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The IPCC stresses the importance of achieving net-zero CO2 emissions worldwide by 2050 and natural climate solutions, particularly carbon farming, can play a significant role in this goal. However, current markets do not account for environmental externalities, which creates a mismatch between individual costs and societal benefits. Payment systems linked to carbon farming practices could help bridge this gap. Research is essential to develop effective agricultural carbon markets, and this study focuses on the opportunities and challenges faced by smallholder farmers in these markets. The research examines four areas: agricultural markets as a funding source for carbon farming, payments for carbon sequestration, opportunities for smallholder farmers, and cost-effective monitoring and verification of carbon stocks. Further research is needed to monitor carbon sequestration accurately, reduce GHG emissions, and develop institutional arrangements to promote sustainable production methods in Africa.

In the last two decades, studies that analyse the political economy of sustainable energy transitions have increasingly become available. Yet very few attempts have been made to synthesize the factors discussed in the growing literature. This paper reviews the extant empirical literature on the political economy of sustainable energy transitions. Using a well-defined search strategy, a total of 36 empirical contributions covering the period 2008 to 2022 are reviewed full text. Overall, the findings highlight the role of vested interest, advocacy coalitions and green constituencies, path dependency, external shocks, policy and institutional environment, political institutions and fossil fuel resource endowments as major political economy factors influencing sustainable energy transitions across both high income countries, and low and middle income countries. In addition, the paper highlights and discusses some critical knowledge gaps in the existing literature and provides suggestions for a future research agenda. IZNE Working Paper Series; Nr. 23/3

In light of the escalating economic influence of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), the intricate interplay of sustainability, innovation, and export performance assumes paramount significance. This study focuses on French SMEs in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA) region, exploring the relatively uncharted territory of a synergistic approach to sustainability and innovation. Through a 2022-2023 field survey of 290 SMEs, employing Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) regression models, the research investigates the potential enhancement of export performance through this synergistic approach. The study reveals a positive impact, emphasizing the significance of sustainability certifications (EUR 24,416 additional export turnover per certification), R&D investment (EUR 1.38 boost per euro invested), and environmental patents (EUR 64,439 per patent). Qualitative insights enrich the understanding of challenges and opportunities, especially in terms of environmental footprint reduction. The findings underscore the need for prioritizing sustainability and innovation by French SMEs to thrive in export markets, with implications for policymakers in designing initiatives. In conclusion, this research offers a comprehensive framework for understanding the dynamics between sustainability, innovation, and export performance, providing practical guidance for SMEs and a methodological foundation for future regional research.

Nowadays climate change event and poor population vulnerability become more severe and natural resources scarcity intensity increased. In order to mitigate climate change negative effects adaptive policies such as poverty reduction Strategy and National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA) as effective’s responsive strategies. There are also farmers traditional adaptation methods which are consider as local mainstreaming climate change adaptation framework. This paper has explore subjective qualitative evaluation of climate change risk management framework strategic and link its with poverty reduction strategy in the Sahel .Sahel is one of the most vulnerable areas in the world with lower HDI(0.2%) and have the highest poverty rate (over 45% of the people live below the poverty line). The study was focused on 9 Sahel countries (Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina-Faso, Nigeria, Chad, Soudan and Eritrea) and their Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) and National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA) by assessing criteria such as: a) the consideration of climate change scenarios and the vulnerabilities of the country; b) the analysis of poverty-climate links; and c) the climate change institutional framework of the country. However Soudan and Eritrea don’t have PRSP and Nigeria don’t have NAPA. The results show that most Sahel countries does not included Climate change 2 effect in their PRSP (except Burkina-Faso) but have a better performance with NAPA framework elaboration. Burkina-Faso is Climate risk management model country in the region but policies have failed because of farmer’s difficult conditions to get access to credit and lack of good technical supports. NAPA and PRSP objectives did not achieved because majority of poor were excluded, inefficiency in domestic accounting systems and inefficient monitoring. Furthermore, donors funding problems, natural disasters such as floods or droughts; biophysical modeling and simulation insufficient data, lack of skilled labor are others reason. To conclude, it is illustrates that mainstreaming natural hazards into PRSP and the development of NAPA are a step forward into establishment of institutional process to incorporate climate change into national policies. The World Bank and the UNFCCC should coordinate efforts to support developing countries in their efforts to incorporate adaptation to climate change in PRSP. Country need to strength the coordination, networks and information flows between ministries, at different levels of government and civil society to have more efficient integration of climate change variables into poverty reduction and development strategies. Country's should also have sustainable funding and should not rely only on donor. Policies should target more vulnerable peoples, need good policies implementation and good monitoring.

Many countries with different levels of development, have gathered together to combine efforts by signing the Paris Agreement to combat climate change. Consequently, countries are submitting Nation- ally Determined Contributions, which includes a set of strategies to be implemented at a country level to reduce national GHGs emissions. However, the already submitted Nationally Determined Contribu- tions, could be regarded as not sufficiently ambitious in terms of emissions reductions, and therefore, could lead to not reaching Paris Agreement environmental goals. Meanwhile, countries have different national features; nevertheless, the relationship between the success of environmental strategies in ac- cordance with a country ́s national features, has received less investigation among scholars. Therefore, the relationship between national dimensions and environmental strategies is highlighted and investi- gated in order to achieve Paris Agreement environmental goals, and consequently address the existing research gap. In this regard, few authors emphasize on existing relationship between produced emissions at national level and Hofstede cultural dimension. While other authors, demonstrate the role of decarbonizing logistics, among other strategies, in realizing significant emissions reductions to reach Paris Agreement environmental goals. It is arguable that there is less attention to logistics sectors among governments. Moreover, a deep analysis of the relationship between national circumstances of a country and different logistics actions did not receive important attention by governments. Therefore, the purpose of writing this dissertation is to investigate national factors influencing Nationally Determined Contributions and to develop a green logistics roadmap for China, Germany, and Morocco in line with Paris Agreement. The consideration of designed thinking approach is emphasized to create a model roadmap; this is mainly due to the suitability of adopting a designed thinking approach for complex environmental projects. The design thinking approach is structured into four main steps. The first step consists of understanding the Paris Agreement to establish a framework for implemented strategies in the studied countries. The second step investigates factors of influence; the results of literature review accentuate existing challenges of the Paris Agreement as its still ongoing negotiations; also the literature highlight critical sectors, including green logistics. Additionally, Hofstede cultural dimensions and climate change education, among other strategies, are considered factors of influence. Furthermore, a causal relationship between economic growth and energy consumption is required in order to evaluate if the studied country has the capacity to increase its environmental pledges or if it will impact its economic growth. The third step highlights suitable organizational, technological and regulatory instruments, ad- ditionally to adequate logistics action suitable for each country-case. Last, the P, D, C, A is defined as an instrument of control to the created model roadmap in order to update the selected strategies. The created roadmaps for China, Germany and Morocco are based on selected strategies, that are suitable for each country in accordance with its national situation, including green logistics strategies, natural climate solutions and climate change education. This dissertation is among studies discovering and analyzing the link between national factors of influence and the choice of strategies to be submitted as Nationally Determined Contributions.

Capital-flow-based emission control mechanism’ is my on-going individual research. In the research, I manage to introduce a new approach to emission control, or CO¬2 offsetting, by looking into flows in and out of capital accounts of different populations on the principle that there are populations emitting more than others. My view is similar to that of Thomas L. Friedman about “bad lenders” and “bad borrowers” in The Lexus and The Oliver Tree (2000) in that “the two biggest threats of today’s global financial system—[financial crises] trigged by “bad lenders” and [political crises] trigged by “bad borrowers.” Likewise, among biggest threats to today’s global environmental system are crises trigged by “bad spenders,” who make the most emission out of their money, and “bad producers.” While most carbon reduction regulations are trying to deal with the “bad producers,” my idea is to tackle the “bad spenders.” By identifying the businesses that make happen the capital flow to and from the bad spenders’ accounts, customer focus (business’s factor) and investment focus (market’s factor) can be shifted accordingly to make the system less susceptible to bad spending. In this paper, I am going to reproduce the research idea, then foresee how its results can serve as a basis for decision-making in businesses to comply with emission control. If this concept is recognized worldwide, and a new mechanism is ratified where certain businesses are promoted to maximize the outflow and minimize the inflow of bad spenders, a whole new range of projects and businesses can be labeled as indirectly contributing to emission control, especially in developing countries where the people need to buy the patience needed for technology transfer processes.

Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit Themen der Umwelt- und Ressourcenökonomie und besteht aus zwei allein verfassten Artikeln (Artikel 1 und 3) und einem gemeinsam verfassten Artikel (Artikel 2). Im Folgenden werden die wichtigsten Forschungsfragen der einzelnen Artikel, die Methoden und Ergebnisse sowie die wichtigsten Beiträge zum Forschungsstand aufgezeigt. Artikel 1: Übergang zu geringen Kohlenstoffausstoß: Investitionen des Privatsektors in Projekte erneuerbarer Energien in Entwicklungsländern Ein Übergang zu sauberen Energiequellen ist ohne die Beteiligung des Privatsektors wahrscheinlich nicht stattfinden wird. Bislang hat sich jedoch der größte Teil der Literatur, die sich mit den Determinanten von Investitionen in erneuerbare Energien beschäftigt, auf die Industrieländer konzentriert. Darüber hinaus wurde der Zusammenhang zwischen der Abhängigkeit von fossilen Brennstoffen und Investitionen des privaten Sektors in erneuerbare Energien nicht untersucht. Dieser Artikel wendet die Methode „Multiple-Spell Discrete-Time Survival Analysis“ auf einen Datensatz der privaten Beteiligung an Projekten im Bereich der erneuerbaren Energien in einer Stichprobe von 134 Entwicklungsländern und Ländern mit mittlerem Einkommen an, und zwar für den Zeitraum 1990 bis 2012. Der Artikel untersucht die Zeitspanne, die vom Privatsektor für Investitionen in erneuerbare Energieprojekte benötigt wird, und wie diese von der hohen Abhängigkeit von fossilen Brennstoffen beeinflusst wird. Diese Arbeit trägt auf verschiedene Weise zur Fachliteratur bei. Erstens beleuchtet sie die Faktoren, die den Zeitpunkt beeinflussen, zu dem Investitionen des Privatsektors in Projekte im Bereich der erneuerbaren Energien stattfinden. Zweitens prüft dieser Artikel die Hypothese des "Carbon Lock-In", der zufolge die Abhängigkeit von fossilen Brennstoffen in ihren verschiedenen Formen Investitionen des privaten Sektors in erneuerbare Energien behindert. Drittens konzentriere ich mich ausschließlich auf Entwicklungsländer und Länder mit mittlerem Einkommen, die in der Literatur weiterhin unterrepräsentiert sind. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass eine höhere Abhängigkeit von fossilen Brennstoffen in Form von Ressourcenrenten und einem höheren Verbrauch fossiler Brennstoffe zu einer geringeren Wahrscheinlichkeit von Investitionen in erneuerbare Energien führt. Der negative Effekt wird jedoch abgeschwächt, wenn in der Vorperiode Investitionen getätigt wurden. In Übereinstimmung mit der bisherigen Literatur stützen die Ergebnisse die Annahme, dass eine Reihe makroökonomischer Variablen, wie höhere Ölpreise, ein höheres Pro-Kopf-Einkommen und die Umsetzung von nationalen Maßnahmen im Bereich der erneuerbaren Energien, eine wichtige Rolle für eine erhöhte Wahrscheinlichkeit von Investitionen des privaten Sektors spielen. Die Ergebnisse sind angesichts der jüngsten Trends bei den internationalen Ölpreisen relevant, da sie zwei potenziell konkurrierende Effekte vermuten lassen, wobei niedrigere Ölpreise möglicherweise Investitionen durch einen höheren Verbrauch fossiler Brennstoffe verzögern, dieselben niedrigeren Preise sich aber positiv auf die Investitionen auswirken aufgrund niedrigerer Ressourcenrenten. Artikel 2: Geographische Nähe und Verbreitung erneuerbarer Energien: Ein empirischer Ansatz Die Reform der Energielandschaft ist von zentraler Bedeutung für die Erreichung der Ziele nachhaltiger Entwicklung (SDGs) und hängt wesentlich von der erfolgreichen Einführung und Verbreitung erneuerbarer Energien über Landesgrenzen hinweg ab. Bisher hat die Literatur zur Verbreitung erneuerbarer Energien eine Reihe wichtiger Einflussfaktoren wie Einkommensniveau, nationalen Energieverbrauch und Verfügbarkeit von Finanzmitteln aufgezeigt. Die Bedeutung der geografischen Nähe betroffener Staaten zueinander für die Erklärung der beobachteten Diffusionsmuster erneuerbarer Energien bleibt jedoch unerforscht, trotz der potenziellen Auswirkungen räumlicher Wechselbeziehungen auf die Kapitalakkumulation und den Wissenszuwachs und damit auf das langfristige Wirtschaftswachstum. Dieser gemeinsam verfasste Artikel untersucht drei grundlegende Fragen. Erstens wird die Bedeutung der geografischen Nähe zu den Neueinführern für die Erklärung von Diffusionsmustern erneuerbarer Energien untersucht. Zweitens prüfen wir, ob dieser Effekt angesichts eines hohen Maßes an Handel mit Neueinführern an Bedeutung gewinnt. Drittens untersuchen wir, ob sich die Bedeutung der geografischen Nähe zu Diffusionsmustern im Laufe der Zeit ändert. Bei der Untersuchung der Auswirkungen der geografischen Nähe von Neueinführern auf die Verbreitung erneuerbarer Energien haben wir zwei Indizes so konstruiert, welche die Intensität der Technologieeinführung in einem Land eine Funktion aus (1) der geografischen Nähe zu einem intensiven Anwender (Entfernungsindex) und (2) höheren bilateralen Handelsströme (Handelsindex) darstellen. Unsere Ergebnisse unterstreichen die Tatsache, dass die Verbreitungswirkung von Technologien erneuerbarer Energien auf andere Länder, wie bei anderen Technologien auch, einen räumlichen Aspekt hat. Darüber hinaus treten stärkere Spillover-Effekte auf, wenn intensive Nutzer erneuerbarer Energien auch wichtige Handelspartner sind, was die Bedeutung von Handelsbeziehungen mit Technologieübernehmern als potenzieller Katalysator für die Verbreitung erneuerbarer Energien über Landesgrenzen hinweg unterstreicht. Dieser Artikel trägt zur Fachliteratur über Wissenstransfer im weiteren Sinne bei und ist ein Schritt zur Schaffung der vorgeschlagenen Verbindungen zwischen Geographie, internationalem Handel und Technologietransfer. Angesichts der Bedeutung von Technologietransfers für den Wirtschaftswachstumsprozess ist die technologische Interdependenz zwischen den Ländern, die durch räumliche externe Effekte hervorgerufen wird, wichtig für die Erklärung des Konvergenzprozesses zwischen Ländern. Artikel 3: Ökologische Industrie in Vietnam: Umweltstandards und Ressourceneffizienz in KMU Die Diskussion darüber, ob verbindliche oder freiwillige Umweltmanagementstandards ökologisch und wirtschaftlich zu einer Win-Win-Situation beitragen, war in letzter Zeit ein Thema von Interesse. Für Großunternehmen in Industrieländern ist ein solcher Win-Win-Effekt dokumentiert; über die Wirksamkeit dieses Instruments zur Erreichung der Ressourceneffizienz in kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen (KMU), insbesondere in Schwellenländern, ist jedoch wenig bekannt. In Vietnam gaben hohe industrielle Wachstumsraten und die ineffizienten Technologien, die von den meisten KMU verwendet werden, Anlass zur Sorge über die Verschwendung von Materialien und Brennstoffen in ressourcenintensiven Industrien. Infolgedessen hat das Umweltschutzgesetz von 2005 Unternehmen, die umweltbelastende Tätigkeiten ausüben, verpflichtet, sich einer Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung zu unterziehen und die Einhaltung der Vorschriften durch ein Zertifikat über die Einhaltung von Umweltstandards nachzuweisen. Dieser Artikel schließt eine Forschungslücke, indem es empirisch prüft, ob die Einführung von Umweltstandardzertifikaten durch kleine und mittlere Unternehmen des verarbeitenden Gewerbes in Vietnam zur Ressourceneffizienz für den Zeitraum 2011 bis 2013 beiträgt, wobei die Ressourceneffizienz am Gesamtverbrauch von Wasser, Kraftstoff und Strom pro Produktionseinheit gemessen wurde. Um zu untersuchen, wie sich die Einführung eines Umweltstandardzertifikats auf die Ressourceneffizienz auswirkt, verwende ich in diesem Artikel einen ausgewogenen Paneldatensatz, der von der Erhebung für kleine und mittlere Produktionsunternehmen (KMU) aus den Jahren 2011 und 2013 stammt; dieser umfasst 1.333 Unternehmen, die über 17 Produktionssektoren und 10 Provinzen verteilt sind. Ich benutze eine Instrumentvariablenschätzung, um Endogenitätsprobleme zu beheben, welche sich durch die umgekehrte Kausalität zwischen Zertifikatsübernahme und Ressourceneffizienz ergeben. Diese Arbeit zeigt eine Reihe von Faktoren auf, die wahrscheinlich Schlüsselvariablen sind, wenn eine Entscheidung über die Einführung einer Umweltstandardzertifizierung ansteht; dies sind Unternehmensgröße, Investitionen in neue Technologien und der Verkauf von Produkten über den Online-Handel. Das Ergebnis zeigt, dass die Einführung von Umweltstandardzertifikaten bei KMU des verarbeitenden Gewerbes in Vietnam zu einer höheren Gesamtressourceneffizienz im Zeitraum 2011 bis 2013 beigetragen hat, was sich in einem geringeren Verbrauch von Strom, Kraftstoff und Wasser je Produktionseinheit widerspiegelt. Die größten Einsparungen ergeben sich bei Strom (3,25%), gefolgt von Kraftstoff (2,68%) und Wasser (2,2%). Darüber hinaus wurde festgestellt, dass die Zertifizierung je nach Branche einen heterogenen Einfluss auf das Ausmaß der Ressourceneinsparung hat. Weniger umweltschädliche Produktionstätigkeiten (z.B. Holz, Papier, Druck, Lebensmittel und Getränke, Schmuck) erzielten etwa 3,5% Ressourceneinsparung bei 5% Signifikanzniveau, verglichen mit nur 1,82% in umweltschädlicheren Sektoren wie Gummi, Mineralöl und chemischen Erzeugnissen. Bei den Kontrollvariablen trugen staatliche Förderung sowie Investitionen in neue Maschinen und der Einsatz eines höheren Anteils von wiederverwertete Rohstoffen aus Haushalten zur Effizienz der Ressourcennutzung bei. This thesis explores topics in environmental and resource economics and is composed of two single-authored papers (Papers 1 and 3) and one co-authored paper (paper 2). The following paragraphs highlight the main research question of each paper, methodology and results and the main contributions made. Paper 1: Low-Carbon Transition: Private Sector Investment in Renewable Energy Projects in Developing Countries A transition to clean energy sources is unlikely to occur without the participation of the private sector. To date, however, most of the literature investigating determinants of renewable energy investments has focused on developed countries. In addition to this, the link fossil fuel dependence and private sector investment in renewable energies has not been investigated. This paper applies discrete time, multiple spell survival model to a dataset of private participation in renewable energy projects in a sample of 134 developing and middle-income countries for the 1990-2012 period. The paper examines the duration leading to private sector investment in renewable energy projects and how this is affected by the high dependence on fossil fuels. This paper contributes to the literature in a number of ways. First, it focuses on the factors affecting the time at which private sector investments in renewable energy projects occur. Second, the paper tests the “carbon lock-in” hypothesis in which fossil fuel dependence in its different forms deters private sector investment in the renewable energy. Third, I solely focus on developing and middle-income countries which remain understudied in the literature. The results suggest that higher dependence on fossil fuels, in the form of fuel rents and higher fossil fuel consumption, lead to a lower probability of investments in renewables. However, the negative effect becomes less pronounced with having investments in previous period. Consistent with previous literature, the results support the belief that a number of macroeconomic variables, such as higher oil prices, higher income per capita, and the implementation of domestic renewable energy policies, play an important role in increasing the likelihood of private sector investment. The results are relevant in light of recent trends in international oil prices as they suggest two potential competing effects, with lower oil prices potentially delaying investments directly through higher fossil fuel consumption but positively affecting investment through lower fuel rents. Paper 2: Geographical Proximity and Renewable Energy Diffusion: An Empirical Approach The reform of the energy landscape is central to achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and it depends substantially on the successful adoption and diffusion of renewable energies across countries. To date, the literature on the diffusion of renewable energies has highlighted a number of important determinants such as income level, domestic energy consumption and availability of finance. However, the importance of geographical proximity in explaining the observed diffusion patterns of renewable energies remains unexplored, despite the potential implications of spatial interrelationships in terms of capital accumulation and knowledge spill-over and therefore on long run economic growth. This co-authored paper examines three fundamental questions. First, it explores the importance of geographic proximity to adopters in explaining diffusion patterns of renewable energies. Second, we test whether this effect becomes more important given a large share of trade with adopters. Third, we investigate whether the importance of geographic proximity to diffusion patterns changes over time. Our results highlight the fact that the scope of diffusion of renewable energy technologies across countries like other types of technology has a spatial aspect. In addition, stronger spillover effects occur when intensive adopters of renewable energies are also important trading partners, highlighting the relevance of trade links with technology adopters as a potential catalyst of the diffusion of renewable energies across countries. The paper contributes to the larger literature on knowledge transfer and is a step in establishing the proposed links between geography, international trade and technology transfer. Given the importance of technology transfer in the economic growth process, technological interdependence between countries generated by spatial externalities is important in explaining convergence process between countries. Paper 3: Greening Industry in Vietnam: Environmental Standards and Resource Efficiency in SMEs The debate of whether mandatory or voluntary environmental management standards contribute to a win-win situation environmentally and economically has been an issue of interest recently. For large-scale enterprises in industrialised countries, such win-win has been documented; but little is known about the effectiveness of this instrument in achieving resource efficiency in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially in emerging countries. In Vietnam, high industrial growth rates and the inefficient technologies used by most SMEs raised concerns about the waste of materials and fuels in resource intensive industries. As a consequence, the law of Environmental Protection of 2005 required firms engaged in polluting activities to undergo an environmental impact assessment and upon compliance, obtain a certificate acknowledging satisfaction of environmental management standards (EMS). This paper fills a research gap by empirically testing whether the adoption of environmental standards certificates by small and medium enterprises in the manufacturing sector in Vietnam contributes to resource efficiency for the (2011-2013) period, where resource efficiency is measured by the aggregate consumption of water, fuel, and electricity per unit of output. In this paper, to examine the impact of adopting environmental standards certificate on resource efficiency, I use a balanced panel dataset for the years 2011 and 2013 of the Small and Medium Scale Manufacturing Enterprise (SME) survey, which comprise 1,333 firms distributed across 17 manufacturing sectors and 10 provinces. I estimate an instrumental variable model to control for the possible sources of endogeneity arising for the reverse causality between certificate adoption and resource efficiency. The paper finds a number of determinants for ESC adoption, where firm size, investment in new technology and engaging in selling products via e-trade are likely to be key variables in the decision to adopt certification. The result indicates that adopting environmental standards certificates among manufacturing SMEs in Vietnam contributed to higher aggregate resource efficiency during the 2011-2013 period, reflected by a lower use of electricity, fuel and water for each unit of output. The largest savings relate to electricity (3.25%) followed by fuel (2.68%) and water (2.2%). Additionally, certification was found to have a heterogeneous effect on the extent of resource saving depending on the sector of operation. Less polluting manufacturing activities (for example such as wood, paper, printing, food and beverages, jewellery) achieved about 3.5% resource savings at 5% significance level compared to only 1.82% in more polluting sectors such as rubber, refined petroleum and chemical products. With regards to the control variables, receiving government assistance, as well as investing in new machinery and using a higher share of raw material from households, contributed to efficiency in resource use.

How most countries around the world do business has a significant impact on the environment. For too long, the negative external effects of production and consumption have been neglected. A rethinking towards the reconciliation of economy and ecology is necessary in order to ensure environment-friendly protection of prosperity. However, in comparison, green products are often expensive, and inexpensive products are often associated with higher environmental damage. The early inclusion of low-income households is an opportunity to replace consumption of environmentally harmful products faster and to accelerate the change to a greener economy. Frugality in product development and innovation processes is able to combine green product characteristics with low costs. In this dissertation, the implementation conditions of the emergence of advanced frugal product characteristics in innovation processes are investigated, which are then called Advanced Frugal Innovation. While a stronger focus is put on the product development process in the scientific literature, also systemic and social conditions are brought to the fore in this dissertation. Both technological capabilities and conducive systemic and societal conditions are essential prerequisites for the emergence of Advanced Frugal Innovation. The empirical findings indicate that societal framework conditions do not currently facilitate the development of Advanced Frugal Innovation in Germany. Due to a lack of usable prior research, the findings of this dissertation are based on an exploratory research approach. In addition to using relevant academic literature and deducing from existing theories and concepts, qualitative and quantitative data are examined. For this purpose, the focus is on a survey of companies in the manufacturing sector in Hesse and Lower Saxony. The results of this dissertation offer first empirical findings, insights into the development of Advanced Frugal Innovation and provide an impulse for further research.

When the biofuels agenda gained momentum globally, many SADC member states considered to implement biofuels (take note: not bioenergy) programmes as they looked at the potential to diversify the agriculture sector and foster rural development in the region. Several projects, driven mainly by foreign investors, were introduced and implemented in the region but (most if not all) failed to deliver on the promises and left many people desperate. This eroded the trust that governments had in biofuels significantly. As a result, many SADC countries condemned Jatropha-based biofuels and even pronounced measures to discourage the introduction of biofuels as they feared that it would impact negatively on food production, the environment, economy and the people.Most of the SADC member states biophysical conditions are potentially suitable to grow most of the suggested feedstock crops as there seem to be a comparable abundant suitable land to grow both energy and food crops. This is true especially for Angola, DRC, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. Even though the SADC region has agricultural ecological conditions and adequate policy framework that can support most biofuels feedstock production, there is very little evidence to show on the ground in terms of biofuels projects except for the ethanol generation capacities and programme in Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.This study contributed to finding possible solutions to a very complex problem of biofuels value chain development, food security and sustainability by evaluating the potentials, conditions and challenges of agro-based feedstock production systems in the SADC region. A conceptual Diversion-Based Evaluation Framework (DBEF) that integrates other assessment tools was developed and applied to evaluate potential diversions and their impacts at project, national and/or even sub continental-region levels. A mixed methods research design approach to inquiry that combines both qualitative and quantitative empirical methods was therefore adopted to conduct this research. It involved conducting experiments to assess the potential of Jatropha and other energy crops in relation to biophysical conditions, CO2 sequestration and climate change mitigation, development of a diversion-based evaluation framework (DBEF), conducting questionnaire driven surveys, interest and expert groups interviews, performing target beneficiary assessment and meta evaluations of implemented projects for sustainability and food security using the framework.Several projects implemented using different feedstock production models in four SADC countries were used to evaluate biofuels value chain development risks against sustainability and potential to harm food production and food security. Diversion of land was found to be of considerable high risk for investor and PPP driven models even in countries with abundant arable land and water (due to potential displacements) while farm input diversions (e.g. labour, finances, extension services) were identified to pose potential high risk for out-grower production models.This study concluded that a hybrid integrated approach to designing policies and programmes for biofuel value chains that puts local needs and context, triangulated with national or Africa sub-continental macro-economic needs aspects, is critical for sustainability than a neo-liberal top-down approach. The later tend to create dependencies that can cause disruption of food production systems, markets and possible irreparable damage to people s livelihoods and the environment in medium to long terms.