Integrating Climate Change Considerations Research Articles

Suitability Assessment and Optimization of Small Dams and Reservoirs in Northern Ghana

Water shortages, exacerbated by erratic rainfall, climate change, and population growth, pose significant challenges globally, particularly in semi-arid regions like northern Ghana. Despite the construction of numerous small dams in the region that were intended to provide reliable water for domestic and irrigation purposes, critical water issues persist during dry periods. Key drivers in this failure are attributed to the lack of studies and/or the number of inadequate studies on suitable dam siting. This study focused on assessing the sites of selected small dams in northern Ghana, employing various methods such as stream order analysis and the Analytic Hierarchy Process within a Geographic Information System framework. Results showed that many existing dams are poorly sited, with over half located far from major stream networks, resulting in drying out during the dry season and failing to meet sustainable water storage standards. This study proposed new dam locations that would allow achieving a significant increase in storage capacities from 30% to 60%. These results highlight the necessity for decision-makers to adopt research-based approaches to address water shortages effectively, balancing agricultural, domestic, economic, and environmental needs. Future research should integrate climate change considerations, long-term monitoring, environmental impact assessments, and advanced decision-making techniques such as machine learning.

Considering a more sustainable gluten-free diet? Gluten-free cereals in European dietary practice

BackgroundThe inclusion of minor and pseudo-cereals enhances the nutritional quality of a gluten-free diet. Yet, affordability determines practical implementation. Environmental concerns should also be considered as moving towards a more sustainable diet. How do these aspects of sustainability manifest themselves in a special diet, such as gluten-free?MethodsAn international pilot survey among practicing dietitians was conducted during the Congress of The European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD, Budapest, 2023). Respondents marked their recommendation for eight gluten-free cereals based on five criteria, including nutritional quality, accessibility/price, and climate change. Differences were analysed using Cohran’s Q and pairwise post-hoc tests (N = 38).ResultsThere were significant differences in the recommendation for cereals (p < 0.05 for each grain), with quinoa (89.5%), gluten-free oats (89.5%), rice (86.8%), and corn (65.8%) being the most recommended. Buckwheat (55.3%), millet (50.0%), amaranth (44.7%) and sorghum (26.3%) were less recommended. Although gluten-free oats were recommended overall, quinoa was recommended for its nutritional content, and rice and corn were recommended for accessibility/price. No cereal received a high recommendation for climate change.ConclusionsAccording to this pilot survey, nutritional content and accessibility/price were the most important criteria for evaluating gluten-free grains. Dietitians were willing to integrate climate change considerations into practice, but more information is needed. The recommendation for minor and pseudo-cereals contradicted the importance emphasised by the literature. Further research is needed to integrate these aspects, helping dietitians formulate recommendations.

Climate challenges for event management: a research agenda

ABSTRACT This research note examines the impacts of human-induced climate change on events. It discusses the increasing vulnerability of these events to climate-related hazards and risks, such as extreme heat, warmer winters, rain/flooding, severe storms, wildfires/bushfires, and their subsequent impacts on event viability and sustainability. Through empirical examples, it illustrates how climate change is already affecting various events worldwide, proposes a framework for assessing the climate vulnerability of events (including exposure and sensitivity to climate hazards as well as adaptive capacity), and discusses potential structural and physical, social, and institutional adaptation strategies. It then draws some conclusions on enhancing event and festival resilience to climate change. Finally, it highlights the urgent need for proactive measures to address climate risks in event planning and management, underscoring the critical importance of integrating climate change considerations into event planning, by presenting a research agenda.

A Review on Climate Change, Credit Risk and Agriculture

Abstract Climate change poses a significant threat to agricultural productivity, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of its implications for both agricultural firms and capital lenders. This systematic literature review aims to elucidate emerging trends in addressing climate-related risks in agriculture and credit sectors. Drawing from a rigorous analysis of 39 articles sourced from Scopus and Web of Science databases, three key thematic dimensions have emerged: (i) agricultural lending and credit risk, (ii) green principles and sustainability, and (iii) the context of developing countries. From the impact of climate change on the recoverability of loans to the imperative of transitioning towards a greener and more sustainable economy, alongside the nuanced challenges faced by agriculture in developing countries, we analyzed prominent and recent literary approaches. The findings underscore the need to integrate climate change considerations into agricultural and credit policies. Policymakers and financial institutions should prioritize climate education for farmers and promote sustainable financial approaches. Anticipated climate risks will impact lenders’ capital reserves, necessitating portfolio adjustments. A deep understanding of climate change’s interplay with agriculture lending and credit risk is vital, urging proactive policy and practice. Addressing climate challenges in agriculture demands a multifaceted strategy encompassing tailored credit policies, improved access to credit, financial empowerment, and the mitigation of social inequalities. This review highlights the urgent need for proactive strategies to mitigate climate risks and ensure a resilient agricultural sector, emphasizing the crucial role of research and policy interventions in navigating the complex landscape of climate change impacts on agriculture.

The impact of floods and cyclones on fiscal arrangements in India: An empirical investigation at the sub-national level

Disasters can inflict severe devastation on communities and territories at all levels of authority. With regard to the connection between floods and cyclones and their financial impact, this study seeks to refocus national and subnational research efforts. The consequences of floods and cyclones on India's budget and economy at the subnational government level are examined in this study. The study creates a physical disaster intensity index to evaluate the impact on fiscal sustainability after disasters, as the estimated damages statistics are unreliable. Between 1995 and 2018, the study integrated disaster intensity index and budgetary data to produce a panel dataset of 25 Indian states. Using Panel Vector Autoregression, the study discovers that a state's overall government expenditure goes up, and its budget deficit worsens when floods and cyclones strike. By further breaking up the fiscal variables, we could pinpoint specific areas where disasters have exerted their influence, especially in terms of decreased own tax revenue, increased social sector expenditure and capital outlay, increased outstanding liability, increased primary deficit, and reduced transfers from the centre over time. It observed that after disasters, states more prone to disasters have higher volatility in revenue generation and expenditure patterns, and a sharp increase in outstanding liabilities. This suggests a greater reliance on borrowing for disaster recovery. Less-prone states, however, show higher utilization rates of disaster relief funds, indicating better resource allocation for disaster response and recovery. The study highlights that state governments rely highly on ex-post Disaster Risk Financing instruments, especially debt financing, as national relief and response funds couldn't manage the increased spending and budget deficit from disasters. This study thus helps policymakers and governments look for more proactive disaster financing instruments and make changes in India's fiscal framework to integrate climate change considerations.

Unlocking climate finance for social protection: an analysis of the Green Climate Fund

ABSTRACT Social protection has gained increasing attention in global climate policy due to its potential to contribute to low-carbon, just and climate-resilient development. Unlocking climate finance for social protection is critical to realize this potential. Multilateral climate funds established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) can play a particularly important role by financing social sectors where private investments are not attractive. Yet, there is a distinct policy and research gap in understanding the potential and limitations of the UNFCCC financial mechanisms to support social protection in low- and middle-income countries. Taking as a case study the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which is the largest multilateral fund under the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC, we seek to address this gap. First, the study introduces a framework for analysis of the ways climate finance engages with social protection by looking into a comprehensive set of formal social services and transfers provided by the state to individuals, households, and on a collective basis. Second, the study identifies a continuum of entry points for integrating social protection into the GCF’s project portfolio and offers a holistic perspective by capturing climate change mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage. We find that social protection can be instrumental in the design and implementation of GCF projects. In addition, our analysis reveals that the GCF has the potential to support projects that create enabling conditions for integrating climate change considerations into national social protection systems, and that aim at piloting or establishing long-term social protection mechanisms with climate change objectives.

Investigation the implications of climate change on crop water requirements in Western Nile Delta, Egypt

Investigation the implications of climate change on crop water requirements in Western Nile Delta, Egypt

Enhancing climate-resilient urban river restoration: predictive modeling of geomorphic changes

Abstract Urbanization and climate change are two potent forces shaping the contemporary environment. Urban rivers, integral to city life, are profoundly affected by these dynamics. While restoration efforts have yielded promising results, a persistent challenge lies in the inadequate consideration of geomorphic processes and climate change impacts in restoration planning. This study addresses this critical gap by proposing a novel approach for designing stable urban river geometries in ungauged basins. Leveraging the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) method in conjunction with General Circulation Model (GCM) data, our research focuses on determining design discharge and channel stability. Our principal finding, based on the incorporation of parameters related to precipitation, runoff, and effective discharge, indicates a projected 35% increase in the width of stable urban rivers in the future. These results underscore the urgency of integrating climate change considerations into urban river restoration initiatives. Neglecting this imperative aspect risks the failure of restoration projects, particularly in addressing geomorphic challenges intensified by climate change. This research offers a valuable framework for future restoration efforts, ultimately contributing to the resilience and sustainability of urban river ecosystems.

Population Growth and Climate Change: Implications for Human Development in Pakistan

The study examines how population growth and climate change affect human development in Pakistan. The rapid population growth and escalating climate change impacts in the country necessitate an understanding of their implications for human development. The study utilized time series data from 1990 to 2020 and employed descriptive analysis, an Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model, a unit root test, and a bounds test for cointegration to analyze the data. The study considered the variables for analysis, such as Human Development, Climate change, and Population growth. The findings revealed that population growth and climate change have significantly influenced human development outcomes in Pakistan, with higher population growth and climate change leading to lower human development levels in the long run. The implications of the study underscored the need for urgent action to address the negative impacts of rapid population growth and climate change on human development in Pakistan. The study derived several suggestions from the findings, including implementing a family planning program, investing in education, promoting climate change awareness campaigns, integrating climate change considerations into national policies, empowering local communities, and encouraging research and innovations in sustainable development and climate change adaptation.

The Influence of Political Systems on Climate Change Policy Implementation in Africa

Climate change presents significant challenges to Africa, exacerbating existing difficulties such as poverty, food security, and insufficient infrastructure. This study aims to explore the influence of political systems on climate change policy implementation in African countries. A systematic literature review approach was employed to gather and analyze relevant studies from academic journals, reports, and policy documents. The synthesis of the findings indicates that political systems, including democratic, authoritarian, and decentralized systems, play a crucial role in determining the success of climate change policy implementation across the continent. Key challenges such as corruption, political instability, weak governance structures, and lack of financial resources hinder effective policy implementation. However, opportunities exist for improving policy implementation, such as regional cooperation, international support, and integrating climate change into national development plans. The study recommends strengthening democratic processes, enhancing regional and international cooperation, addressing corruption and strengthening governance structures, integrating climate change considerations into national development plans, and enhancing capacity at the local level. These recommendations aim to facilitate a united global endeavor to address the intricate challenges of climate change in Africa.

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

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

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

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

Mainstreaming climate resilience: A GIS-based methodology to cope with cloudbursts in Turin, Italy

Cities play an increasingly significant role in the challenges posed by climate change, mainly due to their role in economic and demographic drivers. It is generally agreed that the intensification of climate change effects, such as extreme weather events, requires strengthening in the mechanisms of adaptation and the endogenous self-organization of urban systems. An operative way to adapt is by mainstreaming climate resilience, i.e., the iterative process of integrating climate change considerations into policymaking, budgeting, implementation, and monitoring processes at national and subnational levels. This paper falls under this heading, and it aims at building an innovative methodology to experiment with data-driven approaches to support the resilient transition of the city of Turin in Italy. The process aims to create territorial knowledge of specific weather phenomenon, that cloudburst events are, by filling the gap of existing hazard information with original vulnerability datasets. The proposed approach will create a hydraulic vulnerability map by identifying cloudburst vulnerable areas with a GIS-based spatial overlay. The paper will employ an array of datasets combined with original modelling techniques elaborated with the help of the open-source InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs) software program. The results allow us to understand what would happen if the urban water network failed to discharge during a phenomenon of intense rain and, consequently, which city areas should undergo adaptation and transformation to reduce their flooding vulnerability.

Assessing road network resilience: An accessibility comparative analysis

In this study, we measure the resilience of the road networks in two Mediterranean regions: Valencia (Spain) and Sardinia (Italy). We apply a framework that is able to monitor the deterioration in territorial accessibility of the two systems in response to the cumulative elimination of sections. Road sections are removed according to different elimination types: random order, deterministic order of criticality, and deterministic order in areas at high risk of flooding. The results show that the Sardinian network is more resilient than the Valencian network, despite its poorer quality. We demonstrate that the framework can integrate climate change considerations in the resilience assessment. As the framework identifies the most critical sections, the method can be adopted as a support system by transport planners and policy makers.

A framework for assessing the potential effectiveness of adaptation policies: Coastal risks and sea-level rise in the Maldives

Effective policies that integrate climate change considerations are crucial for successful adaptation to increasing climate risks. While there is an abundant normative literature proposing potential effective ways to adapt, there is a lack of empirical literature on current risk and adaptation policy and its potential effectiveness. Studying existing policies can help to reveal existing constraints, draw inferences about performance and design future policies. However, there is no established method for assessing risk management and adaptation policies. Addressing these gaps, we developed an analytical framework, combining and extending existing approaches, to assess the potential policy effectiveness in dealing with climate risks. The framework merges aspects of climate integration, policy coherence and compliance. Applying this framework to coastal risk management and coastal adaptation policies in the Maldives, we conducted a desk review of policy documents and semi-structured interviews with coastal policy experts and stakeholders. We find five policies addressing coastal risks and adaptation. One of these integrates sea-level rise considerations but is not legally binding. A key constraint on policy coherence are static approaches that ignore the variance in hydrodynamic hazard across the archipelago. Moreover, compliance is constrained by low capacities to monitor actual land use, political influence on the allocation of coastal protections and insufficient coastal protection budgets. Based on these findings, we expect that coastal policies are ill-prepared for dealing with sea-level rise and that scaling-up sea-level rise integration into policy is a critical first step towards improving this.

Why the PSPP judgment of the German Federal Constitutional Court gives the ECB another incentive to integrate climate change considerations into monetary policy

Why the PSPP judgment of the German Federal Constitutional Court gives the ECB another incentive to integrate climate change considerations into monetary policy

Social Cost of Carbon in Environmental Impact Assessment

While the social cost of carbon (SCC) has played a prominent role in regulatory decision-making in recent years, use in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) realm has been minimal. This article explores potential roles for SCC in EIA. Using Canada’s proposed new federal impact assessment (IA) regime as a basis, the analysis examines how a jurisdiction could employ SCC to integrate climate change considerations into project-level assessment and decision-making. Potential roles are first discussed in relation to the broad purposes of IA, before focusing on key assessment factors such as consideration of economic costs and benefits, cumulative effects, climate change commitments and sustainability. Notwithstanding important SCC critiques and limitations, this article identifies several ways in which SCC could be incorporated into IA, finding a particularly strong fit where an assessment deals with a project’s economic costs and benefits. Additionally, as a metric that links project emissions to climate change damages, as opposed to project impacts on emission reduction targets, SCC could be used to complement more traditional carbon emission calculations. This article is the first to provide detailed consideration of the potential roles of SCC in IA in Canada. The analysis has broad international relevance as jurisdictions work to put in place policies and tools -- including carbon pricing mechanisms -- to achieve commitments under the Paris Agreement.

Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change: A National Experiment in Manager-Scientist Partnerships to Apply an Adaptation Framework

Forest managers in the United States must respond to the need for climate-adaptive strategies in the face of observed and projected climatic changes. However, there is a lack of on-the-ground forest adaptation research to indicate what adaptation measures or tactics might be effective in preparing forest ecosystems to deal with climate change. Natural resource managers in many areas are also challenged by scant locally or regionally relevant information on climate projections and potential impacts. The Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) project was designed to respond to these barriers to operationalizing climate adaptation strategies by providing a multiregion network of replicated operational-scale research sites testing ecosystem-specific climate change adaptation treatments across a gradient of adaptive approaches, and introducing conceptual tools and processes to integrate climate change considerations into management and silvicultural decisionmaking. Here we present the framework of the ASCC project, highlight the implementation process at two of the study sites, and discuss the contributions of this collaborative science-management partnership.

Challenges in mainstreaming climate change into productive coastal sectors in a Small Island State – The case of Trinidad and Tobago

In ratifying the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Trinidad and Tobago gave its commitment to contribute towards mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and instituting measures for adapting to climate change impacts. Formulation of a National Climate Change Policy subsequently took place with a view to providing direction towards fulfilling UNFCCC obligations.The National Climate Change Policy identified that coastal areas of Trinidad and Tobago were particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. As a small island State, the country cannot afford its productive sectors operating in and/or reliant upon coastal resources to be at risk, even as some contribute to the climate change phenomenon. The increasing threat to socio-cultural, economic and environmental sustainability posed by climate change, was acknowledged in the Draft National Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Policy Framework which aims to treat with climate change impacts in the coastal zone and reduce vulnerability to associated hazards.Given the stated objectives of the National Climate Change Policy and the Draft National ICZM Policy Framework, this paper examined the policy and plans in place to integrate climate change considerations into management for the coastal sectors of fisheries, energy, tourism and maritime transport. It found that the mainstreaming of climate change mitigation and adaptation responses in these coastal sectors has not been as effective as needed. Progress in this regard was constrained by human, financial and technical resource availability. Proposed are rationalised institutional arrangements which, if statutorily grounded, will better allow for achieving co-ordinated climate change mitigation and adaptation outcomes in Trinidad and Tobago.

Assessing the Climate Impacts of U.S. Trade Agreements

Meeting the ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement will require the United States and other major greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters to integrate climate change considerations into all relevant areas of economic policy. The United States, however, has conspicuously failed to do so with regard to international trade negotiations. International trade agreements tend to increase GHG emissions due to the economic effects of trade liberalization, including increases in the scale of economic activity and changes in the composition of the affected economies. Trade agreements can also affect climate change in less quantifiable but potentially more significant ways by restricting the ability of governments to implement measures designed to mitigate climate change. Trade and investment rules in U.S. trade agreements have already been invoked to challenge a number of policies relevant to climate change, ranging from renewable energy programs to the Obama administration’s decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline. Yet despite the growing evidence of the relevance of trade policy to climate change, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) largely ignores potential climate impacts when preparing environmental reviews of proposed trade agreements as required under Executive Order 13141. This Article explores how the USTR could address climate change within the environmental review process to both assess the potential economically driven and regulatory impacts of proposed trade agreements for climate change and identify options for mitigating those impacts.