Address Climate Change Challenges Research Articles

Optimizing building solutions in a changing climate: parameter-based analysis of embodied and operational environmental impacts

Abstract Buildings contribute significantly to global energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Climate change affects building performance, particularly heating and cooling demands. While current policies focus on improving energy performance and reducing operational emissions, the embodied emissions from building materials become more significant in energy-efficient buildings. This study aims to investigate optimal building solutions considering both operational and embodied environmental impact in the context of climate change in the Belgian context. The research questions address the influence of building characteristics on environmental impact and the contribution of embodied and operational emissions to optimal design. The study employs parametric life cycle assessment and dynamic building energy simulation to explore design strategies for a medium-sized office building. The results reveal the trade-offs between operational and embodied impacts. Buildings with better energy performance exhibit higher embodied emissions, highlighting the importance of considering both aspects. Pareto optimal buildings are identified, minimizing total life cycle environmental cost and operational environmental cost. Insulation levels, solar shading, and orientation are key factors in achieving optimal design. HVAC systems and electricity mixes also significantly influence optimal solutions. Lightweight and heavyweight buildings have distinct characteristics affecting heating and cooling demands. Variations in electricity mixes impact energy consumption and environmental costs of different HVAC system scenarios. The study emphasizes the need for a holistic life cycle approach and considering both operational and embodied impacts in building design. It underscores the importance of optimizing building characteristics while addressing climate change challenges. Further research should explore additional factors such as night cooling, HVAC system performance under climate change, and the inclusion of financial costs and visual comfort in the analysis.

The Inspiration of the International Carbon Market for the Development of Green Finance in China

After introducing the Clean Development Mechanism in 2004, China combined foreign carbon market experience and actively carried out pilot carbon market construction in selected provinces and cities. In September 2020, President Xi Jinping announced Chinas dual carbon goal for the first time at the 75th United Nations General Assembly general debate. The goal is to strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Although seven regional carbon market pilots have been launched in the past three years and experience has been accumulated, Chinas experience in using market-based climate policies is still limited. Establishing a unified domestic carbon market and making it a major tool for Chinas emission reduction and response to climate change requires continuous learning and drawing on the successful experience of international carbon markets, especially lessons from failures. The international carbon market provides important inspiration for the development of green finance in China. By establishing a carbon market, China can achieve carbon pricing, promote the growth of green funding, strengthen financing uphold for low-carbon projects, and contribute to addressing climate change challenges and achieving sustainable development goals.

Economic Evaluation and Technoeconomic Resilience Analysis of Two Routes for Hydrogen Production via Indirect Gasification in North Colombia

Hydrogen has become a prospective energy carrier for a cleaner, more sustainable economy, offering carbon-free energy to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and address climate change challenges. However, hydrogen production faces significant technological and economic hurdles that must be overcome to reveal its highest potential. This study focused on evaluating the economics and technoeconomic resilience of two large-scale hydrogen production routes from African palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) by indirect gasification. Computer-aided process engineering (CAPE) assessed multiple scenarios to identify bottlenecks and optimize economic performance indicators like gross profits, including depreciation, after-tax profitability, payback period, and net present value. Resilience for each route was also assessed, considering raw material costs and the market price of hydrogen in relation to gross profits and after-tax profitability. Route 1 achieved a gross profit (DGP) of USD 47.12 million and a profit after taxes (PAT) of USD 28.74 million, while Route 2 achieved a DGP of USD 46.53 million and a PAT of USD 28.38 million. The results indicated that Route 2, involving hydrogen production through an indirect gasification reactor with a Selexol solvent unit for carbon dioxide removal, demonstrated greater resilience in terms of raw material costs and product selling price.

Traditional and local communities as key actors to identify climate-related disaster impacts: a citizen science approach in Southeast Brazilian coastal areas

The impacts of climate-related disasters can be estimated by climate models. However, climate models are frequently downscaled to specific settings to facilitate Disaster Risk Management (DRM) to better understand local impacts and avoid overlooking uncertainties. Several studies have registered the increasing importance of recognizing traditional knowledge, co-design, and collaboration with local communities in developing DRM strategies. The objective of this research was co-design local-scale observations with traditional and local communities to characterize their local context regarding the impacts of climate-related disasters. The citizen science approach coupled with participatory action research was conducted with two traditional communities in the Southeast of the Brazilian coast: Quilombo do Campinho da Independência in Paraty, Rio de Janeiro, and the Caiçara (artisanal fishing) community of Ubatumirim in Ubatuba, São Paulo. Working groups were organized with leaders to become community researchers, conducting interviews and actively mobilizing their communities. A structured questionnaire was developed, adapting 22 variables taken from the Protocol for the Collection of Cross-Cultural Comparative Data on Local Indicators of Climate Change Impacts—LICCI Protocol. A total of 366 impacts were analyzed, after combining the georeferencing form data collected—Survey123 (280 impacts) and the interviews with community leaders (86 impacts). The results showed a significant level of cohesion (α = 0.01) between the Caiçara (artisanal fishers) and Quilombola (Afro-descendants) perceptions of climate-related events associated with their subsistence practices and climate variability. These findings highlighting the importance of DRM proposals that recognize traditional peoples and local communities as frontline vulnerable populations while acknowledging their role as key actors in identifying impacts, collecting data on land use and territory, subsistence-oriented activities, and cosmovision. However, it is still necessary to address climate change challenges at different scales. To do this, it is crucial to promote cognitive justice though the recognition of the values of the memories, perceptions and local knowledge, by scaling up locally-driven observations that empower local communities to lead their own climate adaptation efforts.

Local Weather Station Design and Development for Cost-Effective Environmental Monitoring and Real-Time Data Sharing.

Current weather monitoring systems often remain out of reach for small-scale users and local communities due to their high costs and complexity. This paper addresses this significant issue by introducing a cost-effective, easy-to-use local weather station. Utilizing low-cost sensors, this weather station is a pivotal tool in making environmental monitoring more accessible and user-friendly, particularly for those with limited resources. It offers efficient in-site measurements of various environmental parameters, such as temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, carbon dioxide concentration, and particulate matter, including PM 1, PM 2.5, and PM 10. The findings demonstrate the station's capability to monitor these variables remotely and provide forecasts with a high degree of accuracy, displaying an error margin of just 0.67%. Furthermore, the station's use of the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model enables short-term, reliable forecasts crucial for applications in agriculture, transportation, and air quality monitoring. Furthermore, the weather station's open-source nature significantly enhances environmental monitoring accessibility for smaller users and encourages broader public data sharing. With this approach, crucial in addressing climate change challenges, the station empowers communities to make informed decisions based on real-time data. In designing and developing this low-cost, efficient monitoring system, this work provides a valuable blueprint for future advancements in environmental technologies, emphasizing sustainability. The proposed automatic weather station not only offers an economical solution for environmental monitoring but also features a user-friendly interface for seamless data communication between the sensor platform and end users. This system ensures the transmission of data through various web-based platforms, catering to users with diverse technical backgrounds. Furthermore, by leveraging historical data through the ARIMA model, the station enhances its utility in providing short-term forecasts and supporting critical decision-making processes across different sectors.

Towards a greater engagement of universities in addressing climate change challenges

Many higher education institutions around the world are engaged in efforts to tackle climate change. This takes place by not only reducing their own carbon footprint but also by educating future leaders and contributing valuable research and expertise to the global effort to combat climate change. However, there is a need for studies that identify the nature of their engagement on the topic, and the extent to which they are contributing towards addressing the many problems associated with climate change. Against this background, this paper describes a study that consisted of a review of the literature and the use of case studies, which outline the importance of university engagement in climate change and describe its main features. The study identified the fact that even though climate change is a matter of great relevance to universities, its coverage in university programmes is not as wide as one could expect. Based on the findings, the paper also lists the challenges associated with the inclusion of climate change in university programmes. Finally, it describes some of the measures which may be deployed in order to maximise the contribution of higher education towards handling the challenges associated with a changing climate.

Can China's carbon intensity constraint policies improve carbon emission performance? Evidence from regional carbon emissions

Carbon Intensity Constraint Policies (CICPs) are vital for addressing climate change challenges and advancing sustainable development. Since 2010, China has rolled out three five-year CICPs. However, there is limited understanding of their impact on carbon emission performance (CEP). Addressing this, this study pioneers the exploration of the CICP's impact on China's CEP. Drawing from government intervention and green paradox theories, this study highlights a concerning scenario: local governments achieve emission targets via excessive intervention. For deeper insights, this study melds the overall technology frontier concept with a non-radial, non-angle directional distance function, introducing a novel efficiency model rooted in the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. This offers a CEP measure across 30 Chinese provincial regions from 2002 to 2019. Using the quasi-difference-in-differences (quasi-DID) and moderated mediation models, this study ascertains the presence of the green paradox, uncovers its reasons, and suggests mitigation strategies. The results indicate that high government intervention diminishes CEP. This negative effect intensifies under greater regional fiscal pressure. Alarmingly, local authorities' eagerness to meet targets shows a counterproductive, inverted N-shaped trend regarding CICPs' time-based influence on regional CEP. Moreover, the impact varies based on regional economic development levels and stages. This study has ensured the robustness of the findings via parallel trend tests, parallel exclusion policies, a strengthened quasi-DID framework, and diverse control variable configurations. This study underscores the need for more balanced government intervention. It offers valuable policy insights, guiding China's upcoming CICP phase to realize the ambition of peaking carbon by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

Examining the Social and Economic Impact of Climate Change on Rural Communities and the Role of Global Governance in Addressing These Challenges

This study examines the impacts of climate change on rural communities, specifically in the areas of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and natural resources. The study highlights the challenges faced by these communities in terms of social welfare, economic growth, infrastructure development, and environmental sustainability. Global governance is also mentioned as an important factor in addressing climate change challenges. The study finds that rural populations heavily depend on these sectors, making them vulnerable to extreme weather events such as increasing temperatures, storms, floods, and droughts. This vulnerability leads to various social and economic challenges, including crop failures, harm to livestock, and infrastructure damage.

Ghana and the global climate crisis: Rethinking the legal approach for climate change regulation of corporations in Ghana

Ghana continuously suffers from the impact of the climate change crisis despite its minimal global carbon contributions. Although Ghana has instituted some climate change policies and general environmental regulations, it has not yet promulgated a Climate Change Act to aid the regulation of climate change mitigation, especially of corporations that are the major emitters of global greenhouse gas emissions. This article examines the climate change regulation of corporations in Ghana and its effectiveness in addressing climate change challenges. It assesses the country's international climate change profile and the role of corporations in contributing to its carbon emissions, evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of Ghana's general environmental regulation and discusses alternative regulatory frameworks such as judicial, market and surrogate regulation for managing climate change impacts in the absence of statutory climate change regulation. Further, this article looks beyond the presence of a statutory climate change regulation and examines the potential structuring of climate change regulation in Ghana. The article argues that the traditional command and control regulatory system will be unsuitable for effective regulation of the climate change participation of corporations in Ghana, and instead proposes the adoption of the Dilute Interventionism approach supported by a Veto Firewall system for this purpose. The article argues that these concepts present a practical and effective approach to regulating corporations’ involvement in climate change mitigation in Ghana. However, the successful implementation of this approach will require political will, corporate compliance, and technical capacity. This article provides policymakers, stakeholders and interested parties in Ghana and beyond with useful insights to address climate change challenges.

The Impact of Extreme Precipitation Events and Their Variability on Climate Change Beliefs in the American Public

Abstract Although scientists agree that climate change is anthropogenic, differing interpretations of evidence in a highly polarized sociopolitical environment impact how individuals perceive climate change. While prior work suggests that individuals experience climate change through local conditions, there is a lack of consensus on how personal experience with extreme precipitation may alter public opinion on climate change. We combine high-resolution precipitation data at the zip-code level with nationally representative public opinion survey results (n = 4008) that examine beliefs in climate change and the perceived cause. Our findings support relationships between well-established value systems (i.e., partisanship, religion) and socioeconomic status with individual opinions of climate change, showing that these values are influential in opinion formation on climate issues. We also show that experiencing characteristics of atypical precipitation (e.g., more variability than normal, increasing or decreasing trends, or highly recurring extreme events) in a local area are associated with increased belief in anthropogenic climate change. This suggests that individuals in communities that experience greater atypical precipitation may be more accepting of messaging and policy strategies directly aimed at addressing climate change challenges. Thus, communication strategies that leverage individual perception of atypical precipitation at the local level may help tap into certain “experiential” processing methods, making climate change feel less distant. These strategies may help reduce polarization and motivate mitigation and adaptation actions. Significance Statement Public acceptance for anthropogenic climate change is hindered by how related issues are presented, diverse value systems, and information-processing biases. Personal experiences with extreme weather may act as a salient cue that impacts individuals’ perceptions of climate change. We couple a large, nationally representative public opinion dataset with station precipitation data at the zip-code level in the United States. Results are nuanced but suggest that anomalous and variable precipitation in a local area may be interpreted as evidence for anthropogenic climate change. So, relating atypical local precipitation conditions to climate change may help tap into individuals’ experiential processing, sidestep polarization, and tailor communications at the local level.

Prioritizing agronomic practices and uncertainty assessment under climate change for winter wheat in the loess plateau, China

CONTEXTEnhancing the climate resilience of local food systems with adaptation options related to cultivar, irrigation, sowing, and fertilization presents significant opportunities for ensuring food security under climate change. The climate-crop modeling method is one of the main ways to customize climate adaptation strategies. However, there is a current lack of prioritization and uncertainty assessment regarding the potential of various adaptations feasible to local farmers. OBJECTIVEThis study aimed to investigate the prioritizing agronomic practices (shifting the thermal time of cultivars, irrigation, topdressing schedules, and sowing date) and uncertainty assessment under climate change for winter wheat in the Loess Plateau, China. METHODSHence, this study integrated eight crop models (CMs), six global climate models (GCMs), and four different types of adaptation options under two Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) 245 and SSP585 emission scenarios. We assessed the potential for adaptation during the periods of 2031–2060 and 2071–2100 at three representative sites (Changwu, Linfen, and Yangling) in the Loess Plateau, China. The ANOVA analysis was used to quantify the uncertainties in wheat yield projections caused by adaptation measures (ADP), CM, GCM, and climate change scenarios (Scen). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSWe found that optimizing irrigation and topdressing timing positively impacted winter wheat yields more than adjusting planting dates or prolonging the reproductive stage across all three sites. By implementing irrigation during the booting or flowering stage, the ensemble of climate-crop models projected yield increases ranging from 7.1% to 8.5% at Changwu, 18.2% to 20.2% at Linfen, and 13.5% to 17.3% at Yangling. Crop models dominated the projection uncertainty, with values over 50% at all three sites. However, adaptation strategies would dominate the uncertainty in yield projection when the number of crop models used was less than five. Furthermore, the uncertainty in yield projection due to individual crop models varied depending on the study sites and adaptation options. SIGNIFICANCEOur findings could provide valuable guidance to modelers in selecting appropriate climate-crop models to develop effective adaptation options for addressing climate change challenges. Additionally, our findings will provide guidance to producers in the Loess Plateau to optimize food production under climate change.

Enhancing climate change adaptation governance through transforming institutions in Kwa-Zulu Natal Province, South Africa

Purpose Globally, climate change governance continues to be a significant challenge to policymakers, environmentalists and politicians despite international summits, conferences and programmes designed to find sustainable solutions to the climate change crises. Climate change continues to be viewed primarily as a challenge for the future, whereas many leaders and administrators globally regard it as an environmental issue rather than a challenge that encompasses all aspects of life. In South Africa, these misleading perceptions of climate change continue to prevail both at national and local levels. The government and private organisations do not attach the required levels of urgency needed to address the climate change crisis. While numerous policies and institutions have been established to address these challenges, they lack financial backing, coordination and synergy that cut across the broad objectives of environmental, social and economic agendas. Additionally, weak, eroding trust and manipulating of institutions continue to hinder effective policy implementation and focus-driven governance. This paper aims to explore the structural and governance weaknesses of climate change administration in the KwaZulu-Natal province and South Africa in general. Design/methodology/approach This paper used extensive literature reviews and a triangulated approach to investigate the weaknesses of the current governance structure in the context of institutional and capacity constraints. Findings The findings uncovered that most institutions and organisations mandated to address climate change challenges operate in silos, lack required investment and capacity and have weak accountability mechanisms with a shallow understanding of climate change governance. Originality/value This paper recommends better coordination between national, provincial and local governments as well as the private sector towards climate change activities and capacity to ensure that climate change actions are effectively implemented.

Trees, Climate Change, and Health: An Urban Planning, Greening and Implementation Perspective.

The In Conversation: Boundary, Spanners, Thinkers and Policy Actors Round Table Series provides a platform for researchers, policy actors, and implementation experts to elevate discussion on emerging issues, present new and upcoming research, and facilitate conversations around impacts and possible solutions. This brief report, on trees, climate change, and health, reflects a conversation between the authors of this paper, along with supporting literature. It explores the potential of green spaces and trees as a viable strategy to address climate change challenges and simultaneously improve population health, well-being, and health equity. In particular, it highlights the public health benefits of trees and green space, the challenges faced in urban areas, and opportunities for the protection, maintenance and regeneration of urban green space.

Implications of climate change on surface temperature in North Indian states: evidence from CMIP6 model ensembles

Introduction: The significant impact of climate change on temperature is an important topic of discussion as it rises globally. Hence, the present study is designed to investigate the profound influence of climate change on temperature by considering the North Indian States.Methods: In this comprehensive case study, CMIP6 models are used to investigate temperature behaviour in the states of North India under 1.5°C and 2°C warming scenarios. Comparisons are made between observed surface temperature data from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) and ensemble mean simulations from CMIP6.Results and Discussion: Results indicate that CMIP6 ensemble mean simulations effectively depict observed climatological patterns of surface temperature with negligible discrepancies. Under both the 1.5°C and 2°C warming scenarios, extreme temperatures show an increase compared to the preindustrial and present periods, suggesting an elevated risk of future severe heat events. Temperature changes relative to the preindustrial period are around 1.5°C, 3°C, and 4.5°C for the present, 1.5°C, and 2°C scenarios, respectively. Return period analysis shows a significant temperature rise of approximately 4.5° over a return time of 60 years. These findings highlight the importance of climate models, valuable for impact studies, and emphasize the need to accurately enhance future model iterations’ precision in simulating regional climates. Urgent climate change mitigation strategies are vital to curb temperature rise and mitigate potential adverse impacts on the region.Conclusion: The study provides critical insights into North India’s climate behavior, underscoring the significance of proactive measures to effectively address climate change challenges within the region.

The Role of Green Legacy in Promoting Sustainable Development and Combating Climate Change

The Impact of Green Legacy on Sustainable Development and Climate Change in Ethiopia is a topic that requires further research to address the existing research gap. While the Green Legacy initiative launched by the Ethiopian government aims to combat deforestation and soil degradation by promoting tree planting, there is limited scholarly literature specifically examining its impact on climate change mitigation and adaptation. A research gap exists in understanding the effectiveness of the Green Legacy in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting carbon sequestration, and enhancing the resilience of local ecosystems to climate change impacts. Further research in this area is crucial to assess the initiative's contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts in Ethiopia, inform policy decisions, and guide the implementation of effective strategies to address the country's environmental challenges. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of green legacy in promoting climate change. Mixed research methods were employed. To get the primary data needed for the study, questionnaires and interviews as data collection tools. The study adopted both descriptive and explanatory research designs. Through explanatory research design, the study investigated the effect of planting and growing trees on climate change. The study used a descriptive method to assess changes and opportunities in Ethiopian green legacy. Logit regression analysis was applied to examine the factors that affect business climate change. While working on the green legacy agenda, the changes such as water scarcity to grow trees, overexploited forests, and lands that are difficult to easily recover through green legacy. The research findings on this topic can contribute to the understanding of the effectiveness of large-scale reforestation initiatives in combating climate change. By evaluating the outcomes of the Green Legacy, researchers can identify successful strategies, challenges, and potential improvements that can be adapted to other regions facing similar environmental issues. Secondly, this research can provide insights into the potential contribution of tree planting initiatives to carbon sequestration, which is vital for global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change impacts. Additionally, understanding the impact of the Green Legacy on local ecosystems can guide the development of sustainable land management practices, habitat restoration, and biodiversity conservation. Lastly, the findings of this research can inform evidence-based policy decisions, guiding the formulation and implementation of effective environmental and climate change policies at the national and international levels. Overall, the research implications highlight the importance of studying the impact of the Green Legacy in Ethiopia to address climate change challenges and advance sustainable development goals. Based on regression analysis, the results of the study revealed that planting and growing have a negative effect on climate change. The scholars suggested the federal government of Ethiopia continue the plantation of trees and growing of trees to maintain sustainable development through green and healthy countries after climate action.

Nano‐enabled stress‐smart agriculture: Can nanotechnology deliver drought and salinity‐smart crops?

AbstractSalinity and drought stress substantially decrease crop yield and superiority, directly threatening the food supply needed to meet the rising food needs of the growing total population. Nanotechnology is a step towards improving agricultural output and stress tolerance by improving the efficacy of inputs in agriculture via targeted delivery, controlled release, and enhanced solubility and adhesion while also reducing significant damage. The direct application of nanoparticles (NPs)/nanomaterials can boost the performance and effectiveness of physio‐biochemical and molecular mechanisms in plants under stress conditions, leading to advanced stress tolerance. Therefore, we presented the effects and plant responses to stress conditions, and also explored the potential of nanomaterials for improving agricultural systems, and discussed the advantages of applying NPs at various developmental stages to alleviate the negative effects of salinity and drought stress. Moreover, we feature the recent innovations in state‐of‐the‐art nanobiotechnology, specifically NP‐mediated genome editing via CRISPR/Cas system, to develop stress‐smart crops. However, further investigations are needed to unravel the role of nanobiotechnology in addressing climate change challenges in modern agricultural systems. We propose that combining nanobiotechnology, genome editing and speed breeding techniques could enable the designing of climate‐smart cultivars (particularly bred or genetically modified plant varieties) to meet the food security needs of the rising world population.

Assessing Climate Change Challenges and Adaptation Strategies in South Asian Countries: A Review

The wide range of environmental consequences caused by climate change highlights the urgent need for global action to mitigate its effects, as it poses a significant threat to forest ecosystems, freshwater systems, and the overall stability of our planet. This review paper addresses the limitations in availability of country-specific documents on climate change in South Asian countries and identifies gaps in addressing climate change challenges. By reviewing secondary literature and utilizing online resources, the paper provides insights into the current status of climate change issues and adaptation strategies in Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka. The paper emphasizes the importance of sustainable practices, community involvement, and adaptive management plans in addressing climate change impacts on forests in these countries. It also highlights the need for international collaborations, research, and monitoring to enhance their capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The research findings are valuable for various stakeholders, including ecologists, geologists, hydrologists, local authorities, and governments, as they can be utilized for climate-sensitive planning, project evaluation, integrating gender perspectives, and further research.

The Impact of Climate Change on India-Russia Relations

This study explores the implications of climate change for the bilateral relationship between India and Russia. While current research primarily focuses on the strategic aspects of their relationship, little attention has been given to the factors that could shape its future. Climate change has significant economic and social impacts on both countries, raising questions about how it will affect their relations. This paper examines the potential effects on livelihoods, agriculture, and trade, and investigates whether India and Russia can find areas of cooperation despite their differing roles as fossil fuel exporters and consumers.Despite their reliance on Western technology transfer, India and Russia have the opportunity to collaborate and develop new technologies together. The study highlights the potential for joint efforts in renewable energy, such as wind and solar power, to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. It also explores collaboration in biofuel production using Russia's biomass resources.Disaster risk management and information sharing emerge as additional areas of potential cooperation in the face of climate change. Collaboration in these areas can enhance preparedness and response mechanisms, strengthening overall resilience.The study also considers the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as a potential collaboration opportunity. As the Arctic ice melts, the NSR offers a viable trade route between Russia's European and Far Eastern regions. India has shown interest in contributing to its development, which could reduce shipping losses and emissions in transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia.In conclusion, the paper emphasizes the need for adaptation and adjustment in the bilateral relationship to address climate change challenges. It underscores the importance of scientific collaboration, exploring joint initiatives, and developing sustainable solutions to mitigate the impacts of climate change while strengthening the longstanding India-Russia partnership.

A chance-constrained programming approach to optimal planning of low-carbon transition of a regional energy system

Low-carbon transition of energy systems is an inevitable trend to address climate change challenges. For developing regions, proper planning is essential for reducing transition costs during low-carbon transition of their energy systems, featuring a higher proportion of intermittent renewable power connected to power grids. Impact of uncertainty must be considered for more feasible planning of peak-shaving and energy storage units. In this study, a chance-constrained programming approach to optimal planning of low-carbon transition of a regional energy system is presented. This approach considers uncertainties of wind power, photovolatic (PV) power and load to ensure power supply reliability. A developing region in central China is taken as a case study. Results show that considering uncertainty, an additional 4.79% of power generation capacity needs to be installed per year on average, with a 3.02% increase in the transition cost. Finally, sensitivity analysis results are provided, showing that a rapid increase in transition costs occurs when the confidence level exceeds 99%. The results in this study provide references for decision-makers to plan the low-carbon transition of energy systems as well as weighing transition costs against energy supply stability.

Climate Change and Corporate Regulation: A Critical Analysis of Egypt’s Legal and Regulatory Regime

Corporations operating in African states generally have apathy to climate change/environmental regulation, owing to their weak economic bargaining strength in these states. Egypt is one of the African states suffering the disproportionate impacts of climate change and although it has drawn up several climate policy documents, it has not yet enacted a Climate Change Act and has a weak regulatory capacity to restrain adverse corporate climate change-impacting activities. This article critically analyses the legal/ regulatory regime in Egypt for regulating corporate participation in climate change mitigation and its effectiveness in addressing climate change challenges. It critically analyses the implementation of the Dilute Interventionism Model. It evaluates the required legislative framework, regulator, and technical expertise necessary for its successful implementation. This paper also highlights the importance of the Veto Firewall protection to maintain the independence of the sole independent regulator responsible for regulating the climate change activities of corporations. This paper argues that the Dilute Interventionism Model, in conjunction with the veto firewall paradigm, provides a practical and effective approach to regulating corporations. However, successful implementation will require political will, corporate compliance, and technical capacity. This paper provides policymakers, stakeholders, and interested parties in Egypt and elsewhere with useful insights for addressing climate change challenges.