Call for papers: Innovation, Development and Environment

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=573

Call for papers: Innovation, Development and Environment

A special issue of the International Journal of Global Environmental Issues (IJGEnvI)

Important Dates
Deadline for submission : 30 April 2007
First turn of papers review : 30 June 2007
Second turn of papers review : 15 September 2007
Final papers submission : 15 October 2007

The international political agenda nowadays gives significant attention to environmental issues and sustainable development. In particular, some major areas are highly debated because of their global relevance, in terms of the climate change issue and, more generally, the role of international environmental agreements.

The implementation of international environmental regulations, relying both on markets and standards, allows achievement of mutually-reinforcing goals. Apart from the direct environmental protection purpose, environmental regulation helps in adopting an international framework favourable to the development and diffusion of new environmental-friendly technologies. For this purpose, international efforts for combating climate change have built an institutional framework encouraging research and development in new technologies for energy saving and renewable energies. Furthermore, the closed relationship between climate change and the global energy system has encouraged the adoption of more integrated multi-objectives international and domestic policies, thus aiming at reducing polluting emissions, ensuring security of energy supply, reducing energy dependence, and promoting technical innovation. Finally, multilateral environmental agreements represent compelling institutional frameworks for promoting research and development in new technologies, especially if environmental protection is considered as a global (impure or pure) public good.

More generally, the nature itself of global public good requires the participation of the whole international community in environmental management activities. Multilateral trade negotiations of the WTO could have a positive role in promoting diffusion of environmental-friendly technologies by reducing all forms of trade barriers, bearing in mind that sustainable development is one of the primary objectives of the WTO.

We are soliciting papers which address theoretical and empirical findings on the relationships between technological innovation, environmental protection and sustainable development. We encourage contributions which consider both specific aspects such as trade-environment links, environmental regulation, paths of technical progress, and more integrated approaches accounting for different issues.

For more information, please see the Journal Call for Papers website.