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Climate change mitigation by increased paper recycling can alleviate the two-sided pressure on the Swedish forest sector: supplying growing demands for wood-based products and increasing the forest carbon sink. This study assesses two scenarios for making use of a reduced demand for primary pulp resulting from an increased paper recycling rate in Sweden, from the present 72% to 78%. A Conservation scenario uses the saved primary pulp to reduce pulplog harvests so as to increase the forest carbon sink concomitant with constant overall wood product supply. In contrast, a Substitution scenario uses the saved primary pulp to produce man-made cellulosic fibers (MMCF) from dissolving pulp replacing cotton fiber, implying increased overall wood product supply. Our results suggest that utilizing efficiency gains in paper recycling to reduce pulplog harvests is better from a climate change mitigation perspective than producing additional MMCF to substitute cotton fiber. This conclusion holds even when assuming the use of by-products from dissolving pulp making and an indirect increase in MMCF availability. Hence, unless joint improvements across the value chain materialize, the best climate change mitigation option from increased paper recycling in Sweden would seemingly be to reduce fellings rather than producing additional MMCF.

Recycling is emerging as both a viable alternative to extraction in many industries and a cornerstone of the circular economy. In this paper, we assess the role of paper and cardboard recycling on the forest sector, from both an economic and carbon perspective. For this purpose, we add the recycling industry to an existing forest-sector model in an attempt to capture its effects on other wood products and the overall forest resource. As the forest sector has an important potential for climate change mitigation, this model allows us to assess the effects of increased paper and cardboard recycling on the availability of the natural resource and the carbon balance of the forest sector. We show that these results are strongly linked to the hypotheses of substitutability and/or complementarity of recycled pulp and virgin pulpwood. Although we find increased emissions at the pulp sector level, the effects on emissions in other wood products are small. When pulp products are considered substitutes, we find the impact on total net sequestration to be positive. In the case where pulp products are considered complements, we find the impact on total net sequestration to be negative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deinking paper sludge (DPS) soil amendments have potential as a climate change mitigation strategy. Understanding how DPS application affects carbon mineralization in different soil textures is crucial but has not been well investigated. We performed a 120 days incubation experiment to evaluate the effect of soil texture and DPS amount on CO2 emissions. Three different textures were tested: silty clay, sandy-silt and sandy with three DPS doses: 0, 30 and 60 t.ha-1. Results showed that DPS mineralization without soil seemed very rapid with a high mineralized carbon amount (more than 2.500 gC.kg-1DPS), but did not reach the stable phase. For amended soils, soil texture effects are marked at the end of incubation. The cumulative carbon mineralization depended significantly on soil texture and DPS doses with a significant interaction. Among all soils with different dose application, the highest cumulative carbon mineralization was revealed for silty-clay soil by applying 30 t.ha-1 as well as 60 t.ha-1 of DPS. However, the lowest values occurred for sandy soil. Only this latter achieved the stabilization phase after 120 days and therefore stopped CO2 emission. The highest potential mineralization rate (C0) was achieved for silty-clay soil by applying the two DPS doses. The mineralization rate (C0*k) was two times higher for this soil than the sandy soil. The kinetic deviation of carbon mineralization applying the highest DPS doses (60 t.ha-1) is similar for the four studied soils because of C-decomposition blockage. These findings highlight the necessity to consider the combined effects of the DPS amount and soil texture for assessing C release in DPS-amended soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We utilize a coupled economy–agroecology–hydrology modeling framework to capture the cascading impacts of climate change mitigation policy on agriculture and the resulting water quality cobenefits. We analyze a policy that assigns a range of United States government’s social cost of carbon estimates ($51, $76, and $152/ton of CO2-equivalents) to fossil fuel–based CO2 emissions. This policy raises energy costs and, importantly for agriculture, boosts the price of nitrogen fertilizer production. At the highest carbon price, US carbon emissions are reduced by about 50%, and nitrogen fertilizer prices rise by about 90%, leading to an approximate 15% reduction in fertilizer applications for corn production across the Mississippi River Basin. Corn and soybean production declines by about 7%, increasing crop prices by 6%, while nitrate leaching declines by about 10%. Simulated nitrate export to the Gulf of Mexico decreases by 8%, ultimately shrinking the average midsummer area of the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic area by 3% and hypoxic volume by 4%. We also consider the additional benefits of restored wetlands to mitigate nitrogen loading to reduce hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico and find a targeted wetland restoration scenario approximately doubles the effect of a low to moderate social cost of carbon. Wetland restoration alone exhibited spillover effects that increased nitrate leaching in other parts of the basin which were mitigated with the inclusion of the carbon policy. We conclude that a national climate policy aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the United States would have important water quality cobenefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harvested wood products (HWP) play an important role in global climate change mitigation. The Production Approach, an internationally accepted HWP carbon accounting approach by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has been revised several times to enhance the accuracy of the accounting results. This study compared the methodological differences in the Production Approach elaborated in the 2013 Revised Supplementary Methods and Good Practice Guidance Arising from the Kyoto Protocol (PA2013) and 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (PA2019). We used PA2019 to calculate the HWP carbon stock in China under different wood utilization scenarios. In terms of recycling and reusing of recovered paper, we found that PA2019 has a more accurate representation of the increasing proportion of paper and paperboard materials produced using recovered paper in the world. In 2019, the HWP carbon stock in China was 815.94 Mt (1 Mt = 106 t) using PA2019. In detail, the carbon stock of sawnwood, wood-based panels, and paper and paperboard were 208.52 Mt, 559.73 Mt, and 47.69 Mt, respectively. Scenario simulation results show that half-life was an important factor that affecting HWP carbon stock. China can improve HWP carbon stock by increasing the recovered paper utilization rate for paper products or increasing the utilization rate of HWP with long half-life in construction (structural material). The additional carbon stock obtained by changing the utilization structure of wood and improve the half-life of HWP will not be large until decades later but nonetheless important.

This paper assesses four relevant climate actions in Indian agricultural sector through the lens of United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to understand how climate actions (SDG 13) are linked with other SDGs and their targets and what measures can be taken to scale up these actions. Four board categories of climate actions are considered for this exercise: shift to less-flooded paddy water management practices; minimizing overuse of nitrogen-based fertilizer, system of rice intensification and climate smart agricultural practices. A mixed method has been followed: first, scoping review of literature between 2010 and 2022 is undertaken to capture the growing body of literature and then a normalized weighted score is used to understand the net strength of the linkages. Scoping review helped in identifying 100 studies spanned across Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and the eastern part of Peninsular India. Findings from the scoring method suggest that these practices have linkages with 15 SDGs and as many as 43 SDG targets. Almost all linkages are positive (synergy) but there are a few negative linkages (trade-offs) as well. Trade-offs include exacerbating inequalities including gender, high upfront cost, requirement of skilled labor, lack of access to information and finance. This paper provides a detailed description of these trade-offs and suggests measures to tackle and minimize them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research addresses the issue of the heritage preventive conservation in the perspective of energy sustainability, for contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and towards the EU Green Deal. The study analyses and compares four cases associated with different microclimate thresholds as suggested by the standard EN 16893:2018 (Cases 1–3) and as derived from the outputs of three degradation models for preserving paper, wood, and canvas paintings (Case 4). Weather-based indices (degree and gram days) were calculated to estimate trends in the potential energy demand of collection facilities in three European cities belonging to different Köppen-Geiger climate zones (Cfb, Csa, and Dfb), under recent past (1981–2010) and near/far future climate scenarios (2021–2050 and 2071–2100) from two Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5). The findings suggest that adapting facilities' management strategies to focus on collections preservation can facilitate the achievement of 5 out of 17 SDGs, offering a viable alternative to costly energy retrofits and encouraging the development of shared solutions for similar facilities in the same climate zone. The results can contribute to inform the revision of EN 16893 and to face major challenges such as the preservation of paper collections in southern latitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mega ports, defined in this study as those handling over 5 million TEUs annually, are major hubs within the dynamic framework of global trade, influencing both economic and environmental landscapes. This study identifies climate change as the foremost environmental concern for these ports, necessitating urgent and strategic responses. Through comprehensive research, this paper explores the main Climate Change Mitigation (CCM) strategies and evaluates their implementation across mega ports worldwide. Findings indicate widespread adoption of certain strategies, such as setting greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets and providing on-shore power supply (OPS), while also identifying challenges, particularly in implementing environmentally differentiated port fees. Additionally, this paper outlines key strategies for climate change adaptation (CCA) in ports. The results of this research offer insights into sustainable practices and collaborative efforts to confront climate change challenges effectively. These findings have the potential to significantly improve maritime policy and ship management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is no longer a myth that climate change‐related disasters are on the rise globally, with severe and devastating consequences in developing countries, particularly in Sub‐Saharan Africa, where many of the world's poor people reside. Thus, the emphasis on adaptation to climate change is no longer a choice or a deferred problem into the future, but rather an urgent matter of concern which must be considered a policy priority. As a response to retrogressive climate change challenges on social‐economic development and environmental degradation, the government of South Africa has in the last two and half decades, embarked on the progressive formulation of different policy instruments and strategic frameworks to curb and minimize the impacts of climate change on all sub‐sectors of the economy. Although much remains to be achieved, some level of success has been realized, particularly in the space of policy formulation, albeit the poor record of implementation. Using research methods inspired by the tradition of qualitative research and an appraisal of existing literature, this paper discusses the complexities of climate change adaptation governance at a local government level in South Africa, focusing on the Eastern Cape Province. It is argued in the paper that one of the major challenges for climate change governance at local municipality levels in South Africa emanates from the gap between aspirations and actions across the entire national governance system. The absence of an integrated climate change governance system has posed significant systemic challenges, and these have tended to constrain decision‐making and implementation processes. These issues have been discussed within the broader discourse of the sustainable development goals, particularly goals number 13, 16 and 17. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green bonds serve as an imperative financial tool for mitigating climate change risk and environmental sustainability. It has received significant attention in the current literature, with increased worldwide efforts to fight against global climate change. Yet, the direction of green bonds' literature is currently unclear. Therefore, this paper aims to deliver a comprehensive vision of the literary landscape of green bond research, in consideration of policymakers, major market players, and investors. To achieve this, bibliometric analysis is performed on 342 filtered articles found in the Scopus database, through VOSviewer and Biblioshiny package. A detailed and descriptive evaluation of scholarly data demonstrates the significance of green bonds in accomplishing the objective of sustainable finance and mitigation of climate change. This study broadens our understanding of the literature and conceptual growth of scholarly discussion of green bonds, which gives insight into developing a strong conceptual foundation and future directions for research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is regarded as a region with one of the worst cases of armed conflict and climate risk. This paper examines the interactive effect of armed conflict and climate risk on gender vulnerability in SSA. Design/methodology/approach: The difference and system generalised method of movement (GMM) were used to examine the relationship between the variables using annualised data of 35 SSA countries from 1998 to 2019. Findings: The paper found strong evidence that armed conflict and climate change are positive predictors of gender vulnerability. The impact of climate change on gender vulnerability is found to be more direct than indirect. Practical implications: The direct and indirect positive effect of armed conflict and climate change on gender vulnerability implies that climate change drives gender vulnerability through multiple channels. This underscores the need for a multi-disciplinary policy approach to addressing gender vulnerability problem in SSA. Originality/value: The study contributes to the climate action debate by highlighting the need for climate action to incorporate gender inclusive policies such as massive investment in infrastructure and safety nets that offer protection to the most vulnerable girls and women affected by armed conflict and climate change. Societies should as a matter of urgency strive to structural barriers that predispose girls and women to biodiversity loss. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-09-2022-0595 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural sector of the Republic of Moldova is currently facing a series of challenges, an important part of them being related to the greening of the sector. The existing public support schemes for greening agriculture are more related to mitigation of the climate change effects, with less focus on preserving the environment, and their share in the total public support is relatively low. The paper aims to analyze the existing public support schemes related to climate change adaptation and greening of sector and provide a series of recommendations for their improvement. In order to achieve the main aim of the paper, the following scientific methods have been used: generalization of empirical and applied material, induction and deduction methods for making the paper conclusions, comparison method and analytical one. In order to be in line with current greening EU policies, Republic of Moldova must adapt some of its public support schemes for the agricultural sector and pay more attention to development of a coordinative mechanism and advice services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Offshore wind energy (OWE) will play a significant role in achieving climate neutrality. For example, several scenarios for Germany (e.g., Kopernikus base, Kopernikus 1.5 degree, Prognos CN65, and CN60) depict substantial OWE annual installed capacity additions, especially after 2030. This tendency promotes OWE technology development as deployment expands, allowing manufacturers to gain expertise and optimize wind turbine construction. The global trend towards ever-larger components (e.g., hub height and rotor diameter) is critical to achieving higher-rated capacities. These aspects and others, such as wind quality, influence not only OWE annual electricity production but also its environmental performance. In addition, future supply chains might reduce their environmental impacts and enhance OWE climate change mitigation. In this paper, a prospective life cycle assessment (pLCA) is developed and applied exemplarily for a 9.5-MW offshore wind turbine (OWT) on the North Sea coast of Germany for the years 2030 and 2050. Considering that the current OWTs under construction in Europe have an average capacity of 10 MW, Germany plans to instal OWTs of 9.5-MW. This exemplary OWT describes the potential advances for offshore wind turbines in 2030 and 2050, considering component scale-up and learning effects. Yet, the methodology is adaptable to various installed capacities and regions. This approach allows us to analyse not only the potential future characteristics of wind turbines, but also future developments in OWE supply chains. Therefore, relevant parameters related to OWT construction and operation (e.g., rotor diameter, hub height, distance to the shore, lifetime, etc.) as well as prospective life cycle inventory data for background systems that reflect potential future developments in the broader economy are considered. In this way, scenarios (e.g., optimistic, moderate, and pessimistic) for OWE elucidate the expected environmental impacts, such as climate change, marine eutrophication, and abiotic depletion potential, in 2030 and 2050. Results: The findings describe the variability of the environmental impacts of a 9.5-MW offshore wind turbine representing the technologies expected to be available in Germany in 2030 and 2050 and show that climate change impacts could vary between 7 and 18 g CO2-eq per kWh produced in 2030 and between 5 and 17 g CO2-eq per kWh in 2050. However, marine eutrophication could experience a significant increase (100% increase), depending on the consideration of hydrogen as a fuel in the electricity mix, as demonstrated in the climate-neutral scenarios adopted for Germany. Overall, construction efficiency improvements in 2050 might reduce the required materials, leading to a 6% decrease in abiotic depletion potential compared to 2030 values. Conclusions: This paper highlights the need to consider temporal improvements in LCA studies, particularly when assessing the environmental impacts of offshore wind turbines. The complex nature and rapid growth of offshore wind technology require a comprehensive life cycle approach to deepen our understanding of its potential environmental impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All over the world, waste and its disposal are becoming a more prominent issue, as landfills swell up and growing evidence points to its contribution to climate change and environmental degradation. In the developing world, waste pickers sort through solid waste and sell it to vendors, who will recycle the product into something consumable. The work they do is vital to climate change mitigation, as well as urban cleanliness. In a way, waste pickers, especially in India, are vehicles of environmental justice, but they are often discriminated against and subjected to inhumane working conditions. In this environment, the pandemic hit, making waste pickers' already precarious life even worse. This paper attempts to fill the gap in the academic literature by compiling a systemized literature review of the impacts of COVID-19 on waste-pickers' lives using an environmental justice perspective. The review also uses a Feminist Political Ecology perspective to illuminate the double jeopardy that female waste pickers face in the era of COVID-19, which academia often ignores. Ultimately, this paper shows that COVID-19 exacerbated the preexisting injustices that the waste picker community face and created an immense burden on women. This paper will show that it is important to notice the differentiation between female and male waste picker challenges, especially at the crux of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper has important policy implications as well as research considerations for both environmental justice and feminist political ecology scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Urban Heat Island phenomenon (UHI), characterized by elevated temperatures in urban areas compared to their rural surroundings, is highly exacerbated by urbanization and climate change. Understanding the complex relationship between UHI effect and urban form is crucial for effective urban planning and climate mitigation strategies. This paper examines the multifaceted connection between UHIs and urban forms, exploring various methods used to study this relationship. Through a review of the existing literature, we analyze the influence of various urban characteristics on the intensity and spatial distribution of UHIs. Furthermore, we discuss the key methods and technologies, such as remote sensing and modeling, used in advancing our understanding of UHI–urban form interactions. This study then delves into the literature on UHIs within the specific context of Morocco, identifying research gaps and emphasizing the need for more comprehensive research to address them. By translating study findings into actionable urban solutions, this paper suggests contextual mitigation strategies based on the research outcomes. Finally, by synthesizing current research findings and methodologies, this paper seeks to provide insights into the complexities of UHI dynamics and their implications for climate resilience, highlighting the potential of research for forging sustainable and climate-conscious planning strategies in Morocco and across the broader MENA region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents some opportunities in the development of antennas when using Distilled Water (DW) as a dielectric with high relative electrical permittivity (er(DW) = 80). By embedding an antenna in DW, the electrical growth of the antenna is achieved without significantly increasing its physical size. In other words, the antenna will resonate at frequencies lower than those to whom it originally resonated. It was also found that the antennas developed through this technique are usually multiband antennas, offering various resonance frequencies at frequencies lower than the original ones. Finally, the change in radiation patterns was also verified through the use of this technique that allows beamforming to be carried out by varying the size and shape of the DW block. The development of more efficient antennas has a direct impact on the energy consumption of wireless systems, which represents an effective contribution to climate change mitigation, the reason that the improvement of antennas is a very important research area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the intricate connection between indigenous knowledge and sustainable forest management, with two main objectives. It seeks to explore and outline indigenous knowledge, elements, and practices that support sustainable forest management (SFM). It aims to uncover the invaluable traditional insights and practices that have helped preserve and ensure the responsible use of forest ecosystems. Also, it investigated global environmental policies that support indigenous knowledge since the inception of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). A narrative review method was employed to review and analyse peer-reviewed contents and reports to deduce ancestral or traditional wisdom, knowledge, practices, and beliefs from existing studies. The paper extracted data from existing literature from scholarly peer-reviewed journals. It aims to provide useful information for policy-makers, forest managers, and indigenous communities, to promote SFM and the sustainable development goals related to a sustainable environment. The study found that indigenous knowledge (IK) which includes ethnobotanical knowledge and plant selection, mixed land use, seed banks, and cultural beliefs such as sacred groves and taboos are some traditional practices, beliefs, and cultural knowledge that support SFM and can be integrated into international and national environmental management policies which the two-eyed seeing framework (TESF) seeks to promote. The framework highlights the potential of implementing IK into SFM. Also, the Akwé: Kon Guidelines, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), are some global environment policies that recognise traditional people and indigenous knowledge since the commencement of the CBD in the nineties. The paper recommends, for a future study, investigating the applicability of the Akwé: Kon Guidelines in international and national projects and programs that impact traditional sacred lands, forests and rivers, and indigenous people. Also, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement need to fully acknowledge the supporting role of indigenous knowledge and people in climate change mitigation and adaptation solutions, especially in Africa, since the majority of the world's population constitutes indigenous people who inhabit healthy standing forests and ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between natural cycles and human actions in causing climate change and its impacts on society have been a subject of debate. This paper explores the responses of pre-modern Koreans to climate change and natural disasters. The focus of this paper is on the societal reactions to these natural calamities and disasters during the Koryŏ dynasty (936–1392 A.D.) and their influence on Korea afterwards. This paper investigates the reasons behind the retention of primal religious worldviews in the face of ecological crises while other major imported religions were abandoned. The research method involved in this paper is archival research, and the literature sources include ancient records and other ecotheological resources. Through an analysis of the archival research and ecotheological resources, this study sheds light on the interpretation of climatic events in pre-modern Korea. Furthermore, based on the research findings, it presents missional implications for the Korean church in the post-pandemic era. This study underscores the importance of the church's responses to environmental awareness, collective responsibility, and spiritual support in addressing the challenges of climate change and provides missional implications for the Korean Church in response to the post-COVID-19 era based on the results of the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization exacerbates climate change impacts, making it crucial to develop innovative strategies for adaptation and mitigation. In this context, the "smartness" concept must be seen as the technical capability to forecast and adapt to changing conditions while maintaining livability and safety. This paper investigates the use of Vertical Green Structures (VGSs) as a mitigation strategy. Through a critical review of technology-driven applications, this research identifies key motivations and challenges in VGSs' technological integration and implementation, governance frameworks, and community engagement. Methodologically, it employs a critical case analysis and categorizes the technologies based on multicriteria; it also explores the potential to implement smart green infrastructure (GI) in cities and the GI urban governance that was developed in previous decades to adopt these systems at an urban scale and increase the community's awareness of them. The findings reveal diverse motivations driving technology and VGS integration, ranging from economic incentives to environmental sustainability. Additionally, this contribution explores possible future directions for VGSs and highlights three scenarios derived after the multidimensional impacts of climate change with their pros and cons in future cities. Multidisciplinary collaboration emerges as a crucial factor in optimizing technology implementations in VGSs and fostering a transition from nature-based solutions to technology-based solutions in urban sustainability initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) aim to improve safety and comfort of road users while contributing to the reduction of traffic congestion, air pollution, fuel consumption, and enabling mobility and accessibility of disabled and older people. As AV technology is rapidly advancing, there is an urgent need to explore how those new mobility services will impact urban transport systems, including the users, the infrastructure, and the design of future urban areas. This paper applies a systematic review to assess the role of AVs in urban areas. It reviews 41 articles published between 2003 and 2023, and uses inductive and deductive coding approaches to identify seven themes and thirty sub-themes within the literature. The seven include: benefits, attitudes, and behaviours and user perception, climate adaptation, climate mitigation, legislation and regulations, sustainability, and infrastructure. Studies related to benefits accounted for 25% of the sample, followed by behaviours and user perception (24%) and sustainability (22%). The least amount of research has been undertaken on the role of AVs to support climate adaptation. Geographically, almost half (#22) of the papers originate within Europe, followed by America (#10) and Asia (#7). There is only limited research originating from the Global South. This systematic review sets the scene for considering how AVs in public transport can be implemented in urban areas by establishing the current state of knowledge on user attitudes, perceptions, and behaviour, the benefits of AVs, the infrastructure and legislation and regulations required for AVs, and the role AVs have in climate mitigation, adaptation, and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Green Deal sets the ambitious targets of establishing the first climate neutral continent by 2050 and reducing emissions by a minimum of 55% by 2030. In order to move the involved stakeholders to action, the European Commission has formulated proposals for regulations. One such proposal defines a legal framework to force industries to reduce the environmental burden caused by packaging waste. A major waste producer is the parcel service industry (CEP; courier, express, and parcel) and the industries it serves. Once put into place by the EU member states, the new laws will force all players in these sectors to increase business innovations in circular economies, which are based on the principles of recycling and reuse. Circular economies can be achieved by the implementation of returnable transport items (RTI) integrated with Industry 4.0 technologies. The ongoing research project ReKEP, which is largely funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, investigates potential impacts of RTI-based circular economies in the Austrian parcel service industry. The project’s particular interest is to identify the requirements of the most relevant stakeholder groups in the CEP industry for the successful transformation towards RTI-enabled circular economies. For this purpose, we conducted interviews with leaders and decision-makers of 10 stakeholder organizations, including producers, retailers, CEP contractors and the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber. This paper summarizes the interview results, which indicate that, despite recognizing the high potential of RTIs for reaching ecological sustainability goals, the contemporary awareness of the EU Green Deal and the concomitant responsibility to take action seems too low for successful implementation. The study outcome suggests that research and development in RTI should focus on operational requirements of workers and line managers from CEP industries for successful transformations to circular economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the growing interest in soil health and sustainable agriculture as a response to the challenges facing modern agriculture. It highlights innovative strategies such as precision agriculture, organic farming practices, and the integration of biofertilizers. The article categorizes the research papers in the special issue into four themes: nutrient management and soil health, soil management and agricultural sustainability, soil contamination and phytoremediation, and soil nitrogen management and environmental impact. The research papers explore various aspects of these themes, providing insights into enhancing soil productivity and promoting long-term environmental sustainability. The article emphasizes the importance of nurturing soil health and sustainability in the face of increasing demands for food production, environmental conservation, and climate change mitigation. [Extracted from the article]

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) derived refractory organic matter, mainly in glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP), stores globally significant amounts of carbon, attracting wide attention in response to climatic change. However, there is no synthesis review has been done so far to reveal global research progresses on GRSP, especially its ecological role for climate mitigation. Here,we conducted a bibliometric analysis of the papers on GRSP research from 1998 to 2021, based on the Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection.We collected a total of 634 papers and analyzed the characteristics of publication outputs in various countries and institutions. In addition, keywords analysis was conducted to reveal the main research directions and hot trends in the field of GRSP. We confirmed that 1) the number of papers published per year has gradually increased since 2010, and increased sharply in 2019; 2) the United States was the earliest country to conduct GRSP research, while China currently has the largest number of publications; 3) relevant studies focus on the role from AMF and GRSP in soil health and plant health; 4) the contribution of GRSP to soil carbon and its ecological function in mitigating climate change are the hotspot of research. The benefits of GRSP have become a consensus, however, the nature of glomalin and the mechanisms of GRSP-associated benefits still need to explore. As an important soil recalcitrant organic carbon, further studies are need to elucidate the land-ocean biogeochemical processes of GRSP and its contribution to global blue carbon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of the current state of research on the evaluation methods of participatory processes in smart cities. Specifically, it aims to identify and analyze existing evaluation methods and frameworks for public participation (PP) in smart city development. The study focuses on the evaluation of participatory processes to find key indicators and enable an assessment of PP from multiple perspectives. A scoping literature review was conducted to analyze the past ten years of scientific literature on the topic. Relevant literature was retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, and articles were selected based on a set of criteria to ensure quality and relevance. We found that digital participation, also known as "e-participation", is the most used method either exclusively or mixed with in-person methods. The level of participation achieved was mostly limited to the first two degrees of PP (i.e., information and consultation), and only a few papers addressed the highest degrees (i.e., agenda-setting and co-management). The impact on participants was mostly related to knowledge and skills, awareness raising, and satisfaction with the process and method. This paper highlights the potential to upskill citizens and enhance their understanding of sustainable urban development, fostering their commitment to achieving the United Nations' sustainability goals for climate change mitigation in the urban context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in simulated flood inundation areas and depths (6%-31% for different GCMs) in the future showed the importance of improving flood management tools for the sustainable development of urban water environments. The paper by Burch et al. (2010) addresses a different aspect of flood risk management in response to climate change and illustrates an advance in best practice for flood risk management and climate change planning. In terms of flood risk management, NBSs include natural flood management measures (NFMs), and these are the subject of the paper in this VSI by Dittrich et al. (2019). [Extracted from the article]

Following the systematic review and bibliometric analysis of current literature, this paper attempts to investigate whether the wealth generated through cryptocurrency trading can assist in attaining the United Nations' (UN) sustainable development goal (SDG) 7, affordable and clean energy and UN SDG 13 related to climate action. The critical analysis of literature indicates a growing interest in cryptocurrency, the UN's SDGs and the negative effect that crypto mining has on the use of enormous energy. However, there is a clear gap in the literature that focuses on the possibility of using the wealth generated through cryptocurrency trading in financing environmentally friendly projects and attaining the UN's SDG 7 and SDG 13. The findings and the future research direction of this study aim to firstly expand the academic literature related to SDG 7 and SDG 13 and secondly to examine the relationship between cryptocurrency and sustainability even during an uncertain period. This study provides evidence pertaining to the theoretical models that can be applied within discussion of the complex relationship between cryptocurrency, clean energy and climate action. Our findings will provide policymakers with information regarding actions that need to be taken in order to convert cryptocurrency generated wealth and consequently attaining sustainable socio‐economic goals in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first paper of this special issue, "Climate Policy and Wealth Distribution" by Dao, [[1]] develops a model with intergenerational bequest transfers and climate damage on the wealth of heterogeneous households. A sound climate policy would have to reduce this "option value of waiting" due to commodity price uncertainties. According to scientific data, climate change and environmental deterioration have become severe issues threatening human society and sustainability. [Extracted from the article]

Understanding the impact of various climate forcing agents, such as aerosols, on extreme precipitation is socially and scientifically vital. While anthropogenic absorbing aerosols influence Earth's energy balance and atmospheric convection, their role in extreme events remains unclear. This paper uses convective‐resolving radiative‐convective‐equilibrium simulations, with fixed solar radiation, to investigate the influence of absorbing aerosols on extreme precipitation comprehensively. Our findings reveal an underappreciated mechanism through which absorbing aerosols can, under certain conditions, strongly intensify extreme precipitation. Notably, we demonstrate that a mechanism previously reported for much warmer (hothouse) climates, where intense rainfall alternates with multi‐day dry spells, can operate under current realistic conditions due to absorbing aerosol influence. This mechanism operates when an aerosol perturbation shifts the lower tropospheric radiative heating rate to positive values, generating a strong inhibition layer. Our work highlights an additional potential effect of absorbing aerosols, with implications for climate change mitigation and disaster risk management. Plain Language Summary: Aerosols, particles suspended in the atmosphere, can interact with the incoming solar radiation by scattering or absorbing it. Aerosol species that absorb solar radiation generate local warming of the atmosphere. This local warming changes the vertical profile of temperature and by that affects cloud and precipitation development. In this paper we use idealized computer simulations to investigate the effect of absorbing aerosols on precipitation, and specifically on extreme precipitation events in the tropics. We demonstrate that under certain conditions, absorbing aerosols can strongly enhance extreme precipitation even despite reducing the mean. We show that this trend can be explained by a mechanism previously reported for much warmer climate conditions than currently found on Earth, involving heating by radiation of the lower part of the troposphere. These results have implications for climate change mitigation and disaster risk management. Key Points: The effect of absorbing aerosol on extreme precipitation is examined in idealized convective‐resolving radiative‐convective‐equilibrium simulationsAerosol perturbation that shifts the lower tropospheric radiative heating rate to positive values strongly enhances extreme precipitationThis trend is explained by a mechanism reported before for hothouse climate conditions involving a shift into an "episodic deluge" regime [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In response to the challenges posed by a growing global population, the livestock industry must increase food production while ensuring environmental sustainability. This paper explores how feed producers can tackle these challenges using advanced formulation techniques. By leveraging AI decision support systems, producers can optimize feed composition to promote animal health and environmental stewardship. The study's findings offer valuable insights into improving animal feed production, supporting the livestock industry in achieving sustainability goals and contributing to global environmental conservation efforts. The unprecedented challenges presented by the increase in global population have placed substantial demands on the livestock industry for human nutrition, necessitating heightened animal productivity and leading to an increased demand for natural resources to produce animal feed. Feed producers are leading the charge, consistently refining formulations to adapt to the evolving needs of livestock, driven in part by the cost of over 50% associated with feed production. This paper critically analyses the pressing issues within feed formulation, addressing the requirement for environmentally sustainable practices amidst the challenges of climate change. The exploration extends to how advanced decision support tools can enhance formulation techniques and profitability and contribute to environmental sustainability. Through an in-depth review of current feed formulation technologies, encompassing their applications and limitations, this study aims to enhance the existing knowledge base. Additionally, we examined future trends, highlighting the essential role of connecting technologies to establish a resilient and sustainable system. The emphasis is on the potential of formulation techniques to positively impact the environment and enhance the overall quality and performance of the animals. This paper provides actionable insights to improve animal production by examining feed formulation models and decision support tools. The anticipated outcome is a more informed and sustainable decision-making process, addressing the multifaceted challenges confronted by the livestock industry and making contributions to global efforts in climate change mitigation and environmental stewardship in animal production agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The realization of the value of ecological products has led to an economic means for reducing carbon emissions in China. Tea is one of the most important cash crops and one of the most popular beverages in the world. Due to the complex the tea industrial chain, it is considered to be an industry with high carbon emissions. Ecological tea products with low-carbon attributes can be considered a linkage of ecology, economy, and society. Based on this, this paper presents research on low-carbon ecological tea (LCT). Herein, we construct the formational logic of low-carbon ecological products, explore the connotations of LCT, and form a conceptual pathway for realizing LCT to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. This paper starts from the upstream, midstream, and downstream of the industrial chain; it establishes three value realization pathways that keep, as a priority, the promotion of ecological industrialization, focus on restoration to improve the ecology of the industrial chain, and innovate technology to expand the industrial chain. The pathways are a set of low-emission production solutions that use techniques to enhance carbon sequestration in soil, reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides, and help shift to clean energy from low-emission sources in the stages of plantation, processing, and distribution. In the process of realizing LCT, the government plays an important role, and its support and guidance are needed. Based on stakeholder theory, this paper builds an implementation mechanism that focuses on the micro perspective (users, organizations), integrates the mesoscopic perspective (industry), and relies on the macro perspective (government). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to set up a review of the scientific literature concerning the circular economy, called to become a viable alternative to the linear "take-make-dispose" approach and assure sustainability. It synthesizes, in a logical order, the main aspects regarding the circular economy versus linear economy and has a critical approach comparatively pointing out the benefits and restrains. The two economic models are illustrated in schemas in such a way to clearly distinguish the difference in their objectives, principles and benefits. Also, the study presents the key policies and initiatives of the circular economy, highlighting the EU's commitment and the metrics for measuring the circularity. Regarding the circular agriculture, it is emphasized the efficiency in resource use, recycling, and waste reduction, closed nutrient loops, biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, food production and consumption, and the creation of economic value. Circular agriculture practices such as agroforestry, crop rotation, composting organic farming, and regenerative agriculture are also presented. Circularity in agriculture should cease to be seen merely as a concept, it should be considered a necessity for building a sustainable and resilient economy of the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The agricultural sector in Moldova is highly exposed to natural factors and hazards, resulting in uncertain incomes and high production volatility. Crop insurance plans against different risks plays a crucial role in supporting farmers' yield and revenues. The aim of this paper is to assess the development of subsidizing production risk insurance policy as a method to enhance agricultural resilience and alleviate the effects of climate change in Moldova. The analyzed data is based on the analysis of regulatory documents for policies regarding subsidizing productions risks insurance. For data analysis, secondary data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and Agency of Interventions and Payments in Agriculture (AIPA) was used. The data refer to the amount of subsidies applications for risks insurance, insured areas cultivated with different crops and its harvests, main risks insured by farmers, distribution of subsidies for risks insurance by development regions and the insurance companies. The subsidization of crop production risk insurance in Moldova has played a vital role in bolstering agricultural resilience and minimizing the adverse effects of climate change. By offering assistance to farmers and promoting the implementation of risk management practices, the government's objective is to stabilize income levels and promote sustainable growth in the agricultural sector. Nevertheless, it is crucial to continuously monitor and evaluate these policies to ensure their efficacy and fair distribution of subsidies across various regions and insurance providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With this paper we explore and discuss the priorities of and possible goal conflicts between authenticity and climate change in heritage gardens. How can climate change mitigation, adaptation, resilience, and cultural heritage conservation be combined in heritage gardens? Our study was guided by the following research question: How do gardeners negotiate climate change and authenticity in heritage gardens? From Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in the 1960s through to the 2002 report Gardening in the Global Greenhouse and the recent Gardening in a Changing World in 2022 mankind's impact on the environment and the emerging climate change has been the focus of increasing attention. By investigating and interviewing multiple gardeners our objective was to pinpoint common challenges, as well as what can be learned from one another within the field of gardening and heritage conservation. The case study method was adopted for this study, involving three head gardeners in the United Kingdom. Interviews were conducted with Joseph Atkin at Aberglasney Gardens, Claire Greenslade at Hestercombe Gardens, and Steve Lannin at Iford Manor about their expertise and knowledge. The gardeners expressed concern regarding climate change and the challenges it poses. The interviewees shared their experience with drought, reduced use of pesticides and herbicides, and the peat legislation in relation to their role as head gardeners. We argue that authenticity and the traditional gardening practised before the advent of power tools, plastic, peat issues, and uninformed transportation can be part of the solution to loss of biodiversity and climate change. This paper identifies some of the obstacles encountered in relation to negotiating questions of authenticity and climate change in heritage gardens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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With increasing pressure to cut carbon emissions and develop sustainability plans, companies need carbon credits to offset emissions that cannot be eliminated from their operations, new global carbon exchange to launch in Singapore by 2021 end, the high-quality credit can bridge this gap and play an important role in the overall climate change mitigation strategy. The purpose of this research is to use the production data (including carbon emissions) of paper-making companies in Taiwan to establish a circular economy mathematical programming model and the concept based on the activity cost method (ABC) to explore the impact of different carbon emissions costs (such carbon tax, carbon cap-and-trade, etc.) on the company's production structure and profitability impact. The research results show that different carbon emission cost models have different effects on the company's optimal product-mix and profitability. The managerial implication is to combine the extensive application of the carbon emission credit mechanism, which can offset the carbon emissions in the production process and have a significant impact on the company's sustainable competitiveness. In addition, this study can also enable decision makers to understand the impact of different carbon emission cost models on the profitability of the company's product mix, which can be used as a reference for production planning decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using alternative materials such as residual products from other industries to mitigate the negative effects of acid rock drainage would simultaneously solve two environmental problems. The main residual product still landfilled by sulphate paper mills is the alkaline material green liquor dregs (GLD). A physical, mineralogical and chemical characterization of four batches of GLD was carried out to evaluate the potential to use it as a sealing layer in the construction of dry covers on sulphide-bearing mine waste. GLD has relatively low hydraulic conductivity (10-8 to 10-9 m/s), a high water retention capacity (WRC) and small particle size. Whilst the chemical and mineralogical composition varied between the different batches, these variations were not reflected in properties such as hydraulic conductivity and WRC. Due to relatively low trace element concentrations, leaching of contaminants from the GLD is not a concern for the environment. However, GLD is a sticky material, difficult to apply on mine waste deposits and the shear strength is insufficient for engineering applications. Therefore, improving the mechanical properties is necessary. In addition, GLD has a high buffering capacity indicating that it could act as an alkaline barrier. Once engineering technicalities have been overcome, the long-term effectiveness of GLD should be studied, especially the effect of aging and how the sealing layer would be engineered in respect to topography and climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]