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A short synthesis covering most of the policies presented in the book can be downloaded for free from the following page.

 

We are seriously concerned with global climate change, the higher frequency of extreme weather conditions, the rise of sea level, the acidification of the oceans, the salinisation of sweet water in small islands, the dramatic reduction in biodiversity, heat waves, freshwater exhaustion and ubiquitous pollution. But we are optimist that mitigation is still possible if the world reacts with extreme energy and cohesion.

Economics as a science has been reducing the issue of climate change to prices and quantities, interest rate and utility functions, converting health and security issues in tradable commodities. Neoclassical economics with all its empirical and logical flaws risks to provide unsufficient advice to goverments and firms, while neglecting technological and fairness issues.

At the same time, economic aspects of any mitigation strategy will be crucial for its success. So we have solicited economists to devise, develop and articulate innovative economic policies and measures to be integrated in effective and fair climate change mitigation efforts at every geographical and industry level.

Scholars from such a wide range of countries as Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Denmark, France, Kenya, Hungary, India, Italy, Iran, Mauritius, The Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Slovakia, United Kingdom have accepted this challenge, providing a unique international and multi-polar perspective.

New insights from evolutionary economics, environmental economics, sociology, law, marketing and managerial disciplines have been linked with the experience on the terrain of real policy-making in ministries and environmental agencies.

Instead of framing climate change mitigation as a cost, we feel it is a huge opportunity for innovation, profits, business growth, employment, wages and improvement of real quality of life.

The book has been submitted to national and international authorities before the Copenhagen summit, where the new Accord has been signed, opening the path for elaborating international and nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs), whose content can benefit from the policies proposed in the book.

Themes

Main themes of the book are climate change mitigation policies aimed at the transition towards a low-carbon economy in terms, mainly but not excusively, of:

Industrial structure and techno-economic paradigms
Firm behaviour
Consumers/Households purchases and behaviour
Government negotiation, legislation and activities

In terms of domains of application, we are focusing on policies for international agreements, national strategies (both in developed and developing countries), regional intervention (e.g. in heavy polluting regions), city planning.

Book

The book is now available in physical paper form (36 Euros + postal costs). Just click here to go to the publisher's store:

Public presentations

The 65th Peccei Lecture of the EU-Chapter of the Club of Rome, which took place in Brussels on Tuesday November 17, was devoted to the book.

We have also co-organized a side-event at COP15 (Copenhagen) on Thursday, 10th December.

We are going to further present the book in European and non-European capitals, including policy-makers, NGOs and non-profit organization, trade associations, universities and research centres as the book has potential suggestions for all these subjects.

For instance, the book has been used as material for University students at Christ University (Bangalore) and for a conference paper in Mauritius.

A peer-reviewed article on exploring the political feasibility of our innovative economic policies has been presented at Climate2009 conference, where it has received the Emerald Publisher Best Paper Award and will be soon published in a Springer book on "The Economic, Social and Political Elements of Climate Change".

Policymakers from South East Europe have been presented the opportunities opened by the Copenhagen Accord in terms of NAMAs for SEE with mention of the business models and proposal of this book during the session.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has hosted a presentation to African Ambassadors held by Valentino Piana, the editor of the book, including a scheme of the process of devising NAMAs and obtaining international support as well as an evaluation of a first wave of climate change NAMAs in the light of a number of criteria.

In Russia, a seminar on sustainability has included references to FRAMCOMP, a policy explained in the book.

In Rome, we reflected on possible applications for rural development, including in forestry.

In Athens, in a conference on energy and sustainability we explored the use of these policies for Action plans in accordance to the Thessaloniki Declaration on Combating Climate Change.

Call for papers

After the publication of the book, the Economics Web Institute lauched a new Call for papers on "Where to Implement Innovative Economic Policies for Climate Change Mitigation".

Among the papers received, the jury established that:

The Best Paper
on "Where to Implement Innovative Economic Policies for Climate Change Mitigation"
is

"Policies for the Meantime - Case of Vojvodina Province, Serbia"

by Dragana Konstantinovic, Miljana Zekovic, Jelena Atanackovic-Jelicic (Department of Architecture and Urbanism, Faculty of Technical Sciences in Novi Sad)

The Second Best Paper
is

Kenya as a Country Where to Implement Green Microfinance and other Innovative Economic Policies for Climate Change Mitigation

by Stephen Ouma Otieno (co-coordinator of the Huruma Pamoja Development Youth).