International Conference on Climate Change

Climate Change and Health: Strengthening the Evidence Base for Policy

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

Climate Compatible Development (CCD) is an emerging development approach which seeks to minimize the threat posed by climate change while maximize the opportunities for development. In view of the adverse impact of climate change on the general development of the country, Ethiopia, a number of polices which constitute climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies have been adopted and established. Among such polices, Ethiopian water resources and disaster risk management policy is expected to have direct and indirect role in addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation. Rainwater harvesting, water shed management, use of water efficiently, small scale irrigation and water resource protection, strengthening drought and flood early warning system are adaptation strategies for water resource policy, and water harvesting and improved energy efficiency are low carbon footprint strategies/mitigation strategies. Disaster risk management policy also comprises climate change and variability related disaster risk reduction strategies; enhancing early warning information system, and safety net program as the climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, which are the major component of CCD. These policies also have its own limitation in relation to the system base and institutional gap in implementing CCD. In fact, these barriers can be eased by updating and/or adjustment of the policies under the framework of climate compatible development; mainstreaming climate change issues into water resource and disaster risk management policy; strengthening sector-wise linkage and synergy to avoid overlap; as well as monitoring the climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies among sectors. Key words: Climate change, low-carbon footprint, adaptation, mainstreaming, Ethiopia

Introduction to <i>Climate Change Adaptation in New York City: Building a Risk Management Response</i>

Climate change presents one of the most pressing challenges of our time, with profound implications for the economy, society, and the environment. This paper examines the economics of climate change by assessing the costs and benefits of mitigation and adaptation strategies. Through a comprehensive analysis of economic models, empirical studies, and policy evaluations, the trade-offs and opportunities associated with addressing climate change. Mitigation strategies aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming and mitigate the impacts of climate change. These strategies include transitioning to renewable energy sources, improving energy efficiency, implementing carbon pricing mechanisms, and investing in low-carbon technologies. By reducing emissions, mitigation measures can help to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events, sea-level rise, and ecosystem disruptions. However, mitigation efforts also entail costs, including upfront investments, technological challenges, and potential economic disruptions in carbon-intensive industries.

Past global efforts at dealing with the problem of global warming concentrated on mitigation, with the aim of reducing and possibly stabilizing greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere. With the slow progress in achieving this, adaptation was viewed as a viable option to reduce the vulnerability to the anticipated negative impacts of global warming. It is increasingly realized that mitigation and adaptation should not be pursued independent of each other but as complements. This has resulted in the recent calls for the integration of adaptation into mitigation strategies. However, integrating mitigation and adaptation into climate change concerns is not a completely new idea in the African Sahel. The region is characterized by severe and frequent droughts with records dating back into centuries. The local populations in this region, through their indigenous knowledge systems, have developed and implemented extensive mitigation and adaptation strategies that have enabled them reduce their vulnerability to past climate variability and change, which exceed those predicted by models of future climate change. However, this knowledge is rarely taken into consideration in the design and implementation of modern mitigation and adaptation strategies. This paper highlights some indigenous mitigation and adaptation strategies that have been practiced in the Sahel, and the benefits of integrating indigenous knowledge into formal climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Incorporating indigenous knowledge can add value to the development of sustainable climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies that are rich in local content, and planned in conjunction with local people.

Given the emergence of climate change and health risks, this review examined potential relationships between varying indicators of climate change, movement behaviors (ie,physical activity [PA], sedentary behavior, and sleep), and health. Seven databases were searched in March 2020, April 2023, and April 2024. To be included, studies must have examined indicators of climate change and at least one of the movement behaviors as either an exposure or a third variable (ie,mediator/moderator), and a measure of health as outcome. Evidence was summarized by the role (mediator/moderator) that either climate change or movement behavior(s) has with health measures. Relationships and directionality of each association, as well as the strength and certainty of evidence were synthesized. A total of 79 studies were eligible, representing 6,671,791 participants and 3137 counties from 25 countries (40% low- and middle-income countries). Of 98 observations from 17 studies that examined PA as a mediator, 34.7% indicated that PA mediated the relationship between climate change and health measure such that indicators of adverse climate change were associated with lower PA, and worse health outcome. Of 274 observations made from 46 studies, 28% showed that PA favorably modified the negative association between climate change and health outcome. Evidence was largely lacking and inconclusive for sedentary behavior and sleep, as well as climate change indicators as an intermediatory variable. PA may mitigate the adverse impact of climate change on health. Further evidence is needed to integrate PA into climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience strategies.

Climate change becomes a widely acknowledged and inevitable global challenge of 21st century. For developing countries like Ethiopia, it intensifies existing challenges of ensuring sustainable development. This study examined factors affecting climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies by taking in Protection Motivation Theory. The study draws on mixed research approach in order to assess the subjective understanding about climate change threats and identify the factors determining responses to climate change. While qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions and interviews, quantitative information was collected using semi structured survey from 296 randomly selected farmers from different agro-ecologies. Qualitative data was dominantly analyzed using content analysis while descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to analyze quantitative data. Almost all respondents (97%) perceived that climate change is occurring and threatening their wellbeing. Dwindling precipitation, increasing temperature and occurrence of human and animal disease were perceived to represent climate change. From nationally initiated strategies, farmers were found to largely practice soil and water conservation and agricultural intensification, which they perceived less costly and compatible to their level of expertise. The result of binary logistic regression revealed that perceived severity of climate change, perceived susceptibility to climate change threat, perceived own ability to respond, response efficacy and cost of practices predicted farmers motivation to practice climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. Thus, building resilient system should go beyond sensitizing climate response mechanisms. Rural development and climate change adaptation policies should focus on human capital development and economic empowerment which would enable farmers pursue context specific adaptation and mitigation strategies thereby maintain sustainable livelihood.

Climate change is an inevitable global challenge of the 21st century. For developing countries like Ethiopia, it intensifies existing challenges towards ensuring sustainable development. Adopting the protection motivation theory, this study examined factors affecting the practice of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies among farmers. The study employed a mixed research approach to assess the subjective understanding of farmers about climate change threats and identify factors determining their responses to climate change effects. Qualitative data were collected using focus group discussions and interviews. Quantitative information was gathered using semi-structured survey from 296 randomly selected farmers. Qualitative data was dominantly analyzed using content analysis, while descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to analyze quantitative data. Almost all respondents (97%) perceived that climate change was occurring and threatening their wellbeing. Dwindling precipitation, increasing temperature and occurrence of human and animal disease were perceived to represent climate change effects. From nationally initiated strategies, farmers were found to largely practice soil and water conservation, which they perceived as less costly and compatible to local knowledge. The result of binary logistic regression revealed that perceived severity of climate change, perceived susceptibility to climate change threat, perceived own ability to respond, response efficacy, and cost of practices predicted farmers’ motivation to practice climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. Thus, building a resilient system should go beyond sensitizing climate response mechanisms. Policies should focus on human capital development and economic empowerment which would enable farmers to pursue context-specific adaptation and mitigation strategies, thereby maintaining a sustainable livelihood.

Chapter 5: Law and regulation

Climate change has a significant impact on livestock farming around the globe. Farmers have adopted different strategies to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change. Females in developing countries are more vulnerable to climate change impacts and have lower adaptive capacity and they bear additional roles and responsibilities in livestock rearing compared to their male counterparts. The main aim of this study is to examine the gender perspective on climate change adoption strategies in livestock farming in Gandaki province, Nepal. A multistage random sampling technique was employed to select 1,158 households from five districts in Gandaki province, western Nepal. A household head or household member who was 45 years or older resided in that area for at least 15 years and owned at least one primary livestock at the time of the survey was selected as the ultimate respondent from each selected household. Both structured and unstructured questionnaires were prepared. A structured questionnaire was used for the household survey, while a checklist (guideline) was prepared for focus group discussions. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews, and both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. The results revealed that buffalo was the primary livestock among farmers. More than half of farmers, both men and women were aware of the impact of climate change on livestock. While this study did not find significant gender-based differences in adaptation strategies, the odds of adoption are higher among males than females. Jobs other than agriculture and livestock, as well as access to credit, emerged as key determining factors associated with adaptation strategies among farmers in Gandaki province. There is no significant gender-based difference in adaptation strategies; however, employment outside agriculture and livestock, along with access to credit, are the key determining factors associated with adaptation strategies.

The clear sky and clean air during the pandemic clearly remind us about our abusive behavior towards environment and natural resources. A decade away from the global commitment of development goals 2030, India ranks 117th in 192 countries for achieving SDGs. The increasing population in India imposes various challenges in managing efficient resources at urban and rural level which is further being impacted by climate change. Various studies indicate uncertainties of climate change with increasing temperature, varied rainfall and greenhouse gases continue to affect the environment by drought, flooding, sea level rise, reduced agricultural productivity, pollution and health risks. Mitigation and adaptation strategies are complex and face challenges in implementation at national and state level leading to social and economic losses. The paper discusses critical issues regarding climate change risks in India and highlights the potential of nature based solutions (NBSs) as adaptation and mitigation strategies needed in maintaining sustainable productivity and functioning of systems at all levels. Interventions with interdisciplinary approach incorporating climate resilient technologies would play a vital role in mitigating climate risks at regional/local levels.KeywordsAgricultureHeatwaveRising temperatureWater resourcesNBSs

Agriculture - Crops &amp; Crop Management Systems Environment - Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases Rural Development - Common Property Resource Development Water Resources - Wetlands Environment - Adaptation to Climate Change Environment - Sustainable Land Management

Better information on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigation potential in the agricultural sector is necessary to manage these emissions and identify responses that are consistent with the food security and economic development priorities of countries. Critical activity data (what crops or livestock are managed in what way) are poor or lacking for many agricultural systems, especially in developing countries. In addition, the currently available methods for quantifying emissions and mitigation are often too expensive or complex or not sufficiently user friendly for widespread use.The purpose of this focus issue is to capture the state of the art in quantifying greenhouse gases from agricultural systems, with the goal of better understanding our current capabilities and near-term potential for improvement, with particular attention to quantification issues relevant to smallholders in developing countries. This work is timely in light of international discussions and negotiations around how agriculture should be included in efforts to reduce and adapt to climate change impacts, and considering that significant climate financing to developing countries in post-2012 agreements may be linked to their increased ability to identify and report GHG emissions (Murphy et al 2010, CCAFS 2011, FAO 2011).

In recent years, adaptation to climate change has become a global focus; therefore, the present study was conducted in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality to understand the adaptation strategies employed by smallholder farmers to the adverse impact of climate change and to examine the extent to which institutional factors play a role in farmers' decisions to adapt to climate change. Using a multistage research design, data were collected from 120 smallholder farmers by administering a pre-tested questionnaire with both open- and closed-ended questions. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics and a binary logistic regression model. The results revealed that farmers employed crop diversification, crop rotation, calendar redefinition, resilient crop varieties, and tree planting as adaptation strategies in response to climate change. The binary logistic regression model results indicated that access to extension services, climate change information, and farmers' organisations influenced farmers' decisions to adopt climate change adaptation strategies. Policymakers should focus on enhancing rural institutional services and increasing climate change education to improve smallholder farmers' capacity in a changing climate.