Climate Change Considerations Research Articles

ADAPTATION ASSESMENT OF PORT INFRASTRUCTURES FOR CLIMATE CHANGE FOR COMPOUND IMPACTS

Extreme events, enhanced by Climate Change may cause several damages on coastal critical infrastructures, whereas port services are even more sensible to climatic stressors than those physical assets (UNECE, 2013). Therefore, consideration of Climate Change (CC) induced variability is necessary within adaptation assessment frameworks (IPCC, 2014) that evaluate the performance of both port services and assets under the affection of diverse climatic drivers. Port infrastructure adaptation measures are assessed, focusing on critical CC-induced impacts reduction, following a probabilistic approach.

Yemen's Survival Quandary: The Compounding Effects of Conflict and Climate Obstruction

Climate change is increasingly recognized as a major contributor to conflict and instability worldwide, including in conflict-ridden Yemen. The article hypothesizes that the complex relationship between conflict and climate action obstruction in Yemen is mutually reinforcing, thus, forming a vicious cycle. Yemen already faces many difficulties, including a lack of food and water, displaced people, and a deteriorating economy, all of which have been made worse by the conflict. Climate change could make these issues worse, resulting in more competition for resources and greater tensions between groups. The ongoing conflict in Yemen has been impeding climate action, increasing the state's prospects of climate change-induced conflict in the future. The article highlights the risk of neglecting the consideration of climate change in decision-making and peace efforts in Yemen. Our findings underscore the dire necessity to equip Yemen to include climate action in state-level peace efforts to break the self-reinforcing vicious cycle.

On Philip Kitcher's The Main Enterprise of the World: Rethinking Education

Abstract This is a long review of a long book, the longest to my knowledge on what educational aims and the curriculum that flows from them should be. The first half of the review is devoted to a brief summary of each of the eleven chapters. The second half raises some critical points. These cover remarks about R.S. Peters' alleged traditionalism; the salience of climate change considerations among educational aims; the claim that the arts, like the sciences, make progress; seeing the elements of morality as a toolbox. The longest critical discussion is about Kitcher's notion of human fulfillment and whether he is right in his view that we should see it in terms of a successful life-plan aimed at furthering ‘the human project’.

Bibliometric Review on Sustainable Finance

Unlike conventional finance, sustainable finance seeks to integrate social, environmental, and climate change considerations into financial institutions’ business strategies. The financial system’s ability to positively respond to sustainability transition demands is contingent upon a directional transformation that involves regulatory, political, structural, theoretical, and relational shifts. Accordingly, this paper performs a quali-quantitative analysis that combines both a bibliometric method with a content analysis process to investigate the trend of sustainable finance literature in the Scopus database and provide directions for potential future research. Our bibliometric performance analysis of 723 publications reveals that the UK, China, the US, Switzerland, and Japan are the major centers of research excellence in sustainable finance. They are the most productive countries and hold the most relevant institutions. Moreover, the prevalence of transdisciplinary journals over mainstream finance and economics sources is obvious. Our network map analysis, on the other hand, shows the substantial relevancy of sustainable/green banks’ involvement in sustainable development. Nonetheless, its relatively low density underlines the existence of relevant research gaps. Therefore, we undertake a content analysis of that particular topic’s literature to derive its conceptual structure and truly understand banks’ important role in sustainability transition. Key research themes in this respect include sustainability performance and banks’ profitability associations; sustainable banks’ risk profile; determinants of banks’ willingness to introduce sustainability criteria into their business strategy; depositors’/customers’ responsiveness to banks’ sustainability performance; and relevant macroprudential regulations, monetary policies, and supervisory guidelines to sustainability transition.

Meaningful public engagement and the integration of climate considerations into impact assessment

In this article, we consider the role of the public and the benefits of participatory approaches for the effective consideration of climate change in impact assessments in the light of three starting assumptions, which we refer to as ‘climate realities’. The first climate reality is the need for full decarbonization within the next 30 years. The second climate reality is that even a ‘well below 2 degrees’ world will result in fundamental changes to ecological and social systems that will require active management, and it is far from clear whether this well below 2° goal will be met. The third climate reality is that climate change will lead to both reversible and irreversible loss and damage, again, even at well below 2°, and more so if this global collective mitigation target is not met. Given these three climate realities, this article explores the important contribution participatory approaches can make to solving the challenges associated with informing sound decision making with respect to climate change in the context of impact assessments. Meaningful participation is particularly relevant to the integration of climate change into impact assessment as it is a site for respect and recognition of rights and interests, transformative learning for all stakeholders, collective and cooperative action, legitimacy of interventions, and adaptive management. Our focus in this article is on project assessments.

Climate-Induced Non-Economic Loss and Damage: Understanding Policy Responses, Challenges, and Future Directions in Pacific Small Island Developing States

Despite mitigation and adaptation efforts, the residual risks of climate change will continue to impact the most vulnerable communities globally. Highly exposed regions, such as the Pacific Islands, will continue to experience profound negative loss and damage as a result of climate change, which will challenge current ways of life. Knowledge on the extent to which regional and national climate change polices can identify and respond to non-economic loss and damage (NELD) is limited. From the perspectives of stakeholders in the Pacific Islands region, this research aims to gain insights into how regional and national policies are responding to NELD, as the well as the barriers, shortcomings, and requirements for future responses. Utilising a mixed qualitative–quantitative approach, this research explores the perspectives of expert informants, including those from the government, donors and development partners, civil society, intergovernmental organisations, and other relevant bodies, such as universities. The key findings of this study indicate that current policy responses include a regional policy that integrates disaster and climate change losses, national efforts to preserve traditional and local knowledge, national adaptation and resilience planning, community-based projects, and relocation and resettlement. Additionally, NELD is a relatively new concept for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers, and it is difficult to conceptualise the diversity of issues related to NELD in the region. Owing to this poor understanding, a key gap relates to the dominance of the economic lens when characterising climate-induced impacts in the region. As such, there is a limited holistic consideration of climate change impacts, and thus a limited appreciation of the interrelated factors of NELD within policy responses that then cascade towards communities. Finally, the paper outlines key policy insights as follows: policies on integration, adaptation, resilience planning, relocation and resettlement have advanced; the economic lens dominates when characterising climate-induced impacts on the region; there is a limited appreciation of the interrelated factors of NELD; and there exists a need to account for residual and intangible losses to land, culture, traditional knowledge, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human agency. The insights gained from this research can provide a practical basis for guiding local to regional action and help support and design comprehensive risk management solutions in order to address NELD associated with climate change.

Incubation temperature alters stripe formation and head colouration in American alligator hatchlings and is unaffected by estradiol-induced sex reversal.

Considerations of the impact climate change has on reptiles are typically focused on habitat change or loss, range shifts and skewed sex ratios in species with temperature-dependent sex determination. Here, we show that incubation temperature alters stripe number and head colouration of hatchling American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). Animals incubated at higher temperatures (33.5°C) had, on average, one more stripe than those at lower temperatures (29.5°C), and also had significantly lighter heads. These patterns were not affected by estradiol-induced sex reversal, suggesting independence from hatchling sex. Therefore, increases in nest temperatures as a result of climate change have the potential to alter pigmentation patterning, which may have implications for offspring fitness.

Tackling the wicked challenge of climate change risks to property: are Australian valuers prepared?

PurposeThis research investigated Australian property valuers' identification and consideration of physical climate change risks in valuation practice.Design/methodology/approachThirty Australian valuer members of the Australian Property Institute from a variety of specialisations were interviewed. The semi-structured interviews explored climate change risks and the extent of risk investigation and consideration in valuation practice. The analysis utilised the Moser and Luers (2008) climate risk preparedness framework as a lens to evaluate current valuation practice in Australia.FindingsThe analysis reflects that while physical risks are easily identified and engaged with by valuers, correspondingly, there is a lack of understanding of and engagement with, climate change risks. This supports the need for better information sources and guidance to inform valuers of climate change risks and the development of specific mechanisms for the consideration of such risks to be included in valuation processes, practices and reports.Research limitations/implicationsThe research was limited by its sample size and qualitative approach. Therefore, the research is not a representative opinion of the Australian profession; however, the analysis provides the perspective of a range of valuers from across Australia with different valuation specialisations.Practical implicationsThis research has established that valuers have the potential to be prepared to address climate change in their professional capacity, as described by Moser and Luers (2008). However, they are constrained by information communication, access and detail and subsequent market awareness of information on climate change risk exposure on properties. There is a need for further support, guidance, information and tools, as well as awareness-raising, to enable valuers to accurately identify and reflect all risks affecting a property in the process of valuation.Originality/valueThis research provides the first investigation into the consideration of climate change in valuation practice. Property stakeholders—owners, investors, financiers and occupiers—are escalating their climate change risk analysis and reporting for property portfolios and organisations. This research suggests that valuers also need to be aware of the changing dynamics of market reporting and decision-making related to climate change risks to ensure appropriate reflection in valuation practice.

High-resolution intra-urban assessments of future heat events and heat waves for the city of Augsburg, Germany

Under consideration of climate change, high-resolution (100 m × 100 m) assessments of heat events were performed for Augsburg, Southern Germany, for the extended summer season (May–September). Heat (anomaly) days were defined as days exceeding absolute (relative) temperature thresholds. The focus is on the assessment of how the number and duration of events change under future climate conditions and how e.g., green spaces or sealed areas affect the intra-urban structure of heat (anomaly) events. Assessments were performed under consideration of two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). The method is based on a two-step statistical approach: a novel analog technique (Normal VECtor of circulation patterns, NVEC) to downscale large-scale information on point observation and a spatial model (Multiple Linear Regression, MLR) for estimating temperature patterns across the entire urban area. The model calibration and validation were performed by an urban meteorological network of 38 monitoring stations for air temperature. Results show that differences between RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 are only small until 2040. At the end of the 21st century, the number of heat days for RCP8.5 is four times higher than under consideration of RCP4.5 and 33 times higher than within the reference period (1970–2000) leading to more and longer lasting events.

An analysis of the perceived societal benefits of and threats from trees for the delivery of livelihoods and community development

Societal Impact StatementUnderstanding the perceptions of benefits and threats from trees is important for the livelihoods of communities. The study used focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and a questionnaire survey of 226 households in the province of KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa. The findings showed that household socio‐economic factors such as gender and land tenure influenced perceptions of tree growing, and households that were involved in a tree restoration project viewed trees as contributing toward their livelihoods by reducing hunger. Hence there is a need to design strategies that promote socio‐economic inclusivity of all households and genders and promote programs that increase awareness of ecosystem services within communities.Summary Understanding the socio‐economic factors that shape the way households value and utilize natural resources is critical in developing nature‐based solutions. The study was aimed at understanding how the socio‐economic circumstances of households determined their perceptions of the role of trees in livelihood delivery. A case study of Buffelsdraai and Osindisweni communities was used; these sites are adjacent to a municipal landfill where a tree restoration project intended to mitigate the effects of climate change is being implemented, and some of the households are involved in this project. The study used focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and a questionnaire survey of 226 households. It explored gender perspectives on the perceived benefits and threats of tree restoration. It analyzed the influence of households' economic characteristics and spatial configuration (the subdivisions of the landscape) to assess the impact of land tenure. The findings showed that gender influenced the perceptions that economic benefits can be derived from participating in the project. Households involved in the tree restoration project viewed trees as contributing to their livelihoods by reducing hunger. Households in peri‐urban settlements, permanently resident in the area, showed greater reliance on natural resources than those in informal settlements and rural areas. Such differences can be attributed to differences in land tenure. Hence, there is a need to design strategies and operations that promote socio‐economic inclusivity of all households and genders and reduce inequality. These findings are important for informing scaling to yield better climate change considerations and policies.

Trait anxiety predicts pro-environmental values and climate change action

Individuals vary greatly with respect to how much value they place on the environment. These differences, in turn, are associated with a host of pro-environmental behaviors, including the willingness to engage in actions intended to mitigate the impacts of climate change. One factor that may associate with differences in pro-environmental behaviors and attitudes is personality; however, the literature is decidedly mixed. Thus, the primary purpose of the current exploratory study was to examine whether personality, as assessed by the HEXACO-PI, is associated with variations in pro-environmental values and climate change actions. Participants completed an online questionnaire that assessed a) personality (as measure by the HEXACO-PI), b) environmental values (as measured by the New Ecological Paradigm; NEP), and c) whether they had changed their actions due to climate change considerations and the degree to which climate change had impacted their actions. Gender, political affiliation, and the anxiety sub-facet of emotionality emerged as the strongest predictors of pro-environmental attitudes. In addition, the strongest predictors of climate change action were the anxiety sub-facet of emotionality, inquisitiveness, and sociability. Interestingly, trait anxiety moderated the relationship between environmental values and climate action, such that individuals higher in both environmental values and the anxiety sub-facet of emotionality were more likely to engage in climate actions.

The Effectiveness of Local Governments' Policies in Response to Climate Change: An Evaluation of Structure Planning in Arden, Melbourne.

It is widely acknowledged that climate change has caused serious environmental issues, including drought, bushfires, floods, and heatwaves, and urban sustainability is currently seriously threatened as a result. Arden is one of the key urban regeneration areas set to experience dramatic residential changes under Melbourne's development blueprint within the next 20 years. The Arden Structure Plan (2022) outlines specific implementation steps but does not go into detail about the strategies and tactics used to address climate change and urban sustainability. Therefore, there are still problems with the plan, including a lack of information and time-bound development targets, ambiguous public engagement, little focus on urban crime, and insufficient climate change adaptation measures. The plan also considers affordable housing, a mixed-use development pattern that will significantly decrease environmental harm, and active transportation options, primarily walking and bicycling. Considering climate change, this plan will make Arden a suitable location for population growth. This paper aims to evaluate the Arden Structure Plan and make recommendations on how to improve the plan's urban sustainability and climate change considerations. Furthermore, it provides guidance on whether Arden is a suitable location for Melbourne's population growth in light of the climate change impacts anticipated to occur by 2100.

Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation Planning in Tanzania’s City’s Master Plans. A Critical Review

Climate change and its impacts continue to affect urban areas globally. Apparently, despite the existence of international, regional, and national climate change development policies, city authorities in low and middle-income countries are daunting about the consideration of climate change in their undertakings. This paper explores mainstreaming climate change adaptation planning in the city's master plans of low and middle incomes developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, the paper assesses the extent of the integration of climate change adaptation planning in the city's development processes. Results of the study indicate that city authorities have not adequately considered climate change in their planning process because of multiple factors including institutional, financial, and technical capacity which seem to jeopardize long-term resilience to climate change

Climatic changes in the calculated levels of port hydraulic structures for the Indiga Port area

The development of the mineral resource base of the Arctic region of the Russian Federation has become possible, among other things, due to the increase in the duration of the navigation period and the improvement of navigation conditions due to climatic changes. The development of oil and gas reserves in this region creates the need to provide marine transport infrastructure, and, consequently, the development of existing and construction of new port hydraulic structures. The author of the article reviewed the data of satellite observations of the sea level anomaly in the area of the construction of the Indiga port in the southeastern part of the Barents Sea from October 1992 to September 2022. It is shown that there is a stable positive trend towards sea level increasing over a period of 30 years, which indicates that a number of data series used in constructing probability curves according to regulatory methods are nonstationary. The lack of consideration of climatic changes in the level regime leads to incorrect results of calculations of water levels of a given probability according to current regulatory methods, therefore, the article deals with an example of considering the data of climatic modeling of the level regime of the Indiga port area for the life cycle of port hydraulic structures. Dividing the service life of the structure into stages, which consider the change in the marks of the structure or its absence, depending on the actually observed increase in the level of the water area, will ensure the reliability and safety of operation throughout the life cycle. The reserves laid down during the design and the creation of long-term reconstruction plans will make it possible to carry out work on raising the berth marks for berthing structures and the marks of the upper structure of protecting structures with the least expenditure of material resources and time.

INDIAN FOREST ACT AND IT'S RELEVANCE AND SIGNIFICANCE FROM MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES

The role of forests in providing ecological, economic, and social benefits is well-established. In India, the Indian Forest Act, 1927, has been a key legislation for forest management, but it has faced challenges in recognizing tribal rights, promoting community participation, and aligning with contemporary conservation principles. The act's future relevance and effectiveness can be enhanced through modifications that reinforce community rights, promote sustainable forest management, and integrate climate change considerations. Forests in the Indian Himalayan Region are particularly important for their environmental benefits, and there is a need for a paradigm shift in forestry research to address stakeholder needs. Forests in India play a vital role in the socio-economic development of the country, and their conservation and management are essential. Forest management is crucial for maintaining conservation values, and the ecosystem services provided by forests are diverse and essential.

Perceptions of climate change adaptation barriers in environmental water management

Climate change is irreversibly changing the water cycle, yet existing environmental flow assessment methods often fail to recognize the non-stationarity of hydro-climatic systems. Failure to do so will lead to the inability of environmental water management to achieve its ecological targets. Australia has undergone major reform over the past 12 years to recover water from consumptive use for environmental benefit and this paper examines how government agencies responsible for planning and delivery of environmental water establish ecological objectives, and whether there are any barriers to including climate adaptations. We used semi-structured interviews and an online survey of environmental water staff throughout Australia, focusing on southeast Australia, to gather information on methods and perceptions regarding these key issues. The results show water managers perceive current ecological objectives as unachievable and are frustrated by using outdated, government-recommended flow assessment methods. There are many general and industry-specific barriers to climate adaptation that are not insurmountable, yet the current lack of legislative and policy guidance provides little assistance on the best way to respond. We conclude that environmental water planning needs to more formally incorporate climate change considerations along with modelling approaches that can evaluate outcomes under a range of possible future hydro-climatic scenarios to ensure proactive decision making can occur. As the industry currently exists in Australia, it is ill prepared for the challenge of meeting legislated ecological targets under future climates.

INDIAN FOREST ACT AND IT'S RELEVANCE AND SIGNIFICANCE FROM MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES

The role of forests in providing ecological, economic, and social benefits is well-established. In India, the Indian Forest Act, 1927, has been a key legislation for forest management, but it has faced challenges in recognizing tribal rights, promoting community participation, and aligning with contemporary conservation principles. The act's future relevance and effectiveness can be enhanced through modifications that reinforce community rights, promote sustainable forest management, and integrate climate change considerations. Forests in the Indian Himalayan Region are particularly important for their environmental benefits, and there is a need for a paradigm shift in forestry research to address stakeholder needs. Forests in India play a vital role in the socio-economic development of the country, and their conservation and management are essential. Forest management is crucial for maintaining conservation values, and the ecosystem services provided by forests are diverse and essential.

Climate Change Considerations in Public Procurement and Concessions in Bulgaria (Part II)

Climate Change Considerations in Public Procurement and Concessions in Bulgaria (Part II)

How can physiology best contribute to wildlife conservation in a warming world?

Global warming is now predicted to exceed 1.5°C by 2033 and 2°C by the end of the 21st century. This level of warming and the associated environmental variability are already increasing pressure on natural and human systems. Here we emphasize the role of physiology in the light of the latest assessment of climate warming by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We describe how physiology can contribute to contemporary conservation programmes. We focus on thermal responses of animals, but we acknowledge that the impacts of climate change are much broader phylogenetically and environmentally. A physiological contribution would encompass environmental monitoring, coupled with measuring individual sensitivities to temperature change and upscaling these to ecosystem level. The latest version of the widely accepted Conservation Standards designed by the Conservation Measures Partnership includes several explicit climate change considerations. We argue that physiology has a unique role to play in addressing these considerations. Moreover, physiology can be incorporated by institutions and organizations that range from international bodies to national governments and to local communities, and in doing so, it brings a mechanistic approach to conservation and the management of biological resources.

Climate Change Considerations in Public Procurement and Concessions in Bulgaria (Part I)

This article is the first part of a wider study on the climate change aspects in Bulgaria’s regulatory and policy framework for public procurement and concessions. In Part I, the authors first define, then review climate change and its potential effect on public procurement, including concessions. The present article outlines the expected climate changes in Bulgaria for the next 50 years and provides an overview of national climate change strategies and action plans that could affect procurement. As part of the analysis, we refer to relevant legal instruments at national, international and European Union (EU) levels, and consider their respective potential to accommodate the shifts in weather patterns and changes in temperatures. The Bulgarian procurement and concessions legislation is reviewed with reference to relevant EU procurement directives. Part I of the study focuses on climate change as an element of the wider category of environmental considerations, at the preparation stage of a typical whole-cycle procurement model. In the conclusion of the present article, the authors briefly outline the research agenda of the upcoming Part II. Keywords: climate change; environment; procurement; concessions; Bulgaria