Challenges and Opportunities for Europe in building a Global Green Economy

1. LODGINGS
We booked accommodation for 27th and 28th of April. You will be staying at the Petrská kolej student dormitory (address: Petrská 3, 110 00 Praha 1). The rooms are simple, but the location is very central. We ask that you kindly share rooms.

2. TRAVEL TO ACCOMODATION
To reach the  Kolej Petrká dormitory from the airport:
A) Take bus No.119 to Dejvická station. Change to subway green-A line and go Mustek station. There change to brown-B line and go to Florenc Metro station. Exit the metro and walk for another 10 mins. Here you can find a map showing the walking path.

3. LOCATION TO WORKSHOP
The Workshop will be held in this location: Room 201, Department of West European Studies, Charles University Prague (Universitas Carolina). Address: Rytirska 31, Praha 1.
Here you can see how to walk from the accommodation to the location of the workshop.

4. PROGRAMME
When you arrive at Prague, you will receive an up-to-date Agenda and list of conference participants. A draft programme is attached. We have several professors who have kindly committed to participate at different times, either presenting short papers or acting as discussants. (Please show your appreciation!)

5. PRELIMINARY READING LIST ON METHODOLOGY
Some useful preliminary readings which will help to prepare you for the discussions, will be sent out in the next day.

6. STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
We expect many of the participants to make a presentation at the Spring Workshop. Usually, we allow 20 minutes for a presentation followed by discussion, but as the programme will be crowded we may need to adjust this. Papers can be brought or sent in advance. We will circulate all paper abstracts next week.

7. DISCUSSION
All participants will be expected to be actively involved.

8. ADDITIONAL NIGHTS
The Europaeum will cover the costs for the nights of Friday 27th  April and Saturday 28th April. If you wish to come in a day earlier or to stay a day later, this may be possible, but please contact Zuzana Pickova (zuzana.pickova@gmail.com) at once. You will need to pay for this accommodation yourself.  This is though extremely cheap. Please let us know right away if you need us to reserve an extra night.

9. MEALS
Lunch and Dinner on Friday and Saturday, and lunch on Sunday, will be provided for all participants in nearby restaurants. Vegetarians can be accommodated.  It is best to let us know.

10. DRESS
Conference sessions are casual smart.

Should you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to contact euroinfo@europaeum.ox.ac.uk / +44 (0)1865 284480.

If you should run into any problems in Prague, please contact Zuzana Pickova at  00420 732945102.

Click here to download the full Programme

Friday 27th April

15.00 Welcome and Introductions

• Dr Paul Flather, Europaeum; Mansfield College, Oxford
• Laurent Lambert, St Antony’s College, Oxford, The international framework.

16.00 Lecture: Can we calculate environmental benefits for socially desirable policies ?
Chair: Laurent Lambert

• Speaker: Milan Ščasný (Charles University)
  Discussants: Loren Cruz Sandoval (Geneva), Martin Marzidovšek (Geneva)

17.00 Tea/ Coffee break

17.15 Debate: How Economics and Ethics Collide in the Climate Change Debates
Chair: Paul Flather

• Speaker: Mario Kortman (Leiden) What makes a Green Economy work? Ethics, Ethics, Ethics.
  Discussants: Aisha Saad (Oxford), Pablo Sanz Peña (Oxford),

• Speaker: Tomás Sedláček (Charles University)
  Discussants: Jenifer Astrid Miksch (Geneva), Tom Degen (Leiden)

22:00 Short City Night Walking Tour (optional)

Saturday 28th April

09.00 Working Groups – SESSION I

A. ECONOMICS: What economic sacrifices can – or should - Europe make in the quest for agreement ? What are the economic and social costs and benefits of climate change in Europe? How does the crisis affect the green economy ? Can we afford to go green ?
B. POLITICS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: Is the UN Framework for Climate Change Conference really effective ? Can we improve our inter state and global diplomacy ? How can agreements be monitored ?What can Europe do to bring the US and China into the negotiations ?
C. CULTURAL. LEGAL & SOCIETAL CHALLENGES: How can we change attitudes among European citizens ? Who can lead change in Europe ? Does a rich Europe have greater moral obligations ?

Graduate Presentations: Costs & Benefits
Chair: Paul Flather

• Speaker: Pablo Sanz Peña (Oxford), The Clashing Challenges of the Single Market and Environmental Concerns.
  Discussant: Elena Evgrafova (Charles University)

• Speaker: Aisha Saad (Oxford) What are the public and environmental responsibilities of modern multi-nationals ?
  Discussant: Tom Degen (Leiden)

11.30 Lecture: What should the EU aim for at Rio +20 ?
Chair: Paul Flather

• Speaker: Guillaume McLaughlin (European Parliament)
  Discussant: Jennifer Astrid Miksch (Geneva)

• Speaker: Andrew Prag (OECD)
  Discussant: Tom Degen (Leiden)

14.00 Graduate presentations: The Law and the Environment
Chair: Laurent Lambert

• Speaker: Stephanie Sarah Chuffart (Geneva), Can international environmental law work ?
  Discussant: Pablo Sanz Peña (Oxford)

• Speaker: Elena Evgrafova (Charles University), Russian trade and energy relations ?
  Discussant: Loren Cruz Sandoval (Geneva)

• Speaker: Mario Kortman (Leiden)
  Discussant: Aisha Saad (Oxford)

16.00 Working Groups SESSION II:
A Economics, B Politics +International Relations C Culture, Law & Society

17.00 Graduate Presentations
Chair: Mario Kortman (Leiden)

• Speaker: Jenifer Astrid Miksch (Geneva) Why we need more women to lead in the Green movement ?
  Discussant: Tom Degen (Leiden)

• Speaker: Martin Marzidovšek (Geneva) What do we really mean by sustainability ?
  Discussant: Elena Evgrafova (Charles University)

18.00 Debate: TBC
Chair: Paul Flather

19.00 Walking Tour of Prague (optional)

Sunday 29th April

09.00 Working Group – SESSION III:
A Economics, B Politics & International Relations C Culture, aw & Society

9.45 Report back from Working Groups A, B, C
Chair: Paul Flather

Role Playing Game for RIO+20 - 2012 UN Conference on sustainable development

10.45 Introduction

11.15 Coffee/tea break

11.30 Round I: Country Positions and Opening Arguments

12.15 Round II: Break in Negotiations:
(a last-minute proposal has to be studied by each country)

12.30 Lunch – Buffet

13.30 Round III: Negotiations resume

14.35 Round IV: Conclusions and Votes

15.00 Conclusions and Next Steps: what have we all learnt?
Dr Paul Flather & Laurent Lambert

Claudia BAVA-PERSIA, MA International and Diplomatic Sciences, Bologna University

Natalia BEJAN, Msc student Institute Economic Studies, Charles University, Prague

Loren CRUZ SANDOVAL, MA student International Studies, GIIDS Geneva

Lubica DEBNAROVA, Institute of International Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague

Tom DEGEN, MSc in Public Administration, Leiden University

Elena EVGRAFOVA, MSc in International Economic and Political Sciences, Charles University, Prague

Dr Paul FLATHER, Secretary-General, Europaeum; Fellow Mansfield College University of Oxford

Wildmer Daniel GREGORI, PhD student in Economics, University of Bologna

Sijmen GROOT, MA European Union Studies & law, Leiden University

Jana HRIVNIAKOVA, Student Economics Faculty, Charles University, Prague

Mario KORTMAN, PhD student in Political Philosophy, Leiden

Laurent LAMBERT, DPhil University of Oxford; Research Fellow Europaeum

Vojtech MACA, Research Fellow Charles University Environmental Center

Martin MARZIDOVSEK, MA student International Affairs, GIIDS Geneva

Jennifer Astrid MIKSCH, Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies, Geneva

Milena RATKOVIC, MA student in European Studies, Charles University Prague

Lenka ROVNÁ, Jean Monnet Chair Ad Persona; Head of the Department of West European Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague

Aischa SAAD, DPhil student in Philosophy Geography and the Environment, Oxford

Pablo SANZ PENA, MPhil in European Politics and Society, University of Oxford

Prof. Milan ŠČASNÝ, PhD student in Environmental Economics, Charles University, Prague

Prof. Jan SOKOL, Czech philosopher, politician, University Lecturer, Charles University, Prague

Dr Janet STRACHAN, Chief Programme Officer for Sustainable Development, Economic Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat, London.

Vlastimil TESAR, Director General of Economic Cooperation and Promotion Abroad Section; Director of Multilateral Economic Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Czech Republic

Joanna VERNOOIJ, Msc student Public Administration, Leiden University

Olga ZAPOROZHETS, MA student Central and Eastern European Studies, Jagiellonian University, Krakow

Dr Paul Flather is Secretary–General of the Europaeum, an association of leading European Universities, and Fellow of Mansfield College, Oxford.  He studied at Balliol College, Oxford. He was the founding Secretary-General of the Central European University (1990-1994) originally set up in Budapest, Prague, and Warsaw by George Soros, and director of international and external affairs for Oxford University (1994-2000).  He is a former Fellow of Corpus Christi. He has worked at the BBC, Times Newspapers, and served as Deputy Editor of the New Statesman.  His research work is on Indian political development since Independence. He has worked with dissident movements in Central Europe in the 1980s, and with cultural and race equality groups in the UK.  He was an elected member of the London Council in the 1980s (chairing its committee on post-school education 1986-1990). He currently chairs the Noon Scholarship Foundation Committee, and is on the board of the Roundtable.

Mario KORTMAN is currently working on a PhD research proposal on Environmentalism and Green Political Thought. He has been involved with Europaeum.

Laurent LAMBERT is head of a project developing a new glossary of terms for climate change negotiations in collaboration with the United Nations and is currently completing a PhD research at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on the governance of natural resources – in particular water and natural gas – in a context of regional energy integration. He has been part of the Oxford University delegation/team for several international events and projects related to Climate Change. He previously worked as an analyst for the French Ministry of Defence on geopolitical risks linked to natural resources, when he participated to the draft of a UN-roadmap for the implementation of the water-related Millennium Development Goals. He took his Master’s Degree at the University of Paris-Sorbonne.

Vojtěch MÁCA is a research fellow in the Department of Environmental Economics and Sociology of Charles University Environment Center in Prague. He received his PhD (2008) in public and environmental law from Charles University. His area of specialization is law and economics of environmental externalities, including environmental policy analysis, external cost assessment, and nonmarket valuation.

Andrew PRAG is senior policy analyst in the OECD Environment Directorate, providing technical and economic analysis to the Climate Change Experts Group, a long-standing forum for climate change negotiators from OECD member governments to share expertise and develop policy. Before joining OECD he worked for four years on climate change in the private sector, as a policy and strategy specialist for UK-based Camco International, a carbon credit project developer and low-carbon consultancy. During this time he was a founding director and vice-chair of the Project Developer Forum, a trade association working to improve carbon market regulation and policy, and chaired working groups on incentives for carbon capture and storage (CCS) for the CCS Association. Prior to that, he started his career in the energy industry as an industrial manager for Royal Dutch Shell. Andrew holds an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College, London, and an MA in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University (neither of which, he notes, is a member of Europaeum!)

Lenka ROVNÁ is Jean Monnet Chair Ad Personam, Head of the Department of West European Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague.

Prof. Milan ŠČASNÝ has a PhD in Environmental Economics. From 1997 to 2000 he worked as an analyst at the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic. Since 2001 he has worked at the Charles University Dept. of Environmental Economics and head of the Environment Center. In 2008-2009 he was an External Research Collaborator at the OECD.

JAN SOKOL is a Czech philosopher, politician and translator. He holds an MA in Anthropology and PhD in Philosophy and since 2000, he has been full professor of philosophy at the Charles University in Prague. He was Member of the Czech Parliament between 1990 and 1992, later Czech Minister of Education, and coalition candidate to the office of President of the Czech Republic. Between 2000 and 2007 he served as the first dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Charles University in Prague. He was elected Member of the Czechoslovak Parliament, vice-chairman of the Chamber of Nations and spokesman of the strongest fraction Civic Forum (OF) in 1990. Since 2007, he has been vice-dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Charles University in Prague. Professor Sokol has published numerous books and articles in Czech and in other languages, delivered many guest lectures in various European countries and in the US, mostly on philosophy, religion, ethics and on European questions. His main areas of interest are phenomenology, philosophic anthropology, religious science, and the anthropology of law.

Dr Janet STRACHAN is Head of Small States, Environment and Economic Management at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, working on sustainable development concerns with countries in Africa, the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and the Pacific. She holds a Bachelors Degree (Hons) in Botany from Durham University and a Masters Degree in Environmental Policy from the London School of Economics. Recent areas of work include the Green Economy for developing countries; climate finance; and trade and climate change concerns of small developing countries. Janet organises Ministerial dialogues and formulates strategies for the Commonwealth Secretariat on international processes including the Habitat Agenda, Rio+20 and climate change.

Vlastimil TESAŘ is Director of the Department of Multilateral Economic Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

Claudia Bava-Persia: How the green economy can help employment

Large International Organizations and some national ministries claim that a transition towards a new green economy would trigger job creation in many economic sectors. On the other hand, independent researchers from institutes with a large liberal tendency oppose to the validity of green economy as an “employment machine”. Their arguments are related to macroeconomics and occupational distortions due to government funding of eco-friendly sectors. As a case study, this paper deals with the German Erneuerabare-Energien-Gesetz (EEG) that, since its issuing on 2000, has boosted electricity generation from renewable energy sources. By means of the EEG analysis, the calculation of gross job flows and an econometric estimation, this study tries to provide an orientation in the international debate on environmental issues, assessing how many jobs have been created. As it happened in the „80s after the IT revolution, with this green transition occupational skills required changed in favour of high-skilled workers. Moreover, from the gross job flows analysis it emerged that the construction sector, from 2000 to 2003 in Germany, augmented its number of employees, even though the difference is so slight in number that it is impossible to consider this as a consequence of the EEG activity. The manufacturing sector experimented a growth in its job creation rate, contradicting independent researchers‟ predictions. The econometric analysis opened to the necessity to have firm level data as accurate as possible, otherwise the estimations would be non-significant. These results demonstrate that in a transition setting the creation of losers and winners is unavoidable. As to the employment benefits that emerged, it is necessary to provide protection for some professional figures, as well as assuring reallocation from contracting sectors to expanding ones.

Loren Cruz: How and why does the EU influence the global climate change agenda?

The EU participates in the climate change negotiations under the UNFCCC, in international policy and research forums that feed the UN climate change process including the IPCC, the G8 and G20, the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the International Energy Agency. Its participation to prevent climate change started with the Kyoto Protocol, and, gradually, it has projected itself as a leading actor in the fight against global warming: a role that aims to keep playing in the post-Durban scenario, and to further develop to achieve a framework that is ambitious, comprehensive and legally binding among developed and developing countries, among other goals. But, why has the EU been so interested in influencing the global climate change agenda? And how has it done it? These questions will guide this presentation that aims to provide an explanation of the EU’s influence on the process of climate change regime formation. It will depart from a post-Durban and economic crisis scenario, then, elaborate on the relevance of the UNFCCC for the EU, and, finally, it will discuss the main drivers for this behavior at the international level

Elena Evgrafova: Lessons from Dependency: a Study of EU - Russia Energy Trade and Co-operation

This presentation aims to study the energy trade and co-operation between EU and Russia, analyzing the current situation from the economic, political and environmental points of view. In terms of the increasingly growing energy consumption, this topic seems to be actual. Potentially, this partnership seems to be beneficial, as Russia possesses the huge proven reserves of natural gas in the world, which makes it a reliable supplier for the next decades. EU, in turn, is the biggest consumer of Russian gas up to date, as well as the biggest foreign investor in enegry industry.

Transportation of Russian gas to Europe is mainly operated by the extensive net of pipelines, some of which are currently under construction. New pipelines Nord Stream, South Stream and Blue Stream were disigned to avoid the transit through third countries, which often create additional risks and costs to the consumers. The most serious conflict between Russia and Ukraine took place in 2008, when billions of European consumers stayed without gas for a while. I have elaborated on the recently launched Nord Stream, because it seem to be the decision of the third countries‘ problem and is considered as a milestone of EU – Russia energy partnership. 

However, the EU-Russia partnership contains some geopolitical issues, as Russian government is using energy resources to gain economic and political power in the region. By nationalizing energy industries, benefiting from high oil prices, Russia is building castles in the air, because the diversification and modernization of the whole economy is abandoned, as it will not bring immediate profits, as energy sector brings. Therefore, the security issues are highly important. As for environmental issues, EU has already started the dialoque to convince Russia to move towards green economy and energy efficiency. 

To sum up, I suggested some steps to improve the co-operation between EU and Russia to achieve the fruitful and fair mutual partnership.

Mario Kortman: What makes a Green Economy work? Ethics, Ethics, Ethics.

Our economic and political behavior derives from our philosophical understanding of the relationship between us and our environment, authors as Dobson (2000; 2007) and Eckersley (1998; 2007) have argued . But current political theories fall short, as their commitment to granting only rational beings with substantive rights confines their applicability to humans alone, and because of their conception of political principles as deriving from a contract among rough equals, they deny that we have obligations of justice to nonhuman animals (Sen, 2009; Schlossberg, 2011; Nussbaum, 2011).

This paper seeks to understand the recent work of Nussbaum (2011; 2012) by answering the question: will incorporating animals in our justice framework substantively influence our economic behavior? While doing so would certainly mean that animals would be considered differently in our political system, it is not to say that as a consequence that their dignity would be protected in our economical system. The difference between the two, the author argues, lies not in the justice relationship between animals and humans, but in the relative position of humans in a economical needs hierarchy.

Martin Marzidovšek: Stimulating Business Involvement in Green Economy: A European Perspective.

The important role of business for sustainable development was already expressed in the UN action plan Agenda 21, which was the outcome of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. However, the last two decades of fairly disappointing multilateral engagements of states at the global level have called for a greater involvement of the private sector in the transition to green economy. It is, namely, private enterprise that is greatly responsible for the current environmental challenges but it could be a potential solution to them as well. Many companies have already voluntarily adopted sustainable strategies that go beyond the regulatory requirements. This is, mostly for reasons of their own economic sustainability but, more importantly, also because of greater financial returns. Sustainability in the private sector is namely becoming an important component of market competition, which at the same time boosts innovation, generates greater efficiency with regard to the use of natural resources and diminishes waste. By understanding these evolving market trends the EU could stimulate grater private sector involvement in the sustainable development agenda. With the creation of the right market and regulatory conditions, the economically troubled Europe could gain crucial leverage from the private sector to build a competitive green economy. In this respect, green economy might not only be a necessity for saving our planet but represent, to the EU, a potential solution to the loss of global competitiveness as well. By successfully implementation sustainability into its economy the EU would also show needed global leadership for building a truly global green economy.

This presentation will, firstly, explore the state of private sector involvement in sustainable development and the mechanisms behind it, as well as explore the potential role of the private sector in building a global green economy. Secondly, it will look at how the EU could create the right policy framework that would give European companies the right mixture of regulation, economic incentives as well as social pressure to become more sustainable. Finally, it will also examine potential challenges for the European green economy in the global political and economic context..

Jennifer Astrid Miksch: Executive Summary

Drawing upon Prof Flather's comment at the Europaeum blog quoting Susan B. Anthony "There never will be complete equality until women themselves help to make laws and elect lawmakers" and his conclusion that "when women's voices are not included in political processes, the resulting system only represents half the population. It also excludes valuable and important perspectives in public discourse" I would like to focus on the question whether empowering more women and giving them more decision power in the international framework would indeed change the process as a whole.

A vast amount of articles present risk-aversion as a mostly feminine variable with negative implications for their overall performance. But correlating risk aversion with 50 % of society, namely women, is not only wrong but holds certain other implications.

Drawing on Christine Lagarde, selected social psychological scholars and other sources, I would like to argue that risk aversion is per se neither feminine nor negative. Opportunities can indeed strive from making use of this at first glance negative characteristic. I hope to show that quite the contrary is possible: Accepting a high level of risk aversion of certain members of society and acknowledging their ability to better counter extraordinary challenges such as crucial environmental decisions is a necessary step into the future - facing environmental, economic and social risks while recognizing possible long-term implications for the rest of the world (being intertwined through globalization) is an essential advantage. 

• Europe and the Global Green Economy Blog, produced by The Europaeum.
• New: the EU budget - it has never been so green, reprinted from The European Energy Review, by Sonja van Renssen (23/2/2012)
• Environmental State Aid Guidelines, Charles University Environment Center, by Vojtěch Máca