International Journal of Technology Management & Sustainable Development - Volume 12, Issue 3, 2013

Reform of the institutional architecture for environment and sustainable development was one of the two main agenda items at the Rio+20 Conference. In the environmental field, Rio+20 provided a new impulse of power for the United Nations Environment Programme to fulfil its well-thought-out visionary mandate rather than motivation for creating a new institutional structure. In the sustainable development field, it offered an opportunity to formally launch a transformational reform process across several United Nations institutions – most prominently, the Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD) and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) – and begin a new effort at establishing global goals for sustainable development. The results are significant as they concluded a multi-year intergovernmental effort at reforming the environmental institutions and provided a solid political launching platform for the sustainable development reform process. This was possible because there was a clear mandate for reform. Leadership was consistent, and, over the years, systematic accumulation of information and knowledge about the substance and the process of reform took place. The confluence of these elements combined with the concrete political opportunity that Rio+20 provided, allowed for institutional learning through an iterative process and pushed for political outcomes.

This article discusses research on the impact on employment and the workplace from the commitments made at Rio+20 and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s recent Conferences of the Parties, and the relationship with climate change and sustainability policies. It explores the ongoing work of employers’ organizations and trade unions as part of the response by civil society. The article reports that international agreements have not yet been of noticeable influence over domestic labour issues. It also finds that diverse issues and interests have hampered the opportunity for effective intervention in UN proceedings by employers’ organizations, trade unions and other civil society organizations. The article concludes that a separation of the economic and social from the environmental imperative may be necessary to refocus the efforts of the multilateral process on preserving the world’s natural resources and effectively managing climate change.

This article compares the evolution of the Brazilian and Chinese economies and focuses on the way asymmetrical trading and investment relations have become consolidated. The agro-industrial and agro-food sectors are analysed in this light, with particular attention to trade in soy which is by far the most important product. The article details the way in which the shift in soy trade from South–North to South–South has been accompanied by changes in composition and investment strategies. The article concludes by situating these trends within broader changes affecting overall trade and investment between the two countries.

This article discusses how cities can contribute to climate change mitigation through an integrated approach involving low carbon development (LCD) as part of a city’s strategic planning. Cities have an opportunity to link climate change policies to local developmental priorities. They can engage in sustainable development and take leadership in climate change initiatives by considering a LCD approach in which municipalities take advantage of integrated planning that ensures that emissions reductions strategies and socio-economic growth are not mutually exclusive. This article features the Low Carbon City Development (LCCD) Programme developed by the World Bank and DNV KEMA Energy and Sustainability as a framework for the integration of LCD and climate change mitigation actions with respect to implementation of strategic urban planning in cities.

Small hydropower (SHP) is a proven low impact, small-scale, rural electrification technology that has been shown to help shape communities that have applied sustainable energy solutions in the last decades. Using China as a successful example of rural electrification, this article examines SHP’s progress and challenges internationally regarding policy, implementation and development. The article concludes that continued triangular cooperation among developing countries (South–South), developed countries (North–South) and international organizations for technology transfer and capacity building should support the transition from individual pilot SHP projects towards the successful implementation of full SHP programmes, while using existing capacities as far as possible.