Description: From 10 to 14 September 2003, the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiated over a further liberalization of world trade. A lot was at stake there for the environment. It is true that in the current round of negotiations the Doha Declaration has agreed certain points relating to the environment. But this should not conceal the fact that the WTO is still a long way from taking due account of ecological aspects in its policies. The present paper begins by analyzing the discussion on environmental issues within the WTO, which for more than ten years has been conducted mainly in its Committee on Trade and Environment. It is shown that many environmental effects of trade liberalization have not been discussed at all, that conflicts of interest among WTO member-states prevent any deep discussion, and that an ecological reform of the WTO has up to now stood no chance. This analysis then forms the background for a twofold strategy. First, arguments are presented as to why the WTO, given its environmental policy deficits, should afford sufficient scope to institutions actively concerned with environmental policy. The conflictual relationship between Multilateral Environmental Agreements and the WTO is examined at this point. A distinction is drawn between minor and potentially critical conflicts, and it is shown how a limitation of the competence of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body, together with cooperative political-legal processes to resolve conflicts between affected institutions, might offer a solution and lead to greater institutional equity in the global political arena. Second, the paper discusses how ecological aspects might be integrated step by step into the WTO. After a detailed examination of the potential and limits of instruments like impact assessments, it makes a number of recommendations for their further development. Finally, it considers how impact assessments might be integrated into the WTO's institutional structures, so that ecological aspects can be systematically input into policy-making processes and better public participation in WTO policy be ensured. In this connection, the paper discusses both the integration of impact assessments into the WTO's Trade Policy Review Mechanism and the creation of a new Strategic Impact Assessment Body within the WTO.

Description: This article develops a sectoral approach to the analysis of global climate governance. This approach advances the assessment of global climate governance by focusing on complexes of intergovernmental and transnational institutions co-governing key socio-technical sectoral systems. The actual and potential contribution of these sectoral institutional complexes to advancing decarbonization can be assessed according to five key governance functions: (1) providing guidance and signal to actors, (2) setting rules to facilitate collective action, (3) enhancing transparency and accountability, (4) offering support (finance, technology, capacity-building), and (5) promoting knowledge and learning. On this basis, we can assess the potential of international cooperation to address the challenges specific sectoral systems face in the climate transition as well as the extent to which existing sectoral institutional complexes deliver on this potential. This provides a solid starting point for developing options for filling identified gaps and enhancing the effectiveness of global climate governance.

Description: Fully decarbonising global power supply is essential to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement. A wide range of inter- and transnational governance institutions exist that work towards the transformation of the power sector. But are these governance efforts sufficient to address the challenges? To address this question the article first identifies governance needs on the basis of systemic sector-specific transformation challenges and discusses the potential for international governance to address them. Second, the paper surveys existing inter- and transnational institutions and assess to what extent they exploit the potential of international governance. The analysis shows that many of the governance needs are already being satisfied to some extent, particularly with respect to the deployment of renewable energy. It also shows that a significant blind spot remains: the phase-out of fossil fuels for electricity generation. The detailed analysis enables us to identify options for enhancing the governance landscape.

Description: Vom 10. bis zum 14. September diesen Jahres verhandelt die Ministerkonferenz der Welthandelsorganisation (WTO) über eine weitere Liberalisierung des Welthandels. Dabei steht für die Umwelt eine Menge auf dem Spiel. Zwar wurden mit der Doha Deklaration in der gegenwärtigen Verhandlungsrunde einige Verhandlungen mit Umweltbezug vereinbart. Dies täuscht aber darüber hinweg, dass die WTO noch weit entfernt davon ist, ökologische Aspekte in ihrer Politik angemessen zu berücksichtigen. Vorliegendes Papier analysiert zunächst die Diskussion über Umweltthemen in der WTO, welche seit über zehn Jahren vor allem im Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) der WTO geführt wird. Die Analyse zeigt auf, dass zahlreiche Umwelteffekte von Handelsliberalisierungen gar nicht diskutiert wurden, Interessengegensätze zwischen Mitgliedsstaaten der WTO eine tief gehende Diskussion vereiteln und Ansätze einer ökologischen Reform der WTO bislang keine Chance hatten. Vor dem Hintergrund dieser Analyse wird sodann eine doppelte Strategie entwickelt. Erstens wird dargelegt, warum die WTO aufgrund ihrer umweltpolitischen Defizite denjenigen Institutionen ihren Handlungsspielraum lassen sollte, die sich aktiv mit Umweltpolitik beschäftigen. Hierzu wird das Konfliktverhältnis multilateraler Umweltabkommen und der WTO untersucht. Zunächst erfolgt eine Klassifizierung in unbedenkliche und potentiell kritische Konfliktfälle. Dann wird aufgezeigt, wie einerseits eine Begrenzung der Zuständigkeiten des Streitschlichtungsorgans der WTO sowie andererseits kooperative, politisch-rechtliche Prozesse zur Lösung der Konflikte zwischen den betroffenen Institutionen eine Lösung bieten und zu einer größeren institutionellen Gleichheit in der globalen politischen Arena führen könnten. Zweitens wird erörtert, wie ökologische Aspekte Schritt für Schritt in die WTO integriert werden könnten. Hierzu werden Instrumente der strategischen Folgenabschätzung untersucht. Nach einer eingehenden Analyse der Potenziale und Grenzen von strategischen Folgenabschätzungen werden Empfehlungen zu ihrer Weiterentwicklung formuliert. Anschließend werden Möglichkeiten dargestellt, wie strategische Folgenabschätzung in die institutionellen Strukturen der WTO integriert werden könnten, um ökologische Aspekte systematisch in die politischen Entscheidungsprozesse einfließen zu lassen und eine verbesserte Partizipation der Öffentlichkeit an der Politik der WTO zu gewährleisten. Dabei wird einerseits eine Integration strategischer Folgenabschätzungen in den Trade Policy Review Mechanism der WTO und andererseits die Einrichtung eines neuen Strategic Impact Assessment Body innerhalb der WTO diskutiert.

Description: In diesem Wuppertal Paper unternehmen Claudia von Braunmühl und Uta von Winterfeld eine begriffliche Erkundung im Spannungsfeld von Nachhaltigkeit, Globalisierung und Demokratie. Sie beziehen sich vorrangig auf die Arbeiten der Enquete-Kommission des Deutschen Bundestages "Globalisierung der Weltwirtschaft" (2002) und stellen das dort verhandelte Konzept von Global Governance vor sowie seine demokratietheoretische Schwächen. Des weiteren geht es um zwei Denkrichtungen, die den Autorinnen geeignet erscheinen, der politischen Dimension und Problematik von Globalisierungsprozessen gerecht zu werden. In einem Abschnitt über "Nachhaltiges Regieren?" skizzieren sie, entlang welcher Rationalitätsmuster die Demokratiedefizite in Verbindung mit Globalisierung und Nachhaltigkeit verlaufen und verknüpfen diese Überlegungen mit der Debatte, die derzeit zum Themenkomplex "globale öffentliche Güter" geführt wird.

Description: This article proposes a policy framework for analysing corporate governance toward sustainable development. The aim is to set up a framework for analysing market evolution toward sustainability. In the first section, the paper briefly refers to recent theories about both market and government failures that express scepticism about the way that framework conditions for market actors are set. For this reason, multi-layered governance structures seem advantageous if new solutions are to be developed in policy areas concerned with long-term change and stepwise internalisation of externalities. The paper introduces the principle of regulated self-regulation. With regard to corporate actors| interests, it presents recent insights from theories about the knowledge-based firm, where the creation of new knowledge is based on the absorption of societal views. The result is greater scope for the endogenous internalisation of externalities, which leads to a variety of new and different corporate strategies. Because governance has to set incentives for quite a diverse set of actors in their daily operations, the paper finally discusses innovation-inducing regulation. In both areas, regulated self-regulation and innovation-inducing regulation, corporate and political governance co-evolve. The paper concludes that these co-evolutionary mechanisms may assume some of the stabilising and orientating functions previously exercised by framing activities of the state. In such a view, the government's main function is to facilitate learning processes, thus departing from the state's function as known from welfare economics.

Description: On the one hand, a large number of companies have committed to achieve net zero emissions and many of them foresee to offset some remaining emissions with carbon credits, suggesting a surge of future demand. Yet, the supply side of the voluntary carbon market is struggling to align its business model with the new legal architecture of the Paris Agreement. This article juxtaposes these two perspectives. It provides an overview of the plans of 482 major companies with some form of neutrality/net zero pledge and traces the struggle on the supply side of the voluntary carbon market to come up with a viable business model that ensures environmental integrity and contributes to achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Our analysis finds that if carbon credits are used to offset remaining emissions against neutrality objectives, these credits need to be accounted against the host countries' Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to ensure environmental integrity. Yet, operationalizing this approach is challenging and will require innovative solutions and political support. Key policy insights: There is a growing mismatch between the faith placed in carbon credits by private sector companies and the continued quest for a common position of the main suppliers of the voluntary carbon market. The voluntary carbon market has not yet found a way to align itself with the new legal architecture of the Paris Agreement in a credible and legitimate way. Public policy support at the national and international level will be needed to operationalize a robust approach for the market’s future activities.

Description: The paper explores a framework for analysing governance towards sustainable development. Departing from the thesis about a possible positive role for corporate action, it refers to recent theorizing about both market and government failures. Discussing externalities, public goods, information and adaptation deficits, as well as bureaucracies' self-interest, corruption and capture of the regulator, the paper stresses the importance of governance aiming at synergies between corporate and political governance. Concerning framework conditions, it outlines principles of regulated self-regulation. Following the thesis about a positive role, the paper adds recent insights about theories of the knowledge-based firm, which help to analyse market evolution. In this context, it outlines the concept of "responsible corporate governance". Because governance involves actors in their daily operations and certainly goes beyond setting a frame, the paper finally discusses innovation-inducing regulation, serving complementary functions to a framework and business operations. The conclusion is drawn that governments' main function is to facilitate learning processes, thus departing from states' function as known from welfare economics. Thus, governance will have to be explored as collective learning, involving business, governments, and civil societies’ actors.

Description: Nutrition is one of the most important areas for the great transformation. So how can a shift towards a sustainable food system be achieved? This paper addresses this question - based on more than ten years of research on sustainable nutrition at the Wuppertal Institute. It focuses on public catering, because even small changes - for example in the choice of ingredients - have a huge impact here. With appropriate policy frameworks, public catering can serve as an easily accessible place for consumers to experience sustainable food and at the same time be a reliable buyer of biodiversity and climate-friendly food from farmers. However, other actors are also needed for a transformation of the food system: The "Zukunftsimpuls" addresses politics, (agricultural) industry, science and every individual - because the transformation of the food system is a task for the entire society.

Description: Science and education are central fields and a lever for sustainable development. With the newly developed student teaching and learning format "Transformative Innovation Lab" - TIL for short - students are to be enabled to conduct independent transformative research. To this end, the researchers, under the direction of the Wuppertal Institute, developed and tested the new learning concept in the project "Development, testing and dissemination of new qualification offers for 'change agents' for transformative learning using the real-world laboratory approach" (EEVA). The detailed results and numerous implementation tips have been published in a practical handbook aimed at academic teaching staff and other multipliers.