本文是会计专业的Essay范例,题目是“Social and Environmental Accounting and Paris Agreement(社会与环境会计和巴黎协定)”,社会和环境会计(SEA)是一个重要的概念,因为它将企业的经营活动与其社会和环境责任联系起来。《巴黎协定》是应对碳排放和气候变化的国际合作的重要成果。这篇文章讨论了如何利用SEA来帮助政府和公司实现在巴黎协议中列出的目标。Introduction介绍
Social and environmental accounting (SEA) is an important concept as it connects a company’s business activities with its social and environmental responsibilities. The Paris Accord is a major effort of international collaboration to combat carbon emission and climate change. This essay discusses how SEA could be used to assist governments and companies to achieve the goals that are listed in the Paris Agreement.
US quitting the Paris Agreement
Though the Paris Agreement has received global recognition and approval in the past decade, the recent changes in the global political and economic environment have caused some unexpected events. In June 2017, the Trump administration of the US announced the termination of participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement, which could be considered a major setback for the combined efforts to combat climate change (Milman, 2018).
The logic behind this move by the US government is straightforward, because the Pairs Agreement would require each country to achieve the goal of carbon emission reduction by a certain amount. However, it is almost impossible to avoid producing any greenhouse gas by the industrial productions under the current technologies. As a result, the main force behind the decision to quit the Paris Agreement mainly comes from economic considerations.
美国政府此举背后的逻辑很简单,因为《巴黎协定》要求各国实现一定数量的碳减排目标。然而,在目前的技术条件下,工业生产几乎不可能避免产生任何温室气体。因此,退出《巴黎协定》的主要动力来自于经济方面的考虑。
On one hand, the goal of cutting carbon emission would significantly hurt the traditional fossil fuel industries, which would be gradually replaced with renewable sources of energy. Currently, the US is on the way of becoming one of the top producers of coal and oil, so strong resistance would arise from these sectors against the US participation in the Paris Agreement (Zhang, et al., 2017). Since the US has been rising on its output of oil productions, it won’t be easy for the country to give up on the important strategic resource. Besides, the jobs of the energy industries in the US are also at stake, which may be harmed if carbon emissions are cut significantly under the Paris Agreement (Mulligan, 2017).
In addition, as the US economic focus gradually turns towards protecting its own interests with the “America First” policy, the government has started to evaluate its international activities and participations more based on their internal impacts, rather than with a global perspective as in the past (Zhang, et al., 2017). Based on an empirical study on this issue using the GTAP-E model, quitting the Paris Agreement would increase the real GDP for the US by 1.13%, and the real private consumption by 0.78%. Moreover, the positive influence on the US energy sector by the withdrawal from the agreement is even stronger, which is a strong incentive. And the prices of fossil fuel energy are expected to be lower, especially for coal and oil, which is a result of the expansion of the related industries and increase in the productions (Nong & Siriwardana, 2018).
此外,随着美国经济的焦点逐渐转向保护自身利益的“美国第一”的政策,政府已经开始评估其国际活动和参与更多基于其内部影响,以全球视角,而不是像过去(Zhang et al ., 2017)。基于GTAP-E模型对这一问题的实证研究,退出《巴黎协定》将使美国的实际GDP增加1.13%,实际私人消费增加0.78%。此外,退出该协议对美国能源部门的积极影响甚至更大,这是一个强有力的激励。化石燃料能源的价格预计会更低,尤其是煤炭和石油,这是相关行业扩张和产量增加的结果(Nong和Siriwardana, 2018年)。
Besides, the potential costs after withdrawal from the agreement are not substantial for the US, when compared with the possible benefits. Böhringer & Rutherford (2017) found that even faced with potential carbon tariff threat from the EU and China, which are two main trading partners with the US, the costs are not substantial for the US.
So, after balancing the economic benefits and costs of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, it is easier to understand the latest decision of the US government. Thus, the incident reflects a very strong controversy between economic growth and environmental governance, as focusing on one aspect would usually more sacrificing the other. However, the two concepts shouldn’t be considered to be on total opposite sides, as there are usually ways to integrate the two aspects in one to promote socially and individually increases in welfare.
Accounting for the environment环境核算
Environmental governance has already become a vital consideration for economic activities, and it is important to achieve sustainable growth in the long-term. Ueta & Mori (2007) discussed the problem using the rapid industrialization of East Asian countries for the past several decades, and the researchers proposed that “green growth” and many other concepts had been invented to balance the conflicts between economic development and protection of the environment. The environmental Kuznets curves theory shows that the movements may display a burden for economic growth in the near term but may eventually prove to be more beneficial in the long-term (Ueta & Mori, 2007).
环境治理已经成为经济活动的重要考虑因素,对实现长期可持续增长具有重要意义。Ueta & Mori(2007)利用东亚国家过去几十年的快速工业化来讨论这个问题,研究人员提出了“绿色增长”等许多概念的发明,以平衡经济发展和环境保护之间的冲突。环境库兹涅茨曲线理论表明,这些运动可能在短期内对经济增长造成负担,但最终可能被证明在长期更有益(Ueta & Mori, 2007)。
This presents a similar problem as that occurs with today’s Paris Agreement, where the private costs to a participating country would exceed the potential benefits of cutting the carbon emissions in the short-term. Though the long-term social benefits would be positive for every country, the economic disadvantage would still discourage countries that are most affected by the agreement from joining in (Mulligan, 2017).
Thus, to solve this conflict, and promote environmental protection given the consideration of economic costs, it is important to adopt the rules of SEA when making policies on the government level. Traditionally, one would be more likely to evaluate the outcomes of a public policy based on the financial accounting method that centres around a single entity, rather than covering the other stakeholders. If the social and environmental accounting approach is taken, the long-term costs from pollution and climate change may exceed the short-term benefits that could be harvested from the fossil fuel industries (Sylvia, et al., 2018). However, it would be much harder to apply the rules of the SEA in real life settings to analyse the costs and benefits of an environmental policy.
因此,为了解决这一矛盾,在兼顾经济成本的前提下促进环境保护,在政府层面制定政策时采用SEA规则是非常重要的。传统上,人们更有可能基于围绕单一实体的财务会计方法来评估公共政策的结果,而不是覆盖其他利益相关者。如果采用社会和环境会计方法,来自污染和气候变化的长期成本可能超过化石燃料行业可以收获的短期利益(Sylvia等人,2018年)。然而,在现实生活中应用SEA的规则来分析环境政策的成本和收益将会困难得多。
Still, it should be noted that the conflict between economic incentives and environmental governance can be solved. And the SEA could be helpful in this process to help establish a new set of standards for evaluating the balance of costs and benefits of environmental governance efforts.
Use of SEA in achieving the targets in Paris Agreement利用策略性环评来达致《巴黎协定》的目标
SEA is a very useful tool, which can help governments and agencies around the world to cooperate and achieve the goal of reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change under the Paris Agreement. There are many different practices under the framework of SEA, and this essay mainly focuses on corporate social responsibility (CSR), as well as its role in achieving the goals set in the Paris Agreement.
SEA是一个非常有用的工具,它可以帮助世界各地的政府和机构合作,实现《巴黎协定》规定的减少碳排放和应对气候变化的目标。在SEA框架下有很多不同的实践,本文主要关注企业社会责任(CSR)及其在实现《巴黎协定》目标中的作用。
CSR refers to an approach adopted by private businesses in the world, aimed at achieving a higher level of social responsibilities. CSR requires the private businesses to set up internal guidelines for their own activities and ethics to regulate their own behaviours. Though CSR started out as a form of corporate self-regulation, it has gradually evolved into a mandatory practice globally (Sheehy, 2012). Most of the largest and public companies in the world would voluntarily choose to report their efforts in conforming with the CSR guidelines, and whether their business operations and activities are following the rules too.
企业社会责任是指全球私营企业为实现更高层次的社会责任而采取的一种方式。企业社会责任要求私营企业为自己的活动制定内部准则和道德规范自己的行为。虽然企业社会责任最初是一种企业自我监管的形式,但它已逐渐演变为全球范围内的强制性实践(Sheehy, 2012)。世界上大多数大型上市公司都会自愿选择报告它们在遵守社会责任准则方面所做的努力,以及它们的业务运作和活动是否也遵守了这些准则。
The goal of CSR is to establish a business system and environment that encourages the private companies to voluntarily promote the overall welfare of the society, rather than just focusing on private benefits. Corporate finance theories suggest that an individual company should act to its own maximum benefits, while the externalities produced in the process of its business are usually not considered by the company when making strategic plans and benefits. Thus, it would require the intervention from the government in this scenario. However, it would be hard to fully account for the negative externalities produced by a certain company, so it is important for the company to voluntarily promote the benefits of the public, such as protecting the environment and reducing pollution (Sharp & Zaidman, 2010). In this regard, CSR could also help governments around the world push the private businesses to follow and achieve the goals in the Paris Agreement.
Application of CSR and Paris Agreement企业社会责任与巴黎协定的应用
There have been many successful applications of the CSR approach in the private business sector for protecting the environment and reducing carbon emissions. Royal Dutch Shell, which is an international oil and gas company, has also been actively engaged in CSR activities in the past decades, as the company gradually puts more emphasis on the sustainability of its business and the environment. The company has been slowly replacing coal with renewable energy, such as wind power, which generates over 1,000 megawatts of capacity. In addition, the company is also investing in the lowest-carbon biofuel, which is done via a joint venture with Cosan (Shell, 2018). The current CSR efforts by Royal Dutch Shell is exactly consistent with the goal of the Paris Agreement. Though the company has its main businesses in the coal and oil sector, which is a main source of carbon emissions that may lead to climate change, it is also embracing a more environmental friendly business model.
企业社会责任方法在私营企业中有许多成功的应用,以保护环境和减少碳排放。荷兰皇家壳牌作为一家国际性的石油和天然气公司,在过去的几十年里,随着公司对业务的可持续性和环境的重视,也积极参与了企业社会责任的活动。该公司一直在慢慢地用风能等可再生能源取代煤炭,风能发电量超过1,000兆瓦。此外,该公司还投资于低碳生物燃料,这是通过与Cosan的合资企业(壳牌,2018年)。荷兰皇家壳牌公司目前的CSR努力与《巴黎协定》的目标是完全一致的。虽然该公司的主要业务是煤炭和石油行业,这是碳排放的主要来源,而碳排放可能导致气候变化,但该公司也在采用更环保的商业模式。
Another important case of CSR comes from global leader in the automobile manufacturing industry, BMW Group. Traditionally, cars run on fossil fuel, which would produce greenhouse gases that may lead to climate change. The company is also actively seeking long-term sustainability and carbon reduction as well. Under the guidance of the CSR efforts, BMW’s Corporate Average Fuel Consumption (CAFC) in 2016 was 6.69 litres of petrol per 100 kilometres, which is top in many major automobile markets in the world. The company has also been seeking upgrading its production lines around the world, in order to meet the requirements of high-end manufacturing (BMW, 2017). The measures taken by the company could also reflect its dedication in following its CSR targets, which is also consistent with the goals in the Paris Agreement.
From the two cases of CSR applications in real business environments, it could be observed that they are in line with the targets set in the Paris Agreement, which include cutting carbon emissions and reducing the potential harms from climate change. And in both cases, the companies involved in the CSR activities are from the industries that are heavily relying on fossil energy currently, while both are actively transforming their business practices through CSR activities.
There are multiple reasons why companies would want to disclose their CSR information and participating in CSR activities. It is generally agreed that CSR activities would be beneficial for a company’s reputations, as CSR activities are meant to improve a company’s public image when the consumers attribute sincere motives. However, if the motives behind the CSR activities are not sincere, it is likely that the CSR activities may not be effective for a company’s reputation (Yoon, et al., 2008). So, there are also benefits that are beyond financial revenues for a company when it chooses to publicly present its CSR efforts, which would be very valuable in the long-term for a company’s strategic plans.
On the other hand, the CSR engagement could also push the companies to transform their business practices, which may also benefit the survival of the company in the long-term as well. In the examples of the CSR activities taken by the traditional fossil energy companies, as they turn more to the renewable energy, the CSR activities would also give them a chance to diversify their business lines, instead of focusing on just their original business. Since the traditional fossil fuels may eventually run out, it is wise for these companies to plan ahead and gradually shift away.
另一方面,企业社会责任的参与也可以推动企业改变其商业实践,这也可能有利于企业的长期生存。在传统化石能源企业的企业社会责任活动中,随着企业更多地转向可再生能源,企业的企业社会责任活动也将使企业有机会实现业务多元化,而不是只专注于原来的业务。由于传统的化石燃料可能最终会耗尽,这些公司提前计划并逐渐转移是明智的。
Overall, it could be summarized from the discussions that CSR is a helpful tool for achieving the goals in the Paris Agreement. It offers a strong incentive for private businesses to voluntarily shift business practices to align better with environmental protection efforts. Though CSR is not the final solution to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, it can definitely play a vital role in the process.
When making strategic plans and decisions, it is important to combine the human race with the environment that we live in, as the externalities we produce will eventually get internalized. So, the concept of social and environmental accounting doesn’t just apply to the private businesses, it should also be used on a higher level to guide our behaviours and lives.
在制定战略计划和决策时,重要的是将人类与我们生活的环境结合起来,因为我们产生的外部性最终会被内部化。所以,社会会计和环境会计的概念不仅适用于私营企业,还应该在更高的层面上指导我们的行为和生活。
留学生论文相关专业范文素材资料,尽在本网,可以随时查阅参考。本站也提供多国留学生课程作业写作指导服务,如有需要可咨询本平台。
相关文章
UKthesis provides an online writing service for all types of academic writing. Check out some of them and don't hesitate to place your order.