Chrislain Eric Kenfack | University of Alberta (original) (raw)

Papers by Chrislain Eric Kenfack

Environmental Justice, Jun 1, 2023

University of Calgary Press eBooks, Jul 15, 2023

Journal of Environmental Protection, 2022

The 2015 Paris COP 21, after the failure of the 2009 Copenhagen COP, raised many expectations reg... more The 2015 Paris COP 21, after the failure of the 2009 Copenhagen COP, raised many expectations regarding the elaboration of the post-Kyoto legal instrument to lead the global fight against climate change. At the sunset of the summit, world leaders and climate negotiators, relayed by mainstream Medias, presented the results of the Paris climate discussions as an important success for the global climate community. A success contested by climate justice and just transition defenders. Given the foundation role the Paris agreement plays for subsequent global, national and sub-national climate policies on one side and, on the other side, the continuous growing global demands for climate justice and just transition, this article investigates the conciliatory possibilities put in place by the agreement to advance those demands. To reach such goals, the article focuses on the retrospective critical reading of the agreement in the light of human-centered climate perspectives such as climate justice and just transition, without neglecting other aspects related to the very nature of the agreement, and the enhanced commodification of nature and resulting carbon trading. This analysis of the agreement through climate justice lenses will be instrumental in confirming or disproving the following hypothesis: From the climate justice and just transition perspectives, the success of the Paris regime will not pass through the implementation of the Paris agreement itself, but thought corrective mechanisms that could be put in place to correct the loopholes of the agreement. The initiative of putting such post-Paris corrective mechanisms in place is expected to be one of the key priorities of the international community.

Journal of labor and society, May 7, 2020

The emergence of new social challenges is always an opportunity for social actors to readjust and... more The emergence of new social challenges is always an opportunity for social actors to readjust and adapt to the new environment, or to reinvent their struggles to incorporate new dimensions imposed by changing environments. Unions and labor movements, like other social actors, are reinventing themselves in response to the climate crisis by incorporating climate issues into their traditional workplace-related struggles for the protection of workers' well-being and jobs. This article presents an extended case study (from 2015 to 2019) of the Portuguese Trade Union Confederation's participation in the ongoing climate jobs campaign led by climate justice movements. The analysis constructs a dialogue between two conceptual frameworks-social movement unionism and environmental labor studies-to interpret the metamorphosis taking place in the Portuguese labor movement.

Global Labour Journal, Sep 29, 2019

In the current context of climate change and its accompanying adverse effects on natural, human a... more In the current context of climate change and its accompanying adverse effects on natural, human and social systems, the imperative of transitioning to low-and preferably post-carbon societies has become a non-negotiable reality if we want to avoid reaching the point of no return in terms of environmental and climate catastrophe. Such a transition requires that the interests and needs of workers and their communities be taken into consideration to make sure they do not bear the heaviest part of the burden in terms of loss of jobs and means of survival, and that they are prepared to face the new, post-carbon labour environment. The concept of Just Transition was coined to describe both the socio-political project put forward by trade unions in response to climate change, and the recognition by climate activists that the livelihoods and security of workers and their communities must be ensured during the transition to a post-carbon society. However, just transition movements are divided between two quite different orientations, which are labelled "affirmative" and "transformative." On the one hand, affirmative just transition advocates envisage a transition within the current political-economic system. Transformative just transition activists, on the other hand, envisage a post-capitalist transition. This article, drawing upon an extensive case study of the Portuguese climate jobs campaign, goes beyond showing how these orientations shape the positions taken by union and climate activists. The article also analyses how the conflicts and cooperation between these key actors can shed light on the possibilities and/or limitations of just transition as a framework for the collective action needed to achieve rapid, deep decarbonisation of economies in the Global North context.

Table des matières Abréviations v Avant-propos vi Resumé vii AFD Agence Française de développemen... more Table des matières Abréviations v Avant-propos vi Resumé vii AFD Agence Française de développement AMEA Alliance Homme-Environnement APV-FLEGT Accord de partenariat volontaire (Forest law enforcement, governance and trade) BBC British broadcasting cooperation BM Banque mondiale CAGDF Cercle d'appui à la gestion durable des forêts CC Changement(s) climatique(s) CIB Congolaise industrielle du bois CIFOR Centre de recherche forestière internationale CNI Communication nationale initiale CNIAF Centre national des inventaires et aménagement des ressources forestières et fauniques COBAM Changement climatique et forêts du Bassin du Congo : Synergies entre l'adaptation et l'atténuation COMIFAC Commission des forêts d'Afrique centrale DSRP Document de stratégie pour la réduction de la pauvreté FAO Organisation des Nations Unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture FCPF Forest carbon partnership facility (Fonds de partenariat pour le carbone forestier) FMI Fonds monétaire international GIEC Groupe intergouvernemental d'experts sur l'évolution du climat IDA International development association (Association internationale de développement) MDDEFE Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Economie forestière et de l'Environnement MDP Mécanisme de développement propre PFBC Partenariat pour les forêts du Bassin du Congo OCDH Observatoire congolais des droits de l'homme ODDHC Organisation pour le développement et les droits humains OIBT Organisation internationale des bois tropicaux OMD Objectifs du millénaire pour le développement ONG Organisation non gouvernementale OSC Organisation de la société civile PAFN Plan d'action forestier national PNUD Programme des Nations Unies pour le développement REDD+ Réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre dues à la déforestation et la dégradation forestière, maintien et accroissement de stocks de carbone RENAPAC Réseau national des peuples autochtones RPP Readiness preparation proposal (Proposition de la préparation à la REDD+ ou plan de préparation à la REDD+) SCN Seconde communication nationale L'environnement des politiques REDD+ et des politiques d'adaptation indique que le pays s'est engagé dans les deux processus avec l'appui des partenaires au développement, qui apportent une assistance technique et financière non négligeable. Le pays développe par ailleurs une approche inclusive 9 Contribution du secteur forestier au PIB et à la création d'emplois directs. Consulté sur www.observatoire-comifac.net 10 L'espace COMIFAC est constitué des pays suivants : République démocratique du Congo, République du Cameroun,

Les forêts du bassin du Congo : État des Forêts 2021, 2022

Ce chapitre présente donc l’ensemble des engagements et donne un aperçu général des efforts déplo... more Ce chapitre présente donc l’ensemble des engagements et donne un aperçu général des efforts déployés par les pays d’Afrique centrale pour mettre en oeuvre leurs engagements dans le cadre de la CCNUCC et des actions de lutte contre les changements climatiques en général. De manière spécifique, il s’agit des engagements réglementaires (communications nationales, rapports biennaux de mise à jour-RBA/BUR, contributions déterminées au niveau national) d’une part et des engagements volontaires d’autre part (PANA, REDD+, NAMA, FCPF, ONU-REDD, CAFI, AFR100, FLEGT, FIP, HLFD…). Nous terminerons en dégageant les leçons et les perspectives liées à ces engagements.

SCIREA Journal of Environment, 2021

The current global warming context is being experienced by world populations through the extreme ... more The current global warming context is being experienced by world populations through the extreme whether events, sea level rise, loss of biodiversity, increase rise of temperature, re-insurgence of climate-related diseases and important slow and sudden-onset environmental catastrophes enhanced or accelerated by climate change among others. In such context, the global community, supported by evidenced science research are relentlessly calling for urgent climate actions to avoid reaching the point of non-return. Unfortunately, despite the fact that our planet continues to be under such threats of irreversible climate destruction, a fraction of scientists and political leaders motivated either by their nostalgic attachment to the carbon-driven developmental era or pushed by the fossil fuel industry and its influential capacity on decision-making processes and decision-makers, continue to develop negationist theories, with the aim of creating skeptical mindsets and maintaining some doubts in public opinions as far as the very fact of global warming and the role of human activities in the occurrence of such warming are concerned. In such controversial context, it is more than ever important to revisit the key drivers of the climate crisis, the historical path that led not only to the climate conscience building, but also and above all to its gradual politicization, and the key ideologies supporting the positions of both climate change defenders and climate-skeptics and deniers. This article, using a combination of bibliographic research and descriptive methodologies, intends to investigate that historical path and cover the resulting knowledge gap, through an ideology-based and chronical presentation of facts.

Journal of Labor and Society, 2020

The emergence of new social challenges is always an opportunity for social actors to readjust and... more The emergence of new social challenges is always an opportunity for social actors to readjust and adapt to the new environment, or to reinvent their struggles to incorporate new dimensions imposed by changing environments. Unions and labor movements, like other social actors, are reinventing themselves in response to the climate crisis by incorporating climate issues into their traditional workplace‐related struggles for the protection of workers' well‐being and jobs. This article presents an extended case study (from 2015 to 2019) of the Portuguese Trade Union Confederation's participation in the ongoing climate jobs campaign led by climate justice movements. The analysis constructs a dialogue between two conceptual frameworks—social movement unionism and environmental labor studies—to interpret the metamorphosis taking place in the Portuguese labor movement.

International Journal of Political Science, 2016

Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, 2015

This paper describes a participatory and collaborative process for formalising qualitative data, ... more This paper describes a participatory and collaborative process for formalising qualitative data, using research from southeast Cameroon, how these results can provide input to an social simulation model, and what insights they can provide in better understanding decision-making in the region. Knowledge Elicitation Tools (KnETs) have been used to support a body of existing research on local strategies that build community adaptive capacity and support sustainable forest management under a range of socio-environmental and climatic stressors. The output of this approach is a set of decision rules which complements previous analysis of differentiated vulnerability of forest communities. Improvements to the KnETs methodology, such as new statistical measurements, make it easier to generate inputs for a social simulation model, such as agent attributes and heterogeneity, as well as informing which scenarios to prioritise during model development and testing. The KnETs process served as a vehicle to structure a large volume of empirical data, to identify the most salient drivers of decision-making amongst different actors, to uncover tacit knowledge and to make recommendations about which strategic interventions should be further explored in a social simulation and by local organizations planning interventions. It was notable that there were many common rule drivers for men and women from the same households, though they participated in the game-interviews separately. At the same time, though strategies were common to both poor and better-off farmers, differences lay in the package of strategies chosen – the number and type of strategies as well the drivers factors – and how they were prioritised with respect to each farmer's goal.

Liste des abréviations AFD Agence française de développement BAD Banque africaine de développemen... more Liste des abréviations AFD Agence française de développement BAD Banque africaine de développement BAP Bali Action Plan CARPE Central African Regional Program for the Environment / Programme régional d'Afrique centrale pour l'environnement CCNUCC Convention cadre des Nations unies sur le changement climatique CCPM Cadre de concertation des partenaires du MINFOF et du MINEPDED CEMAC Communauté économique et monétaire des états de l'Afrique centrale CIFOR Centre de recherche forestière internationale CLIP Consentement libre informé préalable CN Communication nationale CN REDD+ Coordination nationale REDD+ COBAM Changement climatique et forêts dans le Bassin du Congo : synergies entre l'adaptation et l'atténuation COMIFAC Commission des forêts de l'Afrique centrale CoP Conference of Parties-Conférence des parties DFID Department for International Development-Département pour le développement international (Royaume Uni) DSCE Document de stratégie pour la croissance et l'emploi DSRP Document de stratégie pour la réduction de la pauvreté ECOFAC écosystèmes forestiers d'Afrique centrale FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation FEM Facilité environnementale mondiale (voir GEF) FIP Forest Investment Programme-Programme d'investissement pour la forêt GEF Global Environment Facility (voir FEM) GIZ Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (Agence allemande pour la coopération internationale) JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency KfW Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (Banque allemande de développement) MDP Mécanisme de développement propre MEFDD Ministère de l'économie, des forêts et du développement durable MINEF Ministère de l'environnement et des forêts MINEPDED Ministère de l'environnement, de la protection de la nature et du développement durable MINFOF Ministère des forêts et de la faune MNV / MRV Mesures, notification et vérification / Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification MSRIT Ministère de la recherche scientifique et de l'innovation technologique MTE Ministère du tourisme et de l'environnement NC National Communication (Communication nationale) NEPAD New Partnership for Africa's Development vi NORAD Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation-Agence norvégienne pour le développement et la coopération OFAC Observatoire des forêts d'Afrique centrale ONACC Observatoire national des changements climatiques ONG Organisation non gouvernementale PAA Projet Adaptation en Afrique PAB Plan d'action de Bali PACEBCo Programme d'appui à la conservation des écosystèmes du Bassin du Congo PAN Plan d'action national PANA Programme d'action national d'adaptation PES Paiements pour services environnementaux PFBC Partenariat pour les forêts du Bassin du Congo PFNL Produit forestier non ligneux PIB Produit intérieur brut PMA Pays les moins avancés PIED Petits États insulaires en développement PNUD Programme des Nations unies pour le développement PNUE Programme des Nations unies pour l'environnement RC République du Congo RDC République démocratique du Congo REALU Reducing emissions from all land uses RED Réduction des émissions liées à la déforestation REDD+ Réduction des émissions liées à la déforestation et à la dégradation des forêts, et le rôle de la conservation, de la gestion durable des forêts et du renforcement des stocks de carbone forestiers REDD-PAC Centre d'évaluation des politiques REDD+ dans le Bassin du Congo R-PP Readiness Preparatory Proposal SBSTA Subsidiary Body of Scientific and Technological Advice / Organe subsidiaire pour les conseils scientifiques et techniques

Environmental Justice, Jun 1, 2023

University of Calgary Press eBooks, Jul 15, 2023

Journal of Environmental Protection, 2022

Journal of labor and society, May 7, 2020

Global Labour Journal, Sep 29, 2019

Les forêts du bassin du Congo : État des Forêts 2021, 2022

SCIREA Journal of Environment, 2021

Journal of Labor and Society, 2020

The emergence of new social challenges is always an opportunity for social actors to readjust and... more The emergence of new social challenges is always an opportunity for social actors to readjust and adapt to the new environment, or to reinvent their struggles to incorporate new dimensions imposed by changing environments. Unions and labor movements, like other social actors, are reinventing themselves in response to the climate crisis by incorporating climate issues into their traditional workplace‐related struggles for the protection of workers' well‐being and jobs. This article presents an extended case study (from 2015 to 2019) of the Portuguese Trade Union Confederation's participation in the ongoing climate jobs campaign led by climate justice movements. The analysis constructs a dialogue between two conceptual frameworks—social movement unionism and environmental labor studies—to interpret the metamorphosis taking place in the Portuguese labor movement.

International Journal of Political Science, 2016

Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, 2015

The world in which we currently live is characterised by a multiplicity of challenges that we mus... more The world in which we currently live is characterised by a multiplicity of challenges that we must face with urgency if we want to avoid future catastrophes. Those challenges, because of the globalisation of systems, have also become global challenges, and need global responses. One of the most important of those challenges faced by the current global community remains the environmental crisis, and more specifically the climate crisis also known as global warming. Most scientists, non-sovereign actors and policy makers are convinced that the salvation of our world definitely depends on urgent and strong actions aimed at reducing the emissions of Greenhouse gases and therefore limiting climate change (Mitigation). Moreover, such actions should put in place mechanisms and policies aimed at reducing the impacts of the already occurred climate change on environmental, human and socio-political systems (Adaptation). Beyond this challenge of global concern, there is also the global challenge of unemployment enhanced by the financial and economic crisis as well as the lack of alternative employment policies in a changing environment. These two challenges, analysed in this book through the lens of the Global South, are important threats not only to the world security, but above all to the sustainable development in general and development in the global South in particular.