Reports

This Secretariat paper examines the relationship between urban structure, spatial planning and climate emissions, in particular transport-related emissions. The paper focuses in particular on the some of the key literature that has sought to analysis this relationship. The paper also considers the case for developing new approaches to evaluating the impact of urban structure and spatial planning on supporting sustainable development and reducing transport-related emissions. The paper concludes with a focus on the enabling role of urban structure with regards to sustainable mobility

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing policy-makers today, and Ireland’s record on climate action is widely accepted as being disappointing. Part of the explanation for this lies in the uncertainty about what action Ireland can and should take, and uncertainty about how acceptable any climate action will be to various groups in society. In this context of uncertainty, how a problem is framed can have a significant impact on subsequent decisions taken to address that problem. This Secretariat paper examines if and how the framing (or reframing) of climate action can lead to more progress in this challenging area.

This Secretariat paper examines national multistakeholder agreements in energy and climate governance. These refer to negotiated agreements setting out national long-term energy and climate objectives which include a range of stakeholders, from social, economic and environmental actors to political parties. The paper focuses in particular on the 2013 Dutch Energy Agreement between the social partners, environmental groups, government and local authorities. Political agreements have been used in other countries, including Sweden and Denmark. The paper explores some of the drivers, characteristics and processes in the development of this Dutch Energy Agreement, with a view to gaining further understanding the potential value of multistakeholder agreements as strategic tools for the low carbon transition.

All public investment projects in Ireland with a capital value in excess of €20 million are required to be subject to appraisal in the form of either Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) or Cost Effectiveness Analysis (CEA). The practice and application of policy appraisal has undergone significant change globally, driven in large part by sustainability and climate change considerations. This paper examines key practice issues including discount rates, time horizon, the range of costs and benefits to be appraised and carbon pricing. The paper is mainly concerned with how changes within CBA can make it more appropriate to the context of climate change and transition. However, it also examines the way in which key characteristics of climate transition challenge conventional approaches to CBA and points to the need to explore other analytical and strategic approaches to transition.