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While climate change is often understood as a collective action and a market problem, we look at it as a problem of planning and coordination. Long-term planning is necessary to promote structural change, which will be required to keep the Paris Agreement's temperature goals. By encouraging states to develop a long-term climate strategy, the Paris Agreement invites countries to turn anticipatory governance into an international governance instrument. In this paper we explore how these strategies describe countries' climate plans and what the perceptions of government officials are about the potential for realization of these strategies. Using mixed methods, we explore both 1) planning dimensions (actions, actors and policies described in the strategies) by applying a topic modeling analysis to 50 documents; and 2) perceptions of the content and challenges to their realization among domestic policy professionals of four major emitters. Our results show that the strategies lack a detailed discussion on how decarbonization pathways could be materialized and who has the responsibility for implementation of long-term targets. Moreover, rather than being a steering instrument, the strategies are dominated by scenario planning and there is also a lack of attention to political issues. Taken together, we contend that strategies are limited in the way they present the future possibilities of low emissions development. To make them more effective in steering long-term decarbonization, greater attention needs to be placed on potential conflicts, barriers and stumbling blocks that may arise along the way. • Long-term climate planning has potential to shift the way we address climate change. • The language used in the strategies are dominated by technical terms and GHG emissions scenarios. • The strategies tend to reduce the political and social complexities of climate change. • As governance instruments, the strategies lack capacity to guide implementation and guidance on how to solve goal conflicts. • The strategies' main value is to provide a platform for alternative discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article introduces a bottom-up global model of the pulp and paper sector (PULPSIM) with a focus on energy consumption and carbon emissions. It is an annual recursive simulation behavioural model with a 2030 time horizon incorporating several technological details of the industry for 47 world regions. The long time horizon and the modular structure allow the model users to assess the effects of different environmental, energy and climate policies in a scenario comparison setup. In addition to the business as usual developments of the sector, a climate commitment scenario has been analysed, in which the impacts of changing forest management practices are also included. The climate scenario results reveal that there is a significant carbon reduction potential in the pulp and paper making, showing a number of specific features: the central role of the fibrous resource inputs and the potential impact of increased waste wood and black liquor based heat generation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The climate change policy debate and ensuing discussions about industrial energy use and carbon emissions have highlighted the need to: (a) aggregate engineering information to a level relevant for economic policy analysis while maintaining sufficient detail so that results are meaningful for industry decision makers, (b) properly represent an industry’s capital vintage structure to better understand inertia associated with changes in aggregate industrial emissions profiles, and (c) identify policy instruments that leverage an industry’s potential for technological change such that carbon emissions can be noticeably reduced. This paper presents an econometric analysis of energy use and emissions profiles of the US Pulp and Paper Industry and uses the resulting set of equations to specify a dynamic model for the analysis of select climate change policies. Scenarios of cost of carbon, energy tax, and investment-led policies indicate that a combination of cost of carbon and investment-led policies can achieve the desired result of rapidly improving overall efficiency of the industry and promoting changes in fuel mix, which together can result in drastic reductions of carbon emissions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Coastal erosion as a threat to Ghana's coastline is being exacerbated by natural and anthropogenic processes. Adaptation to coastal erosion helps in managing the impacts and the levels of destruction to livelihoods, properties and investments along the coastline. Government intervention in adaptation to coastal erosion has always focused on the development of coastal sea defences without the integration of Indigenous knowledge and initiatives of coastal dwellers. This paper contributes to this gap by examining the Indigenous adaptation responses to coastal erosion in selected coastal communities of Ghana, factors influencing the choice of adaptation responses and the extent to which these Indigenous adaptation responses are addressing coastal erosion. Findings from the explorative qualitative study revealed that coastal dwellers are engaged in different forms of planned and reactive adaptation responses to coastal erosion. It was also found out that most of the Indigenous adaptation responses to coastal erosion were unsustainable in addressing coastal erosion and the choice of Indigenous adaptation response to coastal erosion was shaped by socio-economic and ecological factors or perception. Maladaptation responses by coastal dwellers were contributing to the phenomenon of coastal erosion. Coastal dwellers have survived the impacts of coastal erosion in the absence of support from central and local governments and their unsustainable adaptation responses have become a cyclical ritual over a period of time. The paper contributes to the debates on adaptation to climate change and the consideration of Indigenous knowledge into climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in coastal zone planning and management. • Indigenous adaptation responses to coastal erosion are autonomous and reactive. • There is no collective community action towards addressing coastal erosion. • Adaptation responses are shaped by socio-economic and ecological considerations. • Maladaptation responses are counterproductive to addressing coastal erosion. • Hard Indigenous adaptation responses are a physical limitation to coastal resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the politics of epistemological claims which link climate change, conflict, migration and terrorism in causal relationships. The paper contends that attempts to establish such causal relationships in conditions of empirical complexity are characterised by a contested politics of implication. Drawing on a critical discourse analysis of a UN Security Council debate on climate security (December 9, 2021), and the concept of linguistic implicature (referring to the non-explicit, inferential meanings which can follow from language use), the paper traces two logics which could suggest a politics of racial implication in climate security discourses: first, a compulsive climatic determinism which roots risks of terrorist violence in climate-affected populations; and second, a logic of proxy geographies in which dehumanisation could be implicated through natural world metaphors. Overall, this paper seeks to provide an understanding of how the inferential meanings associated with claims linking climate change, migration, conflict and terrorism could constitute potentially unequal outcomes in climate security politics and policymaking. • Causal claims about the links between climate change and terrorism are politically contested. • Such claims could implicate racial logics of climatic determinism and dehumanisation. • It is important to study the pragmatic implicatures which could follow from causal claims in climate security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change adaptation is currently an important community concern in developing countries like Bangladesh. The conceptualization of adaptation within the government system matters for the promotion of activities such as employment generation for local communities. The lesser the gap between government policy and the local community's needs for adaptation the more effective outcomes are for ensuring policy success and promoting sustainable community livelihoods or vice versa. This interface between policy and community is important for climate change adaptation which is explored in this paper along with the findings of the research project, DEltas, vulnerability and climate change: Migration and Adaptation (DECCMA) conducted during 2014–2018 in Bangladesh, Ghana, India, and the United Kingdom. The data from Bangladesh was collected from 1384 survey respondents, 19 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), 3 workshops, and 43 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). The findings of the paper show that government adaptation activities mainly reflect the Reactive Approach of Limited Action (RALA) perspective rather than the Proactive Approach To Adaptation (PATA). The RALA perspective is characterized by piecemeal and top-down approaches to adaptation which fail to recognize a community conceptualization of climate change, policy perspectives for coping with local concerns, and governance approaches for effective adaptation. In response, the government needs to focus on the PATA in policy, programs, and projects with the governance approach implemented from the bottom-up or, in other words, from the local perspective. Community participation in decision-making processes is characteristic of this bottom-up governance model. Local community participation, consultation, and representation are essential parts of PATA in adaptation policy formulation and execution, providing important lessons for Bangladesh. • Adaptation to climate change is a high policy priority for developing countries such as Bangladesh. • The conceptualization of adaptation in government policy matters for community sustainability. • The top-down, centralised Reactive Approach of Limited Action (RALA) causes further concern for effective adaptation policy. • A Proactive Approach to Adaptation (PATA) is better for community sustainability. • Community participation and representation within governance approaches can expedite a PATA approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal resilience strategies are vital for managing the impacts of climatic shocks and stresses that bedevils coastal zones globally. Coastal strategies that reflect indigenous knowledge and practices as well as local adaptation efforts are productive in promoting resilience to coastal erosion at the local level. However, there has been less common research in conventional literature on how national level strategies impact adaptation measures by local governance institutions and coastal dwellers in addressing coastal erosion. Using an explorative qualitative case study of selected coastal communities in Ghana, the paper contributes to this gap by assessing how national level strategies impact adaptation to coastal erosion at the local level. It also examines the institutional and community perception of coastal erosion, its causes and impacts. Findings indicate that all the coastal dwellers in the study communities are aware of coastal erosion with most of the community interviewees attributing the phenomenon to sea-level rise as the main driver of coastal erosion. Also, interviews with local government authorities and state agencies found that the national level coastal erosion adaptation strategies to a large extent do not promote local innovation in addressing climatic shocks and stresses of coastal communities. The paper contributes to contemporary debates in indigenous knowledge in climate change mitigation and adaptation by multilevel governance towards coastal resilience by recommending a collaborative effort between coastal communities and the District Assemblies in promoting indigenous knowledge in climate change adaptation and the preparation of coastal management plans that incorporates indigenous knowledge in adaptation to coastal erosion. • Coastal dwellers perceive coastal erosion through direct observation. • National level coastal resilience strategies promote indigenous knowledge. • Their implementation is at variance with local level adaptation. • State institutions perceive indigenous knowledge and adaptation as unsustainable. • Formal integration of indigenous knowledge affects local level adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme weather alerting systems are one of the central tools utilised in adapting to changing weather patterns resulting from climate change. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the current alerting systems for hot and cold weather used in England to notify the health and social care sector of upcoming extreme weather events. We consider the views of stakeholders on the current system and explore their perspectives on the proposal to move towards an impact-based system. The paper concludes that while the current system is an effective tool, stakeholders feel they need to draw on additional material to assist with the development of an appropriate response. We also highlight that many stakeholders are concerned about the potential for creating alert fatigue due to a lack of clarity of the geographical area impact of some of the alerts. Consequently, there was a high level of support from stakeholders for the move towards an impact-focused system. • Extreme weather alerting systems are an important tool for protecting public health. • Impact-focused alerting systems can help planners and front-line staff deliver a more effective response to extreme weather. • It is important alerts are not sent out unnecessarily to protect the credibility of the system and avoid alert fatigue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small island states are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, despite not contributing much to global greenhouse gas emissions. Crafting effective science-based adaptive strategies to conserve and sustain natural resources in the face of the changing climate has important socio-economic, political, and ecological dimensions. The analysis in the current paper reveals that the island of Mauritius has been warming at a rate of 0.0216 °C/year over the period 1971–2020, with an increase in precipitation averaging 2.29 mm/year over the 1981–2020 period. The changing climate over time has had severe repercussions on the native ecosystems of the island and is threatening the long-term freshwater supply system. Science-based policy measures proposed revolve around the expansion and re-design of protected areas to be strategically located in climate-resilient regions that seek to offer refuge to native fauna and flora. To increase the resilience on freshwater supply on the island, measures proposed include the introduction of a freshwater coordination-based system that operates on water stress level, in addition to increasing the network of freshwater catchment areas in regions where precipitation is increasing over time. The insights in this paper are expected to be valuable for other small islands in adapting to climate change. [Display omitted] • Quantifications of the changes in temperature and rainfall over time have been conducted. • The spatial distribution of the changing climate of a small island state is modelled. • Adaptation measures are proposed to conserve native island fauna and flora. • Science-based policies are proposed to improve sustainability of freshwater supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa is particularly affected by climate change due to its exposure to climate hazards, high vulnerability, and low adaptive capacity. Yet, Africa is also a continent rich in Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) that has a long history of informing responses to climatic variability and change. This paper explores the extent to which ILK has been used in climate change adaptation in Africa. It deploys a bibliometric analysis to describe the connections between ILK and climatic change adaptation in Africa, complemented by an analysis of ILK literature and case studies. We consider four key dimensions of ILK, 1) type, 2) contexts of application, 3) value for adaptation, and 4) outcomes and effects in responses to climate change in Africa. Examples drawn from 19 countries across Africa highlight ILK systems are closely connected with biocultural relationships associated with observed patterns of climate change and where adaptation can be more effective when informed by ILK. This body of knowledge is critical to the delivery of climate change adaptation in Africa. The paper suggests some measures through which ILK may be more widely leveraged, both for improved adaptation outcomes, as well as enhancing the biocultural heritage value of ILK systems across Africa. The study commends the remarkable value of ILK in Africa for climate change adaptation and its value for supplementing climate services, particularly in areas with limited access to modern climate and weather forecasts as well as the encouragement of Indigenous communities to develop senses of ownership and active contribution to the sustainability of the future interventions. • Role of Indigenous Knowledge in Climate Change Adaptation in Africa. • The study commends the remarkable value of ILK in Africa for climate change adaptation. • its value for supplementing climate services particularly in areas with limited access to modern climate. • the paper concludes outlining measures through which ILK may be more widely leveraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal communities and their environments are facing unprecedented changes, with climate change driving rising global mean sea level, exacerbating extreme sea level events, and increasing hazards. Whilst adaptations to change have been central to coastal life for millennia, climate change brings a speed and intensity of change not previously experienced. Researchers are noting that adaptations are needed that are large scale and systemic with significant changes to lives and livelihoods – Transformational Adaptations – yet there is little evidence of this in practice, and there remains an operationalisation gap between ambitions and actions. This paper uses a qualitative case study method to assess how existing policy may enable and inhibit local stakeholder involvement in transformational adaptation in English coastal flood and erosion risk management. Through twenty interviews with coastal management stakeholders, the capacity for local coastal management stakeholders to initiate transformational adaptation and the perceived involvement of residents are analysed. The results indicate that transformational adaptation remains a distant aspiration in the English coastal management system, with local stakeholders possessing limited capacity to initiate it. The perceived role for residents in adaptation processes is often focused on their being recipients of adaptation interventions, and there are a range of barriers to their further involvement. The paper concludes that despite the theoretical interest in transformational adaptation, there is limited evidence its implementation in English coastal flood and erosion risk management, and there are multiple priority areas for policy development to support capacity for engaged transformational adaptation practices in coastal management contexts. • There are few examples of transformational adaptation in the English coastal flood and erosion risk management. • The perceived role for residents in adaptation processes is often focused on their being recipients of interventions. • There are a range of barriers for local stakeholders to develop and enact coastal adaptation policy or practice. • There are multiple priorities for policy development to support capacity for engaged transformational adaptation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformative adaptation (TA) places emphasis on changing the underlying causes of climate risk. Little is known about how TA can be achieved in practice in southern African cities. This paper reports on a set of criteria, derived from the literature and transdisciplinary engagements, for taking TA from theory into practice. These are: fundamental/sustainable changes in thinking and doing; inclusivity; challenging power asymmetries; demonstrability; responsive and flexible; and holistic, complex systems thinking. These criteria were explored through five water-related projects in Durban (South Africa) and Harare (Zimbabwe), which were identified by actors as having transformative potential to reduce urban climate risks. The study suggests that trade-offs might need to be made between several of these criteria, with strong synergies between others. Challenging power asymmetries is important in southern African cities where adaptation should change the structures of society that give rise to highly differential climate vulnerabilities. Challenging power structures largely requires true inclusivity and an equal stake in shaping decisions as opposed to tokenistic participation. While TA is needed in southern African cities, the complexity of these contexts and the scale of TA ambition introduces practical challenges when compared with incremental adaptation, i.e. small changes to existing practices to reduce climate impacts within the current development paradigm. Given such practical limitations, the paper concludes that TA in southern African cities might pragmatically be attempted as part of a process of ongoing learning to identify opportunities for gradual restructuring and expanding, in scale and ambition towards transformation. • Incremental adaptation achieves demonstrable results quickly. • Transformative adaptation needs to expand activities gradually in scope and scale. • Trade-offs exist at points along the incremental-transformative continuum. • Greater inclusivity in transformative adaptation introduces governance challenges. • Going beyond incremental adaptation requires challenging power asymmetries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rising temperatures exacerbated by climate change are a growing concern in the UK. This paper assesses the state of heat risk governance in the country through an analysis of the Adverse Weather and Health Plan (AWHP) launched in 2023, which replaces the former Heatwave Plan (HWP) for England — the prominent policy for addressing heatwaves in the UK. Through 17 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, the paper assesses the perceived effectiveness of the new plan in addressing heat risk. The findings demonstrate that AWHP has been positively received and is considered to have well-functioning institutional arrangements and strategies tailored to manage immediate heat risks. However, areas for improvement are identified: the need to enhance public communication and broaden the cross-sectoral understanding of heat impacts beyond the domain of 'health'. Further, the research reveals gaps in leadership, institutional structure, delineation of roles and responsibilities, and funding and resources for addressing long-term heat risk and preparedness in the UK. The paper explores these and highlights the need for strengthening governance and capacity to tackle the multi-dimensional climate risk, i.e., heat, effectively. • UK heat policy lacks consideration for long-term risks. • Understanding heat impacts beyond health is crucial for effective risk mitigation. • Establishing an institutional structure with clear leadership is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

News coverage of noteworthy environmental events is often fleeting, moving from one spectacle to another and rarely retaining global attention. But in August 2019, news of Amazon rainforest fires spread seemingly as quickly as the fires themselves, with sustained global coverage and funding pouring into environmental organizations. Yet Amazon fires regularly occur and fires were simultaneously burning in other important Brazilian biomes, with some causing worse damage. What was it about the 2019 Amazon fires that elicited such a strong and persistent global response? In this paper, we draw on distinctions between slow/immediate (Nixon, 2011) and structural/direct violence (Galtung, 1969) to answer this question. We argue that the Amazon's reputation as a global treasure and its association with climate change and biodiversity through 'giantness' (Slater, 2002) meant that the fires' local spectacular violence became felt as an instant global threat, shifting perceptions of violence from slow to immediate. Moreover, as the identified instigator of the violence, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro became a sort of 'bridge' between structural and direct dimensions of violence, thus making the violence personal. These three dynamics combined to enhance visibility of the Amazon's destruction and its connection to planetary stability, thereby inspiring the 2019 fires' extraordinary reactions. Through this analysis, the paper contributes to psychological literature on perceptions of ecological crises and to discussions in political ecology/geography concerning violent environments by demonstrating how and why both the slow and structural violence of the global climate and biodiversity crises can be rendered more visible via localized effects. • Significant environmental events rarely receive sustained global news coverage. • In 2019, the Amazon fires stood out for their extended global news coverage. • The fires shifted the violence of environmental crises from slow to immediate. • Bolsonaro shifted the violence of environmental crises from structural to personal. • These dynamics made the violence of the climate and biodiversity crises more visible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although states continue to work together under the UNFCCC, it is increasingly apparent that not enough is being done, and that a just response to climate change is not being pursued. This paper asks whether non-state actors, such as cities, corporations, and non-governmental organisations might, by contrast, offer hope for such a response to emerge. Using the city of Bristol as an empirical case study, the paper puts forward that non-state actors can not only lower emissions and/or contribute to adaptation efforts, but more importantly have the potential to significantly shift the context of climate change action and create space for systemic change. They therefore offer room for cautious optimism. • Cosmopolitan climate justice centred analysis of non-state actors. • Non-state actors offer hope for a just response to climate change. • Non-state actors can push for systemic change in climate change policy. • City of Bristol, UK, used as an empirical case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies which topics of negotiation are providing momentum for climate negotiations after the Paris Agreement and to what extent. To do so, it examines the main requests that developing countries have expressed through different negotiation groups between 2017 and 2023. To measure the progression of climate negotiations, the paper identifies whether those requests have been translated into COP decisions. This is done through discourse analysis contained in numerous daily reports of COPs, summaries, and official decisions. In this research, COP decisions are defined as the expression of collective negotiations in the UNFCCC system, and as decisions with political consequences. The paper identifies advancements on twenty-nine issues in areas like gender, loss and damage, facilitative dialogue, adaptation, and the acceleration of finance flows to small-island developing states. Eighteen issues have been identified as acknowledged in COP decisions, but not fully addressed. These correspond mainly to finance-related items and the commitment to contributing US$100 billion to climate mitigation. Sixteen issues have been identified as ignored in the COP decisions examined. The conclusions suggest that there is agreement on creating new frameworks to allow further discussions on important topics brought to the table by developing states, but there is no real agreement on increasing funding in a significant way. Also, conclusions underline that despite the lack of sufficient funding, commitment to fighting climate change has not declined over time, and states continue to prefer multilateral negotiations to working outside the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change mandate. • States prefer multilateralism to other forms of cooperation to face climate change. • Climate negotiations remain a key forum for countries' coordination despite the slowness in decision-making. • There has been progress in climate negotiations in the areas of loss and damage, gender or adaptation. • Funding remains a key issue in climate negotiations, being critical to increase trust among parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing assumption in urban studies literature is that the urban poor remain vulnerable to climate change impacts yet excluded from planning interventions and their formation. However, at present, there is dearth of research examining the adaptation practices by the urban poor in African cities. Focusing on Ghana's capital, Accra, the purpose of this study is fourfold: (i) to explore climate change literacy among the urban poor and local planning institutions; (ii) to examine the urban poor's perceptions on climatic events in Accra; (iii) to analyze autonomous adaptation measures to climate change impacts; and (iv) to assess planned adaptation measures to climate change impacts. This paper uses household surveys, secondary data analysis and agency interviews in two informal communities - Nima and Chorkor - in Accra as case studies. Underpinned by the social exclusion theory, the results show limited climate literacy despite widespread experience of climate change impacts by the urban poor. Most adaptation measures were community driven and autonomous while the limited institutional responses were both planned and autonomous. However, both community and institutional planning responses were ad-hoc, reactionary and unsustainable. The paper recommends consideration of community-based self-organizing adaptation measures into city plans to ensure that autonomous measures are complemented with planned adaptation strategies. In addition to stakeholder participation, collaborations and partnerships in climate change adaptation, pro-poor adaptation measures - both autonomous and planned remain imperative as they can contribute to inclusive and just climate change policy. • Urban poor remain vulnerable to climate change impacts. • They are excluded from climate planning action. • Adaptation measures were community driven and autonomous. • Institutional responses to climate change are unsustainable. • Stakeholder partnerships in pro-poor adaptation required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of climate patterns and associated risks is relevant to making planning and resource management decisions at the urban scale. However, available scientific climate information is often poorly suited to decision-making needs. New ways of producing knowledge, both about the climate and urban decision-making, are required to address this disconnect. Transdisciplinarity aims to span the boundaries between scientific research, policymaking and practice to tackle complex problems, including those of urban sustainability and climate change. This paper focuses on the role that intermediaries play in spanning disciplinary, organizational and sectoral boundaries to facilitate collaborative problem-solving and mutual learning to connect knowledge with action. It presents empirical findings of how embedded researchers facilitate the co-production of knowledge on climate-sensitive urban public policy and planning decisions based on the experiences of seven embedded researchers operating in six Southern African cities – Lusaka (Zambia), Maputo (Mozambique), Windhoek (Namibia), Harare (Zimbabwe), Durban and Cape Town (South Africa). Data from the activities, outputs and experiences of these embedded researchers, documented in monthly reports during their tenure in the period 2015 to 2019, were coded for four aspects of transdisciplinary boundary spanning identified in existing literature, namely: trust-based relationships; collaborative agenda-setting and combining different knowledges; promoting reflexivity and innovation; and navigating multiple accountabilities. The analysis reveals that embedded researchers play a key role in supporting other researchers better understand and navigate the policy and practice domain. It also highlights the challenges that embedded researcher face when transitioning out of the role. The paper concludes that creating the inter-organizational agreements to co-host an embedded researcher, and allocating finances, time, intellectual and emotional support to the embedded researchers to effectively span boundaries, can be an effective way to promote the transdisciplinary collaboration needed to tackle climate risks in cities. Furthermore, it suggests that having embedded researchers operating within a cohort of peers, enhances their reflexivity, learning and thereby effectiveness as intermediaries. • Embedded researchers (ERs) make research and policy processes more legible. • A cohort approach enhances learning to navigate multiple accountabilities. • Trust and mutual understanding underpin climate-sensitive decision-making. • Career-pathing for ERs remains a challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature-based solutions (NBS) can help tackle climate change and advance urban sustainability by using nature to deliver social, ecological and economic benefits. However, their success largely depend on implementation for which several barriers exist. For NBS to be meaningful in terms of delivering positive impacts in cities, we need better understanding of how implementation is embedded in NBS frameworks. The aim of this paper is to i) understand how frameworks address implementation, and ii) extract and synthesize key elements and conditions required for enabling the implementation process. Taking a hermeneutic approach, the paper makes use of pre-understanding to interpret and analyse 'the whole' and 'the parts' of the implementation process and discuss how the discourse on NBS implementation could advance towards more operational understanding. This paper suggests that multi-stakeholder collaboration and co-creation of knowledge are important prerequisites for shared understanding of problems, developing actionable knowledge and adapting NBS to site-specific societal challenges. Advancing knowledge about the NBS implementation process is relevant for capacity building and governance of NBS at the local level and bridging policy areas, stakeholders and the knowledge needed to make NBS become relevant to broader society. However, more research is needed to i) move beyond conceptual propositions and towards operational understanding of NBS principles and ii) improve the understanding of how local collaboration and co-creation of knowledge can enhance capacity building and support implementation of NBS. • Few frameworks for NBS address implementation. • Collaboration and co-development of knowledge are key elements in the NBS implementation process. • The NBS concept must be integrated at different scales of urban planning. • Future frameworks for NBS should address both experimentation and formal planning processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pressure is increasing globally to deliver integrated land use at large spatial scales (10–100 s km2) to address the climate and biodiversity emergencies through delivery of nature-based solutions. There is also pressure to decentralise land use decision-making to sub-national levels of government and multi-stakeholder partnerships, with the aim of improving policy targeting, coordination and participation. Whilst there has been significant research on these issues at smaller spatial and administrative scales, it is limited at larger scales. This paper addresses this gap, investigating whether the introduction of additional regional institutions can help address these challenges. It draws insights from Scotland's decade old Land Use Strategy (LUS) and evolving Regional Land Use Partnerships (RLUPs) that aim to mitigate climate change through encouraging improved and integrated land use and land management. We find that despite considerable stakeholder support, such approaches may not deliver on their ambitions. An overarching finding relates to the importance of political commitment to implementation at these larger scales, which is crucial for establishing clear objectives, giving regions authority to respond to regional priorities, and ensuring adequate resourcing. This affects buy-in from stakeholders and the resolution of policy coordination challenges that the partnerships are meant to address. It has wider implications for the delivery of national climate policies, given the importance of land management in most climate change strategies. The insights, and the analytical framework used, are relevant for any country grappling with the challenge of implementing nature-based solutions at ever larger scales whilst bridging local and national land use priorities. • Regional integrated land use planning in Scotland evaluated and wider lessons drawn. • Clear objectives, transfer of powers, and resourcing key to regional land use planning. • Political commitment is crucial in overcoming delivery challenges at this scale. • Approaches to scaling up integrated land use need to account for politics. • These lessons are important in global efforts to scale up nature-based solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livestock production is affected by climate change, but also contributes to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions. This leads to ambiguity in how livestock are framed in climate and development policy processes. We use the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) to investigate the role of knowledge brokers in Kenyan livestock and climate change policy processes. We analyse how knowledge brokers deal with ambiguity from different problem and response framings within science-policy interfaces using the case of a project that seeks to inform Kenyan policies relevant to livestock and climate change. We identify ambiguity within the problem stream where actors recognise adaptation and mitigation as dual challenges of livestock and climate change. This ambiguity creates tension between actors but can be strategically deployed to help match the problem and policy streams. Actors use the terms 'climate smart' and 'co-benefits' to link the dual adaptation and mitigation needs. In the political stream, nationally defined priorities and external funding possibilities influence the political will and motivation to adopt identified response options. There are opportunities for knowledge brokers to address the ambiguities and translate knowledge during windows of opportunity when the streams are being coupled, but challenges exist, resulting in slow and inadequate development of policies. This paper makes two contributions to the MSF literature. First, we further refine the concept of knowledge brokers and establish their role across all three streams. Second, we apply the MSF in a lower income country and demonstrate that international organizations must be among the actors considered. • Ambiguity surrounds livestock; they are affected by and contribute to climate change. • Knowledge brokers in Kenya frame issues, offer solutions and influence politics. • International actors shape problem framing and solutions around livestock in Kenya. • The MSF needs to be adapted to apply in developing country contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under climate change, many parts of the world are warming with increasing frequencies and intensities of heatwaves, bringing heat-health risks to places including those that have a historically temperate or cool climate. These places may have extensive experience in managing cold-health risks, while experience is lacking in dealing with heat-health risks due to their lack of historical exposure to high temperatures. This paper explores this overlooked area of the challenges and opportunities of heat-health governance in cool places using Scotland as a case study. Various important themes of heat-health governance in cool places were identified by the study, including socio-cultural barriers to intervention, vulnerable population overlaps, temporal and geographical scales, and governance arrangements. The study found challenges in managing heat-health risks including a perceived lack of heat-health risks and policy priority as well as unsuitable building stock. Meanwhile, it also identified opportunities for governing cold and heat risks holistically within existing institutional systems and creating co-benefits of improving communication and information dissemination, reducing inequality and improving indoor thermal comfort of both cold and heat as well as providing good quality greenspace. Our findings contribute to the development or improvement of national/regional strategies to manage heat-health risks not only in Scotland but also in other places with a historically cool or temperate climate. • Temperature increase under climate change poses health risks to cool places as well. • Cool places have distinctive challenges and opportunities in heat-health governance. • Perceived lack of heat risks poses socio-cultural barriers to heat-health governance. • A holistic governance approach of cold and heat-health risks was preferred. • Building design and occupant behaviour are crucial for thermal comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the immense pressure on politicians across the globe to implement efficient yet socially-accepted climate policies, research on policy acceptance becomes increasingly important. Several studies could contribute to the understanding of what affects policy acceptance, but their methodological approaches usually assess isolated solutions instead of policy mixes and do not display the various impacts of presented policies. Most often, these studies lack a critical self-evaluation of such methodological drawbacks. In this paper we present and evaluate an innovative citizen choice experiment tool (called Participatory Value Evaluation, PVE), in which people are asked to select intensity levels for eleven transport policies, while simultaneously seeing the environmental, social and financial impacts of their choices. We evaluate the PVE and its contents and features regarding its (scientific) C redibility, (political & societal) RE levance and (societal) LE gitimacy (subsumed as CRELE framework) as a prerequisite for supporting socially-accepted policy-making. For this purpose, 601 open text survey answers regarding the strengths and potential improvements of the tool are analyzed by means of a qualitative content analysis. Descriptive statistics of the survey participants are used to further enrich the analysis. Based on this evidence, we can conclude that the PVE is indeed a credible, relevant and legitimate tool for assessing policy options. Participants positively highlighted the tool's ability to credibly visualize the impacts of selected policies, thereby raising awareness for the severity of climate change and the required policy response. Ambivalent answers were received regarding the social fairness of included measures and the preferred complexity of the tool. • CRELE framework was used to assess the PVE's (a participatory survey tool) ability to support climate policy development. • Relevance: participants acknowledge the relevance of climate change and the need for action in the transport sector. • Credibility: participants display high trust towards scientific knowledge and support their involvement in policy processes. • Legitimacy: social fairness of measures is a crucial and possibly dividing aspects of policies and needs more consideration. • The PVE combined with participatory processes may foster the acceptance of unavoidable yet uncomfortable policy impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Paper explores the local state, a framework to connect analyses of state, market and civil society in communities below the national level. • The local state concept is employed here to assess climate change adaptation (CCA), focusing on a case study of water resources in Tucson, AZ. • The Tucson case examines rainwater harvesting and the role of the water industry, local government organizations and civil society groups. • Barriers to CCA can be explained in the context of pre-existing policies and the complex dynamics of the local state. As climate change becomes a more obvious existential threat to many communities, sharper tools are needed to analyze policymaking and especially the variations in effective adaptive planning. While policy creation, preparedness and disaster management are essentially local activities, much analysis simply focuses on cities and overlooks robust tools to understand what happens within communities of all types. This paper explores the local state, an analytical framework which can connect our understanding of state, market and civil society within communities below the level of the nation state. The local state concept is resurgent within the academic literature and this paper shows the potential of this analysis, drawing on empirical examples of climate change adaptation from Tucson AZ and New Orleans, coupled with broader discussion from several countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations' (UNs) 2030 " Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere. " This requires much effort of in governmental policies along with public and private sector practices. With regard to this, BGs have a crucial role in bringing this vision of the future. Of the 17 SDGs, Target 15—Life on land is directly associated with the traditional work of botanic gardens (BGs). But other four goals (2—Zero hunger, 4—Quality education, 11—Sustainable cities and communities, 13—Climate action) are also worthy of review and analyze when considering BGs. They could meet the needs of both the local and global communities and are effective in shaping the future and promoting the 2030 goals. In this context, paying attention to the UN's global and inclusive call, this paper focuses on Eden Project, United Kingdom, Ecorium of National Institute of Ecology, South Korea and Konya Tropical Botanical Garden, Turkey. Missions of the projects rely on conservation, restoration, education and community engagement. They address several global concerns, including climate and biodiversity emergency. Aim of this paper is to investigate to what extent the selected BGs can contribute to the SDGs. Results underline BGs as a valuable input in decision-making and policy action concerning environmental justice, equity, and inclusion that encourage transformative steps in achieving the SDGs. ● Eden Project, Ecorium Project and Konya Tropical Botanical Garden are prominent tourist destinations by their role in exhibition, conservation, education and research. ● The selected projects support community engagement activities that can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. ● Botanic gardens in developed or developing countries have potential to boost social justice and environmental justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major global agreements and frameworks on climate change, disasters and sustainable development emphasise collaborative, integrated and localised approaches to enable effective implementation of climate and disaster resilient development pathways. Progress in local level climate change and disaster-related research indicates the growing complexity of issues and their solutions also requires more collaborative forms of governance. However, an adequate understanding as to which particular factors make collaborative governance work in the context of climate and disaster resilient development is lacking. This paper contributes to filling this gap by presenting a quantitative systematic literature review of the core factors that enhance the effectiveness of collaborative governance for local-level climate and disaster resilient development. Through the interrogation of 35 papers, key characteristics of collaborative local governance were analysed, including the starting conditions, institutional design, collaborative processes, outcomes, and system interactions of such initiatives. Consideration of diverse worldviews, a breadth of engagement approaches and skilled facilitation by collaboration convenors are amongst the factors that enhance the outcomes of collaboration. Findings indicate that organisations and individuals gain clear social learning benefits from participating in collaborative initiatives which may compensate for the investment required to make a collaboration work. However, the review found that actors with decision making power struggle to share that power with other actors. Investing in the 'soft skills' of collaborative leadership, including in conflict resolution are amongst the important ingredients for actioning global ambition. Findings justify further research in a broader range of regions and cultural settings. • Disaster and climate studies emphasise the need for localised collaboration. • Consideration of diverse worldviews enhances local collaboration outcomes. • Decision makers struggle to share power with other actors. • Organisations gain social learning benefits from collaborative resilient development. • Investing in collaborative soft skills actions global ambition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Climate adaptation policy in a large river basin is explored. • Empirical study of science and policy interactions during actual reforms. • Interviews with senior research policy professionals reveal dynamics of policy formulation. • Proposes legally prescribed procedures for utilising science in environmental policy formulation. Climate change has many disruptive consequences, particularly in large river basins experiencing drying trends and declining water availability. With pressure for more adaptive policies, understanding how institutions governing water are adapting to climate risks has broad international relevance. This paper examines the challenges of climate risk assessments in Australia's Murray Darling Basin, an economically and culturally important basin where national legislation mandates a Basin Plan based on the best available science. However, despite repeated scientific warnings about a drying climate, the current Basin Plan does not reduce estimates of water resources available, and its climate risk management relies on a bricolage of policy mechanisms, which appear insufficient for the magnitude of predicted changes. This paper outlines the findings of original research exploring why this occurred. It draws on interviews with 30 senior public policy professionals and researchers with deep experience in climate and water policy. The interview data indicate that minimising political risks were the principal reasons for abandoning proposed reductions in entitlements and for relying on historical averages for estimating water availability. As the reform process evolved, decisions about water-planning techniques became increasingly politicised, and the adoption of explicit climate adaptation measures became problematic. As a result, the Basin Plan neither reflects the broad scientific consensus about climate change nor makes specific allowances for declining water availability. Climate risks are downplayed while concerns about levels of scientific uncertainties appear overstated. Importantly, lessons emerge from this examination that could contribute to the revisions of the Plan, scheduled for 2026. More generally, the research finds that proactive climate adaptation policies for large river basins require sustained and well-designed institutional reforms, particularly the adoption of legally prescribed procedures for utilising science - and accounting for its use - in controversial environmental reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engaging with the future to make better decisions in the present is key for sustainable development and climate change responses. In this conceptual paper, we suggest a scenario building approach that connects psychological principles of future thinking with future scenario development in order to advance the impact of scenarios. Future scenario work currently does not sufficiently consider processes of human communication, emotion, cognition and has only begun to focus on people's local contexts in recent years. We argue that more understanding of psychological processes, such as cognitive biases and heuristics, as well as psychological distance, which typically occur in future thinking, can improve the impact of scenarios. Specifically, we provide a psychological basis for systematically integrating emotion-evoking aspects into future scenario development, using tailored narratives and visuals to make content tangible and meaningful for a broad spectrum of audiences, and adapting content temporally, spatially, and linguistically to audiences, in combination with inclusive and creative co-creation of scenarios and sustainable solutions. We explain why this approach has the potential to overcome some recognised cognitive biases hampering scenario impact and intended sustainable change processes, and can therefore support the co-development of sustainable and inclusive policies and solutions that empower and connect individuals, communities, and decision makers. • Future scenarios are developed and communicated with little attention to cognitive biases and constraints. • Bringing a psychological dimension into scenario development and communication can optimize their uptake. • We recommend integrating emotions, narratives and visuals and to apply co-creation of scenarios, including tailoring to local circumstances. • Considering human perceptions, emotions and behaviour might advance the impact of future scenarios for sustainable change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental catastrophes, including the increased severity and frequency of climate extremes, can act as "windows of opportunities" that challenge citizens' mental models and motivate them to engage in reflective processes, challenging their pre-conceived ideas. Less well understood is whether experiencing changing weather conditions, common in mid-latitudes, can have a similar effect and increase the citizens' concerns about climate change and their willingness to accept more stringent climate policies. In this paper, we investigate the effects of changing seasonal temperature on the perceived seriousness of climate change and willingness to mitigate climate change. We use data from four yearly waves of a spatially explicit representative population survey in Germany and weather records from the postal code areas in which they live. To our knowledge, this study is the first analysis to link individual perceptions towards climate change and different mitigation options with seasonal temperature changes at specific locations in Europe. The analyzed perceptions were strongly influenced by socio-demographic characteristics and broader societal changes, as well as individual experiences of seasonal temperatures. The results show that experienced seasonal temperature change influences personal climate change concerns as well as the willingness to mitigate climate change, although with a weaker effect. The results indicate that it is the absolute temperature variation experienced that is important, rather than whether it is getting colder or warmer than usual. Considering the influences identified in this study can offer a window of opportunity for more stringent and targeted climate change policy. • Seasonal temperature changes influence climate change perception. • Effects can offer a window of opportunity for more stringent climate change policy. • Governmental mitigation policy solutions less supported than self-determined options. • Perceptions influenced by broader societal changes as well as individual experiences. • Need for targeted climate change communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is expected to seriously affect agricultural livelihoods and food security in all Pacific Island countries. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation contends that, to adapt, both 'modern' and Indigenous agricultural practices and knowledge are needed. A challenge lies in combining agricultural knowledge systems and enabling adaptive knowledge to be shared amongst Pacific Islanders. Opportunities to integrate different types of agricultural knowledge (including 'modern' and Indigenous) are needed. This paper argues that international labour mobility programmes provide an avenue for knowledge exchange that can support climate change adaptation in agriculture. It presents empirical evidence from research with 33 Pacific Islanders who grow crops in their home countries and were employed in Australia's Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP). We demonstrate how SWP participation opened new possibilities for climate change adaptation in agriculture in the Pacific Islands. Adaptive knowledge stems from SWP workers' exposure to different agricultural skills and ideas in Australia, combined with their knowledge and experience of crop production in their countries of origin. SWP participation created opportunities for workers to draw on different agricultural skills and knowledge on return to the Pacific Islands. The ability for SWP workers to then exchange adaptive knowledge with other Pacific Islanders is enabled by their social relationships, the likes of which an official agricultural extension officer might not have to the same degree. So far, such adaptive agricultural knowledge and skills exchanges are serendipitous. There is scope to explicitly build climate change knowledge exchange into agriculture-focused international labour mobility schemes. • International labour mobility schemes facilitate agricultural knowledge exchange. • Labour mobility migrants adapt acquired agricultural knowledge to their countries. • International labour mobility schemes can build adaptive capacity in agriculture. • Adaptive capacity from labour mobility can spread via agricultural extension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ocean acidification is commonly framed as a problem of carbon dioxide emissions concurrent to climate change. • This framing has been effective at mobilising action at the domestic level in the United States. • This framing has resulted in misaligning the problem of ocean acidification with regime mandates at the international level. • To mobilise action at the international level a reframing of ocean acidification is warranted. Ocean acidification has long been framed by its epistemic community as a problem of carbon dioxide emissions that is concurrent to climate change. Framing ocean acidification in this way has been effective at garnering policy action at the domestic level in the United States. It is argued, however, in this paper that this framing has been counterproductive at the international level, resulting in two main impediments to the international governance of this issue. Firstly, defining ocean acidification as a concurrent problem to climate change, rather than as an impact of it, has resulted in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change being interpreted as containing no obligation to address ocean acidification. Secondly, focussing almost solely on the reduction of global emissions of carbon dioxide as the only global solution to ocean acidification has resulted in ocean and biodiversity-related regimes that do not have the mandate to regulate CO 2 emissions as being viewed as without the recourse to respond. Through an examination of the causes and consequences of ocean acidification and the general objectives of existing multilateral environmental agreements, a set of alternative problem frames are developed in this paper that could be deployed to mobilize action under existing environmental regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Weather disasters are a growing burden in Europe, because of increasing losses and costs of precautionary measures. • Socio-economic, climatic and environmental changes drive the growing risk. • The insurance industry can play a major role in the partnership for reduction of risk of weather extremes Over the last decades, the damage caused by weather events has increased dramatically and ubiquitously. In Europe, weather catastrophes constitute a growing burden on national economies and insurance companies, not least because of the costs of precautionary measures. For a long time, the insurance sector has flagged that weather disasters are on the rise, both in terms of the number of occurrences and material damage caused. The main reasons for this are: increase in the number and area of settlements in exposed areas, the accumulation of ever more valuable and vulnerable assets in these areas, as well as the climate and environmental changes that have already taken place. This paper examines observed changes in risk of various categories of weather disasters in Europe, backed by statistical analyses of relevant, updated information originating from a valuable and quite unique source, Munich Re's NatCatSERVICE database, that is of considerable interest and value to the scientific community and beyond (e.g. in the reinsurance and insurance industries). The paper also calls for partnership in the reduction of risk of weather extremes and discusses the role of the insurance industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate-induced migration is an increasingly pressing issue in many African regions, as rising temperatures and extreme weather events have caused the displacement of vulnerable populations. This is especially so in Eastern Africa and the Horn of Africa, particularly Kenya and Ethiopia, where extreme weather events have led to rangeland degradation, crop failures, water shortages, and food insecurity. Hence, there is a perceived need to understand these processes better. Against this background, this paper reports on a study investigating the processes associated with climate-induced migration in Kenya and Ethiopia. The research method used consisted of an expert-driven assessment approach, which assesses the causes of climate-induced migration in Kenya and Ethiopia and its human and social implications on local communities. Data were collected from 110 experts residing and working on climate and migration-related issues in Ethiopia and Kenya via e-mail, whose knowledge of the current situation has enabled the identification of some important trends. The results show that climate change is a primary trigger of migration both internally and externally. The high number of migrants, many of whom living within levels of poverty in their home areas is straining resources and services in the receiving regions. Their presence is also leading to increased competition for jobs and resources. Additionally, it has increased urban poverty, as many migrants have little access to living space and health care. This paper provides a welcome addition to the literature in that it lists the causes and implications of climate-induced migration and, by doing so, fosters a better understanding of the current crisis and its implications. The implications of this paper to the overall knowledge of climate change and migration are twofold. First, it highlights the need for governments, international organisations, and other stakeholders better to understand the complex linkages between climate change and migration. Secondly, it shows the usefulness of better recognising how climate change can drive migration and the other factors shaping the decision to migrate. The paper concludes by stating the urgent need for policies and programmes that support climate change-induced migrants. Also, it draws attention to the usefulness of promoting sustainable development in their origin countries and destinations, so that migration is not necessarily perceived as the only response to climate change. A further conclusion is that there is a perceived need for providing access to resources such as education, health care, and livelihood opportunities and establishing mechanisms to ensure a safe and dignified return for those who choose to do so. • Climate change is a significant driver for migration in Kenya and Ethiopia. • Droughts, conflicts, and crop failures are among the key drivers of migration. • Male migration is more prominent than a female one. • Limited access to productive resources leads to outmigration from rural areas. • Lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic did not cause any major migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic models can help adapt to climate change since they inform on the impacts of decisions and future events on sustainability. They make it possible to follow the evolution of variables over time, to model exogenous events and adaptive policies and to compute sustainability indicators. Various model types based on different worldviews exist, and they give rise to different indicators. Modellers generally choose only one type of model, limiting the variety of indicators. However, decision-makers, who have to be creative to face global change, need a wider diversity of indicators. The objective of this paper is to show the diversity of insights one can get by using alternative system indicators and their decision implications. We test our "very diverse indicators" approach and illustrate its results for a population at risk of flooding and a water-basin manager who can help the population implement protection measures. We test many variations, including e.g. viability theory and agent-based modelling, and different indicators of viability, resilience, efficiency and equity, based on comparable data sets. We show possible synergies of the obtained diversity of insights: for example, one indicator says that it is urgent to act and another which is the best policy to use. We discuss the difficulties of implementation and the benefits of our approach for the decision-maker. • Different and multidisciplinary modelling choices to address the challenge of climate change. • Various indicators produced by different modelling choices to provide a more complete and a less biased view of the problem. • Building indicators to inform decision-makers in terms of viability, resilience, efficiency and equity. • Indicators dealing differently with uncertain future events and dynamics to provide more robust information and decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate crisis and related events are often in the headline in recent years. The climate agreements reflected these concerns and called the researchers' attention to the urgent need for climate mitigation and adaptation policies. Many countries made new commitments during the latest United Nations Climate Conference (COP26) in November 2021 in Glasgow. In turn, scientists and experts worry that new pledges are not ambitious enough. The first environmental regulation was ratified in Great Britain in 1863. Later, the industrial and agricultural revolution stimulated pollution and brought about the emergence of environmental issues. The first agreement aiming to mitigate environmental pollution and stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere was the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Behind the European Union, the contribution of the biggest polluter countries to climate change is also significant. The objective of the paper is to investigate the explanatory factors of CO 2 emission, focusing on the contribution of economic growth, agriculture, and trade along with free trade and climate agreements on climate change in Non-European Union member states, including the biggest emitters in the past two decades. In addition, it investigates the role of specific free trade agreements in emission cuts. The results showed an increase in CO 2 emissions in third countries, the reduction in the impact of agricultural export on greenhouse gas emissions, underlining the potential hidden effect of trade-related emissions between 2000 and 2018. NAFTA was encouraged while EFTA, ASEAN and MERCOSUR reduced emission growth. The USA, China, and Russia have the highest responsibility in controlling climate change. The findings reflect the limited progress and implementation of climate and trade policies and agricultural-related emissions in Non-EU countries. • Confirmed the validity of the U-shaped EKC curve in Non-EU countries. • Economic development stimulates while agricultural development reduces CO 2 emission. • Agricultural export has a sinking impact on GHGs in the rest of the world. • NAFTA encouraged while EFTA, MERCOSUR and ASEAN hindered CO 2 emission. • The USA, China, Russia have the highest responsibility in controlling emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As decisions on climate change adaptation involve stakeholders with different values, beliefs and attitudes (VBA), decision outcomes depend on how stakeholders interact and how power is distributed. In this paper, we explore the VBA of stakeholders involved in three water management projects focusing on dams, micro-reservoirs, or wetlands in a Peruvian watershed facing droughts. We apply a framework with the core ideas of the hydrosocial cycle, the decision context perspective, and the VBA hierarchy to show how stakeholders' perspectives and power influence practices on the ground. The analysis of VBA reveals three different perspectives on water management held by different stakeholder groups. First, a community-based perspective, frequent among local communities, favors micro-reservoirs managed by communities. Second, an infrastructure-based perspective, frequent among public sector stakeholders, shows a preference for dams managed by the private sector. Third, a nature-based perspective, with a preference for wetlands managed by the public sector, is found across stakeholder groups. In the three water management projects, different power distributions determine which VBA dominate and influence practices on the ground. Dams on the ground represent power from the public and private sectors, while micro-reservoirs represent local grassroot control. In the wetland project, the outcomes of the evolving hydrosocial cycle are still unclear and will depend on how multiple perspectives are considered. Examining and questioning the decision context in which adaptation occurs can help excluded stakeholders achieve more power and agency and tackle the fundamental question of 'adaptation of what and for whom'. • We analyze values, beliefs, and attitudes (VBA) in climate change adaptation. • We study three water management projects in a Peruvian watershed. • Stakeholders in the projects have contrasted VBA. • Water management on the ground results from power distribution within projects. • Power relationships mediate the interactions between sets of VBA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a study of the determinants of adaptive behavior in face of climate-driven water insecurity, using a survey of 400 urban dwellers in Lima, Peru. Lima is characterized by continuous water stress and is at risk of permanent water scarcity due to climate change. Residents show a general understanding that the climate is changing and have recent experience with climate extremes. We use regression analyses to identify the socioeconomic, socio-institutional, and psychological determinants of adaptive behavior. We examine the differences between climate-responsive and general adaptive behavior, using five indices -- structural, knowledge, consumption, planning, and environmental -- to identify and compare the determinants of both behaviors. Our findings show that education, extended water availability, climate change concern, and cultural environmental values influence adaptive behavior, and each thematic index has distinct set of significant behavioral determinants. We discuss the importance of water-related determinants, the intentionality of adaption behavior, and the need to contextualize the social and psychological realities of urban dwellers in the Global South. • Education, extended water availability, climate change concern, and cultural environmental values influence adaptive behavior. • The climate-responsive and general adaptive behavior determinants that differ are related to self-transcendence values. • Water-specific urban processes prove significant to explain adaptive behavior. • Individuals' social distance to climate change does not prevent them from adapting to climate change. • The assumption that social trust is a condition for adaptation is contested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not only has the frequency and severity of flooding increased under climate change, but which communities are at-risk and how those risks are distributed within communities has changed too. This realisation points to an important interplay between exposure (risk) and social vulnerability. Who is vulnerable? Answering this question is far from straightforward as different vulnerability indicators identify different groups across different scales. This paper addresses this issue. Using the empirical case of England, the spatial distribution of flood risk at different administrative scales is analysed in relation to the Environment Agency (EA) allocation of flood funding between 2015 and 2021. We find that Upper-tier Local Authority Districts with higher levels of both flood risk and social vulnerability received more funding in the period considered. Yet, that is not the scale at which flood scheme funding decisions are made. Flood schemes are decided at the local level, but funding data for smaller administrative scales is not available. Different understandings of vulnerability, the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP), and issues around data transparency and availability in flood risk management, need to be urgently addressed. • This study critically analyses four indexes for quantifying flood vulnerability in England. • We find that vulnerability is interpreted differently depending on the indicators and spatial scales used. • The EA cannot fully monitor the relationship between vulnerability and funding without making LSOA data available. • Where LSOA data is unavailable, vulnerability indexes that are consistent across different areal units are more 'useful'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban green spaces – including parks, trees, and other vegetated areas – are inequitably distributed in cities worldwide, as underserved groups, such as low-income and people of color, have significantly lower provisions of such resources. Motivated by the health benefits of green spaces, advocates and policymakers in several countries have sought to ameliorate these systemic inequities by implementing green space equity initiatives. Many such initiatives are individual projects (e.g., a new park in an underserved neighborhood), but new policies have also been implemented to advance green space equity. To date, limited research has examined which policies have been implemented, what it takes to adopt and implement them, and whether they have effectively advanced green space equity. Based on a scoping literature review and a workshop with an interdisciplinary group of researchers, we developed a research agenda on green space equity policy. Our research agenda includes research questions grouped into four interrelated themes: policy impact and evaluation, power building and policy change, green gentrification, and health equity and climate change. The contributions of this paper are twofold: We synthesize current knowledge on green space equity policy and present a research agenda whose findings can inform policy work on green space equity. • Limited research has examined policies to advance green space equity. • We developed a research agenda on green space equity policy based on a scoping review and a workshop. • In the review, we identified research on green space equity policies, processes to adopt them, and their effectiveness. • Agenda themes include policy evaluation, power building, green gentrification, and health equity and climate change. • Research on green space equity policy speaks to global challenges such as health inequities and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical infrastructure is a foundational component of a functional society and is under threat from the impacts of climate change. To ensure communities are not left without fundamental supplies and services, the adaptation of critical infrastructure to climate change needs to be understood holistically. This paper uses a scoping literature review to investigate the relationship between critical infrastructure and climate change. In the absence of a common definition for adaptive critical infrastructure, an outcomes-based definition is proposed that captures the four types of critical infrastructure: physical, ecological, institutional and cultural. A typology was developed to critically interrogate the focus of adaptive critical infrastructure. It shows that the focus across elements such as conceptualisation and management ranges from tangible to intangible infrastructure, and from positivist to interpretivist in approach. The literature review identified relationship-building as a key management objective across the spectrums. The typology contributes knowledge on how the choice of infrastructure focus and adaptation methods influences adaptation outcomes and path dependencies. • There are four different types of critical infrastructure: physical, ecological, institutional and cultural. • Current definitions of critical infrastructure prioritise physical assets. • Critical infrastructure needs to pay more regard to climate change impacts. • A definition for adaptive critical infrastructure is proposed that includes tangible and intangible systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature-based solutions (NbS) to climate change, strategies for mitigation and adaptation that rely on natural ecosystem processes to preserve biodiversity and enhance human well-being, hold the potential to contribute to numerous Sustainable Development Goals and uplift Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) that pursue place-based livelihoods. The local ecological and societal expertise housed in Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) could provide substantial benefits to the development, implementation, and evaluation of NbS projects. However, the historical treatment of ILK through misappropriation and biopiracy by the scientific community leave IPLCs politically, socially, culturally, and economically vulnerable to the growing interest in NbS applications to combat climate change. This paper addresses the current state of NbS focused on IPLCs by assessing peer-reviewed literature with criteria developed around the validation, integration, and protection of ILK. The assessment uncovered that most NbS literature does not discuss ILK or the contributions and participation of IPLCs. Such omissions could establish a dangerous precedent of ignoring or misappropriating ILK in NbS projects, possibly ushering in a new era in biopiracy. To facilitate better inclusivity of IPLCs, honor the dual purpose of NbS, and ensure the proper application of ILK in climate response, future NbS projects should detail how ILK is validated, integrated, and protected. • Nature-based solutions hold great potential to help climate mitigation and adaptation. • Indigenous and local knowledge can support nature-based solutions. • Climate projects should validate, integrate, and protect Indigenous knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A new classification model of mitigation and adaptation measures has been proposed. • Italian cities showed soft (52%) and green (28%) adaptation and mitigation measures. • Spanish cities are oriented towards soft (81%) adaptation and mitigation measures; • In both countries, the choice of the measures is taken independently of the size of the city. • Nature-based solutions support the interplay between local mitigation and adaptation strategies. Abstract The growing recognition of the contribution of urban areas to adaptation and mitigation strategies implemented in response to climate change has led to several policy initiatives. Among others, the "Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy" is the most acknowledged, providing local governments with the opportunity to overcome the mitigation-adaptation dichotomy and enhance urban resilience. In this context, the main aim of this paper is to analyse the synergy between adaptation and mitigation actions in some European Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans at an urban level. We will do this through: (1) the proposal of a novel classification model of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, which will be capable of classifying, in a common way, the best practices carried out at an urban level; and (2) a comparison of the best climate change management practices carried out by two European countries (Italy and Spain). The classification model is based on three urban sectors: (1) Urban Adaptation and Health (UA&H), (2) Transport & Infrastructure (T&I), and (3) Energy (NRG). Urban management measures have been classified as soft (more focused on environmental information), gray (more focused on buildings), and green (more focused on nature-based solutions). The overall comparative analysis between Italy and Spain shows that in large and medium-sized Italian cities, mainly soft (52%) and green (28%) adaptation measures have been integrated into local energy-environmental planning in combination with mitigation actions. However, in both countries, decisions regarding the type of measures to be implemented are taken independently of the size of the city. This paper, in line with other research, highlights the importance of nature-based solutions as a first step in the integration process between adaptation and mitigation strategies at an urban level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Collaboration barriers are analysed as constraints to effective climate adaptation. • The paper presents a mixed-method approach based on Social Network Analysis. • The method is tested in a fragile coastal socio-ecosystem is Southern Mexico. • The method reveals the complex socio-institutional interplay driving adaptation outcomes. Abstract Collaboration barriers have been reported among the most frequent institutional constraints to adaptation. Yet, the growing literature on the topic has been largely descriptive and little attention has been placed on how to transform barriers into enablers for action. By taking a fragile socio-ecological lagoon system in Southern Mexico as a case study, the paper applies a social network analytical approach to: i) reveal the actual web of connections tying stakeholders through local governance arrangements; ii) identify shortcomings in multi-actor collaboration networks; and iii) propose ways to tackle them so that the full potential of adaptation can be exploited. The paper employs a mixed-method approach combining both a quantitative and qualitative Social Network Analysis (SNA). The quantitative SNA is used to assess the quality and strength of relationships among formal public organisations working on climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction in the site. The qualitative SNA is employed to both assess linking ties between formal organizations and local coastal communities potentially targeted with adaptation interventions, and bonding ties connecting community members. The approach proves to be useful to map the relational architecture of the system of interest and to reveal network characteristics that are important for collective action including: network fragmentation in subgroups; density of relations; centralization around a few actors. The actual topology of the network, as revealed, can then be compared with what is required for achieving societally desired adaptation outcomes and for identifying agents that can promote change. The paper acknowledges that a social analytical approach might be limited in unveiling the interests and motives behind actors' participation in the network, and that the latter ultimately determine actors' contribution in defining and enacting a joint solution for a common problem. However, the mixed-methods approach presented in this paper allows for gaining first insights on the way a mismatch between formal and informal institutions might drive socio-ecological systems towards inadequate adaptation outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Analyzes European household's willingness to mitigate climate change through changes in consumption behavior. • New analytical perspective through Qualitative Comparative Analysis in large-N design. • Highlights the contribution of health information for willingness to mitigate. • Demonstrates limitations of financial incentives to motivate behavioural change. • Points to need for different policy design to motivate household mitigation of GHG emissions. Abstract The climate change mitigation potential of the production side has been discussed very frequently, but private citizens and households have received less systematic attention. Thus, this paper focuses on the willingness of private households to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. While many scholars study the socio-economic characteristics of people to then recommend policies, we change the analytical perspective and look at the characteristics of climate mitigation actions that affect households' willingness to adopt these measures: Costs, emission reductions, behavioral change, and consumption sector. The paper uses data from HOPE (HOusehold Preferences for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in four European high-income countries), an interdisciplinary project investigating households' preferences for reducing greenhouse gas in four countries (France, Germany, Norway and Sweden). We use a fuzzy-set QCA (fsQCA) to analyze which attributes are necessary or sufficient conditions for specific actions to be selected by participants of HOPE. The results of the fsQCA show that Food & Recycling actions are particularly popular. The general pattern that was found shows that people prefer actions that are easy to implement even though they often do not reduce the CO2e-Footprint by much. Therefore, the condition Behavioral Change is the most important lever in improving households' willingness to act on climate change. Moreover, the analysis of Health Information suggests that there is an urgent need to go beyond financial arguments in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Hybrid governance style with synergistic interplay between different governance modes. • Role of government in meta-governance. • Meta-governance as a reflexive process of societal learning. • Water governance in Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, China and South Africa. Abstract For several decades, water policy reform and the design of governance systems were dominated by simplistic panaceas. This was accompanied by changing preferences for specific types of policy instruments and modes of steering. Such dominance has given way to a more nuanced understanding of requirements for sustainable and integrated water governance capable of addressing the challenges of global and climate change. This paper focusses on the role of governance modes and on meta-governance. Governance mode refers to a certain logic and form through which governance can be realized. The paper uses the distinction between bureaucratic hierarchies, networks and markets to denote different modes of governance. It argues that hybrid governance systems with synergistic interplay between these different governance modes are essential for dealing with complex water management challenges. Furthermore, it argues that the development of such governance systems requires a combination of purposeful design and self-organization. An exploratory comparative analysis of water governance in Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, China and South Africa illustrates the validity and relevance of the conceptual considerations. The paper concludes by highlighting the need for meta-governance as a reflexive process of societal learning to develop, evaluate and adapt governance approaches with the purpose of addressing complex societal challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Significant progress has been made to mainstream climate adaptation into the forestry and energy sectors. • NAPA has played a key role in enhancing the of climate adaptation into sectoral policies. • Many constraints such as the lack of human and financial resources still impede the mainstreaming initiative. Abstract While considerable advances have been made in mainstreaming climate adaptation into sectoral policies in most regions across Africa, little is known about Central Africa (CA) even though the sub-region has enormous potentials to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions through the Congo basin forest. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the progress made in mainstreaming climate adaptation into sectoral policies in CA based on insights from Cameroun. To achieve this, 30 strategic policy documents published by the government of Cameroun covering different aspects of climate adaptation were exploited. Additional information was obtained from interviews with 27 stakeholders working in relevant government ministries/institutions and international organizations. Results show that significant progress has been made to mainstream climate adaptation into the forestry and energy sectors. This has been facilitated by the putting in place of national policies that consider climate change impacts and mitigation/adaptation in these sectors. Meanwhile, little progress has been recorded in the water and agricultural. The lack of progress in these sectors can be attributed to the absence of national policies that take into account climate change impacts in these sectors. Overall results show that the National Adaptation Plan of Action has played a key role in enhancing the mainstreaming of climate adaptation into sectoral policies in Cameroun. Notwithstanding the progress recorded, many obstacles such as the lack of human and financial resources still exist. Stakeholders proposed a series of potentially useful solutions to tackling obstacles hindering cross-sectoral mainstreaming initiatives. This paper contributes to contemporary debates on the extent to which adaptation mainstreaming is happening at national level in sub-Saharan Africa, and reveals the obstacles that need to be addressed in order to sustain this initiative in CA and other regions of the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]