Mainstreaming Climate Change Research Articles

Community based initiatives to mainstream climate change adaptation into disaster risk reduction: evidence from the Hunter Valley (Australia)

ABSTRACTIn Australia, local communities often enact Community-Based Initiatives (CBIs) to respond to climate change through Climate Change Adaptation (CCA). CBIs can also be integrated into the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) agenda. The paper explores the extent to which CBIs promote the mainstreaming of CCA into DRR. Primary data were obtained from interviews with representatives of CBIs and supporting organisations in three local governments of the Hunter Valley (New South Wales, Australia). Findings show that CBIs recognise the potential contribution of climate change in modifying the local hazard profile. CBIs mainstream CCA into DRR by following four approaches: environmental and social justice; sustainability and transition; ecosystem-based approach; and adaptive planning. Partnerships were identified both among CBIs and between CBIs and City Councils; however, conflicts between CBIs, City Councils and business actors emerged, and a lack of commitment by multi-level governments in responding to climate change was revealed. The findings show that CBIs consider CCA and DRR within a broad everyday context related to vulnerability and local development. But we argue that assigning responsibility for climate change issues to CBIs is not a panacea and should not be the only local climate change response. Instead, CBIs need to be included in a larger and long-term commitment by actors that possess access to resources, such as higher levels of government. The paper provides a local Australian perspective on the effectiveness of mainstreaming CCA into DRR and furthers the conversation for the benefit of other communities facing similar challenges.

How do staff motivation and workplace environment affect capacity of governments to adapt to climate change in developing countries?

Government ministries are increasingly mainstreaming climate change adaptation within policies and plans. However, government staff in key implementing ministries need to be empowered to ensure effective delivery of policy goals. Motivation to act on climate change, combined with the capacity to make decisions and apply resources to programmes, is crucial. Informed by theories of motivation and workplace environments from social psychology and organisational theory, this paper reports findings from a questionnaire of government staff (103 respondents) in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia. The questionnaire was designed using self-determination theory to investigate the role of external influences, institutional structures and resources and how these, in turn, affect staff motivation and capacities to design and implement new policies and strategies. The study finds that whilst external influences and hierarchical structures are recognised, these do not have a strong direct influence on staff motivation, but they do appear to inhibit capacities to act. The results show that lack of staff and limited government-allocated budget reduce the ability of ministries to be self-determined and set their own agendas. Instead they are dependent on donor-determined projects which may be selective in the aspects of climate change adaptation plans and policies they support and even divert focus away from government priorities.

Implementing climate change adaptation: lessons from India’s national adaptation fund on climate change (NAFCC)

ABSTRACTWith poverty alleviation and sustainable development as key imperatives for a developing economy like India, what drives the resource-constrained state governments to prioritize actions that address climate change impacts? We examine this question and argue that without access to additional earmarked financial resources, climate action would get overshadowed by developmental priorities and effective mainstreaming might not be possible. A systematic literature review was carried out to draw insights from the current state of implementation of adaptation projects, programmes and schemes at the subnational levels, along with barriers to mainstreaming climate change adaptation. The findings from a literature review were supplemented with lessons emerging from the implementation of India’s National Adaptation Fund on Climate Change (NAFCC). The results of this study underscore the scheme’s relevance.Key policy insightsExperience with NAFCC implementation reveals that states require sustained ‘handholding’ in terms of financial, technical and capacity support until climate change issues are fully understood and embedded in the policy landscape.Domestic sources of finance are critically important in the absence of predictable and adequate adaptation finance from international sources.The dedicated window for climate finance fosters a spirit of competitive federalism among states and encourages enhanced climate action.Enhanced budgetary allocation to NAFCC to strengthen the state-level adaptation response and create capacity to mainstream climate change concerns in state planning frames, is urgently needed.

The Impact of Investment on Climate Change: The Case Study of Cambodia

Climate change has been mentioned as priority issues which government try to handle it with carefulness and suitability with growth and FDIs. The mainstreaming climate change might be converted into sub-national planning scale extremely identified. This include of the Strategic Framework for both centralization and decentralisation under the National Program for Sub National Democratic Development, So the development of a guideline for mainstreaming climate change into sub-national planning being improved via the capacity building process. Importantly, policymakers have access to initial information on the costs of climate change. Currently programs based approaches and community level interventions are conducted through multiple funds and supports but it’s still limited. In this paper will take seriously observation in qualitative methods which renews the ideals and conclusions to be norm for other relates in Cambodia. In early 2016, in Cambodia, the climate change has been serious step by step via weather changed and drought in some places as in rural areas and some animals, buildings, forests or infrastructures and natural resources were smashed seriously while investment boosted remarkably. The government might try to find some ironical tools to bear with and due to Stern, 2009: key policy instruments shaping incentives include taxes, trading based on the allocations of property rights, and regulation, where aggregate emissions targets are used . These environmental Cambodia policies should foster to expend with climate change projects especially NAPA and disaster project management and to make up more public investments on green infrastructures in some critical areas in order to help the green agriculture system and health with harmonization zone by elimination of climate change impacts to their areas. Boosting this National Programme for Sub National Democratic Development will be helpful to Climate Change Technical Team (CCTT) to his framework and conducted better in sub-National democratic development norm with single information window to people or vulnerable areas of Cambodia.

Mainstreaming sustainable adaptation to climate change into municipal planning: An analysis from the Eastern Cape, South Africa

ABSTRACTMunicipalities are well positioned to support adaptation of vulnerable people to climate change; however, they seldom integrate climate change into their planning for social development. The building of adaptive capacity for sustainable adaptation requires that municipalities understand and mainstream climate change into their plans, and develop context-specific adaptation strategies that address existing social development issues. A desktop analysis was conducted to compare the planning landscape in six District Municipalities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, focusing on Municipal Integrated Development Plans (IDPs). A scoring system was developed for comparing the IDPs of the municipalities, based on levels of context-specific information about climate change, mainstreaming of climate change with other development concerns, and vertical integration across district and local municipalities, amongst other themes. Overall, the mainstreaming of climate change in municipal IDPs in the Eastern Cape remains weak, and requires critical attention if sustainable adaptation is to be achieved.

Alternative Media and the Securitization of Climate Change in Turkey

Studies on securitization dynamics in a growing number of sectors have been conducted, including securitization of climate change. However, a relatively understudied agent of securitization is media. In the proposed analysis, we study Turkey’s media framing of climate change and whether and how it relates to the framings of security in general to acquire in-depth understanding of the role national media plays in securitization of climate change. Along with alternative online media outlet Bianet, mainstream outlets ( Sabah, Sözcü, Hürriyet, Milliyet) are analyzed. This article addresses the following main research question: How do the mainstream and alternative media frame climate change in the Turkish context? In order to answer this question, it adopts content analysis to analyze selected frames on climate change–related news utilized in Turkish media. Data have been collected and coded for three periods: first, the period of September–December 2007, when climate change was high on the global agenda. Second, January 1 to March 25, 2015, which was the period before the Pew survey began. Third, we have collected data for October 1 to November 4, 2015, which is the period just before the United Nations Paris Agreement on Climate Change was signed. We find alternative media’s potential to serve as “alternative public sphere” by voicing the unspoken in public debate on climate change.

The challenge of locating land-based climate change mitigation and adaptation politics within a social justice perspective: towards an idea of agrarian climate justice

The global land rush and mainstream climate change narratives have broadened the ranks of state and social actors concerned about land issues, while strengthening those opposed to social justice-oriented land policies. This emerging configuration of social forces makes the need for deep social reforms through redistribution, recognition, restitution, regeneration and resistance – book-ended by the twin principles of ‘maximum land size’ (‘size ceiling’) and a ‘guaranteed minimum land access’ (‘size floor’) – both more compelling and urgent, and, at the same time, more difficult than ever before. The five deep social reforms of socially just land policy are necessarily intertwined. But the global land rush amidst deepening climate change calls attention to the linkages, especially between the pursuit of agrarian justice on the one hand and climate justice on the other. Here, the relationship is not without contradictions, and warrants increased attention as both unit of analysis and object of political action. Understanding and deepening agrarian justice imperatives in climate politics, and understanding and deepening climate justice imperatives in agrarian politics, is needed more than ever in the ongoing pursuit of alternatives.

Integration anxiety: The cognitive isolation of climate change

Abstract Experts recommend that decision-makers in climate-vulnerable sectors integrate, or ‘mainstream’, climate change adaptation into their decision-making. Farmers are often thought to do so intuitively, because many climate change impacts will manifest in similar ways to the weather and climate variability that farmers have always faced. However, there is little evidence to suggest whether farmers are already doing this, how they should go about it, and how hard it might be. Here we show that commercial grain farmers in South Africa (N = 90), as a uniquely informative group, are struggling to mainstream climate change risk management despite their apparent incentive, capacity and willingness to adapt. They perform large-scale, highly mechanized, input-intensive grain farming like their peers in higher-income countries (e.g., the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia), but without the government subsidies, crop insurance and irrigation more common in other regions. They are therefore motivated to adapt proactively because they are more vulnerable to the financial harms of weather and climate risks. Our data show that they are explicitly sensitive to the risks of climate change, generally expressing concern for its potential impacts, reporting observed changes, proposing possible adaptations, and expressing the desire to adapt proactively. However, their mental models of climate change (n = 30) are linguistically and structurally isolated from their mental models of weather and other ‘normal’ risks. They are therefore implicitly insensitive to climate change, making it unlikely that they will adapt proactively and rationally to this uncertain risk that they otherwise appear well-equipped to manage.

Prospect and policy of palm oil mill effluents for future electricity in east kalimantan (utilization of pome as renewable energy)

East Kalimantan economy for four decades was mainly based on natural resources extraction and dominated by primary sectorwith the six highest GDP in 2013. But, the contribution of oil and gas were decreasing production due to the absence of new wells.One of the mission was create natural resources and renewable energy based economic people oriented. The Goverment of EK Province chose a strategy of socio-economic transformation based on renewable natural resources. This strategy has been applied in the regional development plan by mainstreaming climate change issues. Data related to energy source and its potential, remote rural electrification, bioenergy feedstock, etc including from the Palm Oil company was collected and subsequently analized in line with the EK Governor Letter. Currently (2014) available of Biogas-Pome as bioenergy feedstock is 162 million m3year-1, where as currently utilized is only 22 millionm3year-1. Power demand supply status in January 2015 indicated as available capacity is 467 MW where the peak demand is 444 MW. About 22% of households without electricity are difficult to be electrified without breakthrough efforts. About 215 thousand households are un-electrified, with more power need about 150 MW in total capacity. As business opportunity, high demand for rural electrification, particularly in Kutai Kartanegera, Kutai Timur, Kutai Barat, Berau and Paser.

The Climate Change Vulnerability and Risk Management Matrix for the Coastal Zone of The Gambia

Global Climate Change is one of the dire challenges facing the international community today. Coastal zones are vulnerable to its impacts. An effective approach with long-term prospects in addressing climate change impacts is it’s mainstreaming into development agenda of sectoral policies. A comprehensive risk and vulnerability assessment is a pre-requisite to ensure that the right adaptive response is taken for effective integration into developmental plans. The objective of this study is to evaluate and prioritize risks, vulnerability and adaptation issues of current and anticipated impacts of climate change on the coastal zone of The Gambia. The study will also give a methodological contribution for assessing risks, vulnerability and adaptation from the sub-national to local levels. The relevance of this study will be to create a link between the sub-national and local levels in order to facilitate the integration and mainstreaming of climate change into sectoral and local policies for more climate-resilient communities. This will aid in the promotion of strategic investment of constrained developmental resources to actualize successfully dynamic coping strategies, elude ‘maladaptation’ and less compelling responsive measures. A purposive expert sampling technique was used in selecting respondents for the study. The findings of the study reveal that by the end of the 21st century, the climatic variables likely to have the highest impact on the coastal zone of The Gambia are ‘increased flood severity’ and ‘increased temperature’. The coastal zone of The Gambia showed a high vulnerability to these climate change variables. The suggested adaptive response in addressing the impacts of increased flood intensity in the study area includes; improving regulations for restricting agriculture and livestock grazing activities to improve land cover; strengthening of early-warning systems, among others. The suggested adaptive response in addressing the increase in temperature includes: increase crop diversification and rotation to reduce total crop failure; switching to drought-tolerant crop and animal species, among others.

Frequent but Accurate: A Closer Look at Uncertainty and Opinion Divergence in Climate Change Print News

ABSTRACTThe prevalence of uncertainty and opinion divergence frames in climate change news reporting has generated concerns about the misrepresentation of scientific consensus. We first develop reliable, valid, and more nuanced measures of often-conflated types of uncertainty and opinion divergence frames. Then we analyse the co-occurrence combinations of those distinct types of opinions, sources, and topics in mainstream climate change news stories between 2005 and 2015. Results indicate that while uncertainty and opinion divergence frames are indeed frequent, once clearly distinguished, they in general accurately reference non-scientist sources (e.g. government officials) and topics that do not have a scientific consensus (e.g. the severity of climate change effects).

Mainstreaming climate change into local governance: financing and budgetary compliance in selected local governments in Ghana

ABSTRACTThrough an interpretive research paradigm, we investigated the extent to which six local governments across three administrative regions of Ghana have complied with mandated climate change financing and budgeting guidelines. Five interesting findings emerged. First, there is enormous evidence of climate change budgeting compliance across all six local governments despite weak compliance incentives. Second, local governments that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change are more willing to comply and also allocate more resources for adaptation-related activities than those that are less vulnerable. Third, local governments that complied least are likely to take ad hoc adaptation actions which are often uncoordinated and poorly monitored. These local governments are least likely to attract auxiliary funds that could provide additional resources for adaptation financing. Lastly, the evidence of compliance is only quantitative, presented in various local governments’ fiscal documents, with no qualitative or other relevant explanatory factors on the extent of impact on adaptation.

Developing and applying a five step process for mainstreaming climate change into local development plans: A case study from Zambia

Climate change is a cross-cutting issue and, as such, is most effectively addressed when mainstreamed in development planning. Assessing climate risk and mainstreaming adaptation into development plans ensures that hard-won development gains are not undermined, and that future development interventions are resilient in the face of a changing climate. We outline a five step process to mainstream climate change into development plans. The five steps are: preparation; current and future gender-sensitive climate risk assessment; climate risk screening to see how proposed activities are affected by climate risk; options to adapt and enable climate-resilient development; and implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The process is underpinned by theory on climate risk assessment and robust decision making, and informed by participatory methodologies and expert elicitation. It was applied to District and/or Integrated Development Plans in 6 districts in Western and Southern province of Zambia under the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience. Findings show that it is a useful methodology that can be applied in data-constrained environments with minimally-trained expertise to assess climate risk and enable adaptation and climate-resilient development.

Mainstreaming climate change adaptation into the European Union’s development assistance

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of mainstreaming efforts regarding climate change adaptation (CCA) in EU development cooperation. By constructing and operationalising an analytical framework capable of tracing the level of mainstreaming throughout different phases of the policy cycle, we provide an answer to the question ‘what works and what doesn’t’ in the integration of climate change in development cooperation. We combine a document analysis with semi-structured expert interviews, encompassing both HQ level in Brussels as well as EU aid activities in nine different developing countries. Our findings indicate that the Commission envisions a harmonisation approach towards CCA mainstreaming, targeting aid activities related to sustainable agriculture, food security and rural development. Although the toolbox for mainstreaming allows for a prioritisation of CCA, the procedural approach is currently ineffective due to limited staff and mainstreaming fatigue. In contrast, the growing political salience of CCA mainstreaming can be considered the main driver of mainstreaming efforts in the Commission.

Mainstreaming climate change adaptation in small island developing states

It is widely agreed that small island developing states (SIDS), a distinct group of 58 developing countries, are uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Many SIDS recognize that adequate and effective adaptation to climate change are important components of sustainable development and, as such, are pursuing climate change adaptation policies and programs at the national level. Chapter 29 (Small Islands) of the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggests that more needs to be learnt about how climate change mainstreaming can be practically achieved in these countries. Working within a resilience framework and interviewing senior government and regional organization officials from Caribbean and Pacific SIDS, this paper aims to understand the drivers of, and barriers to adaptation mainstreaming at the national level. In doing this, it finds multiple drivers – the three most commonly reported are institutional/organizational, ‘champions’/personalities/informal networks and risk and exposure. It also finds multiple barriers – the three most commonly reported are competing development priorities, poor planning/governance and insufficient manpower/human resources. Building on this knowledge, this paper then proposes a seven-step process towards practically achieving mainstreaming in SIDS, which can be used by national governments and regional organizations to guide their actions in this regard.

Geohazard and Vulnerability Risk Analysis as Inputs in Mainstreaming Climate Change in Developing Country

Geohazard and Vulnerability Risk Analysis as Inputs in Mainstreaming Climate Change in Developing Country

Identifying Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation Efforts for Children into the West Java Development Planning

West Java is an Indonesian Province which has a high risk of climate change impacts particularly in terms of increased exposure from many natural disasters. A natural disaster occurs frequently in the West Java Province, making the region vulnerable due to the biggest population in Indonesia it belongs to. Children are the most vulnerable population facing climate change impact because their physiological condition is not fully developed yet. They have a low adaptation ability towards the predicted changes. Therefore, mainstreaming climate change adaptation for children into development planning is important. It is also critical in order to induce more effective adaptation program. This paper analyzes how far the current development plan in the West Java Province reckons child adaptation mainstreaming to climate change. Data collection methods used in this research are the secondary method through the related development plan and the primary method through an in-depth interview to the related government institutions. Based on the analysis results using a content analysis, the region has a potential entry point to mainstream the adaptation of climate change into the development plan, involving seven government institutions. The opportunity of entry point from the West Java development plan is found in Badan Pengelolaan Lingkungan Hidup Daerah/BPLHD (the Regional Environmental Management Agency) work plan. However, among these institutions, it is only BPLHD and the Health Department which almost fulfill all of the institutional capacity components to mainstreaming the adaptation of climate change for children into the West Java development planning. Therefore, both institutions are potentially recommended acting for initiators to induce coordination between the seven government institutions to mainstream the adaptation of climate change for children into the West Java development planning.

Mainstreaming climate change into the EIA procedures: a perspective from China

PurposeIn the face of climate change, environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA) are expected to translate global or national mitigation and adaptation targets to project and plan levels of decision-making. This paper aims to examine how to transform China’s EIA procedures to accommodate consideration of climate change and what constraints might be for doing so.Design/methodology/approachThe main methodology used in this paper is doctrinal research, which is the primary legal methodology to find the law and interpret and analyse the document. Theoretical research is applied to analyse the ideas and assumptions of the mainstreaming approach. Comparative research is done to consider relevant international experiences.FindingsDespite well-founded rationale for the mainstreaming approach, entrenched institutional, legal and technical obstacles cannot be neglected in the context of China. Urgent needs to fix existing EIA/SEA loopholes and improve the general enabling environment are also highlighted as a fundamental aspect of mainstreaming.Originality/valueThe potential of mainstreaming climate change into China’s EIA procedures remains largely unexplored. As a ground-breaking work from China’s perspective, the findings of this paper can serve as an important foundation for future research from legal and other perspectives.

Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation into Development Planning in Ghana

This paper argues that sustainable development outcomes under climate change are the products of planned adaptation processes involving mainstreaming. The paper examines the extent to which climate change adaptation has been mainstreamed into development planning at the local level in Ghana. Ubiquitous drought and flood disasters in many areas in Ghana are manifestations that climate change can undermine or even reverse the success and sustainability of development interventions. Projections show that the frequency and severity of climate change induced disasters in Ghana will increase overtime. Apparently, the need to mainstream climate change adaptation into development planning at the national and sub-national levels cannot be ignored. In this vein, using the qualitative research approach involving the use of in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and content analysis of district development plans and annual reports, the study found that the mainstreaming of climate change at the district level in Ghana was at the elementary stage, which constitutes awareness creation. As a result, district development plans failed to address climate change adaptation adequately. The paper concludes that there is the need to raise awareness and build local institutional capacities for mainstreaming climate change adaptation for sustainable development in Ghana. Keywords : Climate Change, Mainstreaming, Development planning, Adaptation, Ghana

Mainstreaming climate adaptation in the megacity of São Paulo, Brazil

City governments worldwide are increasingly introducing adaptation actions and climate responses in their policies and agendas, but the speed and success of these initiatives vary widely. Understanding these interventions, barriers and opportunities for urban adaptation remains a challenge for scholars and policy-makers. In this paper, we assess climate adaptation policy in the megacity of São Paulo, Brazil, paying special attention to missed opportunities and potential synergies. We focus on climate policies and urban interventions in São Paulo, specifically on the analysis of documents related to the Municipal Climate Change Policy (launched in 2009) and New Master Plan (concluded in 2014). We describe local responses to climate change already implemented in the city and explore some of the factors that affect its adaptation. We argue that although the megacity has recently implemented innovative urban policies and a set of municipal actions that aim to overcome many of the city's challenges, São Paulo is missing an opportunity to mainstream climate change to improve its adaptive capacity. In exploring some of the local initiatives implemented in recent years, we seek to understand responses to climate change that emerge in Brazilian cities, particularly considering that cities learn from each other to adapt.