Article | Ecologic Institute: Science and Policy for a Sustainable World

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A Dynamic Adjustment Mechanism for the 2015 Climate Agreement

In this article, Ecologic Institute's Lena Donat and Ralph Bodle provide a structured approach for developing and evaluating options for a dynamic adjustment mechanism in the 2015 climate agreement. To ensure that the 2015 Agreement, that is currently being negotiated under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), provides an effective response to climate change over time, it needs to encorporate flexible and dynamic elements. This should include a possibility for Parties to regularly adjust their mitigation commitments so as to increase the level of ambition and to reflect changing circumstances.Read more

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Article

Health

California Emergency Department Closures are Associated with Increased Inpatient Mortality at Nearby Hospitals

Lui, Charles; Tanja Srebotnjak and Renee Yuen-Jan Hsia 2014: "California Emergency Department Closures are Associated with Increased Inpatient Mortality at Nearby Hospitals.". Health Affairs, Vol. 33, No. 8, 1323-1329.

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Article

Economics

Climate

Emissions Trading in the Climate Policy Mix

Understanding and Managing Interactions with Other Policy Instruments

Emissions trading promises the achievement of a pre-defined environmental outcome at least cost. If the system works and key assumptions hold, it would seem to be an "optimal" climate policy instrument. On closer inspection, however, it is less clear what constitutes an "optimal" climate policy. This paper argues that optimality involves a range of criteria beyond short-term economic efficiency, but also has to consider the longer-term dynamic efficiency, as well as the political, administrative and legal feasibility of policy instruments.Read more

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Article

Health

The Association of Trauma Center Closures with Increased Inpatient Mortality for Injured Patients

Hsia, Renee Yuen-Jan et al. 2014: "The Association of Trauma Center Closures with Increased Inpatient Mortality for Injured Patients". The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Vol. 76, No. 4, 1048-1053.

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Article

Health

Transatlantic Program

Cigarette Smoking Prevalence in US Counties: 1996-2012

Cigarette smoking is a leading risk factor for morbidity and premature mortality in the United States, yet information about smoking prevalence and trends is not routinely available below the state level, impeding local-level action. Tanja Srebotnjak of Ecologic Institute and co-authors now publish county-level estimates of cigarette smoking prevalence: These provide a unique opportunity to assess where prevalence remains high and where progress has been slow. The estimates provide the data needed to better develop and implement strategies at a local and at a state level to further reduce the burden imposed by cigarette smoking.Read more

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Article

Health

Emergency Department Charges for Asthma-Related Outpatient Visits by Insurance Status

Wang, Tiffany; Tanja Srebotnjak; Julia Brownell and Renee Y. Hsia 2014: "Emergency Department Charges for Asthma-Related Outpatient Visits by Insurance Status". Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, Vol. 25, No. 1, 396-407.

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Article

Biodiversity

Kulturlandschaften entwickeln - Ökosystemleistungen stärken

Bieling, Claudia et al. 2014: "Kulturlandschaften entwickeln - Ökosystemleistungen stärken". Natur und Landschaft, Vol. 2014, No. 2, 82-84.

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Coastal + Marine

Policy Assessment

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Water

Plastics

Economic Instruments and Marine Litter Control

Economic instruments and marine litter control, published in Ocean and Coastal Management, provides a comprehensive up-to-date review of the literature on the economic instruments that can reduce marine litter. The paper, written by Frans Oosterhuis, Elissaios Papyrakis, and Ecologic Institute's Benjamin Boteler, assesses their cost of implementation, level of effectiveness as well as indirect environmental and socioeconomic effects (externalities) that may arise as a result of their implementation. The article is available for download.Read more

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Article

Health

Do Emergency Department Closures have Ripple Effects on Surrounding Communities?

An Analysis of Closures on Inpatient Mortality for All-Comers in California, 1999-2010

Hsia, Renee Yuen-Jan; Charles Lui; Tanja Srebotnjak and Judith Maselli 2013: "Do Emergency Department Closures have Ripple Effects on Surrounding Communities?: An Analysis of Closures on Inpatient Mortality for All-Comers in California, 1999-2010". Annals of Emergency Medicine, Vol. 62, No. 4, 157.Read more

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Article

Policy Assessment

Water

Investigating the Use of Environmental Benefits in the Policy Decision Process

A Qualitative Study Focusing on the EU Water Policy

European Union (EU) legislation, such as the Water Framework Directive (WFD), as well as international, national, and regional environmental policies and strategies explicitly acknowledge the importance of environmental costs and benefits and the need to integrate them into the policy-making process. However, the application of valuation studies to policy often involves a trade-off between the accuracy of the required analysis and the necessity to include all costs and benefits associated with the different policy options. Thus, there is no accepted EU-wide approach on how to deal with environmental benefits in the policy process. Read more