Search

Climate change is a non-traditional security crisis affecting the global economy and diplomatic progress. In order to curtail carbon emissions and alleviate the perils of climate change at their roots, urban green innovation (UGI) has emerged as a pivotal technological solution. Using the expansion of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration in China as a case study, this paper develops a quasi-experimental model to analyze the effects of regional integration policies on UGI. The main findings are: (1) Regional integration policies significantly enhance UGI and their impact is more pronounced with the expansion of urban agglomerations; (2) Regional integration policies contribute to the advancement of exploitative green innovation while tending to diminish exploratory green innovation; (3) The green innovation effects (GIEs) created by the expansion of regional integration policies are largely influenced by governmental mechanisms on environmental governance as well as residents' green preferences. Based on these findings, recommendations are put forward to promote UGI from the perspective of policy implementation. • The quasi-experimental models of urban agglomeration expansion on green innovation are constructed. • The positive effects of urban agglomeration expansion on green innovation are proven. • Urban agglomeration expansion can enhance exploitative green innovation and also reduce exploratory green innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving the global decarbonization goal under global conflicts is becoming more uncertain. Within this context, this article seeks to examine the effects of global environmental management and efforts to achieve this goal. Specifically, it investigates the role of democracy, control of corruption, and civil society participation as mechanisms that moderate the impact of environmental policy and legislation, particularly clean energy policy and climate change legislation (laws and regulations), on carbon emissions in highly polluted countries. The empirical results show that (i) the effects of democracy-clean energy policies and climate change legislation are relatively small in reducing carbon emissions; (ii) the effect of controlling corruption-climate change regulations is strong in reducing emissions, meaning that governments with higher control of corruption are more effective at enacting and executing laws and regulations dealing with environmental challenges which help achieve desirable environmental outcomes; (iii) strong civil society participation helps the execution of clean energy policies and climate change legislation to curb emissions, and (iv) the robustness check also provides strong evidence that higher control of corruption can contribute to the effectiveness of these policies and legislation in reducing carbon emissions. Overall, these findings suggest that the efficiency of well-designed environmental policy and legislation should be supported by a combination of higher civil society participation and greater control of corruption that can efficiently enforce such policies and legislation. • We examine the role of climate policies and legislation (CPL) in meeting net-zero emission. • We focus on the moderating role of democracy, control of corruption, and civil society. • The interaction effects of democracy and CPL on reducing carbon emissions are relatively small. • Corruption control complements climate change regulations for reducing carbon emissions. • Strong civil society participation complements CPL for reducing carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The occupied Palestinian territories of West Bank and Gaza Strip are currently experiencing many challenges in the provision of infrastructure services for their inhabitants. This includes an undersupply of infrastructure services across multiple sectors – an issue exacerbated by population growth, increasing urbanisation, economic growth and climate change. We address this challenge by providing a systems-based assessment of Palestine's infrastructure requirements and identifying broad strategies for how those needs might be met. This assessment involved four key components including: 1) defining and assessing the current system and planned infrastructure investments; 2) assessing potential future demand for infrastructure services; 3) identifying alternative strategies for future infrastructure provision beyond planned investments; and 4) analysing the performance of each strategy against a series of key performance indicators. Results from the assessment highlight the magnitude of the current and future need for urgent infrastructure investment in Palestine. The most immediate need is to alleviate the water crises in Gaza Strip, which will require at least twice as much water infrastructure investment over the coming decade than is currently in the pipeline, even if the goal is only to achieve the most basic World Health Organisation water availability requirements. To move beyond this protracted state of crises will then require a doubling of investments across all sectors to bring Palestine up to the standards of services already enjoyed by its neighbours. Such investments can have even greater impact on delivery of infrastructure services through the strategic use of interdependencies between infrastructure sectors, such as water re-use and energy-from-waste. In the pursuit of global sustainable development, the systems-based approach presented here provides an important first step in the assessment of infrastructure needs and opportunities for any country. It is particularly important for states like Palestine where key resources, such as water and energy, are so acutely constrained. Highlights • A novel application of systems-based infrastructure assessment to a developing state suffering chronic shortages of services. • The immediate challenges facing Palestinian infrastructure are acute water and energy shortages in Gaza strip. • Demand for infrastructure services are not being met in water, energy, transport and waste, with demand expected to increase. • Palestine's future infrastructure investment must double but potential efficiencies in the application of a systems approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Climate change actions in cities worldwide are driving deep changes in urban governance. We ask whether new capacities for transformative climate governance are emerging in two cities that have experimented with urban climate governance: Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and New York City (NYC), United States. Transformative climate governance creates the conditions for developing integrated and innovative climate mitigation and adaptation policies and interventions that respond to and shape urban transformation dynamics and contribute to sustainability and resilience. The comparison of capacities for transformative climate governance in Rotterdam and NYC offers insights into the emerging features of urban climate governance vis-à-vis existing urban governance regimes: how urban climate governance is driven and delivered, what new governance conditions emerge, and whether these conditions enable transformative climate governance. In both cities, an integrated, experimental and inclusive approach to climate governance is emerging, which crosses multiple policy sectors and domains (e.g. transport, energy, health, justice), involves a variety of actors and facilitates innovative solutions. Envisioning, long-term goal and knowledge integration, experimentation and tapping into coalitions for change help to provide the basis (including guiding principles, urgency, actor networks, innovative solutions) for transformative climate governance. However, these transformative approaches tend to be still subordinate to business-as-usual interests and policy and planning approaches, which favour isolated, incremental and short-term responses. The challenge for strengthening transformative climate governance will be to develop rigorous institutional and organisational conditions that decisively stipulate a prioritisation of climate change across scales and sectors, provide action mandates and enable wider coordination, collaboration and learning. Highlights • Climate governance activities in cities drive deep changes in urban governance. • Transformative climate governance (TCG) supports desirable urban transformations. • Capacities for TCG manifest in new institutional, knowledge and network conditions. • Visioning, goal and knowledge integration and experimentation create TCG capacities. • Top-down institutional and organisational conditions need to be strengthened for TCG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Countries in the East African region have for decades been synonymous with natural disasters, conflicts and severe environmental degradation. About 10 million out of the 65.6 million displaced persons globally are found in this region. This paper presents an empirical analysis of environmental impacts caused by forced displacements in five East African countries. Contrary to a widely-held opinion, there is sufficient anecdotal and empirical evidence depicting environmental damage caused by refugees and/or Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). A spatial analysis of current and former refugee and/or IDP camps in these five countries suggests the formation of “deforestation clusters” with concentrations of camps that compound environmental impacts. Technological advancements such as remote sensing capabilities can provide the means for assessing and implementing environmental protection measures. This paper recommends environmental care in humanitarian settings be considered an integral part of the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and climate change/variability agenda, based on cost- and responsibility-sharing, employing technology, and incorporating appropriate monitoring tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the struggle to limit global climate change and rising temperatures, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) was held in Egypt last November. Bringing together nations to recognize climate change as a global concern and to create new "building blocks" to enhance the implementation of the Paris Agreement through actions that can move the world toward a greener, and carbon free future. This study examines a panel of high-income economies from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to investigate the empirical linkage between Green Innovations (GI), Disaggregated trade (exports and imports), Environmental policy stringency (EPS), and Consumption-based carbon dioxide emissions from 1990 to 2020. We proceed with the panel cointegration check based on the results of the diagnostic tests. The method of moment quantile regressions (MMQR) is used to investigate the relationships between CCO 2 and various variables in different quantiles. The data show that GI, export, imports, and EPS are major contributors in explaining the substantial variance in CCO 2 emissions in the chosen panel. Specifically, severe environmental rules boost the benefits of green technologies through the use of environmentally friendly technology. Imports, on the other hand, have been determined to be harmful to environmental quality. As a result, member economies should reform their environmental policies to include consumption-based emissions objectives and discourage people' desire for carbon-intensive items from developing countries. This will eventually result in a decrease in consumption-based carbon emissions, assisting in the achievement of true emissions reduction goals and COP27 targets. • COP27 Targets for environmental management and policy stringency is analyzed. • Novel econometric methods for panel data estimation is employed. • Energy efficiency and environmental innovation ensure a sustainable ecosystem. • Globalisation and growth have a detrimental impact on the environment. • Energy transition and environmental governance is encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The attempt to design cost-effective adaptation policies incorporating non-market values to inhibit climate change impacts on water resources may increase the interest in applying the Benefit Transfer method. Benefit Transfer is a practical way to consider non-market values using functions and estimates acquired through primary valuation methods from other sites. Among the primary methods, Choice Experiments appear to particularly accommodate Benefit Transfer. Nevertheless, validity and reliability of international value transfers obtained from Choice Experiments have not been adequately examined. To this end, two identical Choice Experiments were conducted in Greece and Italy in the context of river services adaptation, testing validity and reliability of Benefit Transfer. The application of validity and reliability tests for different types of transfers is supportive for the use of Benefit Transfer, at least for the value transfer types. In particular the reliability of value transfer was higher when income adjustments were taken into account. Overall, Benefit Transfer can be attentively considered to evaluate cost-effective adaptation policies across countries experiencing similar climate change trends. The latter gains more importance given that an international Benefit Transfer setting as regards the non-market benefits of adaptation to climate change for river services is absent in the relevant literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land degradation is a global environmental problem that jeopardizes human safety and socioeconomic development. To alleviate severe soil erosion and desertification due to deforestation and overgrazing, China has implemented historically unprecedented large-scale afforestation. However, few studies have accounted for the resulting imbalance between water supply (primarily precipitation) and water consumption (evapotranspiration), which will affect ecosystem health and socioeconomic development. We compared the water balance results between restoration by means of afforestation and restoration using the potential natural vegetation to guide future ecological restoration planning and environmental policy development. Based on estimates of water consumption from seven evapotranspiration models, we discuss the consequences for water security using data obtained since 1952 under China's large-scale afforestation program. The models estimated that afforestation will increase water consumption by 559–2354 m 3 /ha annually compared with natural vegetation. Although afforestation is a potentially important approach for environmental restoration, China's current policy has not been tailored to local precipitation conditions, and will have therefore exacerbated water shortages and decrease the ability to achieve environmental policy goals. Our analysis shows how, both in China and around the world, future ecological restoration planning must account for the water balance to ensure effective and sustainable environmental restoration policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental cost-benefit analysis has traditionally assumed that the value of benefits is sensitive to their timing and that outcomes are valued higher, the sooner in time they occur following implementation of a project or policy. Though, this assumption might have important implications especially for the social desirability of interventions aiming at counteracting time-persistent environmental problems, whose impacts occur in the long- and very long-term, respectively involving the present and future generations. This study analyzes the time sensitivity of social preferences for preservation policies of adaptation to climate change stresses. Results show that stated preferences are time insensitive, due to sustainability issues: individuals show insignificant differences in benefits they can experience within their own lifetimes compared to those which occur in the longer term, and which will instead be enjoyed by future generations. Whilst these results may be specific to the experimental design employed here, they do raise interesting questions regarding choices over time-persistent environmental problems, particularly in terms of the desirability of interventions which produce longer-term benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, efforts are underway to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to climate change impacts at the local level. However, there is a poor understanding of the relationship between city strategies on climate change mitigation and adaptation and the relevant policies at national and European level. This paper describes a comparative study and evaluation of cross-national policy. It reports the findings of studying the climate change strategies or plans from 200 European cities from Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. The study highlights the shared responsibility of global, European, national, regional and city policies. An interpretation and illustration of the influences from international and national networks and policy makers in stimulating the development of local strategies and actions is proposed. It was found that there is no archetypical way of planning for climate change, and multiple interests and motivations are inevitable. Our research warrants the need for a multi-scale approach to climate policy in the future, mainly ensuring sufficient capacity and resource to enable local authorities to plan and respond to their specific climate change agenda for maximising the management potentials for translating environmental challenges into opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the climate change impact on the concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has become a topic of notable concern. Changes in environmental conditions such as the increase of the average temperature, or the UV-B radiation, are likely to influence the fate and behavior of POPs, ultimately affecting human exposure. The state of the art of the impact of climate change on environmental concentrations of POPs, as well as on human health risks, is here reviewed. Research gaps are also identified, while future studies are suggested. Climate change and POPs are a hot issue, for which wide attention should be paid not only by scientists, but also and mainly by policy makers. Most studies reported in the scientific literature are focused on legacy POPs, mainly polychlorinated dibenzo- p -dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and pesticides. However, the number of investigations aimed at estimating the impact of climate change on the environmental levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is scarce, despite of the fact that exposure to PAHs and photodegradation byproducts may result in adverse health effects. Furthermore, no data on emerging POPs are currently available in the scientific literature. In consequence, an intensification of studies to identify and mitigate the indirect effects of the climate change on POP fate is needed to minimize the human health impact. Furthermore, being this a global problem, interactions between climate change and POPs must be addressed from an international perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the effects of environmental policy commitments in a futuristic world in which solar radiation management (SRM) can be utilized to reduce climate change damages. Carbon and sulfur dioxide emissions (correlated pollutants) can be reduced through tradable permits. We show that if nations simultaneously commit to carbon permit policies, national SRM levels rise with carbon quotas. Alternatively, if they simultaneously commit to SRM policies, the global temperature falls with each unit increase in the global SRM level. A nation always wishes to be a leader in policymaking, but prefers carbon to SRM policymaking. The globe prefers SRM policy commitments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The knowledge about potential climate change impacts on forests is continuously expanding and some changes in growth, drought induced mortality and species distribution have been observed. However despite a significant body of research, a knowledge and communication gap exists between scientists and non-scientists as to how climate change impact scenarios can be interpreted and what they imply for European forests. It is still challenging to advise forest decision makers on how best to plan for climate change as many uncertainties and unknowns remain and it is difficult to communicate these to practitioners and other decision makers while retaining emphasis on the importance of planning for adaptation. In this paper, recent developments in climate change observations and projections, observed and projected impacts on European forests and the associated uncertainties are reviewed and synthesised with a view to understanding the implications for forest management. Current impact assessments with simulation models contain several simplifications, which explain the discrepancy between results of many simulation studies and the rapidly increasing body of evidence about already observed changes in forest productivity and species distribution. In simulation models uncertainties tend to cascade onto one another; from estimating what future societies will be like and general circulation models (GCMs) at the global level, down to forest models and forest management at the local level. Individual climate change impact studies should not be uncritically used for decision-making without reflection on possible shortcomings in system understanding, model accuracy and other assumptions made. It is important for decision makers in forest management to realise that they have to take long-lasting management decisions while uncertainty about climate change impacts are still large. We discuss how to communicate about uncertainty – which is imperative for decision making – without diluting the overall message. Considering the range of possible trends and uncertainties in adaptive forest management requires expert knowledge and enhanced efforts for providing science-based decision support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most popular policy mechanisms for greenhouse gas emissions regulation is cap-and-trade which is a market-based approach that has come to dominate partially because of its flexibility. With flexibility, however, comes the potential for the clustering of greenhouse gas emissions. To understand whether emissions trading leads to localized clustering of emissions changes, we perform a systematic, spatio-economic assessment of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). We analyze the spatial pattern of emissions changes from individual plants across the EU as well as how the pattern changes during the first two phases of the ETS implementation. Our findings indicate that there was clustering of emissions changes at the EU and country level which peaked at the start of the second phase but declined as the EU ETS matured. We also found that iron and steel, coke ovens, and refining have greater clustering and volatility compared to other industries. Based on the air quality implications of these clustered emissions, certain countries and industry types might need additional attention during the ETS design or redesign process. This study makes a novel contribution by systematically evaluating the spatio-temporal and equity implications of emissions distribution in cap-and-trade systems. • First systematic spatio-temporal assessment of EU ETS emissions changes. • Iron & steel, coke ovens, and refining have greater clustering and volatility. • Emissions changes were spatially concentrated, peaking at the start of phase II. • Emissions clustering should be considered in the design of trading schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]