GEO-4 Chapter 7 on "Vulnerability of Human-Environment Systems: Challenges and Opportunities"
The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) is the flagship product of the United Nations Environment Programme (www.unep.org). Jill was coordinating lead author of Chapter 7 on Vulnerability of People and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities.

SERI also contributed to this chapter which identifies challenges to and opportunities for improving human well-being through analyses of the vulnerability of human-environment systems to environmental and socio-economic change. Vulnerability is the combination of exposure and sensitivity to risk and the (in)ability to cope or adapt.

As one of 5 authors (out of a total of 350) Jill Jäger held a presentation at the world launch of "GEO-4" at the UN headquarters in New York on October 26, which received worldwide media coverage. (see, for example, www.timesonline.co.uk)

Find more about this project on www.seri.at/geo

Photos from the lunch time briefing are available at www1.nyo.unep.org/GEO4-UNHQ

The media briefing notes are available at www.un.org/News/briefings
 
The webcast is available at www.un.org/webcast/2007 (under October 25).

GEO Resource Book

The GEO Resource Book builds on advances in the science and practice of integrated environmental assessment and reporting (IEA) based on UNEP's GEO-4, and the rich experience with IEA capacity building using the earlier GEO training manual. The Resource Book will be launched in 2007 and includes contributions from over 40 leading experts in assessment and reporting.

The IEA approach underlying the Resource Book helps assessments answer the following five questions:
1. What is happening to the environment and why?
2. What are the consequences for the environment and humanity?
3. What is being done and how effective is it?
4. Where are we heading?
5. What actions could be taken for a more sustainable future? Recognizing that the assessment and reporting needs of governments and other organizations vary, the Resource Book is modular in order to facilitate customization.

The Resource Book consists of eight training modules, complete with exercises, PowerPoint presentations and instructor guidelines. Emphasis was placed on creating a user-friendly, adaptable resource that could be applied in multiple regions globally. Jill Jäger (SERI) led the writing of two of the modules of the Resource Book.

For more information and an overview of the training modules see www.iisd.org  

In two studies SERI has worked out the basics for important European Parliament debates:

Trade and Climate

This project, carried out for the Trade Unit of the EU Parliament, provided quantitative assessments of economic and climate impacts of international trade and analysed current climate and trade policies.

Climate change remains at the top of the EU's political agenda. At the EU summit in March 2007, leaders of the EU's 27 Member States recommitted themselves to addressing the challenge of climate change by committing to unilateral cuts of 20% in CO2 emissions relative to 1990 levels. The EU leaders pledged to increase cuts to 30% if other developed and emerging nations also join an international climate agreement.

This project for the Trade Unit of the EU Parliament addressed a range of issues related to the links between international trade and climate change.

SERI was responsible for the quantitative economic and environmental assessments. On the one hand, SERI estimated the range of changes in the production costs of selected products, if production was relocated from Europe to non-Annex B countries under the Kyoto protocol. On the other hand, SERI provided quantitative estimations of the CO2 emissions related to production and transport of four industrial and two agricultural products, when produced either in Europe or in a typical producer country in other world regions.

The final project report, which was presented to EU Members of Parliament in June 2007, contains three parts. The first part, prepared by SERI, illustrates the interrelations between international trade, transport and GHG emissions and compares the climate impacts of selected EU-produced goods with their imported counterparts.

Find more at www.seri.at/trade-and-climate where you can download the final report.

Environment and Innovation

New environmental concepts and technologies and their implications for shaping the future EU environmental policies This project assessed emerging environmental concepts and technologies in terms of their proponents, their potential for further use and their implications for future EU environmental policy as well as for the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy and Sustainable Development Strategy. This project was carried out in cooperation with MERIT, University of Maastricht and the Finland Futures Research Center, Turku for the European Parliament. In coordination with the European Parliament, the team selected the following six environmental policy concepts, which are elaborated in detail:

• Dematerialisation and Eco-Efficiency
• Cradle-to-cradle analysis
• Ecological Footprint
• Transition Management
• Vulnerability Assessment
• Eco-Sufficiency

In terms of environmental technologies, the following six technologies were selected, all offering possibilities for the EU to be a pioneer, or could be important contributors to a "clean, clever and competitive" approach in Europe if they are supported by EU environmental policy.

• Small scale biological water treatment for homes or industry
• White biotechnology or biocatalysis
• The use of biotechnology plus solar energy in hydrogen-based transportation systems
• Carbon dioxide sequestration
• Energy-producing greenhouses, using heat pumps
• Solar panels (photovoltaic) combined with heat pumps for houses

On December 7, 2006 Fritz Hinterberger presented the EU-INNO study to the European Parliament. More on this project and a link to the final report can be found at www.seri.at/eu-inno

Ecological Footprint and the EU Resource Strategy

Potential of the Ecological Footprint for monitoring environmental impact from natural resource use

Assessment of the potential of the Ecological Footprint and related tools and indicators to measure negative environmental impacts related to natural resource use as called for in the Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources.

Commissioned by the European Commission (DG Environment), SERI is responsible for task 2 and will evaluate a large number of potential methods, tools and indicators with regard to their potential for measuring environmental impacts of resource use.

Find more at www.seri.at/comfootprint

This "Highlight of the Month" was created by SERI researcher Fritz Hinterberger.