Governance responses from the international climate regime have been widely critiqued. But fresh research is revealing that ‘new’ and more dynamic forms of governing are appearing in alternative domains, producing a more polycentric pattern. Some analysts believe that these ‘new’ forms will fill gaps in the regime, but this optimism is based on untested assumptions about their diffusion and performance. We conclude that the advent of more polycentric governance does offer new opportunities to govern climate change, but based on existing empirical research it is far too early to judge whether hopes about the performance of the ‘new’ forms are well founded. More time and vastly more coordinated research efforts are needed to comprehend their full potential; time that is in very short supply in governing climate change

Experimentation has been proposed as a key way in which governance drives sustainability transitions, notably by creating space for innovative solutions to emerge. In seeking to bring greater coherence to the literatures on climate and sustainability governance experiments, this article reports on a systematic review of articles published between 2009 and 2015. Based on these results a new definition and typology of climate governance experiments is suggested. The typology distinguishes between the various purposes experiments can have, including niche creation, market creation, spatial development, and societal problem solving. It deepens the understanding of the diversity in experimenting by highlighting the salient features of different types of governance experiments. It can therefore guide future research to generate more cumulative research findings contributing to a better understanding of the role and outcomes of experiments in societal transitions. The findings also suggest that real transitions towards low-carbon and climate-resilient societies will require a systematic deliberate combination of different types of experiments

One of the most central and novel features of the new climate governance architecture emerging from the 2015 Paris Agreement is the transparency framework committing countries to provide, inter alia, regular progress reports on national pledges to address climate change. Many countries will rely on public policies to turn their pledges into action. This article focuses on the EU’s experience with monitoring national climate policies in order to understand the challenges that are likely to arise as the Paris Agreement is implemented around the world. To do so, the research employs – for the first time – comparative empirical data submitted by states to the EU’s monitoring system. Our findings reveal how the EU’s predominantly technical interpretation of four international reporting quality criteria – an approach borrowed from reporting on GHG fluxes – has constrained knowledge production and stymied debate on the performance of individual climate policies. Key obstacles to more in-depth reporting include not only political concerns over reporting burdens and costs, but also struggles over who determines the nature of climate policy monitoring, the perceived usefulness of reporting information, and the political control that policy knowledge inevitably generates. Given the post-Paris drive to achieve greater transparency, the EU’s experience offers a sobering reminder of the political and technical challenges associated with climate policy monitoring, challenges that are likely to bedevil the Paris Agreement for decades to come

P. E. 1996. Predation rates by North Sea cod (Gadus morhua) -predictions from models on gastric evacuation and bioenergetics. -ICES J. mar. Sci., 53: 107-114.We compared four different methods for estimating predation rates by North Sea cod (Gadus morhua). Three estimates, based on gastric evacuation rates, came from an ICES multispecies working group and the fourth from a bioenergetics model. The bioenergetics model was developed from a review of literature on cod physiology. The three gastric evacuation rate models produced very different prey consumption estimates for small (<0.5 kg) and large (>2 kg) fish. For most size and age classes, the bioenergetics model predicted food consumption rates intermediate to those predicted by the gastric evacuation models.Using the standard ICES model and the average population abundance and age structure for 1974-1989, annual prey consumption by the North Sea cod population (age d1) was 840 kilotons. The other two evacuation rate models produced estimates of 1020 and 1640 kilotons, respectively. The bioenergetics model estimate was 1420 kilotons. The major differences between models were due to consumption rate estimates for younger age groups of cod.1996 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea

The large variability in Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) recruitment has been attributed both to environmental factors dependent on the inflow of saline water (oxygen and salinity in spawning deeps) and to the size of the spawning stock. Due to the complex interactions between hydrographic and biological processes, future recruitment levels of cod will remain highly uncertain and increase uncertainties in stock predictions and management advice. We assessed the effects of the exploitation level and mesh size used by a trawl fishery on some variables of management interest under different environmental conditions. The modeling consisted of three separate steps: (i) modeling of selectivity, (ii) estimation of uncertainties by Monte Carlo simulations, and (iii) decision analysis by Bayesian influence diagrams, focusing on the structural uncertainties and model selection. Realistic assumptions of environmental conditions and present fishing mortality rates suggest that the current Baltic cod fishery is unsustainable. We use our approach to identify robust management measures that reduce the risk of overfishing and the sensitivity to management information. The value of information analysis demonstrates the advantages of a larger mesh size as a management measure.Résumé : La grande variabilité dans le recrutement de la morue franche (Gadus morhua) de la Baltique a été attribuée à des facteurs environnementaux qui dépendent de l'apport d'eau salée (oxygène et salinité dans les profondeurs où s'effectue la fraye) et à la taille du stock de géniteurs. En raison des interactions complexes entre les processus hydrographiques et biologiques, les niveaux futurs de recrutement chez la morue resteront très incertains, ce qui accroîtra les incertitudes dans les prévisions des stocks et les recommandations en matière de gestion. Nous avons évalué les effets du niveau d'exploitation et du maillage utilisé par les chalutiers sur certaines variables prises en compte dans la gestion des stocks dans différentes conditions environnementales. La modélisation a été effectuée en trois étapes distinctes : (i) modélisation de la sélectivité, (ii) estimation des incertitudes par des simulations de Monte Carlo et (iii) analyse de décision au moyen de diagrammes d'influence Bayésiens, qui se concentrait sur les incertitudes structurales et le choix du modèle. Selon des hypothèses réalistes sur les conditions environnementales et les taux présents de mortalité par pêche, la pêche actuelle de la morue de la Baltique n'est pas viable. Nous utilisons notre approche pour concevoir des mesures de gestion énergiques qui réduisent le risque de surpêche et la sensibilité à l'information de gestion. L'analyse fondée sur la valeur de l'information montre que l'agrandissement du maillage est une mesure de gestion bénéfique.[Traduit par la Rédaction] Kuikka et al. 641