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Limited research has been directed toward coastal protection infrastructure compared to other types of infrastructure, despite the increasing global population in low-elevated coastal regions and the threats posed by climate change. This paper presents a risk-based asset management framework for coastal protection structures that improves accuracy with each inspection. The framework consists of five components: the Coastal Asset Inventory (CAI), Inspection and Condition Assessment (ICA) module, Backward Markovian Deterioration Model (BMDM), Forward Markovian Deterioration Model (FMDM), and Intervention Policy Engine (IPE). The framework addresses challenges in accurately predicting coastal structure deterioration due to uncertainties in wave loading conditions and the need for frequent inspections. It is applied to rubble-mound breakwaters in Alexandria, Egypt. The BMDM and FMDM models are developed based on inspection data, and the IPE optimizes interventions considering structural condition, risk thresholds, and budget constraints. Results showed that long-term deterioration estimates occur at an accelerated rate with an increase in inspection points, triggering earlier interventions. However, the framework proves reliable even with only two inspection points, allowing asset managing agencies to implement the model based on the structural condition at the year of construction and a minimum of two inspections. The proposed risk-based asset management framework provided a comprehensive approach to managing coastal protection infrastructure, reducing risks to life and property. By accurately predicting deterioration and optimizing intervention decisions, the framework can greatly assist in the effective management and maintenance of coastal assets. This is vital in ensuring the safety of coastal populations facing global climate change and demographic growth. Coastal protection structures are crucial for safeguarding coastal populations in the face of climate change and demographic growth. This research paper introduces a risk-based asset management framework for coastal protection structures, with practical applications for coastal management agencies and practitioners. The framework addresses the challenges of predicting coastal structure deterioration and optimizing intervention decisions. The framework consists of five components: the Coastal Asset Inventory (CAI), Inspection and Condition Assessment (ICA), Backward Markovian Deterioration Model (BMDM), Forward Markovian Deterioration Model (FMDM), and Intervention Policy Engine (IPE). It has been successfully applied to rubble-mound breakwaters in Alexandria, Egypt. The practical implications are significant: The framework enables asset managers to make informed decisions on coastal infrastructure maintenance and interventions, reducing risks to life and property. It provides a comprehensive approach to managing coastal protection infrastructure and ensuring the safety of coastal populations. By accurately predicting deterioration and optimizing interventions, the framework supports effective management and maintenance of coastal assets. Its reliability and flexibility make it a valuable tool for coastal management practitioners, promoting sustainable development and safeguarding coastal areas. With its potential for broader application, this risk-based asset management framework offers practical solutions for coastal protection worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a key socioeconomic and environmental concern in South Africa. The South African government introduced several climate change initiatives to address the impacts of climate change, resulting in the proliferation of climate adaptation policies across spheres of government. This paper studies different climate change adaptation policies and climate policy paradigms (CPP) to understand the adaptation landscape; it explains and compares the changes in CPP in South Africa over time. We mapped 40 policy documents from 2004 to 2022, which shows 12 national policies, 12 provincial (sub-national) policy documents and 14 metropolitan city policy documents. We then used 12 national policy documents to illustrate and understand the CPP. The research shows that different stakeholders have shaped climate change adaptation policy, both private and public firms advised on climate change policy and there are a number of different funding partners supporting the adaptation policy like GEF, C40 and GIZ. The changing policy environment has introduced new frameworks, objectives and processes. Therefore, more efforts will be needed going forward to guide adaptation policy across national, provincial and local governments. We find that several CPPs have emerged, that is different paradigms encompassing a range of policy goals, framings and instruments. The present National CC Adaptation Strategy (NCCAS) mandates adaptation across all levels of government and allows all important stakeholders to address climate change consequences. This NCCAS increases the number and ambition of adaptation policy, encourages integrated approaches, policy coherence and clear direction on how to handle climate risks and impacts in varied South Africa and its global commitment. Changes in policy paradigm enable the use of new policy instruments, including funding and budget mechanisms. Finally, climate adaptation policy has become more ambitious and stringent, requiring all levels of government to plan for climate change. The climate change policy landscape in South Africa has grown over the past 18 years, with policy development across different spheres of government (national, sectoral, provincial and metros), New CPPs have emerged, supported by new policy frames, goals and instruments. The NCCAS provides a clear policy goal, which also provides new policy instruments to implement climate actions and acts to enhance integrated approaches, The lack of domestic budget allocation remains a challenge for national government, but external partnerships have begun to provide support for policy development. Notably, a shift from a flexible to stringent approach to climate policy is needed to deliver effective climate action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance of environmental governance is increasing worldwide, and Georgia is no exception. This article uses wide-ranging sources to provide comprehensive qualitative and quantitative data to discuss the most important aspects of environmental policy directions in Georgia. The results of the study show that: (a) it is crucial to increase public awareness about the importance of climate change and environmental protection; (b) introducing environmental and climate-related goals and objectives and green budgeting principles in national priorities is as important as implementing them effectively into practice; and (c) the practice of regulatory impact assessment needs further development in Georgia, especially in the environment and climate-related areas. Finally, the paper concludes that the lack of historical data is the main limitation for the current research, and proposes that scientific and practical work continues in the future to further explore the relationships between the country’s environmental policies and aspects of sustainable development on both an individual and public level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the debate on ways to improve the calculation of inequality measures in developing countries experiencing severe budget constraints. Linear regression-based survey-to-survey imputation techniques (SSITs) are most frequently discussed in the literature. These are effective at estimating predictions of poverty indicators but are much less accurate with inequality indicators. To demonstrate this limited accuracy, the first part of the paper review and discuss the SSITs. The paper proposes a method for overcoming these limitations based on a Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS). Before to apply this method to Moroccan data with the aim to analyze the relation between poverty and climate changes a simulation is carried out to compare classical SSIT and SSIT based on GAMLSS. • SSITs are used to estimate indicators when surveys are not conducted yearly. • GAMLSS are useful to reduce the bias of inequalities indices estimated with SSITs. • GAMLSS adopt the distribution that best fits the data not the normal one as SSITs. • Obtaining estimates yearly allows to understand causalities of events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During the past 20 years, Iran has been experiencing a significant increase in the occurrence of disasters mainly due to the emergence of anthropogenic climate change. This paper aims at analyzing the trend of national budget allocation in Iran over the last 100 years to evaluate the focus of the Iranian state on the four phases of Preparedness, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery and propose modifications. Methods: It is used a critical policy analysis with what's the problem represented approach. In this approach is focused on problematization and policy gaps. The most important policy statement in any government is the budget. During the first screening, 1028 regulations and laws were found from 1910 to 2020. After full text screening, 494 regulations and laws related to budget allocation to disasters were analyzed. Results: The Iranian government has spent around 29 billion USD on disasters during the last 100 years. Droughts, earthquake and flood have costs the government more than other disasters, accounting for more than 14, 6.9, and 6.1 billion USD, respectively, in the allocated budget. Most of the Iranian government expenditure during the last 100 years on various disasters such as drought, flood, earthquake, and COVID-19 has been spent on involuntary costs including Response and Recovery. Mitigation and Preparedness are the two critical disaster management phases with very small shares of national budgeting. Conclusions: From policy audit and policy gaps it is concluded that Iranian governments during last 100 years, problematized the issue of "disasters strike" and not "disasters' risks". In time of disasters, governments tried to solve the issues or impacts of disasters with budgeting to response and recovery. Nevertheless, disasters' prevention or mitigation or preparedness was not a problem for Iranian governments from 1920 to 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Global Carbon Project (GCP) has published global carbon budgets annually since 2007 (Canadell et al. [2007], Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 104, 18866–18870; Raupach et al. [2007], Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 104, 10288–10293). There are many scientists involved, but the terrestrial fluxes that appear in the budgets are not well understood by ecologists and biogeochemists outside of that community. The purpose of this paper is to make the terrestrial fluxes of carbon in those budgets more accessible to a broader community. The GCP budget is composed of annual perturbations from pre‐industrial conditions, driven by addition of carbon to the system from combustion of fossil fuels and by transfers of carbon from land to the atmosphere as a result of land use. The budget includes a term for each of the major fluxes of carbon (fossil fuels, oceans, land) as well as the rate of carbon accumulation in the atmosphere. Land is represented by two terms: one resulting from direct anthropogenic effects (Land Use, Land‐Use Change, and Forestry or land management) and one resulting from indirect anthropogenic (e.g., CO2, climate change) and natural effects. Each of these two net terrestrial fluxes of carbon, in turn, is composed of opposing gross emissions and removals (e.g., deforestation and forest regrowth). Although the GCP budgets have focused on the two net terrestrial fluxes, they have paid little attention to the gross components, which are important for a number of reasons, including understanding the potential for land management to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and understanding the processes responsible for the sink for carbon on land. In contrast to the net fluxes of carbon, which are constrained by the global carbon budget, the gross fluxes are largely unconstrained, suggesting that there is more uncertainty than commonly believed about how terrestrial carbon emissions will respond to future fossil fuel emissions and a changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arctic shelf seas are highly heterogeneous, making it difficult to accurately account for their role in regional and global air‐sea CO2 exchange budgets. Here we estimate the CO2 sink in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) based on empirical relationships that account for spatiotemporal variations in the sea surface partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2sw) as a function of seasonal sea ice cycles. During the open water season from 2010 to 2016, the CAA acted as a net oceanic sink with an average CO2 flux of −7.7 ± 4 Tg C/year. This sink is significantly smaller than previous estimates for the CAA, emphasizing the importance of properly accounting for seasonal and spatial variability on Arctic shelves. Applying our analysis to a 37‐year record of sea ice conditions, we calculate an increase in the open water CO2 sink by ~150% (a trend of ~ −1.3 Tg C/decade), associated with sea ice loss and higher wind speeds. Plain Language Summary: Much of the carbon dioxide (CO2) humans put into the air ends up in the oceans. This is good because it slows down climate change but also bad because some creatures could be hurt by extra CO2. In the Arctic, it is hard to know how much CO2 is absorbed by the ocean, because the ocean is frozen for much of the year. In this paper, we try to figure out how much CO2 is going into the Canadian Arctic Archipelago—a shallow sea in northern Canada that is home to the famous Northwest Passage. We found that the amount of CO2 going into this sea is much lower than scientists thought before because they did not fully account for the ice. However, the amount of CO2 going into the sea each year is increasing, because sea ice is melting due to climate change. Key Points: The Canadian Arctic Archipelago acts as a net oceanic sink of CO2 during the open water season with an average uptake rate of 7.7 Tg C/yearAtmospheric CO2 uptake during the open water season has increased by 150% over 37 years due to sea ice loss and higher wind speedsEstimates of CO2 uptake on Arctic shelves must account for spatiotemporal variability in sea ice conditions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cloud feedback is very important for climate change. In this paper, the long-term variability of clouds in East Asia and their influence on the radiation budget are studied quantitatively by analyzing satellite observations, so as to determine the cloud feedback on regional warming. We firstly analysis the 18-year's (Mar.2000-Feb.2018) trend of cloud optical thickness (COT) over East Asia based on the retrievals of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS), and calculate the cloud radiative forcing of water cloud and ice cloud using BCC_RAD radiation transfer model based on the COTs, and then discuss the impact of COT's variation on the cloud radiative forcing. The water cloud COTw is found to increase in northeast China (~0.05 per year) and east China sea (~0.05 per year), and to decrease at south China (~-0.07 per year) and south Japan (~-0.05 per year). The ice cloud COTi is found to increase at northeast China (~0.06 per year) and north Japan (~0.08 per year), whereas decrease significantly at Tibetan plateau (~-0.07 per year). The annual mean shortwave-, longwave- and net-radiative forcing caused by the water cloud in East Asia at the top of the atmosphere are -72.4 W m-2, 15.7 W m-2 and -56.7 W m-2, respectively; the corresponding forcing caused by ice cloud are -88.5 W m-2, 55.7 W m-2 and -32.7 W m-2 respectively. The effects of COTw and COTi variations on radiation in different regions are different remarkably. Both positive feedback (e.g. south China, 0~0.4 W m-2 per year) and negative feedback (e.g. northeast China, -0.4~0 W m-2 per year) occurs, which indicates that the cloud feedback to regional warming is significant and may be opposite at different areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]