The Challenge of Creating Sustainable Environmental Policies - An Investigation of the Combination of Political and Natural Science
Author
Ravnkilde, Majken Horslev
Term
4. term
Publication year
2022
Submitted on
2022-06-14
Abstract
This thesis examines the challenge of designing sustainable climate mitigation policies with a focus on Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). It integrates critical political ecology with NBS to develop an NBS Policy Evaluation Model, which is applied to assess the sustainability of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) from Belize and Papua New Guinea under the Paris Agreement. The model anchors policies in local ecological conditions, aligns them with the social, environmental, and economic pillars of sustainability, and translates these into actionable measures. Using a case study analysis of policy documents, the thesis finds that the model can help policymakers account for site-specific natural contexts, surface cross-cutting issues across pillars, and sharpen the wording of policy actions. In doing so, it bridges gaps between natural and political science in the NBS field and supports a more holistic, nature-centered approach to mitigation. Limitations relate to the selected cases and the scope of available policy texts.
Dette speciale undersøger udfordringerne ved at udforme bæredygtige klimamindskningspolitikker med fokus på naturbaserede løsninger (NBS). Ved at kombinere kritisk politisk økologi med NBS udvikles en NBS Policy Evaluation Model, der anvendes til at vurdere graden af bæredygtighed i Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC’er) fra Belize og Papua Ny Guinea under Parisaftalen. Modellen forankrer politikker i lokale naturgivne rammer, kobler dem til de sociale, miljømæssige og økonomiske søjler af bæredygtighed og omsætter dette til konkrete tiltag. Gennem en casestudieanalyse af policydokumenter viser arbejdet, at modellen kan hjælpe beslutningstagere med at indarbejde stedsspecifikke naturforhold, identificere tværgående problemstillinger på tværs af søjlerne og skærpe formuleringen af policy-handlinger. Herved bygger specialet bro mellem natur- og samfundsvidenskab inden for NBS og peger mod en mere helhedsorienteret, naturforankret tilgang til klimamindskning. Begrænsningerne knytter sig til de udvalgte cases og tilgængelige politiktekster.
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