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Global Climate Change (GCC) and its responses are already changing how food is produced, processed, and consumed. The agriculture sector's recent history of hardships and challenges brought about by GCC has posed a significant danger to people's ability to acquire food, particularly in developing countries. Today, GCC impacts are already being felt across the globe, especially in remote and rural communities where vulnerability is high, adaptation capacity is limited, and resources are scarce. Therefore, finding sustainable, practical, and cutting-edge solutions to the challenges of GCC is essential. The United Nations 2030 agenda on sustainability aims to reshape the world's society by achieving a number of broad sustainable development goals (SDGs), which call for significant structural changes in society as well as profound transformations in policy, the economy, technology, and science. More specifically, agenda 2030 emphasizes the creation and effective application of models, technology innovations, and strategies that call for the full participation of all parties, including local and indigenous people and their experiences, traditions, and cultural practices. However, despite providing clear examples of sustainable lifestyles within their ecological environment, particularly in the equitable distribution of resources among community members, indigenous and local people's voices, knowledge, and concerns have remained underrepresented in the climate change and sustainability discourse. Thus, this paper advances the climate adaptation, resilience-building, and sustainability (CARS) model in agriculture in developing countries. The CARS model is meant for policymakers and hinges on integrating scientific knowledge with indigenous and local ecological knowledge (ILEK) in the climate change adaptation and sustainability discourse. This theoretical model supports the notion that an understanding of the indigenous and local ecological knowledge systems is critical to opening up an environment that supports community-based efforts to adapt to GCC by giving them options and engaging them in finding innovative, sustainable, and effective strategies to adapt to the impacts emanating from GCC. The ultimate goal of this model is to promote positive co-management and regional development through sustainability and climate change adaptation while generating a forum for discussion among indigenous and local communities and the relevant stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate change adaptation field has evolved considerably in recent years. Important contributions have been made, with scholars developing methods for assessing vulnerability in different countries and communities, documenting broad strategies for adaptation and identifying opportunities for and barriers to adaptation as well as ways to enhance adaptive capacity. Issues of sustainability are, however, not readily argued and embraced. Predominantly, our analysis exposes that current adaptation discourse, particularly in Africa, offers a narrow conceptualisation of sustainability. The paper argues for a clear framework of sustainability in adaptation discourse which encompasses awareness to contextual aspects in responding to climate variability and change as well as resilience aspects. The paper also calls for an expansion of the knowledge base around the concept of 'climate-smart agriculture' towards effectively incorporating sustainability aspects in climate change adaptation discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose There is a growing interest in climate change action in the higher education sector. Higher education institutions (HEIs) play an important role as property owners, employers, education and research hubs as well as leaders of societal transformations. The purpose of this paper was therefore to benchmark how universities globally are addressing climate risks.Design/methodology/approach An international survey was conducted to benchmark the sector's organisational planning for climate change and to better understand how the higher education sector contributes to local-level climate adaptation planning processes. The international survey focused especially on the assessment of climate change impacts and adaptation plans.Findings Based on the responses of 45 HEIs located in six different countries on three continents, the study found that there are still very few tertiary institutions that plan for climate-related risks in a systematic way.Originality/value The paper sheds light on the barriers HEIs face in engaging in climate adaptation planning and action. Some of the actions to overcome such hindering factors include integrating climate adaptation in existing risk management and sustainability planning processes, using the internal academic expertise and curriculum to assist the mapping of climate change impacts and collaborating with external actors to guarantee the necessary resources. The higher education sector can act as a leader in building institutional resilience at the local scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to valuate existing building stock with respect to its contribution to a changing and uncertain future, especially in relation to energy performance. Design/methodology/approach – The authors review literature related to existing buildings, climate change and future environmental needs; present energy performance data from ten case studies; and identify inadequacies and scope for improvements with reference to typical housing stock. Findings – Current policies and programmes are inadequate to the scope and scale of the task; a step-change in thought and practice is needed. Practical implications – A massive programme is warranted if the substantial stock of existing buildings is to be adapted to meet identified environmental standards to "save the planet"; a radical re-conceptualisation of building adaptation is required. Originality/value – The paper prompts a review of the role of the surveyor in achieving sustainability through adaptation of existing buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]