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- FG Öffentliches Recht, insbesondere Umwelt- und Planungsrecht (mit FG Zivilrecht) (13) (remove)
The German government has set ambitious targets for wind energy expansion and has implemented policy schemes aimed at facilitating market deployment of wind-generated electricity. Data on German wind energy market has shown that, wind energy generating capacity is increasing correspondingly towards the targeted values. Germany is the largest wind energy market in the EU (wind energy accounting for about 10% of the total electricity consumption in Germany) with an installed capacity of about 38.2 GW onshore by the close of 2014. The success of these policies has prompted other countries globally to adopt similar support schemes for renewable energies. However, the rapid growth of wind energy generation in Germany equally faces numerous challenges. Some of these problems are inherent to the wind energy technology while others are caused by the very policies instruments used to support wind energy expansion, such as limited availability of designated areas for wind energy development, non-uniform regulations, and rising prices. The objective of this research, therefore, is to assess the impact of the German energy and environmental policies on onshore wind energy development and to explore implementation options of the German model in Cameroon.
This research has examined the German onshore wind energy sector from a policy perspective based on existing literature, semi-structured interviews with major stakeholders, a case study of Brandenburg and a survey, with the aim of investigating the acceptance of wind energy and challenges the developers are facing.
Based on the study results, it can be affirmed that the future growth of the German onshore market will come from flexible government policies, which may offer fewer incentives to investors. Indeed, the cost of electricity from renewable energy technologies in Germany is in some cases already below retail rates. There is the need, therefore, to pursue strategic programmes that enhances market integration of wind energy. Furthermore, the study results equally shows that the German feed-in tariff based support scheme in its current form, cannot be implemented in Cameroon. This is because, the purchasing power of the Cameroonian population and the economic constraints of the government, makes it difficult or even impossible to adopt the current EEG model in Cameroon where often, basic needs are subsidized.
Ziel der Arbeit war es, die Perspektiven für Erneuerbare-Energien-Anlagen kleiner Akteure wie Prosumenten unter dem neuen Rechtsrahmen zur Förderung erneuerbarer Energien zu untersuchen und einen Ausblick zu geben, wie die rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen im deutschen Fördersystem, konkret mit dem EEG, umgesetzt werden können.
Das erste Kapitel befasst sich mit den wichtigsten EU-Rechtsvorschriften im Bereich der erneuerbaren Energien. Massnahmen sowohl auf der Primar- als auch auf der Sekundarstufe waren in diesem Zusammenhang wichtig. Auf der Primärebene, d. Oh Dokumenth. auf der Ebene des EU-Vertrags, spielt der Energieartikel des Artikels 194 AEUV eine zentrale Rolle. Der sekundäre Rechtsrahmen für die Förderung von Energie aus erneuerbaren Quellen besteht im Wesentlichen aus der Richtlinie 2009/28/EG und der Richtlinie zur Förderung von Energie aus erneuerbaren Quellen, die am 21. Dezember 2018 in Kraft getreten sind. In diesem Kapitel erfolgt eine Untersuchung der
Unterschiede zwischen den wichtigsten Richtlinien aus dem Jahr 2009 und der Neufassung der Richtlinie aus dem Jahr 2018. Dazu gehörten insb. die Bereiche Eigenversorgung und erneuerbare Energiegemeinschaften. Im weiteren Verlauf der Arbeiten wurden die europäischen Vorgaben zur Eigenversorgung von Strom aus erneuerbaren Energien sowie die Bestimmungen für Erneuerbare-Energien-Gemeinden mit den deutschen Vorgaben des Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetzes in der Fassung 2021 verglichen. Der Vergleich zeigte, dass die deutschen Anforderungen weitgehend den europäischen entsprechen, dass es aber noch einige Unterschiede gibt, die vom deutschen Gesetzgeber noch umgesetzt werden müssen, damit die kleinen Akteure das vom europäischen Gesetzgeber eingeräumte Potenzial voll ausschöpfen können.
Zusätzlich zu diesen Kernpunkten wurden folgende Fragen angesprochen. Wie sollte Energie aus erneuerbaren Quellen gefördert werden? Wird die Einspeisungspriorität weiterhin bestehen, und wenn ja, unter welchen Bedingungen? Wie werden Erneuerbare-Energien-Anlagen zukünftig im Engpassmanagement behandelt und wie werden die Verwaltungsverfahren für die Genehmigung von Erneuerbare-Energien-Projekten gestaltet? Auch diese Fragestellungen wurden durch einen Vergleich mit den aktuellen Anforderungen des Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetzes vertieft und kamen zu dem Ergebnis, dass die deutschen Anforderungen des Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetzes den europäischen Anforderungen entsprechen.
Die Arbeit endete mit einer Exkursion. Der rechtliche Hintergrund des EU-weit verbindlichen Ziels für den Anteil erneuerbarer Energien am Bruttoendenergieverbrauch von 32 Umschalttaste % bis 2030 wurde näher untersucht.
The rapidly developed Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products have made great contributions in various application areas. However, the related problems in the consumption of household ICT appliances are crucial to economy, environment and society. As concluded from literature review of practice, assessment and legislation, there is obvious lack of information and understanding of the household consumption pattern of the ICT appliance in a more systematic “life-cycle thinking” approach – from purchase, usage to end-of-life, in environmental-social- economic three dimensional perspective. This deficiency could lead to ineffective policy programmes and implementation.
This exploratory study tentatively develops a measurement and benchmarking method, named as Sustainable Consumption Index (SCIndex) model, aiming at improving knowledge and holistic understanding of consumption patterns of household ICT appliances along the value chain in global or regional consumers’ households. This dissertation accomplishes the preliminary design of the SCIndex model and its pilot application with a global Internet survey on consumer behavior for detailed analysis, such as, cross-cultural comparison, three stages analysis (purchase, usage and end-of- life), and total SCIndex score benchmarking and analysis.
This study identified that overall consumption patterns of household ICT appliances in the developed countries are not necessarily more sustainable than in the developing countries, if all the stages of consumption are overviewed. The findings contribute to the gaps in knowledge of underlying behavioral factors that influence sustainable consumption of household ICT appliances entirely or in any stage; furthermore, they sketch out the national profiles and improvable aspects on the path of more sustainable consumption. The SCIndex model and pilot application stress the importance and provide empirical evidence to support concrete modelling with a multifaceted approach in measurement and benchmarking of household ICT appliances’ life-cycle consumption for “going beyond GDP”. The model is suggested to be optimized in sampling, design and structure, data analysis methods and the implementation.
To efficiently promote sustainable consumption of the household ICT appliances, the pilot application provides further recommendations to the engaged stakeholders that include: i) sufficiency in purchase; ii) efficient usage; iii) responsible disposal; iv) smooth channels for reuse; v) further in-depth researches and projects.
Die vorliegende Bachelorarbeit widmet sich der Arbeitgeber-Arbeitnehmer-Problematik innerhalb der Platform Economy (Plattformökonomie) unter Verwendung des Carsharing-Dienstes Uber.
Der Ausgangspunkt dieser Arbeit ist die Frage, ob Plattformbetreiber über ihre Pflichten als Plattformbetreiber hinaus noch weitere Rechtspflichten, wie etwa arbeitsrechtliche Pflichten, treffen? Denn je mehr sich jemand anmaßt, vorzuschreiben, wie ein anderer seine Leistung zu erbringen hat, desto eher erscheint der Vorwurf begründet, dass der Diktierende als Arbeitgeber zu qualifizieren ist. Mögliche Rechtsfolgen eines bestehenden Arbeitgeber-Arbeitnehmer-Verhältnisses sind bspw. die Entgeltfortzahlung im Krankheitsfall, der Kündigungsschutz sowie der Mindestlohn. Die daraus abgeleitete Untersuchungsfrage der Arbeit lautet daher, unter welchen Voraussetzungen Nutzer von Plattformdiensten im Verhältnis zu Plattformbetreibern Arbeitnehmer im Sinne des Arbeitsrechts sein können und somit ein Arbeitgeber-Arbeitnehmer-Verhältnis besteht.
Den Ansatzpunkt hierfür bildet die arbeitsrechtliche Begutachtung der Arbeitnehmereigenschaft im ersten Kapitel. Die Untersuchungsergebnisse werden sodann im zweiten Kapitel auf die Fälle der Platform Economy am Beispiel des Fahrdienstes Uber angewandt, wobei nicht nur der aktuelle Stand in Deutschland, sondern auch die ausländische Rechtsprechung begutachtet wird. Den Schwerpunkt dieser Arbeit bildet eine anschließende Bewertung derjenigen Aspekte, die in der zuvor untersuchten Rechtsprechung und Literatur zur Bejahung oder Verneinung der Arbeitnehmereigenschaft im Falle von Uber als entscheidend angesehen werden.
Im dritten Kapitel zeigen die bewerteten Untersuchungsergebnisse, dass Arbeitnehmer nach dem Uber-Modell entgegen der damaligen Unternehmenspraxis weitgehend als Arbeitnehmer im Arbeitsrecht einzustufen sind. Für die Einstufung als Arbeitnehmer ist vor allem das Element der persönlichen Abhängigkeit entscheidend. Hiernach sind Uber-Fahrer besonders der methodischen und inhaltlichen Weisungsgebundenheit unterlegen, welche hier entscheidend sind für die Bejahung der Arbeitnehmerstellung. Durch die konkreten Einfluss- und Regulierungsmaßnahmen Uber‘s auf die Fahrer sowie der Außendarstellung der Firma stehen die Fahrer also in einem Arbeitgeber-Arbeitnehmer-Verhältnis zu Uber. Das erreichte Ergebnis hat zudem Auswirkungen auf zukünftige Modelle entsprechender Art. Entscheidend sind hierbei die Vertragsbedingungen für Unternehmen, die entsprechende Dienste in Zukunft anbieten wollen.
Nanotechnologies allow for the production of completely new materials in a wide range of industries and technical fields and are also recognised as one of the most important technological sectors for the future. The growing nanotechnological industry is rapidly generating new forms of materials; however, little is known about the behaviour of these substances, in particular their particle form and their impact on different ecological systems and the life within them. Concerns have been raised about the safety and regulation of nanomaterials, following a number of studies that indicated that some nanomaterials are able to cause adverse effects on living objects. This data, as well as increasing production volumes and commercialisation, the capability of crossing biological barriers and the increased physico-chemical activities of nanoparticles, when compared to their bulk counterparts, have triggered concern (Baró et al., 2001; Kear et al., 2012) about their impacts on health and safety.
In Germany, nanoparticles, nanotechnological products, their production processes and their disposal are generally subject to the prevailing law of the German legal system, especially with respect to the authorization of equipment, permissions regarding chemicals and other product groups, and the protection of employees and the environment. With regard to nanotechnologies, however, the question arises as to whether the present legal regulations are adequate, and/or whether regulative gaps occur because of specific new products, materials or process characteristics. Accordingly, based on the analysis of the relevant state-of-the-art technology and science, and an evaluation of existing, as well as projectable, future national legislation on this matter, this work aims to identify regulative gaps in the relevant standardisation procedures and to point out possible adjustments.
Although nanomaterials are covered by the general scope of many of the existing legislative frameworks, it is often unclear if current regulation is actually applicable for specific questions of nanomaterials and their diverse applications. In particular, there is a lack of sufficient knowledge of the risks, which could lead to imbalanced legal protection against any threats that may arise. However, it is recognised that adjustments are needed, and legal amendments have been repeatedly proposed by expert committees, policymakers, industry members and non-governmental organisations (European Parliament, 2009). Nonetheless, very few revisions have been made to date, so the existing regulations are not considered adequate to deal with all kinds of nanomaterials in both the short and long term. Current legislation needs to be adapted immediately to reflect the challenges posed by current nanomaterials and their applications.
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) is now a significant piece of the international climate agreement. This present dissertation aims to investigate the overall framework of REDD+ development as a national strategy in Brazil. Moreover, it focuses on identifying the major challenges and policy constraints of this development design process. A further aim is at the end of the research to proffer pathways for improvement of domestic forest governance in Brazil. Using the sustainable forest landscape governance approach as the overarching conceptual for an effective REDD+ implementation within the Brazilian context and, building on this analysis, the conclusions advance some considerations on what features should be prioritized in the development and establishment of the Brazilian REDD+ national strategy. This dissertation is a grounded theoretical analysis and is centered on the conception that although REDD+ is strongly treated by the Federal Government as an expansion of it’s actions with regard to sustainable development, by turning forests into an economic asset and strengthening institutions and laws, it is much more likely that Brazil can deal with the environmental challenges it has been facing.
The Nigerian government has commenced the development of minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) as part of measures to achieve the energy and emissions savings target established in Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement. It is expected that the implementation of MEPS will also help to address the challenges of unreliability of electricity supply and facilitate the desired energy-efficient appliance market transformation. The MEPS currently covers the three most energy-consuming electrical products in households (lighting, refrigerators, and air conditioners). This research relied on data collected from the survey of 384 households in the case study area of Enugu to study the policy impacts of the current MEPS and identify the potential for its improvement. The research also, empirically, investigated policy and institutional barriers against appliance energy efficiency improvement in the country. Three different policy scenarios were conceptualized to model the policy impacts of current MEPS: a scenario assuming no MEPS or a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, a policy scenario (PS) that considers the current MEPS, and an aggressive policy scenario (APS) that assumes the scaling up of the current MEPS to more stringent levels. The policy analysis modeling system (PAMS) was adopted to study the impacts of MEPS considering a policy implementation period of 2019 through 2030. The United Nations’ integrated policy framework was also adopted as evaluation criteria to identify policy gaps in the existing policy measures and the identification of possible policy overlaps was conducted using content analysis. Based on the results, the implementation of the current standards would reduce annual residential electricity demand in the surveyed households by 37% compared to BAU. National-level policy impacts show that the implementation of more stringent MEPS would contribute about 11.3% of the national emissions reduction target reached in Nigeria’s NDC. The research also finds out that key policy instruments (such as financial incentives) are still in their planning stages. Furthermore, the result from the content analysis reveals that the assigned institutional roles for the advancement of end-use energy efficiency are in some cases, not based on the statutory mandates of the respective institutions which create room for possible overlaps. To close the existing energy efficiency gaps and achieve effective energy-efficient appliance market transformation, the research underscores the need for a large-scale appliance market assessment to understand current baseline efficiency levels which will guide future policy designs and ensure that MEPS remain effective. The research also recommends key possible frameworks that can guide the design and implementation of financial incentive instruments to make energy-efficient investments more attractive.
Possible synergy between FLEGT-VPA & REDD+ towards improving forest governance framework in Cameroon
(2023)
Illegal logging is seen as a serious impediment to achieving sustainable management of forests in the tropics. In addition, deforestation contributes in increasing carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere, resulting to biodiversity loss and climate change. Illegal logging and deforestation have affected Cameroon’s forest ecosystem negatively since the mid-1980s as a result of the economic crises, which intensified the exploitation of forest resources for multiple purposes. In response, some policy initiatives came up such as FLEGT-VPA and REDD+ to fight against the threats. It is due to the above background that this study was designed to examine the possible synergy between FLEGT-VPA and REDD+ towards improving the forest governance framework in Cameroon. The first part of the study assesses FLEGT-VPA in Cameroon with the application of interviews of key informants who were involved in the negotiation process of the EU-Cameroon Voluntary Partnership Agreement. The second part of the study assesses the management of Bimbia Bonadikombo Community Forest (BBCF), as one of the REDD+ pilot project sites around Mount Cameroon in the South West Region of Cameroon. The use of surveys, content analysis, and observations seeks to assess these two initiatives in their role in improving forest governance in Cameroon. The first part of the research reveals that since Cameroon ratified the FLEGT-VPA in 2011, there has been progressed concerning stakeholder participation in forest-related issues. Again, the study also reveals challenges faced with the setting up of a system to verify timber from legal origin as recommended by the European Union. The research further reveals a lack of commitment by the government in revising the current forest policies and re-organizing the domestic market for timber trade as part of the commitment made by the government during the ratification of the FLEGT-VPA. The second part of the study finds that the management of BBCF is not governed by the provision of the Cameroon community forestry manual or by its bylaws posing doubts if community forestry can halt emissions of greenhouse gases caused by deforestation, thus helping REDD+ achieve its objectives. The study recommends the need for rapid policy reform and a cross-sectoral transformation to enable FLEGT-VPA and REDD+ to synergize for a better policy outcome on issues concerning forestry and climate change.
Modern law and local tradition in forest heritage conservation in Cameroon : the case of Korup
(2012)
Cameroon’s forests are exceptionally rich in biodiversity but are among the most threatened forests in the Congo Basin. To safeguard the country’s forest heritage, the government resorted to the creation of protected areas such as the Korup National Park (KNP) but ignored the local traditional system of natural resource management and relied merely on modern law for its protection. But the protection of the park only through modern law has not yielded satisfactory results since it still faces numerous problems which exacerbate biodiversity loss. With many problems facing the park, there is growing concern with regards to government strategy to maintain its values and integrity merely through modern law. This dissertation aims at assessing the potentials of modern law and local traditional system of natural resource management as instruments for effective protection of the KNP in particular and other Cameroonian national parks in general. It further aims at exploring ways of adapting national law and policy to suit local reality. To realise the objectives of this study, legal science analytical method, instruments of both quantitative approach (questionnaire) and qualitative approach (semi-structured interviews) were used. An in-depth assessment of the degree of effectiveness of modern law application in Korup reveals that it is to a lesser extent effective and this impedes Cameroon’s adequate compliance with its biodiversity conservation obligations under international environmental agreements. The study finds that the park’s protection unit plays a commendable role in fighting against illegal activities but inadequate financial resources and logistics render the institution weak. Other institutions play a laudable role in enforcing the law but major weaknesses identified include bail abuses, leniency in punishing offenders and corruption. It was discovered that the Korup inhabitants are against resettlement and often reluctantly cooperate in enforcing modern law. The research reveals that cultural beliefs and traditional practices associated with totems, taboos and sacred forests exist in the Korup villages and contributed in protecting Korup forest heritage. It shows that the putting into practice of some aspects of the traditional cultural practices was often without conservation intention but paradoxically, this contributed to forest biodiversity conservation. The study finds that each village has customary laws and local bylaws which are binding on its inhabitants and contribute to rational use of forest resources. The chieftaincy, village council and the Ekpe society are revealed as traditional institutions that govern the Korup people and manage forest resources through the traditional system ignored by the state. The research shows that statutory law recognises only the chieftaincy institution but reduces traditional rulers to mere auxiliaries of the government thereby weakening traditional institutions that ought to contribute in protecting Korup forest heritage. It recommends that in addition to fighting corruption and building the capacity of law enforcement institutions, the government should adequately integrate traditional rulers and institutions into the modern governance structure. It should legally recognise the role of traditional authorities in safeguarding Korup forest heritage through the traditional system. The study concludes that a management and conservation strategy that involves the people of Korup through their traditional institutions and system of natural resource management, will lead to effective protection and sustainability of the KNP and thus, contribute in enhancing Cameroon’s compliance with biodiversity-related international environmental agreements.
With the increasing consciousness of the value of wetland ecological and environmental functions and its fast rate of decline in the size of this important and rich ecosystem globally, the Niger Delta ecosystem has been reported to be undergoing tremendous change, hence the need for this research, to identify the challenges and proffer solutions. This study focuses on ascertaining if a change has occurred in the Upper Orashi Forest Reserved wetland, to know and evaluate the policies used in managing the wetland in the region and Nigeria. To ascertain the wetland change, land cover change detection was carried out using Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing to produce paradigm or data to detect change occurrence in the wetland area. Supervised classification of land use and land cover change was carried out using LANDSAT data from 2002, 2008, and 2019. Thereafter, the land cover transition was mapped for the period 2002 to 2019 and this was computed for the net land cover change for the period of study. The site was classified into three different classes and each class was analyzed using the land use and land cover change model formula. The result from this part shows that there is a consistent decrease in the wetland area for the period under review and in the other two identified classes, some interchangeable compositions were observed for the period of study. To validate this result, the opinion of experts and the host community is needed. Two sets of questionnaires were designed for experts and local community dwellers to sample their opinion in relation to the wetland and its management. The information collected was analyzed using Microsoft excel and the result shows that changes have occurred in the wetland of Upper Orashi Forest (decrease in size and other challenging issues with respect to policies and regulations). This study has identified critical challenging issues facing wetlands in the region or driving factors of wetland loss in the study area. Thereafter making recommendations that will help address these issues to actualize environmental sustainability and sustainable wetland in the region and Nigeria at large.