Climate Change Issues Research Articles

T’ah kóó hóniidló, we’re still HERE! Mining legacies, Indigenous health and innovative solutions

In the world today, there are many unknowns especially with rising environmental concerns. However, one of the most important is an irreplaceable and shared resource, water or as the Diné (Navajo) refer to as, Tó. Throughout the world many Indigenous communities are facing water challenges, from lack of and access to adequate infrastructure, water rights, climate change and water contamination issues due to a variety of sources including anthropogenic sources like mining, especially, on the Navajo (Diné) reservation. This article aims to bring forth awareness of the long-standing water contamination issues in Diné communities and to shed light on innovative solutions being developed through current research efforts. Specifically, Dr. Tsosie’s research aims to optimize a handheld point of use filter unit with a filter casing design that is customizable to a community and/or household through an easily removable and exchangeable cartridge system. Despite all the challenges and legacies of mining faced by not only Diné communities but many Indigenous communities, We Remain and We Are Still Here.

Exploring Climate Change Problem-Solving Skills Among Junior High Students: An Empirical Analysis from Madura

This study aims to explore the problem-solving skills of junior high school students in Madura in relation to climate change issues. Understanding these skills is crucial for preparing students to tackle environmental challenges effectively.Methodology A descriptive quantitative approach was employed, collecting data from 63 students through a set of problem-solving skill indicators. The indicators measured various aspects of students' abilities to understand, devise plans, carry out those plans, and reflect on their solutions to climate-related problems. The results indicate that 73% of students fall into the low category of problem-solving skills, while only 27% demonstrate moderate skills. Notably, no students achieved high or very high ratings. Specific analysis revealed that students exhibited a moderate understanding of problems but showed low performance in devising plans, executing those plans, and reflecting on their outcomes. These findings highlight significant gaps in students' problem-solving capabilities concerning climate change. The low proficiency across various indicators suggests a need for enhanced educational strategies to develop these essential skills. The analysis indicates that without targeted interventions, students may struggle to effectively address the complexities of climate issues.

Carbon option pricing and carbon management under uncertain finance theory

Against the backdrop of increasingly severe global climate change issues, more and more countries and regions are adopting carbon emission trading, which is an effective market mechanism. As an important component of the carbon market, American carbon options provide more flexible trading tools to help companies avoid price risks. Therefore, the pricing research of American carbon options is of great significance for promoting the healthy development of the carbon market. Nonetheless, existing pricing methods are all based on probability theory, which need to satisfy the premise that the distribution function is close to the true frequency sufficiently. However, usually such premise is ill-suited in carbon market. To alleviate the predicament of the need for satisfying probability theory’s premise, this work investigates American carbon option pricing under the framework of uncertainty theory, which is another axiomatic mathematical system. For this purpose, uncertain differential equation is adopted to model the price of carbon future, and pricing formulae for American call and put carbon options are derived based on this model. Real data analyses illustrate the proposed method in details. Furthermore, it provides a detailed schema of applying the American carbon option for carbon asset management, which can optimize risk control for carbon consuming enterprises.

‘Owning’ climate change for moral education

ABSTRACT It is widely acknowledged that anthropogenic climate change is already having severe adverse effects on our planet and poses an existential threat to many species, including our own. National curricula and schools and other formal educational settings have been slow to address the issue of climate change, despite the deep traction that it has with many young people. This paper introduces the papers in a Special Issue that arose from a four-day residential symposium on how schools for 5–19 year-olds and other sites for learning should address climate change in both their taught and wider curricula. As an invited symposium of the Journal of Moral Education Trust, contributors were asked to pay particular attention to the moral/ethical/civic dimensions of climate change education. In this paper, we also emphasise that a key purpose of this Special Issue is to ‘own’ climate change education as an important issue for moral education.

Prioritising communities: barriers to climate activism and political imagination among minoritised youth groups

ABSTRACT Minoritised youth voices are often underrepresented in climate action research. Despite the increasing interest in youth climate activism, there is still an overall lack of attention to the perspectives of young people struggling with discrimination, poverty, and other social injustices. In this article, we focus on a diverse group of minoritised youth in Portugal to explore their experiences of climate activism, perceived agency, and political imaginaries of the future. We conducted a qualitative study involving seven focus groups with 55 participants, including young people with a migrant background and/or living in underserved communities in Portugal. Based on a Reflexive Thematic Analysis, we generated three main themes that illustrate participants’ ways of engaging with climate change issues, the barriers that constrain their engagement with climate activism and the challenges in the political imagination of the future. Our findings suggest that minoritised youth would like to have a voice in political debates about climate change and that more inclusive dialogues about climate futures could help bridge existing territorial and social divides.

Research trends of collaborative governance in climate change: a bibliometric analysis

Purpose Climate change, a complex global issue, has prompted a wide range of actors – from nations to tiny communities – to seek solutions to mitigate its consequences. The growing emphasis on collaborative governance has resulted in substantial research on the topic. This paper aims to address the existing research void by using a bibliometric approach to investigate the evolution of studies on collaborative governance in the context of climate change. Design/methodology/approach This study conducted a bibliometric mapping of research on collaborative governance on climate change issues from the first study presented in 2007 to the research conducted in 2023, using 222 articles derived from the Scopus database and Web of Science. Steps for comprehensive bibliometric literature mapping via the VOSviewer software. Findings The study includes a complete overview of significant themes, including the most cited research, contributions from authors, countries, and institutions, as well as network analysis including co-citation, bibliographic coupling, and co-occurrence. Notably, the study looks at which countries have made the most substantial contributions, with the United States dominating with 40 studies over the last decade. The analysis reveals that collaborative governance in climate change, emphasizing its importance as a tool for governments and communities to mitigate climate risks. This is consistent with research emphasizing the need for coordination across multiple players to accomplish effective climate adaptation. The paper focuses on nine diverse research clusters, including community engagement, urban governance, disaster response and economic implications. Research limitations/implications This study is restricted to bibliometric analysis, which is conducted using sources from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Future research is required to investigate the use of additional databases that offer a wider range of sources. In the interim, this investigation provides an overview of the concept of Collaborative Governance, which has the potential to serve as a strategy for the adaptation and resilience to climate change in global regions, cities and urban areas. Originality/value This study conducts a rigorous bibliometric review that improves our theoretical knowledge and practical use of collaborative governance in addressing climate change. It reveals innovative trends, research gaps and important recommendations for future studies, strengthening the strategic approach to collaborative climate action.

Distrust and reflexive impotence in the net zero transition: findings from a longitudinal deliberative mini-public

Responding to climate change requires that people engage in different forms of climate citizenship. These span from individual consumption choices, to taking part in forms of collective action to steer the behaviour of governments and in the private sector. Here we analyse data from the Net Zero Diaries project to explore how attitudes to different forms of climate citizenship develop as people become more aware about the scale of societal change required to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Net Zero Diaries project was a deliberative mini-public, composed of 41 citizens broadly representative of the UK adult population, which convened over five months between 2021 and 2022 to debate the UK policies for reaching net zero emissions by 2050. We show that people identify government as the prime actor needed to drive the transition, but doubt that they will act due to a range of constraints vis-à-vis the public and private sector. This tension provides a novel explanation for why some people prioritise forms of individual and consumption focused climate citizenship, whilst also doubting the efficacy of such actions. We conclude by suggesting that efforts to drive more engaged forms of climate citizenship need to attend to underlying feelings about state efficacy, rather than focus on just how the issue of climate change is framed.

Applying a Planetary Health approach in the European urban context: Lessons from Preparing Traditional Lasagna

Abstract Lasagna is a quintessential Italian dish, renowned worldwide. The most traditional version is “alla Bolognese”, which requires a complex preparation process involving careful attention to mixing ingredients and layering to achieve the final delicious result. The images depicting the preparation steps of this typical Italian dish will be used to inspire participants to creatively reflect on how to implement a transdisciplinary approach to address a planetary health issue, such as heatwaves, in a European urban context. The presentation will be structured as follows: 1. Identification of current problems; 2. Stakeholder analysis; 3. Possible solutions; 4. Barriers and limitations. The first phase will focus on selecting quality ingredients, analogous to analyzing the urban map of the city, the presence of green areas, identifying vulnerable residents, mapping transportation, etc. The second phase will identify all relevant stakeholders to be involved in creating transdisciplinary solutions for the city, paralleling the proper mixing of lasagna ingredients. The third phase will propose various solutions to be applied, taking into account the inputs and viewpoints of the involved stakeholders, showcasing best practices already adopted, and comparing them to different variations of lasagna alla Bolognese. The final phase will present barriers and limitations to implementing such an approach in a European urban context (e.g., costs, historical monuments, lack of stakeholder collaboration), drawing parallels to challenges in preparing lasagna, such as ingredient unavailability, oven issues, or overcooking. Through this original modality, participants will learn about the process of implementing a planetary health approach to one of the major climate change issues affecting the European landscape.

Exploring the professional discourse on environmental social work: a descriptive content analysis of selected publications from Germany and the US

Climate change and its disproportionate impacts on vulnerable groups have prompted the social work profession to become increasingly involved in environmental justice issues. Academic discourse on environmental social work has surged in the last decade, but limited studies examine its implementation by practitioners or information dissemination by professional organisations. Translational research highlights the crucial role of professional associations in informing practitioners of new scientific discoveries and practice paradigms. This qualitative content analysis compares a small selection of articles and podcast episodes published through the professional associations of social workers in the US (the National Association of Social Workers) and Germany (the Deutscher Berufsverband für Soziale Arbeit e.V.), respectively, focusing on environmental social work and its implications for the social work profession. The findings suggest that publications from both countries use similar arguments for proving the relevance of climate change issues for the profession but diverge considerably in their focus on how environmental social work should be applied.

Divergence in ESG Ratings and Its Impact on Corporate Reputation and Management Strategies

With the growing global focus on climate change and environmental issues, the significance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations within corporations is increasingly paramount. In the context of the current "green environmental protection" paradigm, ESG, as a product of the new era, aligns seamlessly with China's sustainable development philosophy. Based on this context, this paper elucidates the composition of divergences in ESG ratings and discusses the implications and impacts of these divergences on corporate reputation and management strategies based on relevant theories. This paper provides a reference for understanding the disparities in ESG ratings among different enterprises and their resultant impacts.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY IN THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM: CHALLENGES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable development is a key topic on today's global agenda due to the threats posed by climate change, environmental pollution, and other ecological issues. Governments and international institutions aim to achieve a balance between economic growth, social welfare, and environmental protection. In this context, new technologies and support for green innovations, which have the potential to enhance environmental safety, play a particularly important role. Effective public administration must adapt to these challenges by actively implementing environmental policies and promoting sustainable development. International cooperation is also critical for integrating global commitments into national strategies. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how environmental policy can support sustainable development through the improvement of the public administration system. The study provides a detailed analysis of international legal frameworks that regulate environmental policy and sustainability in public administration. Based on a systems approach, the complex interrelationships between government, society, business, and environmental factors are explored, allowing for a deeper understanding of how these elements interact. Using Switzerland as an example, one of the leading countries in environmental governance, the article identifies key elements for integrating environmental principles into public administration. This example demonstrates specific approaches and tools that other countries can adopt. Additionally, the statistics highlight not only global trends in plastic production and consumption but also the number of countries that have implemented environmental policy instruments between 2010 and 2023. This helps assess the scale of environmental initiatives at the global level. A SWOT analysis was conducted to assess the strengths and weaknesses of existing environmental policies, as well as to identify opportunities and threats for future development. This analysis helped outline the key directions for improving environmental policy to further support sustainable development. As a result, it was found that environmental policy within public administration has significant potential for growth, but its success depends on the establishment of an effective monitoring system, the intensification of international cooperation, the adoption of advanced technologies, and active public participation.

Design, modeling and cost analysis of 8.79 MW solar photovoltaic power plant at National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan

Climate change, as a critical global concern, has fueled our efforts to address it through different strategies. In response to the critical worldwide issue of climate change, we suggested a Photovoltaic (PV) system at the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in Islamabad, Pakistan (latitude: 33.724530 N, longitude: 73.046869, terrain elevation: 552 m). Islamabad is located in a region blessed with enormous solar resources, boasting a daily horizontal solar irradiance of 1503.45 kWh/m2 and an average daily solar irradiance of 5.89 kWh/m2, with an exceptional solar fraction of 98.99%. The ambient air temperature, averaging 23.21 °C, reaches its maximum in June and its minimum in December. Our research thoroughly evaluates the system’s performance, accounting for various losses and utilizing modern PVsyst software. Over the course of 18 years, our PV system is expected to save 75,478.60 tons of CO2, the equivalent of planting 348,754 teak trees. Furthermore, the cost of energy generation is an affordable 0.0141 US $/kWh, much lower than traditional rates, including the Sherif cost of 0.028$/kWh. Along with the performance research, we conducted a detailed cost analysis, projecting the starting cost and cash flow, and discovered that the plant would be in surplus within 12 years of installation. Our system is positioned to generate 11,270,771 kWh/year with a respectable performance ratio (PR) of 76.2% and a Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) of 16%. Our findings not only highlight the potential of renewable energy but also provide important insights for future sustainable energy programs.

Analysis of New Energy Generation Technology Based on the "Dual Carbon" Goal

With the increasingly severe global climate change issues, achieving the "dual carbon" goal has become a common pursuit for China and the world. The development of new energy power generation technology is of great significance for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and optimizing energy structure. This article first outlines the background and significance of the "dual carbon" goal, and analyzes its driving effect on new energy power generation technology. Subsequently, this paper discusses in detail several mainstream new energy power generation technologies, including wind energy, solar energy, biomass energy, and geothermal energy, and systematically analyzes their development status and challenges. In the part of technological innovation, this paper focuses on the application and innovation trend of smart grid technology, energy storage technology and power electronics technology in the field of new energy power generation. In addition, this paper also evaluates the economy of new energy power generation technology, including cost-benefit analysis and the impact of policy environment. Finally, this paper summarizes the research results and puts forward the direction and suggestions for future research.

Analysis of contemporary climate adaptation policies in Ireland and their application to the coastal zone

Global climate change presents a range of impacts on Ireland's economy and society with particular challenges facing coastal areas. The need to adapt to these risks is considered both urgent and essential and the policy framework has evolved to meet these challenges with the adoption of climate action legislation and a National Adaptation Framework (NAF) to facilitate the transition to a climate-resilient economy and society by 2050. This paper briefly reviews the European and Irish government policy context for sectoral climate adaptation before reviewing and classifying the sectoral policy measures introduced to reduce vulnerabilities to climate change impacts. While the analysis reveals that progress has been made by adopting climate action legislation and by developing a suite of climate action focussed plans, it also demonstrates that the policy measures included in the Sectoral Adaptation Plans to reduce climate change vulnerabilities are limited in number and lacking in effectiveness. Furthermore, their application to cross-cutting themes, exemplified by the coast, is inadequate to deal with the practical climate change issues. These findings indicate that Ireland is at a preliminary stage when assessed according to the EU adaptation preparedness scorecard.

Environmental Rights and the Impact of Climate Change within the Committee on the Rights of the Child Concluding Observation Reports

Abstract In recent years, there has been an increasing global focus on climate change and environmental issues. Although there are only two articles that refer to environmental health and none to climate change in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Committee has considered these subjects to be children’s rights issues. Presented here is a summary of the findings from an empirical study demonstrating the increasing frequency of comments relevant to environmental issues and climate change within the Concluding Observation reports from the Committee on the Rights of the Child from 2000 to 2022 before the introduction of the new General Comment No. 26. It is further established that though relevant comments occur within all rights clusters, it is the health cluster and under the general measure of implementation where these are mainly focused, with access to clean water and sanitation being the primary issue.

Examining the Causal and Heterogeneous Influence of Three-Dimensional Urban Forms on CO2 Emissions in 285 Chinese Cities

Despite the efforts to examine the influence of urban forms on CO2 emissions, most studies have mainly measured urban forms from a two-dimensional perspective, with relatively little attention given to three-dimensional urban forms and their causal relationships. Utilizing the built-up area dataset from the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) project and the carbon emission dataset from the China City Greenhouse Gas Working Group (CCG), we examine a causal and heterogeneous effect of three-dimensional urban forms on CO2 emissions—specifically urban height, density, and intensity—in 285 Chinese cities. The empirical results reveal a robust and positive causal effect of 3D urban forms on carbon emissions. Even when incorporating the spatial spillover effect, the positive effect of 3D urban forms remains. Moreover, GDP per capita and total population have a greater impact on urban CO2 emissions. Additionally, we find that the influence of 3D urban forms on CO2 emissions is U-shaped, with total population serving as a moderating factor in this effect. Importantly, there is significant geographic and sectoral heterogeneity in the influence of 3D urban forms on CO2 emissions. Specifically, the influence of 3D urban forms is greater in eastern cities than in non-eastern cities. Furthermore, 3D urban forms primarily influence household carbon emissions rather than industrial and transportation carbon emissions. Therefore, in response to the growing challenges of global climate change and environmental issues, urban governments should adopt various strategies to develop more rational three-dimensional urban forms to reduce CO2 emissions.

Sustainable watersheds management in Peru: Challenges and perspectives

Sustainable watershed management stands at the forefront of global efforts to tackle pressing environmental and socio-economic challenges. This study offers a pioneering assessment of the state of research on Peru's watersheds, integrating geographical, environmental, and socio-economic dimensions. By harnessing cutting-edge bibliometric tools, including Bibliometrix and VOSviewer, and adhering to PRISMA guidelines for a systematic review, this work maps the scientific landscape of watershed management in Peru. Utilizing comprehensive databases such as Scopus and Web of Science, the study identifies and analyses key thematic clusters, revealing an escalating focus on the urgent issues of climate change and urbanization, particularly within the critical Rimac River Basin. This basin, vital to the water supply of Lima, the world's second-largest desert city, faces severe threats from pollution and climate instability. Our findings not only chart the evolution of research in this domain but also spotlight emerging opportunities to modernize water management practices through the integration of climate change models, advanced data monitoring, and artificial intelligence. The study makes a compelling case for a collaborative approach, urging stronger alliances among local communities, research institutions, and international stakeholders to foster more resilient and sustainable watershed management strategies in Peru. This paper provides actionable insights, making it an indispensable resource for policymakers and practitioners aiming to secure Peru's water future.

Influencing Factors and Formation Mechanism of Carbon Emission Rights Prices in Shanghai, China

With the intensification of global climate change issues and increasingly stringent carbon emission controls, carbon emissions trading has become a crucial market-based mechanism for reducing carbon emissions. A deeper understanding of the factors influencing carbon emission rights prices and their formation mechanisms can enhance market transparency and effectiveness and promote the healthy development of the carbon trading market. This paper identifies the main factors affecting carbon emission rights prices and explores their formation mechanisms from both the internal and external perspectives of enterprises. Using a vector autoregression (VAR) model, it quantifies the impacts of energy prices, the climate, and technology levels on carbon trading prices in Shanghai, China. The results show that, in the short term, enterprise technology levels and energy prices significantly impact carbon emission rights prices, while the climate becomes more critical in the medium to long term. These findings propose specific policy recommendations for improving the carbon emissions trading market, with a focus on these three factors.

Understanding Ethiopia’s maize innovation system: Application of integrated innovation system and sustainability transition perspectives

Agricultural innovation is a top priority on the global sustainable development agenda to solve food insecurity, land degradation, climate-change issues, poverty, and unemployment. This paper aims to identify systemic problems and socio-technical transition factors that hinder the development, dissemination, and utilization of improved maize varieties in Ethiopia. Primary data were gathered through structured and semi-structured interview schedules, and then analyzed thematically. Results show that systemic failures such as the absence of key actors, institutional problems, lack of interaction between actors, and inadequate infrastructure are the major hindrances to the systems functioning. Three functions, including entrepreneurship, knowledge development, and creating legitimacy, were found to be weaker than others in the case of improved maize varieties released by Pioneer Hi-Bred Seeds Ethiopia Plc. However, these functions were stronger in the case of improved maize seed varieties released by public research centres. Knowledge dissemination and resource mobilization were the stronger functions of Pioneer Hi-Bred Seeds Ethiopia Plc., which were found to be weak in the public research centres. The result also shows that policies and governance affected the sustainable development of improved maize varieties released by Pioneer Hi-Bred Seeds Ethiopia Plc. Promoting knowledge development and resource mobilization within networks of policymakers, the public sector, and local and foreign private sectors, and a regulation on breeders’ rights to encourage the involvement of private companies in the sector are recommended to enable the innovation system to function sustainably.

The Framing of Climate Change Discourse by Greenpeace Africa

The issue of climate change has been at the forefront of a number of nongovernmental environmental organisations, such as Greenpeace and its national branches, for instance, Greenpeace Africa (Pandey, 2015). Located in Johannesburg in South Africa, Greenpeace Africa (further – GA) aims “to bring forth the solutions which are essential to a green and peaceful future” (Greenpeace Africa, 2024). One of the major foci of GA’s environmental campaigns for a green future involves the issue of climate change. To-date, however, little is known about how GA frames its climate change communication, especially on Social Networking Sites (SNSs), such as Facebook. The present study seeks to fill the current gap in scholarship by collecting and analysing a corpus of GA’s Facebook status updates on climate change in order to shed light onto this under-researched issue. In the study, the corpus is analysed qualitatively by means of applying framing methodology (Entman, 1993, 2004, 2007, 2010). The results of the corpus analysis have revealed that GA frames its climate change communication on Facebook by a number of frames that are further discussed in the article.