Showing papers in "The international journal of climate change: Impacts and responses in 2012"

Measuring carbon for urban development planning

Abstract: This paper examines a framework for calculating carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂-e) emissions in urban developments, including emissions inherent in: materials, construction, operation, transport, water, and waste processes over the life cycle of a development. The paper takes a holistic approach to urban design, to include not only the CO₂-e emissions inherent in the individual buildings but also in the infrastructure and service provision of the community as a whole metabolic system. A range of carbon assessment tools is examined to assess their capacity for measuring CO₂-e emissions in terms of this framework. The tools are reviewed for their applicability to four case studies in Western Australia: Peri-urban development (greenfield), Urban redevelopment (brownfield), Mining camps, and Indigenous communities, which demonstrate the type of settlement patterns that carbon assessment tools must respond to. The case studies are also indicative of the challenges facing other urban developments around the world in cutting CO₂-e emissions and enhancing sustainability. The results of the study show that two tools are currently available that can measure and model carbon emissions and carbon consequences of variations of design in urban developments. The tools CCAPPrecint and e-Tool are highlighted in this paper as outstanding examples.

Climate change coverage in Indian print media : a discourse analysis

Abstract: Climate change has attracted much political and media attention in recent years. While western media coverage of this issue has been well-documented, there is a paucity of media analysis for climate change coverage in developing economies. This paper examines the media discourse generated in India among three leading English-language dailies (with centrist and conservative news values) during globally prominent climate change events. A quantitative analysis shows a peak in coverage when the Fourth Assessment Report by the IPCC was released in February 2007, and when climate change crusaders won the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2007. A qualitative content analysis reveals that frames such as scientific certainty, energy challenge, social progress, public accountability and looming disaster are widely employed by the elite Indian press to raise relevant social, economic and political issues. Cross-cultural comparisons of media constructs, especially with Europe and America, help identify the further development of risk communication in this field. In a broader, global sense, this work can be tied in to the idea of the ‘climatic turn’ as suggested by European researchers with climate change evolving into a grand, transnational narrative.

The carbon sequestration potential of community based forest management in Nepal

Abstract: A climate policy initiative called ‘Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and enhancement of forest carbon stock in developing countries (REDD+) is under consideration by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This policy is aimed at national level reduction of forest emissions in developing countries, as measured against an agreed upon national reference emission level. Net emission reductions would be credited and sold to an international fund or carbon market. It was conceived originally as a mechanism to encourage countries with high rates of deforestation, such as Brazil and Indonesia, to curb large scale deforestation due to agricultural expansion and timber extraction. But its potential has also been seen in terms of rewarding indigenous people and local communities for improved management of their forests such that biomass levels remain stable or increase. Since REDD+ is performance-based, the incentive for carbon services provided by such communities will be directly dependent on the annual carbon increment. This paper examines the carbon sequestration potential of community-based forest management in four community forests in Nepal. The four community forests (CFs) selected are from different watersheds in three physiographic regions. Forest carbon pools were measured in two successive years using the standard ground based inventory techniques. The measurements indicate that these CFs (with a total area of 630 ha) had a stock of approximately 478,000 tonnes CO2e at the end of 2009, and through the CF practices, are able to sequester an additional 4700 tCO2e every year. Furthermore, it assesses different management practices that could affect the carbon sequestration.

The lived experience of climate change: complementing the natural and social Sciences for knowledge, policy and action

Abstract: This paper explores the concept of ‘lived experience of limate change’, the complementary challenge it poses to scientific (natural and social science) knowledge, its potential to inform policy, and the methodological challenges of capturing it. We conceptualise lived experience of climate change as evolving knowledge gained over time by individuals and groups through their everyday practices, practices that are in turn framed by proximate impacts of climate-related processes and events, and by broader socio-economic circumstance. The potential of lived experience to complement the sciences and inform policy poses difficult epistemological questions regarding how climate change knowledge is constructed and used. A key further dimension concerns the challenges that confront those who seek to capture it and its integrated, multi-faceted dimensions.

Environmental Performance and Responsible Corporate Governance: An Empirical Note

Abstract: Does it pay to be green? This question is by no means new or surprising; but what is really puzzling is that dedicated research efforts have failed to provide consistent evidence on this issue. Therefore, the ‘business case’ for sustainability is controversial, despite the fact that companies are more and more under pressure to standardize and expand their voluntary ethical practices. The research design serves the purpose of answering some of these questions: 77 large industrial European companies were included in a highly-relevant new dataset, containing aggregated greenhouse gas emission figures, as well as universally-accepted financial performance indicators. On these balanced panel data we conducted several types of analyses, tailored to capture the sign and strength of the relationship between environmental and financial performance. We also introduced an innovative measure of responsible governance, as an interaction term between board-level innovations and the level of independent assurance. Our results are mixed, largely dependent on different model specifications and the several procedures to obtain robust standard errors. As expected, there is no definitive conclusion on the aforementioned relationship. Responsible governance seems to have an insignificant contribution to real sustainability performance, as well as to the economic welfare of the firm. Overall, we support the results to be found in the prior literature, in that CSR attributes – here including emission reduction efforts – will bear higher costs, but also higher revenues, resulting in a neutral relationship between CSR activity and firm financial performance. Owing to the uniqueness of the database in use and to the complexity of the econometric analysis, our findings are another proof of the controversy surrounding the relationship between firm financial and environmental performance.

Economic and Environmental Impacts of Climate Change and Socio-economic Scenarios: A Case Study on a Semi-subsistence Agricultural Production System

Abstract: In this study we use a spatially-explicit integrated assessment model (TOA-ME) to evaluate the economic (income, poverty) and environmental (soil nutrient depletion) impacts of climate change and socio-economic scenarios in a case study of the semi-subsistence agricultural production systems of Machakos (Kenya). This model provides a unique capability to assess distributional effects of climate change on economic and environmental outcomes while also accounting for market-level impacts on prices. We use this framework to examine how a socio-economic scenario based on policy and technology interventions can offset the likely negative effects of climate change. In order to conduct this analysis we propose a three-step methodology: i) analysis of climate change scenarios generated by GCMs, ii) use of GCMs output to estimate crop responses, and iii) modeling the land use decisions and economics of the farming systems. Output data from 5 commonly used GCMs and 3 emission scenarios were used. Outputs from GCMs and emission scenarios corresponding to the Machakos region are highly variable but present a similar trend of higher temperatures and decreasing precipitation. As a result, crop production decreases with the effects varying by location. Farmers are likely to adapt to the new climate conditions through changes in land use; however the effects on poverty and soil nutrient depletion rates are small. In contrast, the analysis shows that an effective policy and technology intervention that leads to different socio-economic conditions could offset the negative effects of climate change and reduce this region’s vulnerability. The results also imply that ignoring new market conditions could lead to incorrect information for policy making.

Lost in the Wash: Predicting the Impact of Losing Aboriginal Coastal Sites in Australia

Abstract: Coastal sea level rise, increased storm wash, storm surges and extreme weather events such as tropical cyclones are predicted to impact on the Australian coastline in future years. The emphasis in research activity in Australia has been directed at issues such as coastal planning and impacts on reef ecosystems and tourism. There has been little focus on the potential loss of coastal cultural heritage sites and how this loss could affect community well-being and identity, particularly for Indigenous Australians. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in many parts of Australia retain strong cultural associations with their land, which contains important story places, archaeological sites and bush foods. In many cases Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identities are closely linked to such places. Their loss is likely to have an impact on culture and identity, which will compound other negative impacts of climate change on these communities. To date, scientific projections about the likely impacts of climate change have been directed to broad, geographical areas, or vulnerable areas of high density populations. There is a paucity of data on the projected impacts on specific remote regions, where many Australian Indigenous communities are located. In addition, Aboriginal participation in agencies that have responsibility for assessing and mitigating impacts from climate change is minimal. While scientists, government and industry form partnerships to tackle emerging climate change issues, Aboriginal perspectives are largely excluded. This paper considers the potential effects of climate change on Australian Aboriginal coastal sites and the impact that this could have on the cultural heritage resource and Indigenous community identity. Through specific case studies from tropical northern Australia, we propose a culturally relevant strategy to empower local communities to develop the capacity to mitigate these social impacts.

Using a social functionalist framework to understand responses to projected sea level rise and managed retreat policies in Australia

Abstract: Managed retreat is one of the few policy options available to the Australian government to mitigate the risk of sea level rise for coastal communities. A structured withdrawal from areas inundated by rising sea levels may be the only viable option for some jurisdictions and in many cases may be the most cost effective defensive approach. At present, little is known about community opinions on managed retreat options. The authors present a social functionalist framework to analyse the range of personal concerns and understand more about how people may respond to predicted changes to coastal shorelines. The meta-theoretical social functionalist framework suggests people can intuitively act as scientists, economists, prosecutors, theologians and at times as politicians, when subject to situations that require judgment and choice. Qualitative responses to an online survey were used to categorise participants according to their social functionalist decision-making styles. The study compared the decision-making style of three groups of participants: those concerned, unsure and unconcerned (sceptical/rejectionist) about sea level rise risks. The research demonstrated that the majority of participants used more than one social functionalist framework to intuitively assess managed retreat policies. While all risk profile groups tended to express intuitive scientist concerns, the emotive expressions of intuitive theologians and prosecutors were evident and could undermine policy processes and adaptation initiatives. These findings reinforce the need for further public debate on how to respond to sea level rise. They emphasise that different individuals frame the purpose of those debates in distinct ways; to reach the most effective, equitable and socially legitimate or morally appropriate response, which depends upon what is inherently important to each individual. A major advantage of employing a social functionalist framework analysis is the flexibility to identify the range of positions (more than one worldview) that can be held by members in a community and to be cognisant of the importance of firmly entrenched beliefs, and hence the barriers to constructive dialogue.

Spatial Analysis of Climate Change Effects on Urbanized Delta Territories as a Tool for Planning: The Case of the Lower Parana Delta

Abstract: This paper presents the spatial implication of climate change-related variables and the role of the representation and analysis of the data as a tool for the development of planning policies in urbanized deltas. The presentation illustrates some partial and preliminary results of a broader investigation regarding socio-economic variables too, in order to analyze the spatial impact of changes in deltaic systems. In the deltas’ territories, a complex relation between urban patterns and the natural environment takes place. In order to reach successful adaptation policies regarding climate change and urban growth, it is necessary to implement new methodologies to take into account the spatial impacts of each driver and prepare for possible future scenarios. The study is based on the territory of the Lower Parana Delta and the coast of Buenos Aires province, which are complex lands that are very vulnerable to extreme climate events. Specifically, the case study is the coastal Municipality of Tigre, which is being rapidly transformed by natural and urban drivers and suffers the pressures of the demographic growth of Buenos Aires’s Metropolitan Area and the deep consequences of climate events.

Climate change adaptation in coastal cities: insights from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Abstract: Coastal cities are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, with sea level rise and extreme flood events predicted to impact critical infrastructure for a wide range of socioeconomic activities. In Australia, for example, it is estimated that more than A$226 billion in residential, commercial, industrial, and road and rail assets are exposed to future coastal climate hazards. The coastline adjacent to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in the state of Queensland will be exposed to increased inundation under climate change scenarios from both sea level rise and extreme weather events such as floods and cyclones. This has been evidenced by the impacts from the 2010–2011 floods and 2011 Tropical Cyclone Yasi. In this context, governments at all levels, from local to national, in Australia and elsewhere, have been adopting strategies to protect coastal assets that incorporate climate change. In general, these strategies fall into four categories: 1) do nothing, 2) retreat, 3) defend and 4) adapt. This paper examines the value of these four adaptation approaches by reviewing strategies from several international jurisdictions. To gain further insights into the value of the key coastal policy responses to climate change, the case study of coastal cities along the GBR is examined. It was concluded that because the approaches analysed (do nothing, retreat, defend and adapt) have different rationales and feature both weakness and strengths, a combination of such approaches would provide the best option for climate change adaptation in the GBR and in other jurisdictions.

The 25th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Accident

Abstract: The nuclear accident at the Chernobyl plant in 1986 is described and a summary of its immediate effects on people and the environment outlined. Then there is a summary of the important parts of the literature on diseases and deaths resulting from radiation and mortalities to date and the way mortality data became increasingly conservative over the years is discussed. Today, there is still uncertainty about future mortalities dues to long latency periods for many cancers however cancer deaths in Chernobyl affected regions are expected to be similar to non-Chernobyl controls. The major literature on environmental effects on wild species, forests, water and agricultural land are then reported with a brief discussion of remediation work and of current trends. Finally, contemporary perceptions of the Chernobyl accident are described in the context of popular anti-nuclear sentiment that prevailed in 1986, the immense publicity surrounding the accident and the natural tendency of people to exaggerate prospects of unlikely, yet extreme, events.

Climate Change on the Menu

Abstract: Australian households are throwing out more than $5 billion worth of food each year, with over 40% of household food wasted. This non-consumed food constitutes a waste of resources and energy that needlessly contribute to Australia’s ecological and carbon footprints. To further complicate matters, the management, transport, and disposal of this non-consumed food is a problem that does not have a comprehensive federally legislated and governed solution. Instead, the collection and processing of municipal food waste is organised by local area councils with support and additional funding from state and federal governments. This has resulted in conflicting waste practices across Australia. This paper investigates the development of waste practices in South Australia, with the objective to understand how this particular state has developed a high level of political commitment to positive environmental action while other Australian states have taken a more conservative position. Opening with a broad discussion upon contemporary food waste policy in Australia, this paper will then delve into a historical discussion on the development of South Australia’s municipal waste system in conjunction with an evaluation of the present municipal food waste disposal options that are available within South Australian homes.

Building Resiliency to Natural Hazards in Pacific Island Communities

Abstract: This paper reports on a program to investigate the main factors affecting livelihoods in rural villages around Fiji in order to determine the resilience of the various communities to major climate change sensitive disasters such as cyclones, storm surges, floods, and sea level rises. The study is funded through the Global Development Network (GDN) Global Development Awards program, and is designed to elicit from a variety of Pacific Island community members the traditional means for ensuring sustainable and resilient livelihoods in the presence of significant risks from natural hazards. While hydro meteorological events such as cyclones have been a feature of life in many Pacific Island communities for aeons, current research indicates that storms will increase in intensity. As the destructive power of storms is very sensitive to intensity, the implication is that the communities hit by future storms will need to be better prepared than ever before. This comes at a time when the resilience of communities is actually in decline – bio-diversity is decreasing, land use management practices are damaging coastal areas, and social networks are degrading – to name a few factors. Nine communities around Fiji have been surveyed to assess the various attributes that determine resilience in a household and in a community, and how they would cope in case of a severe storm. These data have been analysed to determine relative measures of resilience between the sample villages. This is at once a chance to record traditional methods of living and an assessment of how traditional knowledge may be shared to better prepare communities for dealing with hazard events, and potential disasters in the future. Keywords: Climate Change, Hydro Meteorological Hazards, Resilience, Pacific Island Communities, Fiji

Effects of Global Warming on North Carolina

Abstract: In this paper, we identified the following potential physical impacts of climate change on North Carolina (NC): a.) An increase in sea level would have a significant negative effect on the NC coastal region leading to flooding, erosion and increased salinity; b) Potential increases in intensity and/or frequency of Atlantic hurricanes will have direct, negative impacts on NC’s coastal plain; stronger hurricanes will extend their reach to the Piedmont and mountains leading to heavy rainfall, possible flooding, and landslides in the mountains; c.) The temperature increase in NC is likely to be uneven due to the state’s complicated physical geography and influences from atmospheric motion and processes in nearby states; d.) Other effects of rising temperatures are heat waves during the summer months, which will have significant impact on agriculture, health, and air quality. The impact of global warming on NC cannot be ignored or overestimated. For example, projections for Atlantic hurricanes are highly uncertain, and could therefore be easily under/over-estimated. More research is needed to improve the weather and climate models, computing facilities, and observations, so that effects of global warming on the weather in North Carolina, with its distinct geographical areas, can be identified and more precisely predicted. Recommendations for concrete actions are given.