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Soils have the potential to sequester and store significant amounts of carbon, contributing towards climate change mitigation. Soil carbon markets are emerging to pay farmers for management changes that absorb atmospheric carbon, governed by codes that ensure eligibility, additionality and permanence whilst protecting against leakage and reversals. This paper presents the first global comparative analysis of farmland soil carbon codes, providing new insights into the range of approaches governing this global marketplace. To do this, the paper developed an analytical framework for the systematic comparison of codes which was used to identify commonalities and differences in approaches, methods, administration, commercialisation and operations for 12 publicly available codes from around the world. Codes used a range of mechanisms to manage additionality, uncertainty and risks, baselines, measurement, reporting and verification, auditing, resale of carbon units, bundling and stacking, stakeholder engagement and market integrity. The paper concludes by discussing existing approaches and codes that could be adapted for use in the UK and evaluates the need for an over-arching standard for soil carbon codes in the UK and internationally, to which existing codes and other schemes already generating soil carbon credits could be assessed and benchmarked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on tensions between decarbonisation and energy poverty priorities in Great Britain's liberalised electricity markets. Switching electricity suppliers in this market can result in significant benefits for those on bad deals. Further benefits are determined by the regulator. However, many of the energy poor lack the capabilities to switch and access these benefits. Community organisations play an important role in providing such access through remedial action. Using the capabilities approach, this paper combines quantitative and qualitative organisational data analysis at a community level to reveal an increasing share of the population who could benefit from switching and who agree to switching. At the same time, eligibility for one-off discounts on electricity bills to support the energy poor has increased sharply in recent years. This data points towards climate mitigation policies and market structures which benefit wealthier groups at the expense of more deprived groups who lack capabilities. At the micro scale, data access and intermediation at various levels and scales can help support more targeted interventions that facilitate well-being and enhanced capabilities. At the macro level, liberalised retail electricity markets need to be accommodated by safety nets and supportive institutional arrangements to avoid competitive pressures translating into complexity and opacity for consumers. Failure to equitably address capability conflicts, also framed as energy justice tensions and trade-offs, risks reinforcing and creating new injustices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vehicle emissions testing programme was conducted by the UK Department of Transport in 2016 in response to emissions tampering exposed in the Volkswagen (VW) emissions scandal. The programme identified large emissions discrepancies between real-world and in-lab testing across a range of Euro 5 and Euro 6 diesel passenger vehicles. The large vehicle test fleet reflects the current challenges faced in controlling vehicle emissions. This paper presents the following findings: NOx emissions are altered due to exhaust gas recirculation mismanagement. A new Real-Life Emissions methodology is introduced to improve upon the current Real Driving Emissions standard. A large and concerning emissions divergence was discovered between the achieved NOx improvement and deterioration of CO2. The findings act as catalysts to improve vehicle emissions testing beyond standards established since the VW scandal, aiding in the development of better climate change mitigation strategies and bring tangible air quality improvements to the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Many local authorities are preparing climate actions plans. • Policies to increase distributed energy generation such as PV are likely. • As capacities increase, PV can dominate system variability and predictability. • Predictive demand side response (DSR) may be too coarse to address this. • More granular techniques such as using system frequency may be required. Since 2018, over three quarters of UK local governments have signed climate emergency declarations signalling a new phase in local climate action. Many areas are developing climate action plans and considering what policies could be adopted to increase the use of distributed energy resources, such as building-integrated photo-voltaic (PV) generation. In this paper we demonstrate how city-scale backcasting can be used as a tool to go beyond technical feasibility and explore the policy, market and governance implications of decarbonisation pathways across the local and nation scales. Using urban PV as an example we model three scenarios for increasing installed capacity in the UK city of Bristol and demonstrate how, in each case, PV switches from being a minor 'negative load' on the energy system to being the dominant factor determining the volatility and predictability of the energy demand during daylight hours. Current approaches to integrating distributed energy resources into the wider system tend to focus on predictive modelling and half-hourly pricing to drive demand-side response. Our analysis indicates the risks of relying on these non-real time methods and suggests that more granular techniques such as triggering local DSR based on changes in electricity system frequency could better manage the variability of high levels of PV deployment at the local scale. We also demonstrate the importance of developing new local approaches to system integration that bring together network operators, local authorities and other local actors to deploy renewable generation and flexibility assets in coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses game theory to examine the efforts of public sector actors in the UK to integrate climate change interventions within development processes. Drawing on desk-based analysis and interviews, we identify instances where private-sector developers act strategically to exploit public-sector imperatives to deliver economic growth and housing. We find these imperatives constrained the agency of planners to effectively reconcile climate mitigation/adaptation objectives within wider priorities of economic growth. Yet, we identify instances whereby strategic planning frameworks, informal networks and bespoke development frameworks were effective means to build trust between actors and foster co-operation, better enabling development which meets climate change mitigation/adaptation objectives. In doing so, we illustrate the practical and theoretical value of game theory, whilst highlighting how careful use of strategic planning can support achieving climate change mitigation/adaptation objectives at a local scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Mobilizing climate finance for climate change mitigation is a crucial part of meeting the 'well-below' 2°C goal of the Paris Agreement. Climate finance refers to investments specifically in climate change mitigation and adaptation activities, which involve public finance and the leveraging of private finance. A large proportion of climate finance is Official Development Assistance (ODA) from OECD countries to ODA-eligible countries. The evidence shows that the largest proportion of climate finance for climate change mitigation has been channelled to the development of renewable energy, with a much smaller proportion flowing to other crucial forms of clean energy-related measures, such as demand-side management (DSM) (particularly sustainable cooling) and carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS). This forms the rationale and aim of this synthesis paper: to review the role of climate finance to develop clean energy beyond renewables. In doing so, the paper draws on practical policy and programme experiences of some donor countries, such as the UK, and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). This paper argues that a greater amount of climate finance from OECD countries to ODA-eligible fossil fuel-intensive emerging economies and developing countries is required for sustainable cooling and CCUS, particularly in the form of technical assistance and clean energy innovation. Key policy insights Demand-side management (DSM) and carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) are underfunded in climate finance compared with the promotion of renewables. Climate finance for sustainable cooling, in particular, represents just 0.04% of total ODA, despite cooling projected to represent 13% of global emissions by 2030. Public investment in CCUS is limited at US $28 billion since 2007, despite the costs of meeting the Paris Agreement estimated to be 40-128% more expensive without CCUS. Additional climate finance for these sectors should not come at the expense of funding for renewables but should be complementary to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The saltmarsh carbon storage potential is a key topic in blue carbon research and climate policy. Ecosystem service valuations provide valuable information to policymakers for habitat management and climate change mitigation policies. Yet, only few saltmarsh valuation studies have included the carbon storage service in the UK context. This paper investigates how the public values saltmarsh ecosystem services, focussing on the carbon storage service. We used a choice experiment to elicit the willingness to pay (WTP) of a representative sample of the Scottish public to support interventions that would maintain or improve the provision of these services. Furthermore, we tested the effect of information on individuals' preferences and WTP with a split sample approach where one group received a treatment in the form of additional information. We found that (i) all attributes had a significant influence on individuals' choices; (ii) both groups had, on average, a positive marginal WTP for all presented ecosystem services; (iii) the treated sample had, on average, no significantly different marginal WTP for carbon storage than the control group. This paper adds to the limited literature on the saltmarsh carbon storage ecosystem service and demonstrates a developed nation's public's openness to nature-based climate change mitigation solutions. [Display omitted] • The Scottish public on average prefers saltmarsh management over the status quo. • Providing additional information reduced heterogeneity in WTP for carbon storage. • Most respondents preferred an improvement of all saltmarsh ecosystem services. • Therefore management should focus on both climate change mitigation and adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Credible commitment is central to regimes for climate mitigation policy. In the climate policy literature, it is widely argued that the solution to the credible commitment problem is legislation and delegation of goal-setting to a technical body insulated from political incentives, and the UK's Committee on Climate Change is in part modelled on this approach. However, drawing on the comparative politics literature, this paper argues that the focus on legislation and delegation as the solution to the credible commitment problem is too narrow. Seen within the context of comparative political institutions, it is a response that fits the political logic in countries with majoritarian electoral systems. By contrast, in countries with electoral systems based on proportional representation, while legislation plays a role, an important element in the creation of credible commitment comes in the form of negotiated long-term agreements between political parties. This contrast is explored through a comparison between the Climate Change Act and associated Committee on Climate Change in the UK on the one hand, and a series of Energy and Climate Agreements in Denmark over the 2010s. Both approaches appear to have worked to date. However, while negotiated long-term agreements typically have an internal process for managing conflicts that inevitably arise after the respective mechanisms have been put in place, disputes arising following legislation and delegation must be resolved within the more informal processes of intra-party politics. Mechanisms of accountability also differ between the two approaches. Key policy insights Legislation and delegation is widely seen as the key route to credible commitment for climate policy, but other routes are possible. Legislation and delegation is particularly suited to countries with majoritarian, or first-past-the-post electoral systems and resulting political dynamics. In countries with proportional representation, an alternative route to credible commitment is possible via formal agreement between political parties. Both routes can work well, but political agreements tend to have internal mechanisms for mediating conflicts that subsequently arise, whereas delegation relies on intra-party politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scope 3 emissions from the UK higher education sector are globally significant, and long-distance air travel and catering are particularly emissions-intensive aspects of workplace routine. They each present complex problems, as transition to low-carbon alternatives requires the reconfiguration of professional practices. This paper examines the sustainability policies of 66 UK universities to establish the extent to which planning and action in these areas are commensurate with climate emergency declarations. The findings indicate that universities recognize their role in creating demand for long-distance travel and sustaining high-carbon diets. However, few have specific emissions reduction targets or action plans that would rapidly and substantially reduce emissions in these areas. Discussion focuses on two core points; first, how greater cohesion in reporting and target-setting can be achieved across the sector to raise the ambition of targets and intervention; and second to identify opportunities for institutions to disrupt and reshape professional practices to reduce emissions in these areas. Key Policy Insights Reducing emissions in the higher education sector requires organizations to foster low-carbon academic practices by engaging with the systemic cultural and material conditions that support high-carbon academic practices. The establishment of robust targets, action plans and monitoring processes would further support sector-wide decarbonization, and require consensus across HE institutions and governing bodies. Sector-wide agreement on the level and pace of emissions reduction will help to accelerate ambition regarding Scope 3 emissions reduction and determining the appropriate contribution of different institutions will help identify where action is most urgently required. Findings suggest a need for absolute targets for emissions reduction associated with long-distance travel, and that food policies focus on achieving a volumetric reduction in the weight of meat served so that absolute levels of greenhouse gas emissions are reduced. Travel and food provision are complex aspects of university emissions, but a climate emergency framing requires all organizations to use their full range of influence to rapidly and substantially reduce emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Glastir Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (GMEP) ran from 2013 until 2016, and was probably the most comprehensive programme of ecological study ever undertaken at a national scale in Wales. The programme aimed to (1) set up an evaluation of the environmental effects of the Glastir agri-environment scheme and (2) quantify environmental status and trends across the wider countryside of Wales. The focus was on outcomes for climate change mitigation, biodiversity, soil and water quality, woodland expansion and cultural landscapes. As such, GMEP included a large field survey component, collecting data on a range of elements including vegetation, land cover and use, soils, freshwaters, birds and insect pollinators from up to 300 1 km squares throughout Wales. The field survey capitalised upon the UKCEH Countryside Survey of Great Britain, which has provided an extensive set of repeated, standardised ecological measurements since 1978. The design of both GMEP and the UKCEH Countryside Survey involved stratified-random sampling of squares from a 1 km grid, ensuring proportional representation from land classes with distinct climate, geology and physical geography. Data were collected from different land cover types and landscape features by trained professional surveyors, following standardised and published protocols. Thus, GMEP was designed so that surveys could be repeated at regular intervals to monitor the Welsh environment, including the impacts of agri-environment interventions. One such repeat survey is scheduled for 2021 under the Environment and Rural Affairs Monitoring and Modelling Programme (ERAMMP). Data from GMEP have been used to address many applied policy questions, but there is major potential for further analyses. The precise locations of data collection are not publicly available, largely for reasons of landowner confidentiality. However, the wide variety of available datasets can be (1) analysed at coarse spatial resolutions and (2) linked to each other based on square-level and plot-level identifiers, allowing exploration of relationships, trade-offs and synergies. This paper describes the key sets of raw data arising from the field survey at co-located sites, 2013 to 2016. Data from each of these survey elements are available with the following Digital Object Identifiers. Landscape features, https://doi.org/10.5285/82c63533-529e-47b9-8e78-51b27028cc7f, https://doi.org/10.5285/9f8d9cc6-b552-4c8b-af09-e92743cdd3de, https://doi.org/10.5285/f481c6bf-5774-4df8-8776-c4d7bf059d40; Vegetation plots, https://doi.org/10.5285/71d3619c-4439-4c9e-84dc-3ca873d7f5cc; Topsoil physico-chemical properties, https://doi.org/10.5285/0fa51dc6-1537-4ad6-9d06-e476c137ed09; Topsoil meso-fauna, https://doi.org/10.5285/1c5cf317-2f03-4fef-b060-9eccbb4d9c21; Topsoil particle size distribution https://doi.org/10.5285/d6c3cc3c-a7b7-48b2-9e61-d07454639656; Headwater stream quality metrics, https://doi.org/10.5285/e305fa80-3d38-4576-beef-f6546fad5d45 ; Pond quality metrics, https://doi.org/10.5285/687b38d3-2278-41a0-9317-2c7595d6b882; Insect pollinator and flower data, https://doi.org/10.5285/3c8f4e46-bf6c-4ea1-9340-571fede26ee8; Bird counts, https://doi.org/10.5285/31da0a94-62be-47b3-b76e-4bdef3037360. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of a changing climate, a growing number of construction firms are adopting carbon reduction targets on individual projects and across their portfolios. In the wake of the Paris Agreement, some firms are seeking a means of aligning their targets with sectoral, national and international mitigation commitments. There are numerous ways by which such an alignment can be achieved, each requiring different assumptions. Using data from the UK construction industry, this paper reviews current company commitments and progress in carbon mitigation; analyses the unique challenges in aligning construction targets, and presents a series of possible sectoral decarbonisation trajectories. The results highlight the disparity between current company targets and the range of possible trajectories. It is clear that a cross-industry dialogue is urgently required to establish an appropriate response that delivers both a widely-accepted target trajectory and a plan for its delivery. This paper is intended to stimulate and support this necessary debate by illustrating the impact of different methodological assumptions and highlighting the critical features of an appropriate response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research on climate change mitigation has emphasized decision-making within tourism businesses is vital for sustainable futures. However, there has been little consideration of how the age of buildings and (historic) property frames, modifies or constrains the sector's response to climate change. Through surveys of accommodation providers in South-West England, this paper explores relationships between property age, energy performance and pro-environmental innovations requiring adjustment to the fabric of buildings. Findings are presented from empirical research with small- and medium-sized tourism enterprises occupying properties often well over a century old. This paper's large-scale data-set and series of intensive case histories demonstrate that property age does not play a straightforward role in encouraging or hindering efforts among accommodation providers to tackle climate change. Some (but not all) businesses with the oldest buildings performed and responded strongest, successfully introducing the latest renewable energy technologies, although adapting older buildings was not without complications and cost implications. Conceptually, this research points to the limits of calls for greater pro-environmental behaviour change without clearer understanding of the contexts and settings in which such behaviour takes place. Its findings are important to heritage-based destinations worldwide: accommodation in heritage buildings can be a unique selling point. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper considers the effects of the Camp for Climate Action, or “Climate Camp,” on climate change mitigation and public discourse in the UK on climate change, drawing on participants' views and media coverage in addition to academic sources. Climate Camp was an activist movement best known for summer protest camps in the UK in 2006–2010, which targeted high-profile sources of greenhouse gas emissions, including Heathrow airport and Drax power station; engaged in radical, anti-capitalist critique of climate change; and demonstrated sustainable living. The ongoing effects of Climate Camp on climate change mitigation are analyzed, including specific campaigns, public discourse and mobilization of activists. The paper finds that while specific campaigns were successful and Climate Camp has contributed to a renewal of environmental activism and mobilization of “bystanders,” the movement has (so far) failed to shift public discourse on climate change, let alone effect the deep systemic change it deemed necessary to mitigate climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The reality of anthropogenic climate change is increasingly apparent, with significant implications for railway and other infrastructure networks. As a transport mode with a relatively small environmental impact, rail has a potentially valuable role to play in climate change mitigation. However, this potential can be realised only if railways are adapted to withstand the effects of the increasingly extreme weather associated with climate change. This requirement is widely acknowledged by governments and the railway industry, and the required responses to the specific potential effects of climate change are well known and understood. However, a review of the literature indicates a need for a decision support system to prioritise the interventions required for the adaptation in the face of uncertainty about both the frequency and scale of future extreme weather events and the nature and the levels of future passenger and freight traffic on the railways. This paper proposes a seven-step framework for the classification of the UK railway network, the assessment of the economic value of traffic using the network (and thus the economic costs of weather-related disruption), the identification of appropriate remedial measures and their costs and thus the prioritisation of these measures by means of cost-benefit analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst there are many arguments and counterarguments surrounding aviation's contribution to climate change, the sector is increasingly scrutinised, especially in regard to tourism mobility questions. This paper identifies, examines and analyses the discourses that airlines choose to communicate via their websites regarding their role, responsibility and their viewpoints about the issues involved in their relationship to climate change. Studying the web is of growing importance: corporate organizations increasingly use the Internet to communicate influential discourses, engage consumers, and inform the media, who themselves use digital systems to form opinions and influence decisions. Drawing on publicly available communications from six contrasting UK airlines, the study seeks to identify their perceived roles and responsibilities as producers. The data are analysed through content and frame analyses. The study concludes, inter alia, that the airlines under study make both justifiable and unjustifiable claims, and use polarised prioritisation, scepticism and uncertainty creation to put forward their case. Airlines are classified into one of six types: (1) continuous committed benchmarkers, (2) realistic technological innovators, (3) minimal practicalities, (4) low-cost innovators, (5) low-cost sceptics and (6) low-cost opposers. The paper uses and adds to an emerging research method, netnography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Making a low carbon economic future for the UK has been declared a key priority by both the previous Labour government and also the current coalition government. Yet there is a large gap between the symbolic representations of a low carbon future and their material manifestations in low carbon technologies and infrastructure in particular places. This paper addresses this gap through focusing on the organisation of urban low carbon transition activity. There is often significant capacity to act in reconfiguring urban energy systems that remains latent due to a missing organisational context for its co-ordination according to a mutually defined rationale or vision. This paper develops a conceptual framework to demonstrate and understand different modes of urban energy intermediation. Examples are used of intermediary organisation in London and Manchester to understand the strengths and partiality of each mode of intermediation and the necessity to integrate these different aspects of urban intermediary governance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper engages with the progressive politics of climate change and resource constraint developed by the Transition ‘movement’ which looks to develop a positive local politics of the transition to a low carbon economy and society. At the heart of this politics is a vision of economic localisation rooted in a geographical imaginary of market towns with agricultural hinterlands. Consequently, the question of how the Transition model can be applied in urban settings has not been clear, leading to the implicit assumption that urban Transition initiatives are more complex and difficult. In contrast, this paper argues that the plasticity of Transition politics means that, in some cases, an urban context might be more productive for the development of Transition initiatives because it allows for a greater diversity of political action as well as providing a density of networks and resources that can be critical for the survival of grassroots interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Dealing with the threat of anthropogenic climate change has been a challenge for policy makers for a long time. In recent years, the problems posed by climate change and solutions proposed to mitigate its effects have been framed by lexical 'carbon compounds', such as carbon footprint or carbon trading and by one dominant metaphor, the market metaphor. Through a detailed content analysis of industry and press coverage from 1985 to the present, this paper examines the fate of one important lexical compound in this context, namely low carbon, which can be used as an adjective or a noun. Over the last two decades this lexical compound moved across and between three discourses, the steel industry, the car industry and what one might call the climate change industry. Using insights from ecolinguistics and the sociology of expectations, the paper discusses how the lexical compound low carbon in general and the metaphor low carbon future in particular came to prominence in policy discourses, especially in the UK, and how they were used to frame expectations of a prosperous low carbon future, while sidelining deeper social and cultural reflections on climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although in recent years great emphasis has been placed on global agreements and national commitments on climate change, ultimately action on mitigation and adaptation must take place at the local level. Many local authorities have to face questions of whether they should develop policies on climate change, and if so, on what evidence should policies be designed and delivered. This paper describes how academic research on the economics of low carbon cities (the 'mini-Stern review') helped create such an evidence base for the Leeds City Region and its constituent local authorities. We describe how the response to the evidence and the pathways to impact were different in the individual local authorities and what this means for our understanding of evidence in local policy making. In terms of Weiss' (Social sciences and modern states: national experiences and theoretical crossroads. Advances in political science, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, ) classification, the study was mainly useful as an argument and idea rather than being used instrumentally. We find that the policy and political context in each authority determines to a large extent whether such an academic study is useable as evidence. The contents and timing of the study need to align with existing policy and/or political agendas: is climate change on the agenda at all, with what priority and how is it framed. We find confirmation of a relationship between the policy problem type and the role of evidence as argument, idea or data. The mini-Stern study itself was just one contribution to wide-ranging processes of informing, convincing, pressurising, etc., not just within the different councils but also within the wider communities. Other contextual factors include composition, agenda and activities of local civil society and the local business community. Finally, it depends on the expertise of policy officers in the councils what use is made of evidence. Making policy takes (much) time, translation and negotiation across levels and sectors. Policy work describes how policy officers bring their diverse forms of knowledge to bear on policy questions; how this work is done is something that is learned from practice rather than from the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities must transform in order to address the challenge of climate change and to achieve societal ambitions such as the sustainable development goals. However, a key impediment to achieving transformation is underdeveloped understandings of how key actors and sectors within the built environment work together to achieve goals. This paper addresses these gaps by developing and visually presenting a process map to describe: the key processes involved in producing the built environment across its life stages; key sectors of the built environment, their key actors, and the activities coordinated between them. The process map was peer reviewed by an expert reference group of built environment professionals active in Australia and the UK. The motivation for developing this process map is to facilitate future research to identify and expedite opportunities for coordinated action to address significant societal challenges such as climate change action, and the sustainable development goals – which require transformative action in cities. • Cities must transform to address climate change • We develop a process map to describe the production of the built environment • Process map describes fundamental activities for producing the built environment • Process map spans built environment life stages; identifying activities and interactions of key sectors and actors • Can be applied to inform transformative action targeted at challenges such as climate change [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides a background for the need to address climate change globally. In particular, it shows how the UK has addressed and is approaching the implications of climate change especially for its deemed critical infrastructure and the civil engineering profession. In addition, it sets out UK government responses, legislation background and policy decisions with regard to risk and infrastructure adaptation. It highlights some worldwide examples of climate change issues and recent severe events in the UK, such as storms, high winds, flooding, high and low temperatures and their costly consequences. Reference is made to historical and recent severe weather events and consequences leading to proposed actions for the adaptation of critical infrastructure in the transport, utilities and energy sectors. A description of current UK research programmes addressing climate change issues is included. An outline of how the UK insurance and financial sectors have built climate change into their business operations is also given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impacts on children's health are under-represented in benefits assessments of policies related to ambient air quality and climate change. To complement our previous compilation of concentration-response (C-R) functions for a number of children's health outcomes associated with air pollution, we provide per-case monetary estimates of the same health outcomes. Our goal was to establish per-case monetary estimates for a suite of prevalent children's health outcomes (preterm birth, low birth weight, asthma, autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and IQ reduction) that can be incorporated into benefits assessments of air pollution regulations and climate change mitigation policies. We conducted a systematic review of the literature published between January 1, 2000 and June 30, 2018 to identify relevant economic costs for these six adverse health outcomes in children. We restricted our literature search to studies published in the U.S., with a supplemental consideration of studies from the U.K. and prioritized literature reviews with summary cost estimates and papers that provided lifetime cost of illness estimates. Our literature search and evaluation process reviewed 1065 papers and identified 12 most relevant papers on per-case monetary estimates for preterm birth, low birth weight, asthma, autism spectrum disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Details are presented in full. We separately identified estimates of the lost lifetime earnings associated with the loss of a single IQ point. The final per-case cost estimates for each outcome were selected based on the most robust evidence. These estimates range from $23,573 for childhood asthma not persisting into adulthood to $3,109,096 for a case of autism with a concurrent intellectual disability. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the child-specific health outcomes of preterm birth, low birth weight, asthma, autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and IQ reduction have been systematically valued and presented in one place. This is an important addition to the body of health-related valuation literature as these outcomes have substantial economic costs that are not considered in most assessments of the benefits of air pollution and climate mitigation policies. In general, however, the available per-case estimates presented here did not incorporate the broad societal and long-term costs and are likely underestimates. Although our context has been air pollution and climate policies, the per-case monetary estimates presented here can be applied to other environmental exposures. Fuller assessments of health benefits to children and their corresponding economic gains will improve decision-making on environmental policy. •Children's health is currently under-represented in benefits assessments. •A systematic review produced monetary estimates for six childhood health outcomes. •Though likely underestimates, the costs are substantial. •This is the first time such a compilation of data has been presented. • Our estimates are valuable inputs for environmental and climate policy assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism results in the emission of climate-changing greenhouse gases. There has been limited destination-focused quantitative analysis of how tourism might be reshaped to reduce these emissions. This paper uses an extended tourism environmental satellite account methodology to examine the case of tourism in Wales, a United Kingdom region. It shows how an estimate of the emissions associated with trips to, and in, the region – internally, from the rest of the UK and from abroad – can contribute to regional aspirations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The analysis suggests that substantial emissions cuts are dependent upon technical developments outside of tourism itself. Four potential scenarios are devised and analysed. Scenario 1 shows the value of low carbon electricity production in cutting tourism-related emissions. Scenario 2 analyses a possible 50% fall in international arrivals and 10% increase in UK domestic arrivals – maintaining employment but reducing emissions. Scenario 3 shows the effects of switch from private to public transport modes for 50% of UK resident arrivals. Scenario 4 examines the outcomes of reducing ground transport emissions by using electric, biofuel and hybrid technologies. All scenarios cut emissions, none are highly effective and most are dependent on changes in society and governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper seeks to develop a deeper understanding of the research on climate change mitigation in transport. We suggest that work to date has focused on the effects of improvements in transport technologies, changes in the price of transport, physical infrastructure provision, behavioural change and alternative institutional arrangements for governing transport systems. In terms of research methodologies, positivist and quantitative analysis prevails, although there are signs of experimentation with non-positivist epistemologies and participatory methods. These particular engagements with climate change mitigation reflect mutually reinforcing tendencies within and beyond the academic transport community. We first draw on a revised version of Thomas Kuhn’s philosophy of science to explore the path dependencies within transport studies, which are at least partly responsible for the predisposition towards quantitative modelling and technology, pricing and infrastructure oriented interventions in transport systems. We then employ the governmentality perspective to examine how transport academics’ engagements with climate change mitigation depend on and align with more general understandings of climate change in UK society and beyond. The analysis makes clear that ecological modernisation and neo-liberal governmentality more generally provide the context for the current focus on and belief in technological, behaviour change, and especially market-based mitigation strategies. While current research trajectories are important and insightful, we believe that a deeper engagement with theoretical insights from the social sciences will produce richer understandings of transport mitigation in transport and briefly outline some of the contributions thinking on socio-technical transitions and practice theories can make. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cities across the globe recognise their role in climate mitigation and are acting to reduce carbon emissions. Knowing whether cities set ambitious climate and energy targets is critical for determining their contribution towards the global 1.5 °C target, partly because it helps to identify areas where further action is necessary. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the mitigation targets of 327 European cities, as declared in their local climate plans. The sample encompasses over 25% of the EU population and includes cities of all sizes across all Member States, plus the UK. The study analyses whether the type of plan, city size, membership of climate networks, and its regional location are associated with different levels of mitigation ambition. Results reveal that 78% of the cities have a GHG emissions reduction target. However, with an average target of 47%, European cities are not on track to reach the Paris Agreement: they need to roughly double their ambitions and efforts. Some cities are ambitious, e.g. 25% of our sample (81) aim to reach carbon neutrality, with the earliest target date being 2020.90% of these cities are members of the Climate Alliance and 75% of the Covenant of Mayors. City size is the strongest predictor for carbon neutrality, whilst climate network(s) membership, combining adaptation and mitigation into a single strategy, and local motivation also play a role. The methods, data, results and analysis of this study can serve as a reference and baseline for tracking climate mitigation ambitions across European and global cities. • 78% of cities have a mitigation plan with targets (avg. 47% GHG reduction). • Only 25% of cities strive for carbon neutrality, most by 2050, avg. By 2045. • 90% of cities striving for carbon neutrality are members of a climate network. • Ambition is driven by city size, climate networks, M-A combination, local motivation. • European cities must double their ambitions to meet the aims set by the Paris Agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential impacts of climate change have been well documented. It is suggested that these impacts will include changes to the environment and ecosystems, including that of the United Kingdom (UK). Environmental change could in turn lead to changes in the epidemiology of communicable disease within the UK. It has been argued that healthcare professionals, including those responsible for the control of communicable diseases, should discuss and be involved in the protection of the environment and in promoting public health through efforts to prevent, mitigate and adapt to climate change. In this paper we outline current and potential risks regarding communicable disease and climate change in the UK; we focus on three main areas, water, vector and food-borne disease, and the adaptation to and mitigation of the effects of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Paris Agreement on climate change has calls for urgent, radical, and transformative actions in mitigation and adaptation, particularly in terms of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. There are many terms used to describe the process of reducing GHGs, including decarbonization, low carbon development (LCD) or low carbon transition (LCT). The conceptualization of these terms remains puzzling and there has not been any consensus to explain the meaning and their interrelationship. Clearer definition and conceptual boundaries are necessary to improve the coherence of overarching practices to cut CO 2 emission. The paper aims to review key concepts related to climate change mitigation related to the reduction of CO 2 and efforts toward net-zero emission in the academic literature, by (1) examining progress of the literature over time, (2) identifying geographical locus and sectoral focus of the literature, (3) determining the interrelationships between the key concepts. We use a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method for data collection by selecting peer-reviewed literature from Scopus and analyzing the data with content analysis and bibliometric analysis. The findings are, firstly, the publications of the literature are influenced by global and national climate change policies and the interest of scholars affiliated to institutions from major emitter countries. Therefore, the literature is mostly originating from countries that emit the most CO 2 while also implement mitigations to reduce CO 2 emission. Secondly, China is the country where studies are mostly focused and also where the authors are affiliated/located. However, publications from the United Kingdom are cited the most. Thirdly, there are three clusters of literature found, namely that LCD and LCT are the terms used to identify visions for climate mitigation, while decarbonization is the actions and processes to achieve either LCD or LCT (as the visions). • The dynamic of climate change policies influence the literature trend. • The literature is mostly originating from major CO 2 emitter. • Low carbon development and low carbon transition are visional terms. • Decarbonization indicates the processes of decoupling CO 2 to achieve the visions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An accelerated EV program is needed to meet 2050 CO2 emission targets for the UK. • Even under accelerated uptake, few CO 2 benefits will be seen before 2030. • The lack of impact before 2030 derives from slow vehicle stock turnover. • With embedded production CO2, 2050 UK targets will need intense grid decarbonisation. • There is an urgent need to pursue both EV uptake and demand side solutions. The decarbonisation of the road transport sector is increasingly seen as a necessary component to meet global and national targets as specified in the Paris Agreement. It may be achieved best by shifting from Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) cars to Electric Vehicles (EVs). However, the transition to a low carbon mode of transport will not be instantaneous and any policy or technological change implemented now will take years to have the desired effect. Within this paper we show how on-road emission factors of EVs and models of embedded CO 2 in the vehicle production may be combined with statistics for vehicle uptake/replacement to forecast future transport emissions. We demonstrate that EVs, when compared to an efficient ICE, provide few benefits in terms of CO 2 mitigation until 2030. However, between 2030 and 2050, predicted CO 2 savings under the different EV uptake and decarbonisation scenarios begin to diverge with larger CO 2 savings seen for the accelerated EV uptake. This work shows that simply focusing on on-road emissions is insufficient to model the future CO 2 impact of transport. Instead a more complete production calculation must be combined with an EV uptake model. Using this extended model, our scenarios show how the lack of difference between a Business as Usual and accelerated EV uptake scenario can be explained by the time-lag in cause and effect between policy changes and the desired change in the vehicle fleet. Our work reveals that current UK policy is unlikely to achieve the desired reduction in transport-based CO 2 by 2030. If embedded CO 2 is included as part of the transport emissions sector, then all possible UK EV scenarios will miss the reduction target for 2050 unless this is combined with intense decarbonisation (80% of 1990 levels) of the UK electricity grid. This result highlights that whilst EVs offer an important contribution to decarbonisation in the transport sector it will be necessary to look at other transport mitigation strategies, such as modal shift to public transit, car sharing and demand management, to achieve both near-term and long-term mitigation targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]