The Upper Hunter Valley is a major coal mining area in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Due to the ongoing increase of mining activities, PM10 (air-borne particle with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 micrometres) pollution has become a major air quality concern in local communities. The early part of this study identified two air quality subregions in the valley. This paper aims to provide a holistic summarisation of the relationships between elevated PM10 pollution in two subregions and the local- and synoptic-scale meteorological conditions for spring and summer, when PM10 pollution is relatively high. A catalogue of twelve synoptic types and a set of six local meteorological patterns have been quantitatively derived and linked to each other using the self-organising map (SOM) technique. The complex meteorology-air pollution relationships have been visualised/interpretated on the SOM planes for two representative locations. It was found that the influence of local meteorological patterns differed significantly for mean PM10 levels vs the occurrence of elevated pollution events and between air quality subregions. In contrast, synoptic types showed generally similar relationships with mean vs elevated PM10 pollution in the valley. Two local meteorological patterns, the hot-dry-northwesterly wind conditions and the hot-dry-calm conditions, were found most PM10 pollution conducive in the valley when combined with a set of synoptic counterparts. These synoptic types are featured with the influence of eastward migrating continental high pressure system and westerly troughs, or a ridge extending northwest towards coastal northern NSW or southern Queensland from the Tasman Sea. The method and results can be used in air quality research for other locations of NSW, or similar regions elsewhere.

The Upper Hunter Valley is a major coal mining area containing approximately 40% of the currently identified total coal reserves in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Due to the ongoing increase of mining activities, PM10 (air-borne particle with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 micrometres) pollution has become a major air quality concern in local communities. This paper summarises the spatial and temporal variability modes of PM10 pollution in the region, based on long-term multi-site monitoring data and the application of the rotated principal component analysis (RPCA) and wavelet analysis techniques. RPCA identified two distinct air quality clusters/subregions in the valley, one in the west/northwest, the other in the southeast. Wavelet analysis revealed the annual cycle to be most persistent temporal mode of PM10 variability in both subregions, with intermittent signals observed at time scales of around 120, 30~90 and under 30 days. How these variation modes are related to the effects of local PM10 emissions and the influence of meteorology at different time scales deserves further attention in future work. The findings will be used in air quality reporting and forecasting in NSW. The methodology and results can also be useful for air quality research in similar regions elsewhere.

Achieving and sustaining stability for economic growth remain the greatest and most immediate development challenge for Ethiopia. For natural resource-based economies especially maintaining stability and growth depends fundamentally upon climate change adaptation and mitigation. The close links between climate and Ethiopia’s economy are reflected by the strong relationship between GDP growth rate and rainfall variability. A study by the World Bank projects that unless steps to build resilience are effective, climate change will reduce Ethiopia’s GDP growth by between 0.5 and 2.5% each year. Along with the challenges posed by climate change, a number of development opportunities are emerging in response to climate change which includes access to international climate finance. The international response to climate change in the form of external development finance plays a key role to support developing countries in their transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient and sustainable development pathway. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the flow and the overall contribution of climate finance to sustainable development in Ethiopia. Specifically, focused on outlining how climate finance is currently reconciled in the existing Ethiopian climate change governance and its contribution to sustainable development. In order to achieve these objectives, data were collected from different sources. The Rio Marker methodology applied to review climate financial flow over the 5 year period. The result reveals that, climate change is central to development agendas despite its recent emergence in the mainstream, with various initiatives under way to combat or reduce its impacts in Ethiopia. In addition, the amount of climate finance from the developed countries to Ethiopia shows some fluctuation for the past five years. In general, the overall flow of climate finance mostly targeted climate adaptation actions which spur and enable the transition towards climate-resilient growth and sustainable development.

Combustion power plants emit carbon dioxide (CO₂), a major contributor to climate change. Direct emissions measurement is cost-prohibitive globally, while reporting varies in detail, recency, and granularity. To fill this gap and greatly increase the number of power plants worldwide with independent emissions monitoring, we developed and applied machine learning (ML) models using power plant plumes as proxy signals to estimate electric power generation and CO₂ emissions using Landsat 8, Sentinel-2, and PlanetScope imagery. Our ML models estimated power plant activity on each image snapshot, and then an aggregation model predicted plant utilization over a 30-day period. Lastly, emissions factors specific to region, fuel, and plant technology were used to convert estimated electricity generation to CO₂ emissions. Models were trained with reported hourly generation data in the US, Europe, and Australia and were validated with additional generation and emissions data from the US, Europe, Australia, Türkiye, and India. All results with sufficiently large sample sizes indicate that our models outperformed baseline approaches. In conducting external validation to compare modeled versus reported annual generation and emissions in the countries where available, we calculated the root mean square error overall for modeled countries with validation data as respectively 1.75 TWh (236 plants across 17 countries over 4 years) and 2.04 Mt CO₂ (207 plants across 17 countries over 4 years). Ultimately, we applied our ML method to plants that comprise 32% of global power plant CO₂ emissions averaged over 2015-2022. This dataset is the most comprehensive independent and free-of-cost global power plant point-source emissions monitoring system currently known to the authors and is publicly available at climatetrace.org to support global emissions reduction.

Despite saltmarshes being considered as nature-based solutions (NbS) towards climate change mitigation, India’s saltmarsh ecosystems are least studied. This study quantifies the seasonal variation in carbon stocks mono-specific saltmarsh species (Porteresia coarctata) and its potential to play an important role in India’s climate change mitigation plans. Seasonal (pre-and post-monsoon) sampling of P. coarctata surface water, biomass and 30 cm sediment core was collected across four locations on the east coast of India to quantify sediment dry bulk density (DBD), organic matter (OM%), organic carbon (Corg%), Corg stocks of sediment and biomass, total carbon (C%) and nitrogen (N%) and stable isotopes of δ13C and δ15N. In general, the sediment DBD, OM and Corg of P. coarctata meadows was higher in post-monsoon and was influenced by salinity and pH changes. Isotope (δ¹³C) modelling of various sediment C sources suggested, particulate organic matter (POM) contribution was highest (0.04-0.79%) followed by P. coarctata (0.01–052%) and other macrophytes across our study locations. The seasonal variation of δ¹³C showed increased contribution of marine derived particulate and dissolved organic matter into P. coarctata meadows in post-monsoon season. Heavier δ¹⁵N values were observed in post-monsoon season suggesting anthropogenic input, that was utilized by P. coarctata to increase its above and below-ground biomass and shoot density. The combined ecosystem (30 cm sediment + biomass) Corg stocks of P. coarctata was 1.7-fold higher in post-monsoon (4021.20± 917 Mg C) compared to pre-monsoon (2297.36 ±647 Mg C) season among the four locations with a sediment Corg contribution >70%. Based on the International Panel for Climate Change Tier II assessment the P. coarctata meadows (443 ha) can help in avoiding the pre and post-monsoon emissions of 8431.34 and 14757.84 Mg CO₂ respectively. The combined price of the total CO₂ equivalent stored in P. coarctata meadows in pre- and post-monsoon is US$ 14.50 and US$ 25.38 million respectively. Further studies quantifying the NbS potential of P. coarctata mono-specific and mixed meadows of India’s coast is needed along with integration of saltmarsh ecosystems into India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change.

In order to achieve global climate goals, it is necessary to estimate greenhouse gases (GHG) fluxes from ecosystems. To obtain a comprehensive assessment of CO2, СН4, N2O natural fluxes for the Russian Federation we used the "bottom-up" method according to [1]. We updated estimates for forest ecosystems based on State Forest Inventory data and satellite monitoring of forest disturbances. For grassland ecosystems, it was based on the correct distribution of areas between steppe and non-steppe zones. The estimated net uptake of natural ecosystems of Russia was 1.1 ± 1.8 billion tons of CO2-eq./year. The study shows that if only CO2 is taken into account, the net absorption of terrestrial ecosystems in Russia corresponds to more than -2.5 billion tons of CO2 (35% of forests’ contribution). However, given the emissions of non-CO2 GHGs, total net absorption in Russia’s natural ecosystems is reduced to about -1 billion tons of CO2-eq (with the forests’ contribution increasing to 80%). With regard to anthropogenic fluxes, the overall balance of GHGs in Russia corresponds to net-emissions of 1 billion tons of CO2-eq/year into the atmosphere. To improve reporting under the Paris Agreement, countries should aim to include only anthropogenic ("manageable") GHG fluxes on managed land.

Off-grid electrification planning increasingly recognizes the importance of productive use of electricity (PUE) to promote community value creation and (financial) project sustainability. To ensure a sustainable and efficient integration in the community and energy system, PUE assets must carefully be evaluated to match both the community needs and the residential electricity demand patterns. We propose a novel methodology interlinking qualitative interviews, statistical analysis, and energy system modelling to optimize decision-making for PUE integration in off-grid energy systems in rural Madagascar by aligning relevant PUE effectively with anticipated residential electricity demand patterns based on socio-economic determinants of the community. We find that a possible contribution of the PUE to reducing the electricity costs depends signifi-cantly on three factors: 1. the residential electricity consumption patterns that are influenced by the socio-economic composition of the community, 2. the degree of flexibility of i) PUE assets and ii) operational preferences of the PUE user, and 3. the capacity of community members to finance and operate PUE assets. Our study demonstrates that significant cost reductions for PUE-integrated off-grid energy systems can be achieved by applying our proposed methodology. When matching PUE and residential consumption patterns, the integration of PUE assets in residential community energy system can reduce the financial risk of operators, provided the PUE enterprise operates reliably and sustainably. We highlight that the consideration of local value chains and co-creation approaches are essential to ensure the energy system is addressing the community’s needs, creates value for the community, enhances the project´s financial sustainability, and is achieving the overall objectives of decentralized energy system planning.

Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) form in polar regions typically between 15 and 25 km, when the local temperature is sufficiently low. PSCs play an important role in the ozone chemistry and the dehydration and denitrification of the stratosphere. Lidars with a depolarization channel may be used to detect and classify different classes of PSCs. The main PSC classes are water ice, nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) and supercooled ternary solutions (STS), the latter being liquid droplets consisting of water, nitric acid and sulphuric acid. PSCs have been observed at the lidar observatory at Concordia Station from 2014 on. The harsh environmental conditions at Concordia during winter render successful lidar operation difficult. In order to facilitate the operation of the observatory several measures have been put in place to achieve an almost complete remote control of the system. PSC occurrence is strongly correlated with local temperatures and is affected by dynamics, as the PSC coverage during the observation season shows.

In this study, a basic study was performed to analyze the seasonal temperature status of a research room in the Global Environment Research Building where ceiling-embedded indoor units are installed to study the room temperature status of the building as well as to improve its thermal environment. In addition, a direction for improvement of the indoor thermal environment in the winter was proposed through a CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulation and was proven by an additional experiment. Through the results of this study, it appeared that if the ceiling-embedded indoor unit was installed in the small indoor space without considering the thermal vulnerability of its perimeter boundary, the air temperature of the upper part was greatly different from that of the bottom part in the winter. Hence, in this study, as a means to improve it, convectors were installed to minimize the effect of the external thermal environment and angle-controllable air flowing fans were installed to mitigate the stratification distribution. With such result, it was intended to present the essential data for improvement of the thermal environment as well as conservation of heating energy in the winter for buildings by reviewing the use of the ceiling-embedded indoor unit in the future.

(1) Background: A simple approach to map irrigated landcover has been introduced by using measures derived from optical spectral range as an alternative to thermal range. It has been demonstrated that substituting surface temperature (Ts, ‘thermal approach’) with SWIR transformed reflectance (STR, ‘optical approach’) to detect surface moisture is feasible with comparable results. (2) Methods: Using an iterative thresholding procedure to minimize within-class variance, the bilevel segmentation of variables derived from Landsat-8 representing surface moisture and vegetation cover was achieved for the 2020-21 summer for a key irrigation district in Australia. (3) Results: The results of irrigated landcover by optical approach found to be comparable with those by thermal approach. The classification accuracy was assessed using water delivery records at farm level. Though the overall accuracy is high in both cases, the optical approach (97.6%) performed slightly better than the thermal approach (93.9%). (4) Conclusions: The feasibility of using STR to map irrigated landcover has been confirmed by a high-level overall accuracy assessment. This has broader implications in terms of irrigated landcover assessment, as the use of satellite imagery in these applications may not necessarily be limited to microwave or thermal sensors.

German noise action plans aim to reduce negative health outcomes from noise exposure and identify quiet areas free of noise pollution. Quiet area identification in German noise action plans is based primarily on noise mapping and spatial analysis and not empirical or qualitative data about acoustic environments, thus leaving a gap in the understanding of the quality of formally recognized quiet areas in noise action plans. This work presents a comparative empirical case study in Dortmund, Germany, with the aim to describe the diurnal dB(A) and biophonic properties of quiet areas versus noise 'hot spots'. Sound observations were collected (n=282,764) in five different natural or recreational land use patch types larger than four acres within 33 proposed quiet areas in Dortmund (n=70) and 23 noise hot spots between April 27^th, 2022 and March 2^nd, 2023. We find that quiet areas are on average more than 20 dB(A) quieter than noise hot spots almost every hour of the day. Forests, managed tree stands, cemeteries, and agriculture diel patterns are dominated by dawn dusk chorus in spring and summer, whereas sport and recreation as well as noise hot spots are dominated by traffic and human noise. A novel composite biophony mapping procedure is presented that finds distinct temporal distribution of biophony in forested and agriculture peri-urban locations positively associated with patch size, distance away from LDEN > 55, proximity to water, and the number of vegetation layers in the plant community. Anthrophony distribution dominates urban land uses in all hours of the day, but expands during day and evening and contracts at night and in dusk hours. The procedures presented here illustrate how qualitative information regarding quiet areas can be integrated into German noise action planning.

Climate simulations in West Africa have been attributed with large uncertainties. Global climate projections are not consistent with changes in observations at the regional or local level of the Niger basin, making management of hydrological projects in the basin uncertain. This study evaluates the potential of using the quantile mapping bias correction to improve the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) outputs for use in hydrology impact studies. Rainfall and temperature projections from 8 CMIP5 Global Climate Models (GCM) were bias corrected using the quantile mapping approach. Impacts of climate change was evaluated with bias corrected rainfall, temperature and potential evapotranspiration (PET). The IHACRES hydrological model was adapted to the Niger basin and used to simulate impacts of climate change on discharge under present and future conditions. Bias correction significantly improved the accuracy of rainfall and temperature simulations compared to observations. Nash coefficient (NSE) for monthly rainfall comparisons of 8 GCMs to the observed was improved by bias correction from 0.69 to 0.84. The standard deviations among the 8 GCM rainfall data were significantly reduced from 0.13 to 0.03. Increasing rainfall, temperature, PET and river discharge were projected for all GCMs used in this study under the RCP8.5 scenario. These results will help improving projections and contribute to the development of sustainable climate change adaptation strategies.

Climate change is a major development challenge to Ethiopia. Unless adaptation measures are widely implemented, climate change can set back development efforts and achievements by years. Recognizing this, the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) and civil society organizations have since recently been making considerable efforts to tackle the climate change problem. This paper documents the experience of CARE International in Ethiopia in facilitating bottom-up approaches to promote community-led disaster risk management and climate change adaptation planning through a participator scenario planning (PSP) methodology. PSP is a coordinated approach which leverages a variety of stakeholders' skills and mandates to explore potential climate change risks and their impacts, and then develop locally relevant and shared adaptation action plans that support livelihoods, social capital and ecosystem resilience. The approach has facilitated timely access to and communication of seasonal climate advisories which in turn is empowering communities to take advantage of opportunities that climate presents, which is a key part of adapting to climate change. The institutionalization of the approach by district and regional disaster prevention and food security coordination offices in the southern pastoral regions of Ethiopia encouraged integration of PSP into community livelihood adaptation and local government development planning, hence continuity of the process. Sustainability is expected to be fully achieved when local government planning processes recognize the importance of and provides resources for the participation of meteorological services and community forecasting experts to help refine plans on a seasonal basis, and for systems for dissemination of advisories. Key words: Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction, Adaptation, Pastoralism, Ethiopia,

Understanding the dynamics of Organic Carbon mineralization is fundamental in forecasting biosphere to atmosphere Net Carbon Ecosystem Exchange (NEE). With this perspective, we developed 3D-CMCC-PSM, a new version of the hybrid Process Based Model 3D‐CMCC FEM where also heterotrophic respiration (R_h) is explicitly simulated. The aim was to quantify NEE as a forward problem, by subtracting Ecosystem Respiration (R_eco) to Gross Primary Productivity (GPP). To do so, we developed a simplification of the Soil Carbon dynamics routine proposed in DNDC [1]. The method calculates decomposition as a function of soil moisture, temperature, state of the organic compartments, and relative abundance of microbial pools. Given the pulse dynamics of soil respiration, we introduced modifications in some of the principal constitutive relations involved in phenology and littering sub-routines. We quantified the model structure related uncertainty in NEE, by running our training simulations over 1000 random parameter-sets extracted from parameters distributions expected from literature. 3D-CMCC-PSM predictability was tested on independent time series for 6 Fluxnet sites. The model resulted in daily and monthly estimations highly consistent with the observed time series. It showed lower predictability in Mediterranean ecosystems, suggesting that it may need further improvements in addressing evapotranspiration and water dynamics.

Subnational governments play a key role responding to climate change risks in terms of policy strategies and instruments. This article analyzes how Brazilian municipal and state governments have developed and implemented public policies to mitigate and to adapt to climate change risks. We surveyed all cities’ and states’ climate policies within the country. The methodological approach includes five main points of analysis: 1. mitigation targets and intentions; 2. adaptation actions; 3. stakeholders’ participation; 4. policy implementation; 5. participation in networks related to climate change. Our results suggest that even though subnational climate policies in Brazil are isolated initiatives within the national context, they play an important role responding to climate change risks in different scales and levels. The strongest Brazilian policies with both mitigation and adaptation actions counted on previous mobilization for the climate issue involving different stakeholders from several segments of the society. These governments have also participated in transnational cooperation networks related to climate change.

Linking climate action with sustainable development goals (SDGs) might incentivize social and political support to forest conservation. However, further examination of the conceptual entry points for linking efforts for reducing forest-based emissions with those for delivering SDGs is required. This review paper aims to contribute to fulfilling this research need. It provides insights into the links between conserving forests for climate change mitigation and peacebuilding. Specifically, the paper examines opportunities to harness climate finance for conserving forests and achieving long-lasting peace. It does so via a literature review and the examination of the Orinoquia region of Colombia. Findings from the literature review suggest that harnessing climate finance for conserving forests and peacebuilding is, in theory, viable if activities are designed in accordance with social, institutional, and economic factors. Meanwhile, the Orinoquia region provides evidence that these two seemingly intractable problems are proposed to be solved together. At a time when efforts for reducing forest-based emissions are being designed and targeted at (post-) conflict areas in Colombia and elsewhere, the paper’s findings might demonstrate to government agencies — both environmental and non-environmental — the compatibility of programs aimed at reducing forest-based emissions with efforts relating to peacebuilding and sustainable food.

The bioindicator potential of seagrass ecosystems in coastal trace metal monitoring is low for tropical island ecosystems. This study evaluated the bioindicator potential of six seagrass species exposed to anthropogenic trace metal pollution in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) of India. Sediment and seagrass biomass, samples were analyzed for trace metals (Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn) from four locations of ANI exposed to anthropogenic contamination. Geo accumulation Index values indicated moderate trace metal contamination in seagrass sediment. Seagrass trace metal accumulation from sediment was both species-specific and location- specific for ANI. Small seagrass species such as H. ovalis, H. beccarii and H. uninervis accumulated the maximum concentration of six trace metals (Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Zn) in their tissues compared to big seagrass species like T. hemprichii and E. acoroides of ANI. This study indicates leaves of small seagrass and roots of big seagrass species can serve as short- and long-term bioindicators respectively, of coastal trace metal contamination in tropical islands of ANI.

The impacts of climate change are already felt across the globe, and (SIDS) are at the forefront. Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) are extremely vulnerable to climate change and adaptation is crucial, however they often lack funding or the fiscal capacity to make the necessary invest-ments and require support from climate finance instruments. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) was designed with the objective of achieving a “paradigm shift” towards low-carbon and climate resilient country-driven development pathway. Despite the amounts invested, assessing the impacts of climate finance on adaptation and adaptive capacity, particularly at the institutional level remains a challenge. Researchers identified two key components for more efficient adapta-tion policies at the national level: the degree of adaptation mainstreaming and institutional adaptive capacity. In SIDS, institutional capacity at the national level is seen as a key component to achieve the objectives of climate change strategies, and is supported by several programmes, including the Green Climate Fund Readiness Preparatory Support Programmes. However, to date few studies have analysed the linkages between climate finance, adaptation mainstreaming and adaptive institutional capacity. Through the review of the Readiness Grants and semi-structured interviews in three Caribbean SIDS, this research assess how climate finance may promote in-stitutional change through the mainstreaming of adaptation policies at the national level and contribute to more institutional adaptive capacity. It shows that the grants had a positive impact, which can be limited to by the strength of the institutions in place. These results demonstrate that access to climate finance can create a window of opportunity for countries to accelerate institu-tional change and allow to make recommendations on how to maximise the impacts adaptation funds. More in-depth studies would be needed to examine the complementary influence of the different climate finance flows (multilateral or bilateral) and their interplay with national institu-tional mechanisms.

P-band radar remote sensing applied during the Airborne Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (AirMOSS) mission has shown great potential for estimation of root zone soil moisture. When retrieving the soil moisture profile (SMP) from P-band radar, a mathematical function describing the vertical moisture distribution is required. Because only a limited number of observations are available, the number of free parameters of the mathematical model must not exceed the number of observed data. For example, a second order polynomial that contains 3 free parameters was presumed based on in-situ SMP data. The polynomial is currently parameterized based on 3 backscatter observations provided by AirMOSS (i.e. one frequency at three polarizations of HH, VV and HV). In this paper, a more realistic, physically-based SMP model containing 3 free parameters is derived based on a solution to Richards’ equation for unsaturated flow in soils. Evaluation of the new SMP model based on both numerical simulations and measured data revealed that it exhibits greater flexibility for fitting measured and simulated SMPs than the currently applied polynomial. It is also demonstrated that the new SMP model can be reduced to a second order polynomial at the expense of fitting accuracy.

Zimbabwe has ambitious and laudable GHG mitigation targets. Compared to a coal based future emissions reductions by 33% per capita by 2030 are targeted, by implementing a set of identified nationally determined contributions (NDCs). If historical climate conditions continue, it can do this at low or negative cost. However, anticipated conditions may not continue, and of the planned emissions reductions in the NDCs, 88% would come from the expansion of hydropower, which is driven by rainfall. If climate change causes the extreme droughts witnessed in recent years to become more frequent, embarking on Zimbabwe’s NDC future (underpinned by its official system development plan) may be expensive and further cripple the economy. Note that the economy is already being strangled by constrained power supplies due to unusually dry conditions in the Zambezi river basin. If the NDC Future is pursued, but the climate becomes drier, proactive efforts might be made to overcome the power shortages. However, this may result in a rapid ramp up of greenhouse gas emissions if the country turns to coal to reinforce its system and increase its resilience against hydropower vulnerability and the costs that would otherwise ensue. If the country were to keep its NDC investments and supplement them with more aggressive deployment of clean adaptation options, strongly positive outcomes appear possible. Specifically, this would require increased deployment of renewable energy technologies, a restructured power market, and deep increases in energy efficiency investments. In so doing, the country would not only exceed its NDC targets, but also reduce costs in a manner that is climate resilient. This would not remove the country's need for hydropower and some level of coal reliance. However, it will introduce requirements to ensure flexibility in both hydropower and coal power production. For hydropower, power stations will need to provide and be recompensed for providing ‘balancing services’, that is, storing water and producing electricity when the wind is not blowing, nor sun shining. In order to ensure continuous output from mines, it may require intelligent stockpiling combined with dynamic forecasting. This would apply not only to production in Zimbabwe, but potentially for neighboring countries. Doing so would allow predictable mining activities, but allow electricity systems to absorb low cost, low carbon hydropower at high rainfall periods. To make the NDCs resilient via clean adaptation, strong institutional restructuring is required. However, internalizing those costs and moving to advanced market structures and business cases may strain the capacity of current institutions.

We consider the financial planning problem of a retiree wishing to enter a retirement village at a future uncertain date. The date of entry is determined by the retiree's utility and bequest maximisation problem within the context of uncertain future health states. In addition, the retiree must choose optimal consumption, investment, bequest and purchase of insurance products prior to her full annuitisation on entry to the retirement village. A hyperbolic absolute risk-aversion (HARA) utility function is used to allow necessary consumption for basic living and medical costs. The retirement village will typically require an initial deposit upon entry. This threshold wealth requirement leads to exercising the replication of an American put option at the uncertain stopping time. From our numerical results, active insurance and annuity markets are shown to be a critical aspect in retirement planning.

The effects of climate change health impacts on urban health care systems and vulnerable populations are a researched topic with foundations on urban risk management, urban health methodologies, and sustainable urbanization. As climate change is a dynamic and transformative global issue the gap between adaptation and mitigation efforts and urban planning relies, among other things, in the limitations of previous studies of risk management structures tailored to the existing strategy to calculate the uncertainties and predict their influence on urban systems and subsystems. Moreover, as climate and health is a well-researched issue, it is also complex as the methodologies and strategic approach to minimize health risks of climate change is intrinsically contingent to risk methodologies and policy-making processes that are efficient with support of knowledge-based information. This paper emphasis the need for focusing on urban health risk management methods that serves to identify potential opportunities, and then manage and take action to prevent adverse health effects. It also emphasizes the probability of events and their consequences, which are measurable both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Groundwater is the most extracted raw material in the world with global annual withdrawal rates of 800–1500 km3/year. In East and Southern Africa, 70 % of the population are reliant on shallow groundwater as their primary drinking water source. With increased population growth, intensification of agriculture and industrialization, conflicting demands on groundwater present a challenge to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (6,3,11,12,15). Between 2015 and 2018, the Horn of Africa was affected by a series of climatic induced events, namely El Nino, La Nina and the Indian Ocean Diopole. These events modified the variability of rainfall patterns and resulted in long periods of low rainfall, low recharge and high evapotranspiration. As a result, shallow aquifers in alluvial deposits of Somali region have low yields and produce brackish and saline water. That situation prompted humanitarian water professionals to finance the transportation of water from selected locations with high groundwater potential through water trucks to areas facing groundwater depletion and drought. To address this challenge, UNICEF explored alternative, sustainable deeper groundwater sources that could be extracted using solar water pumping technology for multi water use. This paper describes a three-phase methodology of deep groundwater development of wells in the Ogaden Jesoma sandstone aquifers of the Somali region of the Horn of Africa to a depth of 600 meters below ground level. The results concluded that the deep sandstone aquifer of Jesoma can provide fresh water with yields of 15 l/s to the local population of Somali region. to the study provided insights into deep groundwater identification and development as well as adaptive deep boreholes drilling as a source for climate resilient water supplies.

The study of precipitation amount at different time scales constitutes an important issue in climate research and risk assessment. When dealing with daily totals, a frequent but sometimes underestimated problem is at what time the observation day begins. The choice of different starting times may lead to incompatibility between stations and incorrect identification of extreme events. In this work, the problem of temporal misalignment between precipitation datasets characterized by different starting time of the observation day is analyzed. The most widely used adjustment methods (1day and uniform shift) and two methods based on reanalysis (NOAA and ERA5) are evaluated in terms of temporal alignment, precipitation statistics and percentile distributions. As test series, the precipitation amount collected from 9 a.m. local time (09 LT) on the previous day to 09 LT on the target day (9-9 datasets) of the Padua and nearby stations in the period 1993-2022 have been selected. Results show that the reanalysis-based methods, in particular ERA5, outperform the others in temporal alignment, regardless the station. But, for the periods in which reanalysis data are not available, “1day” method, which shifts the daily amount back one calendar day, and “unif” method, which distributes uniformly the daily total from a 2-day moving window surrounding the target date, can be considered valid alternatives. On the other side, concerning the precipitation statistics, the reanalysis-based methods are not the best option, as they increase the precipitation frequency and reduce the mean value over wet days, NOAA much more than ERA5. Nevertheless, the uniform method provides a larger deviation from the original daily series. The use of the series of a station nearby the target one, which is mandatory in case of missing data, gives similar or better results than applying any adjustment method to the 9-9 series. General conclusions can hardly be drawn as they depend on the method and station. For the Padua dataset, the analysis was repeated at monthly and seasonal resolution. In general, the adjustment series show the most relevant changes in the precipitation statistics in summer and less temporal alignment with the original series in summer and autumn, the two seasons mainly affected by heavy rains in Padua. Finally, the percentiles distribution, analyzed for all the methods and stations, indicates that any adjustment method underestimates the percentile values, except ERA5. Only Legnaro, the station most correlated with Padua, gives results like ERA5.

Assessment of extreme events and climate change on reservoir inflow is important for water and power stressed countries. Projected climate is subject to uncertainties related to climate change scenarios and Global Circulation Models (GCMs’). Extreme climatic events will increase with the rise in temperature as mentioned in the AR5 of the IPCC. This paper discusses the consequences of climate change that include extreme events on discharge. Historical climatic and gauging data were collected from different stations within a watershed. The observed flow data was used for calibration and validation of SWAT model. Downscaling was performed on future GCMs’ temperature and precipitation data, and plausible extreme events were generated. Corrected climatic data was applied to project the influence of climate change. Results showed a large uncertainty in discharge using different GCMs’ and different emissions scenarios. The annual tendency of the GCMs’ is bi-vocal: six GCMs’ projected a rise in annual flow, while one GCM projected a decrease in flow. The change in average seasonal flow is more as compared to annual variations. Changes in winter and spring discharge are mostly positive, even with the decrease in precipitation. The changes in flows are generally negative for summer and autumn due to early snowmelt from an increase in temperature. The change in average seasonal flows under RCPs’ 4.5 and 8.5 are projected to vary from -29.1 to 130.7% and -49.4 to 171%, respectively. In the medium range (RCP 4.5) impact scenario, the uncertainty range of average runoff is relatively low. While in the high range (RCP 8.5) impact scenario, this range is significantly larger. RCP 8.5 covered a wide range of uncertainties, while RCP 4.5 covered a short range of possibilities. These outcomes suggest that it is important to consider the influence of climate change on water resources to frame appropriate guidelines for planning and management.

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2010 calls for the Nearly Zero Energy Standard for new buildings from 2021 onwards: Buildings using “almost no energy” are powered by renewable sources or energy produced by the building itself. For residential buildings, this ambitious new standard has already been reached. But for other building types this goal is still far away. The potential of these buildings to meet a Nearly Zero Energy Standard was investigated by analyzing ten case studies representing non-residential buildings with different uses. The analysis shows that the primary characteristics common to critical building types are a dense building context with a very high degree of technical installation (such as hospital, research and laboratory buildings). The large primary energy demand of these types of buildings cannot be compensated by building and property-related energy generation including off-site renewables. If the future Nearly Zero Energy Standard were to be defined with lower requirements because of this, the state related properties of Bavaria suggest that the real potential energy savings available in at least 85% of all new buildings would be insufficiently exploited. Therefore, it would be useful to instead individualize the legal energy verification process for new buildings to distinguish critical building types such as laboratories and hospitals.

The Vu Gia - Thu Bon River Basin (VG-TB) is confronting numerous challenges related to water security (WS), particularly in the face of the impacts of climate change. These challenges manifest in salinity intrusion, altered rainfall patterns, and reduced water supply in downstream areas. To assess the current state of water security in the basin, the study employed statistical analysis methods, Process Analysis Method (PAM), SMART, and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to develop a comprehensive Assessment Framework for Water Security (AFWS) in the VG-TB. The AFWS encompasses five key dimensions, 17 indicators, and 28 variables, aligning with the UN-Water definition of water security and addressing the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) criteria for global water sustainability. It also adheres to the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) approach to water security assessment as outlined in the Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO) reports. This allows for the computation of a comprehensive Water Security Index (WSI) for specific regions, serving as a foundation for decision-making and policy formulation aimed at enhancing water security in the context of climate change and facilitating sustainable basin development in the future.

The agronomic characteristics of Cenchrus purpureus were assessed through a randomized block experimental design with seven accessions (Taiwan grass, King grass, Elephant grass, Merkeron, CT-115, Purpule grass and Maralfalfa) as treatments and four replications research was carried out at the Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Tantoyuca, in 2019 and 2020, under rainfed conditions. Sowing density was established at 36 tillers in 25 m2. Green and dry matter yield, daily rates of dry matter accumulation in leaves, leaf/stem ratio, height, leaf area index and cutting frequency were assessed. Rainfall amount, temperature, relative humidity and global radiation levels were recorded to assess their effect on the evaluated variables. One-way ANOVA and multivariate analysis techniques, such as multiple linear regression (MLR), Clustering, and Principal component analysis (PCA) with the Statistica V7 software, were used. The leaf area index was greatest (p < 0.05) on the dry season. Green and dry matter yield were greatest in Maralfalfa (p < 0.05). Variation in the results is attributed to weather phenomena; nonetheless, Elephant grass and Maralfalfa showed the highest yields. Quality parameters must be evaluated to identify those grasses with the best attributes.

Current VAT rules for cross-border e-commerce companies in the EU are not sustainable, because they are extremely complex and often opaque, due to the lack of tax harmonization. The aim of the research is to explore, using a qualitative method, what kind of harmonization would make the current legislation more uniform, simpler, more transparent, and easier to understand, without conflicting with the rules of any Member State. To this end, the aspects of the new platform regulation introduced on 1 July 2021 and its potential for expansion are assessed through information from possible sales models. The research suggests that the rules on platforms do not cover all possible sales models, which in our view imposes an unnecessary extra administrative burden on some businesses and makes their tax activities less transparent. In the light of the results of the research, we propose that the current EU platform regulation should be extended to cover B2B, B2C transactions and services. As a result of this suggested harmonization, a simpler, more transparent, uniform and sustainable tax system would contribute to the whitening of the economy, generating additional tax revenue for Member States.

Agriculture contributes towards South African economy, but this sector is highly vulnerable to risks imposed by climate change. Smallholder maize farmers are specifically susceptible to climate change impacts. Maize crop plays a crucial role in the country's food security as it is considered a stable food for households and source of feed for livestock. The study aimed to analyze the socio-economic factors influencing smallholder maize farmers’ willingness to adopt climate-smart agriculture. It was conducted in three different areas due to their specific agro-ecological zones. Multipurpose research design was used to gather data, and multistage random sampling to choose the study areas. Subsequently, 209 purposively selected farmers were interviewed face-to-face using structured questionnaires and focus discussion groups. Descriptive statistics and Double-hurdle regression model were used to analyze the data. Descriptive results indicated that 81%, 67%, and 63% farmers were willing to adopt CSA in Ga-Makanye, Gabaza, and Giyani, respectively. Empirical results from the first and second hurdles of the regression analysis showed that farmers’ education, crop diversification, information about CSA positively influenced the decision to adopt CSA while household size and agricultural experience negatively influenced the decision to adopt CSA. It is recommended that the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development should provide CSA workshops and educational programs to farmers to enhance their knowledge and decision-making processes regarding adaptation strategies.

The national study analyzes sea level rise (SLR) impacts based on 36 different SLR and storm surge scenarios across 5.7 million geographic locations and 3 time periods. Taking an approach based on engineering design guidelines and current cost estimates, the study details projected cost impacts for states, counties, and cities. These impacts are presented from multiple perspectives including total cost, cost per-capita, and cost per-square mile. The purpose of the study is to identify specific locations where infrastructure is vulnerable to rising sea levels. The study finds that Sea Level Rise (SLR) and minimal storm surge is a $400 billion threat to the United States by 2040 that includes a need for at least 50,000 miles of protective barriers. The research is limited in its scope to protecting coastal infrastructure with sea walls. Additional methods exist and may be appropriate in individual situations. The study is original in that it is a national effort to identify infrastructure that is vulnerable as well as the cost associated with protecting this infrastructure.

The oil and gas industry in Nigeria, a vital contributor to the nation's economy, has long been associated with significant environmental challenges. Pollution, habitat destruction, and greenhouse gas emissions have raised global concerns about sustainability and corporate responsibility. This empirical study explores the relationship between environmental accounting practices and the financial performance of listed oil and gas companies in Nigeria. We investigated eight oil and gas companies that are publicly traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange Market (NGX) as of January 17, 2022, from 2011 to 2022. The study employs Driscoll-Kraay standard errors and reveals that environmental accounting had significant effects on returns on assets, earnings per share, and liquidity ratio. The study revealed that the implementation of environmental accounting practices had diverse effects on the performance of oil and gas companies in Nigeria. The findings encourage policymakers and stakeholders in the sector to utilise the insights and design more effective regulations and incentives that promote environmental corporate responsibility. Also, valuable insights into the potential benefits and challenges associated with adopting environmental accounting practices, and influencing the decision-making processes of corporate stakeholders were provided to ensure sustainability in terms of improved financial performance of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.

This bibliographic study addresses key aspects related to fishing, product safety, and climate change in the Adriatic Sea region. The examination of product safety focuses on the assessment of contaminants originating from human activities such as industry, mining, agriculture, and household waste disposal. The contamination of the aquatic environment has emerged as a pressing global concern, extending to the Adriatic subbasin. Aquatic organisms, including fish, are prone to accumulating pollutants directly from polluted water sources and indirectly through the food web. The bio-accumulation of potentially hazardous substances, particularly heavy metals, pesticides, PCBs, PAHs, and antibiotic resistance in aquatic organisms, poses a significant threat to human health. Climate change effects will deplete our seafood supply in terms of quantity and safety owing to negative consequences such as higher levels of pollution, parasites, viruses, infections, acidification, and toxicities such as shellfish poisoning. Global food safety strategies should be developed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote environmentally friendly technology, which indirectly affects seafood quality and microbiological safety, especially for Adriatic Sea, which is part of the Mediterranean Sea, characterized by the most polluted waters in the world.

The purpose of this study is to establish whether digital literacy and insurtech adoption influence insurance inclusion in Uganda. Principally, we sought to determine whether insurtech adoption mediates the nexus between digital literacy and insurance inclusion. This study adopted a cross-sectional and quantitative correlational approach. The study’s sample was 391 individuals who had used digital platforms such as mobile phones and computers to access insurance products and services in Uganda. Data were collected using structured survey questionnaires. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLSEM) was employed to test the hypothesised relationships. The results demonstrate that both digital literacy and insurtech adoption significantly and positively influence insurance inclusion. We also found digital literacy to be a significant and positive determinant of insurtech adoption. Markedly, it was found that insurtech adoption mediates the association between digital literacy and insurance inclusion in Uganda. However, this study was conducted in a developing country with an underdeveloped insurance market and with low technological advancement. This may affect generalisation of the study findings. This study’s novelty lies in establishing how digital literacy and insurtech adoption interplay to influence insurance inclusion in Uganda. This is the first study to examine the effect of digital literacy and insurtech adoption on insurance inclusion.

We revisit the notion of climate, along with its historical evolution, tracing the origin of the modern concerns about climate. The notion (and the scientific term) of climate has been established during the Greek antiquity in a geographical context and it acquired its statistical content (average weather) in modern times, after meteorological measurements had become common. Yet the modern definitions of climate are seriously affected by the wrong perception of the previous two centuries that climate should regularly be constant, unless an external agent acted. Therefore, we attempt to give a more rigorous definition of climate, consistent with the modern body of stochastics. We illustrate the definition by real-world data, which also exemplify the large climatic variability. Given this variability, the term “climate change” turns out to be scientifically unjustified. Specifically, it is a pleonasm as climate, like weather, has been ever changing. Indeed, a historical investigation reveals that the aim in using that term is not scientific but political. Within the political aims, water issues have been greatly promoted by projecting future catastrophes while reversing the true roles and causality directions. For this reason, we provide arguments that water is the main element that drives climate and not the opposite.

There is consensus that climate variability and change is impacting food security in Eastern Africa, and that conventional extension approaches, based on top-down model of information dissemination and technology transfer, are too inadequate to help smallholder farmers tackle increasingly complex agro-climatic adversities. Innovative service delivery options exist but are mostly operated in silos with little effort to explore and blend them. There are efforts to develop a blended Climate-Resilient Farmers Field School methodology to address the gaps, with objective to improve participants’ knowledge, skills and attitude to apply the blended approach and to sensitize actors on what needs to be advocated at the policy level. Some 661 local trainers/facilitators (ToT/ToFs), 32% of them women and 54% youth, were trained across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, with additional 76 Master Trainers (MToTs) trained to backstop the ToT/ToFs. Through the implementation, the process reached 36 agribusinesses covering some 237,250 smallholder farmers trained across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda on CSA technologies, practices, and innovations by the end of 2020. The blended approach offers lessons to transform extension to help farmers improve food security and resilience. Preliminary findings indicate that the process is rapidly shaping individual adaptive behavior and group adaptive thinking. Lessons also show a strong need for agronomists to work more closely with agro-meteorologists to ensure that farmers are properly guided to participate appropriately in the co-generation and application of climate information and agro-weather advisories, which they can interpret easily and utilize for their agricultural production purposes. Experience from this initiative can be leveraged to develop scalable participatory extension and training models

Cultural tourism in Tanzania presents a diverse tapestry of traditions, varied ethnic groups, and historical accounts. This article aims to pinpoint areas for further exploration in the cultural tourism sector of Tanzania and analyze their potential impacts. The study conducted a systematic review of the literature following established inclusion criteria as well as the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and meta-analysis guidelines. A total of 21 articles focused on Tanzania Cultural Heritage Tourism from sources such as Google Scholar and web databases were examined, revealing several research gaps, including theoretical, contextual and methodological aspects. Furthermore, the research offers insights into theoretical implications and recommends avenues for future studies that could advance the field by addressing these knowledge gaps providing valuable direction to new researchers interested in exploring these specific areas as well as practitioners seeking a comprehensive understanding of various aspects related to Tanzania's cultural heritage tourism

Under the development mode of deep blending of emerging technologies, major projects are important for enhancing China's comprehensive national strength and independent innovation capability. Based on the social benefits of major projects, and considering the influence of reputation factors, an evolutionary game model composed of a general contractor and subcontractor of major projects is established. This paper studies the influence of various factors including the income distribution coefficient of collaborative innovation, and MATLAB simulation software is analyzed the influence of factors on an evolutionary path. The results show that a reasonable income distribution coefficient can promote the game behavior of both parties to the direction of active collaborative innovation; The reduction of innovation cost and the improvement of spillover technology absorption capacity can make innovation subjects tend to choose active collaborative innovation strategies. In addition, reputation loss above a specific threshold can effectively inhibit free-riding behavior and encourage innovation subjects to choose active collaborative innovation strategies. The research results provide reference for promoting major projects' technology innovation.

This article presents and discusses analytical data on the scientific publication record from 1910 to 2020 on two topics: "climate" and "climate change/global warming/climate emergency". The goal is to visualize how the publication record on these two topics has evolved over time, from different classification perspectives (year, country, source and organization). Three hypotheses are tested using data collected from Web of Science and various graphical representations of the data. It is found that research output related to the Earth’s contemporary changing climate overtook that of general climate research in 2011, and the publication ratio has been expanding in the last decade. There are significant differences in the publication countries and sources between the two topics, and conversely less significant differences in terms of organizations publishing these works. Differentiation factors that affect the level of research output and engagement on the climate challenge include: island versus landlocked nations, specialized versus general scientific journals, academic versus institutional organizations. The future of the publication records is discussed, such as the emergence of new terms to refer to the climate challenge, such as “climate emergency”.

In this study the effects of three different main preparatory tillage operations [ploughing at 0.4 m (P40) and 0.20 m (P20) depth and minimum tillage at 0.20 m depth (MT) each of them carried out at two different soil water contents (WC) [low, 58% (LH) and high, 80% (HH) of field capacity] were investigated. The results obtained in this research show high values of soil strength in term of Penetration resistance (CI) and shear strength (SS) particularly in deeper soil layers at lower water content. Fossil-fuel energy requirements both for P40 LH and P20 LH were 25 and 35% higher with respect to the HH treatments and tractor slip were very high (P40 LH = 32.4%) with respect to the P40 HH treatment (16%). Therefore soil water content had significantly influenced tractor performance during soil ploughing, particularly at 0.40 m depth while MT was not influenced at all. A significant correlation between grain yield and soil penetration resistance was found highlighting how soil strength may be good indicator of its productivity. Obtained results during these field tests allowed considering MT and P20 treatments more suitable for this type of soil in climate change scenarios.

Promoting green development has become an important way to optimize the ecological and economic structure and promote sustainable development. The Yangtze River Economic Belt is an important economic corridor in China, and it remains to be examined whether the implementation of environmental regulations has enhanced the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of cities. This paper calculates the green total factor productivity of 107 cities within the Yangtze River Economic Belt by using the super-efficient SBM model and the GML index with Chinese city panel data from 2007-2019 and measures the intensity of environmental regulations through textual analysis. The bidirectional fixed-effects model constructed in this paper suggests an inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental regulation and GTFP, which is confirmed by a series of robustness tests. Green technology innovation and advanced industrial structure play a mechanism role in this. In regions with lower levels of green technology and industrial structure, the inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental regulation and green total factor productivity is more significant. In addition, the phenomenon of GTFP rising and then falling because of environmental regulation is more obvious in cities in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River and outside the urban agglomerations. Therefore, when formulating environmental regulation policies, it is necessary to balance the relationship between economic development and environmental protection and harmonize the environment and economic development of the entire Yangtze River Basin.

Three Seas Initiative (3SI) is still an underresearched area and is particularly important due to historical circumstances and economic backwardness. A study was carried out to assess the impact of renewable energy and production generated by the agricultural sector on CO2 emissions in 3SI countries between 2008 and 2020. The study used panel data analysis based on the two-step system generalised method of moments (GMM) and the Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality test. The results show that a 1% increase in the value-added generated by agriculture increases CO2 emissions in the countries studied by 0.11%. In contrast, a 1% increase in GDP leads to a 0.29% increase in CO2 emissions. Conversely, when renewable energy consumption increases by 1%, CO2 emissions fall by 0.25% in the countries studied. One way to reduce CO2 emissions from agricultural production in the short term is to increase the share of renewables, which, incidentally, is in line with EU action.

The latest IPCC report forcefully states that immediate, decisive, and large-scale actions are needed to avert climate catastrophe. This essay presumes that democratic governments are best and most desirably positioned to take these actions. Yet in the countries most pivotal to global climate, significant voting blocs are uninterested in environmental issues. The essay urges adding bottom-up dialog between environmental and anti-environmental voters, to current and future top-down technocratic “solutions.” To make this combination result in a unified pro-environment electorate, we must understand: religious objections to environmentalism; the capital-vs.-knowledge strife that slows polluting corporations’ green transitions; and the psychological mechanisms that can make inter-group dialog fruitful.

The impact of climate extremes on the society has been of great concern to environmental scientist and policy makers. The destructive consequence attributed to natural hazards associated with climates extremes has been estimated to billions of dollars across the globe. To carry out a robust and effective researches that help to minimize or prevent the loss, detailed datasets of the past, present and future are needed. This will help to give an accurate prediction and early warning which is necessary for the policy making.

An Indo-French campaign was conducted during May 2014 at Gadanki (13.5^oN, 79.2^oE), India, for investigating gravity wave (GW) coupling between the lower and middle atmospheres using a suite of experimental techniques. In this paper we are presenting the sources for those GWs which are observed at airglow layer (~87 km) using (OH) Airglow Imager during the campaign. For this purpose we have developed a background model atmosphere by combining the ERA-Interim, MSIS E 90 model and HWM 07 model data sets. Uniqueness of the present study lies in using near-real time background atmosphere data from simultaneous radiosonde and SVU Meteor Radar covering both source and propagation/ dissipation regions of GWs. We have observed 17 wave events and used GROGRAT model for reverse tracing to locate the source(s). When we searched for the sources near the terminal points or along the ray path, deep convection is found to occur but no strong wind shear. This indicates that the source for the observed GWs is deep convection. We have also simulated small scale waves that can reach mesosphere during different seasons (background conditions). GWs with periods less than 100 minutes and horizontal wavelengths less than 200 km are mostly reaching the mesospheric altitudes. Interestingly, it is found that only few GWs that are generated in the troposphere reach the mesospheric altitudes during the monsoon season, though strong sources like convection and wind shear persist throughout this season. Thus, background wind plays significant role in deciding the propagation of GWs in to upper atmosphere.

The German Constitutional Court’s climate verdict provides a re-interpretation of liberal- democratic core concepts and is highly relevant for liberal constitutional law in general – including EU and international law. The verdict accepts human rights as intertemporal and globally applicable; it applies the precautionary principle to these rights and frees them from the misleading causality debate. However, the court fails to address the most important violations of human rights, and it categorised climate policy as a greater threat to freedom than climate change. And the court does not make it clear that the Paris 1.5-degree limit implies a radically smaller carbon budget. Furthermore, little attention has so far been paid to the fact that the ruling implies an obligation for more EU climate protection, especially since most emissions are regulated supranationally. To be effective, the EU emissions trading system demands a reform, which should go well beyond the existing EU proposals to enable societal transformation to sustainability.

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is currently experiencing widespread crown of thorns starfish (CoTS) outbreaks as part of the fourth wave of outbreaks since 1962. It is believed that outbreaks have become more frequent on the GBR and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific associated with anthropogenic causes. The two widely accepted potential causes are (1) anthropogenic nutrient enrichment leading to increased biomass of phytoplankton, the food of the planktonic stage of larval CoTS; and (2) overfishing of predators on the juvenile to adult stages of CoTS, for example, commercial fished species such as coral trout. In this study, we show the evidence for the nutrient enrichment causation hypothesis is strong based on a large number of recent studies in the GBR. We also hypothesise that secondary outbreaks in the region between Cairns and Townsville can also be enhanced by nutrient enriched conditions associated with the annual nutrient discharge from Wet Tropics rivers.

The impact of climate change on water resources is a global issue with significant regional implications. The Ghba subbasin has experienced a higher socioeconomic change. In this paper, we assess the potential impact of climate change and human activity on water supply and demand in the Ghba subbasin of Ethiopia. We then evaluate the effectiveness of regional adaptation strategies for water supply management under these conditions. To do this, we use the statistical downscaling model (SDSM) and the water assessment and planning tool (WEAP) to simulate and analyse future water conditions. After running the model through a calibration and validation process, minimum (Tmin) and maximum (Tmax) temperatures, water demand and unmet water demand were projected for 2100 horizon, using different climate change scenarios. The results showed that the model's performance, calibration, and validation were all satisfactory. The analysis showed that, under A2 and B2 emission scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the mean precipitation will increase by 31% and 26%, respectively. The projected mean Tmax and Tmin will be warmer than the baseline period, with Tmax increasing by 1.5°C (A2) and 1.3°C (B2), and Tmin by 1.7°C (A2) and 1.5°C (B2) by 2100. The results also illustrate that in all scenarios, water consumption would rise and that this need will not be satisfied, and the pressure on water resources will intensify, resulting in a water shortage. The findings show that future water demand under the influence of climate change is projected to exceed 210 million cubic meters (MCM) by 2100. The findings show that while the evaluations of the recommended adaption techniques are effective, they are not enough to guarantee the Ghba subbasin's water sustainability.

The study presents an assessment of climate suitability for outdoor leisure activities in Romania using the Holliday Climate Index (HCI) for the near future (2021-2040), focusing on unfavorable and good climate conditions. The analysis employs data from an ensemble model in the context of RCP45 and RCP85 climate change scenarios. The results indicate that the number of days with low weather suitability is decreasing in almost the entire country, especially during the warm season, while during the winter and spring extended regions may be characterized by a higher number of days favorable for outdoor activities than during the current climate. An estimation of the impact of climate changes on tourism flux in Romania is further carried out, suggesting that the increasing attractivity of climate conditions may lead to an increased number of tourist overnights in the near future, more pronounced in rural destinations.

This paper investigates the impact of debt financing on dividend payments when they face the agency costs of free cash flow. Focusing on a sample of 120 firms listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange during the period 2011-2021. The study found a negative association between agency cost of free cash flow and dividend payment. More importantly, our research highlights the significant role of long-term debt in making more prudent use of free cash flow. The obligation to meet interest and principal payments acts as an incentive for them to steer clear of unprofitable expenses and risky investments. Concurrently, long-term debt imposes restrictive clauses in debt contracts, such as minimum dividend distribution requirements, which further encourage higher dividend payments. Since interest and debt repayments are fixed obligations, using free cash flow for dividend disbursement is considered a more profitable and beneficial approach for shareholders in the context of Saudi Arabia.

This study investigates the impacts of climate change policies on businesses across various sectors, aiming to understand how these regulations affect operational, financial, and strategic aspects of business management. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, data was collected from 500 businesses through surveys and interviews, encompassing a wide range of industries, sizes, and geographic locations. The findings reveal a complex landscape where 30% of businesses report positive impacts, primarily in the renewable energy and technology sectors, citing increased demand for green products and improvements in energy efficiency. Conversely, 45% of businesses, especially from manufacturing and agriculture, experience negative impacts, including increased operational costs and regulatory compliance challenges. Notwithstanding, a significant majority of businesses are committed to enhancing their sustainability practices, viewing climate change policies as an opportunity for innovation and long-term growth. The study highlights the nuanced effects of climate change policies, emphasizing the need for sector-specific support measures to alleviate financial and operational burdens on negatively impacted businesses. Moreover, it points to a broader shift towards sustainability within the business community, suggesting that climate policies, despite their varied impacts, are driving significant changes in business strategies towards environmental stewardship.

This literature review paper delves into the synergies between Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) and the effective management of food losses. With the escalating challenges posed by climate change and the pressing need to address food security concerns, the intersection of these two critical domains becomes paramount for sustainable agricultural practices. The review explores existing research on the implementation of climate-smart agricultural techniques and their impact on mitigating food losses throughout the agricultural value chain. The paper synthesizes findings related to climate-resilient crop varieties, precision farming, water-use efficiency, and sustainable soil management, highlighting their contributions to reducing post-harvest losses and enhancing overall food security. In addition to summarizing current knowledge, this paper identifies gaps in the literature and proposes avenues for future research. This review serves as a foundation for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to contribute to the advancement of climate-smart agriculture and the reduction of food losses, paving the way for a more sustainable and resilient global food system.

While the foundations of climate science and ethics are well established, fine-grained climate predictions, as well as policy-decisions, are beset with uncertainties. This chapter maps climate uncertainties and classifies them as to their ground, extent and location. A typology of uncertainty is presented, centered along the axes of scientific and moral uncertainty. This typology is illustrated with paradigmatic examples of uncertainty in climate science, climate ethics and climate economics. Subsequently, the chapter discusses the IPCC’s preferred way of representing uncertainties and evaluates its strengths and weaknesses from a risk management perspective. Three general strategies for decision-makers to cope with climate uncertainty are outlined, the usefulness of which largely depends on whether or not decision-makers find themselves in a context of deep uncertainty. The chapter concludes by offering two recommendations to ease the work of policymakers, faced with the various uncertainties engrained in climate discourse.

The understanding of weather and climate extremes provides academics, decision makers, international development agencies, nongovernmental organizations and civil society the necessary information for monitoring and giving early warning to prevent or minimize the risks associated with weather related hazards. Different researches were carried out to provide vital information that will further enhance the assessment of vulnerability and its impacts. Lack of proper understanding of weather and climate extremes was realized to be responsible for the huge and devastating losses that could have being averted or minimized over the past decades. Different countries and institutions have put in place a number of ways to increase sensitization and awareness of weather extremes. This became necessary in order to reduce the losses associated with these extremes both on local and regional scales.

This research investigates the intricate dynamics between intellectual Capital (VAIC) and the stability of banks in the evolving context of Saudi Arabia's banking sector. Against the backdrop of rapid economic reforms under Vision 2030 and the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pan-demic, the research provides a nuanced analysis of how intellectual capital and intellectual capital's components—Human Capital Efficiency (HCE), Structural Capital Efficiency (SCE), and Capital Employed Efficiency (CEE)—affect the financial stability of Saudi banks. The research analyses a decade-long panel dataset from 2012 to 2022, utilizing both fixed effects and cross-section random effects models to discern the impact of intellectual capital on bank stability. The findings reveal a positive overall influence of intellectual capital on bank stability; however, individual compo-nents present a complex relationship, with CEE showing a positive association and HCE and SCE demonstrating unexpected negative correlations with bank stability. The research identifies lev-erage (LEV) as a significant factor negatively impacting stability. Operational efficiency (OPEF) and size (SIZE) also negatively affect stability. Surprisingly, macroeconomic indicators and bank size exhibit non-significant effects on bank stability. Similarly, the direct impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was found to be non-significant, suggesting a resilient banking environment or the presence of effective mitigating strategies. As Saudi Arabia continues its ambitious economic transformation, this research underscores the critical role of effectively managed intellectual capital in ensuring the banking sector's stability. It provides a foundation for ongoing research in this vital area.

.Maize cultivation in Thailand faces challenges owing to climate change and soil organic carbon (SOC) loss. This highlights the importance of comparing maize soil with paddy soil in terms of the role of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nutrient availability, as they influence SOC content. Soil samples from Chiang Mai province, primarily Fluvisol, were collected for the cultivation of paddy rice and maize, analysed for carbon fractions and chemical properties, and categorised into layers. Comparative analysis revealed that maize soils had lower levels of labile carbon components and organic carbon than paddy soils (P

The relationship between Climate Change and Water is an obvious and key issue within the Sustainable Development Goals. This study aims to investigate the social representation created around this relationship in three different territorial contexts in order to evaluate the influence of the territory on the perception of the risk of Climate Change and its relationship with water. By means of a questionnaire completed by 1709 university students, the climatic literacy of the individual was evaluated in order to relate it to other dimensions on the relationship between Climate Change and Water (information, training previous on climate change and pro-environmental attitudes) in their different dimensions in three different territorial contexts. The results show that the socio-cultural context influences the social representation of Climate Change, but not from the climatological condition, so that it is reasonable to think that the social representation of this relationship is favoured by a common culture around this relationship.

Sweden has long been hailed as a role model in climate policy. But the new right-wing government supported by a far-right populist party is undertaking a paradigm shift in Swedish climate policy and governance. This paper critically analyses this paradigm shift and its impacts on legitimacy, accountability and justice. These are democratic norms important in the analysis of a just transition to climate neutrality. Severe democratic deficits of the policy process and the policies proposed and adopted are identified, suggesting ‘nasty politics’ characterised by populist, divisive, and contentious rhetoric that entrenches polarization and us/them narratives. Climate scientists and the climate justice movement are discriminated in the policy process, the latter also being accused of terrorism and seen as a threat to democracy by the government. The deficits are partly explained by the neo-corporatist political system of Sweden and the dominance of the (neo)liberal discourse of ecological modernization in Swedish environmental policy, but primarily with the ongoing process of autocratization driven by anti-democratic far-right populist parties throughout Europe. The anti-democratic climate policy reforms in Sweden are foreboding an unwelcome development in the EU given the boost of far-right populist parties in the upcoming elections to the European Parliament in June 2024.

In 2021, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) added “the impact of climate change on environmental and population health” into The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education. Presently, little guidance exists for nursing faculty new to climate education. The year prior, the Nurses Climate Challenge (NCC) - a campaign to educate 50,000 health professionals about health impacts of climate change - launched the School of Nursing Commitment through a series of focus groups and collaborative content development. With an aim of increasing access to knowledge and tools to support education about the health impacts of climate change, the NCC Commitment partners with nursing schools and provides a community of practice. Partner schools use NCC resources in courses and report the number of students educated. Within three years, 61 nursing schools in 30 states joined the Commitment. Participants included academic health centers, research institutions, multi-state schools, and small private colleges, and programs ranged from AD to PhD. Faculty 1) integrated resources into didactic and clinical settings such as population or organ-system content, leadership, and policy and 2) used resources to support assignments. In four years, faculty reported educating over 37,700 students using NCC resources in 439 educational sessions. The Commitment may be valuable for faculty fulfilling AACN Essentials by bringing climate change to the classroom, community, and bedside. Furthermore, the Commitment may be a replicable model for health professional education and inspiring action on climate change.

The build-up of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is causing warmness in the Earth’s atmosphere, resulting in climate change. The transport sector is one of the active members of GHG emissions and it is imperative to use sustainable transport sources to control climate change. The measure aims to encourage citizens to stop using their private vehicles as their choice of transport and instead opt for joint sustainable mobility during traveling. In this study, a quantitative research method was used and data were collected from a sample of 410 respondents through questionnaire. On the other hand, study also took a simulation-based (N=10000) sample size of private vehicle data. The data were analyzed using structural equation modelling. The results revealed that sustainable transportation, climate change technologies and electric rail vehicles reduce climate change in the ecoregions of China. We conclude that sustainable transportation policies could be formulated and implemented to reduce climate change. In response to the research results, it is recommended that, since climate change is a multi-level governance issue and the outdated pyramidal transport industry models must be shifted to a sustainable transportation system model.

The role of natural factors mainly solar eleven-year cycle variability, and volcanic eruptions on two major modes of climate variability the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are studied for around last 150 years period. The NAO is the primary factor to regulate Central England Temperature (CET) during winter throughout the period, though NAO is impacted differently by other factors in various time periods. Solar variability indicates a strong positive influence on NAO during 1978-1997, though suggests opposite in earlier period. Solar NAO lag relationship is also shown sensitive to the chosen times of reference and thus points towards the previously proposed mechanism/ relationship related to the sun and NAO. The ENSO is influenced strongly by solar variability and volcanic eruptions in certain periods. This study observes a strong negative association between the sun and ENSO before the 1950s, which is even opposite during the second half of 20th century. The period 1978-1997, when two strong eruptions coincided with active years of strong solar cycles, the ENSO, and volcano suggested a stronger association, and we discussed the important role played by ENSO. That period showed warming in central tropical Pacific while cooling in the North Atlantic with reference to the later period (1999-2017) and also from chosen earlier period. Here we show that the mean atmospheric state is important for understanding the connection between solar variability, the NAO and ENSO and associated mechanism. It presents a critical analysis to improve knowledge about major modes of variability and their role in climate. We also discussed the importance of detecting the robust signal of natural variability, mainly the sun.

This research aimed to investigate the relationship between climate policy uncertainty (CPU), clean energy (ENERGY), carbon emission allowance prices (CARBON), and Bitcoin returns (BTC) for the period from August 2012 to August 2022. The empirical analysis strategies utilized in this study included the Fourier Bootstrap ARDL long-term coefficient estimator, Fourier Granger Causality, and Fourier Toda Yamamoto Causality methods. Following the confirmation of cointegration among the variables, we observed a positive relationship between BTC and CARBON, a positive relationship between BTC and CPU, and a negative relationship between BTC and ENERGY. In terms of causal associations, we identified one-way causality running from CARBON to BTC, BTC to CPU, and BTC to the ENERGY variable. The study underscores the potential benefits and revenue opportunities for investors seeking diversified investment strategies in light of climate change concerns. Furthermore, it suggests actionable strategies for policymakers, such as implementing carbon taxes and educational campaigns, to foster a transition towards clean energy sources within the cryptocurrency mining sector and thereby mitigate environmental impacts.

This academic paper explores the synergistic potential of Agroforestry systems and Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) in enhancing climate change adaptation strategies. Focusing on Australia and Pacific Island Countries, the study delves into the pivotal role of these approaches in mitigating the impacts of changing climate variables on agricultural production. By analysing important climate variables, their potential alterations, and their subsequent effects on crop production, the paper advocates for a holistic and forward-thinking approach to sustainable agriculture in the face of climate change.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a powerful tool for addressing the challenges posed by climate change and their impact on public health. By leveraging its capacity to analyze and predict climatic patterns, AI offers opportunities to enhance resource management and develop effective strategies for climate change mitigation. Moreover, AI can contribute to generating sustainable solutions that address the complex and interconnected nature of climate change. For example, AI can enable the optimization of energy consumption and facilitate the integration of renewable energy sources into existing systems. It can also support the development of climate models that provide timely and accurate predictions, enabling policymakers to implement proactive measures for disaster preparedness and response. Furthermore, AI-powered disease surveillance and mitigation techniques can improve public health outcomes by identifying patterns and trends in the spread of diseases in relation to climatic factors.However, the widespread adoption of AI-based solutions is not without challenges. Ethical concerns surrounding privacy and data ownership must be addressed, as the use of AI requires access to large datasets, raising potential privacy risks. Technical constraints, such as limited computational power and the need for sophisticated algorithms, also pose obstacles to the implementation of AI in climate change mitigation strategies. Furthermore, issues related to the accessibility and affordability of AI technologies must be resolved to ensure equitable distribution and maximize its potential impact on public health.To fully harness the power of AI in addressing climate change and improving public health outcomes, it is crucial to promote innovation, multidisciplinary collaboration, and open data science. Innovation can drive the development of new AI algorithms and technologies specifically tailored to address climate change challenges. Multidisciplinary approaches that bring together experts from diverse fields, including climate science, public health, and computer science, can foster a holistic understanding of complex systems and enable the design of comprehensive solutions. Finally, open data science practices, such as sharing data and algorithms, can facilitate collaboration and accelerate progress in mitigating climate change and its public health impacts.In conclusion, AI offers promising opportunities for effectively addressing climate change and its impact on public health. However, to fully realize its potential, it is essential to tackle ethical and privacy concerns, overcome technical constraints, and ensure accessibility and affordability. By promoting innovation, multidisciplinary collaboration, and open data science, we can unlock the transformative power of AI in mitigating climate change and improving public health outcomes.

The Australian tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF) is home to approximately 18 percent of the nation’s total vascular plant species. Over the past century, human activity and industrial development have caused global climate changes, posing a severe and irreversible danger to the entire land-based ecosystem, and WTWHA is no exception. The current average annual temperature of WTWHA in FNQ is 24 °C. However, in the coming years (by 2030), the average annual temperature increase is estimated to be between 0.5 and 1.4 °C compared to the climate observed between 1986 and 2005. Looking further ahead to 2070, the anticipated temperature rise is projected to be between 1.0 and 3.2 °C, with the exact range depending on future emissions. We identified 84 plant species endemic to the WTWHA in FNQ, which are already experiencing climate change threats. Few of these plants are used in herbal medicines. This study comprehensively reviewed metabolomics studies conducted on these 84 plant species until now toward understanding their physiological and metabolomics responses to global climate change. This review also discusses: i) recent developments in plant metabolomics studies that can be applied to study and understand the interactions of wet tropical plants with climatic stress, ii) medicinal plants and isolated phytochemicals with structural diversity, and iii) reported biological activities of crude extracts and isolated compounds.

Capital structure decision plays an imperative role in firm’s performance. Recognizing the importance, there has been many studies inspected the rapport of capital structure with performance of firms and findings of those studies are inconclusive. In addition, there is relative deficiency of empirical studies examining the link of capital structure with performance of banks in Bangladesh. This paper attempted to fill this gap. Using panel data of 22 banks for the period of 2005-2014, this study empirically examined the impacts of capital structure on the performance of Bangladeshi banks assessed by return on equity, return on assets and earnings per share. Results from pooled ordinary least square analysis show that there are inverse impacts of capital structure on bank’s performance. Empirical findings of this study is of greater significance for the developing countries like Bangladesh because it will call upon concentration of the bank management and policy makers to pursue such policies to reduce reliance on debt and to accomplish optimal level capital structure. This research also contributes to empirical literatures by reconfirming (or otherwise) findings of previous studies.

The power of movement in plants” by Charles Darwin details many examples of oscillatory growth exemplified more recently at the single cell level by pollen tube tip oscillations and associated ion fluxes, particularly Ca²⁺and H⁺. That implies an underlying growth oscillator based on the recent discovery that classical AGPs bind Ca²⁺ at the cell surface. The juxtaposition of AGPs with three other components embedded in the plasma membrane is evidence of a Ca²⁺ cycle that generates cytosolic Ca²⁺. It involves Ca²⁺ channels, auxin efflux “PIN” proteins and an auxin-activated proton pump that dissociates AGP-Ca²⁺ on demand. While the apparent simplicity of this system satisfies Occam’s Razor its hypothetical role as a global growth oscillator demands rigorous experimental appraisal. The wide ramifications extend from pollen tubes to stomatal guard cells. Stomata act as crucial components of a water hypercycle that contributes to homeostasis of a warming planet by regulating evaporative cooling, reflective cloud cover generated by vast forests and the high albedo of snow-capped mountains including polar ice-caps . The Gaia hypothesis of James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis is a brilliant metaphor.

Earth's global surface temperature shows variability on an extended range of temporal scales and satisfies an emergent scaling symmetry. Recent studies indicate that scale invariance is not only a feature of the observed temperature fluctuations, but an inherent property of the temperature response to radiative forcing, and a principle that links the fast and slow climate responses. It provides a bridge between the decadal- and centennial-scale fluctuations in the instrumental temperature record, and the millennial-scale equilibration following perturbations in the radiative balance. In particular, the emergent scale invariance makes it possible to infer equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) from the observed relation between radiative forcing and global temperature in the instrumental era. This is verified in ensembles of Earth system models (ESMs), where the inferred values of ECS correlate strongly to estimates from idealized model runs. For the range of forcing data explored in this paper, the method gives best estimates of ECS between 2.3 and 3.4 K.

Organizational climate is the ascribed psychological meanings and significance associated with the procedures, policies and practices that are recognized and rewarded in the workplace, and hence mediates the effects of environmental stimuli on individuals’ response. Safety climate is a specific organizational climate, i.e., organizational climate for safety. Previous research claimed that organizational climate provides foundation for safety climate, but without elaboration on the foundational mechanisms. This paper attempts to fill up this knowledge gap. As organizational climate is a multi-dimensional phenomenon, this paper chooses two dimensions, i.e., perceived organizational support (POS) and participative decision-making (PaDM), for illustrative purposes. Drawing on an interactive approach to forming climate perceptions, this paper introduces two interactive constructs, i.e., leader-member exchange (LMX) and team member exchange (TMX), and establishes a multiple mediation model depicting the foundational effect of organizational climate on safety climate. A random sample of Hong Kong based construction personnel is used to validate the model. The results show that both POS and PaDM are positively associated with perceived safety climate, both LMX and TMX fully mediate the effect of PaDM on safety climate, and only LMX partially mediates the effect of POS on safety climate. This study sheds light on the foundational effects of organizational climate on safety climate. POS can improve the quality of reciprocal exchange about safety matters between construction personnel and their supervisors, and hence raise construction personnel’s awareness of the priority of safety. PaDM can improve the quality of reciprocal exchange about safety matters vertically and horizontally, and hence have construction personnel aware the importance of safety. In practice, this paper suggests that project managers timely recognize and reward construction personnel’s contribution, genuinely cares about their well-being, and take their suggestions seriously in making decisions. In this way, the quality of both vertical and horizontal exchange about safety matters improves, and a sound and positive safety climate ensues.

Oedaleus decorus asiaticus, Calliptamus abbreviatus, Angaracris rhodopa, and Myrmeleotettix palpalis are the main grasshoppers that harm the natural grassland in the Hexi Corridor. In this study, the MaxEnt model was employed to identify the key environmental factors affecting the distribution of the four grasshoppers habitats and to assess their distribution under current and future climate change conditions. The aim was to provide a basis for grasshopper monitoring, prediction, and precise control. In this study, 61 occurrences of O. decorus asiaticus, 68 occurrences of A. rhodopa, 58 occurrences of C. abbreviatus, and 92 occurrences of M. palpalis were recorded by GPS, and the distribution of suitable habitats for O. decorus asiaticus, C. abbreviatus, A. rhodopa, and M. palpalis were predicted under current and future climatic scenarios using a MaxEnt model. The average AUC and TSS values of the four grasshoppers were greater than 0.9, and the simulation results were excellent and highly reliable. The mean annual precipitation was the main factor limiting the current range of suitable areas for these four species. Under the current climate, O. asiaticus, C. abbreviatus, and A. rhodopa were mainly distributed in the central and eastern parts of the Hexi Corridor, and M. palpalis was distributed throughout the Hexi Corridor, with a potential distribution area of 1.44×104, 1.43×104, 1.29×104, and 2.12×104 km2, accounting for 15.3, 15.2, 13.7, and 22.5% of the total area of the grasslands in the Hexi Corridor, respectively. The highly suitable areas of O. asiaticus, C. abbreviatus, and A. rhodopa were mainly distributed in the east-central part of Zhangye City, the western part of Wuwei City, and the western and southern part of Jinchang City, with areas of 0.35×104, 0.29×104, and 0.20×104 km2, accounting for 3.7, 3, and 2.2% of the grassland area, respectively. The high habitat of M. palpalis was mainly distributed in the southeast of Jiuquan City, the west, middle, and east of Zhangye City, the west of Wuwei City, and the west and south of Jinchang City, with an area of 0.32×104 km2, accounting for 3.4% of the grassland area. In the 2030s, the range of O. asiaticus, C. abbreviatus, A. rhodopa, and M. palpalis was predicted to decrease.

Climate change mainly affects production and consumption systems, such as: food, livelihoods, production (e.g., reduced milk production), water, and land use. The role of local knowledge has been recognized as important for decision-making under changing circumstances. This study was conducted in the northern part of the Ecuadorian Andes using a sample of 170 dairy-cattle-producing households. The objectives were: i) to characterize the rural livelihoods of dairy cattle farmers, ii) to evaluate access to climate information and perceptions of climate change, and iii) to determine the relationship between livelihoods and perceptions of climate change. Significant differences were identified between the groups evaluated in relation to the dairy farmers’ livelihoods. In addition, 85.29% of the respondents mentioned that climate information is important, but 67.83% do not trust the sources of information. It was found that there is a significant relationship between the level of education and age with the variables of climate change perceptions. This combined knowledge allows people to promote agri-environmental and educational policies to achieve climate literacy at a rural level.

The paper presents the open source tool climdex-kit which includes utilities to compute, analyze and visualize climate indices based on the input data, target domain and temporal extent defined by the user. It is intended to support researchers as well as practitioners and decision makers to derive, handle and interpret meaningful information for climate change studies and sectoral applications. It currently includes the computation of 30 indices based on temperature and precipitation, describing both mean and extreme climate conditions, and it is designed to work with climate model projections. The tool is written in Python and integrates utilities from the well-established Climate Data Operators (CDO) and NetCDF Operators (NCO) libraries. The specific utilities for selecting, aggregating and visualizing data are thought to help users to produce tailored results improving understanding and communication of future climate change. In order to show the functionalities of the package as well as its potential integration in regional climate services, climdex-kit was applied to an ensemble of downscaled climate model projections up to 2100 for the region Trentino – South Tyrol (north-eastern Italian Alps). The projections for a selection of indices accounting for extreme temperature and precipitation conditions were derived and different visualization choices discussed. The package climdex-kit is developed in a way that allows users to implement additional routines for calculating other indices as well as for easily adapting the routines to handle with different data types and spatio-temporal targets defined by the specific application. Effective climate services can in fact be developed only if flexible tools and customizable climate information are integrated with a clear understanding of data features and limitations.

This paper aims to explore how climate change affects electricity generation (fossil-fueled power plants, hydroelectric stations, wind systems and photovoltaics) and energy demand in residential buildings in Greece for the period up to 2050. In both cases RCP scenarios results are considered in the appropriate spatial and temporal dimension. Energy supply technologies were examined through statistical regression models and/or mathematical equations correlating climatic parameters with energy productivity. With respect to energy demand, bottom-up models were developed that integrate behavioral and policy aspects. The analysis showed that climate change is expected to mainly affect electricity generation from hydro and thermal power plants, while the impacts on solar and wind energy are significantly lower. The range of impacts on hydro potential and electricity generation depends on the geographical location of the power plants and shows significant uncertainty due to the corresponding uncertainty in climate models estimates regarding precipitation and runoff changes while showing significant geographical variations. With respect to energy demand, climate change is expected to affect energy consumption, but the expected range of effects depends on both the implementation and the characteristics (deep vs. shallow renovation) of measures for upgrading the thermal performance of the building stock and the intensity of climate change.

In 2011, commercial aviation contributed approximately 3.5% of global anthropogenic climate change through the emission of greenhouse gases during flight and operational non-CO2 climate effects. Over the last few years, numerous aviation-related organisations have set goals to reduce aviation’s climate impact. These goals, however, lack alignment, are poorly or ambiguously defined, or are internally inconsistent. This increases uncertainty about what aviation should work towards, how various stakeholders can contribute, and introduces problems with respect to accountability. In order to address this issue, this paper presents a comprehensive definition of a climate neutral air transport system as an “air transport system of which the climate effects of all its greenhouse gases and non-carbon dioxide effects throughout the entire life-cycle of each element of the system is balanced”. The proposed definition spans relevant system and encompasses all life cycle phases. To achieve a climate neutral air transport system by 2050, all life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions and non-CO2 climate effects remaining after in-sector reduction should be neutralised, as should all remaining non-CO2 climate forcing from emissions prior to 2050. Clarity on governance is furthermore needed, as the goal and associated targets proposed should be adopted globally.

Every year since the last fifty years, the world is waking up to higher and higher average temperature of the earth. Initially it was thought that this trend is a part of cyclical warming and cooling of the earth and nothing to be much worried about. However, with weather conditions become erratic and unusual over a large swath of the planet more and more frequently and regularly, scientists started to speak of Climate Change and people started to listen. In this paper we briefly discuss the link between global warming, climate change and current policies in the developing world to drive home the urgent need for alternative thinking. We briefly discuss the theoretical link between economic development and greenhouse gas emission and lay the micro foundation of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) before providing some evidence of global climate change and why this is a matter of concern for social scientists. Then we explore two avenues through which human activities are aggravating the situation especially in developing countries – the role of business architecture and the role of built architecture. We argue that these twin architecture are aggravating global warming by moving away from sustainable development policies.

60\% of the global population is expected to be in cities by 2050. At the same time the climate is changing at an accelerated rate. In this short paper we discuss the conflation of these two phenomena and how it may change the cities of the future. We formulate this as an optimization problem that could help answer important questions such as where are they likely to be located? How are they to be powered? What would be their demand for mobility and how might this be met? How over or under ground might these cities be? This paper first looks at a historical paradigm of cities in the absence of the climate crisis and then proposes the new paradigm to look at cities of the future faced by the challenge of the climate change crisis.

Failure to adapt to climate change is currently considered one of the major threats affecting humanity. Hence, much effort is being put into discussing adaptation approaches. While many adaptation options have been identified, the academic literature does not present a simple process that local councils and community members can use to rank adaptation options. In this context, community members participating on planning processes are presented with many adaptation options, but with no objective approach for selection, which adds challenge to the planning process. With the objective of addressing this issue, this work proposes a simple equation that allows calculating the applicability level of adaptation options. Results can then be plotted into graphs that allow correlating adaptation options and applicability level, which can be easily understood by community members. To develop such equation, this work built on existing sophisticated models from where the indicators used on the equation were identified, as well as the relationship between them. A scale was proposed to help on identifying adaptation options that should be implemented on the short, medium and long term, and options that should only be implemented if the circumstance change.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recommends that the most recent 30-year period, i.e. 1991-2020, shall be used to compute climate normals of geophysical variables. A unique aspect this recent 30-year period is that the satellite-based observations of many different essential climate variables are available during this period, thus opening up new possibilities to provide a robust, global basis for the 30-year reference period in order to allow climate monitoring and climate change studies. Here, using the satellite-based climate data record of cloud and radiation properties, CLARA-A3, for the month of January between 1981 to 2020, we illustrate the difference between climate normal, as defined by guidelines from WMO on calculations of 30-yr climate normals, and climatology. It is shown that this difference is strongly dependent on the climate variable in question. We discuss the impacts of the nature and availability of satellite observations, variable definition, retrieval algorithm and programmatic configuration. It is shown that the satellite-based climate data records show enormous promise in providing climate normal for the recent 30-year period (1991-2020) globally. We finally argue that the holistic perspectives from the global satellite community should be increasingly considered while formulating the future WMO guidelines on computing climate normals.

Buildings’ thermal energy needs are inherently linked to climate conditions. Consequently, it is crucial to evaluate how climate changes affect these energy demands. Despite extensive analysis, a comprehensive assessment involving a diverse range of building types has not been consistently conducted. The primary objective of this research is to perform a coherent evaluation of the influence of climate changes, construction element properties, and the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system type of control on the energy requirements of six buildings (residential, services, and commercial). The buildings are considered located in a temperate Mediterranean climate. Our focus is on the year 2070, considering three distinct climatic scenarios: (i) maintaining the current climate without further changes, (ii) moderate climate changes, and (iii) extreme climate changes. The buildings are distributed across three different locations, each characterized by unique climatic conditions. Buildings’ envelope features a traditional External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) and expanded polystyrene (EPS) serves as thermal insulation material. Two critical design factors are explored: EPS thickness ranging from 0 (no insulation) to 12 cm; and horizontal external fixed shading elements varying lengths from 0 (absence) to 150 cm. Six alternative setpoint ranges are assessed for the HVAC system control: three based on the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and three based on indoor air temperature (Tair). Results were obtained with a validated in-home software tool. They show that, even under extreme climate conditions, the application of thermal insulation remains energetically favorable, however its relative importance diminishes as climate severity increases. Then, proper insulation design remains important for energy efficiency. The use of external shading elements for glazing (e.g., overhangs, louvers) proves beneficial in specific cases. As climate changes intensify, the significance of shading elements grows. Thus, strategic placement and design are necessary for good results. The HVAC system’s energy consumption depends on the level of thermal comfort requirements, on the climate characteristics and on the building’s type of use. As climate change severity intensifies, energy demands for cooling increase, while energy needs for heating decrease. However, it’s essential to recognize that the impact of climate changes on HVAC system energy consumption significantly depends on the type of building.

There is a growing consensus that to effectively adapt to climate change, cities need user-friendly tools and reliable high-resolution biophysical and socio-economic data for analysis, mapping, modeling, and visualization. This study examines availability of various types of information used in climate adaptation plans of 40 municipalities with population less than 300,000 people in the United and in France, probing into the choice and usage of relevant information by small municipalities. We argue that non-climatic spatial data, such as population demographic and socio-economic patterns, urban infrastructure, and environmental data must be integrated with climate tools and datasets to inform effective vulnerability assessment and equitable climate adaptation planning goals. Climate adaptation plans frequently fail to address the existing structural inequalities and environmental injustices in urban infrastructure and land use. Adaptation methodological approaches should be reassessed in the context of much needed societal transformation. Lessons learned from our studies offer valuable insights for potential development of the national and state-level climate adaptation information services for cities.

Crop productivity is directly dependent to soil fertility. High soil organic carbon (SOC) content in soil is vital as it leads to improved soil quality, increased productivity, and stable soil-aggregates. In addition, with the signing of the climate agreement, there is growing interest in carbon sequestration in landscapes. This paper looks at how SOC can be increased so that it not only contributes to reduction of CO₂, but also translates to increased food production thereby enhancing food security. This synergy between mitigation and enhancing food security is even more relevant for mountain landscapes of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region where there remains huge potential to increase CO₂ sequestration and simultaneously address food security in the chronic food deficit villages. Soil samples were collected from seven transects each in Bajhang and Mustang and from 4 land use types in each transect. Samples of soils were taken from two depths in each plot; 0-15 cm below the soil surface and 15-30 cm below the soil surface to compare the top soil and subsoil dynamics of the soil nutrients. The lab analysis was performed to assess the soil texture, soil color, soil acidity in 'power of hydrogen' (pH), macro-nutrients as soil fertility. Secondary data was used to analyze the level of food deficit in the villages. The result shows that most of the sample soils from Mustang were clay (82.1%) which is 46 samples out of 56. The pH value of soil from Bajhang ranged from 5.29 to 9.09. The pH value of soil ranged from 5.65 to 8.81 in Mustang. SOC contents of sampled soils from Bajhang ranged from 0.20% to 7.69% with mean amount of 2.47% ± 0.17. SOC contents of sampled soils from Mustang ranged from 0.51% to 8.56% with mean amount of 2.60% ± 0.25. By land use type, forest land had the highest carbon (C) content of 53.61 t ha^-1 in Bajhang whereas in Mustang, agricultural land had the highest C content of 52.02 tons ha-1. Based on these data, we can say that there is potential for increasing SOC through improved soil health and crop production and soil. Sustainable soil management should be practiced for higher productivity. Livestock may also provide farmyard manure, which can be used to fertilize cultivated soils, which increases soil productivity. Increasing productivity would aid in increasing the access and availability of food in these mountain villages.

Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and many of the observed changes are unprecedented over five decades to millennia. Globally the atmosphere and ocean is increasingly getting warmer, the amount of ice on the earth is decreasing over the oceans, and the sea level has risen. According to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the total increasing temperature globally averaged combined land and surface between the average of the 1850-1900 period and the 2003 to 2012 period is 0.78 °C (0.72 to 0.85). But should we prepare for such the relatively small change? The importance is not the mean of the warming but the considerable likelihood of climate change that could trigger extreme natural hazards. The impact and the risk of climate change associated with railway infrastructure have not been fully addressed in the literature due to the difference in local environmental parameters. On the other hand, the current railway network in Malaysia, over the last decade, has been significantly affected by severe weather conditions such as rainfall, lightning, wind and very high temperatures. Our research findings point out the extremes that can lead to asset system failure, degraded operation and ultimately, delays to train services. During the period of flood, the embankment of the track can be swept away and bridge can be demolished, while during drought, the embankment of the track can suffer from soil desiccation and embankment deterioration, high temperature increases the risk of track buckling and high winds can result in vegetation or foreign object incursion on to the infrastructure as well as additional quasi-static burden exerted. This review is of significant importance for planning and design of the newly proposed high speed rail link between Malaysia and Singapore.

Students are often portrayed as future leaders. Their participation in climate change mitigation would improve when they access climate information and gain a high level of climate change awareness. This study was initiated to assess the Congolese students’ awareness of climate change by focusing on their sources of information on climate change, knowledge about the causes and impacts of climate change and activities that can raise awareness on climate change. Using a convenience sampling technique, we collected data through individual interviews conducted among 1,278 students from 13 universities across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The interview results showed that all students irrespective of their disciplines were concerned about climate change, a phenomenon strongly driven by human activities, such as deforestation (78%), urbanisation (30%), agriculture activities (30%) and transport services (26%). The students’ perceptions of climate change impacts included increase in temperature (82%), decrease in the number of rainy days (66%), proliferation of pests (60%) and increase in the number of malaria patients (39%). The primary sources of information that significantly affected students’ awareness of climate change included environment-related university courses and television broadcasts. The awareness-raising and mitigation actions related to climate change recommended by the students included educating people about good waste management (56%), planting trees (65%) and using the taxes paid by mining companies for the restoration of degraded ecosystems. The students believed that in DRC, all layers of the society (educational institutions, civil society organisations, community members and businesses) are important in building resilience to climate change. This study can guide teachers to focus their educational efforts on shaping pro-environmental behaviour in students.

This paper explores the imminent threat posed by climate change to the unique platypus species. It delves into the ecological repercussions of global temperature rise and altered climate patterns on platypus habitats. The study emphasises the multifaceted impacts, including changes in aquatic habitat quality, food sources, and breeding rituals. Climate-induced shifts in phytoplankton spring blooms and anthropogenic pressures further endanger the platypus's habitat. The article stresses the importance of understanding these effects for both species conservation and anticipating broader ecological and socio-economic consequences. Mitigating climate change impacts requires a multidimensional approach, involving habitat manipulation and restoration strategies.

The paper will analyze the pressures and vulnerabilities of the consolidated city from two perspectives: technical and social. Some design and pragmatic experiences conducted by the author in his teaching and research experience first at the Department of Urbanism of TUDelft in the Netherlands and currently at the PDTA Department of La Sapienza University of Rome will be introduced and analyzed. In the first research activity, whose case study is Rotterdam, all urban vulnerabilities related to climate change will be analyzed while in the second one, conducted in Viterbo, the vulnerability related to the hull of social inclusion, poor accessibility and psycho-social stress that plague our established cities will be treated. The two areas of study, different in size and spatial governance tools, are comparable because they allow deciphering the city's risks through lines of intervention that could serve as best practices and serve the urban planning disciplinary update also allowing to define a reflection on morphology and fabrics and on the shape of the city itself. Both teaching and research activities in which the author is involved allow the topic of urban vulnerability to be addressed with a broad exploratory scope that, in the final stage, hypothesizes design intervention on the neighborhood scale, identified as the most appropriate to provide plausible climate and social adaptation and mitigation responses.

Three decades have now passed since the first papers linking climate change to issues in human disease and healthcare. One of the most active topics in this area has been the implication of climate change events, particularly temperature and humidity fluctuations, in the northward spread of vector-borne viruses from more tropical regions into Europe and North America. However, some detailed studies of one such emerging disease, tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEv), have called the connection into question, concentrating the debate on the investigation of precise mechanisms for the spread of viral disease. More recently, firmer statistical correlations have been made between climate variables, the presence of insect vectors and the prevalence of viral disease, particularly for West Nile Virus (WNV). These insights suggest avenues for mechanistic confirmation of the involvement of climate change in other diseases where the connection remains conjectural.

Shutdown for just six days enables land plants to entirely fix CO₂ excess of +4 Gt C per yr. Rebuilding soil organic carbon (SOC) in worm-worked humus is the only practical carbon capture and storage (CCS) capable of freely offsetting annual anthropogenic emissions. A case is made to redirect all available resources towards proven, earthworm-based, organic husbandry. Priority is to safely combat mounting global threats due to irreversible species extinction, perilous climate change and deteriorating human wellbeing (mental/physical health). All three interlinked risks are underpinned by a relentless, yet largely ignored, critical loss of precious topsoil. A first step to topsoil recovery is vermi-composting all vegetable and animal ‘wastes’ for return to the field.

Abstract: Earth’s Phanerozoic history is marked by about 100 major events (“golden spikes”) indicating the beginnings of new stages in the Geologic Time Scale (GTS). Stage boundaries signify major deterministic events that are relatively well-known and can be correlated worldwide, mostly on the basis of appearances or disappearances of fossil species. The latest stage (Anthropocene) is human-made and currently involves rapid (approximately linear) increase in average atmospheric temperature. The main cause of Earth’s past and current temperature increases is addition of CO2 to the atmosphere. There is continuous exchange of greenhouse gases between atmosphere and oceans, which (per unit of volume) contain 50 to 60 times as much CO2 as the atmosphere. Abundance of new very precise worldwide observations is allowing multifractal modeling of weather and climate during the latest Quaternary stages during which some variables like temperature of the atmosphere and frequency of forest fires can be described by using the Pareto-lognormal frequency distribution model with parameters that are subject to continuous (deterministic) changes, similar to those in the earlier Phanerozoic.

Turmeric is highly tolerant to several climatic changes and can grow under high temperatures and moderate drought conditions. This herb is very much dependant on optimum rainfall, optimum heat with less chilling or freezing conditions. These conditions if are more than normal would tend to reduce the yields of the crops and also effect the productivity. To reduce such drastic yield losses certain conventional plant breeding methods were employed but were very less effective compared to plant biotechnology. To reduce these loses by stresses, extensive and effective molecular biology methods were employed which identifies the genes that are stress responsive along with certain methods like gene transfer, genetic engineering was also known to be effective. All these methods are quite helpful in mitigating the yield losses and promoting healthy growth in the plants. The maintenance of rhizome size, curcumin content, essential oils etc. is very much necessary for the turmeric crop because of its role, especially in the medical field. Therefore, the yield losses are reduced to a maximum extent so that development of smart turmeric is easy and crop designing is possible only with the advanced techniques involved in agriculture biotechnology.

Equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) is the change in global mean temperature expected to result from doubling atmospheric CO2 concentration from pre-industrial levels. Extensive research during the past 40 years has not reduced the uncertainty associated with ECS. Sherwood et al. [1] applied Bayesian statistics to evidence from climate-process physics, historical observations and earlier proxies to reduce the range of ECS from 1.5 – 4.5 K to 2.6 – 4.1 K. This paper examines their methods and many of the assumptions they made. It also evaluates two additional periods in the Holocene to show that factors other than CO2 drove recent climate change. It identifies potential systematic errors resulting from adding non-equilibrium short-term adjustments to the radiative forcing of greenhouse gases and from underestimating the effects of solar irradiance, ocean currents and aerosols. These factors have resulted in estimates of the forcing by CO2 that far exceed the apparent effects in paleoclimate data.

Adaptation to climate change is being addressed in many domains. This means that there are multiple perspectives on adaptation; often with differing visions resulting in disconnected responses and outcomes. Combining singular perspectives into coherent, combined perspectives that include multiple needs and visions can help to deepen the understanding of various aspects of adaptation and provide more effective responses. Such combinations of perspectives can help to increase the range and variety of adaptation measures available for implementation or avoid maladaptation compared with adaptations derived from a singular perspective. The objective of this paper is to present and demonstrate a framework for structuring the local adaptation responses using the inputs from multiple perspectives. The adaptation response framing has been done by: (i) contextualizing climate change adaptation needs; (ii) analyzing drivers of change; (iii) characterizing measures of adaptation; and (iv) establishing links between the measures with a particular emphasis on taking account of multiple perspectives. This framework was demonstrated with reference to the management of flood risks in a case study Can Tho, Vietnam. The results from the case study show that multiple perspective framing of adaptation responses enhance the understanding of various aspects of adaptation measures, thereby leading to flexible implementation practices.

High-resolution forecasting of vegetation type shifts may prove essential for anticipating and mitigating the impacts of future climate change on bird populations. Here, we used the US Forest Service Ecological Response Unit (ERU) classification to develop and assess vegetation-based breeding habitat profiles for eight owl species occurring in foothills and mountains of the southwestern US. Shifts in mapped habitat were forecast using an ecosystem vulnerability model based on the pre-1990 climate envelopes of ERUs and the A1B moderate IPCC emission scenario of future climate. For five of the eight owl species, regional breeding habitat extent was projected to decline by at least 60% by 2090. Three species, the boreal owl (Aegolius funereus; at the trailing edge of its distribution), flammulated owl (Psiloscops flammeolus), and northern pygmy-owl (Glaucidium gnoma) were projected to experience the steepest habitat-loss rates, or 85%, 85%, and 76%, respectively. Projected vegetation shifts overlaid with well-documented flammulated owl breeding populations showed complete or near complete loss of habitat by 2090 in areas of montane forest currently supporting dense aggregations of owl territories. Generalist or lower-elevation owl species were predicted to be less impacted, while for the whiskered screech-owl (Megascops trichopsis), the contraction of current habitat was nearly offset by a projected northward expansion. In general, the results of this study suggest high exposure to climate change impacts for upper-elevation forest owls of semi-arid southwestern North America. Long distance migration and low natal philopatry may prove important to some montane owl populations for adapting to regional loss of habitat.

The increasing demand for transporting people and goods, rail system is needed for enhancement. An architectural design of train station can significantly impact investment from any government. However, a proper guideline for designing the train station in tropical climate is not publicized. This review examine railway station design through an analysis of student design theses in Thailand, from 1983 to 2022. Furthermore, the building analyses on architectural design theory were done in terms of service area, form, entrance structure, roof structure, style, and design development. The analysis reveals curved and gable roofs are most frequent, followed by 3D curved roofs. HSR stations' main entrances are designed to represent local culture and save walking distance. Curved and gabled porticos provide the most extravagant main entryway, a feeling of grandeur and beauty. A public building's overlapping portico or curving gabled portico lends majesty and refinement to its façade. Architects and designers strive to make buildings more attractive and practical. Besides, university-designed stations prioritize conceptual design and functional space over cost. Finally, railway station design should prioritize transparency, connectivity, movement, and cost- and time-efficiency. Research gaps are identified, such as designing user-friendly for thermal comfort and design-for-all the railway station in tropical climate, are critical for future evaluation.

Many pilot-based initiatives have been developed to promote awareness and use of climate information services among vulnerable smallholder farmers in Africa through million-dollar investments. However, despite their experimental nature, these pilot projects have been successful in raising participating farmers’ awareness and use of climate information services and they can inform transferrable good practices. Through a systematic literature review approach, this review sought to understand ways in which these past pilot projects have contributed to climate risk management in the context of smallholder farming and the factors that led to their success. Results showed that climate information services main contribution to climate risk management has been through facilitating farm level decision making. Factors that led to success of the pilots include: use of downscaled information; building institutional partnerships to add value to climate information; involving farmers through the co-designing and co-developing process; face-to-face way of communication; embedding pre-seasonal workshops in the activities of local institutions for sustainability; using diversity of communication channels to enhance reach among others. These factors can be borrowed as good practices to inform future efforts focused on increasing adoption of climate information services among a wider population beyond pilot project reach.

Climate change effect on human-living in verities of way such as health and food security. This study presents predicting crop yields, and production risk in the near future (2020-2029) in northern Thailand using coupling 1 km resolution of regional climate model which is downscaled using a conservative remapping method and the Decision Support System for the Transfer of Agrotechnology (DSSAT) modeling system. The accuracy of the climate and agricultural model was appropriate compared to the observations with Index of Agreement (IOA) in ranges of 0.65 - 0.89. The DSSAT modeling system predicts that rice, and maize production will decrease by 5% and 4% in northern Thailand. In addition, a short-term risk analysis of rice and maize production has shown that, in the context of climate change, maize production appears to be at a high risk of low production in the near future, while rice cultivation might be a low risk.

The human landscape transforming activity contributes to the global change of vegetation in different forms. Hunting is one of the most ancient human landscape-shaping activities. Feeders for hunting are particularly disruptive to vegetation. In the present study, we conducted a vegetation survey in these highly disturbed places. We are investigating the vegetation dynamics over several years in in the turkey oak–sessile oak zone, in two areas with different moisture and shade conditions (forest and clearing). One important background factor is changes in precipitation and temperature. The novelty of our present study lies in the fact that the observation takes place with continuous disturbance, where the human influence is very large. Our results confirm that the weed infestation be detectable at bait sites over a long period, and the interannual changes were typical in every year, according to the fact that in August, more weed species are usually present with a greater cover at the bait sites. The main meteorological factors played a role in the degree of weed infestation in each year. There was a higher proportion of vegetation regeneration in wetter years, while dry periods do not favor successional processes. With the drying of the climate, the disturbed areas are constantly losing their natural value, but wetter weather is not an automatic solution either. A more precise understanding of vulnerable systems and careful planning of treatment interventions is necessary.

Xinjiang, as a climate-sensitive region in northwest China, holds significant importance in studying extreme weather events for agricultural production and socioeconomic development. Based on data from 52 meteorological stations and 23 extreme climate indicators in Xinjiang from 1960 to 2021, the 5a moving average, linear trend estimation, climate tendency rate, and GIS spatial analysis methods are used to analyze the distribution and change characteristics of extreme climate. The results revealed that from 1960 to 2021, TXx, TNx, TXn, TNn, FD, ID, TN10p, TX10p, and WSDI showed a significant upward trend, while SU, TR, TN90p, TX90p, and CSDI showed a significant downward trend. What is more, the range of changes in the extreme temperature indexes from 1990 to 2021 is higher than that of 1960 to 1989. The high-value areas of extreme indexes are primarily concentrated in the northern part, while the high-value areas of cold event indexes are mainly distributed in the southern part. The upward/downward trends all accounting for over 80.00% of the entire region. The Rx1day, Rx5day, PRCPTOT, R95p, R99p, R10, R20, and R25 showed a significant growth trend from 1960 to 2021, and the range of change in the extreme precipitation indexes from 1990 to 2021 was lower than that from 1960 to 1989. Moreover, their high-value areas and high climate tendency areas are mainly concentrated in the northern and western parts of Xinjiang, with upward trends all accounting for over 71.00% of the entire region. The research results provide theoretical foundations for formulating climate risk strategies in the northwest region of China.

This paper examines the interplay between media and the “social side of soils” whereby climate change action implicates individual and collective capacity to adapt, participate in groups or organizations, networks, and respond to challenges and opportunities across a system. The context examined here is Canadian agriculture, and soil health initiatives in the province of Ontario. Our review of relevant literature points to a knowledge gap on the role of the media in enabling climate action in the Canadian agricultural sector with a focus on soil management practices. This study conducted a media content analysis of 100 English-language news articles published between 2022 and 2024 and conducted 31 surveys with media professionals. Approximately one-quarter of the screened news articles contained any relevant coverage of soil health-related climate change mitigation issues. Journalist surveys identified the resource constraints on soil health media coverage with a wide range of traditional and Internet-based journalism on climate change issues, motivated particularly by crisis communication and one-off “parachute reporting”. Going forward, the engagement of key stakeholders of soil health in Canada such as farmers for media and communication about climate change mitigation needs attention. Key policy structures at the federal and provincial levels can help to make this happen.

The international literature shows a polarised debate on the impacts of climate change on migration. Some studies find a positive linkage, whereas others find a negative one. It is, without a doubt, a complex process better considered case-specific. There is no available information on the relationship between climate change and migration in Colombia, despite past research exploring each of these subjects independently. This study intends explicitly to investigate this linkage gap. Consequently, this paper's essential contribution is that it builds a bridge between climate change scenarios and migratory science for the first time in Colombia. Despite their limitations, the theoretical and methodological framework suggested by IOM (2009b pp. 86, Section B, Chapter II) is demonstrated in this study to be very valid since it provides a methodology to predict where future flows will occur (based on past evidence). The methodological approaches of SLA and NELM explained in section A in the IV Chapter are also valuable for analysing and approaching this study's conclusions. The primary conclusions of this study indicate that the "Coffee Region," Valle, and Atlantic (or Caribbean Coast) provinces that mainly send emigrants to Spain and the US are the key internal regions responsible for most of the international migration from Colombians. The same areas are especially vulnerable to the impacts of upcoming climate change in the A1B scenario produced by the IDEAM (2010) for 2040 and 2100. Thus, future flows of migrants are expected from these regions (2040-2100). However, issues such as visa requirements or the costs associated with migration constitute international barriers to this flow. The sensitivity of these regions can also be associated with internal migration flows, more armed conflict, and forced displacement in a cyclical process. Theoretically, a resurgence of Colombia's armed conflict and displacement due to climate change can be expected. However, the need for empirical studies in Colombia to support this analysis is imperative and is the most crucial recommendation arising from this study.

The literature on contract farming and climate change in Zimbabwe has blind spots in relation to the study of contract farming as a climate change response. While the literature on contract farming and climate change abounds, such literature is lacking when it comes to the exploration of how contract farming can facilitate climate change coping and adaptation strategies by smallholder farmers. This paper fills this gap. It draws on in-depth interviews with 10 contracted and 10 non-contract farmers who were engaged through face-to-face in-depth interviews in the Chipinge South Constituency. It found that contract farming does not only boost productivity, but it also enables farmers to positively respond to the ravages of climate change, and therefore, it should be supported and encouraged. Future research should explore more viable and sustainable way through which the state, instead of private sector actors, should be at the centre of contract farming.