Environmental Policy, Public Opinion and Global Climate Change in Southern Europe: The Case of Andalusia

Water sprays from an open fire hydrant in Brooklyn, New York, in the midst of a July 2010 heat wave that affected much of the eastern United States.In 2007 the New York City Department of Environmental Protection first teamed up with Alianza Dominicana, a Washington Heights community organization, to educate city residents about the appropriate use of fire hydrants and other ways

This paper analyses the multiple relations existing between public opinion, public policies and global climate change from the perspective of environmental sociology. The framework for this research is the problem of environmental scale in the mitigation and adaptation of environmental problems. The case study was conducted in Andalusia, Spain; a southern European region where the impact of climate change is taking on increasing relevance due to the far-reaching effects that variations in precipitation, temperature change and desertification have had and will have on the area. Environmental policy and politics in relation to global climate change are analysed, as well as citizens' attitudes and the main politics of adaptation on a regional scale. The contribution of this paper is that in these southern areas of Europe, citizens give priority to local and regional policies only in reference to the problems of 'their' climate change like soil erosion, precipitation changes or forest fires, but not in terms of global issues which are more difficult for people to identify such as the destruction of the ozone layer, polar icemelt, deforestation or the emission of greenhouse gases, amongst others.

Chapter 1 - Global Climate Change and Its Impact on Agriculture

Agriculture production is directly dependent on climate change and weather. Possible changes in temperature, precipitation and CO2 concentration are expected to significantly impact crop growth and ultimately we lose our crop productivity and indirectly affect the sustainable food availability issue. The overall impact of climate change on worldwide food production is considered to be low to moderate with successful adaptation and adequate irrigation. Climate change has a serious impact on the availability of various resources on the earth especially water, which sustains life on this planet. The global food security situation and outlook remains delicately imbalanced amid surplus food production and the prevalence of hunger, due to the complex interplay of social, economic, and ecological factors that mediate food security outcomes at various human and institutional scales. Weather aberration poses complex challenges in terms of increased variability and risk for food producers and the energy and water sectors. Changes in the biosphere, biodiversity and natural resources are adversely affecting human health and quality of life. Throughout the 21st century, India is projected to experience warming above global level. India will also begin to experience more seasonal variation in temperature with more warming in the winters than summers. Longevity of heat waves across India has extended in recent years with warmer night temperatures and hotter days, and this trend is expected to continue. Strategic research priorities are outlined for a range of sectors that underpin global food security, including: agriculture, ecosystem services from agriculture, climate change, international trade, water management solutions, the water-energy-food security nexus, service delivery to smallholders and women farmers, and better governance models and regional priority setting. There is a need to look beyond agriculture and invest in affordable and suitable farm technologies if the problem of food insecurity is to be addressed in a sustainable manner. Introduction Globally, agriculture is one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change. This vulnerability is relatively higher in India in view of the large population depending on agriculture and poor coping capabilities of small and marginal farmers. Impacts of climate change pose a serious threat to food security. “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (World Food Summit, 1996). This definition gives rise to four dimensions of food security: availability of food, accessibility (economically and physically), utilization (the way it is used and assimilated by the human body) and stability of these three dimensions. According to the United Nations, in 2015, there are still 836 million people in the world living in extreme poverty (less than USD1.25/day) (UN, 2015). And according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), at least 70 percent of the very poor live in rural areas, most of them depending partly (or completely) on agriculture for their livelihoods. It is estimated that 500 million smallholder farms in the developing world are supporting almost 2 billion people, and in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa these small farms produce about 80 percent of the food consumed. Climate change threatens to reverse the progress made so far in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. As highlighted by the assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC), climate change augments and intensifies risks to food security for the most vulnerable countries and populations. Few of the major risks induced by climate change, as identified by IPCC have direct consequences for food security (IPCC, 2007). These are mainly to loss of rural livelihoods and income, loss of marine and coastal ecosystems, livelihoods loss of terrestrial and inland water ecosystems and food insecurity (breakdown of food systems). Rural farmers, whose livelihood depends on the use of natural resources, are likely to bear the brunt of adverse impacts. Most of the crop simulation model runs and experiments under elevated temperature and carbon dioxide indicate that by 2030, a 3-7% decline in the yield of principal cereal crops like rice and wheat is likely in India by adoption of current production technologies. Global warming impacts growth, reproduction and yields of food and horticulture crops, increases crop water requirement, causes more soil erosion, increases thermal stress on animals leading to decreased milk yields and change the distribution and breeding season of fisheries. Fast changing climatic conditions, shrinking land, water and other natural resources with rapid growing population around the globe has put many challenges before us (Mukherjee, 2014). Food is going to be second most challenging issue for mankind in time to come. India will also begin to experience more seasonal variation in temperature with more warming in the winters than summers (Christensen et al., 2007). Climate change is posing a great threat to agriculture and food security in India and it's subcontinent. Water is the most critical agricultural input in India, as 55% of the total cultivated areas do not have irrigation facilities. Currently we are able to secure food supplies under these varying conditions. Under the threat of climate variability, our food grain production system becomes quite comfortable and easily accessible for local people. India's food grain production is estimated to rise 2 per cent in 2020-21 crop years to an all-time high of 303.34 million tonnes on better output of rice, wheat, pulse and coarse cereals amid good monsoon rains last year. In the 2019-20 crop year, the country's food grain output (comprising wheat, rice, pulses and coarse cereals) stood at a record 297.5 million tonnes (MT). Releasing the second advance estimates for 2020-21 crop year, the agriculture ministry said foodgrain production is projected at a record 303.34 MT. As per the data, rice production is pegged at record 120.32 MT as against 118.87 MT in the previous year. Wheat production is estimated to rise to a record 109.24 MT in 2020-21 from 107.86 MT in the previous year, while output of coarse cereals is likely to increase to 49.36 MT from 47.75 MT. Pulses output is seen at 24.42 MT, up from 23.03 MT in 2019-20 crop year. In the non-foodgrain category, the production of oilseeds is estimated at 37.31 MT in 2020-21 as against 33.22 MT in the previous year. Sugarcane production is pegged at 397.66 MT from 370.50 MT in the previous year, while cotton output is expected to be higher at 36.54 million bales (170 kg each) from 36.07. This production figure seem to be sufficient for current population, but we need to improve more and more with vertical farming and advance agronomic and crop improvement tools for future burgeoning population figure under the milieu of climate change issue. Our rural mass and tribal people have very limited resources and they sometime complete depend on forest microhabitat. To order to ensure food and nutritional security for growing population, a new strategy needs to be initiated for growing of crops in changing climatic condition. The country has a large pool of underutilized or underexploited fruit or cereals crops which have enormous potential for contributing to food security, nutrition, health, ecosystem sustainability under the changing climatic conditions, since they require little input, as they have inherent capabilities to withstand biotic and abiotic stress. Apart from the impacts on agronomic conditions of crop productions, climate change also affects the economy, food systems and wellbeing of the consumers (Abbade, 2017). Crop nutritional quality become very challenging, as we noticed that, zinc and iron deficiency is a serious global health problem in humans depending on cereal-diet and is largely prevalent in low-income countries like Sub-Saharan Africa, and South and South-east Asia. We report inefficiency of modern-bred cultivars of rice and wheat to sequester those essential nutrients in grains as the reason for such deficiency and prevalence (Debnath et al., 2021). Keeping in mind the crop yield and nutritional quality become very daunting task to our food security issue and this can overcome with the proper and time bound research in cognizance with the environment. Threat and challenges In recent years, climate change has become a debatable issue worldwide. South Asia will be one of the most adversely affected regions in terms of impacts of climate change on agricultural yield, economic activity and trading policies. Addressing climate change is central for global future food security and poverty alleviation. The approach would need to implement strategies linked with developmental plans to enhance its adaptive capacity in terms of climate resilience and mitigation. Over time, there has been a visible shift in the global climate change initiative towards adaptation. Adaptation can complement mitigation as a cost-effective strategy to reduce climate change risks. The impact of climate change is projected to have different effects across societies and countries. Mitigation and adaptation actions can, if appropriately designed, advance sustainable development and equity both within and across countries and between generations. One approach to balancing the attention on adaptation and mitigation strategies is to compare the costs and benefits of both the strategies. The most imminent change is the increase in the atmospheric temperatures due to increase levels of GHGs (Green House Gases) i.e. carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) etc into the atmosphere. The global mean annual temperatures at the end of the 20th

International audience

Uniting the Global Gastroenterology Community to Meet the Challenge of Climate Change and Non-Recyclable Waste

Radley Horton,1,a Daniel Bader,1,a Yochanan Kushnir,2 Christopher Little,3 Reginald Blake,4 and Cynthia Rosenzweig5 1Columbia University Center for Climate Systems Research, New York, NY. 2Ocean and Climate Physics Department, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY. 3Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Lexington, MA. 4Physics Department, New York City College of Technology, CUNY, Brooklyn, NY. 5Climate Impacts Group, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies; Center for Climate Systems Research, Columbia University Earth Institute, New York, NY

Communicating Uncertainty about Climate Change: The Scientists’ Dilemma

While it is often assumed that media attention for events, such as international climate change conferences, can influence public opinion, research studying changes in public opinion concerning climate change is scarce. Research on climate change audience segments and the theory of motivated reasoning suggest that media effects depend on the level of audience engagement with climate change. We analyze how exposure to media coverage of the COP21 affected public opinion in the Netherlands. Based on a two-wave online panel survey (N = 876), we identified five audience segments that varied in their degree of climate change beliefs, involvement, policy preferences, and behavioral intentions. Different media effects across segments were found indicating (dis)confirmation bias, specifically, for medium levels of positive and negative engagement. The findings indicate that important events may cause limited changes in public opinion and emphasize the importance of studying segment-specific and content-specific media effects.

Major US electric utility climate pledges have the potential to collectively reduce power sector emissions by one-third

Climate change is a complex and contentious public issue, but the risk-management options available to us are straightforward and have well-characterized strengths and weaknesses.

Global climate change has an enormous impact on agriculture, including horticultural commodities. Banana, oranges, shallot, chilies, and potatoes are among the main horticulture commodities for Indonesian. This study employed a multimarket model of partial equilibrium analysis to investigate the impact of global and environmental climate change on those Indonesia’s five horticulture commodities 2019-2030. The study appraised the impact of climate change by looking at changes in the production and consumption in the national and household level, and net trade at national level. The study revealed that all scenarios show negative impact on national aggregate level of productions and consumptions, however those scenarios can be lower or higher at regional and household levels under climate change compared to a no-climate change scenario in the short and medium term. Import will increase, and all commodities will be as net imported. As an implication, types and characteristics of commodity and regions and households should be strongly considered in research, extension, and development program with improving adaptation and mitigation to climate change. With its unique characteristics, more comprehensive studies for these commodities are recommended. Awareness of the impact of climate change, horticulture subsector needs to be treated in a consistent, comprehensive, and systematic ways.

Global Climate Changes - Sources and Impacts on the Water Cycle.- Climate Change and Water Cycle - Some Lessons from the Geological Past.- Climate Change and the Water Cycle - Some Information Concerning Precipitation Trends.- Moroccan Climate in the Present and Future: Combined View from Observational Data and Regional Climate Scenarios.- Impact of Climate Change on Water Availability in.- Climatic Changes in Lebanon, Predicting Uncertain Precipitation Events - Do Climatic Cycles Exist?.- Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources.- Water Resources Management in the Middle East under Aspects of Climatic Changes.- Virtual Water Trade as an Adaptation Demand Management of Climate Change Impact on Water Resources in the Middle East.- The Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources in Jordan.- Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources of Lebanon: Indications of Hydrological Droughts.- The Impact of Global Warming on the Water Resources of the Middle East: Past, Present, and Future.- Decadal Precipitation Variances and Reservoir Inflow in the Semi-Arid Upper Draa Basin (South- Eastern Morocco).- Management Options for a Sustainable Groundwater Use in the Middle Draa Oases under the Pressure of Climatic Changes.- Water Resources and Water Management.- A Decision Support System (DSS) for Water Resources Management, - Design and Results from a Pilot Study in Syria.- Management Strategies of Water Resources in the Arid Zone of South-Eastern Morocco.- The Role of Groundwater During Drought in Tunisia.- The Evolution of Groundwater Exploration Methods in the Moroccan Oases through History, and Managing Ecological Risk of their Present Pollution.- Investigating Unconsolidated Aquifers in an Arid Environment - A Case Study from the Lower Jordan Valley/Jordan.- Water Resources Protection Efforts in Jordan and their Contribution to a Sustainable Water Resources Management.- Model Investigations on the Groundwater System in Jordan - A Contribution to the Resources Management (National Water Master Plan).- Seawater Intrusion in Greater Beirut, Lebanon.- Long Term (1970 - 2001) Eco-Hydrological Processes in Lake Kinneret and its Watershed.- Transfer of the Concepts of the European Water Framework Directive to Arid and Semiarid Regions.- Seal Formation Effects on Soil Infiltration and Runoff in Arid and Semiarid Regions under Rainfall and Sprinkler Irrigation Conditions.- Restoring the Shrinking Dead Sea - The Environmental Imperative -.- Groundwater in the Shallow Aquifer of the Jericho Area, Jordan Valley - Noble Gas Evidence for Different Sources of Salinization.- The Interaction of Population Dynamics and Transformations in Water Supply Systems in the Jordan River Basin.

The purpose of the article is to find out the opinions of rural youth regarding their awareness of climate change and the impact of this change on agriculture, and based on it, to determine whether these young people have adequate knowledge about global climate change. This goal results from the fact that the world is more and more severely affected by the effects of climate change associated with a more frequent occurrence of extreme weather phenomena, air temperature increase, periodic drought and heat waves, violent hurricanes or melting glaciers. These changes, which are already beginning to take a stage of crisis, are mainly associated with the emission of greenhouse gases, and above all carbon dioxide, for which humanity is primarily responsible. It is therefore necessary to increase the awareness of rural residents, starting with children and young people, who in the near future will steer the development of regions and the world, about how great a threat are progressive climate changes to them, agriculture, and consequently to food security and human health. Young people currently need appropriate support from scientists and teachers who will help them understand and realize how important and necessary it is to undertake adaptation measures related to eliminating threats resulting from climate change, growing plant species more resistant to climatic conditions, protecting biodiversity, and water resources, forests and soil. The article presents the causes and consequences of climate change in the light of research and public opinion, the impact of climate change on agriculture and the opinions of the surveyed rural youth from the Podkarpackie Province on contemporary climate change.

Imposing versus Enacting Commitments for the Long‐Term Energy Transition: Perspectives from the Firm