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Aeration, as a process in pulp and paper wastewater treatment, uses the greatest share of the energy. Therefore, if the energy efficiency of the treatment has to be improved, the focus must be on aeration. A key finding from the trials conducted for this paper, with effluent from a paper and pulp mill, was that the oxygen transfer coefficient could be doubled and the chemical oxygen demand could be decreased by 25%, if the effluent was pre-treated with 30 mg/l of aluminium coagulant (equivalent to 9.4 tonnes per day of AVR to 20000 cubic metres of effluent). Decrease in oxygen requirement implies decreases in aeration energy use. Pulp and paper mill effluents are not as biodegradable as municipal sewage, and the improvement in oxygen transfer properties of the effluent will have a positive influence over a longer period of time in the biological treatment. If the sludge is digested anaerobically, pre-treatment will also result in doubling the potential for methane generation. A holistic analysis of modifications to processes entails a study of the economic and environmental consequences as well. While the economic aspect is beyond the scope of this paper, only the net global warming as an environmental impact category has been studied, by taking recourse to specific emission coefficients. Of the four dosages of ferric aluminium sulphate considered in this analysis, the net greenhouse gas emissions are the least – 426 kg carbon dioxide equivalent per day when the daily consumption is 9.4 tonnes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Currently there are several methodologies available for estimating the carbon footprint of products. In this study a comparison has been made between the outcomes and the implications of three different methodologies applied to office paper: (1) the ISO 14040/14044 standards limited to the analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the corresponding impact category global warming; (2) the PAS 2050; and (3) the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) framework. The carbon footprint of office paper from cradle-to-costumer is 4.64, 4.74 and 4.29gCO2eq per A4 sheet according to, respectively, the ISO 14040/14044 standards, the PAS 2050 and the CEPI framework. The ISO 14040/14044 standard methodology allows the quantification of 98% of the total GHG emissions with the smallest effort in data collection. The major hot spots are the stages of eucalypt pulp and office paper production and chemical and fuel production for all methodologies. General methodologies such as those analysed in this study are not enough for the comparison of products. More specific rules, such as Product Category Rules, that limit the degree of freedom in the choice of the functional unit, system boundary, allocation rules, data quality, between others, should be developed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Existing product life cycle assessment (LCA) studies on offset printed matter all point at paper as the overall dominating cause of environmental impacts. All studies focus on energy consumption and the dominating role of paper is primarily based on the energy-related impact categories: global warming, acidification and nutrient enrichment. Ecotoxicity and human toxicity, which are related to emissions of chemicals, etc., are only included to a limited degree or not at all. In this paper we include the impacts from chemicals emitted during the life cycle of sheet fed offset printed matter. This is done by making use of some of the newest knowledge about emissions from the production at the printing industry combined with knowledge about the composition of the printing materials used. In cases with available data also upstream emissions from the production of printing materials are included. The results show that inclusion of the chemical emission-related impacts makes the EDIP97 impact profile of sheet fed offset products much more varied, as well for the normalised profiles as for the profiles weighted by distance to political environmental targets. Especially the ecotoxicity impact potential related to the production stage may contribute significantly, and the use of paper no longer becomes the overall dominating factor driving the environmental impacts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Life cycle assessment was carried out using IMPACT2002+ to estimate the environmental impact of coated white board production, which is common in China. Normalized results showed that the potential impacts of respiratory inorganics, terrestrial ecotoxicity, global warming, and non-renewable energy had a dominant contributions to overall environmental impact. Specifically, emissions from chemical and energy production processes exhibited higher potential impact (more than 80% of the total contribution) on the environment than that of emissions generated from transport, landfill, wastewater treatment, and paper plants infrastructure. Energy recovery from black liquor and energy generation based on natural gas are key factors in reducing overall environmental potential impact. The current paper presents improvements on the environmental performance of a coated white board production site in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) maintains a fine balance between scientific credibility and policy-relevance. The IPCC's review process plays an important role in ensuring that this takes place. This paper looks at the review process of the Summary for Policymakers of the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 Degrees (SR15) published in 2018. We apply a framework for the making of policy-relevant knowledge – that of salience, legitimacy, and credibility – to investigate the acts of knowledge selection, and conflicts over what constitutes policy-relevant knowledge on climate change. We find that knowledge is shaped through discussions surrounding the themes of scope, communication, framing, and IPCC procedures and evidence, and that these themes were articulated in different ways in relation to salience, credibility and legitimacy. Our analysis shows how the practices of salience, legitimacy and credibility interact with each other in the making of policy-relevant knowledge. In particular we see that a focus on credibility and salience, whilst central may take place at the expense of legitimacy. Overall we see that this interplay in the review was important in shaping the story of the SR15, and the knowledge that gets included in the final SPM. • This paper explores the role of review in the IPCC 1.5 degrees Special Report. • The practices of salience, legitimacy and credibility shape the story the report tells. • Decisions made referring to scope, communication, framing, IPCC procedure/evidence. • Reviewers and authors play role in shaping report, but authors maintain final choice. • Choices made considering salience and credibility are common, at expense of legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic grocery bags are one of the most ubiquitous single-use packaging products. Recently, 'eco-friendly' options of plastic grocery bags have gained traction such as kraft paper, cotton, biodegradable, and reusable polypropylene non-woven bags. However, the impact of using various grocery bags in cities with dense population, well-developed infrastructure and thermal treatment as an end-of-life waste management option has been insufficiently documented. In this study, commonly found single-use (HDPE, biodegradable plastic, kraft paper) bags and reusable (cotton, polypropylene non-woven) bags were considered for the life cycle assessment (LCA). The usage characteristics (reusability, dimensions, carrying capacity) of bags, the production process (raw materials extraction, production processes), and emissions were determined as the significant factors contributing to the negative environmental impacts. In a model city with confined waste management, the assessment determined that the reusable polypropylene non-woven bag (PNB) caused the least overall negative environmental impacts when there are 50 instances of reuse, followed by single use HDPE plastic bag (HPB). The global warming potential (excluding biogenic carbon) was 14, 81, 17 and 16 times higher for HDPE plastic, kraft paper, cotton woven and biodegradable polymer bags, respectively, when compared to PNB. Moreover, kraft paper or cotton woven bags demonstrated the highest negative impacts for the impact categories including abiotic fossil depletion, freshwater-, marine- and terrestrial-ecotoxicities, human toxicity, acidification and eutrophication potentials. Further, sensitivity analysis indicated that the inflexion point for the PNB was minimum 4 reuses to avoid emission equivalent to the HPB. Singapore was adopted as the model city with confined waste management structure that imports most of the grocery bags, either as finished goods or as raw materials. Through comprehensive insights based on the new outlook of the integrated LCA model (cradle-to-grave) that included full-scale transportation component, the usage of the real case data from a city to develop the life cycle inventory, and consideration of the existing grocery bags options, the environmental assessment along with critical evaluation was conducted. • Case specific life cycle assessment of grocery bags in the context of Singapore. • Plastic bags presented lower environmental footprint than paper and cotton bags for Singapore. • Plastics are an environmental friendly option for waste management structures with end-of-life thermal treatment. • Multiple reuse of plastics is a means to minimize environmental footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wetlands have exacerbated global warming, attracting worldwide attention. However, the research process and development trends in this field remain unknown. Herein, 1865 papers related to wetlands GHG emissions published from January 2000 to December 2023 were selected, and CiteSpace and VOSviewer were used for bibliometric analysis to visually analyze the publications distribution, research authors, organizations and countries, core journal and keywords, and discussed the research progress, trends and hotspots in the fields. Over the past 24 years, the research has gone through three phases: the "embryonic" stage (2000–2006), the accumulation stage (2007–2014), and the acceleration stage (2015–2023). China has played a pivotal role in this domain, publishing the most papers and working closely with the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Australia. In addition, this study synthesized 311 field observations from 123 publications to analyze the variability in GHG emissions and their driving factors in four different types of natural wetlands. The results suggested that the average carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4), and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) fluxes in different wetlands were significantly different. River wetlands exhibited the highest GHG fluxes, while marsh wetlands demonstrated greater global warming potential (GWP). The average CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes were 60.41 mg m−2·h−1, 2.52 mg m−2·h−1 and 0.05 mg m−2·h−1, respectively. The GWP of Chinese natural wetlands was estimated as 648.72 Tg·CO 2 -eq·yr−1, and CH 4 contributed the largest warming effect, accounting for 57.43%. Correlation analysis showed that geographical location, climate factors, and soil conditions collectively regulated GHG emissions from wetlands. The findings provide a new perspective on sustainable wetland management and reducing GHG emissions. [Display omitted] • A 24-year bibliometric analysis of GHG emissions from wetlands was conducted. • The historical evolution and future trends in the field were summarized. • River wetlands exhibited the highest GHG fluxes. • GWP of China's wetlands was estimated to be 648.72 Tg·CO 2 -eq·yr−1. • CH 4 emissions contribute 57.43% to the GWP value in China's wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is urgent for the global community with rising climates. Considering the importance of renewable energy in mitigating climate warming, forecasting renewable energy generation is vital for the Chinese government's future low-carbon and green development plan. This paper proposes a novel multivariable grey model based on historical data on China's renewable energy generation and three industries. A novel information accumulation mechanism with two adaptive factors is designed to improve the traditional multivariable grey modeling defect. Based on the proposed mechanism, this paper optimizes the initial and background values and nonlinear model structure with the whale optimization algorithm. The forecasting results show that the fitting MAPE is 1.13%, comprehensive MAPE is 2.60%, MSE is 50.86, and RMSE is 7.13, which significantly improve the forecasting accuracy of traditional GM(1,N) and are better than other compared models. The forecasting results show that China's renewable energy generation will gradually increase to 5834.02 TWh. The Chinese government should keep the previous Five-Year Plans rising trend of the three industries in the future Five-Year Plans to support renewable energy industries. In China's future energy system, it is necessary to promote incentive policies and capital investment for actively accelerated development to make renewable energy the leading force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permafrost in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) accounts for a total area of 1.05 × 106 km2. Many highway engineerings have been through the permafrost regions of the QTP, including the Qingkang Highway (QKH), Qinghai-Tibet Highway (QTH), and Gonghe-Yushu expressway (GYE), and the Qinghai-Tibet expressway (QTE) will be constructed in the future. Under the action of roadbed construction and global warming, permafrost under roadbed is degraded and causes serious pavement damage. Although many useful cooling measures have been applied to prevent permafrost degradation, their application presents significant challenges on account of the stronger endothermic action of asphalt pavement. This paper summarizes the working principle of existing cooling measures, and ascertains the relationship between pavement damage and ground temperature distribution of permafrost under roadbed. Based on the relationship, geotemperature distribution criteria and requirements for the cooling measures are proposed, and some suitable composite structures and measures are suggested. The results reported in this paper can provide a valuable guidance for the design and construction of the QTE in the future. • Relationship between temperature distribution and damage characteristics is revealed. • Geotemperature distribution criteria for the cooling measures are established. • Some composite measures are proposed for roadbed in permafrost regions of the QTP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Product service systems (PSS) are an example of a novel business model billed as having the potential to significantly reduce the environmental burdens of production and consumption processes. However, despite widespread interest in PSS, consensus regarding their actual environmental impacts, particularly with regard to salient issues such as global warming, is lacking. Hence this paper explores existing research to investigate the state of the art regarding the climatic impacts of PSS, alongside the set of factors that influence climatic impacts. The paper comprises a systematic review of peer-reviewed academic literature, quantifying the extent to which different types of PSS have the capacity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across multiple product categories. Our study shows that significant reductions in climatic emissions are possible, but PSS are in many cases associated with more modest reductions and, in some cases, increased emissions. Further, we observe no clear differences in climatic impacts according to the type of PSS model that is deployed. Rather, differences in climatic impact are influenced by factors such as production and design alongside use-phase impacts and contextual factors such as transportation and the energy mix. The study argues that further research is needed to establish a more robust baseline upon which to draw conclusions regarding the sources of climatic impacts, and outlines fruitful ways for companies to tackle the complexities of climatic emissions that are beyond their control. • In some cases, product service systems can reduce climatic impacts by up to 80%. • In other cases, climatic impacts increase compared to traditional product sales. • Climatic impacts are influenced by use intensity, transportation and production. • Other contextual factors such as the energy mix play a role. • More quantitative assessments are needed with less reliance on estimations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been a notable surge in focus on the mitigation of carbon emissions, mostly motivated by the urgent concern about global warming and its adverse impacts on the Earth's climate. Power-to-gas (PtG) systems have emerged as a promising technological solution in the pursuit of mitigating carbon emissions. This paper presents a mathematical modeling framework that aims to accurately represent the power-to-gas system integrated with wind power plants while taking into account the technological constraints of the system in practical scenarios. To analyze the proposed system under the stresses, worst situations caused by existing uncertain parameters, especially wind power, is modeled using a risk modeling technique called downside risk constraints (DRC). The DRC endeavors to mitigate the likelihood of situations resulting in significant stresses by incorporating an expected downside risk into the proposed framework. This paper will provide a number of conservative tactics to be employed in the decision-making process under the realizations of uncertainties. These tactics, including strategic operational control strategies, provide a structured approach for decision-making under uncertain conditions. By incorporating downside risk constraints, the framework enables conservative decision-making that prioritizes mitigating potential losses and minimizing the operational risk within scheduling horizon of proposed PtG facility. The findings demonstrate that the implementation of PtG technology has the potential to yield a substantial reduction in external energy consumption, namely by 39.1 %. Additionally, it has been seen that PtG may effectively mitigate carbon emissions, resulting in a decrease of 38.9 %. The utilization of PtG technology and gas storage will result in a substantial reduction in wind curtailment, ultimately leading to a near elimination of curtailment. Further study is conducted on the model in order to explore the benefits of carbon and methane storage, as supported by the results obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper proposes a concept that utilizes historical time-series data from transmission system operators (TSOs) to estimate the optimal day-ahead energy-mix proportion for a power system dominated by converters. • This paper employs a long short-term memory (LSTM) network as a data-driven model to forecast the day-ahead values of key parameters. • To ensure secure system functioning, an energy-mix operation and reserve scheduling model is developed. • This paper emphasizes the importance of power system security in incorporating inverter based resources (IBRs). Advancements in various scientific fields have encouraged the development of novel tools, techniques, components, methodologies, and innovations aimed at addressing the challenges encountered in modern power systems dominated by inverter-based resources (IBRs). This paper focuses on a concept that leverages historical time-series data obtained from transmission system operators (TSOs) to enhance the secure management and operation of power systems. By employing a data-driven model, the day-ahead values of power generation and load consumption are estimated and integrated with a dynamic model of the power system for further analysis. To optimize energy generation and ensure grid stability, an energy-mix operation and reserve scheduling model is utilized. This model optimally combines different power-generating technologies, including synchronous generators (SGs), grid-following converters (GFLs), and grid-forming converters (GFMs), to meet the energy demands of the day while enhancing the overall system strength. The findings are supported by quantitative analysis utilizing variables such as frequency, power production, terminal voltages, and system non-synchronous penetration (SNSP). Simulation results demonstrate that implementing the proposed concept enables the power system under consideration to operate securely, even in the face of a 38% increase in immediate load, with a maximum SNSP ratio of 59%. These findings highlight the effectiveness of the proposed approach in addressing the reliability, system dynamics, stability, control efficiency, and security challenges posed by IBR-dominated power systems. Furthermore, it is believed that this research contributes to the ongoing efforts in decarbonization, renewable energy integration, and combating global warming by facilitating the secure and optimized operation of renewable energy-dominated power systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The so-called global change refers to changes on a planetary scale. The term encompasses various issues like resource use, energy development, population growth, land use and land cover, carbon and nitrogen cycle, pollution and health, and climate change. The paper deals with challenges for dairy cattle production systems in Europe arising from climate change as one part of global changes. Global warming is increasing, and therefore ecosystems, plant and animal biodiversity, and food security and safety are at risk. It is already accepted knowledge that the direct and indirect effects of global warming in combination with an increasing frequency of weather extremes are a serious issue for livestock production, even in moderate climate zones like Central Europe. The potential and already-measurable effects of climate change (including increase in temperature, frequency of hot days and heat waves), in particular the challenges on grassland production, fodder quality, nutrition in general, cow welfare, health as well as performance of dairy production, will be reviewed. Indirect and direct effects on animals are correlated with their performance. There are clear indications that with selection for high-yielding animals the sensitivity to climate changes increases. Cumulative effects (e.g. higher temperature plus increased pathogen and their vectors loads) do strengthen these impacts. To cope with the consequences several possible adaptation and mitigation strategies must be established on different levels. This includes changes in the production systems (e.g. management, barn, feeding), breeding strategies and health management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper aims at quantifying the factors affecting vegetation growth in the western of Inner Mongolia, and judging the relative contribution of natural factors and man-made factors. • It is obtained through geodetectors (GD) that Rainfall is the most important driving factor, with the q-value of 0.77 and GDP also having a huge impact on vegetation growth, q-value of 0.64. • Different from most studies, human activity also has a positive effect on vegetation growth. • The relative contribution of human activities reached 51.75%, slightly exceeding the influence of natural factors. Vegetation is an essential component of terrestrial ecosystems, and understanding the drivers of vegetation change is of great importance for ecological management. In recent years, vegetation growth has increased under the combined effect of global warming and human activities in Inner Mongolia. The net primary productivity (NPP) was used as an indicator to study the spatial and temporal changes in vegetation in the Qimeng Region (QR). The residual trend analysis method was used to analyze the relative contributions of climate variations (CV) and human activities (HA) to NPP changes across the QR, while their drivers were explored using a geographical detector approach to quantify the driving forces of NPP. The results show that (1) NPP exhibited a fluctuating growth trend from 2003 to 2020, with an overall growth rate of 2.91%/year. (2) Precipitation, GDP and population density were the dominant driving factors for the spatial distribution of NPP. The combined explanatory power of any two dominant factors exceeded the power of any dominant individual factor, and the interaction between climate and human factors had a significant effect on NPP. (3) The change in NPP was influenced by the combined effect of HA and CV, accounting for 37.69% of the total area, with the relative contribution of HA being 51.75%. Finally, the relative contribution of human activities was slightly higher than that of climate change, confirming the initial success of the Grain to Green Program as well as ecological conservation projects. This paper provides a scientific basis for the local government to carry out the conversion of cropland to forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food, energy, and water, as the basic resources supporting human survival, are fundamental to the sustainable development of humanity. Urban space plays an influential role in promoting the sustainable development of the three resources. As environmental problems such as global warming, ecological destruction, and resource shortages become increasingly severe, there is also a growing recognition of the importance of community as the fundamental component of urban space in sustainable development. In order to systematically understand the impact between food–energy–water nexus and community spatial planning, this paper provides a comprehensive literature review to bridge the current gaps in this area. This paper uses the nexus approach to summarize the trends and results of the food–energy–water nexus research in the community space field from the following five aspects: spatial scale, spatial interface, interactions, synergistic effects, and research methods. The results show that food–energy–water systems in community space are closely related to each other. However, the existing studies mostly focus on resource interaction and environmental impact, and lack of discussion on how food–energy–water nexus affects community spatial planning and its optimization. Finally, based on the current results, this paper proposes a conceptual research framework of the food–energy–water nexus in community space including influential mechanisms, space utilization, disciplinary integration, new technology application, data and methods. Therefore, the major findings of this review highlight the importance of the impact between food–energy–water nexus and community spatial planning and develop a conceptual framework for research. • This paper reviewed the FEW nexus research in the community space field. • It shows that FEW systems in community space are closely related to each other. • Researchers mainly focus on interactions of the FEW but rarely on other constraints. • It summarized new FEW system integration approaches to promote synergistic effects. • A conceptual research framework for the FEW nexus in community space is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pesticide residue and thermal stress resulting from global climate change are parallel stressors for soil fauna. However, it remains ambiguous how elevated temperatures and pesticides can interact to threaten soil fauna. In the study, the acute and chronic clothianidin (CTD) toxicity to earthworms (Eisenia fetida) at different temperatures, and the effect of increasing temperature on antioxidant defense mechanisms in response to CTD were investigated. The acute toxicity of CTD was exacerbated by increased temperature in both filter paper contact tests (a decrease in the 48-h median lethal concentration (LC 50) from 0.077 μg/cm2 at 20 °C to 0.009 μg/cm2 at 30 °C) and natural soil tests (a decrease in the 48-h LC 50 from 0.774 mg/kg at 20 °C to 0.199 mg/kg at 30 °C). Exposure to CTD or high temperature (30 °C) triggered reactive oxygen species (ROS) overgeneration and increased antioxidant enzyme activities in earthworms; and the effect was particularly pronounced after exposure to both higher temperatures and CTD. At 20 and 25 °C, there was no significant change in the growth and reproduction of E. fetida after 56-d exposure to CTD-contaminated soil. However, the combined effect of CTD and high temperature (30 °C) significantly reduced the weight change rate, cocoon number, hatching rate, and number of juveniles on day 56. These results indicated that elevated temperature could aggravate acute and chronic CTD toxicity to earthworms. The findings emphasize that evaluating changes in pesticide toxicity under global warming is worth further investigation. [Display omitted] • Elevated temperature aggravated acute toxicity of clothianidin to E. fetida. • Clothianidin and thermal stress interacted synergistically on E. fetida. • Higher temperature magnified growth and reproductive toxicity of clothianidin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global Sea Surface Temperature (SST) trends have garnered significant attention in several ocean-related domains, including global warming, marine biodiversity, and environmental protection. This involves having an accurate and efficient forecast of future SST to ensure early detection and response in time to these events. Deep learning algorithms have become popular in SST prediction recently, although directly obtaining optimal prediction results from historical observation data is not simple. In this paper, we propose STA-SST, a new deep learning approach for forecasting SST, by combining the temporal dependencies of SST using the Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) model, spatial features extracted from the convolution layer, and relevant information from the attention mechanism. To assess how well the Attention-BiLSTM with convolution layer predicts SST, we conducted a case study in the Moroccan Sea, concentrating on five different areas. The proposed model was compared against alternative forecasting models, including LSTM, XGBoost, Support Vector Regression (SVR), and Random Forest (RF). The experimental results show that STA-STT produces noticeably the best prediction results and is a solid choice for field implementation. • STA-SST combines BiLSTM, Conv1D, and attention mechanism for accurate SST forecasting. • Spatial features enhance the prediction of time series data. • STA-SST outperforms traditional models in SST forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are 14 northern communities in Nunavik, the Arctic region of Quebec province, Canada. Transportation infrastructure plays a vital role in the social and economic development of these localities. The thawing of permafrost compromises the stability of northern transportation infrastructure. Harsh Arctic climate conditions limit the installation of effective monitoring systems to assess infrastructure stability. In Akulivik, the access road connects the Akulivik airport and the village of Akulivik. There is no monitoring to observe the thermal condition of the permafrost foundation of the access road, hindering the capacity to perform preventive maintenance activities, especially in the context of observed climate warming in Nunavik. This paper describes a project aiming at the assessment of the stability of the access road using a new approach and proposes adaptation solutions to stabilize the road, based on design tools recently developed. Particular attention was paid to the foundation soil under the side slope where relatively rapid permafrost degradation was occurring due to accumulated snow. The results indicate a positive thermal gradient of 0.29 °C/m under the side slope and a near-zero thermal gradient under the centerline. Projected climate warming was also considered to further investigate the thermal condition, providing a safety margin for the design of promising adaptation solutions. These results assist government agencies in evaluating the thermal conditions of underlying permafrost and deploying potential adaptation solutions in Akulivik. • The thermal conditions of the road embankment were analyzed. • A new approach was employed to assess the thermal stability of the road embankment. • An adaptive solution was designed to mitigate permafrost degradation beneath the embankment side slopes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The battery electric vehicle (BEV) industry, commanding over half of the global market share in China, has garnered significant attention in response to escalating concerns about climate change. NCM (LiNi x Co y Mn z O 2) batteries, prized for their high energy density, are pivotal in this industry. However, their production relies on critical metals, posing environmental challenges. Recycling processes aim to address this issue by recovering critical metals from end-of-life batteries. The industry is updating from NCM 111 to NCM 811 batteries to enhance energy density and reduce costs, but the key factors influencing the material flows and environmental impacts remain uncertain. This paper aims to identify the key factors contributing to the potential differences in material flows and environmental impacts introduced by the NCM battery upgrading in China. Following the new energy vehicle sales projections in China until 2035, a dynamic material flow analysis was employed to calculate material demands, recovered amounts, and substitution rates for various upgrading scenarios. The study reveals that the majority of retired batteries until 2035 were sold between 2022 and 2029. Material substitution rates prove to be more sensitive to the upgrading scenario than the lifetime and growth rate of BEVs. Faster NCM 811 penetration results in over 2.5 times more saved cobalt demand compared to additional nickel demand. A life cycle assessment of NCM batteries reveals a 39% lower global warming impact for NCM 811 compared to NCM 111, highlighting environmental benefits from increased energy density and reduced cobalt consumption. The energy density improvement contributed 85%, while the alteration in material composition contributed 15% to the global warming reduction in NCM 811. Recycling emerges as a crucial strategy in mitigating environmental impacts across all categories, particularly addressing eutrophication, previously deemed challenging due to the difficulty in recovering Li 2 CO 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial heterogeneity and temporal tendency of snow avalanche (hereafter called avalanche) activities are responses to variations in the inducing environment under climate warming and epitomize the repercussions of the global cryosphere on climate warming. This paper focuses on channeled avalanches in the marine snow climate region of the Parlung Tsangpo catchment in southeast Tibet as an example. Through field investigations, we identify the spatial extents of avalanche paths, while historical avalanche flow paths from the past 35 years (1986/1987–2021/2022) within these paths are interpreted using Landsat optical images. Statistical analysis is then employed to derive spatial heterogeneity and temporal tendencies within and between years. The results indicate that the runout altitudes of historical avalanches primarily range from 3468 m to 4051 m, with average flow directions predominantly following the northwest, north and northeast directions. Avalanche activity peaks between February and April, with longer runout distances observed during this period. Regarding interannual regularity, the evolution of the runout distance, runout altitude, and height difference of avalanche flow paths over the past 35 years demonstrates a cyclic evolution akin to a sine function. Additionally, a moderate correlation between the interannual variation in historical avalanche activity intensity and the Southern Oscillation Index was observed. These findings strengthen the understanding of the temporal evolutionary pattern of avalanches in response to climate warming, providing valuable insights into the channeled avalanche occurrences in the maritime snow climate of southeastern Tibet. • Peak avalanche activity occurs between February and April, with March showing the highest activity. • Spring avalanches runout farther and reach lower elevations than do winter avalanches. • The historical evolution of avalanche activity demonstrates a cyclic evolution akin to a sine function. • A moderate correlation was observed between the historical avalanche activity and the Southern Oscillation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to analyze the spatiotemporal variations in drought in Serbia over recent decades using the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI). The analysis is performed for time series of 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month SPEI indices (SPEI-01, SPEI-03, SPEI-06 and SPEI-12, respectively) calculated using the E -OBS gridded dataset with a horizontal resolution of 0.1° for the period of 1950–2022. In general, it was found that negative SPEI trends prevailed in Serbia for all months and all analyzed SPEI timescales, indicating a more frequent appearance of droughts in recent decades. Moreover, for a large majority of month-timescale combinations, the area with a negative trend was larger than the area with a positive trend. For several reasons, we focused on the SPEI for August. First, the SPEI for this month shows one of the most pronounced negative trends, which is rather consistent over different timescales and consistent in terms of the area over which the trend was found to be significant. Statistically significant negative trends of SPEI-03, −06 and − 12 for August were found over 11, 17 and 38% of the country area, respectively. To better understand the trends and changes in the SPEI for August, focusing on extreme and severe drought events, an innovative trend analysis (ITA) was applied. It was found that the occurrence of both extreme and severe SPEI drought categories has doubled over the last thirty years in comparison with the previous thirty-year period. Additionally, more frequent transitions from neutral and wet categories to dry categories were observed through an application of the Markov chain. Second, the special focus on SPEI-03, −06 and − 12 for August was motivated by the fact that we found a significant correlation between these index values and the annual maize production in Serbia, indicating that the SPEI for August can be useful for the assessment of drought impact on agriculture. To better understand interannual variability and long-term trends, this paper also explores the relations between the SPEI over Serbia and large-scale circulation patterns, together with general global and continental warming trends. Our findings indicate that drought changes over recent decades may be driven by the interplay of long-term warming and large-scale circulation patterns. In the context of climate change, especially climate projections, Serbia is situated in a region for which climate projections of mean precipitation change demonstrate weak signals and often with conflicting signs of change within multimodel ensembles. From this point of view, our results can be seen as a contribution to a better understanding of changes in extremes, in our case droughts, that can be hidden by inconclusive changes in the mean values. Finally, due to the similar situation in terms of precipitation and drought trends and changes, our results may be relevant for a wider region, and not only for Serbia. • For Serbia negative trends in SPEI index, for different months and timescales, are dominant. • Occurrence of extreme drought categories has doubled over the last decades. • Transitions from neutral and wet categories to dry categories are more frequent. • These changes are driven by long-term warming and large-scale circulation patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amidst growing concerns over global warming and the urgent need for viable solutions, electric vehicles (EVs) have emerged as a promising remedy. However, the full transition to EVs faces certain challenges, necessitating more efficient electric storage systems. In this context, structural batteries have garnered significant interest as a multifunctional solution. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the latest advancements in structural batteries, exploring their distinctive characteristics and their potential to enhance EVs' performance. Particularly, a comparative analysis will be conducted based on the chosen chemistry for the electrochemical component and the reinforcement materials used. Additionally, crucial aspects such as recycling and life cycle analysis will be briefly discussed. Through this examination, it is intended to shed light on the potential of structural batteries in driving a sustainable and efficient EV ecosystem. [Display omitted] • There has been an increase in research into structural batteries. • Decoupled structural batteries outperform their coupled counterparts. • The coupling mechanism affects more the specific energy than the underlying chemistry. • Structural batteries show promise in improving electric vehicles' range and autonomy. • Structural batteries can be more environmentally friendly than conventional batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inventory control is a widely discussed topic in the real world, and recently, it has become closely linked to concerns about carbon emissions and global warming. Global warming is a pressing issue, mainly due to a lack of awareness and action. Traditional inventory models, which typically use integer-order differential equations, overlook the memory aspect of the system. Addressing inventory management is essential in our efforts to combat global warming. This paper introduces a novel approach by incorporating carbon emission costs within a fuzzy environment. Fractional Calculus, a powerful mathematical tool, is employed to capture the memory effect of the system. This approach distinguishes between long memory, characterized by a strong memory effect, and short memory, associated with a poor memory effect, through the use of fractional derivatives and integrals. Numerical results are analyzed based on these memory concepts. Entrepreneurs often find it difficult to determine exact values for known parameters in the real world. Therefore, this study considers the uncertain nature of ordering costs, the rate of deterioration, and demand rates as triangular fuzzy numbers. The optimal average cost and ordering intervals are determined using a solution methodology. A sensitivity analysis is performed to demonstrate how different system parameters influence the outcomes within a fuzzy environment. Notably, it is observed that profit tends to be higher under conditions of strong memory compared to poor memory effects. Moreover, it's worth emphasizing that profits are notably more favorable when employing the signed distance method compared to the graded mean integration method, especially in situations marked by strong memory effects. This study highlights the importance of considering sensitive parameters in the model, especially under conditions of strong memory effects. Such parameters require careful attention in the pursuit of effective inventory management strategies to mitigate carbon emissions and combat global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Improving rural household energy efficiency is an important policy issue for climate change mitigation in China. A better understanding of the factors affecting farmers' energy-efficient appliance use behavior can help policymakers design more effective policies. This paper explores the effect of farmers' risk preferences and loss aversion on their energy-efficient appliance use behavior in rural China. Using unique data from a survey and a paired lottery experiment completed by 235 rural household heads in the Dazu District of China, this study finds that the farmers' risk preferences and loss aversion have significant effects on their energy-efficient appliance use behavior. The more risk-averse farmers are less likely to buy or use energy-efficient appliances. The farmers who are more loss averse are more willing to purchase and more likely to use durable energy-efficient appliances. In addition, the farmers' demographic factors (age, gender, education, and family location), their perceptions of climate change adaptation and their trust attitudes have significant effects on their energy-efficient appliance use behavior. This paper contributes to the emerging literature that relates risk preferences and loss aversion in experiments to farmers' energy-efficient appliance use behavior. Highlights • The analysis is based on a unique data set combining a survey and economic experiments. • The average response of our sample is risk averse and loss averse. • The more risk-averse farmers are less likely to use energy-efficient appliances. • The more loss-averse farmers are more willing to use durable energy-efficient appliances. • Farmers' socioeconomic status and trust attitudes affect their use behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A number of empirical methods have been developed to study China's sectoral carbon emissions (CSCE). Measuring these emissions is important for climate change mitigation. While several articles have reviewed specific methods, few attempts conduct a systematic analysis of all the major research methods. In total 807 papers were published on CSCE research between 1997 and 2017. The primary source of literature for this analysis was taken from the Web of Science database. Based on a bibliometric analysis using knowledge mapping with the software CiteSpace, the review identified five common families of methods: 1) environmentally-extended input-output analysis (EE-IOA), 2) index decomposition analysis (IDA), 3) econometrics, 4) carbon emission control efficiency evaluation and 5) simulation. The research revealed the main trends in each family of methods and has visualized this research into ten research clusters. In addition, the paper provides a direct comparison of all methods. The research results can help scholars quickly identify and compare different methods for addressing specific research questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract With the development of China's economy, the use of fossil energy has become more and more, resulting in increasing carbon emissions. CO 2 emissions have caused global warming, threatening humans and creatures on Earth. In order to effectively suppress the growth of carbon emissions, it is necessary to analyze the influencing factors of carbon emissions and apply them to predict carbon emissions. This paper presents sixteen potential influencing factors and uses grey relational analysis to identify the factors that have a strong correlation with carbon emissions. The principal component analysis (PCA) is used to extract the four principal components, which reduce the redundancy of the input data. The long short-term memory (LSTM) method is established to predict carbon emissions in China. We use back propagation neural network (BPNN) and Gaussian process regression (GPR) to compare LSTM method. The simulation results show that the prediction accuracy of carbon emissions based on LSTM is better than that of BPNN and GPR, indicating the effectiveness of PCA and LSTM in prediction of carbon emissions. Finally, this paper provides the theoretical basis for China to reduce carbon emissions by studying prediction of carbon emissions. Highlights • Grey correlation analysis is applied to identify factors associated with carbon emissions. • Principal components analysis is used to simplify input variables and obtain the main factors affecting carbon emissions. • The long short-term memory model is used for the first time to predict carbon emissions. • The direction of reducing carbon emissions in China is given by analyzing the prediction results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The study allows the income elasticity of emissions to vary over time. • It is a first use of the TVC cointegration method to study the CO 2 -GDP relationship. • We found a positive income elasticities of CO 2 emissions in all studied countries. • We found evidence in favor of relative decoupling in 8 out of the 12 countries. Abstract The relationship between CO 2 emissions, the main gas responsible for global warming, and economic growth is among the most studied themes of environmental economics. Reducing overall emissions while keeping a high pace of economic development is at the heart of the sustainable development concept. When emissions grow less rapidly than GDP environmental economists speak of relative decoupling; if emissions even decrease relative to the pace of economic growth, then decoupling is absolute. Assessing these options requires an empirical analysis of the emissions-GDP relationship. The study of this nexus has special importance for developed countries, given their historical responsibility towards global warming. At the same time, in the last decades, the same countries have been at the forefront of the fight against climate change in terms of emissions-reduction efforts. By applying cutting-edge econometric techniques, this paper aims to investigate the decoupling options, if any, for a group of European economies which can be considered as pioneers in pursuing the sustainable development goals. This question gains further importance considering that some recent studies have found positive GDP elasticities of emissions for certain developed countries, which may be seen as a cause of concern for the sustainable development path of such countries. Unlike the bulk of the literature, in this paper, we allow the income elasticity of emissions – a critical indicator for the study of decoupling – to vary over time. The reason is that the elasticity might change through the time due to the factors affecting the main drivers of the CO 2 emissions. We use a time-varying coefficients cointegration approach to investigate the CO 2 emissions-GDP relationship for 12 Western European countries over a long time period ranging from 1861 to 2015. Our main finding is that the income elasticity of CO 2 emissions is positive in all investigated countries. In addition, we find evidence in favor of relative decoupling in 8 out of the 12 European countries. This is in line with the fact that the selected European countries have shown more determination in adopting carbon reduction policies before and after the Kyoto protocol period and toward the Paris agreement compared to other leading economies such as China, United States, and Russia. For the remaining 4 cases, the income elasticity of CO 2 emissions is in excess of unity. This can be considered as a call for policymakers to take quick and relevant measures to mitigate emissions level without harming the economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Polar Regions are characterized by extreme weather and climate. The polar meteorology plays a significant role in global climate system. Further, the global warming has generated renewed interest in the study of Polar Regions as the changes in polar and sea-ice extent have widespread implication on atmospheric circulation. India initiated first multi-disciplinary scientific expedition to Antarctica in 1981. The meteorological data are being collected from the very first Indian expedition to Antarctica. The present paper reviews the progress of India's scientific research in polar meteorology. The analysis of 25 years meteorological data collected at Maitri station for the period 1991–2015 is presented in the paper. The observed trend in the temperature data of 19 Antarctic stations obtained from READER project for the period 1991–2015 has also been examined. The 25 years long term temperature record shows cooling over Maitri station. The Maitri station showed cooling of 0.054 °C per year between 1991 and 2015, with similar pronounced seasonal trends. The nearby Russian station Novolazarevskaya also showed a cooling trend of 0.032 °C per year. The trend analysis of other meteorological parameters for the period 1991–2015 is also presented. The Antarctic Peninsula and almost all of West Antarctica showed warming during 1991–2015. The majority of stations in East Antarctica close to the coast show cooling or no significant trend. The analysis also found slight decreasing trend in the pressure over the 1991–2015 time period which is not statistically significant. The wind speed, however, does show a significant declining trend of 0.14 knots/year over the same period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A common form of coastal protection in New South Wales, Australia, is the rubble mound breakwater. This consists of quarried rock or unreinforced concrete armour units. However, increased impact forces on these structures due to greater storm surge levels that are predicted by global warming models, suggest that they will require strengthening. Traditionally steel bar reinforcement is used to strengthen concrete; however, as steel is particularly susceptible to corrosion in aggressive coastal environments, it is not a robust solution. This paper reports on the potential of using macro-synthetic fibre reinforcement in reinforcing of breakwater armour units, in lieu of traditional steel reinforcing bars. To this end, a programme to ascertain the tensile capacity of 0.6 percent and 1.0 percent by volume of concrete reinforced with macro-synthetic fibres was implemented. The behaviour of this synthetic fibre reinforced concrete in Dolos type breakwater armour units was then examined using the finite element analysis software ATENA. The results of the numerical analysis indicate that the addition of synthetic fibres at these volume percentages into concrete armour units improves the post peak response under impact loading by a factor of two to three, compared with unreinforced units. Furthermore, the addition of fibres significantly reduced the maximum crack width for the same number of impact loadings and allows the units to withstand larger crack widths before failure. Highlights • This paper assesses the effectiveness of Dolosse concrete armour units reinforced with 0.6 percent and 1.0 percent of macro-synthetic fibres. • An experimental programme was developed to investigate the post crack capacity of the synthetic FRC. • The experimental results were used to simulate the properties of synthetic FRC in Dolosse breakwater armour units. • The addition of fibres significantly improves the breakwater armour unit's capacity to withstand higher and more numerous impact loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Our paper is the first to explore the connection between individual investors' stock selection preferences and climate warming, offering micro-level evidence for the examination of climate risk and financial markets. • Our research is the first to suggest that individual investors decrease their holdings in high-emission companies not solely for economic motives, but also for ethical considerations. • Our paper contributes valuable insights to the investigation of the coherence between stock prices and trading behavior. Growing attention is being directed toward the influence of climate risks on financial markets. This paper reveals that individual investors in the Chinese stock market have integrated climate risk into their investment decisions. Abnormally high temperatures stimulate individual investors' belief in global warming, which in turn affect their stock selection preferences. During periods of abnormally high local temperatures, we observe a shift in individual investors' assets from high-emission companies to low-emission companies. This behavior is driven by both firm valuations and ethical considerations, with evidence of synchronization between stock prices and investor actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the aggravation of carbon emissions and global warming, the probability of various natural disasters and environmental risks will increase significantly. Therefore, carbon emission reduction and low-carbon development have become the focus of environmental economic research. This paper uses the information about the opening of high-speed railway (HSR) in China to comprehensively explore the effect of infrastructure construction on urban carbon total factor productivity (CTFP) in China, which is calculated by the novel non-parametric method named biennial non-radial Luenberger productivity indicator (BLPI). Our results reveal that in China, an extra HSR line significantly improves the CTFP of local cities by 0.63%, while the CTFP of related surrounding cities increases by 6.3%. We confirm the robustness of our empirical findings and perform the mechanism analysis from several aspects. The mechanism analysis shows that the HSR improves the CTFP of local cities mainly via industrial upgrading and technological progress, and improves the CTFP of surrounding cities via industrial agglomeration and factor spillover. Besides, the impact of the HSR is more pronounced for the core cities, large cities, and innovative cities. Our results suggest that the HSR makes cities more carbon efficient, which is a non-negligible advantage of infrastructure construction in reducing environmental risks. • Governments around the world have been committed to reducing external environmental risks by adopting urbanization. • This paper analyzes the spillover effect of the onening of HSR on CTFP in China. • This paper provides a novel framework, which uses the LPI combined with the BNDDF to measure CTFP. • An extra HSR line significantly improves the CTFP of local cities by 0.63% and surrounding cities by 6.3%. • The mechanism analysis reveals four channels, including industrial upgrading, technological progress, industrial agglomeration, and factor spillover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate warming sets higher requirements for sustainability in ship industry, which fuels the introduction of stricter power restrictions and new types of ship hull design. The new designs invite us to reconsider the principles in model scale testing in ice, which is the state-of-the-art method to predict vessel's ice performance prior to its construction. Ice model testing principles were originally developed for the evaluation of performance in level ice at slow speed, but currently those principles are widely applied for ice model testing in other ice conditions as well. The forces forming the vessel resistance in a brash ice channel are different compared to forces forming the vessel resistance in level ice. In consequence, the current model scale testing principles are suboptimal when predicting vessel's performance in an old, frequently operated brash ice channel, as our earlier research indicates that the prediction is conservative especially for modern merchant ship bow shapes with high stem angles. An old brash ice channel is especially interesting, as it is the determining ice condition in Finnish-Swedish Ice Class Rules ice class granting process. This paper addresses the problem by introducing a new similitude number – a Channel number – to be applied alongside the currently applied Froude and Cauchy similitudes. The Channel number aims to realistically scale the dominating forces that form the resistance of the vessel in an old brash ice channel by developing further the modelling of the resistance component induced by displacing the ice fragments. This necessitates considering the brash ice fragment interaction and inertia forces. The new scaling principle, which supplements the currently applied Froude-Cauchy scaling principle by the Channel number, is considered more accurate for brash ice conditions. It is designed to predict fairly and uniformly the ship resistance for all bow shapes avoiding potential overpowering of the modern bow types with a high stem angle. This would contribute to providing a good harmonization of ships' expected ice performance with ice classes, and, further, improve the fleet schedule predictability that the logistic chains demand from the transportation. • Current model scale testing principles are suboptimal for tests in broken ice. • This paper proposes a new scaling principle for model tests in old brash ice channels. • The new Channel similitude number considers the brash ice interparticle cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The key to global warming is greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2015, the Republic of Korea has implemented a carbon emission rights system to encourage companies to voluntarily reduce carbon emissions. Not long ago, the government declared carbon neutrality by 2050. However, in order for the carbon emission rights system to function as a greenhouse gas reduction, it takes half a year to calculate carbon emissions, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are not only large in resources and manpower for calculation should be left to consulting companies. It costs millions to tens of millions of won to calculate once. This paper provides a carbon emission response solution for ready-mixed concrete (Remicon) companies. Greenhouse gases emitted from various factories are calculated in real time using IoT equipment. The calculated greenhouse gas emissions are visualized and shown. Therefore, companies can plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions based on data and make predictions about when to certify low carbon certification. This project targeted one of the building material industrial groups. In the future, it can be expanded to the entire region-based society, including individuals and families, which are the minimum units. This allows the government to check national-based carbon emissions in real time and determine policies based on data. Finally, it is intended to change people\x92s consciousness by visualizing the degree of contribution to the phenomenon of jig warming through real-time carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term rates of escarpment retreat in sedimentary tablelands have been rarely determined and their possible variability in relation to major environmental changes has often been speculative, especially in older contributions. Moreover, rates reported so far were almost exclusively from arid regions. In this paper we present a dataset of 20 cosmogenic exposure ages, obtained for cliffs and boulders produced by rock-slope disintegration, left in front of a retreating 150-m-high escarpment of a sandstone mesa in SW Poland. The most distant boulders are >400 m away from the cliffs. Following previous research in the region, boulders are mainly products of in situ disintegration and hence, their present-day position on the slope approximates the past position of the cliffs, allowing for the calculations of cliff retreat. Exposure ages systematically increase with the distance from the present-day cliff line and cover the last 100 kyr, implying an average retreat rate of 4.18 mm/yr. However, the dataset splits into several sub-populations, each with its own trend, meaning that the rates of retreat varied with time. A maximum was reached during the Late Pleistocene and transition to the Holocene, when the rates exceeded 10 mm/yr and may have reached 100 mm/yr. The rates seemed distinctly lower between MIS5 and LGM and during the Holocene. We propose that the transition towards a warmer climate at the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary, with an increased frequency of freezing-thawing cycles, the degradation of permafrost and unblocking of groundwater drainage enhanced caprock disintegration and accelerated the break-off rates of caprock. During periods of most efficient cliff disintegration and boulder production the rates of escarpment retreat at the field site could have been two orders of magnitude higher than in the hyperarid areas. However, despite changing rates of retreat major processes involved in escarpment evolution seem to have remained the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming, mainly caused by rising carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions in the atmosphere, has led to severe effects worldwide. Hence, reducing carbon emissions has become an urgent need to mitigate the adverse effects. To do so, accurately forecasting CO 2 emissions is crucial for policymakers in formulating climate and energy policies. Existing CO 2 emission forecast models rely on various longitudinal economy, energy or environment data collected at the same periods, e.g., yearly, as indicators. However, these data usually come from diverse sources with different sampling frequencies, e.g., monthly vs. daily. Therefore, in this paper, we introduce for the first time a Mixed-frequency data Sampling Grey system Model (MSGM) that can exploit the potential information in high-frequency sampling (HF) data of economic and social indicators to effectively forecast annual CO 2 emissions. In MSGM, (1) we directly model low-frequency CO 2 emissions and HF economic-energy influence indicators without undertaking same-frequency conversion, thereby avoiding potential information loss and enhancing prediction accuracy; (2) we introduce polynomial weight functions to address the frequency mismatch, and its parameters are obtained through search optimization algorithms; (3) unlike existing grey system models, the whitening equation of MSGM adopts a reduced-order form to address the exponential explosion issue caused by HF data accumulation; (4) the time and cumulative terms are also introduced separately to explore the effects of temporal development and historical data on future CO 2 emissions. Extensive Monte-Carlo simulations show that MSGM exhibits high accuracy on both training and testing datasets and outperforms many other state-of-the-art rival techniques like MIDAS, AR-MIDAS, AMTGM, MLRM, BPNN, SVR, ARIMA and TVGBM. We further demonstrate the potential of MSGM to forecast China's CO 2 emissions under three distinct scenarios. Out-of-sample forecasting results indicate that only under a tight-contraction scenario does the growth rate of CO 2 emissions decrease. To the best of our knowledge, the MSGM is the first technique that can exploit different frequency data to effectively forecast CO 2 emissions. [Display omitted] • A novel grey system forecast model based on mixed-sampling frequency is proposed. • Introducing more higher frequency data from economic and social indicators. • Selecting popular local search algorithms to find optimal unstructured parameters. • The CO 2 emission forecast for 2022–2026 is carried out under three distinct scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastics generated from fragmentation of leftover plastics and industrial waste has reached in the remotely located Asian water tower (AWT) region, the 3rd pole of earth and origin site of several freshwater rivers. The accumulation of microplastics in AWT ecosystem has potential to alter the climatic condition contributing in global warming and disturbing the biodiversity structural dynamics. The present paper provides a comprehensive critical discussion over quantitative assessment of microplastics in different ecosystems (i.e. river, lakes, sediment and snow or glacier) of AWT. The hydrodynamic fate and transport of microplastics and their ecological impact on hydromorphology and biodiversity of AWT has been exemplified. Furthermore, key challenges, perspectives and research directions are identified to mitigate microplastics associated problems. During survey, the coloured polyethylene and polyurethane fibers are the predominant microplastics found in most areas of AWT. These bio–accumulated MPs alter the rhizospheric community structure and deteriorate nitrogen fixation process in plants. Significance in climate change, MPs pollution is enhancing the emissions of greenhouse gases (NH 3 by ∼34% and CH 4 by ∼9%), contributing in global warming. Considering the seriousness of MPs pollution, this review study can enlighten the pathways to investigate the effect of MPs and to develop monitoring tools and sustainable remediation technologies with feasible regulatory strategies maintaining the natural significance of AWT region. [Display omitted] • Photocatalytic fragmentation of plastics is major source of microplastics in AWT region. • Suspended microplastics in water are comparatively higher than those deposited in the sediment. • Fiber and films are common microplastic morphologies found in AWT glacier. • River hydrodynamics and spatial flow patterns regulate microplastics aggregation–breakage process. • Strategies should be developed to eliminate microplastics and its ecological risk from AWT region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses different policies for combating climate change, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to warming global temperatures. Climate change presents the classical problem of risk management in an environment of massive uncertainty. The paper focuses on carbon taxes, although appealing to economists, has problems in dealing with real-world issues, such as politics and measurement of the social cost of carbon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat-2), to be launched in 2018, will measure the height of Earth from space using lasers, collecting the most precise and detailed account yet of our planet's elevation. The mission will allow scientists to investigate how global warming is changing the planet's icy polar regions and to take stock of Earth's vegetation. ICESat-2's emphasis on polar ice, as well as its unique measurement approach, will provide an intriguing and accessible focus for the mission's education and outreach programs. Sea ice and land ice are areas that have experienced significant change in recent years. It is key to communicate why we are measuring these areas and their importance. ICESat-2 science data will provide much-needed answers to climate change questions such as, “Is the ice really melting in the polar regions?” and “What does studying Earth's frozen regions tell us about our changing climate?” In this paper, lessons-learned and novel techniques for engaging and educating all audiences in the mission will be discussed, such as including results of a unique collaboration with art design school the Savannah College of Art Design (SCAD) to create fun and exciting products such as animated characters and interactive stories. Future collaborations with wildlife researchers, a new citizen science program in collaboration with GLOBE, and evidence from other STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) education approaches will also be detailed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal upheaval buckling of continuously reinforced concrete pavements is widely reported around the world in conjunction with the evolution of global warming trends and increasing numbers of prolonged heatwaves, and which may lead to catastrophic scenarios. Such heatwaves may produce a large temperature gradient through the thickness of the pavement, and there is a need to examine the effects of a temperature gradient on pavement buckling. This paper proposes an analytical closed-form model for the thermal upheaval buckling of pavements, with a temperature gradient being embedded in the formulation. The principle of stationary total potential is employed to develop the non-linear equations of equilibrium for the postbuckling response of the pavement, and these equations are solved analytically by considering both the lift-off region and the adjoining region. It is found that the temperature gradient has no influence on a continuous lengthwise-symmetric pavement, so two pavement types are analysed in this investigation, one is a continuous pavement with a joint and the other is a continuous pavement adjoining a rigid structure. The paper demonstrates that a positive temperature gradient will lower the safe temperature of a concrete pavement with a joint, while it raises the safe temperature of a pavement adjoining a rigid structure. The buckling and postbuckling responses of pavements with different characteristics are analysed by considering the temperature gradient; the parameters being the pavement thickness, pavement base and effective weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several biological research studies have shown that the number of individuals of certain species of anurans in a specific geographical region, and the evolution of this number over time, can be used as an indicator of climate change. To detect the presence of anurans, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are usually deployed with the aim of obtaining bio-acoustic information in a set covering numerous locations. However, the identification of the anuran species from a huge number of recordings usually involves an overwhelming task that has to be undertaken by expert and intelligent systems. Previous studies into this issue have proposed several classification techniques with a common approach: they all take into account the sequential characteristic of sounds by considering syllables or other kinds of vocal segments. In noisy sounds, as it is usually the case in recordings made in natural habitats, segmentation of the signal is no straightforward task and may cause low classification accuracy. To override this problem, a new non-sequential approach is proposed in this paper. It is based on considering very small pieces of sounds (frames) each of which is then classified without considering preceding or subsequent information. Up to nine frame-based classifiers are explored in this paper and their performances are compared to the most commonly used sequential classifier: the Hidden Markov Model (HMM). Additionally, for featuring the frames, many choices have been described, although the application of the Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCCs) has probably become the most common method. In this work, an alternative methodology is suggested: the use of a set of MPEG-7 parameters, which offers a normalized solution with a much greater semantic content. The experimental results have shown that the proposed method clearly outperforms the HMM, thereby showing the non-sequential classification of anuran sounds to be feasible. From among the algorithms tested, the decision-tree classifier has shown the best performance with an overall classification success rate of 87.30%, which is an especially striking result considering that the analyzed sounds were affected by a decidedly noisy background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The warming and melting of permafrost due to climate warming pose a considerable threat to the integrity of the Pan Arctic building, thus jeopardizing sustainable development. The increase in ambient temperature in permafrost areas will cause deterioration in the bearing capacity of building pile foundations. Considering the continuous deepening of the active layer (z a), the present paper used small-scale physical modeling to investigate the potential variation of bearing capacity and load transfer mechanism of pile foundations under the scenario of continuous degradation of permafrost. The ultimate bearing capacity of a single pile and the undrained shear strength of the ground under different z a are estimated by cone penetration tests. In the static load test of single piles, the axial load-settlement, axial force of pile shaft, and earth pressure at the pile tip are measured. The results show that the rise in ground temperature and the deepening of the z a shorten the elastic and elastic-plastic stages of the load-displacement curve, resulting in a gradual decline in the bearing capacity of a single pile. The pile-soil interface temperature is always higher than the adjacent ground temperature at the same depth. Adfreezing force of the pile-soil interface decreases due to the increase in ground temperature and water content. With the deepening of z a , the peak point of the shaft resistance decreases from −30 cm to −60 cm under the ultimate state. Meanwhile, with more axial load transfer along the pile shaft to the pile tip, the share ratio of pile tip resistance to ultimate stress gradually increases. In addition, the temperature rise of frozen soil at the pile tip accelerates the settling rate of the pile, which eventually causes the pile foundation failure. • Climate warming threatens buildings in the Pan Arctic permafrost regions. • Tests are performed to investigate the bearing capacity of building pile. • Revealed the evolution law of pile bearing capacity during permafrost degradation. • The pile adfreezing force decreases with increasing ground temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We investigated the impacts of bedding and outdoor runs on pig welfare and environment. • Bedding improved aspects of pig welfare, e.g. exploratory behaviour and oral stereotypies. • Acidification was higher on farms with bedding due to emissions from farm yard manure. • Global warming/freshwater eutrophication did not significantly differ due to farm variability. • Manure management innovations are needed to reduce emissions on farms with bedding. Providing bedding or access to an outdoor run are husbandry aspects intended to improve pig welfare, which is currently financially supported through animal welfare schemes in several European countries. However, they may significantly affect the environment through changes in feed efficiency and manure management. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to compare farms differing in animal welfare relevant husbandry aspects regarding (1) the welfare of growing-finishing pigs and (2) environmental impact categories such as global warming (GW), acidification (AC), and freshwater (FE) and marine eutrophication (ME), by employing an attributional Life Cycle Assessment. We collected data on 50 farms with growing-finishing pigs in seven European countries. Ten animal-based welfare indicators were aggregated into three pig welfare indices using principal component analysis. Cluster analysis of farms based on husbandry aspects resulted in three clusters: NOBED (31 farms without bedding or outdoor run), BED (11 farms with bedding only) and BEDOUT (eight farms with bedding and outdoor run). Pigs on farms with bedding (BED and BEDOUT) manipulated enrichment more often (P < 0.001), pen fixtures less frequently (P = 0.003) and showed fewer oral stereotypies (P < 0.001) than pigs on NOBED farms. There were fewer pigs with a short(er) tail on farms with than without bedding (P < 0.001). Acidification of BEDOUT and BED farms was significantly higher (compared to NOBED farms P = 0.002) due to higher ammonia emissions related to farmyard manure. Also, BEDOUT farms had higher ME than NOBED farms (P = 0.035). There were no significant differences regarding GW and FE between husbandry clusters, due to the large variability within clusters regarding feed composition and conversion. Therefore, both husbandry aspects associated with improved animal welfare have a significant influence on some environmental impacts, such as acidification and marine eutrophication. Nevertheless, the large variation within clusters suggests that trade-offs may be minimised through e.g. AC and ME. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two economic activities have been integrated in southern Brazil: olive cultivation and sheep farming. The favorable edaphoclimatic conditions in the southern region for cultivating olive trees and cultural preferences for the consumption of sheep meat make this integration a valuable strategy. Considering that every activity causes environmental impact and the exploitation of natural resources, new systems that promote sustainable development and the efficient use of these resources become necessary. This paper presents the first study of the carbon footprint of the life cycle of integrating of sheep and olive farming, with the objective to build an inventory based on primary data collected on olive and sheep farms in Brazil, determine the carbon footprint of the conventional and integrated system and estimate the potential for mitigating GHG emissions. The evaluation was performed using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The study focuses on the detailed analysis of the processes and activities that are responsible for GHG emissions, including enteric methane emissions, methane emissions from manure management, emissions from nitrogen fertilizer use and limestone application and energy consumption. For this, two major scenarios were considered, the first centered around on the traditional olive cultivation and sheep farming systems individually, and the second involved their synergistic integration. The findings indicate that the conventional system is associated with a global warming impact of 6.8 kg CO 2 eq per liter olive oil and kg live weight. In contrast, the integrated system demonstrates a significant mitigation potential of 27.7%, resulting in a reduced global warming impact of 4.92 kg CO 2 eq. This advantage is a consequence of the synergy between the systems, as they now occupy the same area, which allows the sharing of agricultural activities and agrochemical inputs, in addition to optimizing nutrient recycling and complementing each other. Additionally, the results of a sensitivity analysis showed that enteric methane from sheep and the application of limestone to the soil are the most influential parameters on the carbon footprint, indicating that they are key parameters for the development of GHG mitigation strategies, some of which were discussed in the article. • First life cycle assessment of integration between olive and sheep farming in Brazil. • The inventory was constructed with primary data collected in situ. • The study assesses the carbon footprint of the olive and sheep farming system. • The results show environmental advantages of the integration of olive and sheep farming systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quest for sustainability and reduction of human impact on the planet has led to discussions about environmental efficiency in the manufacture and use of automotive vehicles. The advancement of environmental and government laws has encouraged the automotive industry to seek constant improvements in safety, fuel economy and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve these goals, reducing the weight of vehicles has been considered a relevant strategy, with several research and development efforts in search of high-tech materials and innovative design. The assessment of the life cycle of vehicles, from the extraction of raw materials to the end of their useful life, is essential for estimating environmental impacts. In this context, this paper focuses on the life cycle analysis of vehicles with new generation steel structures (Body in White Solution) compared to current steels (Body in White Baseline), aiming at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by reducing of the thickness of the steel plates, maintaining the mechanical properties necessary to guarantee the safety of the vehicle. The methodology of this study was divided into the evaluation of Body in White (BIW) mass in current steels (Baseline) and in advanced high resistance steels (Solution); detailing the vehicular life cycle from the extraction of materials to its end of life; in the estimation of greenhouse gas emissions through simulation and in the comparison of vehicle emissions with BIW in current steels and in advanced high resistance steels. As a result, it was possible to observe that, in the comparison of the CO 2 footprint, modeled in the Eco Audit, there is a 15% reduction in emissions in the CO 2 footprint for the BIW solution, as well as a 7% reduction in the C eq total , in the on-site test and a saving of 260.40 L in fuel consumption, that is, the reduction in vehicle weight plays a significant role in reducing CO 2 emissions, providing a mitigation factor for global warming. [Display omitted] • There is a 15% reduction in emissions in the CO2 footprint for the BIW solution. • There is a 7% reduction in the Ceq total, in the on-site test. • Reduction in vehicle weight plays a significant role in reducing CO2 emissions. • Providing a mitigation factor for global warming. • There is a fuel economy of 260.4 L over the vehicle's life cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Significantly changes of LAI and GPP mostly occurred in eastern and southern China. • Divergence between LAI and GPP were found in regions with dense vegetation coverage. • The importance of VPD, SM, and PT to vegetation indices increased as latitude decreases. Climate change notably boosts terrestrial hydraulic redistribution pattern, which could directly affect the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of vegetation productivity. However, the spatiotemporal evolution pattern of long-term hydrometeorological controls of vegetation productivity is still not fully understood. This paper comprehensively explored the impacts of hydrometeorological controls on leaf area index (LAI) and gross primary productivity (GPP) in China during 1982–2015 using both satellite observations and reanalysis. Vapor pressure deficit (VPD), evapotranspiration (ET), precipitation (PT), and soil moisture (SM) were used as representative indicators during investigation. The dynamics of LAI and GPP displayed increasing trends on the whole. And significantly changes mostly occurred in eastern and southern China, accompanied by moderate to dense vegetation coverage. An accelerated increasing trend for LAI could be observed since September 2003 (+0.175 per decade), while the growth rate of GPP (+16.76 g C/m2 per decade) basically maintained stable. In terms of hydrometeorological controls, VPD and ET showed consistently increasing trend and SM presented falling trend in the context of warming climate. Through analysis of feature importance index established by Random Forest, the importance of VPD, SM, and PT obviously increased as latitude decreases, which implied the high sensitivity of vegetation in semi-humid\humid regions to water availability. Additionally, divergence between LAI and GPP can be found in southern Tibet Plateau region and coastal regions, which provides compelling evidence that in the case of high LAI, increasing LAI could weaken the improvement effect on GPP. Findings of this study is expected to promote the understanding of long-term vegetation responses to hydrometeorological variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

· Most marine turtles have a typical annual nesting season, and the number of nests laid during a season can be used as a proxy for population size to define trends and conservation status. · However, in some cases, two peaks in female emergences are detected during single year. · We show that estimates that fail to consider this bimodality into account can provide biased results both in terms of describing the phenology and quantifying the number of nests. · The shifts in nesting could be a strategy to adapt to present-day incubation temperatures, hatching success rates, and sex ratios in the context of climate warming. The seasonality of egg-laying in marine turtles is a well-known phenomenon that has been used to determine population trends based on an integration of the number of female emergences or nests during a season. However, in some cases, several peaks in female emergences are detected during single year. In this paper, we explore three such situations, two involving leatherback turtles laying eggs in French Guiana and in Northwest Coast of Papua, Indonesia and another involving green turtles in the Indian Ocean. In the three cases, we demonstrate the existence of a bimodal nesting season using a new statistical model. With this model, we show that estimates that fail to consider this bimodality into account can provide biased results both in terms of describing the phenology and quantifying the number of nests. The origin of these different groups of females is discussed based on the available information. This new model opens the door to a more rigorous analysis of egg-laying seasonality in marine turtles. Such rigor is essential in the current context of climate change, where shifts in seasonality can have a major influence on these species due to their temperature-sensitive sex determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most studies on the relationship between global warming and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) rely on simulation experiments, but they have produced contradictory results, which cannot guarantee the reliability of the experimental findings. To address this challenge, we approached the issue from the perspective of objective ENSO and global warming signals. The effects of global warming on ENSO are not limited to the Earth's surface, but also present in the atmosphere. While objective monitoring indices exist for surface global warming and ENSO signals, objective ENSO and global warming signals in the atmosphere are difficult to obtain. To obtain high-precision ENSO and global warming signals in the atmosphere, we propose using the strategy of ICA (Independent Component Analysis) combined with a non-parametric method. The results of the objective ENSO and global warming signals suggest that the global warming signal leads the ENSO signal by approximately three months and exhibits a clear positive correlation with the ENSO signal, especially the occurrence of strong ENSO events is closely related to global warming, indicating that global warming promotes the occurrence of ENSO events. Under the influence of global warming, the frequency and intensity of ENSO increase, the characteristics and complexity of ENSO atmospheric teleconnections may be altered, and there is a greater tendency for more destructive El Niño events to occur. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the probability of ENSO event has increased significantly. Furthermore, moderate or strong ENSO events tend to develop earlier, and extreme ENSO events not only develop earlier but also prolong their decay phase, leading to an extended lifespan of ENSO events. This paper investigates the effect of global warming on ENSO from the perspectives of objective ENSO and global warming signals, which well supplements the objective factual basis for the previous simulation experimental studies. • Most simulation studies on the relationship between global warming and ENSO cannot guarantee the authenticity ofresults • We investigated the relationship between global warming and ENSO from the perspective of objective signals. • To obtain ENSO and global warming signals, we proposed the strategy of ICA combined with a non-parametric method. • The results suggest that the global warming signal exhibits a clear positive correlation with the ENSO signal. • Under influence of global warming, frequency, lifespan, intensity and atmospheric teleconnections of ENSO may be altered [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an innovative framework is introduced for assessing the impact of climate change on coastal structures, with a primary emphasis on modeling future climate conditions. The framework encompasses several key components: the development of a new climate emulator to facilitate multivariate extreme value analysis; a hybrid statistical–numerical wave propagation strategy; and the integration of a novel compound modeling approach specific to coastal structure sites. These advancements are designed to effectively manage multiple climate scenarios and models within the context of high uncertainty. The methodology is applied and validated for a coastal structure located on the Mediterranean coast in Spain. Focusing on compound wave and sea-level events, the projections indicate an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme conditions, exacerbating coastal impacts such as wave overtopping. For instance, the present-day 500-year coastal flooding level would be associated with a return period of 50 years by mid-century under a stabilization scenario and would be further reduced to 25 years under a high-emission global warming scenario, resulting in important consequences for structure performance if no adaptation is implemented. • Develops a framework for assessing the impact of climate change on coastal structures. • It develops a new climate emulator to facilitate multivariate extreme value analysis. • It encompasses a hybrid statistical–numerical wave propagation strategy. • It integrates a novel compound modeling approach specific to coastal structures sites. • It has been applied and validated for a coastal structure in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Impact of global warming on corporate reputation scores and rating is examined. • Data on Chinese listed firms from 2012 to 2022 and panel regressions are used. • Global warming (measured by average urban temperature) negatively affects corporate reputation. • Firm risk-taking counteracts the negative impact of rising temperatures on corporate reputation. • Location, industry, and ESG ranking influence firm's sensitivity to negative impact. This paper examines the impact of global warming on corporate reputation. Using data on Chinese listed firms from 2012 to 2022, corporate reputation scores and ratings are constructed, and panel regressions conducted. The findings demonstrate a significantly negative impact of global warming (as measured by the average urban temperature) on corporate reputation. Firm risk-taking counteracts the negative impact of rising temperatures on corporate reputation, highlighting its ability to circumvent reputational damage under climate change. Firms located in non-resource cities, operating in non-labour-intensive industries, and boasting top environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rankings are more sensitive to the negative impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The extent of flooding in China is greater than in any other country. • Nearly 66% of China's landmass is submerged by flooding. • Financial toll of flooding accounts for approximately 1.42% of the annual GDP. • Various forms of climatic change contribute to flooding. The extent of flooding in China is more significant than in any other country. Our research reveals that approximately 66 % of China's landmass is submerged by flooding, affecting about 50 % of the population. Furthermore, the financial toll of flooding now accounts for approximately 1.42 % of the annual gross domestic product (GDP), which is almost 40 times higher than the corresponding figure for the United States. We have observed that Zhengzhou city in Henan province, which faced a devastating flood in 2021, received a significant amount of rainfall, specifically a total of 552.5 mm within a 24-hour period. The floods in Henan province in 2021 caused considerable damage, including impacting nearly 15 million people, resulting in almost 400 deaths, damaging over 10,000 square kilometers of agricultural land, causing almost $19 billion in economic losses, and leading to the collapse of over 35,000 households and damage to various properties. In a similar manner, the significant flooding that occurred in southern China in 2020 impacted approximately 7.1 million individuals across eight provinces and resulted in 54 fatalities, the collapse of 6,700 houses, and incurred a direct economic loss of US$3.33 billion. We found that rainstorms have significantly increased to 10 % in the last 60 years in China. In this paper, we delved into exploring the existing published articles, reports, and government and authoritative legal texts to analyze the causes and impacts of flooding in China's flood-prone regions and potential mitigation strategies to reduce the repercussions of distressing flood events. We believe this study will help policymakers by providing new insights while formulating policy to reduce the loss caused by high-level flooding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]