ways in which it became an important issue on Germanys political agenda. The first part of the paper will briefly introduce the underlying theoretical assumptions and explain the multiple steps by which data covering a period of two decades have been collected and analyzed. In the second part, the paper will provide the reader with the main research results, indicating the usefulness of distinguishing among the separate discourses on climate change in science, politics, and the mass media. The results suggest that there are specific discourse dynamics common to each of the three spheres, as well as some important disparities among them. These findings will be illustrated by a selection of examples typical of the samples analyzed. Finally, the third part of the paper will discuss the broader theoretical and practical implications of these results, which suggest that modern societies must cope not only with environmental risks but also with the risks inherent in communication.

Recent internationalization of global environmental change research in Germany and the U.S

SummaryThe possible existence of specialisation patterns by research fields of the Italian regions is investigated. Accordingly, bibliometric data on papers published in international scientific journals have been processed and tailored for regional comparative analysis. The results show that the trends in scientific regional specialisation are related to the research activities performed by each scientific system, but also the regional industrial skill is very often reflected in the corresponding scientific profile. The empirical evidences show also that each Italian region works as a well identifiable scientific system providing for its own specific contribution to the national performance.

The uneven spread of global science: Patterns of international collaboration in global environmental change research

This paper presents data on publication and collaboration patterns of USA and German research institutions in the field of global environmental change research. A dataset derived from the Web of Science showed that a marked rise in international co-authorship occured in the period 1993–2002. However, this increase covered different world regions unevenly. Building on interview data, four factors driving international collaboration in this particular research area are identified which help to explain this specific trend. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

When supply meets demand, yet no market emerges: The contribution of integrated environmental assessment to the rationalisation of EU environmental policy-making

The paper discusses systematic barriers for an enhanced institutionalisation of integrated environmental assessments at the level of European Union (EU) environmental policy-making. It draws from recent experiences of a programme that aimed to provide useful assessments as a basis for more rational decision-making in this field. Two complementary explanations are given to account for the difficulties the programme met in achieving its goals. First is the way sciences role in the policy process depends on the degree to which a policy problem is well structured, that is, the degree to which it bears a consensus both on relevant values and relevant knowledge. The second explanation is an institutional one that emphasises the difficulties of establishing a social relationship between ‘providers’ and ‘users’ of scientific assessments at the EU level. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Exploring the Linkages Between Carbon Markets and Sustainable Innovations in the Energy Sector: Lessons from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme

The European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is a central instrument of European climate policy and the first large-scale multi-national greenhouse gas trading programme in the world. It was referred to as the “grand new policy experiment” (Kruger and Pizer 2004). One of the central promises of emissions trading is to provide a price signal on the basis of which companies can calculate whether any shortage of emission allowances should be met with buying more allowances in the trading scheme or with reducing CO2 emissions. From these micro-rational calculations the most efficient CO2 abatement at the macro-level will ideally emerge, as emissions will be reduced where the costs for reducing them is lowest – “an epoch-making means of cost-effective control which can solve future global environmental problems” (Svendsen 1999: 232). Emissions trading thus has a potential to trigger sustainable innovations in the sense that companies face incentives to improve their CO2 performance (Stankeviciute et al. 2008). Still, the EU ETS has been criticised for many short-comings, among others for not providing triggers of innovation decisions in companies due to weak price signals. In a recent study on German companies in the CO2 market the authors point out that most of the CO2 reduction measures in Phase I of the EU ETS were only an unintended effect of emissions trading (Detken et al. 2009: 6–7). However, while the price of CO2 allowances was high in the first year of the EU ETS, some electricity providers mentioned having an incentive to supply electricity from gas-fired plants rather than from more carbon-intensive coal-fired plants (MacKenzie 2009: 169).

Chancengleichheit in der Spitzenforschung: Institutionelle Erneuerung der Forschung in der Exzellenzinitiative des Bundes und der Länder

Die Exzellenzinitiative des Bundes und der Lander wurde als Wettbewerb eingefuhrt, um der deutschen Hochschullandschaft zusatzliche Ressourcen zur institutionellen Erneuerung zur Verfugung zu stellen. Die Bedingungen fur die Durchfuhrung von Spitzenforschung sollten weiter verbessert und neue Formen der Forschungsorganisation erprobt werden. Auserdem sollten die Hochschulen in die Lage versetzt werden, im internationalen Wettbewerb um Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler konkurrenzfahige Angebote machen zu konnen. So sollte insgesamt eine intellektuelle Erneuerung befordert werden. Der Aspekt der Exzellenzinitiative, um den es im folgenden Beitrag geht, bezieht sich auf das Ziel der Inklusion von Frauen in das Feld der Spitzenforschung. Das deutsche Wissenschaftssystem zeichnet sich u.a. durch eine besonders ausgepragte Unterreprasentanz von Frauen auf den oberen Positionen der wissenschaftlichen Laufbahn aus.

Wirtschaft und Rationalität im Neo-Institutionalismus

Die Wirtschaft gilt vielen einerseits als Gesellschaftsbereich, in dem Rationalitatserwartungen in besonderem Mase verankert sind: von der ubiquitaren Verbreitung rationaler Wahlhandlungen unter Wirtschaftsakteuren bis zu einer erfolgreichen Durchsetzung einer auf Zwecke ausgerichteten Makroordnung. Andererseits wird in Bezug auf die Wirtschaft auch mit besonderer Vehemenz auf die „irrationalen“ Effekte einer sich verselbstandigenden okonomischen Rationalitat hingewiesen, die zuweilen auch in eine mehr oder weniger gesellschaftstheoretisch fundierte Kapitalismuskritik mundet. Der in der Einleitung zu diesem Band angesprochene Befund von Rationalitat als Paradox der Moderne kommt daher im Bereich der Wirtschaft besonders deutlich zum Ausdruck (vgl. Maurer und Schimank in diesem Band). Was konnte uberhaupt mit wirtschaftlicher Rationalitat gemeint sein? Zunachst wird darunter zumeist eine Handlungsorientierung verstanden, die mit Intentionalitat und dem gezielten Einsatz von Mitteln zur Erreichung eigennutziger Zwecke verbunden ist – eine speziell wirtschaftliche Rationalitat musste sich dann auf Zwecke beziehen, die mit einer Profiterwirtschaftung zu tun haben. Allerdings haben ja bereits in den fruhen 1960er Jahren Richard M. Cyert und James G. March betont, dass man Wirtschaftsunternehmen nicht nur als Instrumente verstehen kann, die bestimmte Ziele verfolgen, sondern dass zunachst auch geklart werden muss, wie diese organisationalen Ziele uberhaupt entstehen und wie sie sich im Laufe der Zeit verandern (Cyert und March 1963: 9).

Understanding carbon trading: Effects of delegating CO2 responsibility on organizations’ trading behaviour

The establishment of a carbon market assumes that there is an effective means of transforming price information into technical carbon reduction measures. However, empirical evidence reveals that the links between price information and carbon management strategies are far from obvious. To understand how delegating CO2 responsibility affects CO2 trading behaviour, this article proposes a neo-institutionalist approach to answering the question of why companies became sellers, buyers or a combination of both during phase I of the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). Original data from a survey on companies that participated in this scheme were collected and analysed. It was assumed that the trading scheme offered two ways to delegate decisions regarding emissions trading: decoupling from technical knowledge and financialization (i.e. delegating to financial departments) or coupling using technicalization (i.e. delegating to manufacturing departments). The results support the hypothesis that a company that adopts a decoupling strategy is more likely to buy certificates to fulfil their emissions targets. Adopting a coupling strategy indicates that a company is more likely to become a seller, all else equal. Professional identity is the theoretical basis for this relationship. Delegating carbon management to different departments represents either a stronger coupling or a stronger decoupling from core technological processes. Policy relevance The transaction data from phase I of the EU ETS open new questions and possibilities regarding the reasons that drive selling and buying in companies. It is important to look not only at the traditional sources of transaction costs, but rather also at the reasons for these tensions. One important source is the professional education of the people in charge of the EU ETS. Tailored information that directly addresses the different professional backgrounds of managers working in both financial departments and more technical departments might help to lower these types of transaction costs. In todays context, important emitter countries, such as China and Korea, have launched their own emissions markets, copying many aspects of the EU ETS. For the positive development of these markets and as a way of establishing a global emissions market, these new schemes should learn from the EU ETS experience.

Anthropogenic climate change: how to understand the weak links between scientific evidence, public perception, and low-carbon practices

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Lokale Klima-Governance im Mehrebenensystem: formale und informelle Regelungsformen

Dieses Kapitel des Klimaberichts befasst sich mit den Handlungsspielraumen fur lokalen Klimaschutz, die spezifischen Formen lokaler Klima‐Governance sowie der Einbindung Hamburgs und der Metropolregion in ein komplexes Mehrebenensystem der Klima‐Governance. Da im vergangenen Klimabericht der Fokus auf Adaptationsprozessen lag, wird im Folgenden insbesondere das Thema Mitigation (Klimaschutz) beleuchtet. Anders als in der Anpassungsproblematik wird fur das Ziel der Mitigation haufig infrage gestellt, dass die lokale Ebene einen wichtigen Beitrag leisten kann. Daher wird hier zunachst eine grundlegende Einfuhrung in die Moglichkeiten lokaler Klima‐Governance im Ruckgriff auf die breit gefacherte internationale Forschungsliteratur geleistet, bevor auf dieser Grundlage eine Einordnung der spezifischen Bedingungen und Potenziale fur den Klimaschutz in Hamburg erfolgt. Ein besonderer Fokus liegt dabei erstens auf einer Betrachtung der formal‐rechtlichen Instrumente und zweitens auf den weiteren informellen Governance‐Instrumenten. Dem Status von Hamburg als Stadtstaat kommt dabei eine besondere Bedeutung zu. Ausgeklammert bleibt eine ausfuhrliche Darstellung der Literatur zu finanziellen Anreizsystemen. Eine systematische Betrachtung der technischen Optionen (im Unterschied zu den Governance‐Aspekten) wird erst in Kap. 15 geleistet.