Climate Change Regime Research Articles

Not so polycentric: The stratified structure & national drivers of transnational municipal networks

As members of transnational municipal networks (TMNs), city governments increasingly create a landscape of global governance complementary to but largely independent of traditional, nation-state dominated organizations, from climate change governance to peacebuilding. But a growing number of cities now maintain multiple simultaneous memberships in different TMNs, affording a powerful minority of cities greater representation in world affairs, a skewed landscape that has to date received little attention. To examine the forces shaping this landscape of global governance, we analyze a detailed database of the TMN memberships of over 10,000 cities, observing memberships in both all TMNs collectively and specifically environmentally-focused TMNs.We find that this landscape mirrors the highly stratified core-periphery structure of cities in the world economy, where the most economically powerful cities maintain the most simultaneous memberships in TMNs of both sorts, affording them the greatest ability to set agendas and project ideas within global urban governance. In short, the same 4% of cities that connect the world economy together also have the most representation in global governance. This suggests a markedly more centralized landscape of global urban governance than much of the polycentricity literature expects. We also show how national attributes influence city participation. While democracy matters more for city memberships in all TMNs collectively, national action on global environmental governance matters more for city participation in environmental TMNs. Specifically, cities with more memberships in environmental TMNs tend to be in nations that ratify more international environmental treaties, indicating that participation serves a complementary role to national action. Cities with more memberships in all TMNs collectively tend to be in nations with higher civil liberties scores, indicating that cities from democratic regimes tend to be those most represented in this landscape.

The increasing threat of Rift Valley fever virus globalization: strategic guidance for protection and preparation.

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) (Bunyavirales: Phlebovirus) is a prominent vector-borne zoonotic disease threat to global agriculture and public health. Risks of introduction into nonendemic regions are tied to changing climate regimes and other dynamic environmental factors that are becoming more prevalent, as well as virus evolutionary factors and human/animal movement. Endemic to the African continent, RVFV has caused large epizootics at the decadal scale since the early 20th century but has spread to the Arabian Peninsula and shows increasing patterns of interepizootic transmission on the annual scale. This virus can be transmitted by mosquitoes as well as through direct contact with infected tissues and can cause sporadic to widespread morbidity and mortality in domestic ungulate livestock as well as humans. High viremias in infected livestock moved for legal and illegal trade as well as in infected mosquitoes or human travelers can spread this virus worldwide. With increasing global commerce, it is likely RVFV will be introduced to new areas with suitable hosts, mosquito vector species, and environments. However, the strong mosquito component of RVFV epidemiology combined with advancements in vaccines, diagnostics, and virus evolutionary factors create opportunities for strategies to leverage models of connectivity among potential source and emerging regions to target surveillance and mitigation activities to reduce the risk of RVFV introduction, or contain the virus should it be introduced, into new regions.

Energy Security in Ecuador: An Analysis Considering the Interrelationships of the WEF Nexus

The objective of this research was to analyze energy security in Ecuador, which is interconnected with water and food security. As a methodology, 21 indicators grouped into the following dimensions were analyzed: availability, infrastructure, energy prices, efficiency, social impact, environment and governance. For each indicator, a cross-sectional analysis was carried out with the countries of Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, along with a longitudinal analysis from 2011 to 2021. The main contribution of this study is the characterization of the Ecuadorian energy system as available, accessible, affordable and renewable in an electrical matrix but inefficient and heavily dependent on fiscal resources. The factors that may affect Ecuador’s energy security were determined to be the risk of a reduction in income due to it becoming a net importer of energy, climate change, socio-environmental conflicts, poor diversification, energy subsidies and weak governance. A policy is proposed aimed at decoupling development from fossil fuels, with a systemic vision considering the complexity of interactions with other economic sectors, such as water and food, among others.

Three decades of EU climate policy: Racing toward climate neutrality?

AbstractThe European Union (EU) began developing climate policy in the 1990s. Since then, it has built up a broad portfolio of mitigation policy measures and governance tools, including legally binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and policy measures addressing emissions trading, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and more. In 2019, the European Commission—the EU's executive arm—published the European Green Deal (EGD), an overarching policy framework to achieve the goal of climate neutrality by 2050. The EGD aims to push EU climate policy and governance far beyond incremental policy development. In this article, we ask: does the EGD represent a break from past patterns of EU climate governance? We argue that it maintains several past patterns, but nevertheless breaks from other established policy and governance trends. We review insights from politicization and new institutionalist theoretical lenses to help us understand these findings. We reveal certain tensions and challenges inherent in the EU's climate governance approach—around speed and coherence, effectiveness and just transition—that highlight future research needs, and raise questions about the EU's ability to implement its climate policy goals.This article is categorized under: Policy and Governance > Multilevel and Transnational Climate Change Governance

Adaptation Strategies for Enhancing Sustainable Smallholder Dairy Cattle Productivity under the Regime of Climate Change in Bungoma County, Kenya

The study evaluated adaptation strategies for enhancing sustainable dairy cattle herd productivity under the present of climate change scenario. The study was conducted in three selected Sub Counties of Bungoma County that is Tongaren, Mt. Elgon, and Kimilili, Sub Counties with estimated total population of 900 smallholders. A cross-sectional, correction and evaluation research designs was used to provide an accurate portrayal of the characteristics of the respondents. A sample size of 415 respondents was used and served with questionnaires to solicit their responses. A review of empirical reports, interviews of key stakeholders, NGOs, professionals in the Kenya Metrological Department as well as ministry of agriculture was used to compliment data gathered through questionnaires. Quantitative data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS software. From the results farmers use the following adaptation strategies as a matter of priority of strategies to enhance productivity; - growing of early maturing and drought resistant crops varieties. Making silage and preserving of farm residues for dry spells. Farmers are collaborating with veterinary officers during breeding so as to improve on the quality of cows kept. This study recommends to all stakeholder to formulate policies to empower farmers to effectively adapt to climate change and variability for enhancing smallholder dairy cattle herd productivity in the county.

Emerging phylogeographic perspective on the toxigenic diatom genus Pseudo-nitzschia in coastal northern European waters and gateways to eastern Arctic seas: Causes, ecological consequences and socio-economic impacts

The diatom Pseudo-nitzschia H. Peragallo is perhaps the most intensively researched genus of marine pennate diatoms, with respect to species diversity, life history strategies, toxigenicity, and biogeographical distribution. The global magnitude and consequences of harmful algal blooms (HABs) of Pseudo-nitzschia are particularly significant because of the high socioeconomic impacts and environmental and human health risks associated with the production of the neurotoxin domoic acid (DA) among populations of many (although not all) species. This has led to enhanced monitoring and mitigation strategies for toxigenic Pseudo-nitzschia blooms and their toxins in recent years. Nevertheless, human adaptive actions based on future scenarios of bloom dynamics and proposed shifts in biogeographical distribution under climate-change regimes have not been implemented on a regional scale. In the CoCliME (Co-development of climate services for adaptation to changing marine ecosystems) program these issues were addressed with respect to past, current and anticipated future status of key HAB genera such as Pseudo-nitzschia and expected benefits of enhanced monitoring. Data on the distribution and frequency of Pseudo-nitzschia blooms in relation to DA occurrence and associated amnesic shellfish toxin (AST) events were evaluated in a contemporary and historical context over the past several decades from key northern CoCliME Case Study areas. The regional studies comprised the greater North Sea and adjacent Kattegat-Skagerrak and Norwegian Sea, eastern North Atlantic marginal seas and Arctic gateways, and the Baltic Sea. The first evidence of possible biogeographical expansion of Pseudo-nitzschia taxa into frontier eastern Arctic gateways was provided from DNA barcoding signatures. Key climate change indicators, such as salinity, temperature, and water-column stratification were identified as drivers of upwelling and advection related to the distribution of regional Pseudo-nitzschia blooms. The possible influence of changing variables on bloom dynamics, magnitude, frequency and spatial and temporal distribution were interpreted in the context of regional ocean climate models. These climate change indicators may play key roles in selecting for the occurrence and diversity of Pseudo-nitzschia species within the broader microeukaryote communities. Shifts to higher temperature and lower salinity regimes predicted for the southern North Sea indicate the potential for high-magnitude Pseudo-nitzschia blooms, currently absent from this area. Ecological and socioeconomic impacts of Pseudo-nitzschia blooms are evaluated with reference to effects on fisheries and mariculture resources and coastal ecosystem function. Where feasible, effective adaptation strategies are proposed herein as emerging climate services for the northern CoCLiME region.

International law, climate change and the Antarctic Treaty System: re-contemplating governance questions apropos of the mounting challenges

Abstract More than 60 years since it entered into force in 1961, the Antarctic Treaty is experiencing significant challenges. These challenges also affect its associated instruments known as the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). These are mostly external dynamics that are increasingly challenging the ATS from outside of the Antarctic region. They encompass a spectrum of issues relating to global legal regimes and to what extent they are applicable in the Antarctic context. Climate change appears to be the most significant of these challenges, as the tangible planetary impacts of global warming and the perception of its urgency and seriousness by states have prompted additional challenges to the ATS. The physical changes that continue to be scientifically unveiled in the Antarctic are manifesting severe impacts on a planetary scale, and this fact has underscored the need for broader and more rapid international engagement within the Antarctic governance discourse. Nevertheless, the existing decision-making mechanisms compounded by the adversarial atmosphere within the ATS due to external factors have become challenges of themselves. Such challenges call for the re-contemplation and reassessment of the legal regime of the Antarctic in general, and the ATS in particular, to find ways forward for an otherwise historically effective international legal system. This paper utilizes both scientific and legal lenses to underscore the urgent need to achieve better communication between the ATS generally, the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings specifically and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change regimes and to overcome the multiple barriers that stand in the way of achieving that objective.

How Can Psychology Contribute to Climate Change Governance? A Systematic Review

The urgency to reply to climate change requires a governance perspective that connects multiple societal levels and sectors and involves a plurality of actors. Psychologists should take an important role in addressing the ongoing climate crisis, together with other practitioners, scholars, policymakers and citizens. This systematic review aims to show the contribution psychology has offered in the governance of climate change, illustrating how psychological scholarship is positioned in the interdisciplinary discourse on climate governance and the way psychological constructs and theories are implemented. Following the PRISMA guidelines, two electronic databases (APA PsycInfo and Scopus) were screened, and 52 publications meeting the eligibility criteria were included and thoroughly analysed. The literature at the intersection between climate governance and governance is relatively scarce, yet it covers different domains and scales of analysis. Psychological contributions are always integrated into a broader interdisciplinary discourse spanning from the environmental to the social sciences, yet a scarce theoretical specificity has been documented. We found an abundance of research on the determinants of pro-environmental behaviours, which often neglects context-grounded factors, while the relational and dynamic dimensions of governance concerning group processes and collective engagement are rarely taken into due consideration. We argue that psychologists should continue engaging in interdisciplinary collaborations to collectively craft climate solutions, especially focusing on citizenry’s active engagement. Deeper theoretical elaboration on the interface between governance and psychology is needed, particularly from an ecological and systemic perspective.

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

PurposeGlobally, 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/approachThis 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.FindingsThe 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/valueThis 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.

Comparing wildfire smoke effects on adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes in the Western US under changing climate regimes

Comparing wildfire smoke effects on adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes in the Western US under changing climate regimes

Governing intersectional climate justice: Tactics and lessons from Barcelona

AbstractCities and local governments are important actors in the global governance of climate change; however, the specific governance principles and arrangements that enable urban climate plans and policies to realize commitments to social equity and justice remain largely unexplored. This article uses the City of Barcelona, Spain, as a critical case study of emerging “intersectional climate justice” practice, where plans to build resilience to climate change are pursued in conjunction with efforts to tackle structural inequalities in accessing the built environment, health services, energy, housing, and transportation experienced by frontline communities. The study illustrates how Barcelona and its community partners do this through four different categories of governance and decision‐making tactics, which include: (1) experimenting with disruptive planning strategies; (2) working transversally across agencies and actors to institutionalize climate justice over time; (3) putting care at the center of urban planning; and (4) mobilizing place‐based approaches to tackle intersecting vulnerabilities of frontline residents. These tactics seek to redistribute the benefits of climate‐resilient infrastructures more fairly and to enhance participatory processes more meaningfully. Finally, we assess the limitations and challenges of mobilizing these tactics in everyday urban politics. Barcelona's experience contributes to research on climate governance by challenging the notion of distinct waves of governance and revealing concurrent dimensions of climate urbanism that coexist spatially and temporally. Our research also illustrates lessons for fairer climate governance in the city, where different tactics are mobilized to address structural and intersecting socioeconomic vulnerabilities that exacerbate the experience of climate change of frontline residents.

Vegetation change over 140 years in a sagebrush landscape of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, New Mexico, USA

AbstractQuestionsBig sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) ecosystems across the western United States have experienced many changes in ecosystem dynamics and vegetation composition over the last century due to livestock grazing, non‐native species, and changing climate and fire regimes. We conducted the first systematic investigation of historical vegetation composition and vegetation change in a sagebrush landscape in the southwestern United States, asking whether sagebrush or grass dominated the landscape historically?LocationThe Rio Grande del Norte National Monument (RGDN), northern New Mexico, USA.MethodsWe combined General Land Office (GLO) surveys from 1881 with modern vegetation maps, field vegetation surveys, and sagebrush ages from growth ring analysis to test for changes in vegetation in the RGDN over the last 140 years.ResultsWe found that big sagebrush presence across the study area increased significantly, from being present on 16% of section lines in 1881 to 79% in 2019, and only three section lines lost sagebrush presence during that period. Concurrently, the number of section lines with low grass index more than doubled since 1881, while moderate and high grass index declined. Grass declined equally in areas where sagebrush increased and areas with no change in sagebrush, suggesting that changes in both vegetation types were catalyzed by external factors, likely including overgrazing. The growth ring analysis of 93 sagebrush revealed a maximum age of 87 years and establishment in every decade since the 1930s, consistent with the GLO results.ConclusionsThe significant vegetation changes in the RGDN over the last century, including an increase of sagebrush, provide important context about the shifting mosaic of grasslands and shrublands relevant to current and future management and ecosystem dynamics.

Artificial Intelligence, Climate Change and Innovative Democratic Governance

AbstractThis policy-oriented article explores the sustainability dimension of digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI). While AI can contribute to halting climate change via targeted applications in specific domains, AI technology in general could also have detrimental effects for climate policy goals. Moreover, digitalisation and AI can have an indirect effect on climate policy via their impact on political processes. It will be argued that, if certain conditions are fulfilled, AI-facilitated digital tools could help with setting up frameworks for bottom-up citizen participation that could generate the legitimacy and popular buy-in required for speedy transformations needed to reach net zero such as radically revamping the energy infrastructure among other crucial elements of the green transition. This could help with ameliorating a potential dilemma of voice versus speed regarding the green transition. The article will further address the nexus between digital applications such as AI and climate justice. Finally, the article will consider whether innovative governance methods could instil new dynamism into the multi-level global climate regime, such as by facilitating interlinkages and integration between different levels. Before implementing innovative governance arrangements, it is crucial to assess whether they do not exacerbate old or even generate new inequalities of access and participation.

An analysis of focusing on ESG investment

In recent years, ESG investing has emerged as a vital aspect of the global economy, and investors worldwide have shown a keen interest in it. ESG investing is a strategy that integrates environmental, social, and governance factors into investment decisions alongside traditional financial considerations. It aims to generate positive returns not just for investors, but also for the society and the environment. ESG investing has gained momentum due to the increasing awareness of climate change, social responsibility, and corporate governance issues. Investors are becoming more conscious of their investments' impact on the world and the need to align their investments with their values. ESG investments are not only generating financial returns but also contributing to a sustainable future. However, ESG investing also faces several challenges, such as the lack of standardization and transparency in ESG reporting and data, and difficulties in measuring the impact of ESG investments. Nevertheless, the future of ESG investing looks promising, given the increasing demand for sustainable investments and the growing focus on sustainability across industries.

Freshwater and Federal Public Policies in Brazil, 2016-2023: dismantling and reconstructing

Water governance has been a subject of growing interest in the academic agenda since the 2000s: yet the Brazilian water governance system is still little analyzed. Water crises have multiplied in Brazil in the last two decades, magnified by climate change processes and governance shortcomings, calling for the attention of researchers and policymakers. This paper contributes to the existing literature on water governance by presenting a framework for analyzing water governance in Brazil, investigating recent changes in three Brazilian policies related to water governance, and exploring contributions from the international literature on policy dismantling as applicable to the Brazilian case. The approach adopted is qualitative and exploratory. From six relevant policy areas for water governance analysis - energy, environment (including climate change), water resource management, health, sanitation, and water security - we selected the policies on basic sanitation, water resource management, and conservation for focus. The results show that processes of policy dismantling occurred in the three policy areas analyzed during the period 2016-2022, associated with the backslide of democracy, and point out some challenges and reccomendations for their reconstruction.

Competition among purposes: The Chinese Experience in the Governance of Climate Change and Energy Transition

ABSTRACT Energy governance at the international level is fraught with difficulties due to the ‘competition among purposes’ between different bodies of international law. In this paper, we extend this thesis to argue that the same tension may be found in domestic energy governance. Drawing from China’s experience in the governance of climate change and energy transition, we analyse how the misalignment of incentives between different actors and the incomplete market reform led to a drastic shift in policy in 2021. We also compare the different approaches in China’s energy governance and trade governance and draw some general lessons on how developing countries might overcome such governance problems.

What affects adolescents' willingness to maintain climate change action participation : An extended theory of planned behavior to explore the evidence from China

Climate change is related to human well-being and the health of the planet. Education is a critical component of global action to mitigate climate change, and young people are future citizens in the fight against climate change. This article discusses the factors that affect adolescents' willingness to continue participating in climate change governance actions. First, based on an expansion of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the article conducts partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis on the data collected before adolescents participate in climate change education courses and clarifies the factors that significantly impact adolescents' behavioral willingness to participate in climate change governance actions. The results showed that emotions (EMO, β = 0.323) had the most significant effect on the willingness to engage in social good (SG) behaviors, followed by attitudes toward environmental protection (ATEP, β = 0.198) and pro-natural emotion (PNE, β = 0.123). Secondly, the researchers devised an exploratory climate change education curriculum and validated its efficacy through empirical research. The single group comparison of before and after lessons results shows that the exploratory climate change education curriculum can improve the scores of the nine measured factors. Higher effect sizes for attitudes toward environmental protection, confidence in protecting the environment, and pro-natural emotion. This study provides a reference theoretical framework and curriculum model for developing climate change education courses. Effective climate change education courses are crucial in improving youth climate literacy and guiding them to respond scientifically to climate change.

Status and conservation challenges of the second-largest seagrass bed in India: Chilika lagoon.

Studies related to seagrass ecology, conservation, and management are sparse and highly biased in India. Even though the geographical distribution of seagrass is diverse in India, about 74% of the scientific publications have been made from Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar from Tamilnadu. Chilika, the largest lagoon in Asia, harbors the second largest seagrass meadow in India 22% of the total. The lagoon acts as a potential blue carbon stock and helps in thriving a rich floral and faunal biodiversity. However, the critical role of seagrass in this unique lagoon ecosystem is still poorly understood. This review is aimed at synthesizing the published literature about seagrass in Chilika. We believe this information would encourage more in-depth and diverse seagrass studies in the region and identify future priority areas for research. A total of seven species have been recorded from 169.2 sq. km of seagrass patch in Chilika. For the last two decades, no significant signs of decline in seagrass beds from this lagoon have been reported. Still, various natural and anthropogenic stressors could put this unique ecosystem under severe stress. Moreover, lax enforcement of existing legislation and a general lack of knowledge among the stakeholders about their ecosystem services can be significant impediments to their conservation. More targeted research on Chilika seagrass in changing climate regimes and their sustainable intensification is the need of the hour.

Is There a Place for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Climate Change Policy and Governance? Learnings from a Brazilian Case

The specialized literature, leading organizations, and international law, like the Paris Agreement, have increasingly recognized the relevance of Indigenous Peoples’ and Local Communities’ contributions to climate change adaptation. Despite this, few studies have investigated how their rights are considered in relevant public policies and decision-making processes. This article explores how the rights of protection and participation of Traditional Peoples and Communities are incorporated in climate- and environment-related public policy documents and examines how community members perceive their engagement in the drafting of those documents and their implementing agencies. For this purpose, it uses a Brazilian traditional community as a case study and undertakes a content analysis of a set of plans and programs applying to its territory and a series of interviews with local members. The findings reveal that while there are a few references to Traditional Peoples and Communities in the diagnosis parts of the plans and programs, they are scarce in substantive parts like objectives and measures. In addition, those references rarely relate to traditional knowledge. These results are also visible in local plans. Moreover, community members appear to feel poorly protected from climate change impacts, misinformed about these plans and programs, and overlooked when it comes to the insertion of their traditional knowledge of climate action measures into these plans and programs. The poor recognition of the protected status of these peoples and communities in the context of climate change highlights the need for a more sensitive and robust design of climate and environment-related plans and programs, ensuring the incorporation of their valuable contributions and traditional knowledge. Further efforts are required to acknowledge this gap and to better bridge the translation of international law into national and municipal plans, and programs, and effectively involve Traditional Peoples and Communities.

Understanding European Union Climate Change Governance through Political Parties Euromanifesto

This study offers a novelty specifying climate change as the legislation results in the European Parliament (EP) as an indicator of the consistency of political groups in realising their Euromanifestos. The article aims to investigate precisely the prospects and future of climate change policies in the EU post the 2019 general election. This study adopted qualitative legal research methods by studying the Euromanifestos of political groups in the European Union that competed in the 2019 European elections. Environmental issues, particularly climate change, were a significant focus in the study of these manifestos. Based on data from Euromanifesto, this study selected five EU Regulations as indicators of realising such political promises. In addition, the record of legislation and the results of voting during the establishment of the regulation was also applied as a data source in this study. In general, the cohesion between political groups in the EP is excellent. Based on a manifesto study, there are three essential findings; namely, most political groups in the EP make environmental issues, especially climate change, a politicised issue in elections. The second finding is that there are specific intersections between political groups, so it has implications for making the issue of climate change a common interest, and the results of the vote showed that a majority of Member of European Parliament members supported the establishment of the regulation. Finally, the solidarity of the EP political group cohesion in establishing regulations related to climate change is the last finding in this research.