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Abstract The global education agenda, embedded in the Education for All (EFA) Goals, and the Millennium Development Goals, has emphasised the importance of reaching EFA rather than sustaining this achievement. As a corollary, the emphasis for external aid has also been on increasing aid to secure EFA rather than on the dangers of aid dependency in securing and sustaining EFA. The international architecture in support of education for sustainable development appears to have little interest in analysing these tensions between the pursuit of these rights-based EFA Goals, on the one hand, and the kind of economic growth and macro-economic environment that would be necessary to sustain their achievement.

The ten countries that joined the European Union (EU) in 2004 (Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia) have experienced faster economic growth and slower declines in energy consumption than traditional EU members. As designing of low-carbon policies requires accurate CO2 emission accounting, this study describes the evolving trajectories of CO2 emissions from 2005 to 2017 of 2004 EU accession members by providing detailed emission inventories by 28 types of energy and 47 socioeconomic sectors. We further quantify the contributions of four socioeconomic drivers (i.e., economic growth, energy structure, carbon intensity, and energy intensity) to the emission changes. The results show that the total CO2 emissions of the ten countries decreased by 7.50% from 2010 (506.81 Mt) to 2016 (468.78 Mt), which is lower than the average decline rate of other EU members (10.52%). Although the effect of economic growth contributed the most to emission increase (15.44%), it is completely offset by the decline in carbon intensity (-18.82%). We also discuss potential roadmaps towards carbon neutrality by designing 33 scenarios based on the European Union Low-Carbon Development Map 2050. We find that carbon neutrality cannot be achieved unless the share of renewable energy sources reaches 60% and more than half of existing coal and gas power plants are upgraded to Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) technology. These changes require the implementation of both short-term and long-term strategies.

Financial markets play a vital role in the allocation of the world’s resources. Yet financial markets are also prone to booms and busts as financial intermediaries imperfectly respond to the world around them. This thesis examines the role of financial markets in the context of climate change. It examines how financial markets are slowly, though imperfectly, moving towards addressing one of the greatest economic and scientific challenges of our century. I examine in-depth a number of areas where financial markets are operating effectively to address the challenges of climate change. I also identify those areas where market failures signal the need for further government intervention. This thesis proceeds in four substantive chapters. My approach is empirical and employs both quantitative and qualitative techniques. I first address financial market theory on the role of information in efficient market operation (Chapter 3). I then examine behaviourally how financial markets are integrating new climate-related information in investment decisions (Chapter 4). This thesis then examines the two financial markets in depth. The first is an empirical examination of how carbon markets have influenced publicly listed markets in energy stocks within Europe (Chapter 5). The second is an empirical examination of direct investment (venture capital and private equity) in clean technologies in Europe and North America (Chapter 6). Four findings emerge from this thesis: Firstly, financial market reform must begin with greater information disclosure to the market on the physical and carbon-related risks facing corporations and the community. Secondly, large asset owners (such as pension funds) should demand greater integration of long-term systemic risk considerations in their asset allocation decisions if they are to adequately respond to climate change. Thirdly, market structure appears to materially influence the operation of a carbon price signal within an energy market. This indicates further empirical research is needed by governments to examine whether carbon markets achieve their intended aims. Fourthly, the flow of direct investment (private equity) in emerging clean technologies is highly contingent on geography. The size and direction of capital flows is influenced by regulation, capital market structures, and physical environmental variables. Government must bear this in mind when formulating appropriate technology and industry policy to spur clean technology investment.

Abstract Against the background of record levels of UK hydrocarbon production and a government review of the UKCS tax regime, this paper provides evidence that the government’s share of UKCS profits is very low by historical and international standards and demonstrates that the current tax regime is extremely weak. The justification for the latter is then challenged by assessing the relative profitability of UKCS companies, using data from UK national accounts and from Form 10-K and Form 20-F company reports and analysing both accounting profits and forecast discounted cash flow. This shows that companies operating on the UKCS enjoy substantially higher profitability relative to both other UK companies and other oil and gas provinces elsewhere in the world. Further evidence of the weakness of the UK regime is provided by a comparison with the Norwegian oil and gas tax regime. The paper therefore makes a strong case for the reform of the UKCS tax regime.

AbstractThe union between Industry 4.0 and the circular economy (CE) appears relatively recent. In this sense, new trading zones for sharing a common scenario among academics and practitioners are needed. The paper aims to investigate the link between Industry 4.0 and the CE by understanding how Industry 4.0 can foster the impact of the CE on companies. The study proposes a broader perspective that includes thematic and content analysis gathering data on professional documents based on business cases, newspaper articles, press releases and specialised blogs, as well as scientific papers. The joint academic‐practitioners view highlights how Industry 4.0 has the potential to impact on the CE through countless actions: increasing waste disposal; promoting remanufacturing; enhancing the efficiency of critical resources such as water, energy, gas and CO2; and improving business models and the mission of companies. However, barriers still exist in its adoption, stressing the need for holistic and integrated design and a proactive environment of collaboration among stakeholders. Results lead to practical as well as research implications.

AbstractPrevious studies challenge the assumption that economic growth improves subjective well‐being, and argue that economic growth is incompatible with not only nature conservation but also subjective well‐being. To achieve SDGs, a mode of economy that sustains both subjective well‐being and the natural environment needs to be investigated. This ethnographic study explored community‐based economy systems in post‐genocide Rwanda, and elaborated the process and mechanisms by which the contemporary gift economy facilitated subjective well‐being in culture and natural landscape. Findings showed that subjective well‐being can be achieved by applying alternative modes of economy (gift economy, sharing economy) and having access to direct sources of well‐being (natural environment, social cohesion, cultural identity, and spirituality), when basic needs are satisfied by well‐established infrastructure and social services. This study contributes to understanding why and how people can be happy without money, and illuminate a mode of economy that can benefit the sustainable development of local communities.

SUMMARY Plantain (Musa AAB), a primary food crop in Ghana, is a key component in sustainable agricultural systems in high rainfall zones. Recently, there has been a substantial yield decline and reduction in plantation life. To elucidate the context in which intervention strategies should be developed, a Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) was conducted at five villages in the major plantain-producing belt of Ghana. The importance of plantain as a preferred food was confirmed, although farmers tended to sell plantain for cash income, using cheaper, less preferred alternatives for home consumption. Farmers identified decreasing soil fertility, the high cost of labour for weeding, pests and diseases, lack of good quality planting material and marketing-related issues as the major production constraints. Due to declining productivity in less fertile regions, plantain has been replaced with other food crops such as cassava and maize. Farmers overestimated the importance of insect pests but were unaware of the...

In a world that increasingly invites private actors to address social needs, there has been a rise of social enterprises in a variety of sectors, including new and renewable energy. As of yet, little research has focused on how these enterprises interact with government policy in low- and middle-income countries. This research specifically explores how social enterprises operating in rural India with decentralized renewable energy solutions seek to access government support, and what strategies they adopt to engage with the government. An inductive theory-building approach was adopted to explore this and advance current knowledge in the boundaries of social entrepreneurship and policy. We propose ‘Engagement’ and ‘Disengagement’ as the two strategies used by social enterprises in this context in accessing government support and policy. ‘Engagement’ is a strategy comprising of the tactics: (a) Leveraging Policy, (b) Building and Leveraging Relationships, (c) Lobbying, and (d) Monitoring. ‘Disengagement’ is a strategy comprising of the tactics: (a) Avoiding Government Presence, and (b) Disengagement from Policy.