title: The role of law in climate change mitigation in oil and gas production

authors: Abraham-Dukuma, Magnus Chimuenya

subjects: Energy governance

abstract: Scientific evidence and ideas about climate change suggest the need for a global energy shift from oil and fossil fuels to renewables and other forms of clean energy. This transition will not be possible without understanding the dynamics and legal frameworks in petroleum-producing countries. More so, the current significant position of oil and fossil fuels in the global energy mix justifies the need to inquire into sustainability practices in the oil and gas industry, while the energy transition continues to gain momentum. Against this background, this thesis examines the role of law in climate change mitigation in oil and gas production to identify some characteristics of an effective regime for abating upstream gas flaring, venting, and fugitive emissions. It adopts a qualitative analytical approach consisting of conventional legal analysis, comparative analysis, and the theory of regulation to study the applicable regimes in twelve major petroleum-producing countries to obtain insights of a general nature. It also discusses some industry measures and private corporate initiatives of oil and gas companies as part of the overarching governance structure for mitigating upstream greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Findings from the comparative analysis put forward the necessity of adopting sector-specific and dedicated prescriptive regulatory arrangements and market-based instruments that send strong price signals to incentivise large-scale emissions reduction in petroleum production. The study also suggests the need for complementarity between state and industry regulatory approaches to incentivise innovative strategies to reduce upstream GHG emissions significantly. These considerations constitute a hybrid design that regulators can consider while undertaking law reforms on the topic. However, political will, dependency, rent-seeking, and corruption are some political-economy issues that most petroleum-producing states must address to ensure the effective regulation of upstream GHG emissions and, by extension, support profound energy transition.

text: The role of law in climate change mitigation in oil and gas production Scientific evidence and ideas about climate change suggest the need for a global energy shift from oil and fossil fuels to renewables and other forms of clean energy. This transition will not be possible without understanding the dynamics and legal frameworks in petroleum-producing countries. More so, the current significant position of oil and fossil fuels in the global energy mix justifies the need to inquire into sustainability practices in the oil and gas industry, while the energy transition continues to gain momentum. Against this background, this thesis examines the role of law in climate change mitigation in oil and gas production to identify some characteristics of an effective regime for abating upstream gas flaring, venting, and fugitive emissions. It adopts a qualitative analytical approach consisting of conventional legal analysis, comparative analysis, and the theory of regulation to study the applicable regimes in twelve major petroleum-producing countries to obtain insights of a general nature. It also discusses some industry measures and private corporate initiatives of oil and gas companies as part of the overarching governance structure for mitigating upstream greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Findings from the comparative analysis put forward the necessity of adopting sector-specific and dedicated prescriptive regulatory arrangements and market-based instruments that send strong price signals to incentivise large-scale emissions reduction in petroleum production. The study also suggests the need for complementarity between state and industry regulatory approaches to incentivise innovative strategies to reduce upstream GHG emissions significantly. These considerations constitute a hybrid design that regulators can consider while undertaking law reforms on the topic. However, political will, dependency, rent-seeking, and corruption are some political-economy issues that most petroleum-producing states must address to ensure the effective regulation of upstream GHG emissions and, by extension, support profound energy transition.

year: 2021

title: Dialogic ruptures: An ethical imperative

authors: Arndt, Sonja Kathrina

abstract: Dialogue is promoted as a key strategy to ‘solve’ the ‘problem’ of diversity in educational set- tings. Yet, “[w]hen we select words ... We usually take them from other utterances, and mainly from utterances that are kindred to ours in genre, that is in theme, composition or style” (p. 87, emphasis in the original). This article problematises the complexities of dialogic engagements with foreigner teachers in educational encounters. Bakhtin’s treatment of poly- phonic dialogic encounters provides an analytical frame for explicating the intertextuality of foreigner teacher engagements as not only temporally and culturally, but also individually volatile. The article suggests that dialogic encounters are unpredictably complex, alive and never neutral, and that dialogic engagements can be so fraught with fear that verbal or cross cultural engagements with teacher foreigners must be recognised as risky and dangerous, and not always smooth ‘solutions’ to a ‘problem’. A dual Bakhtinian/Kristevan lens expands the analysis to expose the vulnerability of dialogue, through unconscious revelations of teacher subjects that are forever in process. The article culminates in an argument for the crucial importance of a receptive, attentive ethics of care in dialogic engagements with cultural for- eigners in educational relationships, to avoid fearful exposure, lifeless dialogue and silence.

text: Dialogic ruptures: An ethical imperative Dialogue is promoted as a key strategy to ‘solve’ the ‘problem’ of diversity in educational set- tings. Yet, “[w]hen we select words ... We usually take them from other utterances, and mainly from utterances that are kindred to ours in genre, that is in theme, composition or style” (p. 87, emphasis in the original). This article problematises the complexities of dialogic engagements with foreigner teachers in educational encounters. Bakhtin’s treatment of poly- phonic dialogic encounters provides an analytical frame for explicating the intertextuality of foreigner teacher engagements as not only temporally and culturally, but also individually volatile. The article suggests that dialogic encounters are unpredictably complex, alive and never neutral, and that dialogic engagements can be so fraught with fear that verbal or cross cultural engagements with teacher foreigners must be recognised as risky and dangerous, and not always smooth ‘solutions’ to a ‘problem’. A dual Bakhtinian/Kristevan lens expands the analysis to expose the vulnerability of dialogue, through unconscious revelations of teacher subjects that are forever in process. The article culminates in an argument for the crucial importance of a receptive, attentive ethics of care in dialogic engagements with cultural for- eigners in educational relationships, to avoid fearful exposure, lifeless dialogue and silence.

year: 2016

title: Challenges Faced – Implications for Policy: The Everyday Lives of Eastern European Women in New Zealand

authors: Ember, Adrienna

subjects: everyday life

abstract: This study explored the everyday lives, aspirations, and coping strategies of seven Eastern European immigrant women in New Zealand who came from Bulgaria, the former Eastern Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia. The answers to the research questions aimed to contribute to the deconstruction of the invisibility and marginalisation of these women in New Zealand.
Guided by the philosophies of Kaupapa Māori Research; the theory of Human Wellbeing; and the theory of Positive Psychology, and using the methods of narrative inquiry, three interviews were conducted with each participant. The focus of the first interviews was to learn about the everyday lives of research participants in their countries of origin. The second interview explored the reasons of relocation to New Zealand, the settlement process, and how women re-established their lives in their new locations. In the final interviews women talked about their current everyday lives and their plans for the future.
Interviews were recorded and summarised in interview summary reports which research participants modified in collaboration with the researcher until a final version was achieved. In addition, women participated in two focus group sessions. The first session was devoted to establish connections among the participants and allow themes to emerge from their conversations. The second group session aimed to explore areas women struggled with in their lives the most: relationships and employment opportunities.
The study yielded contributions to the research topic, to the acculturation literature, and to the design of research with migrants. Firstly, it revealed both negative and positive aspects of the participants’ everyday lives and highlighted some under-researched cultural differences from the mainstream population.
Women highlighted as an important cultural difference their strong preference for straightforward communication which was often experienced as offensive and blatant by local New Zealanders. Research participants critiqued the necessity of networking to obtain jobs in New Zealand which is a clear obstacle for a newly arrived migrant.
This study also highlighted how the acculturation process is more individual and complex than conventional models have sought to explain. While traditional acculturation literature suggests that migrants go through some common patterns during their settlement that ideally leads to their assimilation to the host culture, in this research not all migrant women intended to assimilate. Indeed, those with a stronger wish to become part of the host culture reported more disappointments than those who embraced their cultural otherness as a positive aspect and did not mind reminding different from the dominant Pakeha culture.
Finally, for migrant studies a less common research design was applied by using the Kaupapa Māori framework. This philosophy proposes a research process that empowers immigrants to voice their needs and strengthen them as agents of their lives beyond the research process. While two strength based theories were used for data interpretation (the 3-D model of the Human Wellbeing Theory and the PERMA model of Positive Psychology), the data analysis revealed that both models showed some limitations by failing to incorporate the dimension of spiritual and physical wellbeing within their domains.

text: Challenges Faced – Implications for Policy: The Everyday Lives of Eastern European Women in New Zealand This study explored the everyday lives, aspirations, and coping strategies of seven Eastern European immigrant women in New Zealand who came from Bulgaria, the former Eastern Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia. The answers to the research questions aimed to contribute to the deconstruction of the invisibility and marginalisation of these women in New Zealand.
Guided by the philosophies of Kaupapa Māori Research; the theory of Human Wellbeing; and the theory of Positive Psychology, and using the methods of narrative inquiry, three interviews were conducted with each participant. The focus of the first interviews was to learn about the everyday lives of research participants in their countries of origin. The second interview explored the reasons of relocation to New Zealand, the settlement process, and how women re-established their lives in their new locations. In the final interviews women talked about their current everyday lives and their plans for the future.
Interviews were recorded and summarised in interview summary reports which research participants modified in collaboration with the researcher until a final version was achieved. In addition, women participated in two focus group sessions. The first session was devoted to establish connections among the participants and allow themes to emerge from their conversations. The second group session aimed to explore areas women struggled with in their lives the most: relationships and employment opportunities.
The study yielded contributions to the research topic, to the acculturation literature, and to the design of research with migrants. Firstly, it revealed both negative and positive aspects of the participants’ everyday lives and highlighted some under-researched cultural differences from the mainstream population.
Women highlighted as an important cultural difference their strong preference for straightforward communication which was often experienced as offensive and blatant by local New Zealanders. Research participants critiqued the necessity of networking to obtain jobs in New Zealand which is a clear obstacle for a newly arrived migrant.
This study also highlighted how the acculturation process is more individual and complex than conventional models have sought to explain. While traditional acculturation literature suggests that migrants go through some common patterns during their settlement that ideally leads to their assimilation to the host culture, in this research not all migrant women intended to assimilate. Indeed, those with a stronger wish to become part of the host culture reported more disappointments than those who embraced their cultural otherness as a positive aspect and did not mind reminding different from the dominant Pakeha culture.
Finally, for migrant studies a less common research design was applied by using the Kaupapa Māori framework. This philosophy proposes a research process that empowers immigrants to voice their needs and strengthen them as agents of their lives beyond the research process. While two strength based theories were used for data interpretation (the 3-D model of the Human Wellbeing Theory and the PERMA model of Positive Psychology), the data analysis revealed that both models showed some limitations by failing to incorporate the dimension of spiritual and physical wellbeing within their domains.

year: 2016