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The action required to stem the environmental and social implications of climate change depends crucially on how humankind shapes technology, economy, lifestyle and policy. With transport CO2 emissions accounting for about a quarter of the total, we examine the contribution of CO2 output by scientific travel. Thankfully for the reputation of the scientific community, CO2 emissions associated with the trips required to present a paper at a scientific conference account for just 0.003% of the yearly total. However, with CO2 emissions for a single conference trip amounting to 7% of an average individual’s total CO2 emissions, scientists should lead by example by demonstrating leadership in addressing the issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Rivers are among the ecosystems most sensitive to climate change. Whilst methods quantifying the impact and uncertainty of climate change on flow regime are well-established, the impact on hydroecological response is not well understood. Typically, investigative methods are qualitative in nature or follow quantitative methods of limited scope, whilst the effect of uncertainty is frequently minimised. This paper proposes a coupled hydrological and hydroecological modelling framework to assess the impact of climate change on hydroecological response quantitatively. The characterisation and reduction of modelling uncertainties was critical to the development of the framework. The ability of the framework is illustrated through application to a case study river, the River Nar, Norfolk, England, using the UKCP09 probabilistic climate projections (high emissions scenario, SRES A1F1). The results show that, by the 2050s, a reduction in instream biodiversity is virtually certain if future emissions follow the assumptions of SRES A1F1. Disruption to the natural low flow processes, essential to ecosystem functioning, is also indicated. These findings highlight the importance of the framework in water resources adaptation, particularly with respect to future environmental flows management. Highlights • We propose a modelling framework to assess hydroecological response to climate change. • Characterisation and reduction of uncertainty considered throughout. • Provides quantifiable measure of the uncertainty in the hydroecological projections. • Case study sees reduced instream biodiversity and disruption to flow processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forest and building sector is of major importance in climate change mitigation and therefore construction materials based on forest products are of great interest. While energy efficiency has had a large focus in climate change mitigation in the building sector, the carbon footprint of the construction material is gaining relevance. The carbon footprint of construction materials can vary greatly from one type to another, the building sector is consequently demanding documentation of the carbon footprint of the materials used. Using an environmental product declaration (EPD) is an objective and standardised solution for communicating the environmental impacts of construction products and especially their carbon footprint. Nevertheless, it is challenging to include the features of forest products as pools of carbon dioxide. There is currently a focus on research into methods for the accounting of sequestered atmospheric carbon dioxide and also implementation of these methods into technical standards. This paper reviews the recent research and technical standards in this field to promote a common understanding and to propose requirements for additional information to be included in EPDs of forest-based products. The main findings show the need for reporting the contribution of biogenic carbon to the total on greenhouse gas emissions and removals over the product's lifecycle. In order to facilitate the implementation of more advanced methods from research, the EPD should also include more detailed information of the wood used, in particular species and origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessments of climate change impacts on freshwater ecosystems are generally based on global climate models (GCMs) and ecologically relevant “time-averaged” hydrological indicators derived from long-term records. Although uncertainties from GCMs have been recognized, the influence of downscaling methods remains unclear. This paper evaluates the influence of applying different downscaling methods of increasing complexity (annual scaling, monthly scaling, quantile scaling, and weather generator method) on the assessment of ecological outcomes. In addition to time-averaged indicators, “sequence-dependent” metrics which involve ecological dynamics by considering the impacts of flow sequencing are also adopted. In a case study in Australia, the condition of river red gum forest was assessed. Results show that the choice of downscaling methods can be of similar importance as that of GCMs in ecological impact studies. Where sequence-dependent metrics are adopted, more sophisticated downscaling techniques should be used to better represent changes in the frequency and sequence of flow events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon emissions from products contribute to anthropogenic climate change. Because of the growing concern over the environmental impact of production and consumption of consumer goods, carbon footprint information started to appear on labels of several products. In this paper we use both parametric and non-parametric econometric models in order to estimate Egyptian consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for carbon-labeled products. Contingent valuation methods based on log-logistic, log-normal and Weibull regression models revealed that consumers in Egypt are willing to pay a price premium of approximately 75 Egyptian pounds (EP) for carbon-labeled products based on the single-bound dichotomous choice (SBDC) model and up to 90 EP based on the double-bound dichotomous choice (DBDC) model. From a socio-economic perspective, results have also revealed that income, age, gender, and educational level have a significant influence on the respondent's WTP. Implications of this study highlight the fact that understanding consumers' preferences for eco-friendly products may play an important role in formulating environmental policy changes to face complex problems as diverse as environmental pollution or global climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to analyze climate change and ecological destruction through the prism of the core general principles of political economy. The paper starts with the principle of historical specificity, and the various waves of climate change through successive cooler and warmer periods on planet Earth, including the most recent climate change escalation through the open circuit associated with the treadmill of production. Then we scrutinize the principle of contradiction associated with the disembedded economy, social costs, entropy and destructive creation. The principle of uneven development is then explored through core–periphery dynamics, ecologically unequal exchange, metabolic rift and asymmetric global (in)justice. The principles of circular and cumulative causation (CCC) and uncertainty are then related to climate change dynamics through non-linear transformations, complex interaction of dominant variables, and threshold effects. Climate change and ecological destruction are impacting on most areas, especially the periphery, earlier and more intensely than previously thought likely. A political economy approach to climate change is able to enrich the analysis of ecological economics and put many critical themes in a broad context. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Human activities create more reactive nitrogen than is created through natural processes every year. The excess reactive nitrogen in the environment causes various negative effects including eutrophication, climate change, acidification, and human health problems. The sources of the excess nitrogen are mainly fertilizers and animal and human waste generated by food production and consumption. Therefore, our food choices have major effects on the nitrogen load to the environment. To quantify the load, a consumption-based accounting tool, called the nitrogen footprint, has been recently developed. In current nitrogen footprint models, seafood is calculated as a single category using the same simple assumptions as livestock. However, there is a variety of types and methods of production of seafood. In addition, world per capita consumption of seafood is projected to continue expanding. In this paper, we propose a new nitrogen footprint model to evaluate the impact of seafood in detail, present the results of the model applied to Japan as a case study, and explain the important parameters that are needed to accurately evaluate the load of seafood consumption. Our model tracks the feeding steps in detail, considering differences among fed aquacultured seafood, non-fed aquacultured seafood (mainly bivalves and filter-feeding carp), and captured seafood. Our model evaluates the Japanese food nitrogen footprint of fed aquacultured seafood as 0.7 kg-N/capita/year, ca. 45% of that of all seafood, whereas the previous model evaluates it as 3.36 kg-N/capita/year. Our results demonstrate that the key factors for assessing the nitrogen load of seafood are the proportions of fed aquaculture and of plant protein in feed. In order to enable food choices that will effectively reduce nitrogen release, we provide the virtual N factors (per intake nitrogen release during production) for different seafood as 0.2 (non-fed aquacultured and captured), 4.8 (freshwater and diadromous fish), 3.9 (demersal fish), 3.4 (pelagic fish and other marine fish), and 8.2 (crustaceans). Our results show that eating more non-fed aquacultured and captured seafood and less fed-aquacultured shrimps and prawns could reduce our nitrogen load from food consumption as effectively as choosing poultry instead of beef. Although its evaluation is limited to nitrogen load related to food itself and not including the load from energy use, etc., our detailed nitrogen footprint model for different seafood categories and production sources can quantify the effectiveness of policies and actions that link sustainable consumption and sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, contributing toward the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various studies have been performed on drought hazard assessment at the national or regional scales, but few studies to date at the global scale, especially on global agriculture. In this paper, we utilized an agricultural drought hazard index (DHI), based on both drought severity and drought occurrence rate, derived from 3-month scale Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the phenology data of main crops (rice, maize, wheat, barley, sorghum and soybean) to assess the agricultural drought hazard grades of the world during 1980-2008. The results indicated that area percentages of high and very high agricultural drought hazard zones were approximately 23.57 and 27.19% of the total agricultural area in the world. Moreover, those zones mostly were distributed in central United States, southeastern South America, most of Europe, southwestern Russia, both southern Congo and Nigeria, east-central and southwest China, Southeast Asia and eastern Australia, and most of those areas were also located in semi-humid or humid climate zones. In addition, some regions above were also found to be the very high agricultural drought hazard zones for the main crops: East-central and southwest China for wheat, maize, rice and soybean; Europe for wheat, maize and barley; Southeast Asia for rice; both central United States and southeastern South America for wheat, maize, soybean and sorghum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Food miles" is a term that is used to draw attention to the ecological cost of how far food travels from producers to consumers. Transportation is an important factor in evaluating the environmental impact of food. The concept of 'food miles" presents an argument to buy goods which have traveled the shortest distance from farm to table, and to discriminate against long-haul transportation, especially air-freighted goods. The long-distance transport of food is associated with additional emissions due to increased transportation coupled with greater packaging, as well as negative impacts on local rural communities, and a disconnection between the public and local farming. Furthermore, "food miles" encapsulates the carbon emission that may have a profound effect on climate change. In light of growing concern over the speed and scale of climate change, the concept of "food miles" has captured public attention and apparently is changing some consumers' behavior, although only around one-third of shoppers know of the concept. This paper presents an overview on food miles with a focus on its carbon foot print. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The residential sector is recognized as a major energy consumer and thus a significant contributor to climate change. Rather than focus only on current energy consumption and the associated emissions, there is a need to broaden sustainability research to include full life cycle contributions and impacts. This paper looks at houses from the perspective of the ecological footprint (EF), a well-known sustainability indicator. Exemplifying single-detached houses of the early 20th century, the century-old REEP House (downtown Kitchener, Canada), together with its high performance energy retrofits, is examined in detail. This research combines material, energy and carbon emission studies. Its scope covers the life cycle of the house, including the direct and indirect consumption of material and energy, and concomitant carbon emissions during its stages of material extraction, transportation, construction, operation, and demolition. It is revealed that the REEP House had a typical impact on the environment when it was built, and, even though the renovations to improve energy efficiency by 80% introduce additional embodied environmental impacts, they are environmentally sound activities because the environmental payback period is less than 2years. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]