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• Conduct critical analysis on climate adaptation study in transportation. • Introduce a new classification method with reference to diverse key topics. • Identify the research gaps through statistical and qualitative analysis. • Guide future research directions in transport adaptation to climate change. With the occurrence of more frequent and intense climate change events, transportation systems, including their infrastructure and operations become increasingly vulnerable. However, the existing research related to climate risks, adaptation and planning in the transport sector is still at an embryonic stage. Understanding such, this paper presents a critical review on climate risks, adaptation strategies and planning in the context of road and rail transportation systems. It aims to conduct a rigorous survey, to highlight any significant research gaps not addressed in past studies and to analyse current emerging topics to guide future directions. It critically dissects the selected papers by categorising them into several dimensions to reveal the status quo and potential challenges, including climate risk assessment, transport asset management, climate planning and policy, and adaptation of transport infrastructure to climate change. It will provide valuable references for future research and constructive insights and empirical guidance on climate adaptation, risk analysis, transport planning and other important relevant topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Smallholder producers in Bolivia already experience the impact of climate change. • Climate change is confounded by other stressors, including market volatility. • Resilience to climate and market crises is compromised by existing vulnerabilities. • Vulnerabilities are produced through past development pathways. • A political ecology of resilience historicizes the double exposure. Climate change is already affecting rural communities along the high Andean plateau, but it is just one of many stresses that Andean people experience on a regular basis. This paper examines the experiences of quinoa farmers in Southwestern Bolivia as they faced the overlapping crises of protracted drought and market disruption in 2017. Drawing on political ecologies of resilience, this paper argues that the ability of rural people to cope with this double exposure was already compromised by ecological and social vulnerabilities produced through the development trajectories of the previous two decades. These development strategies generated three overlapping processes: 1) neoliberal entanglements involving specialization in quinoa production, marketization, and individualization of livelihoods in ways that undermined collective action; 2) new relationships of debt that tied households to monetized response paths and undermined flexibility; and 3) the degradation of soils through extensification, overproduction, and industrialization of quinoa production. This paper argues that while climate and market disruptions are not to be dismissed, we must historicize the double exposure to also ask how resilience and vulnerability to such challenges are generated in the first place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy makers have made repeated calls for integration of human and natural sciences in the field of climate change. Serious multidisciplinary attempts began already in the 1950s. Progress has certainly been made in understanding the role of humans in the planetary system. New perspectives have clarified policy advice, and three insights are singled out in the paper: the critique of historicism, the distinction between benign and wicked problems, and the cultural critique of the ‘myths of nature’. Nevertheless, analysis of the IPCC Assessment Reports indicates that integration is skewed towards a particular dimension of human sciences (economics) and major insights from cultural theory and historical analysis have not made it into climate science. A number of relevant disciplines are almost absent in the composition of authorship. Nevertheless, selective assumptions and arguments are made about e.g. historical findings in key documents. In conclusion, we suggest to seek remedies for the lack of historical scholarship in the IPCC reports. More effort at science-policy exchange is needed, and an Integrated Platform to channel humanities and social science expertise for climate change research might be one promising way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What drives the development of climate policy? Brazil, China, and India have all changed their climate policies since 2000, and single-case analyses of climate policymaking have found that all three countries have had climate coalitions working to promote climate policies. To what extent have such advocacy coalitions been able to influence national policies for climate-change mitigation, and what can explain this? Employing a new approach that combines the advocacy coalition framework (ACF) with insights from comparative environmental politics and the literature on policy windows, this paper identifies why external parameters like political economy and institutional structures are crucial for explaining the climate advocacy coalitions’ ability to seize policy windows and influence policy development. We find that the coalitions adjust their policy strategies to the influence-opportunity structures in each political context—resulting in confrontation in Brazil, cooperation in China, and a complementary role in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change adaptation now occupies central stage on the agenda of most environmental initiatives in Africa. Our current understanding on the state of adaptation is limited, however, both globally and in Africa in particular. This study examines the status of adaptation in the Sahel by reviewing the primary peer review literature that reports concrete climate change adaptation actions. Based on an analysis of 70 peer review papers that document 414 discrete adaptations, we create a snap shot of adaptations developed between 1975 and 2015, and also calculate the percentages of adaptation. The results show that from a country to country perspective, Kenya has the highest number of reported adaptation actions (75 or 18.1%). The percentages indicate that the adaptive capacity of the entire study area is generally low for all the countries being that the highest country-level percentage is recorded in Kenya and it is 18%. Regionally, West Africa has more adaptation actions (261 or 63%) when compared to other regions of the Sahel. Regional level percentages suggest a higher level of adaptation at the regional level being that the percentage falls within the high scale range. The most commonly used adaptation actions reported are income diversification and water harnessing respectively. When categorized, technically related adaptation actions dominate the adaptation charts. The decade 2008–2016 recorded the highest number of adaptations (65.2%). Adaptation actions are also reported to be triggered by climatic and non-climatic drivers which both record high frequencies but the climatic drivers (98%) of adaptation are slightly dominant relative to the non-climatic drivers (95%). These results should be viewed as proxies of climate change adaptation as much information may be found in grey literature and non-peer review national communications which are left out here because of their relative low standardization and acceptability due to the absence of peer review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and global warming have increased the awareness of mankind in protecting the world. Wind energy is a favorable alternative to conventional fuels for providing clean and cheap energy. For efficient design of wind station project, the best wind turbine selection plays a noteworthy role in the all life cycle. In this paper, AHP method is utilized on the decision of selection for the best wind turbine among turbine brands for 1.5 MW. The selection of the best turbine from several of different turbine brands is complicated task since a few decision criteria need to be noted simultaneously. In this study, the selected turbines are investigated in detail. Based on the experts’ opinions, the obtained results by this way are evaluated from technical, economic, environmental and customer attributes by AHP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change research and action counteracting it affect everyone and would involve cross-societal transformations reshaping the anthroposphere in its entirety. Scrutinizing climate-related science and policies, we recognize attempts to steer the evolution of climate according to expected (or modelled) futures. Such attempts would turn the anthroposphere into a large “anticipatory system”, in which human society seeks to anticipate and, possibly, to govern climate dynamics. The chief aim of this discussion paper is to open a critical debate on the climate change paradigm (CCP) drawing on a strategic and systemic framework grounded in the concept of anticipatory system sensu Rosen (1991). The proposed scheme is ambitiously intended to turn an intricate issue into a complex but structured problem that is to say, to make such complexity clear and manageable. This framework emerges from concepts borrowed from different scientific fields (including future studies and system dynamics) and its background lies in a simple quantitative literature overview, relying upon a broad level of analysis. The proposed framework will assist researchers and policy makers in thinking of CCP in terms of an anticipatory system, and in disentangling its interrelated (and sometimes intricate) aspects. In point of fact, several strategic questions related to CCP were not subjected to an adequate transdisciplinary discussion: what are the interplays between physical processes and social-political interventions, who is the observer (what he/she is looking for), and which paradigm is being used (or who defines the desirable future). The proposed scheme allows to structure such various topics in an arrangement which is easier to communicate, highlighting the linkages in between, and making them intelligible and open to verification and discussion. Furthermore, ideally developments will help scientists and policy makers address the strategic gaps between the evidence-based climatological assessments and the plurality of possible answers as applied to the geopolitical contingencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a high-resolution temperature reconstruction for the last Millennium from Lake Atnsjøen, SE Norway (61°52′31″N, 10°10′37″E). The sedimentary record reveals strong influence of the large-scale global climate patterns on the local climate in southern part of Eastern Norway. We reconstructed mean July air temperature using Chironomidae-based transfer function and fossil Chironomidae assemblages. The reconstruction was supported by a selection of climate-sensitive geochemical and paleoecological sedimentary proxies of terrestrial and aquatic origin, including Cladocera, pollen and macrofossils. Presented results revealed that summer temperatures were 1–2 °C warmer than the mean Millennial temperatures during the 11th, 13th, 15th and 20th centuries and 1–2 °C lower during the 12th, 14th, 17th–18th centuries. A persistent cold period, the Little Ice Age (LIA), occurred between 1550 and 1800 CE, was interrupted by a short warming at 1650 CE. The recognized regional climate fluctuations during the last Millennium affected the lake and its catchment, of which the strongest impact was caused by the LIA cooling. During the LIA the catchment vegetation was impacted by climate deterioration and the lake productivity reached its lowest level during the last Millennium. The current temperature reconstruction is in agreement with a previous continental scale temperature reconstruction for Europe. From obtained results it emerges that during the LIA the climate of western Scandinavia has been dictated by the atmospheric patterns originating from the North Atlantic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Improved data linkages between diverse environment and health datasets have the potential to provide new insights into the health impacts of environmental exposures, including complex climate change processes. Initiatives that link and explore big data in the environment and health arenas are now being established. Objectives To encourage advances in this nascent field, this article documents the development of a web browser application to facilitate such future research, the challenges encountered to date, and how they were addressed. Methods A ‘storyboard approach’ was used to aid the initial design and development of the application. The application followed a 3-tier architecture: a spatial database server for storing and querying data, server-side code for processing and running models, and client-side browser code for user interaction and for displaying data and results. The browser was validated by reproducing previously published results from a regression analysis of time-series datasets of daily mortality, air pollution and temperature in London. Results Data visualisation and analysis options of the application are presented. The main factors that shaped the development of the browser were: accessibility, open-source software, flexibility, efficiency, user-friendliness, licensing restrictions and data confidentiality, visualisation limitations, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability. Conclusions Creating dedicated data and analysis resources, such as the one described here, will become an increasingly vital step in improving understanding of the complex interconnections between the environment and human health and wellbeing, whilst still ensuring appropriate confidentiality safeguards. The issues raised in this paper can inform the future development of similar tools by other researchers working in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the lead-lag relationship across the returns of four cryptocurrencies - Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether and TrueUSD. It identifies the important role of the environment in forecasting the cryptocurrency returns. The study compares the predictive ability of environmental variables such as temperature anomalies and CO 2 emissions with that of commodities i.e. Gold and WTI returns. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first attempt to investigate the leading role of the environment in predicting cryptocurrency returns. Most studies in the literature examine the environmental cost of Bitcoin, but none has considered the possible causal effect of the environment on Bitcoin returns. Our results show evidence of limited predictive power of lagged commodity returns, while lagged CO 2 emissions significantly predict the returns of volatile cryptocurrencies, i.e. Bitcoin and Ethereum. On the other hand, environmental variables do not show any predictive power in the returns of stable coins (Tether and TrueUSD). Our findings highlight the increased awareness regarding the degradation of the environment and rapid climate change. Our results have important policy implications. • The role of the environment in predicting cryptocurrency returns is analyzed. • Daily data on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether and TrueUSD over the period from 08/27/2018 to 05/28/2021 are used. • CO 2 emissions significantly predict returns of the volatile currencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum. • Levels of environmental variables are not reflected in the returns of the stable currencies. • Importance to promote the investment in eco-friendly technology for crypto trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the Global Warming Potential (GWP) was first presented in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) First Assessment Report, the metric has been scrutinized and alternative metrics have been suggested. The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report gives a scientific assessment of the main recent findings from climate metrics research and provides the most up-to-date values for a subset of metrics and time horizons. The objectives of this paper are to perform a systematic review of available midpoint metrics (i.e. using an indicator situated in the middle of the cause-effect chain from emissions to climate change) for well-mixed greenhouse gases and near-term climate forcers based on the current literature, to provide recommendations for the development and use of characterization factors for climate change in life cycle assessment (LCA), and to identify research needs. This work is part of the ‘Global Guidance on Environmental Life Cycle Impact Assessment’ project held by the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative and is intended to support a consensus finding workshop. In an LCA context, it can make sense to use several complementary metrics that serve different purposes, and from there get an understanding about the robustness of the LCA study to different perspectives and metrics. We propose a step-by-step approach to test the sensitivity of LCA results to different modelling choices and provide recommendations for specific issues such as the consideration of climate-carbon feedbacks and the inclusion of pollutants with cooling effects (negative metric values). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Projections of building electricity consumption are used in multiple fields and for a variety of purposes, from energy utility investment decisions to global climate assessments. Existing approaches to modeling building electricity consumption span a range of structural methodologies, spatial resolutions, and temporal scales, potentially leading to divergent projections. This paper compares how two models with different structures and resolutions respond to a common set of population and climate drivers in the western U.S. The BEND model simulates hourly residential and commercial building electricity consumption at the county scale by weighting the results of simulations of thousands of representative buildings. In contrast, the projected electricity demand in GCAM-USA is determined for each state, year, sector (residential/commercial), and service (e.g., heating, cooling, and others), based on population, income, technology, energy prices, and average annual climate. This paper aggregates the two models' results to a common resolution: annual residential and commercial building electricity consumption by state. Both models show similar responses to future projected population change and climate change, with population change having the larger impact between the two. Differences are primarily due to how the models capture changes in the aggregate energy efficiency of the building stock as it evolves over time. • Models of building electricity consumption are methodologically diverse. • Two models of building electricity using very different approaches are compared. • The models mostly agree in their projections of building electricity consumption. • How the efficiency of buildings evolves drives disagreement between the models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Climate impact analysis of air transport from Germany. • Scenario dependent forecast of passenger flights from Germany. • Scenario dependent forecast of specific emissions by traffic regions. • Focus on both CO 2 and NO x emissions. • Forecast of climate impact effects for three scenarios up to the year 2100. Transport is considered to be a major contributor to emissions, resulting in a deterioration of local air quality and contributing to global climate change. The present paper focuses on how passenger flights departing from German airports contribute to global climate change. We describe in detail, how traffic forecasts for three scenarios entitled Reference, Free Play and Regulated Shift have been developed and how the resultant emissions have been quantified. Subsequently, we applied a climate model, providing insights into the very long-term climate effects under different assumptions on emissions up to the year 2100. The modelling framework shows that the development of emissions results from complex interactions of demand development and supply decisions, which highly influence the climate impact. With this paper, we show that an integrated, multi-disciplinary analysis can create valuable indicators and advice for transport policy decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The majority of climate impact studies focus on changes in yields for a four staple crops. • There has been little research into climate change and farm labor productivity. • Research into climate impacts on knowledge capital is needed. • Climate change impacts on people in the tropics outweigh that on crops. • Ignoring labor impacts understates losses in the world's poorest countries. This paper provides a critical assessment of the literature estimating the consequences of climate impacts in agriculture and the food system. This literature focuses overwhelmingly on the impact of elevated CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere, higher temperatures and changing precipitation on staple crop yields. While critically important for food security, we argue that researchers have gravitated to measuring impacts 'under the streetlight' where data and models are plentiful. We argue that prior work has largely neglected the vast majority of potential economic impacts of climate change on agriculture. A broader view must extend the impacts analysis to inputs beyond land, including the consequences of climate change for labor productivity, as well as for purchased intermediate inputs. Largely overlooked is the impact of climate change on the rate of total factor productivity growth and the potential for more rapid depreciation of the underlying knowledge capital underpinning this key driver of agricultural output growth. This broader view must also focus more attention on non-staple crops, which, while less important from a caloric point of view, are critically important in redressing current micronutrient deficiencies in many diets around the world. The paper closes with numerical simulations that demonstrate the extent to which limited input and output coverage of climate impacts can lead to considerable underestimation of the consequences for food security and economic welfare. Of particular significance is the finding that humans in the humid tropics are likely more vulnerable to heat stress than are many of the well-adapted crops, such as rice. By omitting the impact of heat stress on humans, most studies of climate impacts greatly understate the welfare losses in the world's poorest economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International climate funds play a key role in supporting the adaptation policies of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to climate change by reducing their vulnerability. The mechanism of contributions established at national level under the Paris Agreement of 2015 lays the foundations to help international donors better understand each country's climate needs. With this in mind, this paper aims to provide some policy suggestions emerging from the analysis of the impact some variables have on reducing vulnerability. To this end, we consider the vulnerability index of 33 SIDS countries in terms of adaptation and mitigation policies. Based on the data availability, we use the panel-corrected standard errors estimator in time span from 2010 to 2014, taking into account the spatial heterogeneity of vulnerability. Our findings display that foreign aid and social development variables are crucial to promoting adequate and balanced responses to climate change. Therefore, we can confirm the effectiveness of external funds in reducing vulnerability. Domestic resources alone do not appear able to help SIDS due to endogenous limits of countries beneficiaries. The approach proposed in this paper can be extended to other small countries which are not islands, as well as to islands that are not nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a series of claims from Bernie Sanders (2015), Barack Obama (2015), and others arguing that climate change, radicalisation, and terrorism are connected by complex causal relationships, there is very little academic examination of the politics of these claims. Building on DeLanda's (2006) account of assemblages and social complexity, this paper conceptualises climate change-terrorism-radicalisation relationships as a 'climate terrorism assemblage'. A 'climate terrorism assemblage' is a complex, emergent 'whole' formed from a heterogeneous range of interacting geopolitical components (e.g. climatic factors, migration, think tanks and academic publications, and a discourse of 'climate security'). Specifically, a climate terrorism assemblage is characterised by 'strategic territorialisations': context-specific, multi-scalar points at which political claims of causal links between climate change, terrorism, and radicalisation are crystallised. Strategic territorialisations are produced in two, interrelated contexts. First, using the case study of the Syrian Conflict, a climate terrorism assemblage reveals an intricate, contested politics of 'drawing lines' which link climate change, terrorism, and radicalisation. Secondly, the paper argues that, at the points at which causal links are constructed between climate change, terrorism and radicalisation, a climate terrorism assemblage territorialises around intersectional subject formations, in particular a young masculine subject vulnerable to potential radicalisation and terrorism. Overall, the paper concludes that a climate terrorism assemblage provides a productive analytic frame to investigate the contested power relations of climate change-radicalisation-terrorism connections. • Can climate change, terrorism and radicalisation be linked together causally? • A 'climate terrorist assemblage' can help us to conceptualise these causal links. • Political actors 'draw' careful causal links to match their strategic interests. • A young, vulnerable masculine subject is produced in a climate terrorist assemblage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years climate change has become a multidisciplinary research topic that addresses the challenges facing transport infrastructure planning, construction and operation. The study of the adaptation of transport systems to new environmental conditions is often based on the interrelated concepts of resilience, vulnerability and criticality. In this paper we assess the criticality of sections of Spain's inland transport network under the effects of changing climate scenarios obtained from a specific climate projection (using the time periods 2010–2020 and 2045–2055). The functionality of the transport system is characterised here in terms of territorial accessibility. The results identify and locate the most critical stretches of the Spanish transport network. In general terms, the most relevant sections in regard to accessibility will not be exposed to the greatest changes in climate variables. Up to 2.8% of the roads and 5.9% of the railways that contribute most significantly to the territorial accessibility of the transport system will undergo the greatest variations between climate scenarios. This paper contributes to this field of research by developing a screening tool that represents a valuable instrument for the infrastructure decision-making process at the strategic level. Action areas for proactive adaptation measures can be identified in order to reduce impacts and costs, while prioritising the maintenance or reconstruction of the most critical stretches in the case of a future climate event. • We assess criticality of sections of transport network under changing climate scenarios. • We combine accessibility of the transport network with exposure to changes in climate. • Most valuable accessibility sections not be exposed to the greatest climate changes. • We locate the most critical transport infrastructure sections in Spain. • We provide a useful screening tool to identify priority action areas for mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• French people have limited knowledge about climate change but worry about it. • They prefer green investments or regulations to a tax and dividend. • Distributive effects and lack of alternatives prevent carbon tax acceptance. • Improving knowledge is predicted to increase ecological attitudes and concern. • Unlike in the US, partisanship does not interact with education to shape perceptions. This paper aims to assess the prospects for French climate policies after the Yellow Vests crisis halted the planned increase in the carbon tax. From a large representative survey, we elicit knowledge, perceptions and values over climate change, we examine opinions relative to carbon taxation, and we assess support for other climate policies. Specific attention is given to the link between perceptions of climate change and attitudes towards policies. The paper also studies in detail the determinants of attitudes in terms of political and socio-demographic variables. Among many results, we find limited knowledge but high concern for climate change. We also document a large rejection of the carbon tax but majority support for stricter norms and green investments, and reveal the rationales behind these preferences. Our study entails policy recommendations, such as an information campaign on climate change. Indeed, we find that climate awareness increases support for climate policies but no evidence for the formation of opinions through partisan cues as in the US, suggesting that better access to science could foster support for climate policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

World leaders signed the Paris Agreement in 2015 to keep global temperatures well below 2 °C. This Paris Agreement will facilitate achieving Sustainable Development Goal-13 (Climate Action) by 2030. However, without collective action, it is quite impossible to achieve the terms of this agreement. In this regard, the mass media can contribute to making people aware of the subsequent effect of climate change at all levels. The mass media, as a source of information, might play a significant role in raising public awareness and understanding of climate sciences. This paper examines the influence of the mass media on awareness, attitudes and knowledge of climate change, which may lead to environmentally friendly behaviour. This paper employs structural equation modelling to examine the relationship among the studied variables. The results reveal that the mass media influences awareness, attitudes and knowledge of climate change. This study also finds mediating effects of awareness, attitudes and knowledge of climate change between the mass media and environmentally friendly behaviour. The results imply that the mass media contributes to creating awareness, enhancing understating and shaping favourable attitudes towards climate change. The findings could guide policymakers to take appropriate steps to promote a greater awareness of climate change using the mass media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industries are one of the major factors leading the impacts of global climate change. Their participation in the global process of climate mitigation and adaptation is fundamental, since these large greenhouse gas emitters and their investors could take action to change the path towards a low carbon economy. Nevertheless, surprisingly, no study has found in the literature on climate risk management by the world's largest emitters. This paper presents the context in which companies are asked to disclose to interested parties and potential investors not only shallow questions about sustainability, but also information on climate change and climate risks. Therefore, the main objective is, among others, to investigate the relationship between emission intensity and the number of climate projects implemented. The paper focused on the world's 100 largest GHG emitters, identified by a Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) classification list. It was developed an analysis based on their CDP reports for the period 2015 to 2017. The results showed that the level of disclosure of climate risks is low, with an average score of only 31% in 100. By 2017, 11.1% had not implemented any mitigation project to reduce the impact on climate change. The sample companies realize that their business is more severely threatened by climate regulations than the market and physical risks. The survey found that companies are investing more in energy efficiency as an effective way to reduce emissions. Evidence shows that the number of projects implemented is not related to the intensity of emissions, size, power of the shareholders and the country of origin of the company, but its profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As successive reports have predicted tens or even hundreds of millions of people displaced by climate change in the coming decades, the politics of climate migration has moved to the forefront of contemporary public discourse. In particular, those least able to adapt and most vulnerable to exploitation have garnered media and policy attention. Nevertheless, analysis of this phenomenon is inhibited by the large scale, predominantly unidirectional nature of the phenomenon's social scientific analysis, leaving the power laden nature of resource and infrastructure persistently underplayed. In particular, how the geography of natural resources produces different patterns of (im)mobility in response to environmental change, even within the same community, remains poorly understood. Drawing on data gleaned from a multi-sited study of rural and migrant livelihoods in Cambodia, this paper highlights how the small scale, power-laden geography of water resources and irrigation shapes migration in response to the changing climate. Using brick workers as a case study of 'hyper-precarious' migrant labour, it uses quantitative, qualitative and spatial data to show how the socio-economically situated geography of water influences both perception of the climate, and mobility in response to it. Viewing this resource landscape as a form of hydrosocial power, the paper overarchingly makes a case for enhanced communication between the climate migration and hydrosocial power literatures, in order to better conceptualise the role of power in articulating the linkages between water geographies and climate mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disturbances are a major determinant of forest carbon stocks and uptake. They generally reduce land carbon stocks but also initiate a regrowth legacy that contributes substantially to the contemporary rate of carbon stock increase in US forestlands. As managers and policy makers increasingly look to forests for climate protection and mitigation, and because of increasing concern about changes in disturbance intensity and frequency, there is a need for synthesis and integration of current understanding about the role of disturbances and other processes in governing forest carbon cycle dynamics, and the likely future of this and other sinks for atmospheric carbon. This paper aims to address that need by providing a quantitative review of the distribution, extent and carbon impacts of the major disturbances active in the US. We also review recent trends in disturbances, climate, and other global environmental changes and consider their individual and collective contributions to the US carbon budget now and in the likely future. Lastly, we identify some key challenges and opportunities for future research needed to improve current understanding, advance predictive capabilities, and inform forest management in the face of these pressures. Harvest is found to be the most extensive disturbance both in terms of area and carbon impacts, followed by fire, windthrow and bark beetles, and lastly droughts. Collectively these lead to the gross loss of about 200 Tg C y − 1 in live biomass annually across the conterminous US. At the same time, the net change in forest carbon stocks is positive (190 Tg C y − 1 ), indicating not only forest resilience but also an apparently large response to growth enhancements such as fertilization by CO 2 and nitrogen. Uncertainty about disturbance legacies, disturbance interactions, likely trends, and global change factors make the future of the US forest carbon sink unclear. While there is scope for management to enhance carbon sinks in US forests, tradeoffs with other values and uses are likely to significantly limit practical implementation. Continued and expanded remote sensing and field-based monitoring capabilities and manipulative experimentation are needed to improve understanding of the US forest carbon sink, and assess how disturbance processes are responding to the pressures of global environmental change. In addition, continued development and application of holistic, decision support tools that consider a range of forest values are needed to enable managers and policy makers to use the best available information for guiding forest resources now and into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conservation of historical urban centres is an important resource to encourage liveability and sustainable development of cities in the context of global climate change. It is a complex process that serves diverse perspectives, among them is the thermal comfort. The paper analyze the contribution of street configuration towards the improvement of thermal comfort at pedestrian level, in the Old Town of Camagüey-Cuba (World Heritage Site, since 2008). Simulations performed are run for summer and winter solstices by using RayMan model. The urban settings are represented by symmetrical street canyons (380 m long, 9 m width), with different solar orientations (i.e. N–S, NE–SW, E–W, NW–SE) and aspect ratios (i.e. H/W = 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5). Results are presented in terms of Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET). Our findings confirm that the spatial distribution of thermal conditions at street level, depend strongly on aspect ratio and street orientation. The results show extreme patterns of thermal comfort between N–S and E–W streets. Rotation to N–S orientation is a valid strategy to mitigate the heat stress in summer, with reductions of up to 2 h at the center of the street. Aspect ratios between 1 and 1.5 offer a quite acceptable thermal performance for summer and winter. PET patterns discussed give information about the most suitable locations for pedestrian within the street. The urban guidelines presented enable to urban planners rehabilitate and design cities, which are able to reduce the impact of thermal stress in hot-humid climates. The results could be included in the Urban Regulations of Camagüey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fisheries sectors in Vanuatu and Timor-Leste are important sources of food and income. Similar to other developing countries and those in the Pacific, they are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change more so because of their geographic location, socioeconomic conditions and political instability. Nonetheless, there are approaches to alleviate the damaging effects of climate change in the region's fisheries sector. Using economic modeling, this paper estimates the economic costs of potential climate change adaptation strategies for the fisheries sector in Vanuatu and Timor-Leste through assessment of alternative future scenarios. Strategies include aquaculture development, natural resource management through establishment and/or expansion of marine protected areas, and deployment of low-cost inshore fish aggregating devices. Modeling results demonstrate that the above innovations will enable the two countries to significantly improve coastal and freshwater fish production in the medium-term (2035) and long-term (2050). Fish consumption is projected to grow due to population and income improvements; yet considerable increases in production will augment demand. Furthermore, national-level gains are projected from these adaptation strategies through fish exports. Improved production under climate change will require significant investments from the national governments of Vanuatu and Timor-Leste and/or private sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detecting and tracking extreme events in gridded climatological data is a challenging problem on several fronts: algorithms, scalability, and I/O. Successful detection of these events will give climate scientists an alternate view of the behavior of different climatological variables, leading to enhanced scientific understanding of the impacts of events such as heat and cold waves, and on a larger scale, the El Niño Southern Oscillation. Recent advances in computing power and research in data sciences enabled us to look at this problem with a different perspective from what was previously possible. In this paper we present our computationally efficient algorithms for anomalous cluster detection on climate change big data. We provide results on detection and tracking of surface temperature and geopotential height anomalies, a trend analysis, and a study of relationships between the variables. We also identify the limitations of our approaches, future directions for research and alternate approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change present a range of equity issues for human being, but operating the equity principle within emission allocation scheme to various parties has raised multiple challenges. Although more than 40 schemes have been suggested in the literatures, there is little consistency in the way that baselines, scope, coverage and other key parameters have been compared or discussed. In this paper, we reviewed 41 schemes used in the literature so far and compared the cumulative allowances of main countries under various schemes in a consistent framework. Two cases are considered, i.e. only energy and industry related CO 2 and all Kyoto GHGs. Besides the allowances, carbon Gini coefficient in the global perspective and the reduction tradeoffs between country groups are further quantitatively discussed. It is demonstrated that the full ranges of countries’ allowances are quite large resulting from different equity considerations and implement methods behind different effort-sharing schemes. However, absolute mitigations are always required in developed countries in order to realize the 2 °C target, regardless of schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought has had large impacts on economies, societies and the environment, and could become even more disruptive given the context of climate change characterized by increasing temperature and more variable and extreme precipitation. Changes in the frequency, duration, and severity of droughts will have enormous impacts on the hydrological cycle, water management and agricultural production. Therefore, one major concern arising from climate change is its potential effects on water resources. Although South Korea has been experiencing serious drought and water scarcity issues in recent years, preparedness for potential changes in the frequency, severity and duration of drought disasters due to climate change effects has received only limited attention. It is important to detect changes in temporal trends of drought at the regional scale. This information will aid understanding the impacts of climate change and its subsequent effects on hydrology and agriculture. In this paper, we have addressed the question of how climate change might influence the impact of drought hazard by estimating the potential changes in temporal trends of drought in South Korea. We have assessed the temporal trends of future drought with drought indices (Standardized Precipitation Index [SPI], Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index [SPEI], and Self-Calibrating Palmer Drought Severity Index [SC-PDSI]) using past observed data (1981–2010) from 54 meteorological stations maintained by the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) and projected climate change scenarios (2011–2100) as depicted by the Representative Concentration Pathways models (RCPs). The drought hazard assessment was quantitatively evaluated by analyzing drought frequency, duration, severity and magnitude using the run theory method based on different timescales of the drought indices. The results demonstrated a significant increase of potential drought impacts in the future. Additionally, significant increases in the drought magnitude and severity were found at different time scales for each drought indicator. The results indicated that the temporal pattern of potential drought progression and recession across South Korea can be used for the development of proactive drought risk management and mitigation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the literature on Indigenous health, human dimensions of climate change, and place-based dimensions of health by examining the role of environment for Inuit health in the context of a changing climate. We investigated the relationship between one key element of the environment – sea ice – and diverse aspects of health in an Inuit community in northern Canada, drawing on population health and health geography approaches. We used a case study design and participatory and collaborative approach with the community of Nain in northern Labrador, Canada. Focus groups (n = 2), interviews (n = 22), and participant observation were conducted in 2010–11. We found that an appreciation of place was critical for understanding the full range of health influences of sea ice use for Inuit. Negative physical health impacts were reported on less frequently than positive health benefits of sea ice use, which were predominantly related to mental/emotional, spiritual, social, and cultural health. We found that sea ice means freedom for sea ice users, which we suggest influences individual and collective health through relationships between sea ice use, culture, knowledge, and autonomy. While sea ice users reported increases in negative physical health impacts such as injuries and stress related to changing environmental conditions, we suggest that less tangible climate change impacts related to losses of health benefits and disruptions to place meanings and place attachment may be even more significant. Our findings indicate that climate change is resulting in and compounding existing environmental dispossession for Inuit. They also demonstrate the necessity of considering place meanings, culture, and socio-historical context to assess the complexity of climate change impacts on Indigenous environmental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy consumption is necessary for the delivery of human development by supporting access to basic needs, services and infrastructure. Given prevailing technologies and the high degree of inertia in practical rates of decarbonisation, growth in energy consumption from rising global living standards may drive consequent greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). In this paper the ‘development as usual’ GHG emissions impact of achieving high levels of life expectancy, access to basic needs and continued economic growth are projected to the mid-century using historical elasticities of development and energy consumption in 3 regions – Africa, Centrally Planned Asia, and South Asia. The results suggest that long life expectancy and high levels of access to basic needs are achievable at lower levels of emissions than continued economic growth, but will consume a substantial share of the global budget associated with a 2 °C climate goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a scalable “climate health justice” model for assessing and projecting incidence, treatment costs, and sociospatial disparities for diseases with well-documented climate change linkages. The model is designed to employ low-cost secondary data, and it is rooted in a perspective that merges normative environmental justice concerns with theoretical grounding in health inequalities. Since the model employs International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) disease codes, it is transferable to other contexts, appropriate for use across spatial scales, and suitable for comparative analyses. We demonstrate the utility of the model through analysis of 2008–2010 hospitalization discharge data at state and county levels in Texas (USA). We identified several disease categories (i.e., cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, heat-related, and respiratory) associated with climate change, and then selected corresponding ICD-9 codes with the highest hospitalization counts for further analyses. Selected diseases include ischemic heart disease, diarrhea, heat exhaustion/cramps/stroke/syncope, and asthma. Cardiovascular disease ranked first among the general categories of diseases for age-adjusted hospital admission rate (5286.37 per 100,000). In terms of specific selected diseases (per 100,000 population), asthma ranked first (517.51), followed by ischemic heart disease (195.20), diarrhea (75.35), and heat exhaustion/cramps/stroke/syncope (7.81). Charges associated with the selected diseases over the 3-year period amounted to US$5.6 billion. Blacks were disproportionately burdened by the selected diseases in comparison to non-Hispanic whites, while Hispanics were not. Spatial distributions of the selected disease rates revealed geographic zones of disproportionate risk. Based upon a downscaled regional climate-change projection model, we estimate a >5% increase in the incidence and treatment costs of asthma attributable to climate change between the baseline and 2040–2050 in Texas. Additionally, the inequalities described here will be accentuated, with blacks facing amplified health disparities in the future. These predicted trends raise both intergenerational and distributional climate health justice concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The California Current Ecosystem Long Term Ecological Research (CCE-LTER) site has been in existence since 2004. One of its primary objectives is to understand the response of the southern California Current ecosystem to climate forcing. The CCE-LTER site cooperates with the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) program and complements CalCOFI׳s work through more extensive observations, process studies, and a modeling program. This special issue is focused on the long-term observations made by the CCE-LTER and CalCOFI programs, describing and understanding long-term changes in the physical, chemical, and biotic environment in the region. The papers in this issue highlight the climatological conditions during recent years and employ modeling to diagnose the principal forcing of meridional currents and eddy transport, both of which affect biotic responses. Changes in source waters in the region, and altered flushing of the Santa Barbara Basin, are considered. Temporal variations in inherent optical properties and in higher trophic levels, including seabirds and marine mammals, are presented. Key methodological developments presented include the incorporation of subsurface phytoplankton and light distributions in order to improve remotely sensed measures of primary production, and the validation of multi-frequency acoustic estimates of mesopelagic fish biomass. Results also highlight significant spatial differences across the CCE-LTER region, including cross-shore trends in microbial assemblages, and glider-resolved frontal features and zones of mixing associated with abrupt topography. Alterations to the spatial structure of the pelagic ecosystem must also be considered when evaluating future climate-related changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the occurrence rate of caisson sliding of a vertical breakwater during a storm and the probabilistic distribution of the individual sliding distances are derived as functions of such important design variables as water depth, significant wave height, and caisson width. The expressions for various representative sliding distances such as the significant sliding distance are also derived. The derived statistical characteristics of individual sliding distances are then used for calculating the first passage probability of an allowable individual sliding distance during a storm. A method is also proposed to calculate the time-dependent first passage probability for the case where wave climate and mean water depth change with time. Finally, tentative design criteria for the allowable individual sliding distance are proposed. The proposed method is applied to fictitious breakwaters in different water depths near the Port of Hitachinaka in Japan. The time-dependent first passage probability is calculated for the next 50 years in which the wave height may increase due to climate change. The first passage probability increases as time elapses, as the water depth increases, and as the allowable individual sliding distance decreases. Comparison with a previous study that uses a performance-based design method shows that the allowable first passage probability should be in the range between 0.05 and 0.09. For the proposed method to be used in a practical design, however, more detailed study should be made to determine the allowable values of individual sliding distance, first passage probability, and representative sliding distance, by comparing with current design methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary An increase in water demands, exacerbated by climate change and the tightening of environmental requirements, leads to a reduction in available water resources for economic uses. This situation poses challenges for water resource planning and management. Water accounting has emerged as an appropriate tool to improve transparency and control in water management. There are multiple water accounting approaches, but they generally involve a very exhaustive list of accounted concepts. According to our findings in this research, one of the best water accounting methodologies is the Australian Water Accounting Standard. However, its implementation for integrated water resource planning and management purposes calls into questioning the amount of information and level of detail necessary for the users of water accounts. In this paper, we present a different method of applying the Australian Water Accounting Standard in relation to water resource management, which improves its utility. In order to compare the original approach and that proposed here, we present and discuss an application to the Júcar Water Resource System, in eastern Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Demonstrates the importance of considering uncertainty about climate change. • Identify four points of skepticism across types and level of certainty. • Compare groups across predictors, demographic, and outcome variables. • Propose the use of skeptic as a term for people who do not accept climate science. In this paper we present an empirically driven language to discuss climate change skepticism. We conceptualize skeptic/skepticism as an umbrella term that includes those who actively reject climate science and those who are uncertain about climate change. We propose four categories for better empirical analysis of climate skepticism: epistemic deniers, epistemic doubters (borrowing from Capstick and Pidgeon 2014), attribution deniers, and attribution doubters (borrowing from Rahmstorf 2004). Using a unique dataset of surveys (n = 1000) and interviews (n = 33) with residents of the U.S. Pacific Northwest who are skeptical about climate change, we compare those four groups across several predictors and demographic variables (age, race, gender, political ideology, religiosity, income, education, and level of trust in science) and outcome variables (environmental concern, policy support, and conspiracy ideation (adherence to the belief that climate change is a "hoax"). We demonstrate the importance of considering attitudinal uncertainty in the analysis of climate skepticism by providing evidence for the presence of a continuum of thought wherein epistemic deniers and attribution doubters make up the two ends of a continuum with more complicated distinctions between epistemic doubters and attribution deniers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Climate change will lead substantial numbers of people to relocate. • Problems from unmanaged retreat include scattered growth or rising costs in attractive areas. • The history of new towns provides lessons for the coming wave of planned retreat. • Resettlement experience to date provides good practice examples. • Whole-community and new-community resettlement can foster social ties. Climate change will cause substantial numbers of people to relocate, whether in a planned or more ad hoc manner. In receiving communities this could lead to substantial problems supplying physical infrastructure, preserving affordability, conserving wild and productive lands, maintaining social connections, and providing community services in new areas. Moving to comprehensively planned new settlements could be a solution to climate sprawl (fragmented and dispersed development) and climate gentrification (increased demand in existing areas). This may involve moving an entire settlement as a whole to a comprehensively planned neighborhood or town. We call this " whole community" retreat as it keeps social ties intact. An alternative involves creating a comprehensively planned new town or new neighborhood for people from a variety of locations. We refer to this as " new community" retreat as it provides a new environment, but social ties need to be developed. The paper examines lessons from two sets of experiences with large scale resettlement or community-building. One group of examples involves whole community resettlements after disasters or related to economic development and a second set of precedents come from the broader history of new towns. Challenges from both resettlement experience and new town history include land and infrastructure availability and cost, planning and development coordination, financing, and attracting a large enough proportion of people to keep social ties intact. A more comprehensive approach has benefits, but is easier to pull off at a neighborhood rather than a larger scale and for shorter rather than longer moves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the long lifespan of buildings it becomes inevitable to assess the impact of climate change when designing building envelopes or retrofitting solutions. Hygrothermal simulations would benefit from using a climate ensemble to account for the large uncertainties that come with modelled climate data. However, this has been rarely done so far, and no state-of-the-art methodology exists to implement ensemble data in hygrothermal simulations. This paper presents the application of a Canadian initial-condition ensemble CanRCM4 LE in hygrothermal (HAM) modelling. A brick-clad wood-stud wall assembly and historical solid masonry wall, before and after retrofitting, are analysed for Ottawa, CA. Variations in the HAM model are studied to evaluate whether the ensemble can be represented by one smaller "reduced" ensemble for different studies. And, the potential of climate-based indices to predict this "reduced" ensemble is studied. Further, the uncertainty of the ensemble is analysed, as well as the climate change signal of the damage functions. It is found that the application of a climate ensemble is highly valuable for HAM modelling, as it is able to account for the high uncertainty of climate change data. To maintain the level of information, it is recommended to perform HAM simulations using the entire ensemble. However, there is potential to select a "reduced" ensemble to represent spread of the climate change signal. • Hygrothermal analysis benefits from climate ensemble data in numerical simulations. • Using entire ensemble recommended for hygrothermal studies on climate change. • Large uncertainty on hygrothermal behaviour of walls for initial-condition ensemble. • Reduced ensembles can represent the climate change signal of mould damage in walls. • Future freeze-thaw damage in masonry is difficult to predict; orientation dependent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Late Mississippian and Pennsylvanian have been referred to as the Coal Age due to enormous paleotropical peat accumulations (coal beds). Numerous fossil floras have been collected from these coals, and their associated seat-earth paleosols and roof-shales, over more than two centuries, leading to the inference of vast swampy wetlands covering the Pangean tropics during the Pennsylvanian. In contrast, the Permian tropics are characterized as more arid, with sparser and more heterogeneous vegetation than inferred for the Pennsylvanian. In the tropics, the Pennsylvanian to Permian transition has been described as a changeover from a pteridophyte-dominated "Paleophytic flora", to a seed-plant dominated "Mesophytic flora. This view notwithstanding, floras dominated by xeromorphic seed plants also are well known from the Pennsylvanian tropics. Some authors have characterized these plants as being occupants of uplands, subsequently transported into basinal-lowland, preservational environments. In this model, uplands are well drained, causing areas of drought under otherwise everwet climates. In this paper, we present an alternative interpretation: that the apparent transition in Pennsylvanian-Permian tropical vegetation reflects two types of taphonomic megabias. First is a preservational megabias, strongly favoring the vegetation of humid climates over that of seasonally dry climates. Accordingly, tropical-plant preservational potential fluctuated in concert with Late Paleozoic Ice Age glacial-interglacial oscillations, and contemporaneous sea-level and climatic changes. Second is an analytical megabias, strongly favoring the discovery and collection of the wetland biome from Pennsylvanian strata, overlooking the less frequently and more poorly preserved drought-tolerant biome. By Permian times, vast wetlands, and their fossil record, had largely disappeared from central Pangea (although continuing in Cathaysia), making drought-tolerant vegetation more "visible" to searchers, without changing its preservational circumstances. We demonstrate that the upland model is untenable, being inconsistent with the principles of plant biogeography and with geological aspects of the fossil record. • Pennsylvanian-Permian boundary floristic change reflects a taphonomic megabias • Tropical wetland and drought-tolerant biomes existed contemporaneously throughout the Pennsylvanian • Megabias 1: The wetland biome was much more likely to be preserved than the drought-tolerant biome • Megabias 2: Coal mining means much more collection of wetland biome than drought-tolerant biome • The "Upland" model does not conform to modern or fossil plant biogeographic principles [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fossil pollen records are well-established indicators of past vegetation changes. The prevalence of pollen across environmental settings including lakes, wetlands, and marine sediments, has made palynology one of the most ubiquitous and valuable tools for studying past environmental and climatic change globally for decades. A complementary research focus has been the development of statistical techniques to derive quantitative estimates of climatic conditions from pollen assemblages. This paper reviews the most commonly used statistical techniques and their rationale and seeks to provide a resource to facilitate their inclusion in more palaeoclimatic research. To this end, we first address the fundamental aspects of fossil pollen data that should be considered when undertaking pollen-based climate reconstructions. We then introduce the range of techniques currently available, the history of their development, and the situations in which they can be best employed. We review the literature on how to define robust calibration datasets, produce high-quality reconstructions, and evaluate climate reconstructions, and suggest methods and products that could be developed to facilitate accessibility and global usability. To continue to foster the development and inclusion of pollen climate reconstruction methods, we promote the development of reporting standards. When established, such standards should 1) enable broader application of climate reconstruction techniques, especially in regions where such methods are currently underused, and 2) enable the evaluation and reproduction of individual reconstructions, structuring them for the evolving open-science era, and optimising the use of fossil pollen data as a vital means for the study of past environmental and climatic variability. We also strongly encourage developers and users of palaeoclimate reconstruction methodologies to make associated programming code publicly available, which will further help disseminate these techniques to interested communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CIRFs are useful for exploring risks of system failure under climate change. • Synthetic streamflow series are generated using SA and linked to climate conditions. • Logistic regression relates system responses to climate drivers. • System failure defined according to performance (reliability) and threshold. • LR model detects climate conditions which would require adaptation. Climate Impact Response Functions (CIRFs) can be useful for exploring potential risks of system failure under climate change. The performance of a water resource system can be synthesized through a CIRF that relates climate conditions to system behavior in terms of a specified threshold of deliveries to demands or environmental flow requirements. However, in highly regulated water resource systems this relationship may be quite complex, depending on storage capacity and system operation. In this paper we define a CIRF for these types of systems through a multivariable logistic regression (LR) model where a binary variable (system response) is explained by two continuous variables or predictors (precipitation and temperature). The approach involves generating multivariate synthetic inflow time series and relating them to specific climate conditions. Next, these inflows are used as inputs in a water management model, and the outcome is coded as a binary variable (failure or its absence) depending on selected vulnerability criteria. To identify the time span before the failure event in which climate variables are relevant, we characterized drought development stages through relative standardized indices. Mean values of precipitation and temperature for the selected time span are computed and used as explanatory variables through a LR model, which is validated using data from several climate models and scenarios. Results show that the predictive capacity of LR models is acceptable, so that they could be used as screening tools to detect challenging climate conditions for the system which would require adaption actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frequency and intensity of extreme climate events are increasing all around the world, due to climate change. Climate adaptation strategies are therefore needed, since mitigation strategies alone are not sufficient to avoid serious impacts of climate change. However, adaptation to climate change is not straightforward, as it is highly influenced by diverse and conflicting interests as well as epistemological (or scientific) uncertainties. Therefore, a minimum requirement for its success is the active participation of stakeholders and citizens in the adaptation policy cycle. This paper presents a case study on a participatory process involving civil servants from different municipalities in Malaysia, in Southeast Asia, with a view to considering the optimal level of engagement that is required for climate adaptation planning. The exercise consisted of a Focus Group session, where participants were asked to discuss the level of stakeholder and citizen participation that should be adopted within the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy initiative. Contrary to authors' expectations, the participants tended to suggest medium to high levels of participation in the planning process. During the dialogues, a walking activity through the city, aimed at identifying hotspots of climate risks and defined as "safety walks", was one of the ideas proposed as a high-potential participatory method, spreading in the adaptation framework. Safety walks could complement climate modelling and enhance the robustness of climate risk assessments. • A focus group session on stakeholders participation in adaptation planning • Medium-high levels of participation in the planning process were suggested. • Technical expertise from local community is needed • "Safety walks" suggested as a high-potential stakeholder-involving participatory technique • Site-specific challenging issues were addressed through active discussion and best practices [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Empirical research with 64 climate strikers in six cities in four different countries. • Examines knowledge, emotions, motivations, and actions of climate strikers. • Large variation in climate strikers regards to knowledge, emotions, motivations and actions. • Strikes provide opportunism also for other social and political action. • Values underpinning climate action range from individual to planetary concerns. In August 2018, Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg started to strike from school on Fridays to protest against a lack of action on the climate crisis. Her actions sparked a historically large youth movement, leading to a series of school strikes across the world. Over the course of one week in September 2019, striking school children, students and other grassroots movements, such as Extinction Rebellion, called for everyone to participate in a global Climate Strike. This paper is based on comparative research with climate protesters in six cities: Brighton and London (United Kingdom), Montreal (Canada), New Haven and New York (USA), and Stavanger (Norway). Based on original interviews with 64 protesters, the study examines their knowledge, emotions, motivations, and actions in relation to climate change, including any lifestyle changes they have undertaken before or after their protests. Our findings show that protesters have varying degrees of knowledge about climate change, and have taken a range of actions in their own lives to address climate change. They also manifest a wide spectrum of emotions about climate change, and different motivations for taking part in climate strikes. These features are under-studied and dynamically evolving at the present conjuncture. On this basis, we call for expanded academic attention to human, emotional, epistemic, and seemingly mundane aspects of climate protests, their structural tendencies and relational expressions, and the implications for our ability to address underlying drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Sensitivity of heating performance of energy self-sufficient building is presented. • The use case is analyzed via calibrated EnergyPlus simulation model. • European climate zone, climate change (2050–2080) and HVAC solutions are considered. • The scenarios showed variable energy consumption from 3.0 to 54.2 kW h/m2yr1. • Climate change will reduce heating demand between −8.5 % (2050) and −44.8 % (2080). The building energy behavior is strongly influenced by design choices made to contain energy losses through the envelope and to maximize the overall efficiency of HVAC systems. However, a thorough assessment of energy efficiency measures in relation to weather conditions is necessary. Ongoing climate change requires that design choices be also assessed in relation to projections of their future state. In this paper, the heating performance of real-world energy self-sufficient building, located in L'Aquila (Italy), is analyzed via calibrated EnergyPlus model. Different interventions are hypothesized for the HVAC system (biomass boiler, air handling unit, condensing gas boiler, air-to-water heat pump, their combinations) and effects are tested in relation to climate zone, by four Italian (L'Aquila, Rome, Palermo, Milan) and two European (Madrid, London) cities, and considering climate change to 2050 and 2080 for the city of L'Aquila. Results showed how heating system is influenced by weather conditions and what are the best choices in relation to them, ranging from 3.0 kWhm−2yr−1, achieved with combination of condensing gas boiler and air handling unit, to 54.2 kW hm−2yr−1, obtained with air-to-water heat pump. Finally, future climate change has highlighted significant reductions in heating energy demand between −8.5 % (2050) and −44.8 % (2080). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change will affect psychological wellbeing. Substantial research has documented harmful impacts on physical health, mental health, and social relations from exposure to extreme weather events that are associated with climate change. Recently, attention has turned to the possible effects of climate change on mental health through emotional responses such as increased anxiety. This paper discusses the nature of climate anxiety and some evidence for its existence, and speculates about ways to address it. Although climate anxiety appears to be a real phenomenon that deserves clinical attention, it is important to distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive levels of anxiety. A focus on individual mental health should not distract attention from the societal response that is necessary to address climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Influential actors in Finland prioritize economic competitiveness over climate change mitigation. • These actors do not actively seek media visibility or directly attack the validity of climate science. • Their influence on climate policy is based on other means, such as inside lobbying. • Opponents of climate change mitigation can be powerful despite a weak media presence. The lack of ambitious climate change policies in large anglophone countries, such as the United States, has been explained by the strong media presence of denialist arguments against climate science. Such counterarguments are less visible in the news media of most European countries. Why do many of these countries nevertheless fail to enact ambitious climate change policies? This paper suggests that influential organizations may block ambitious climate change policies in corporatist countries without an extensive media strategy or a strong denialist message. We draw from theories on the policy process, policy networks, influence strategies, and comparative politics to formulate hypotheses about the existence, influence, and strategies of organizations that oppose ambitious climate policy. We test these hypotheses using an original combination of media data and survey data on the national climate policy network in Finland, a corporatist European country that has long lacked ambitious climate policies. The findings show that a coalition that prioritizes economic competitiveness over climate change mitigation is influential and occupies a central position in the policy network. This pro-economy lobby does not question the validity of climate science or actively seek media visibility. Rather, it influences the policy process using other strategies, such as inside lobbying, and appears in the news media less often than other climate policy organizations. Our results suggest that opponents of climate change mitigation can be powerful despite a weak media presence. This implies that studies on climate politics should pay more attention to strategies of influencing beyond the media spotlight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal erosion is driven by both a storm's erosion potential and by an area's vulnerability. Therefore, the problem of estimating impacts can be approached in two-step. The first includes an assessment of erosion potential based on readily available storm parameters, while the second combines this information with highly localized parameters, describing vulnerability, to more directly predict local impacts. The work presented in this paper focuses on this first step, where a storm erosion potential climatology is developed by analyzing historical storms and is then utilized to identify historic patterns. Specifically, storms which have impacted the New Jersey coast over the past several decades are reevaluated using the Storm Erosion Index (SEI), developed by Miller and Livermont (2008), which considers the three primary storm-related drivers of coastal erosion (wave height, water level, and storm duration). These storms are assessed at thirteen shoreline segments defined along New Jersey's Atlantic coast from a 34 year-period (1980–2013) when concurrent wave and water level data is available. Approximately 130 unique storms are identified with the top three being the December 1992 nor'easter, the November 2009 Veteran's Day Storm, and Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, each having an estimated return period of greater than 15 years. The resulting climatology is found to exhibit several interesting spatial and temporal trends. Both portions of the state as well as months of the year that have historically experienced more storms and/or higher cumulative SEI (over the 34 years) are identified. While analysis of the climatology has also identified periods of reduced storm activity and those of intensified conditions, future monitoring is suggested to assess whether these patterns are persistent or related to climatic variations with cycles longer than can be captured by the thirty years included in this study. • SEI is capable of classifying and ranking major storms that have impacted the New Jersey coast based on erosion potential. • Approximately 130 unique storms are identified at each of the thirteen shoreline segments in New Jersey between 1980 2013. • The 34-year climatology is used to identify spatial and temporal patterns in erosion potential for the state. • The coastline towards the middle of the state experiences more storms and more intense storms than the northernmost sections. • By month, October has the highest cumulative SEI due to the number of high intensity storms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Climate worry raises personal responsibility and, thereby, diverse climate actions. • Individuals who strongly endorse biospheric values worry more about climate change. • Personal responsibility to reduce climate change relates to various climate actions. • Biospheric values primarily relate to personal climate mitigation behaviours. • Worry about climate change is primarily associated with climate policy support. The IPCC's report on Global Warming of 1.5°C positioned climate change as one of the most worrying issues mankind has ever faced. Although many people worry about climate change, there is still much unknown about the origins and outcomes of worry about climate change; particularly, whether and how it can motivate specific and personal climate actions. The current paper investigates this critical relationship with data from the European Social Survey Round 8 (44,387 respondents from 23 countries). As expected, the more individuals worried about climate change, the more likely they were to take and support climate action. Yet, the process through which this association occurred differed between actions. Specifically, worry was both directly and indirectly, via feelings of personal responsibility to reduce climate change, associated with climate policy support; whereas worry was mostly indirectly associated with personal climate mitigation behaviours, via personal responsibility. In addition, worry about climate change appears partly rooted in biospheric values (i.e., caring about nature and the environment), and biospheric values were also clearly, directly and positively related to personal climate mitigation behaviours. The relationships were highly consistent across countries but varied somewhat in size. The results show how generic feelings about climate change can directly and indirectly affect both climate policy support and personal climate mitigation behaviours, thereby providing critical insights for science and policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ideal U -values for 2050 climate projection in the Mediterranean region are determined. • Current well insulated buildings are not prone to overheating in the future. • In the future, ideal U -values are similar or even lower than current ones. • Casablanca is the only location presenting an overheating risk. • The increase of cooling demand will overcome the heating demand decrease. One of the effects of climate change is global warming, which will increase cooling demand in buildings. However, scientific literature does not show consensus on the risk of highly insulated buildings being prone to overheating. This paper presents a statistical comparison of two synthetic datasets for current and future climates in sixteen Mediterranean locations. The weather data for the 2050 climate projection was generated by 'morphing' current weather data. The buildings were created using a generative design method to produce random geometries and random U -values for the envelope elements. Energy performance was evaluated using dynamic simulation. In addition to the expected general increase in cooling demand (up to 137 %) and a smaller reduction in heating demand (up to 63 %), the results demonstrate that the ideal U -values used in the current climate in almost all of the locations will not cause overheating. In several cases, the decrease of the U -values is even recommended for Podgorica, Valencia, Tunis, Malaga, Larnaca, and Alexandria, as the reduction of heating demand compensates the increase of cooling demand. Casablanca was the only location showing an increase in the ideal U -values, thus presenting risk of overheating if using current ideal U -values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate variability is not a new challenge for coastal communities. However, because climate variability is manifesting with more extreme climate impacts, occurring with greater frequency and with more intensity, the necessity for adaptation to minimize risk is becoming more pronounced. Though this is true of coastal communities around the globe, it is an acutely important concern for coastal communities in high northern latitudes, where the impacts of climate change are occurring at a disproportionate rate. With Homer, Alaska, as a case study, and through the lens of evolutionary governance, this research investigates coastal stressors (eg. storm surges, bluff instability) and subsequent decision dynamics around local government policy and planning for climate adaptation. In particular, the paper explores the relationship between actors and institutions, the connection between power and knowledge, as well as the challenges of path and goal dependencies. Narratives from key informants associated with Homer's climate change agenda highlight that while some stakeholders are keen to mainstream adaptation thinking into long-term strategic planning, adaptation policy remains a low priority (with a focus instead on mitigation). Uptake is further hindered by a belief among key decision-makers that the threat of climate change is a concern for the future. This in turn has resulted in diminished internal capacity (eg. institutions, knowledge) to effectively prepare for climate variability in general. Drawing insights through evolutionary governance theory, this study may provide coastal community decision-makers with an appreciation of the value (and nuanced challenges) of embedding climate adaptation thinking into strategic community planning. • The City lacks necessary institutions to build climate resilience through adaptation. • Leadership believes that climate change risks are too uncertain to motivate response. • Decision-makers view climate change adaptation as a low priority. • Adaptation remains a peripheral agenda; focus instead is on climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes global and regional energy and CO 2 trends and concludes: 1) Domestic U.S. policies alone will not insulate the U.S. from the impacts of climate change; 2) The U.S. should triage climate change as a global threat by focusing on regions where CO 2 emissions are most acute; and 3) The U.S. civilian nuclear enterprise should be elevated in U.S. energy and climate policy in order to meet global climate and national security objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is one of the most serious issues to affect modern society. What originated as a scientific question has evolved into a complex political and social issue. The policy context recognises the pivotal role of education in encouraging effective engagement and behavioural responses to projected climate changes. It is relatively easy to nod assent to the principles of climate change education and engagement, but harder to deliver. This paper explores experiences of educating and engaging current and future decision makers, namely pupils, teachers, charity workers, small business owners and councillors on the subject of climate change in Wales. It draws conclusions about the existing climate for learning as well as the potential for overcoming challenges associated with information needs of these existing and future decision-makers. It considers the broader issue of whether current climate change information and education frameworks are fit for purpose and able to support effective climate change mitigation and adaptation activities. The findings suggest that many climate change communications from international organisations are not being received or understood at local levels, indicating a need for further and simpler 'translation' of science. Despite a strong formal education system in Wales, there are variations in basic skills (such as map reading and graph interpretation), required for simple climate change science interpretation. Finally, our results point to a need for climate literacy to be gained through interactive long-term learning rather than one-off training, particularly given some of the entrenched views of the older age groups involved in the study. • Reviews existing climate for learning. • Develops experiences for educating and engaging various audiences in climate change. • Considers the information needs of existing and future decision-makers. • Provides discussion on climate change information and education frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]