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In recent years, many have raised concerns regarding the need to develop sustainable practices in the cocoa sector and to prepare for impending threats associated with climate change. Although evidence suggests more needs to be done to address the environmental concerns surrounding cocoa, the sustainability of the sector cannot be understood without recognizing other socio‐economic and socio‐political factors. This paper uses a case study of Ghana—the world's second largest producer of cocoa—to problematize the often‐simplistic claims concerning the fate of the crop. While the paper draws upon a diverse disciplinary body of literature, it uses a political ecology lens to analyse the multifaceted problems facing the cocoa industry. The paper derives insights from 131 interviews conducted with a wide range of stakeholder groups in Ghana's capital (Accra) and leading cocoa‐producing regions (Ashanti and Western). The analysis reveals the need to challenge dominant narratives about the cocoa‐climate change nexus, as it highlights other threats to the sector. This includes the difficulty of securing youth labourers, the problem of "galamsey" (i.e., illegal artisanal mining), the issue of land scarcity, and the politicization of migrant workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper my thought experiment leads me to posit that South Africa's environmental governance often results in what I term "hollow environmentalism". This term describes the inevitable long-term outcome of promulgating laws and policies that are idealistic and seem symbolic and that at times fail to achieve their intended objectives or environmental promise. On a narrower scale, hollow environmentalism can also manifest when such symbolic environmental laws and policies lead to judicial decisions that lack substantive ecological justifications, perhaps even resembling symbolic judgments. I substantiate this argument through four key considerations. I commence with a reality check on environmental governance, emphasising that the state is not a neutral actor, necessitating closer scrutiny of state decisions. This leads me to the conclusion that governance stands at a critical juncture. I argue that the symbolic nature of our environmental laws, broadly speaking, often makes it challenging for the state to fully meet the lofty ideals it presents, thereby also complicating court decisions in these matters. Next, I align my thoughts with recent literature on adjudication in the context of the climate crisis. This literature stresses the need for courts to be bold and innovative in their judicial roles, given the precarious nature of stabilising environmental disputes. In the penultimate section I bring the discussion to a close by suggesting two interconnected possibilities to address hollowness in the face of climate change: "sunsetting" and "substitution". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to look at how financial technology (FinTech) companies adhere to sustainable standards in contrast to their counterparts. Following the validation of its new sustainability index, this study looks into the impact of sustainability on the stock performance of FinTech companies. Design/methodology/approach: To efficiently test the hypotheses, sample has been collected from the Bloomberg of all FinTech and non-FinTech companies from the USA. The final sample comprises 1,712 company-year observations over the investigation period 2010–2019. The methodology entails ordinary least squares regressions and generalized panel methods of moments (GMM). Findings: The results suggest that the developed sustainability index is a valid proxy for sustainability measures and directly relates to stock performance. Besides, the evidence indicates that non-FinTech companies display superior sustainability and stock performance compared to FinTech companies. The present results corroborate with stakeholder theory, which implies that quality sustainability performance will alleviate the agency issue and safeguard the shareholders' interest. Research limitations/implications: Despite the fact that it presents the limitation of not considering other dimensions of financial performance, this research is important as it highlights the sustainability practices by the FinTech and non-FinTech companies, offering insights to researchers, policymakers, regulators, financial reports users, investors, environmental union, employees, clients and society. Originality/value: This paper is novel because it is unique in evaluating the sustainability practices in FinTech and non-FinTech firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By developing innovative solutions to social and environmental problems, sustainable ventures carry great potential. Entrepreneurship which focuses especially on new venture creation can be developed through education and universities, in particular, are called upon to provide an impetus for social change. But social innovations are associated with certain hurdles, which are related to the multi-dimensionality, i.e. the tension between creating social, environmental and economic value and dealing with a multiplicity of stakeholders. The already complex field of entrepreneurship education has to face these challenges. This paper, therefore, aims to identify starting points for the integration of sustainability into entrepreneurship education. To pursue this goal experiences from three different project initiatives between the partner universities: Lapland University of Applied Sciences, FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences and Turiba University are reflected and findings are systematically condensed into recommendations for education on sustainable entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

The impact of global warming on the environment is a significant concern, and finding effective ways to address climate change is a priority. This paper investigates how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be utilised to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and support efforts to combat climate change, with a particular focus on the chemical industry. The study presents a theoretical framework and comparative analysis of both technological and non-technological solutions to achieve net-zero GHG emissions and establish a carbon-neutral status in the chemical industry. The aim is to assess the potential role of AI as a tool for reducing CO2 emissions from the chemical industry and contributing to the global goal of achieving net-zero CO2 emissions. The analysis will evaluate the efficacy of AI as a tool in reducing GHG emissions in the chemical industry and explore its potential for optimising processes, predicting and reducing emissions, and supporting the development of sustainable practices. By utilising AI, it may be possible to identify and implement effective solutions that may not have been possible through conventional methods. Ultimately, the study aims to contribute to the ongoing efforts to address climate change by highlighting the potential of AI as a tool for reducing GHG emissions in the chemical industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sixth Assessment Report of Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has highlighted the urgency of accelerated climate actions harnessing synergies and minimizing trade-offs with various SDG. This calls for a clear understanding of linkages between climate goals and other SDGs at national level for formulating synergistic policies and strategies and developing different sectoral programs and coherent cross-sectoral policies. This is even more important for least developed countries such as Nepal where these linkages are less understood and development challenges are multifaceted. In this context, this paper aims to evaluate potential synergies and trade-offs among selected SDGs and their associated targets in Nepal in a linear pairwise comparison. Synergies and trade-offs related to climate action (SDG 13), access to energy (SDG 7), sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12), and life on land (SDG 15) have been evaluated using historical data for the period from 1990 to 2018 employing a mixed methods approach. Network analysis to map the conceptual linkages between the SDGs and their targets was combined with the advance sustainability analysis (ASA) to quantitatively evaluate the synergy and trade-offs between SDGs. The results illustrate the presences of a continual trade-off between emission reductions targets of SDG 13 with per capita energy consumption and share of renewable energy of SDG 7, land use for agricultural production target of SDG 12, and forest area target of SDG 15. This indicates that climate action is strongly interlinked with GHG emissions from economic activities and energy consumption. The results of the study represent a valuable input for the policy makers, supporting coherent and sustainable development planning as Nepal plans to graduate to a middle-income country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy sector is one of the most important pollutants in the atmosphere and causes significant emissions of greenhouse gases. In Russia, coal is the main contributor to the fossil fuel consumption of thermal power plants and boilers, thus affecting atmospheric air pollution by releasing particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, which are strongly associated with a negative impact on human health. This problem is especially acute for the resource regions of Yenisei, Siberia, a 2.5+ mln sq km macro-region in the very heart of Russia. In this paper, we analyze the impact of the structure of electricity and heat generation on emissions of pollutants and climate-active gases in Yenisei, Siberia, and give an overview of their social, ecological, and economic effects. More than 75% of electricity in Yenisei, Siberia, is produced by hydroelectric power plants that do not pollute the atmosphere. The rest of the electricity is generated in the cogeneration mode by thermal power plants, which are cores of the heat supply designs of cities. The share of individual coal-powered heat sources is still high. A detailed analysis of existing equipment and technologies at existing thermal power plants is needed to select options for their modernization to reduce emissions while keeping coal in use. Our calculations for the biggest cities of Krasnoyarsk Krai show that investments in the transition to heating with pellets will require RUB 184.7 million for Nazarovo and RUB 313.9 million for Kansk. At the same time, switching to electric heating is more than twice as expensive: RUB 498.6 million for Nazarovo and RUB 847.5 million for Kansk. The additional costs will range from RUB 21 to RUB 45.4 thousand per household per year for the pellet variant and from RUB 56.8 to RUB 122.5 thousand per year for electric heating, which could triple the annual heating costs. Thus, these options are unlikely to be implemented without direct state support. We argue that creating an attractive living environment in Yenisei, Siberia, must begin with intensive public investment in mitigating the environmental externalities caused by coal emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

University campuses represent a heterogeneous ecosystem as to social, economic, energetic, and personal travel planning with a huge impact on hosting cities and territories. Sustainable policies are thus fundamental to reduce this impact and to adopt ecological behaviors. The measures for any University Sustainability Plan should be evaluated in terms of GHG emissions, as well as the overall impact of the university itself. Carbon footprint (CF) calculation is a relevant Decision Support tool that allows university organizations to measure and communicate the environmental effects of their activities. The aim of this paper is to present a carbon footprint methodology specifically designed to calculate the carbon footprint of large universities. The methodology was applied to calculate the CF of the University of Bologna by following international standards—i.e., the GHG protocol, the ISO 14064, and the ISO/TR 14069 guide—to understand the environmental impact caused by greenhouse gas emissions from direct and indirect university activities. The study was conducted upon the data available in 2020 and then was compared to the 2018 data, with the aim to recognize if the effect of the pandemic could have altered the results. In 2020, the University of Bologna emitted 16,467 tCO2e which became 15,753 tCO2e considering the offset and avoided emission provided by the internal production of energy from renewable sources. Comparison between 2020 and 2018 shows how, in 2018, most of the emissions came from transportation, representing 74% of the total emissions, while in 2020 almost 50% of total emissions derived by IT procurements. The case application demonstrates the way with which the methodology may be applied to assess environmental impact for complex university campuses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Canada's climate warms at double the rate of the rest of the world, Canadian libraries have an important responsibility towards guardianship and activism on the climate crisis. Libraries have long been assessed on their sustainability efforts by inward facing factors, such as building standards and collections. While these remain important, this paper proposes a taxonomy that develops assessment further outward in the direction of community activism and climate justice, and tests that taxonomy against the environmental sustainability indicators published by Ontario public libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry is responsible for 40% of the energy consumption and 36% of the CO2 emissions, and buildings are responsible for a significant part of energy consumption in Europe. Thus, a growing concern regarding environmental impacts in the construction sector is in place. Reducing these impacts and optimise the design process is a major priority, and technology needs to be integrated along with the design to allow for better buildings performance. Building Information Modelling (BIM) methodology is one of the technologies that is revolutionising how the supply chain delivers the construction projects, allowing for an overview of the whole life cycle, keeping track of the data along the process, and potentiating more advanced simulations and supported decisions. The tool proposed in this paper aims to integrate different types of sustainability analysis, namely Streamlined Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Carbon Footprint, Life Cycle Cost (LCC) and Level(s) framework with BIM. This involves defining adequate Product Data Templates (PDT) and a database structure for BIM objects, including the necessary parameters to enable designers to do holistic and dynamic assessments from early design stages to a complete LCA. Also, considering the importance of using BIM to visualise different scenarios, a graphical interface will be developed to show the key sustainability indicators and support decision-making for more sustainable buildings. The results achieved show that technology must be taken to meet Climate most ambition targets and reduce the impact of construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green buildings have gained increasing relevance and market share in recent decades. Also, higher education institutions are progressively incorporating the conceptualisation of sustainable development by greening campuses. Thus, given the construction sector relevance in climate change mitigation and the role universities have to play as models for society, the purpose of the present paper is twofold. First, the authors develop a baseline study to determine the extent to which green buildings' features and certifications are being incorporated in public Chilean higher education institutions, as a first of its kind effort in the higher education sector in Chile. Second, the authors explore the opportunities that can support the advancement of campus greening through green buildings deployment on university campuses in Chile. This study follows a qualitative strategy approach in the form of a survey design based on the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking that was administered through an online questionnaire to representatives who hold the position of Sustainability or Infrastructure Heads in public universities, which are united in the Chilean State Universities Consortium. The main findings suggest a general maturation process of green building features´ incorporation on campuses at Chilean public higher education institutions in early or transitional stages. The leading indicators relate to open space, pedestrian paths, and efficient appliances, whereas the reported performance is lower with respect to sustainability budget, zero emission vehicles, and greenhouse gas emission reduction programmes. The opportunities identified for promoting the implementation of green buildings relate to three entrenched dimensions: research, promotion, and public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, global climate change is likely the most compelling problem mankind is facing. In this scenario, decarbonisation of the chemical industry is one of the global challenges that the scientific community needs to address in the immediate future. Catalysis and catalytic processes are called to play a decisive role in the transition to a more sustainable and low-carbon future. This critical review analyses the unique advantages of structured reactors (isothermicity, a wide range of residence times availability, complex geometries) with the multifunctional design of efficient catalysts to synthesise chemicals using CO2 and renewable H2 in a Power-to-X (PTX) strategy. Fine-chemistry synthetic methods and advanced in situ/operando techniques are essential to elucidate the changes of the catalysts during the studied reaction, thus gathering fundamental information about the active species and reaction mechanisms. Such information becomes crucial to refine the catalyst's formulation and boost the reaction's performance. On the other hand, reactors architecture allows flow pattern and temperature control, the management of strong thermal effects and the incorporation of specifically designed materials as catalytically active phases are expected to significantly contribute to the advance in the valorisation of CO2 in the form of high added-value products. From a general perspective, this paper aims to update the state of the art in Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) and PTX concepts with emphasis on processes involving the transformation of CO2 into targeted fuels and platform chemicals, combining innovation from the point of view of both structured reactor design and multifunctional catalysts development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present an analysis of the sustainability and climate change strategy for education and children's services systems in England, produced by the Department for Education. Using critical discourse analysis, we juxtapose qualitative data collected from >200 youth teachers and teacher educators in the context of co‐creating a manifesto for education and environmental sustainability. Through analysis of these two datasets, we evaluate the government's proposals for climate education and sustainability. We find that the strategy foregrounds economic concerns, with educational priorities driven by the 'net zero' policy agenda, and an over‐reliance on increased science‐focused knowledge and skills. The strategy suggests an absence of governmental responsibility and attention to the political dimensions of climate change. This is in contrast to stakeholder perspectives which see economic priorities as part of the problem and call for pro‐environmental action at all levels, including from policymakers. The strategy has a depoliticising effect as it introduces additional demands for teachers and schools without the associated enabling policy environment. We argue that the strategy runs the risk of becoming a placebo for policy, with the appearance of 'doing something' whilst failing to address the fundamental policy problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and the pursuit of sustainability and sustainable business might be regarded as among the world's "wicked problems", especially as they are multi-dimensional problems. Achieving corporate accountability in this context is also difficult when corporate structures are complex as they operate globally and through supply chains. At the European level, under the Green Deal, the Sustainable Finance Initiative and the Sustainable Corporate Governance Initiative include new reporting requirements to amend and expand the scope and application of the 2014 Non-Financial Reporting Directive, alongside changes to directors' duties to ensure they take account of stakeholders' needs and environmental and human rights due diligence requirements. This paper will argue that these legislative and regulatory efforts are to be welcomed, but the complexity of the regulation threatens to undermine its potential impact. It may therefore be necessary to reduce some of the complexity of the regulatory arrangements. However, some complexity may increase resilience and adaptability for responding to the risks involved in the uncertainty and unpredictability of climate change and in dealing with complex corporate structures. The answer is to provide robust regulation that will prompt the corporate behaviours required to avoid the catastrophic trajectory we currently face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anesthetic gases are potent greenhouse gases, which are currently released into the atmosphere where they remain for many years. Strategies to reduce the carbon footprint in anesthesiology without compromising patient safety are urgently needed. Since 2020 several departments of anesthesiology have installed anesthetic gas capture systems with which anesthetic gases can be collected. This article aims to describe the anesthetic gas capture system CONTRAfluran™ and to give an overview of the first experiences in four departments of anesthesiology working with the new device in the daily clinical routine. The CONTRAfluran™ system presents a new concept in the surgical setting that has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint in anesthesiology; however, in order to accurately estimate CO2 equivalent savings, more information concerning the reprocessing and data on the pharmacokinetics of anesthetic gases are needed. Application of the CONTRAfluran™ system in daily clinical routine is feasible when anesthesiologists are aware of specific issues. In order to minimize the carbon footprint, it remains essential to implement the specific recommendations in the position paper of the German Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care medicine (DGAI) and the Professional Association of German Anaesthesiologists (BDA) on ecological sustainability in anesthesiology and intensive care medicine and to support further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In respect to CO2 emissions, the post-Soviet states are a scientifically interesting object of research, as each of the countries has developed via different paths since reclaiming independence from the Soviet Union. Given that each country has a different approach to the use of fossil resources, it is essential to assess their input to global carbon footprint individually. Such assessment then allows to find certain actions in the development of legislation and to apply focused techniques to reduce carbon emissions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the fossil CO2 emissions produced in the Baltic States from 1991 onward, describing challenges relating to sustainability and socio-economic, scientific, and integrated approaches to sustainable development, including clean and efficient use of energy, and thus addressing climate challenges. This paper reports on data on CO2 emissions in the Baltic States. The results show that the transition of the Baltic States from the specificities of the Soviet Union's economy to an economy integrated into global markets has led to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions. However, the development and implementation of national policies for sustainable development are still crucial for mitigation of the climate crisis. Further actions must include the implementation and monitoring of policies for sustainable development, changing of the consumption and production patterns, education and awareness of sustainability, and adaptation to global climate change, while also addressing sustainability challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The humans of modern society are enjoying the luxuries and comforts today but future generations will be facing a more polluted environment and scarcity of natural resources. So the effects of global warming and climatic changes are a major policy concern nowadays around the world. The majority of the literature treats the Carbon Dioxide emissions as an indicator of environmental deterioration but this paper considers the environmental performance index as an indicator of environment. This paper addresses the role of institutional reforms for environmental performance that is hardly discussed in the earlier literature. It is argued that a novel approach of institutional reforms can provide some useful insights for environmental performance in developing countries. There is wide agreement that institutional quality is crucial for economic sustainability but rarely focused to explore the impacts of institutional reforms on environmental performance. The institutional reforms are generally divided into two categories; economic and political reforms. This paper investigated the impact of each category of institutional reforms for environmental performance by using panel data of 122 developing economies for a period of 1996–2020. Difference in differences technique is applied to determine the impact of each category of reforms on the environment. It is found that economic and political reforms significantly contribute to protecting the environment in developing countries, and it will be a good policy option to reform the economic and political institutions to preserve the environment in these countries along with sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change remains a serious global problem posing a wide range of challenges and impacts which will likely hinder the attainment of the widely discussed sustainable development goals (SDGs). The impacts and threats from a changing climate have the potential to significantly impact all sectors of the global economy and will largely be multifaceted, multidimensional, and multi-sectoral. These adverse impacts will to a greater extent, be manifested at the local and community level where the adaptability capacity is weak and resources are scarce. In the last two decades, there has been growing support and evidence that suggests that local people and communities in partnership with their local governments and NGOs are undertaking community ecological based adaptation (CEBA) practices at both the local and community level which are enhancing their adaptability and resilience capacities to a changing climate. CEBA mechanisms are initiatives and practices that local and rural communities across the developing world are sometimes adopting in partnership with their local government and non-governmental organizations to adapt to a changing climate. However, over the years, these initiatives, experiments, and activities have been poorly actualized, communicated, and there is uncertainty on whether these practices and mechanisms are enhancing the adaptability and resilience capacities of the many poor people in these communities. It is from this background that this paper seeks to assess and analyze present and future climate change impacts on agriculture in Central Zambia and further seeks to appraise the effectiveness of CEBA mechanisms being adopted and utilized in this region. Using community assessment and rural appraisal tools this research paper found that indeed some CEBA practices are innovative and effective and are enhancing the adaptability and resilience of the local people in agriculture in this region. The paper recommends that the advancement, funding, and integration of innovative and effective CEBA practices with scientific knowledge and the ultimate replication and incorporation of these practices into developmental and climate change policies can be one of the most beneficial and effective ways for a sustainable, adaptive, and resilient agriculture sector in the face of a changing and unpredictable climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global population growth in recent decades, combined with evolving industrialization, and climate change has an immediate negative impact on the environment. Organic farming is a widespread alternative production practice having serious interrelationship with the society, economy, and ecology state worldwide. The aim of this scientific research is to prove the organic agriculture as an environmental protection approach. The paper is also an appeal to farmers, citizens, scientists, and governments for more understanding, applying, and supporting the organic farming to spare the nature. Organic farming today is close to the agriculture practiced by our ancestors. Namely, the production of agricultural products and animal husbandry in a way that protects human health and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evolutionary developmental biology, and especially ecological developmental biology, is essential for discussions of sustainability and the responses to global climate change. First, this paper explores examples of animals that have successfully altered their development to accommodate human‐made changes to their environments. We next document the ability of global warming to disrupt the development of those organisms with temperature‐dependent sex‐determination or with phenologies coordinating that organism's development with those of other species. The thermotolerance of Homo sapiens is also related to key developmental factors concerning brain development and maintenance, and the development of corals, the keystone organisms of tropical reefs, is discussed in relation to global warming as well as to other anthropogenic changes. While teratogenic and endocrine‐disrupting compounds are not discussed in this essay, the ability of glyphosate herbicides to block insect development is highlighted. Last, the paper discusses the need to creatively integrate developmental biology with ecological, political, religious, and economic perspectives, as the flourishing of contemporary species may require altering the ways that Western science has considered the categories of nature, culture, and self. Research Highlights: Knowledge of developmental biology is critical for discussions of sustainability and for the possibilities of multispecies flourishing. Endangered coral reefs and turtle species highlight the developmental interactions between the biotic and abiotic portions of the environment. Developmental biology must interact creatively with philosophy, economics, religion, politics in order for environmental survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to report on the status and the development of education for sustainable development (ESD) and sustainability literacy (SL) in three Latin American (LA) higher education institutions (HEIs) business programs in Peru, Brazil and Colombia. The paper examines institutional efforts to both introduce and implement ESD curricula and provide SL. Design/methodology/approach: The methods used in this paper included reviews of university Web pages and course materials. Structured interviews were also conducted with program leaders, to examine the level of ESD, as input affecting the business programs curricula of the universities concerned. Findings: Initial findings suggest that, in the three HEIs surveyed, there is still a tendency to talk about issues related to ESD but actions that confirm this interest are not sufficiently advanced. The authors surveys a sample of business programs curricula and interviewed its leaders and a mixed and dated picture emerged. When compared to other regions particularly the USA and Europe, the findings show that the HEIs surveyed still have not developed enough work to distinguish conceptually between sustainable development, ESD and SL making the embedment of these concepts in the curriculum not fully developed. Originality/value: In LA HEIs, the ESD message seems to be slowly taking ground, equipping HEIs to respond to SL concerns. Implementation and practice in some HEIs are still at an embryonic and conceptually confused stage with regard to LA HEIs SL. This paper sheds light to help ESD delivery. It offers some strategies for moving on from this inception phase to a more structured SL provision and ESD outlook. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have seen a proliferation of studies that use archetype analysis to better understand and to foster transitions toward sustainability. This growing literature reveals a common methodological ground, as well as a variety of perspectives and practices. In this paper, we provide an historical overview of the roots of archetype analysis from ancient philosophy to recent sustainability science. We thereby derive core features of the archetype approach, which we frame by eight propositions. We then introduce the Special Feature, "Archetype Analysis in Sustainability Research," which offers a consolidated understanding of the approach, a portfolio of methods, and quality criteria, as well as cutting-edge applications. By reflecting on the Special Feature's empirical and methodological contributions, we hope that the showcased advances, exemplary applications, and conceptual clarifications will help to design future research that contributes to collaborative learning on archetypical patterns leading toward sustainability. The paper concludes with an outlook highlighting central directions for the next wave of archetype analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes how urban resilience governance is structured and coordinated in 20 North American cities (19 US and one Canadian) based on interviews with city officials. This co-produced research evolved out of conversations with city officials in Portland, Oregon, who were interested to learn how other cities were organising resilience work. Interviews focused on emerging definitions, organisational structures, internal and external coordination efforts, and practitioners' insights. The paper includes a descriptive summary of how cities are structuring and coordinating resilience efforts. Additionally, we discuss how current trends in resilience coordination can inform future directions for urban resilience scholarship. We compare what practitioners view as key success factors against six commonly theorised characteristics for effective resilience governance. Overall, we find considerable overlap in lessons from theory and practice, including the benefits of a systems approach, the need for a clear definition of resilience, strong leadership, and stakeholder engagement. Practitioners use resilience to diagnose the overall health of their cities. Additionally, practice tends to emphasise limitations such as political turnover, trade-offs between centralised and dispersed organisation, and the need to carefully diagnose and scope resilience work, whereas the academic literature calls for multi-level and cross-scale governance and feedbacks and more transformative action. Given these insights, we highlight opportunities for new resilience scholarship, including analysing the benefits of the diagnostic phase of resilience planning, evaluating resilience goals to determine the best departmental fit, and understanding local barriers and trade-offs to adopting a broad systems approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a blueprint to address urgent global challenges, with a clear role for social workers. This paper explores a Sustainable Development Goal's focused student placement at the Australian Association of Social Workers, with RMIT University. Students reviewed the AASW's policy actions and their contribution to the SDGs, including recommendations for future work. The review identified advocacy in key areas, and the need for action on several issues, including climate action. Students learned about social work policy, practice, and sustainability. The placement itself provides a model for other organisations to align their actions to the SDGs. IMPLICATIONS There is a need for greater social work engagement with the United Nations' SDGs to address urgent social and environmental challenges. Field education placements can provide an important opportunity for students to learn about sustainability, social work policy practice, and the SDGs. The placement model proposed in the article is suitable for any organisation that seeks to review their actions and better align their work to the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent ecological developments and in particular the risks of climate change have led to the emergence of new scientific challenges and fields. One field that has gained momentum over the past decades is environmental psychology. Researching and analyzing environmental phenomena it faces the challenges of connecting conceptual problems, the interdisciplinary use of languages and definitions, different understandings and the use of different methodologies, and the scientific explanation of such phenomena. This paper reflects on the challenges and also the opportunities for establishing a sustainable future from a psychological point of view. The topics addressed are a selection of criteria for adapting to changing environments, perspectives on how to harvest insights from different fields of scientific endeavor and ideas how to make use of the necessary interdisciplinarity. Furthermore, questions are raised concerning personal identity, cultural and spiritual values, the ethical aspects of decision-making in a changing world, and the conceptual challenges facing sustainable ecological development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cereal grains and tubers are among the highly consumed staple foods globally; however, due to unfavorable weather conditions and the competition for natural resources, the major staple cereal crops, such as rice, are under production threat. On the other hand, the overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to increase crop yield is deteriorating the growing environment for plants and animals, including humans. As such, sustainable management practices are the key method that can be employed to increase crop production without harming the environment. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), such as the purple non-sulfur bacteria (PNSB), have recently gained much attention in crop production due to their ability to accumulate higher-value compounds that are highly beneficial to crops. Some of the major benefits PNSB holds are that it can fix atmospheric nitrogen, solubilize phosphate, remediate heavy metals, suppress methane emissions from waterlogged paddy fields, and assist in carbon sequestration. These benefits allow PNSB to be an important bacterium for improving plant growth and yield much more sustainably while benefiting the environment. This review article discusses the beneficial effects of PNSB on rice crop plants through careful screening of previous work in this area. The review also identifies the research gaps and suggests future research pathways to make PNSB an important bacteria for sustainable rice crop production. The review paper aims for the United Nation's sustainable development goal number two, "Zero Hunger," target 2.4, indicator 2.4.1, "Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate smart villages (CSVs) are new and promising approaches to tackle the negative repercussions of climate change and to tackle the food insecurity that affects close to one billion people globally. CSVs are envisaged to result into empowerment of participating farmers; however, given the novelty of this concept in different geographical spheres, limited literature exists. This review paper therefore conducted a systematic analysis of some previous studies around this concept and assessed their contribution to understanding empowerment of farmers regarding intrinsic, instrumental, and collective agency. From the results, these studies assessed empowerment majorly in-line with the female gender; some focused on both. Results lacked focus on empowerment in the intrinsic, instrumental, or collective agency realms, though possibility of using proxy concepts can't be dismissed. However, at the heart of any agricultural extension model, a clearly outlined gender-inclusive farmer empowerment pathway should be a fundamental cornerstone for sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass use for energy and materials is, on the one hand, one of the key mitigation options to reach the 1.5 °C GMT target set in the Paris Agreement, as highlighted by the IPCC and many other key analyses. On the other hand, particularly in parts of the EU, a strong negative connotation has emerged in public debate and EC policy, with a particular emphasis on the (presumed) displacement effect in markets and land use. This is a remarkable contrast because the reasons to use sustainable biomass, on the one hand, and the possibilities and synergies for supplying sustainable biomass, on the other, are underpinned with strong evidence, also providing insights on how displacement issues can be avoided. Sustainable biomass supplies can contribute 20–30% of the future global and European energy supply, leading to reduced overall mitigation costs, including realizing the net CO2 removal from the atmosphere using BECCS concepts. This paper highlights which options, pathways and preconditions are key to achieving such a substantial contribution of sustainable biomass in future (2050) energy and material supply (with a focus on the European setting). By pinpointing how "biomass can be done right" and how important synergies can be achieved via better agricultural methods, the restoration of marginal and degraded lands and the adaptation of climate change, a different policy agenda emerges in sharp contrast to how a biobased economy has been framed in recent years. It is recommended that future policy priorities, particularly at the EU level, take a more integral view on the synergy between the role of biomass in the energy transition, climate adaptation and mitigation, better agriculture and the better use of land in general. Strategies to achieve such positive results typically require an alignment between renewable energy, and agricultural, environmental, mitigation and adaptation policies, which is a largely missing nexus in different policy arenas. Resolving this lack of alignment offers a major opportunity, globally, to contribute to the European Green deal and improve energy security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important and continuously growing research areas in marine ecology is assessing the sustainability of ecosystems. The concept is traditionally approached by quantifying different anthropogenic pressures, such as top-down effects, overexploitation, invasive species, overfishing, and pollution. However, this perspective has been criticized for its inability to capture the complex interactions between natural factors (such as climate change), human factors, and sociopolitical factors that shape ecosystems. In this paper, we present a new structural model for assessing the sustainability of marine ecosystems, PCA-DEA-based model, as an extension to current models that incorporates these key interfaces into dynamic system modeling by including trade-offs on horizontal scales (e.g., decision making). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dairy industry requires substantial energy resources at all stages of production and supply to meet consumer needs in terms of quantity, quality and food safety. The expected future climate change effects will cause serious uncertainty to the dairy industry. Adapting to these upcoming conditions is a challenge and one that is compounded by the continuous increase in food demand, as a result of global population growth. Predictably, under current conditions, this situation might lead to a significant increase in the energy requirements of the dairy industry. Therefore, there is a clear need to mitigate energy use through enhanced energy conservation, waste reduction and waste management. This review paper presents and discusses alternative dairy operations and mitigation strategies that have the potential to lead the dairy industry towards net-zero carbon emissions. Further, the focus of this work turns to supply chain energy modelling (SCEM) as means to mitigate energy use, while relevant work in the literature is reviewed. Supply chain energy models can provide a complete overview of the energy demand and the energy mix of a dairy supply chain. Additionally, they can highlight the most energy consuming processes and allow the evaluation of alternative energy-saving operations that can lead towards the net-zero carbon target. Overall, the development or use of computational tools for simulating the energy demand in the industry has strong potential for improving sustainability across the dairy supply chain. • Insight on climate change effects on the dairy supply chain and impact on energy demand. • Understanding the relevance and importance of the "net-zero" carbon emissions target in the dairy supply chain. • Identification of novel energy mitigation strategies across the dairy supply chain. • Importance of developing supply chain energy models (SCEM) to address energy mitigation in the dairy sector. • Evaluation of modelling techniques to develop or deliver supply chain energy models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roads play a vital role in transportation systems, and their construction and maintenance expenses are high. Those reasons make crucial the examination of factors that accelerate road deterioration and those factors' negative impacts on societies. Climatic-related elements, especially temperature and precipitation, significantly affect the quality and lifespans of roads. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has reported that increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is causing changes in climate and that the rate of change has accelerated during the past several decades. To assess the impacts of changing climatic parameters on flexible-pavement performance, this study used 32 climate models to evaluate the performance of interstate, primary, and secondary roads across 11 diverse locations with varying traffic and climatic conditions. The study's findings reveal that changing climate exacerbates pavement distresses, leading to reduced pavement lifespans and increased numbers of reconstruction projects, which in turn raise demands for materials and equipment and contribute to higher GHG emissions. The effects of changing climate and changing climate's associated economic and environmental costs make the application of various engineering solutions to enhance pavement resilience essential, as described in this paper, in the absence of comprehensive emissions reduction strategies. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The complex interconnectedness of climate change, energy demand, and health and long-term care poses current and future cascading challenges for the resilience of older people. • Key interconnections include a concern for the impact of frequent and intense weather events parallel to a global increase in life expectancy and social justice issues connected with strained resources and public infrastructure. • Comprehensive, targeted policies are needed on the national and global level that incentivize sustainable practices, enhance climate resilience, and support vulnerable populations in the Global South, and that mitigate the social justice implications of climate change for older adults. Challenges faced by many countries are energy insecurity, climate change, and the health and long-term care of growing numbers of older people. These challenges are increasingly intersecting with rising energy prices, aging populations, and an increased frequency and intensity of extreme climate events. This paper gives a deeper understanding of the current and predicted interconnections among these challenges through narrative-driven content and thematic analysis from workshops with a diverse group of international stakeholders from the Global North and Global South. Narratives emerged highlighting a complex nexus of interconnections and presenting critical action areas. Targeted local and global policies and interventions are needed to alleviate stress on health systems, encourage the integrated uptake of clean energy sources, and uphold social justice across all economies. Professionals can use this work to inform the design and implementation of effective interventions and increase the resilience of older adults by better preparing for systemic risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper proposes a novel multi-model approach, integrating the CARIMA-SARIMA-GPM framework, to assess the combined impacts of climate change and land use change on the potential of concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) systems. By considering both climatic variables and land use patterns, this study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how these factors influence CPV performance in the context of a changing environment. The proposed methodology offers valuable insights into the future viability and sustainability of CPV technology, enabling informed decision-making for policymakers, energy planners, and investors in the Middle East and Africa. As a result, the ability of the hybrid evolutionary CARIMA-SARIMA-GPM to predict the potential of CPV energy output for assessing the impacts of climate change on it was investigated in Alice Springs, the Middle East, and Africa. The outcome showed that the hybrid model significantly outperformed the other machine learning approaches. The fitted model was used to assess the potential impacts of climate change on CPV generation in Alice Springs, Australia, as well as the Middle East's and Africa's comparable climatic conditions. According to the study, climate change had the greatest impact on solar CPV energy production in Alice Springs, where it decreased the most by 8.577% under moderate forcing scenarios (SSP245) during the boreal summer season; moderately in the Middle East, where it decreased the mode by 2.316% under mitigation scenarios (SSP126) during the boreal summer season; and extremely minimally in Africa, where it decreased the mode by 1.263% under the far future sequencing period (2051–2099). Climate change also increased solar CPV energy production significantly in the Middle East in the far future sequencing period (2051–2099), as well as in Alice Springs, Australia, and Africa in the near future sequencing period (2015–2050). The strongest forcing scenario (SSP585) increased by 7.644% during the boreal autumn season in Africa; moderately increased by 6.502% during the boreal spring season in the Middle East; and had the least beneficial effects in Alice Springs, Australia, with increases of 5.538% during the boreal winter season. On an annual basis, all three regions showed a similar trend. Climate change (CLC) and urban expansion (URE) were also investigated in the Middle East and Africa for their effects on changes in solar CPV energy output. URE had a greater impact in Africa than the Middle East under the effective scenario, with a URE value of 45.45% for Africa and 20.15% for the Middle East, whereas CLC had a greater impact in the Middle East than Africa, with a CLC value of 29.01% compared to 5.47% for Africa. CLC and CPV residual factors, on the other hand, have a greater impact in the Middle East than in Africa, with effects of 29.01% and 50.83%, respectively, compared to 5.47% and 49.09%. The potential difference that drives the remediation of specific pollutants lies in the application of advanced technologies and sustainable practices. By exploring innovative solutions, such as using renewable energy sources like concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) systems, we can effectively mitigate the impacts of climate change and land use changes on pollutant concentrations. These technologies have the potential to significantly reduce pollution levels and create a cleaner and healthier environment for future generations. Assessing the CPV potential in different regions like Alice Springs, Australia, the Middle East, and Africa allows us to identify areas with high solar energy resources that can be harnessed for efficient pollutant remediation. Implementing prompt climate mitigation and adaptation measures is crucial for achieving a net-zero energy transition in the Middle East and Africa by 2050. In this context, prioritizing solar energy as the primary source of renewable energy is imperative for successful low-carbon economic planning in these regions. • CARIMA-SARIMA-GPM outperforms other applicable models • By 2100, the CPV potential in Alice Springs could increase by 0.082–5.338% at 1.5 °C • By 2100, the Middle East's CPV potential could increase by 0.021–0.221% at 1.5 °C. • By 2100, Africa's CPV potential could increase by 0.133–7.644% at 1.5 °C. • Climate change has harmed Alice Springs and the Middle East more than Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Integrating an agent-based model into a large-scale distributed hydrologic model. • Evaluating the co-evolution of the CNHS at multiple spatial scales. • Demonstrating the trade-off among FEW sectors under climate change. Managing water resources to meet increasing energy and food demands while maintaining environmental sustainability under climate change is a major challenge, especially when this nexus occurred in a coupled natural–human system (CNHS), where heterogeneous human activities affect the natural hydrologic cycle and vice versa. The relevant research has been limited by the lack of models that can effectively integrate human dynamics and hydrologic conditions with spatial details to examine co-evolutionary systems. To address this challenge, this paper develops a modeling framework that integrates an agent-based model (ABM; human behavior model) into a large-scale, process-based distributed hydrologic model to simulate human decisions endogenously in the hydrologic cycle. We then apply the Decision Scaling approach, an ex-post scenario analysis method, with our integrated model to study the bidirectional feedback of the CNHS under future changing climate conditions. With the Columbia River Basin (CRB) selected as the case study area, the calibration results show that the integrated model can simultaneously capture the historical irrigated water consumption and streamflow dynamics. Modeling results show that the trade-off between irrigated water consumption, hydropower generation, and streamflow will become more pronounced under hotter and wetter climate conditions at both the entire basin and regional (states and provinces) levels. Special attention should be given to "temperature thresholds" of different regions when the trade-off pattern started. The trade-off results can potentially inform the Columbia River Treaty renegotiation and provide insights for long-term water management policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solution to climate change demands new strategies in building sector. Thus, a review of existing literature was conducted to find out the new thinking in building sector in relation to climate change. The objectives were to: examine the relationship between climate change and building construction; identify paradigm shifts in building policies as a response to climate change and to find out climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in the building sector. These were achieved through the review of literature published in the era of the recent global climate change from late 90s to date. Selection of paper was based on relevancy to the topic and date of publication. Preference was given to papers that link climate change with building sector, especially those that portray paradigm shift. Result showed that there are strong link between climate change and the building sector. As all previous reports reviewed revealed that climate change adversely affect building, a good number also argued that building construction is responsible for climate change mainly in terms of energy use and surface transformation/exposure. Although, there seems to be conflicting ideas on cause and effects between climate change and building construction, there is a general agreement that climate change affects building sector. Scholars also agree on integration of climatic parameters in building sector. Climate change has become a basis for policy reform in the building sector as many studies recommended knowledge and inclusion of climatic parameters in building planning, design, construction and use. Mitigation and adaptation of buildings to flood and extreme temperature were the common concerns of most studies. Raising of floor, use of local materials, orientation of building in accordance to sun and wind direction are among the mitigation and adaptation options for building construction in the face of changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Literature review papers related to the tourism-energy nexus are analyzed. • Four main groups are identified considering the quantitative methodology used. • Topics and discussions on the nexus between tourism and energy are developed. • Future research is discussed. The high dependence of tourism activities on energy consumption, and particularly on non-renewable energy, is a major barrier to building sustainable tourism models. For this reason, the analysis of tourism and energy use is a growing field of study within sustainability debates. Despite this, there is a gap in the literature and, to the best of our knowledge, there is no previous study that critically reviews the vast literature on the energy-tourism nexus. This paper aims to fill this gap in tourism knowledge. The main objective of this article is to conduct a systematic review of scientific studies with a quantitative empirical basis that examine this nexus, trying to answer the following questions: What are the main methodologies used to approach the tourism-energy nexus? which indicators or variables are relevant?; is there a consensus on the results?; and what are the main lines of discussion on the use of energy in tourism? To this end, we particularly focus on the main methodologies, results and perspectives during the period 2001–2021. A total of 1,189 articles were reviewed by abstract and title, 236 were included for the full review and 163 were finally selected. The results show how the nexus and energy dependence of tourism is assessed mainly from four major methodological groups: G1) econometric models, regressions and other statistical methodologies (67% of the sample); G2) surveys, questionnaires and energy audits (15%); G3) Life Cycle Analysis (13%) and G4) other approaches and environmental impact indicators to assess the relationship between energy and tourism (5%). The analysis between the causal relationships between tourism development, economic growth, energy use, environmental degradation and energy efficiency of accommodations are the main issues evaluated, considering a wide range of indicators/variables. Based on the gaps and limitations found in the literature review on tourism and energy, it is discussed how some findings should be interpreted with caution due to their methodological approaches and differences. Finally, some of the main lines of future research in this field are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The potential of pine wastes for carbon-rich biochar production is explored. • Advancements in biochar production technologies are emphasized. • Biochar properties are highly influenced by temperature, heating rate, and inert conditions. • Selection of upgradation technique depends on specific biochar application. • Solar pyrolysis demonstrates great potential as a low-cost biochar production technology. Pine wastes, including pine needles, cones, and wood, are abundantly produced as an agroforestry by-product globally and have shown tremendous potential for biochar production. Various thermochemical conversion technologies have exhibited promising results in converting pine wastes to biochar, displaying impressive performance. Hence, this review paper aims to investigate the possibilities and recent technological advancements for synthesizing biochar from pine waste. Furthermore, it explores techniques for enhancing the properties of biochar and its integrated applications in various fields, such as soil and water remediation, carbon sequestration, battery capacitor synthesis, and bio-coal production. Finally, the paper sheds light on the limitations of current strategies, emphasizing the need for further research and study to address the challenges in pine waste-based biochar synthesis. By promoting sustainable and effective utilization of pine wastes, this review contributes to environmental conservation and resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in urbanization and climate change brings new challenges to the cities' sustainability and resilience, mainly related to flood and drought events. Among these challenges, it can be highlighted the physical and health damage to the population, interruption of water, energy and food supply services, damage to basic infrastructure, economic losses and contamination of urban rivers. To contribute to the increase of resilience in urban centers, LID practices have been used as a new approach of mitigation and adaptation within urban drainage systems, aiming at runoff retention, peak flow attenuation, pollutant removal and ecosystem services restoration (e.g., resources recycling, carbon sequestration, thermal comfort and landscape integration). These different mitigation purposes and complementary benefits provided by LID practices can be related to the different Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) presented by the United Nations (UN), to achieve countries' systemic sustainability. The identification of local techniques that contribute to the different SDG helps to achieve their territorialization and application as public policy. Therefore, this paper presents a literature review, categorizing the studies into different generations based on their main application purpose and presents a linkage of the LID benefits to different SDG. Some challenges were identified requiring further investigation, such as the need to identify and quantify the energy demands for LID practices maintenance and their incorporation in the system final energy balance, identification of processes that contribute to carbon sequestration and emission, and risks of emerging pollutants for human health from water reuse and nutrient cycling for sustainable agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the resources of Ecolinguistics and Positive Discourse Analysis, this paper investigates the interdiscursive practices that lifestyle vloggers engage in to construct their expertise and credibility when performing eco-activism. The analysis of the corpus of 30 YouTube vlogs promoting a sustainable lifestyle reveals the interplay of cross-generic conventions that young adult YouTubers employ to manage their lay expertise. Their mediated activist talk mixes basic text types of narration, argumentation, exposition and instruction with self-disclosure, technical and colloquial talk as well as social and promotional discourses. In this way, the vloggers exploit the affordances of the medium to construct the new stories of consumerism and everyday, 'ordinary' eco-activism based on private, green lifestyle choices. The vloggers' interdiscursive talk and the presence of credibility strategies in the data may have an empowering effect on the audience. For one thing, the vloggers position their audience as actors who are capable of making effective choices on their way to a sustainable life. For another, empowerment is accomplished through the transformation of the vloggers' private experience into public discourse that members of the audience can find relevant and meaningful. Overall, the study points to the potential of interdiscursive practices in the vlog as a 'positive' linguistic resource that can encourage people to protect our ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kingdom of Morocco decisively increased trade and diplomatic interaction with countries of Western and Sub-Saharan Africa since the mid-2000s, supplementing Morocco's long-standing foreign policy orientation toward the 'West'. Under the guidance of King Mohammed VI, the country gradually sought regional political rapprochement after several decades of relative isolation. The push for regional integration is taking place across multiple policy fields and goes hand in hand with a more assertive demeanour on the stage of international diplomacy. Environmental sustainability – encompassing renewable energy production and environmental protection measures – is a policy sector on which the autocratic Moroccan regime places special emphasis. This paper traces Morocco's 'green turn', the development of environmental sustainability policy under King Mohammed VI in context of Morocco's general foreign policy realignment. It analyses Morocco's environmental engagement at the foreign policy level in terms of soft power activity and gives tentative insight on Morocco's path of becoming an influential regional player in Western and Sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature-based solutions (NBS) were introduced as integrated, multifunctional and multi-beneficial solutions to a wide array of socio-ecological challenges. Although principles for a common understanding and implementation of NBS were already developed on a landscape scale, specific principles are needed with regard to an application in urban areas. Urban areas come with particular challenges including (i) spatial conflicts with urban system nestedness, (ii) specific urban biodiversity, fragmentation and altered environments, (iii) value plurality, multi-actor interdependencies and environmental injustices, (iv) path-dependencies with cultural and planning legacies and (v) a potential misconception of cities as being artificial landscapes disconnected from nature. Given these challenges, in this perspective paper, we build upon and integrate knowledge from the most recent academic work on NBS in urban areas and introduce five distinct, integrated principles for urban NBS design, planning and implementation. Our five principles should help to transcend governance gaps and advance the scientific discourse of urban NBS towards a more effective and sustainable urban development. To contribute to resilient urban futures, the design, planning, policy and governance of NBS should (1) consider the need for a systemic understanding, (2) contribute to benefiting people and biodiversity, (3) contribute to inclusive solutions for the long-term, (4) consider context conditions and (5) foster communication and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several intergovernmental agreements highlight the need for resilience in the face of environmental and societal challenges. Coastal systems are particularly complex and susceptible to global climate change, and building human resilience to future changes is of high priority. While the concept of resilience has historically been associated with stability to perturbations, the notion of transformation within the social-ecological resilience (SER) approach has recently gained importance in ecosystem management. In order to operationalize resilience in the context of coastal governance in a changing climate, a better understanding of the concept is required. This paper provides an overview of different approaches to resilience, including stability and transformation, in order to understand resilience as a concept in a coastal governance context. Subsequently, we propose five steps and three types of knowledge (system, target, transformative) with which to embed SER in coastal governance. In addition, we consider scale and system boundaries; identify (un)desirable system characteristics and the role of normative goals and common visions in resilience management. Finally, we highlight the central role that local actors and information services play in fostering a two-way exchange between science and society and tailoring solutions for establishing or enhancing SER to the needs of local actors. We conclude that the navigation between stability and transformation within the concept of resilience is central to finding sustainable future pathways in the face of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capacity building is defined as a process by which stakeholders increase their knowledge, skills and resources in order to improve their ability to adapt in a fast-changing world. Universities play a key role in the promotion of sustainability and implementation of the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through capacity building. However, universities in developing countries face significant challenges in the implementation of capacity building programmes for sustainability given the lack of procedures that facilitate the systematic integration of multiple stakeholderś epistemologies, methodologies and objectives. In this paper, we present a capacity building approach as a problem-focused process that follows a multi-domain/multi-stakeholder scheme, and provides alignment with the functions and responsibilities of different sectors of society. The approach involves the use of a decision-support tool for sustainability that enables stakeholders to actively participate in decision-making processes. We illustrate the implementation of the capacity building approach through two case studies and show how general and specific capacities tailored to the different stakeholders can be developed. Our approach to capacity building accentuates the role of universities in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean as research and innovation hubs that could help design and implement flexible, transparent and robust strategies towards achievement of sustainability in the region. Key policy insights Capacity building to address the sustainable development goals should aim to develop sets of interlinked capacities for sustainability across stakeholder groups. Capacity building should take into account the regional institutional contexts in which universities in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean are embedded. Effective implementation of capacity building must be tailored to the different roles and functions of the actors involved. Thematic, technical, evaluative and procedural domains provide a comprehensive framework to build capacities, which can be continuously adapted according to the functions and responsibilities of the actors. Capacity building approaches to address climate change vulnerability require decision-support tools to inform policy-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maximising resource‐use efficiency, productivity and environmental sustainability are all fundamental requirements to raise global food production by ~70 per cent in order to feed a world population of ~9.7 billion people by 2050. Perhaps the most vital resource within our capacity to achieve this goal is our soil. Broadly, the fundamental question concerns whether or not satisfying this production demand will accelerate soil degradation, climate change, and the loss of soil carbon stocks. This paper builds upon the outputs of the UK Charity 'Food & Farming Futures' (chaired by Lord Curry of Kirkharle) virtual workshop held on 23 March 2021, entitled 'Capturing the Potential of Soil'. The event focussed on the link between soil health, primarily soil organic carbon (SOC), and agricultural productivity. Supported with commentaries by Professor Pete Smith (University of Aberdeen and Science Director of the Scottish Climate Change Centre of Expertise) and Professor Steve McGrath (Head of Sustainable Agricultural Sciences at Rothamsted Research), specific focus will be given to the research challenges within the UK's ability to improve soil health and functionality, the implementation priorities that must be held in order to improve soil management by 2050 and what the potential co‐benefits could be. These co‐benefits were scattered across environmental, economic, social and political issues, yet they may be summarised into six primary co‐benefits: developing natural capital, climate change mitigation, carbon trading, improvements in crop yield, animal performance and human health (nutrition). Additionally, the main barriers to improved soil management practices are centred on knowledge exchange‐regarding agri‐environmental techniques—whilst the most impactful solutions rely on soil monitoring, reporting and verification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban areas are highly complex systems, with interconnections between their political, economic, social, natural and built environments components, and each with its own unique priorities and contexts. They are also facing key global and local sustainability challenges such as a changing climate, air pollution and waste, all of which also present risks for population health. Improving urban sustainability can provide co-benefits for population health; however, the effectiveness--or unintended consequences--of policies or actions can depend on the behaviours and relationships in the wider urban system. The papers published in this special issue explore issues related to urban sustainability and health, including urban design and environmental justice, scale, and informal settlements. The papers also describe issues at the interface of different system components, demonstrating the systemic challenges that can act to enhance or prevent sustainable change. The complexity of urban environments presents challenges for research and policy, both of which can be reductive, and conducted independent from other disciplines or government departments. However, by moving from this siloed approach towards a broader systemic understanding, there are opportunities to develop and implement evidence-based solutions that have the potential to lead to significant improvements in sustainability and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2017 the paper 'The Sustainable Development Oxymoron: Quantifying and Modelling the Incompatibility of Sustainable Development Goals' was published, showing that there is a conflict between socio-economic development goals and ecological sustainability goals using cross-country time-series data. The authors looked at production-based CO2 emissions to measure and model the 13th SDG goal addressing climate change. Their models showed that production-based CO2 emissions were stalling or even decreasing in rich countries, which suggests that other countries are also likely to see stalling and decrease in their CO2 emissions once they become rich. However, this conclusion can be challenged when accounting for consumption-based CO2 emissions rather than production-based CO2 emissions. In this follow-up paper, we re-run some of the analyses performed in the original paper making use of consumption-based CO2 emissions. The analysis confirms the inherent SDG conflict between socio-economic and ecological SDGs. But, this new analysis demonstrates that from a consumption perspective the trend of stalling or decreasing CO2 emissions is reversed, with natural depletion costs being exported to poorer countries. Despite this new perspective on CO2 emissions, the conflict between SDG goals can still be avoided by making investments in public health, education and renewable energy, as suggested in the original paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop management in the Romanian agriculture faces many risks and challenges that directly influence the technical and economic performance of the farms and implicitly the sustainability of the agricultural sector. These challenges range from climate change to resource issues, from plant health problems to market and regulatory issues. It is therefore essential to understand these issues in detail to develop effective crop management strategies and support Romanian agriculture in the face of a complex and changing environment. Through methods of statistical analyses and bibliographic documentation, we will identify and analyze this risks and challenges in detail in order to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the agricultural landscape in Romania in order to develop some necessary measures to reduce and, as far as possible, eliminate these risks. Data were collected from public institutions, from the official National Institute of Statistics, NIS, website Tempo-Online. The aim of crop management in Romania, as in any other country, is to ensure efficient, sustainable and profitable agricultural production. By adopting these recommendations and proactively addressing risks and challenges, agriculture in Romania can become more resilient and sustainable, further ensuring the supply of high-quality food and contributing to the country's economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]