Peter Christoff

Bio: Peter Christoff is an academic researcher from University of Melbourne. The author has contributed to research in topics: Climate change & Environmental studies. The author has an hindex of 17, co-authored 33 publications receiving 1512 citations.

Ecological modernisation, ecological modernities

Abstract: The concept of ecological modernisation is increasingly being used in policy analysis to indicate deeply embedded and ecologically self‐conscious forms of cultural transformation. Its meaning varies significantly depending on author and context. Without further clarification, there is a danger that the term may serve to legitimise the continuing instrumental domination and destruction of the environment. The normative dimensions of different uses of the concept call for greater attention. These may be weak or strong, and they raise issues relating to the relationship of the term to its ecological and modernist references.

Equitable mitigation to achieve the Paris Agreement goals

Abstract: Five equitable approaches to mitigation are investigated: the authors find that most developing countries are more ambitious than the average, whilst if developed nations and China adopted the average of the approaches the gap between INDCs and a 2 °C pathway would narrow.

The promissory note: COP 21 and the Paris Climate Agreement

Abstract: The 2015 UN climate negotiations in Paris resulted in an inclusive, binding treaty that succeeds the Kyoto Protocol. In contrast to the failure at Copenhagen in 2009, the Paris negotiations are therefore seen as a major diplomatic success that has regenerated faith in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as a forum for dynamic multilateralism. The Paris Agreement provides a robust framework for ratcheting up efforts to combat global warming. However, the Agreement’s value will remain unclear for some time. The historical path to the Paris accord is outlined, and a preliminary assessment is offered of its key elements and outcomes.

Cold climate in Copenhagen: China and the United States at COP15

Abstract: The latest round in the UN climate change negotiations, COP15, held in Copenhagen in December 2009, was intended to determine binding goals, targets and measures for the time beyond 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period ends. Instead, it produced a non-binding political agreement – the Copenhagen Accord. To explain why, the key contributions of China and the United States are assessed. Domestic institutions and circumstances influenced and constrained these states' actions, with consequences that amplified longstanding weaknesses in the UNFCCC and shaped the COP's result.

Policy autism or double-edged dismissiveness? Australia's climate policy under the Howard government

Abstract: In June this year, while the Hollywood climate shock film The Day After Tomorrow was screening around Australia, Prime Minister John Howard launched his government's long awaited Energy White Paper...

Climate change 2014 - Mitigation of climate change

Abstract: The talk with present the key results of the IPCC Working Group III 5th assessment report. Concluding four years of intense scientific collaboration by hundreds of authors from around the world, the report responds to the request of the world's governments for a comprehensive, objective and policy neutral assessment of the current scientific knowledge on mitigating climate change. The report has been extensively reviewed by experts and governments to ensure quality and comprehensiveness.

Conceptualizing a “Sustainability Business Model”:

Abstract: According to one perspective, organizations will only be sustainable if the dominant neoclassical model of the firm is transformed, rather than supplemented, by social and environmental priorities. This article seeks to develop a “sustainability business model” (SBM)—a model where sustainability concepts shape the driving force of the firm and its decision making. The SBM is drawn from two case studies of organizations considered to be leaders in operationalizing sustainability and is informed by the ecological modernization perspective of sustainability. The analysis reveals that organizations adopting a SBM must develop internal structural and cultural capabilities to achieve firm-level sustainability and collaborate with key stakeholders to achieve sustainability for the system that an organization is part of.

Neoliberalizing Nature? Market Environmentalism in Water Supply in England and Wales

Abstract: The 1989 privatization of the water supply sector in England and Wales is a much-cited model of market environmentalism—the introduction of market institutions to natural resource management as a means of reconciling goals of efficiency and environmental conservation. Yet, more than a decade after privatization, the application of market mechanisms to water supply management is much more limited than had been expected. Drawing on recent geographical research on commodities, this article analyzes the reasons for this retrenchment of the market environmentalist project. I make three related claims: resource commodification is a contested, partial, and transient process; commodification is distinct from privatization; and fresh water is a particularly uncooperative commodity. To illustrate these claims, I explore how water's geography underpinned the failure of commodification initiatives in England and Wales. I focus specifically on contradictions faced by industry regulators, water companies, and ...