Gregory, Robert. "Assessing ‘Good Governance’ and Corruption in New Zealand: ‘Scientific’ Measurement, Political Discourse, and Historical Narrative". Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, School of Government. October 2013. https://www.victoria.ac.nz/...
New Zealand is ranked highly on the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI), which assess performance on six dimensions of governance: voice and accountability, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption. Moreover, New Zealand has long been rated by Transparency International‘s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) as having the very lowest rates of corruption globally. This paper gives attention to methodological and related arguments about the general validity of both the WGI and the CPI, which are widely accepted as relative fact.
Posted on 02/04/23
Recent Abstracts
Planetary Terminology
Human societies and biodiversity on Earth are under threat because human resource consumption is exceeding or threatening the physical and ecological boundaries of our planet. To discuss and address the challenges, find solutions, and take urgent measures to tackle climate change, the terminology used in discussions a ...
Posted on 25/06/24
The Intricacies of Data Center Development
Data centers house the critical servers, storage, and networking equipment that keep data flowing smoothly in local communities and around the world. The development and operation of data centres require thorough assessment and consideration of land valuation, site analysis, power consumption and consumption capacity. ...
Posted on 24/06/24
Going beyond carbon: An “Earth System Impact” Score to Better Capture Corporate and Investment Impacts on the Earth System
Four interactions – changes in climate affecting water runoff; changes in climate affecting vegetation cover; changes in vegetation cover affecting climate; and changes in vegetation cover affecting water runoff – are deemed of utmost importance for understanding the impact on the Earth system on policy-relevant timefr ...
Posted on 21/06/24
True (but Requires Context): Finland Faces the Highest Costs under EU’s Environmental Restoration Law Relative to its Economy
The European Nature Restoration Law (NRL) establishes rules and procedures for the restoration and conservation of natural resources and ecosystems to compensate or offset damage to natural resources and promote sustainable development. While center-right, far-right and conservative politicians such as Kai Mykkänen, F ...
Posted on 18/06/24
Nature Restoration: Austrian Conservatives Charge Gewessler for Abuse of Office
The Austrian Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) voted in defiance of the coalition partner to pass the EU’s Nature Restoration Law, thereby pushing it through by a narrow majority. She decided that it was her duty to approve this central pillar of the EU’s efforts to reverse the major degradation of its l ...
Posted on 17/06/24
The Anthropocene Reality of Financial Risk
Financial services are critical for corporate activities to regenerate and promote biosphere resilience as a key strategy to confront the new risk landscape and are essential to the transformation needed for a sustainable future. Current financial risk frameworks focus mainly on financial materiality and risks to the f ...
Posted on 16/06/24
ESG to SDG: Do Sustainable Investing Ratings Align with the Sustainability Preferences of Investors, Regulators, and Scientists?
ESG and SDG cannot be used interchangeably to identify the sustainability of companies and their contribution to social development and the planet, although they are complementary. Where sustainable investors aim to invest in companies that contribute to sustainable development, there is disagreement on how best to me ...
Posted on 14/06/24
Perceptions of Stakeholders on Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Planning: A Thematic Analysis in Six European Cities
Numerous social and ecological benefits are associated with nature-based solutions (NBS). This study gathered the views of stakeholders engaged in urban planning regarding the importance of nature-based solutions (NBS). The findings revealed that stakeholders perceive numerous social and ecological advantages associa ...
Posted on 13/06/24
Why ‘Circular’ Doesn’t Always Mean ‘Sustainable’
Material circularity (MC) develops positively when a material is circulated through reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture, or recycling at its highest quality, it usually being measured through material flow analysis (MFA). When economic value is generated as commonly measured through life cycle costing (LCC), economic ...
Posted on 12/06/24
Build Resilient Infrastructure, Promote Inclusive and Sustainable Industrialization and Foster Innovation
SDG 9 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) sets out eight targets and twelve indicators used to monitor the achievement of the goals. With more than half of the world's population living in cities, mass transport, renewable energy and carbon reduction call for solutions and new industries and information and ...
Posted on 07/06/24
On Influencing Factors for Sustainable Development Goal Prioritisation in the Automotive Industry
Sustainability has become a key corporate strategy inspiring companies to implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper identifies the SDG priorities in the automotive industry worldwide, from the point of view of the geographic, cultural, social, and economic specifics of the countries in which th ...
Posted on 06/06/24
Fifth National Climate Assessment: Understanding Risks, Impacts, and Responses
Adaptation planning more effectively reduces climate risk when it identifies not only disparities in how people are affected by climate change but also the underlying causes of climate vulnerability. Transformative adaptation involves consideration of the physical and social drivers of vulnerability and how they inter ...
Posted on 05/06/24
Major Economic and Financial Risks Posed by Climate Change
Failure to transition will generate significant and widespread economic and financial risks. An economic forecast from Swiss Re, one of the world's largest reinsurers, projects a loss in global gross domestic product (GDP) of between 4.2 and 18.1 percentage points by mid-century, depending on different warming scenario ...
Posted on 04/06/24
Net zero city: The Timeline of Increasing Urgency
During the past decade, more renewable power was added to the grid annually than fossil fuel and nuclear power combined. Renewable technologies dominate the global energy market for new electricity generation capacity simply because they have become the cheapest sources of electricity in many markets. 260 gigawatts of ...
Posted on 03/06/24
For critical minerals, it’s better to talk about SDGs than ESG
Economic strategies aim to drive research and innovation, develop bilateral and multilateral partnerships further economic reconciliation with indigenous peoples. Among the most recognizable values credentials companies use to demonstrate their commitment to best practices are environmental, social, and governance (ESG ...
Posted on 31/05/24