Climate Change-related Policies Research Articles

Cutting Carbon in the Time of COVID

Cutting Carbon in the Time of COVID Alex Bowen (bio), Josh Burke (bio), and Sam Fankhauser (bio) The COP26 in Glasgow—the 26th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change—is the most important global climate summit since the 2015 Paris conference, which led to the eponymous Paris Agreement. Unlike in Paris, where consensus had to be forged around a common climate objective and countries' contribution toward it, there is not actually that much to negotiate in Glasgow. With the notable exception of the rules on international cooperation and carbon trading, the global governance architecture on climate change is largely in place. The Glasgow summit is important because it is the first formal opportunity for countries to review their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement. Unlike the earlier Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement does not impose top-down emission reduction commitments on parties. Instead, countries determine for themselves what their contribution should be. Over a series of ratcheting-up rounds, it is hoped that these bottom-up pledges can be brought in line with the Paris objective of limiting the rise in global temperature to well below 2°C and preferably below 1.5°C. At the moment this is far from the case. The first round of NDCs is estimated to result in a global mean temperature increase in excess of 3°C.1 The sharp drop in 2020 emissions due to COVID-19 will not change this.2 Emissions are likely to rebound, as they did after the 2008 global financial crisis, unless stronger mitigation measures are put in place. Environmentalists are, therefore, looking for a significant tightening of NDCs as part of the Glasgow summit. The diplomatic process of securing more ambitious climate commitments will largely be completed before Glasgow, and the signs are good. At his April 2021 climate summit, President Biden pledged to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by no later than 2050. This means that the world's three largest emitters—China, the European Union, and the United States—are now all committed to a netzero balance between the release of greenhouse gases and their removal into sinks. At their June 2021 meeting, the leaders of the G7 group of industrialized countries reiterated their commitment to net-zero emissions and to halving their emissions by 2030.3 Almost two-thirds of global emissions and a slightly higher share of global GDP are now subject to a net-zero target.4 The more difficult task of implementing these commitments will start after Glasgow, and here the signs are less good. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, there was a disconnect between countries' emissions reduction targets and the policies that were in place to meet them. The United Kingdom, as the host of the COP26, is a case in point. Britain's emissions [End Page 200] targets are among the strictest in the world, and they are set in law. However, the Government's official advisor, the Climate Change Committee, has repeatedly warned that the country is not on track to meet these statutory targets.5 Globally, there are now over 2,000 climate change laws and related policies, but they reduce global annual carbon emissions by only about 15 percent, or about the annual carbon output of the United States.6 The economic slowdown triggered by COVID-19 could make it harder to close the gap between climate objectives and actual carbon policy. A statistical analysis of the time when those 2,000 climate laws were passed shows that lawmakers are demonstrably less willing to act on climate change in difficult economic times.7 There has been no shortage of exhortations to use the COVID-19 recovery for a "great reset" and to "build back better," that is, to align recovery packages with the Paris Agreement.8 However, to date, only a small fraction of the massive fiscal support packages to cushion the impact of the pandemic is Paris aligned.9 Many governments are using post–COVID recovery measures to roll back existing environmental regulations and to increase fossil-fuel intensive infrastructure and electricity.10 It is clear, therefore, that national policies...

Using agricultural models to inform policy: Discussion points for researchers and policymakers

Computer simulations are widely used to explore options and quantify outcomes in agriculture. For example, mathematical models have been used to estimate how much of the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) delivered to the Gulf of Mexico comes from agricultural sources (Alexander et al. 2008); to calculate changes in grain yields as management practices are varied (Chen et al. 2014); and to investigate the effects of different precipitation regimes on soil erosion (Nearing et al. 2005). Physical models can be linked with economic and behavioral data to calculate potential costs, such as those of treating or replacing household well water contaminated by nitrates (NO₃) as grassland is converted to row crops (Keeler and Polasky 2014). Models can also estimate risk, such as that of crop failure in various climate change scenarios (Challinor et al. 2010). A wide variety of scales and systems can be simulated, from assessing farmers’ behavioral responses to climate change-related policies on a patchwork of single farms (Berger and Troost 2014), to predicting global losses of staple crops due to pest damage in a warmer world (Deutsch et al. 2018).

Bridging Traditional and Scientific Knowledge of Climate Change: Understanding Change Through the Lives of Small Island Communities

I investigate how small-scale fishing communities in the Northern and Southern Group of the Cook Islands understand global climate change through lived experiences rather than through Western scientific knowledge, which often exists at a global rather than local level and infrequently reaches local communities. Responses to qualitative interviews illustrate how local communities and scientists communicate differently about environmental phenomena that are often viewed at different scales. My results also show that while all interviewees have experienced first-hand the effects of climate change, understanding of climate change at the local level is not homogenous. I discuss the importance of bridging the gap between traditional and scientific ways of knowing by ensuring scientific knowledge reaches local communities in accessible and useful form, and by incorporating traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) as well as scientific knowledge into climate change related policy making at both local and national levels.

Urban green space, tree canopy and 11-year risk of dementia in a cohort of 109,688 Australians

IntroductionUrban greening is a climate change-related policy with considerable health benefits. But do these benefits extend to prevention of dementia and, if so, which types of green space matter? MethodMultilevel discrete time-to-event cohort study of incident Alzheimer’s disease over 11 years among a baseline recruited between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2009 (the Sax Institute’s 45 and Up Study). Sampled participants for this study (N=109,688) were aged 45 years or older with no record of dementia up to 6 years before baseline, living in the cities of Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle, Australia. Exposures were percentage total green space, tree canopy and open grass within 1.6-km road network distance buffers at baseline. Outcomes were time-to-first anti-dementia medication prescription (Department of Human Services) or dementia detected during hospitalisation or death up to 31 December 2016 (up to 11 years follow-up). Outcomes were analysed in parallel to triangulate on associations with green space, while testing for bias due to potential under-prescribing of anti-dementia medications. Models were adjusted for baseline person-level factors and area-level socioeconomic disadvantage. ResultsDementia detection varied by case ascertainment method. 1.55% (1,703/109,688) persons were detected using prescribed anti-dementia medications. 3.32% (3,639/109,688) persons were detected during hospitalisation or death via ICD-10 codes. Dementia incidence irrespective of outcome measurement was lower among females, younger participants, those living in couples, with higher qualifications and higher incomes. Dementia risk was lower with more tree canopy when the outcome was measured using hospital and death records (≥30% vs <10% tree canopy incidence hazard ratio (IHR) = 0.86, 95%CI 0.75, 0.99), after adjusting for person-level factors. The opposite association was observed when anti-dementia medications were used to detect dementia (≥30% vs <10% tree canopy IHR = 1.33, 95%CI 1.07, 1.66). Anti-dementia medication-based detection also indicated lower dementia risk with more open grass (≥20% vs <5% IHR = 0.83, 95%CI 0.67, 1.03). Anti-dementia medication prescribing was lower in the highest vs. lowest area-level disadvantage tertile (29.8% vs. 43.7%) among people diagnosed with dementia, indicating potential bias from geographic differences in prescribing practices. Adjusting for area-level disadvantage explained associations between tree canopy, open grass and dementia when detected by anti-dementia medication, but had negligible impact on negative (i.e. potentially protective) association between tree canopy and dementia detected by hospital and death records (≥30% vs <10% tree canopy hazard ratio 0.84, 95%CI 0.72, 0.99). ConclusionsIncreasing urban tree canopy cover may help to reduce the risk of dementia. Replication in contrasting contexts and mediation studies to assess pathways are warranted.

Climate change as catastrophe or opportunity? Climate change framing and implications for water and climate governance in a drought-prone region

Given recent events in US climate policy, such as the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, understanding local (e.g., city and state) efforts to address climate change is increasingly imperative. Climate change–framing research has shown that people are motivated or deterred by different framing of issues in policy documents and other discourse. Considering this, there is a dearth of understanding of framing decisions in climate change–related policy documents that often inform how different levels of government communicate about and act to address climate change. We contribute a content analysis of framing in climate change–related policy documents tied to three western US cities/states (Phoenix, AZ; Denver, CO; Las Vegas, NV) that are particularly vulnerable to climate change. We discover that climate change is most frequently framed in terms of negatives/losses, both in water-related and climate change documents. Other common frames differed between the water-related and climate change–specific documents. The practical implications of climate change framing decisions are discussed in the context of recent political events in the United States. We emphasize the significance of understanding how local level actors frame climate change, as researchers and government officials have acknowledged the burden of responding to climate change progressively falls to local actors. We call for increased research on framing decisions and their connections to the perceived solution space, or suite of possible actions, to strengthen efforts by local actors to contribute to addressing climate change generally and to sustainably govern water resources specifically.

The Pope May Not Be Enough: How Emotions, Populist Beliefs, and Perceptions of an Elite Messenger Interact to Influence Responses to Climate Change Messaging

As a rise in anti-elite populist sentiment becomes an increasingly notable object of study in political realms, it is important to also consider how populism operates outside the electoral sphere. Americans’ support for climate change-related policy has been understood primarily in a political affiliation context, with Democrats likely to support such policy and Republicans likely not to. However, populist beliefs cross ideological divides. Study of the interaction of populist sentiment, perceived elitism of a climate messenger, and support for climate change-related policy sheds additional insights onto research about climate change communication and strategic message design. Furthermore, populist sentiment is tied strongly to two emotions empirically linked to climate change attitudes: anger and fear. Grounded in principles from the Elaboration Likelihood Model and the Appraisal Theory of Emotions, we conducted an online survey-experiment (N = 406) testing audience responses to climate change messages from Pope Francis and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, two messengers that have the potential to be perceived as elite. The data revealed an important interplay between populist sentiment, perceived elitism of a climate change messenger, and emotional responses to the message in shaping post-message support for climate change-related policy.

Polarization of Climate Change Beliefs: The Role of the Millennial Generation Identity

ObjectiveThis article explores how the Millennial Generation identity—the shared values and experiences of young adults (born between 1980 and 1997)—affects political polarization of climate change belief, specifically how it mediates the relationship between party affiliation and educational attainment.MethodTo test this, an interaction between Millennial*Republican*education is estimated, using data from an original national survey administered in 2015.ResultsMillennials are more likely to believe in the evidence of climate change and its anthropogenic causes than older adults of their same party affiliation. Unlike older adults, the most educated Millennials are not the most likely to adhere to political party stance; rather, it is among the least educated Millennials that party sorting is most evident.ConclusionThe Millennial Generation identity is meaningful for understanding political attitudes. Important distinctions exist between Millennials and older adults in the evaluation of climate change opinion and related policies.

Factors Influencing Farmer’s Choice of Adaptation Measures to Climate Change among Smallholder Arable Farmers in Kogi State, Nigeria

Adaptation has the potential to significantly contribute to reductions in negative impacts from changes in climatic conditions. The study investigated the factors influencing farmer's choice of adaptation measures to climate change among smallholder arable farmers in Kogi State, Nigeria. Multistage random sampling technique was used to select one hundred and sixty (160), respondents. Data collected from the study were analyzed using descriptive statistics, logit regression and constraints encounter index. The result obtained from the analyses showed that average age of smallholder arable farmers in the study area was 46 years with a majority (72.5%) being male. On the level of education of the farmer, about (18.1%) of the farmers had no formal education while majority (81.9%) had various forms of formal education. 34.4% of the respondents were within 11-20 years of farming experience with large household size 11 above member representing 45.0%. Logit regression model results reveal that major socio-economic factors of arable farmers influencing farmer's choice of various adaptation measures include age, educational status, gender, marital status, household size, farming experience, farm size, the fertility of the soil, membership of cooperative/farmers group, extension visit and access to credit. Constraints encounter index revealed that major constraint encountered include lack of information on climate change, lack of technology necessary for adaptation, lack of necessary inputs, lack of climate forecasting technology, limited knowledge on adaptation to climate issues, poor financial resource, lack of government policy on climate change, poor potential for irrigation, difficulty in shifting from cropping patterns in short duration, and lack of infrastructure. This study concludes that various socio-economic and personal attributes had strong impacts on arable farmer's choice of adapting to different adaptation measures available in the study area. Government should place priority on determining factors of adaptation and barriers to adaptation measure into climate change-related policies.

Integration of Forest and Climate Change Policies in Nepal

Climate change poses threats to forest ecosystems, forest dependent communities and society as a whole. Incorporation of climate change in forest policy and vice-versa is essential to effectively deal with climate change impacts while managing forest. Review of climate change and forest policies, incorporating forestry and climate change issues has not been substantially discussed and analyzed yet in Nepal. In this paper we aim to review the climate change and forest policies in terms of its content, relevancy and adequacy. We reviewed five forest policies and three climate change related plans and policies regarding integration of forest and climate change issues in respective policies. Our review reveals that forest policies contain notable provisions in regard to the contribution of forestry to climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, new and emerging issues such as climate refugia and invasive species are least concerned in forest policies. Climate change policies also contain provisions for forest management focusing on the mobilization of forest user groups for carrying out adaptation activities at the local level. However, the implementation of both polices seems poor due to lack of legal framework. Therefore, formulation of legal framework for implementation of these policies is essential. Similarly, we suggest both policies need to be revised incorporating the provisions based on scientific findings and field experience.

Participatory implementation within climate change related policies in urbanized area of Indonesia

Geographically, Indonesia has been subjected towards various climate change related phenomena. This research aim at evaluation of participatory implementation towards climate change related policy which has been set in Indonesia. The research method derived from qualitative framework developed by UNESCO. The research took RAN-API or National Action Plan upon Climate Change Adaptation which has been established since 2013. The document has been integrated within National Medium Term Plan launched at 2015 up to 2019. The research revealed that participation has been inclusive to many stakeholder involved within climate change adaptation program. Furthermore, encouragement needs to be carried out at all level especially in urbanized area. Local to national government has pivotal role to introduce many activities engaged to climate change adaptation. At different array, the research also revealed that many participation has been initiated independently by non-government organization as well as local stakeholder which need to be documented in order to ensure its merits.

Using Genuine Savings for Climate Policy Evaluation with an Integrated Assessment Model

There has been a recent increase in efforts to develop broader models to assess the impact of climate change and climate change policies, both in terms of impact measures (beyond GDP) and in terms of modelling complexity (beyond DICE/RICE models). Climate policies aimed at reducing CO2 emissions can have impacts in multiple sectors of the economy, and can change consumption levels over time. We show how the sustainability indicator Genuine Savings can be endogenised within a general equilibrium model and used as a criterion for judging the impacts of such policies in terms of future well-being. Differences in Genuine Savings rates between CO2 emission reduction scenarios are discussed. We show how a broader, Genuine Savings-based assessment of climate change can result in a re-evaluation of the consequences and costs of inaction in terms of various climate change-related policies; and how multiple environmental and well-being outcomes can be analysed within a unified modelling framework.

Climate change related policy environment in agriculture and food security in Nepal

Agriculture is the main stay of Nepal's economy. This provides about one-third of national GDP and two-third of national employment. Agriculture is highly vulnerable to climate change due to more marginal farmers with small landholding, limited irrigation, low income level, limited institutional capacity, and greater dependency on climate-sensitive natural resources. The adverse effect of climate change on agriculture impacts on farm revenue, employment, income and GDP. Policy formulation in agriculture and food security sector concerning to climate change has become an imperative for poverty reduction, livelihood improvement and economic development. Compliance with global and national agreement, review of existing policy will provide an essential foundation to policy makers, planners and development workers to reform process. This paper intended to find the strength and weaknesses of existing plans, policies, strategies, acts which will support stakeholders in agricultural development.

Climate change and Chinese farmers: Perceptions and determinants of adaptive strategies

Farmers’ perceptions, beliefs, adaptive strategies, and barriers regarding climate change are critical to promoting sustainable ecosystems and societal stability. This paper is based on an extensive survey of 1 500 farmers and their households in Henan Province in China during 2013–2014. Henan is the largest agricultural province in China with over 51 million farmers. The survey results showed that approximately 57% of the respondents perceived the direct impact of climate change during the past 10 years, with 70.3% believing that climate change posed a risk to their livelihood. Not surprisingly, most farmers reported that they have adopted new measures to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. The main barriers hindering farmers’ adopting adaptation measures were lack of funds and timely information. A multinomial logit model revealed that land ownership, knowledge of crop variety and the causes of climate change, as well as the belief of climate change, were all positively related to the likelihood of employing adaptive strategies. Moreover, the percentage of households engaging in agriculture activity, and years of engaging in farming were both negatively correlated with famer's likelihood of adopting adaptation strategies. More importantly, farmers with high incomes were less likely to adopt adaptive strategies and more willing to engage in other business activities. In conclusion, it is important to communicate climate change related information and government policies in rural areas, promote farmer associations and other educational outreach efforts to assist Chinese farmers to deal with climate change.

Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Role of Public Perception in Infrastructure and the Social Factors for Sustainable Development

The importance of public participation in the successful implementation of climate change-related policies has been highlighted in previous research. However, existing environmental behavioral studies have not sufficiently addressed the relationship among perceptions of climate change, living conditions, social demographic factors and environmentally friendly behavior. Therefore, this paper investigates whether environmental perception and other social determinants such as living conditions and the subjective evaluation of social inequality affect environmentally friendly behavior. We use survey data (N = 1500) collected in Mumbai, India, and analyze our hypotheses using a structural equation model (SEM). The empirical results confirm the direct and indirect influences of environmentally related perceptions, the subjective evaluation of living environments, social factors and other demographic characteristics on pro-environmental behavior. In particular, we find a robust positive effect of education level on pro-environmental behavior, where we observe both a direct impact and an indirect impact through positive effects on environmental knowledge. Thus, we confirm the importance of living environment, social equality and education in sustainable urban planning and efforts to mitigate climate change.

Human Rights and the New Sustainable Mechanism of the Paris Agreement: A New Opportunity to Promote Climate Justice

In the light of the new era of climate action under the Paris Agreement (PA) and the rights and justice issues raised by climate change-related policies and measures, this paper discusses the integration of a human rights component within the Sustainable Development Mechanism (SDM) of the PA. Established in article 6.4, the SDM is essentially a new mitigation mechanism available to all Parties aimed at helping them to achieve and increase their mitigation actions, while fostering sustainable development. Looking back at the experience of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol, which bears great resemblance to the SDM, as well as to the human rights concerns raised during its implementation, the integration of human rights considerations into the SDM and its governing rules seems to be necessary to prevent negative outcomes and human rights harms when implemented. The adoption of such rules, consistent with international human rights, could provide an opportunity for State Parties to operationalise the language included in the PA and tackle the climate change challenge, while ensuring respect for human rights.&#x0D;

Expert Response to Climate Change, An Unwelcome Legacy: The Need to Support Children's Rights to Participate in Global Conversations

 2018 Children, Youth and Environments Children, Youth and Environments 28(1), 2018 Expert Response to Climate Change, An Unwelcome Legacy: The Need to Support Children’s Rights to Participate in Global Conversations Pravin Bhiwapurkar College of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning University of Cincinnati Citation: Bhiwapurkar, P. (2018). Expert response to Climate change, an unwelcome legacy: The need to support children’s rights to participate in global conversations. Children, Youth and Environments, 28(1), 115-118. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=chilyoutenvi “Climate Change, an Unwelcome Legacy” highlights the lack of child representation in climate change-related policies and decision-making since the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was established in 1989. The CRC treats as core principles children’s right to participate and to be heard. It is one of the most rapidly and widely ratified international human rights treaties in history. The CRC depicts children as agents with independent minds and ideas; they are subjects, not objects, of rights. Child participation is an important step towards climate justice, safeguarding the rights of the most vulnerable age group, and emphasizing the need for intergenerational and international equity. As children are at a defenseless stage of human development, they are at a higher risk of being negatively impacted by climate change. Important negative impacts resulting from climate change include malnutrition, health hazards, health, violence, migration and exploitation. These impacts are interconnected and CRC Article 6 acknowledges how climate change threatens children’s rights to life and survival. The paper highlights effective efforts to improve child engagement and participation that are centered on the four conditions of Space, Voice, Audience, and Influence as suggested by the Lundy Model to fully implement Article 12 of the CRC. Successful models of child participation described in the paper include national-level children’s parliaments and youth councils, such as the National Congress of Children and Young People in Bolivia, as well as local-level decision-making processes, such as children’s ability to officially vote in a school-relocation referendum in the Philippines. Child participation can clearly impact climate change-related policies from the local to the global scale. Further, children are able to engage families, Expert Response to Climate Change, An Unwelcome Legacy… 116 schools, and societies and connect them with regional, national and global authorities to help minimize the effects of climate change. Nonetheless, child participation in ratifying countries is still limited. The paper emphasized that there was little to no mention of or participation by young people in three major climate-change related global events, namely the 1992 Rio Summit; the 2008 UN Joint Framework Initiative on Children, Youth, and Climate Change; or the 2013 Conference of Parties that ratified the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). Consequently, the paper argues that the authorities responding to global climate crises are violating children’s rights by not acknowledging their right to express their opinion (CRC Article 13), not hearing them, and not including them in decision making (CRC Article 12). Collins (2016) points out that the important question to be answered is: how is children’s participation understood? Shedding light onto the ways that young people’s participation is interpreted and incorporated into decision making will help explain—among other things—why the UN Joint Framework Initiative on Children, Youth, and Climate Change and other efforts have consistently failed to influence the Conference of Parties. To make significant progress toward honoring children’s rights and meaningfully involving them in climate-change policy, it is essential to more fully understand the variations in children’s participatory opportunities, as well as the causes of those disparities. First, it is important to understand the variation in participation between countries. For example, in some countries, long-standing practices and attitudes (e.g., it is adults’ responsibility to make decisions on children’s behalf), as well as political and economic realities, create major barriers to child participation in government decision making. Moreover, in some countries more than others, a lack of funding and staffing, lack of recognition, and adult-dominated forums are cited as common concerns. Further, structuring an analysis of participation disparities in terms of developed versus developing...

Seriously Personal: The Reasons that Motivate Entrepreneurs to Address Climate Change

Scholars increasingly argue that entrepreneurs and their small- and medium-sized enterprises should play a central role in reducing the rate and magnitude of climate change. However, evidence suggests that while some entrepreneurs recognize their crucial role in addressing climate change, most do not. Why some entrepreneurs nevertheless concern themselves with climate change has largely been overlooked. Some initial work in this area tentatively suggests that these entrepreneurs may engage with climate change because of their personal values, which either focus on financial or socio-ecological reasons, or a combination of both. Yet, it is unclear if all for-profit entrepreneurs engage with climate change for the same reasons, or if indeed their motivations vary across business types. Over a period of four years, we examined entrepreneurs’ motivations to engage with climate change through a variety of qualitative research methods. Our findings illustrate how entrepreneurs who address climate change have motivations specific to their business activity/industry and level of maturity. In each instance, we link these motivations to distinct conceptualizations of time and place. We contend that, through a more differentiated understanding of entrepreneurial motivations, policy-makers can draft climate change-related policies tailored to entrepreneurial needs. Policies could both increase the number of entrepreneurs who already engage in climate change mitigation and leverage the impact of those entrepreneurs already mitigating climate change.

Institutional challenges to climate change adaptation: A case study on policy action gaps in Uganda

Despite the considerable progress made in the last decade towards building governance systems for climate change adaptation in Africa, implementation still limits positive responses. This study applies an iterative process of field assessments and literature reviews across multiple governance levels and spatial scales to identify constraints to effective formulation and implementation of climate change related policies and strategies in Uganda. Data was collected through sex-segregated participatory vulnerability assessments with farming communities in Rakai district, policy document reviews, and interviews with policy actors at national and district levels. Findings reveal that the key challenges to effective policy implementation are diverse and cut across the policy development and implementation cycle. Policies are mainly developed by central government agencies; other actors are insufficiently involved while local communities are excluded. There is also a communication disconnect between national, district, and community levels. Coupled with limited technical capacity and finances, political interference, and absence of functional implementation structures across these levels, climate change adaptation becomes constrained. We propose strategies that enhance linkages between levels and actors, which will improve policy formulation, implementation and ultimately adaptation by smallholders.

Livelihood Challenges of Farmers in South Asian Countries: Bridging the Gap between International and National Legal Instruments and Policies for Climate Change and Sustainable Development

In this research paper, researcher has attempted to examine national and international legal instruments and policies relating to climate change and sustainable development through the lense of livelihood challenges for farmers. Researcher has also attempted to explore the farmers concern in different national and international legal instruments, declarations and policies. This paper also finds out an impact of climate change on farmers and agricultural sector, which is the backbone of economy for many South Asian countries. Despite of the efforts of different international organizations, still problems like, climate change induced livelihood challenges for farmers, food security problems etc. in South Asian countries including Bangladesh, China and India, are persisting. Besides, in this paper researcher has vigorously argued that concern of farmers is only the missing link between climate change induced problems and sustainable development. Sustainable development will be a reality when livelihood challenges of farmers and especially agricultural sector will be addressed in the climate change related legal and policy documents. This paper takes a broader view and explores the multiple effects that climate change can have on farmers, food production and food security. It also tries to explore an adaptation and mitigation measures, especially in the agricultural sector with reference to farmers of South Asian countries.

Co-benefits of Low Carbon Policies in the Built Environment: An Investigation into the Adoption of Co-benefits by Australian Local Government

BackgroundIn Australia, co-benefits have rarely entered policy discourse and have so far failed to gain traction in climate change-related policy debates. This is partly due to the dominant perception about the difficulties associated with identifying, quantifying and incorporating co-benefits into decision-making frameworks. There is also limited understanding on the part of policy-makers about the profound policy implications of a ‘co-benefits approach’ as a paradigm that can address multiple policy goals, including addressing climate change impacts, achieving sustainable development, and enhancing health, wellbeing and liveability. ObjectivesOur paper addresses this gap by contributing to current understandings of the ‘co-benefits approach’ as a means of integrating climate concerns into local planning and development control in general. At a more specific level, the paper provides an insight into the Australian local government policy context to illustrate how to plan, generate and purposively promote co-benefits in planning urban built environments. MethodsA desktop review of NSW councils’ web sites and their climate change-related policies was undertaken. A comprehensive online survey was subsequently conducted to investigate the extent to which councils have adopted a ‘co-benefits approach’ in their low carbon policies. ResultsMajor barriers to integrating co-benefits in the policy process were identified in this research. They include: (i) local government's current practice of single-sectoral policy development; (ii) absence of an integrated and co-ordinated ‘whole-of-government approach’ to address climate change impact; (iii) over-reliance on quantitative decision-support frameworks; and (iv) over-emphasis on short term and readily quantifiable monetary consideration of benefits. ConclusionLocal government's over-emphasis on readily quantifiable ‘monetary considerations’ in targeting benefits from climate change policies excludes a wide range of environmental, social and health benefits from incorporation in policy. This limits the achievement of optimal policy outcomes across multiple sectors using a co-benefits approach.