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Climate change has been becoming a major order of business of all including researchers and academics. This is known that global, national and local organizations, institutions and even the individuals are partaking into the issues with their own perspectives and skills of negotiations. Despite the series of international efforts and attempts, there are also a series of national concerns, efforts and attempts in combating against the effects of global climate change. This paper is an attempt to draw on the overview of contexts and concerns of international communities for combating global climate change and its discursive influence in national policy discourses. Moreover, the paper attempts to assess the local socio-cultural discourses and dynamics of climate change in relation to global and national discourses. Finally the paper highlights on how global and local climate change knowledge networks and epistemic communities either from political processes or the socio-economic fabrics are interrelated and determinant to each other. Keywords: climate change; discourses; embeddeness; dynamics; global; local DOI: 10.3126/dsaj.v4i0.4518 Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol.4 2010 pp.143-180

There is widespread consensus that human activity has had a significant impact on global climatic patterns which will have important consequences for much of society. Although there has been much research on the relationship between corporate environmental performance and corporate financial performance, empirical testing of the association between proactive corporate climate-change strategies and financial (or accounting) performance is still in its infancy. Based on the logic embodied in the Natural Resource-Based View (NRBV) of the firm, firms that successfully implement strategies to lessen their effect on climate change should outperform competitors who are less proactive in such efforts. This study uses a matched-pair design to empirically demonstrate that firms with proactive climate change strategies achieved significantly higher levels of accounting performance than competitors that were less proactive, thus providing additional support for the NRBV. Introduction To satiate the needs of capital market stakeholders, firm managers are compelled to identify, formulate, and implement strategies aimed at achieving sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) and superior profitability. Unfortunately, traditional corporate strategies used in market-based economies have negatively impacted the natural environment in ways that threaten the ecosystems supporting mankind's existence. The multiplicity of problems resulting from climate change and the requisite measures needed to decrease (or stabilize) the atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases has become one of the most widely discussed environmental issues among journalists, politicians, environmentalists, academics, businesses, and other stakeholders. Indeed, the consequences of global climate change, such as rising sea levels due to melting glaciers, the spread of non-native pathogens, drought in some areas and greater flooding in others, are well documented (IPCC, 2007; McKibbin & Wilcoxen, 2002); and the United States' abstinence from the Kyoto Protocol will not protect it from the environmental and economic consequences of global climate change. If atmospheric carbon dioxide doubles by 2050, it will cost the U.S. an estimated $68 billion annually and the annual global cost will be approximately $304 billion (Hoffman, 2005). Although there has been much research examining the association between corporate environmental performance and organizational outcomes (e.g., Bansal & Hunter, 2003; Margolis & Walsh, 2003; Orlitzky, Schmidt, & Rynes, 2003; Russo & Fouts; 1997; Sharma & Vrendenburg, 1998), there are no published empirical studies that specifically examine whether firms pursuing proactive climate change strategies financially outperform competitors that are less proactive. To-date, the extant literature has focused on firm motivations for pursuing climate change strategies (Levy & Kolk, 2002; Kolk & Pinske, 2004, 2005, 2007b; Okereke, 2007; Porter & Reinhart, 2007), corporate political lobbying strategies regarding climate change (Kolk & Pinkse, 2007a), and the degree to which global firms voluntarily commit to reducing their impact on climate change (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2006). The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between proactive climate change strategies and accounting performance. In this paper, we describe how highly proactive firms typically engage in three broad climate-change initiatives aimed at reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions: (1) by developing energy substitutes for oil and coal, such as wind and solar power, (2) by developing renewable energy sources (e.g., hydrogen and other fuel cells), and (3) by working collaboratively with firms, governments, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholders toward large-scale climate-change solutions. We then show how these three climate-change initiatives are consistent with the logic embodied in the NRBV, a unique perspective of SCA based on the inter-relationship between the firm and the natural environment (Hart, 1995). …

Nepal has observed trend of annual increase in temperature per decade by 0.41°C which is much higher than global average. Climate change is relatively new challenge of global scale but have strong local effects. The evidences of the global warming and climate change are more prominent on the Himalayan region of the globe with melting of ice, glacier retreat, and worst of all the incidence of glacial lake outburst floods with the aftermath falling directly on the ecosystem. The most critical areas are the resource poor developing countries like Nepal which are first to face this calamity yet helpless to implement any concrete ideas still. Nepal has to develop its mechanism to disseminate information regarding climate change and its rational use in planning and implementing policy processes with simultaneous approach on the research to follow the trend of climate change. Thus, this paper focuses on Nepal strategies to cope with challenges of climate change keeping in view the shifting focus of global climate policy. Key Words: Climate change, Global warming, Glacial retreat, Depleting ice, Ecosystem DOI: 10.3126/init.v2i1.2536 The Initiation Vol.2(1) 2008 pp138-144

Glacier lakes are common phenomena in the Himalaya region of Nepal. Glacier lake outburst floods have repeatedly caused the death tolls and severe damage to downstream infrastructures. In Himalayas, a vital uncertainty about the glacier lake hazard potential still exists, thereby the effects of accelerating rates of glacier retreat and expansion of Glacier Lake could be the wake of recent global warming and resulting climatic changes. The paper, first describes the general different-level approach upon which the study is based. Then, in the methodological part, applicable remote sensing techniques, geographic information system (GIS) and statistical methods are presented. Observed data of lake area, volume, and depth having similar lake characteristics reported in the different literature are used to develop empirical equations by using statistical methods. The values of r 2 (coefficient of determination) - obtained are very high (r 2 =0.939 for depth – area relationship and r 2 = 0.990 for volume – area relationship). The comparison of the empirical expression clearly indicated that there is more than 90% variation in the dependent variable, lake volume,as explained by the linear regressions in both cases. Area of Imja glacier lake for different years are determined from the available satellite imagery and volume of the Imja glacier lake are estimated using the expression: V = 0.094 A 1.453 .developed from linear regression analysis of the observed data. Similarly, mean depth can be estimated by using the expression: D = 0.94 A 0.452 . After the preparation of maps and data, a scheme of decision criteria for the evaluation of hazard potential of Imja glacier lake is established. A list of decision criteria is a documented set of factors that are used to examine and compare for evaluating the hazard potential of a glacier lake. The empirical scores are given in terms of hazard magnitude for hazard rating. Analysis of Imja glacier lake based on the empirical scoring system clearly indicated that GLOF risk of the possible outburst from Imja glacier lake is MODERATE . A systematic application of remote sensing based methods for glacier lake outburst flood risk assessment is applicable and thus recommended. Keywords: Glacier lake outburst; remote sensing; risk assessment; hazard potential; empirical parameters; climate change DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jhm.v7i1.5618 JHM 2010; 7(1): 75-91

Climate change and its impact on human survival have been today's major challenge and key topics of discussion globally. When considering the catastrophic impacts climate change will bring to earth, in-depth studies on the mechanics and chemistry of climate changes has been emerging. Simultaneously, international and national policies to reduce the vulnerability from climate change have been developed. This article discusses environmental retrospect and climate change issues and highlights efforts taken by global community to reduce GHG. An analysis through an equity lens is made between developed and developing nations and distinction of science and post normal science, and how skeptics revolve around the myth of climate changing ‘naturally' is discussed. A brief status of climate change in Nepal has been mentioned and some mitigation and adaptation measures that can be carried out at the institutional and individual level to start solving the climate crisis conclude the paper. Key Words: Global warming, Climate change, International policies, Intra- generational equity, GHG, Renewable energy, Individual adaptation DOI: 10.3126/init.v2i1.2527 The Initiation Vol.2(1) 2008 pp79-90

The objective of this paper was to organize the information, classify and resolute the altered frequency of climatic types of different micrometeorological stations in Kathamndu valley ( Kakani, Budhanilakantha, Godavari, Khumaltar, Airport, Panipokhari, Nagarkot, Khokana and Thankot). Analyzed data of the stations revealed the prevalence of "C'' (humid mesothermal)as the major type of climate. But the "Cwa" and "Cwb" types of climate were not common for all stations of Kathmandu valley. In some stations the "Cfa "and "Cfb" types of climate were also found. The temperature of Kathmandu valley has been increasing as above the trend of global warming but not alarming result of temperature increment was noticed. During 1976 to 2006, the altered of climatic types were found only at Godavari, Khumaltar, Panipokhari and Thankot, but the altered frequency was less during the period of 30 years. The average temperature in winter (11.55°C) and summer (23.78°C) was found maximum at the Airport as compared to other stations. The thirty years total seasonal precipitation in summer was maximum at Kakani (6890.12cm) and minimum at Khumaltar (2715.58cm). However, the seasonal precipitation in winter was found maximum at Thankot (205.58cm) and minimum at Khumaltar (151.69cm). Key words: Koppen's system; climatic types; temperature; precipitation; frequency analysis DOI: 10.3126/njst.v9i0.3183 Nepal Journal of Science and Technology 9 (2008) 171-178

Sustainable development means to protect and improve environment for future generation use. An effective protection requires action to limit global warming prevention catastrophic phenomena, such as severe floods or long-term droughts, and safeguarding people from their effects. Analyzing these phenomena evolution, the Romanian specialized institutes have adopted a new approach and developed a modern strategy, based on the latest hydrological theory available worldwide. According to this strategy, the Romanian authorities have begun to develop and implement new norms and technical regulations. These norms and technical regulations have fully changed the previous approach of the storm and runoff modelling in Romania. The paper presents the modeling methods of the design storm and overland runoff, which have been the base of the new norms and regulations (Romanian Standard SR 1846-2/2006, “National medium and long-term flood risk management strategy”, “Methodology for the establishment of the hydrographic basins exposed to floods”) and points out their implications in the environmental protection, water management field and in the fight against extreme meteorological phenomena such as severe floods and droughts.