Search

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the commitment of the Pan-American Institute of Geography and History (PAIGH) to geographic education and specifically to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through the Geography Commission and the Geographic Education Committee, this organisation is developing various initiatives for the implementation of the SDGs in the Pan-American context. Methodologically, a documentary analysis of the writings of the PAIGH and specifically of the geographic education network was carried out. Among the main results, it can be seen that the documents and works analysed are aimed at developing the SDGs through geographic thinking, the use of new technologies and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper identifies the links between transnational municipal networks and international agreements in the environmental arena. It is taken for granted that transnational municipal networks support global environmental action and the process of sustainable development, in particular giving access to resources, with technical support and knowledge, but to what extent international agreements such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Agreement, or the Convention on Biological Diversity guide the action of these networks? The research resorts to content analysis to examine the goals, mission, and published documents of two networks in particular, ICLEI and Mercosur, in the search for clear connections with the intergovernmental level. The paper contributes to the understanding of the role of transnational municipal networks in environmental governance, identifying through abductive reasoning the diffusion of norm from the international to the local level and underlining the importance of the role of international, national and local actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the relationship between agricultural methane and nitrous oxide emissions as a function of per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and its quadratic term in 26 Latin American and Caribbean countries (1990-2019). It also considers the stock of foreign investment to test the polluting paradise hypothesis, agricultural land (AL), and, additionally, methane for nitrous function. The study comprised unit root and cointegration tests. Coefficients were estimated by using fully modified least squares (FMOLS), correlated common effects (CCE), and augmented mean group (AMG). Results by FMOLS show statistical evidence of an environmental Kuznets curve in the set of countries for methane and support the polluting paradise hypothesis. However, results from CCE and AMG show the opposite. For nitrous oxide, FMOLS confirms a U-shaped curve. The above supports a joint environmental policy for both gases, where AL is a key element. The previous results must be corroborated with other methods and the studies extended to other countries over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to address energy poverty from the social dimension of access to energy and its relationship with environmental variables such as relief, temperature, and precipitation in the municipalities of Mexico; through the construction of an energy poverty indicator using 2020 census data and cartographic analysis with GIS. The results for Mexico 2020 reveal that approximately 43.75% of the municipalities experience high and very high energy poverty. Regional differences in energy poverty are noted, three targeted sectors of energy poverty were located, to the north, west and south of Mexico. This can be explained by the marked economic and social differences that exist in the country. A relationship was found between energy poverty and social conditions that can be influenced by climate change. The incorporation of the spatial dimension may be relevant in the study of energy poverty in Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the importance of the melting of the Arctic ice for Mexico. The research examines the impacts of this process, the Mexican government’s environmental policies, citizen’s perception and the media’s approach to climate change and the melting of the Arctic ice. To obtain the results, an exploratory analysis was carried out, from which it was concluded that, despite the importance of the Arctic melting in the current climate crisis affecting all countries, and specifically Mexico, within the political agendas of the nation, the citizenry and the mass media, both climate change and the Arctic melting are secondary issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The network structures that have arisen out of globalisation could provide an alternative means of addressing major global challenges (climate change, mitigation of its effects or the prevention of pandemics). Cities increasingly consider themselves "actors motivated by interests" and they turn to urban diplomacy and interestbased networks to change the conversation - and, ultimately, the power structure - of multinational governance. Starting with a definition of what urban power is, this paper examines the rise of urban networks and their leverage of data to claim a more active role in the face of their nation-states, and on a global scale. Drawing on two brief case studies - the C40 network and Voluntary Local Reviews - it points to possible ways forward for urban influence networks in the near-term future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With climate change in the making and an international context that tends towards energy transition, the right to energy claims a space of greater prominence in the international arena and in the systems of human rights protection to incline this process towards a deep transition. Hence, this paper aims to contribute to the debates and possible relationships between energy transition and human rights. To this end, a comparative law methodology is used, with a hermeneutic approach of dense description. The concept of the right to energy in the 2030 Agenda and its sustainable development goals as well as the references in other instruments of the human rights protection systems-both universal and regional-are reviewed. From this comparative overview, it is concluded that the Inter-American Human Rights System is at the forefront of the legal literature on the right to energy, establishing a doctrine to avoid the restriction of the energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change leads to an increase in the frequency, duration and intensity of climate risks. Rising temperatures and heat waves constitute the climatic risk that causes the most deaths in Europe. More and more economic and natural implications are also being identified. Municipalities must guarantee a fair and equitable socio-ecological transition in urban centers through adaptation. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) can facilitate this and several European cities are already applying them. However, smaller municipalities may be left behind. The literature identifies different incentives and barriers during the phases of adaptation policy making. The research objective of this paper is to determine the perception that technical and political managers have of this climate risk, the level of adaptation through NbS of the municipalities and the incentives and barriers that may arise in the Costa Brava Region. To do this this, seven public officials from different municipalities of Cap de Creus (Alt Empordà, Catalonia) have been interviewed. The analysis has been carried out with a mixed triangulation methodology. The main results indicate that the risk studied is not perceived as being of great concern. NbS are adaptation measures that are little known by municipalities but relevant measures in the adaption process. New incentives and barriers not identified in the literature have also emerged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition towards a more sustainable energy supply becomes relevant in the face of a critical climate scenario. Since the 1970s, there has been concern among academics, governments and non-governmental organisations about the need to reduce the use of fossil fuels and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The tourism sector is not exempt from these challenges, and for this reason, this paper aims to analyse the situation of tourism in the context of energy transition, in order to identify the challenges for its decarbonisation. In order to achieve this, this exploratory-descriptive study is based on secondary sources of information from specialised literature, statistical and regulatory documents. The results show that academic-scientific studies have gradually increased in recent years, detecting socio-cultural, economic-financial, political-regulatory, technical and environmental challenges that each of the components of the tourism sector must face for a transition to a low-carbon economy. However, it is necessary to deepen the analyses from holistic approaches that critically address energy appropriation in the tourism sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a panoramic and comparative analysis of the legislation passed by the Autonomous Communities to tackle climate change. The Paris Agreement gives them a leading role, together with other actors, as subnational entities to face and achieve the challenges posed by climate change mitigation and adaptation. At the time of writing, only three autonomous communities have approved legislative instruments to mitigate and adapt to climate change. These are Catalonia, Andalusia, and the Balearic Islands. However, other regions have approved strategies and policies for the same purpose, and some have begun the process of approving the relevant legislation. In this paper we study the objectives to mitigate and adapt to climate change set out in these laws, the legal instruments they prescribe to achieve them, and their effective implementation and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of current climate change, it is a priority to develop mechanisms that facilitate the integration of the public's perspective in the fight against this phenomenon. Organisations such as the IPCC have highlighted the importance of paying attention, in the inexorable transition that is approaching, to the perception and experiences of the population as sources of information complementary to scientific evidence. In addition, it is of interest to check the assessment of institutional action in this respect and the degree of social awareness of this global challenge. Thus, this paper, based on an extensive survey carried out on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands), analyses the resident population's perception of the causes and effects of climate change, as well as their environmental commitment and knowledge of governmental mitigation and adaptation initiatives. There is a high degree of concern about the issue among citizens, who support the existence of climate change, say they know what it consists of and generally have a negative view of the actions of public administrations, and are unaware of the initiatives that have been approved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, many studies are already available on people's theoretical knowledge about climate change. The results of some of these studies show the existence of serious confusion regarding certain phenomena and basic concepts of great importance, even despite the fact that, in recent years, the problem regarding climate change has become increasingly relevant in different media, and it is also present in school curricula as a fundamental part of Education for Sustainability. Some of these confusions constitute true alternative ideas. This paper first analyses the incidence and strength of five of these ideas in students of Compulsory Secondary Education (CSE) and in various groups of teachers in training. Then, a didactic proposal is made to achieve change in one of those ideas, which involves various concepts and principles of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, three case studies are analyzed in Uruguay at the basin level, to identify the factors that favor the flood phenomenon. Transformations in land use and eventually climate change are considered. Over a 30-year period, land use modifications were evaluated using a Geographic Information System, and the variability of rainfall and river levels was analyzed. The three basins show completely different behavior from their land use change, and show increasing trends in rainfall over the period analyzed. It is evident that land use change is one of the most influential factors in the increase of flooding in urban areas. These transformations are mostly related to the exploitation of soil for the generation of commodities for export and generate modifications in the agrarian territories in Uruguay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The meridional mountains of Europe are located in Andalusia, in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. In this region, orographic and climatic factors are the main circumstances that condition the landscape and cultural peculiarities. Nowadays, its ecosystems show a high vulnerability to climate change, its traditional ways of life are in crisis and its cultural heritage is endangered by abandonment and depopulation. This paper analyzes some of the main documents that include proposals of environmental education at European, national and regional levels from the point of view of its adaptation the territory of the Andalusian Mediterranean mountains. Some educational actions are also evaluated in order to detect the possible existence of dysfunctionalities or deficiencies among the different educational policies and projects. Finally, a series of actions are proposed to optimize environmental education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some thoughts regarding the emergency climate situation in which we are living are presented in this paper. They are inspired by psychoanalytic reflection although not exclusively. A path is described from traumatizing information to denial manoeuvres, and from these to awareness and responsible reactions, which must necessarily be reparative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper makes a comparative study of the socio-state capacities developed during the processes of institutionalising protected natural areas (PNA) in Latin America. It sets them within a framework of their interdependence with global governance processes and in relation to the role human rights have played for these purposes. Taking an approach that combines analysis of multilevel collective action with process monitoring, this work traces the trajectories of national and multilateral institutions; analyses the main dynamics that arise in the delimitation of the protection of natural areas in the countries with the greatest biodiversity in the region; and explores the possibilities for new agreements on the global agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper was calculated the return period of coastal floods for each of the coastal settlements that report this extreme event in the Cuban archipelago, based on the period 1901-2020. The chronology and classification of coastal floods for each province was used, as well as the Poisson distribution and the χ² goodness of fit test. It is concluded that the Poisson distribution was suitable in all cases for the significance level of 5%; while the greatest hazard is presented by Havana, Baracoa and the settlements of the Gulf of Batabanó in which the occurrence of a flood event is expected at least once every three to five years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The close relationship that the 2015 Paris Agreement has with the thirteenth sustainable development goal, "adopt urgent measures to combat climate change and its effects, is indisputable." If we talk about this relationship from the point of view of "action", we can influence the importance of the Nationally Determined Contributions technique, since the commitments acquired by the States Parties to the treaty must be achieved through through a series of actions at the national level. This paper aims to reflect on the need for consistency in the implementation of both the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda. In this sense, an analysis will be carried out on the negative effects that, in compliance with both legal instruments, may occur if their implementation is carried out in a fragmented manner and, therefore, without taking into account the links that the objectives of sustainable development they have among themselves and, these, with the technique of Nationally Determined Contributions, within the framework of the Paris Agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The close relationship that the 2015 Paris Agreement has with the thirteenth sustainable development goal, "adopt urgent measures to combat climate change and its effects, is indisputable." If we talk about this relationship from the point of view of "action", we can influence the importance of the Nationally Determined Contributions technique, since the commitments acquired by the States Parties to the treaty must be achieved through through a series of actions at the national level. This paper aims to reflect on the need for consistency in the implementation of both the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda. In this sense, an analysis will be carried out on the negative effects that, in compliance with both legal instruments, may occur if their implementation is carried out in a fragmented manner and, therefore, without taking into account the links that the objectives of sustainable development they have among themselves and, these, with the technique of Nationally Determined Contributions, within the framework of the Paris Agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a consequence of the incremental complexity of international climate governance, particularly within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, States face an increasing demand on specialized human resources to participate in different negotiation settings during the Conferences of the Parties (cops). We characterize the Argentinian delegations between 2012 - 2019, identify the negotiation team and analyze the coverage of the team's agenda. Interests regarding climate change international politics can be inferred from the participation or absence of negotiators within different discussions. This paper reviews previous empirical work on delegations in climate change negotiations and draws upon qualitative techniques in order to collect original data to perform an in-depth case analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The close relationship that the 2015 Paris Agreement has with the thirteenth sustainable development goal, "adopt urgent measures to combat climate change and its effects, is indisputable." If we talk about this relationship from the point of view of “action”, we can influence the importance of the Nationally Determined Contributions technique, since the commitments acquired by the States Parties to the treaty must be achieved through through a series of actions at the national level. This paper aims to reflect on the need for consistency in the implementation of both the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda. In this sense, an analysis will be carried out on the negative effects that, in compliance with both legal instruments, may occur if their implementation is carried out in a fragmented manner and, therefore, without taking into account the links that the objectives of sustainable development they have among themselves and, these, with the technique of Nationally Determined Contributions, within the framework of the Paris Agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to assess the nature of climate litigation at the international level and its role in sustainable development and nature conservation. Climate litigation has allowed claims to be made against governments regarding the climate crisis and companies, especially the largest generators of greenhouse gas emissions. They have also given way to the recognition of the impact and moral responsibility of companies and the lack of action by governments in the global environmental crisis, as well as highlighting the need for each country to establish regulations that promote truly sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay have adopted wind energy as a means to fight climate change. However, their experiences are different and insufficiently documented. This paper analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the wind industry in light of its future expansion in Latin America. The methodology consists of the systematization and analysis of literature written in Spanish, Portuguese and English. Four advantages and five disadvantages were identified. The advantages are wind energy's reduced carbon footprint, low production costs, the potential for job creation and income from land rentals, while the disadvantages are possible vegetation loss, impact on birds and water sources, oil and waste contamination and health damage. The challenges for public policy are: supporting research on the socioenvironmental impacts of the wind industry and designing tools for their mitigation; developing a full supply chain of materials through technological innovation; distributing the benefits of wind energy equally among the local population, and prioritizing public needs of electricity above the interest of the private sector. If these challenges are not fully met, wind energy projects will be part of a hegemonic structure that claims to solve the problems created by climate change, while in fact continuing to use an extractivist logic, incapable of benefitting people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latin America shows an accelerated urbanization process and a development model that generate and intensify social and environmental problems. Added to these problems are the risks triggered by climate change that affect today's cities. In Argentina, its effects are manifested differentially over the regions, impacting cities and human settlements. In this scenario, this paper proposes to explore the environmental risk faced by Argentinean cities in a context of climate change from two dimensions: threat and resilience. For this, two synthetic indices were built using the Mean Index Coefficient methodology for each dimension and subsequently the results were articulated by defining risk categories. Results were spatially represented using a Geographic Information System. Gran Posadas, Corrientes, and Salta reach the most unfavorable situations following by Gran La Plata, Gran Mendoza, Gran San Juan, Gran Tucumán-Tafí Viejo, and the Buenos Aires counties. The importance of focusing on adaptation measures under the concept of urban resilience is highlighted. New questions arise from this work and invite further research whose results will allow progress towards sustainability and urban resilience by including them in local policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green infrastructure is being recognized as one of the main strategies for climate emergency mitigation and adaptation in urban contexts. However, there are still very few initiatives in Latin America. This paper explores the Chilean case, in particular the "Stgo+ Green Infrastructure" project, to understand how the climate emergency has been included in green infrastructure planning and the level of priority it has among various types of stakeholders. The research was conducted through a review of planning documents and a participatory methodology, involving institutional, academic, and civil society stakeholders. Chilean urban regulations and territorial planning instruments do not offer much opportunity for the development of green infrastructure systems to face the climate emergency, but there are several indicative instruments that contribute in that sense. On the other hand, there is growing recognition by stakeholders of the importance of green infrastructure, but the climate emergency is an aspect that is still given low priority. The low priority that actors attribute to the climate emergency represents a significant barrier for the incorporation of these issues in public plans and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows the translations and variations of the smart city model in Latin American cities. The smart city has emerged as a new urban model based on the use of technologies to respond to the varied and complex challenges facing contemporary cities, ranging from security to climate change. Based on the policy mobility approach, the network of actors committed to the diffusion of this urban model is identified and the inclusion of the smart city's narratives and projects in the debates and agendas of the planning and governance of the Latin American cities. The results reveal the prescriptive character of the model, its standardization, and the conformation of an "elite epistemic community" that has been decisive in the narrative and material production of the smart city in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]