Human activities have impacted the natural landscape and vegetation from the emergence of agriculture onwards. Subsequent traces of anthropogenic activities are documented and preserved in...Show moreHuman activities have impacted the natural landscape and vegetation from the emergence of agriculture onwards. Subsequent traces of anthropogenic activities are documented and preserved in paleoenvironmental archives, such as peat or lake sequences. The current study utilizes a high-resolution pollen dataset retrieved from a peat sequence in combination with archaeological data from the area to reconstruct the paleoenvironment and cultural landscape of the area of Haraldstadmyr bog in Southeastern Norway. An in-depth analysis of agricultural activities was performed focusing on the period of the Early Iron Age to the Medieval Period. Utilizing radiocarbon dating, a chronology of farming activities was provided. Archaeological burial dates from a local burial site located were used in comparison with the pollen data to interpret habitational patterns of the local area. As a result, periods of intensive farming as well as periods of abandonment were identified. In addition, periods of pastoral farming were distinguished from periods of mixed farming. The forcing factors of the changes seen in farming strategies and agricultural intensity are likely related to climate changes as well as societal changes in the area. In this study, a new finding is proposed, indicating an abandonment of the area around 950 CE. An abandonment of the agricultural area in Southeastern Norway in the mid 10th century has not been previously discovered nor studied. Further in-depth studies are needed in order to confirm this finding, as well as to identify the forcing factors of the abandonment.Show less
Anthropogenic environmental destruction on a global scale continues at an ever-increasing pace, driven by a disconnect between the valuation of short-term economic gains and their ecological impact...Show moreAnthropogenic environmental destruction on a global scale continues at an ever-increasing pace, driven by a disconnect between the valuation of short-term economic gains and their ecological impact. Increasingly, the introduction of indigenous intellectual perspectives to the global stage – many of whom have been custodians of ecologically important land for centuries – is being treated as a potential solution to this conundrum. In this evolving context, this thesis seeks to understand the role of African indigenous knowledge in global environmental protection. To answer this, a review of the practical and philosophical contributions of African indigenous communities to ecology is conducted, followed by a discourse analysis of the 2019 Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, to identify how these knowledges are treated in a global context. Analysis of the report and of academic literature shows that African indigenous knowledges, while potentially incredibly valuable as environmental protection, are poorly represented on a global level, both in their content, and in comparison with other regions.Show less
The ratification of the Paris Agreement by the European Union has determined its trajectory and set in motion the green transition of the European economy. Even though the European climate...Show moreThe ratification of the Paris Agreement by the European Union has determined its trajectory and set in motion the green transition of the European economy. Even though the European climate ambitions seem political of nature, the European Central Bank has recently shown its willingness to support the Union’s climate ambitions within its institutional capacity. European policy research organisations put forward new ideas on greening policy instruments, which also touch upon other institutional characteristics of the ECB. However, the monetary authority is de jure independent of exogenous actors in determining its policies and strategy. Recently though, under Lagarde's presidency, the ECB has for the first time opened up to ideas from civil society, think tanks and academia when defining its new long-term "green" strategy. While the new strategy is still on the drawing board, theories from discursive institutionalism assert that ideas resonate the ECB’s communication strategy, through discourse. When juxtaposing and comparing the results from two qualitative research methods, the study concluded that specific, programmatic ideas are not significantly represented in the ECB's discourse. Instead, more a general and normative ideational shift has taken place where a stronger and more decisive change in tone has become visible in the ECB’s discourse on its green strategy that can rather be explained by other exogenous events and factors.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Liberal Arts and Sciences: Global Challenges (LUC) (BA/BSc)
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In recent years, a debate has emerged around the potential of plastic pollution to direct attention away from other, arguably more urgent environmental issues, such as climate change. Little...Show moreIn recent years, a debate has emerged around the potential of plastic pollution to direct attention away from other, arguably more urgent environmental issues, such as climate change. Little research has examined pro-environmental behavior (PEB) spillover from engaging in action against plastic pollution (plastic PEB) to supporting climate change policy. In this study, 81 undergraduate students at a university in the Netherlands completed a plastic cleanup activity as part of a sustainability-focused course. Subsequently, these students, as well as 80 students in a control condition, completed an online survey assessing frequency of engagement in plastic PEB, climate change concern, environmental self-identity, and support for a campus climate change fund. Results showed no spillover from plastic PEB to climate change policy support. However, this study also investigated the potential mediating effect of climate change concern, which revealed that frequency of engagement in plastic PEB had a significant positive effect on climate change concern, but climate change concern had no effect on climate change policy support. These findings suggest that encouraging individuals to engage in plastic PEB can increase awareness and concern about climate change, yet there is a disconnect between climate change concern and climate change policy support. The results of this study have implications for those interested in PEB spillover between different environmental issues, specifically using widespread initiatives, such as plastic cleanup activities and recycling, to increase awareness and policy support for other sustainability efforts.Show less
The objective of this research is to create an overview of the frameworks the EU has in place to protect climate change migrants and to argue why the EU Member States hold a responsibility in...Show moreThe objective of this research is to create an overview of the frameworks the EU has in place to protect climate change migrants and to argue why the EU Member States hold a responsibility in protecting victims of climate change hazards. An overview of different international instruments makes clear what the current protective framework for climate change migrants is within the EU. Furthermore, the research provides legal arguments that add to the importance of improved efforts on climate change mitigation and may provide a positive obligation for EU Member States to grant international protection to climate change migrants. Moral arguments on their turn create an argument to answer why the EU Member States hold a responsibility in protecting victims of climate change. The EU’s responsibility for the protection of climate change migrants as well as its responsibility to improve efforts on climate change mitigation is mainly based on an argument on the disproportionality that can be found within the climate crisis, namely: the overrepresentation of the ‘Global North’ amongst the main contributors and the overrepresentation of the ‘Global South’ amongst the main victims. Current frameworks as the Temporary Protection Directive and the UN Guiding Principles are not able to fulfil the EU’s role as a protector of climate change migrants. The precautionary principle, the principle of common but differentiated responsibility, and the principle of non-refoulement may be a guide to better tools to fulfil this role.Show less
The year 2020 has not evolved as many had expected. The outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic has put almost all parts of the societies all over the globe on halt. Besides impacting human health, the...Show moreThe year 2020 has not evolved as many had expected. The outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic has put almost all parts of the societies all over the globe on halt. Besides impacting human health, the fastest and the most severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been on the economic and financial sectors. The global health crisis has occurred at the time when the world is already in a major crisis, the climate crisis or green crisis. In spite of all the austere consequences of green crisis, the actions taken to lessen the green crisis are nowhere near the efforts required to meet the Paris agreement goal of keeping the global temperature well below 2°C and preferably 1.5 °C. Many started viewing the already existing green crisis and the newly emerged Covid-19 crisis as part of the same battle and they envisioned an opportunity in response to Covid-19 crisis to address the green crisis as well and they strived to attach green conditions to the Covid-19 recovery until they reached the green recovery agreement which not only helps in the recovery from the ramifications of the Covid-19 crisis but also addresses the green crisis. This research has sought to find out how a devastating crisis has opened up the window of opportunity for another destructive crisis. A small-N, Within-Case analysis approach is used to study the intervening variables on causal path from the Covid-19 crisis to the opening up of the window of opportunity for green crisis recovery. Moreover, theory-testing process tracing was applied on the case of EU to find out whether Advocacy Coalition Framework helps to comprehend the puzzle and answer the research question. The result of the research revealed that actors in coalitions made extensive use of frames and changed the policy image as well as used expertise to dominate the decisions, resulting in the Covid-19 recovery plan with green strings attached to it to also address the green crisis.Show less
As the effects of climate change are increasingly appearing around the globe, the general public’s concern about the issue has also grown. As the need for action is becoming more important than...Show moreAs the effects of climate change are increasingly appearing around the globe, the general public’s concern about the issue has also grown. As the need for action is becoming more important than ever, we need to understand what factors can help increase implementation and reduce infringements of environmental policies. There is particular lack of research on the potential relationship between public concern about climate change and the infringements of European Union environmental rules in Europe. As respect of common rules is key to maintain the stability of the European Union, infringements represent a certain risk of conflict. Therefore, this research also helps fill the literature gap in the conflict and climate nexus about climate conflict in Europe. For these purposes, this research paper explores how public concern for climate change might impact the number of infringements member states commit regarding environmental policies of the European Union. Through a OLS regression analysis, the research finds that public concern does not seem to have a significant impact on the number of infringements member states commit. This apparent absence of influence of public opinion raises serious concerns as to the people’s power to make their governments listen to them and their calls for environmental protection.Show less
