- February 2008 - Berlin Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change (more)
This conference was the eighth in the emerging series of European conferences on human dimensions research. This series has been initiated by the Global Governance Project in 2001 with the first Berlin Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change. The European conferences are mid-size annual events (much smaller than Open Meetings of IHDP or IGBP) of about 150 international participants, selected through rigorous international peer review. Each conference has a clear thematic focus that allows for intense exchange and discussion. Conference themes are selected with a view to bringing new and emerging topics to the European and global debate, thus ensuring the continuous innovative thrust of the conference series. Special conference features, including panels on teaching and targeted programmes for doctoral students, add to its innovative character.
The European Conferences on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change are endorsed by the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP) and the World Academy of Art and Science. The International Steering Committee ensures close integration with the overarching Earth System Science Partnership and other networks, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
In addition, the European Conferences on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change aim to further the integration of the European research projects in order to assist in shaping a European research area in the field of the human dimensions of global environmental change. Plenary and semi-plenary presentations of major European research programmes, as well as poster sessions, form an essential part of the conference series.
- May 2007-Earth System Governance: Theories, Methods, Tools (Amsterdam) (more)
The conference was the seventh event in the series of annual European Conferences on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change, begun in Berlin in 2001. With more than 350 participants, it was the so far largest congress in the series of European conferences on HDGEC. The selection procedure for presentations was demanding: all presentations were selected in a double-blind review through an international review panel of about 70 experts, and every paper proposal had been reviewed by 5 international reviewers, with a rejection rate above 50%.
The eventual 175 presentations in parallel sessions and 24 keynote presentations in ten plenary and semi-plenary sessions showed the breadth of ‘earth system governance’ as a crosscutting field of global change research. The organisers defined earth system governance as the sum of the formal and informal rule systems and actor-networks at all levels of human society (from local to global) that are set up to influence the co-evolution of human and natural systems in a way that secures the sustainable development of human society - that is, a development that meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
- Nov. 2006-Resource Policies: Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Equity (Berlin) (more)
The 2006 Berlin Conference addressed the following topics: how and how effectively are governments, public and private actors around the world addressing these problems? Given the rising demand for industrial goods, what are the potentials and limitations of strategies to increase resource productivity and the cleaning of waste streams? What are the most promising entry points for governmental interventions? Are the regulatory policies, such as take-back obligations for waste, a viable instrument towards cleaner prduction chains? To what extent are recent efforts to develop product policies likely to be effective and efficient? To what extent are institutions by private actors such as the Stewardship Councils to protect the Marine and the Forests a promising approach? What strategies are adopted in developing countries to safeguard access to and sustainable use of natural resources and how do they work?
- 2005—‘International Organisations and Global Environmental Governance’(Potsdam) (more)
The 2005 conference addressed the role of international organisations in global environmental governance, including the United Nations system, intergovernmental agencies outside the UN system, regional integration schemes such as the European Union, and nongovernmental transnational actors. Papers addressed the effects of international organisations in global environmental governance; the relevance and effects of organisational design; the interplay of international organisations within larger regimes; environmental policy integration within international organisations; and new theoretical concepts to understand organisational behaviour.
The 2005 conference was chaired by Frank Biermann and Bernd Siebenhüner and managed by Anna Schreyögg. It was hosted by the Global Governance Project (Glogov.org) and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Financial support was provided by Volkswagen Foundation, Germany.
- 2004—‘Greening of Policies: Interlinkages and Policy Integration’ (Berlin) (more)
The 2004 conference addressed the obstacles to integrated decision-making and successful strategies of policy integration, with an emphasis on interactions between regimes and policies on international and national levels. Core questions included: What types of institutions succeed in strengthening policy integration? In how far are integration efforts affected by economic and political globalisation, the shift from government to governance, or the transition from environmental protection to sustainable development? What methods allow for an ex ante evaluation of the economic, social and environmental effects of policies and programmes? To what extent do international regimes affect the capacities for a greening of policies at the national level, and vice versa? The 2004 conference featured more than 100 speakers from all continents and various disciplines in 30 panels as well as 11 keynote speeches, The conference was chaired by Klaus Jacob and managed by Daniel Pentzlin. It was hosted by the Environmental Policy Research Centre of the Freie Universität Berlin, in co-operation with the Global Governance Project Glogov.org, on behalf of the Environmental Policy and Global Change Section of the German Political Science Association.
- 2003—‘Governance for Industrial Transformation’ (Berlin) (more)
The 2003 conference focused on political strategies to limit the overuse of natural resources and emissions from industrial activities. Participants addressed the historical experiences with the management of industrial transformation, stimulation of environmental innovations and the emergence of markets for environmental technologies; methods and indicators for the forecast of future technological development; new strategies and instruments, such as the so-called ‘third generation policy instruments’ and evolutionary approaches; and the interconnectedness of levels of policy-making and actors. The meeting brought together 130 participants from 20 countries, with 57 papers presented. The conference was chaired by Klaus Jacob and managed by Bianca Barth. It was hosted by the Environmental Policy Research Centre of the Freie Universität Berlin in co-operation with the Sustime project led by the University of Applied Sciences Lausitz, the Global Governance Project Glogov.org, and the German Association for Ecological Economic Research (VÖW), with financial support by the German Science Foundation and additional support from the IHDP core project ‘Industrial Transformation’ and its project office at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
- 2002—‘Knowledge for the Sustainability Transition: The Challenge for Social Science’ (Berlin) (more)
The 2002 conference focussed on the intellectual foundations of global environmental governance. Do we need new kinds of knowledge or new ways to generate knowledge for the sustainability transition? How does knowledge affect decision-making for sustainability, and how do societal systems influence the ways in which sustainability knowledge is generated? How can social and scientific institutions be designed, and possibly reformed, to generate better sustainability-relevant knowledge and increase its use for decision-makers? About 220 scientists from 29 countries participated in the meeting, which included a total of 111 plenary and panel presentations. The conference was chaired by Frank Biermann and managed by Sabine Campe. It was hosted by the Global Governance Project Glogov.org on behalf of the German Political Science Association.
- 2001—‘Global Environmental Change and the Nation State’ (Berlin) (more)
The 2001 conference aunched the now regular series of European Conferences on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change. The meeting focussed on the ways in which global environmental change and the emerging system of global governance has affected the role and sovereignty of the nation state. Participants discussed ways in which the nation state is today constrained through global institutions, and ways in which it has gained importance as the pioneer of new approaches, policies and technologies and as the key agent in the global diffusion of new ideas. The conference also featured case studies on national environmental policies that compared the ‘vertical influence’ of international institutions with the ‘horizontal influence’ of transnational diffusion. The meeting brought together 166 researchers from 28 countries. The 2001 conference was chaired by Frank Biermann and managed by Klaus Dingwerth, Rainer Brohm and others. It was hosted by the Global Governance Project Glogov.Org on behalf of the German Political Science Association. Core support was provided by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Germany’s Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Energy.