Sustainable Development


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21 March 2013

This policy paper focuses on the sustainable management of some key natural resources in southern and  eastern Mediterranean countries (SEMCs) under climate change and anthropogenic pressures. In a business-as-usual and even more so in a failed cooperation scenario, water resources, ecosystems and biodiversity in the region are under stress, with negative consequences for agriculture, food security, tourism and development. However, proper adaptation strategies are shown to be effective in reconciling resource conservation with GDP, trade and population growth.

07 February 2013

This report aims to identify, explain and detail the links and interactions in Southern Mediterranean Countries (SMCs) between energy supply and demand and socio-economic development, as well as the potential role of energy supply and demand policies on both. Another related aim is to identify and analyse, in a quantitative and qualitative way, the changing role of energy (both demand and supply) in southern Mediterranean economies, focusing on its positive and negative impact on socio-economic development.

This report investigates:

06 June 2011

This report explores the concept of state (un)sustainability in Israel and Palestine. The starting point sees conflict resolution as an independent variable for any change and progress in the area, in terms of a political, just and credible agreement between the two parties, which will then play a decisive role in the development of the Mediterranean region. These developments and prospects for a solution are then evaluated on the basis of state (un)sustainability, a broad notion that refers to the possibilities for long-term development at the political, social and economic levels.

20 May 2011

Hosni Mubarak’s regime and its power system enjoyed remarkable stability for over 30 years. On 11 February 2011, however, after 18 days of mass protests, the Egyptian president was forced to step down, revealing the unsustainability of the political and economic system that had ensured his continuity for so long. While the revolution of January 25th led to a major success – the fall of Mubarak – Egypt’s political future is still opaque and exposed to a number of risks.

20 May 2011

For 23 years, a combination of harsh repression and impressive socio-economic development in Tunisia ensured a certain level of stability of Ben Ali’s regime. However, on 14 January 2011, after several weeks of anti-government protests, the President fled the country, revealing the fallacy of the ‘Tunisian model’. While the departure of Ben Ali is an important step towards Tunisia’s political change, the fate of its democratic transition remains uncertain.

18 May 2011

The European Union is strongly committed to fulfilling the Aid Effectiveness goals of the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action, as well as the European Code of Conduct on Division of Labour in Development Policy. Towards this end, the European Commission, with the participation of many EU member states and European development financiers, has launched new financing instruments aimed at translating these commitments into real action.

13 April 2011

The question of state sustainability is highly relevant in the case of Morocco. Despite the image of a modernising and liberalising country, Morocco is undergoing a delicate phase in its development. The recent upheavals in the Maghreb and the Middle East, alongside the growing problems of poor education and high unemployment are likely to bring to the surface the unsustainable elements of Morocco’s status quo. The central issues concern the quality of institutions, reforms aimed at promoting the rule of law, curbing corruption and overhauling the judiciary.

17 November 2010

Forecasts about the Mediterranean in terms of economic, social and human development are premised on a critical assumption: the continuation, mutatis mutandis, of the status quo in political and governance terms. Indeed over the last decades, not only have the regimes in the southern and eastern Mediterranean demonstrated a remarkable resilience, but also the states have enjoyed a situation of overall stability achieved through a number of skilfully arranged reform measures.



Prior to joining CEPS, Vasileios Rizos was a Project Officer at the Confederation of  European Paper Industries where he worked, among others, on strategic sustainable development themes relevant to the industry. Vasileios holds a MSc in Ecological Economics from the University of  Edinburgh as well as a BSc (Hons) and MSc in Agricultural Economics and Rural Development from the Agricultural University of Athens.



Arno Behrens is Head of Energy and Research Fellow at the Unit for Energy and Climate Change of the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS). Before that, he worked as Second Secretary at the German Federal Foreign Office in the context of the 2007 German Presidency of the European Union. Other main cornerstones of his career include the European Commission, the Sustainable Europe Research Institute (SERI), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).



The revised EU Emissions Trading Scheme foresees auctioning of allowances as the default option.  However, Article 10a of the Directive allows for transitional free allocation, based on Community-wide ex-ante benchmarks (if feasible) based on a number of objectives, essentially related to providing incentives for GHG reductions and the use of energy efficient techniques.



Date: 10 July 2006
 
Speakers:
Melanie Rein
, Senior Associate, University of Cambridge Programme for Industry
Janice Giffen, International NGO Training and Research Center (INTRAC)
Discussants: Clare Denvir, DG Development, European Commission
Pierre Berthelot, Director, Programme to support the integration of ACP States into the multilateral trading system, Emerging Markets Group
 



Date: 19 September 2003

Speaker: Peter Sedgwick, Vice-President, European Investment Bank