Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Torben Valdbjørn

2014-01-01

. This absence of an agreement calls for adaptation to climate change. Emphasis should be put on buildings, as they play a vital economic and social role in society and are vulnerable to climate change. Therefore, the building stock deserves its own policy and implementation plans as well as tools that enable...... adequate and cost-efficient adaptation to climate change. This paper explains the need for climate change adaptation of the building stock and suggests a pattern for a strategic approach to how to reach the climate change adaptation needed. The suggested and presented need of a strategic approach is based...... on three main initiatives consisting of the need to examine the potential impacts of climate change on the building stock, the need to assess and develop a roadmap of current and future adaptation measures that can withstand the effects of climate change, and the need to engage relevant stakeholders...

Determinants of climate change adaptive strategies among small ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Identified adaptation strategies used by farmers to mitigate the effect of climate change included planting beside the river(86%), planting disease and pest resistant crop (73%) and changes on planting and harvesting dates(63%). Results of Tobit regression analysis showed that level of education, farm size and access to ...

Perception, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies of Irrigated Paddy Farmer Community to Face Climate Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siska Rasiska Suantapura

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Climate change has a real impact on the condition of agriculture in developing countries, including Indonesia. Irrigated paddy farmers are the ones really feeling the impact of climate change. Therefore, we need to understand the perceptions, mitigation and adaptation strategies of irrigated paddy farmer community to face climate change. The study is conducted in Indramayu and Tasikmalaya Regency in West Java by using descriptive survey method, regression analysis and path analysis through Structural Equation Modelling approach with Lisrel TM 8.5. The results showes that: (1 changes to climate variability affects the productivity of rice; (2 perception of irrigated paddy farmer community on climate change and its affects are influenced by internal and external factors; and (3 adaptation strategy are influenced by internal and external factors, whereas no mitigation strategy. Therefore, mitigation and adaptation strategies with site specific location are very necessary improving climate information services, increasing empowerment of farmers through field schools, and providing the provision of facilities that are practical and adaptive to climate.

Identifying Effective Strategies for Climate Change Education: The Coastal Areas Climate Change Education (CACCE) Partnership Audiences and Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, J. G.; Feldman, A.; Muller-Karger, F. E.; Gilbes, F.; Stone, D.; Plank, L.; Reynolds, C. J.

2011-12-01

Many past educational initiatives focused on global climate change have foundered on public skepticism and disbelief. Some key reasons for these past failures can be drawn directly from recognized best practices in STEM education - specifically, the necessity to help learners connect new knowledge with their own experiences and perspectives, and the need to create linkages with issues or concerns that are both important for and relevant to the audiences to be educated. The Coastal Areas Climate Change Education (CACCE) partnership has sought to follow these tenets as guiding principles in identifying critical audiences and developing new strategies for educating the public living in the low-lying coastal areas of Florida and the Caribbean on the realities, risks, and adaptation and mitigation strategies for dealing with the regional impacts of global climate change. CACCE is currently focused on three key learner audiences: a) The formal education spectrum, targeting K-12 curricula through middle school marine science courses, and student and educator audiences through coursework and participatory research strategies engaging participants in a range of climate-related investigations. b) Informal science educators and outlets, in particular aquaria and nature centers, as an avenue toward K-12 teacher professional development as well as for public education. c) Regional planning, regulatory and business professionals focused on the built environment along the coasts, many of whom require continuing education to maintain licensing and/or other professional certifications. Our current activities are focused on bringing together an effective set of educational, public- and private-sector partners to target the varied needs of these audiences in Florida and the U.S. Caribbean, and tailoring an educational plan aimed at these stakeholder audiences that starts with the regionally and topically relevant impacts of climate change, and strategies for effective adaptation and

77 FR 19661 - Draft National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-02

... 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice... change challenges to its mission of protecting human health and the environment. Climate change alters... even temporal nature of effects, climate change will pose challenges to various aspects of water...

Business Responses to Climate Change. Identifying Emergent Strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolk, A.; Pinkse, J.

2005-01-01

Companies face much uncertainty about the competitive effects of the recently adopted Kyoto Protocol on global climate change and the current and future regulations that may emerge from it. Companies have considerable discretion to explore different market strategies to address global warming and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This article examines these strategic options by reviewing the market-oriented actions that are currently being taken by 136 large companies that are part of the Global 500. There are six different market strategies that companies use to address climate change and that consist of different combinations of the market components available to managers. Managers can choose between more emphasis on improvements in their business activities through innovation or employ compensatory approaches such as emissions trading. They can either act by themselves or work with other companies, NGOs, or (local) governments

Sinking into the Sea? Climate Change and AOSIS Strategies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Højland, Camille Marie Risager; Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard

2017-01-01

that a small actor like AOSIS plays in protecting the citizens of its member states rather than free ride on larger actors. Which strategies should AOSIS use to encourage an even more ambitious climate policy in the future? We suggest five relevant strategies: 1) Introduction of sanctions in the Paris...... Agreement, 2) A CO2 tax, 3) Subsidising new green technology, 4) That AOSIS should look for coalition partners, e.g. China, and 5) Even stronger focus on the linkage between climate change and future migration. Employing such strategies may save the SIDS from sinking into the sea and, at the same time......, secure the target level from the Paris Agreement....

Climate change perceptions and local adaptation strategies of hazard-prone rural households in Bangladesh

OpenAIRE

G.M. Monirul Alam; Khorshed Alam; Shahbaz Mushtaq

2017-01-01

Adaptation is a key strategy that can alleviate the severity of climate change impacts on agriculture and food production. Adaptation strategies are unlikely to be effective without an understanding of the farmers’ perceptions of climate change. This paper explores the local knowledge of adaptation in response to the perceived impacts of climate change and climatic hazards using a survey of 380 resource-poor riverbank erosion-prone households in Bangladesh. The results indicate that the respo...

A Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for Management of ...

Science.gov (United States)

Sea level rise is causing shoreline erosion, increased coastal flooding, and marsh vulnerability to the impact of storms. Coastal marshes provide flood abatement, carbon and nutrient sequestration, water quality maintenance, and habitat for fish, shellfish, and wildlife, including species of concern, such as the saltmarsh sparrow (Ammodramus caudacutus). We present a climate change adaptation strategy (CCAS) adopted by scientific, management, and policy stakeholders for managing coastal marshes and enhancing system resiliency. A common adaptive management approach previously used for restoration projects was modified to identify climate-related vulnerabilities and plan climate change adaptive actions. As an example of implementation of the CCAS, we describe the stakeholder plans and management actions the US Fish and Wildlife Service and partners developed to build coastal resiliency in the Narrow River Estuary, RI, in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. When possible, an experimental BACI (before-after, control-impact) design, described as pre- and post-sampling at the impact site and one or more control sites, was incorporated into the climate change adaptation and implementation plans. Specific climate change adaptive actions and monitoring plans are described and include shoreline stabilization, restoring marsh drainage, increasing marsh elevation, and enabling upland marsh migration. The CCAS provides a framework and methodology for successfully managing coa

Legitimately seeking differences: The case of climate change strategies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bui, B.; Fowler, C. [Victoria Univ. of Wellington (New Zealand)

2009-07-01

In 2002, the New Zealand Government announced its intention to introduce a carbon tax as part of its response to climate change. Following the review of New Zealand climate change policies, the proposed carbon tax was ruled out in 2005 and other measures were investigated. In October 2007, the government announced its new climate change policy package, a fundamental part of which is the domestic cap-and-trade Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The scheme is currently being revised by the Government, with a report due August 2009. The government's climate change policy and the ETS in particular, represent significant changes in regulatory and societal expectations of the way in which businesses will account for the impact of their carbon emissions on the natural environment. The New Zealand electricity generators are among the most heavily impacted by the Government's climate change policy due to the scale of carbon emissions from electricity generation. This study utilizes institutional theory and the concept of legitimate differentiation, using a resource-based view, to examine and explain the changes in the electricity generators' carbon-strategy related environmental management and reporting practices as a result of regulatory, societal and financial pressures arising from the Government's climate change policy as it changed between 2002 and 2008. A study of organizations' reactions to climate change regulations is timely because the phenomenon of changing regulation is worldwide and far-reaching in scale. As such, the findings from a New Zealand study of electricity companies are releavant to many countries and organizations. Two generators that are among the firms with highest levels of carbon emissions in the New Zealand electricity industry (NZEI) are selected for in-depth analysis. Each company is first analyzed longitudinally (2001-2008) to discern changes in their internal environmental structures, systems and strategies to account

Habitat-based conservation strategies cannot compensate for climate-change-induced range loss

Science.gov (United States)

Wessely, Johannes; Hülber, Karl; Gattringer, Andreas; Kuttner, Michael; Moser, Dietmar; Rabitsch, Wolfgang; Schindler, Stefan; Dullinger, Stefan; Essl, Franz

2017-11-01

Anthropogenic habitat fragmentation represents a major obstacle to species shifting their range in response to climate change. Conservation measures to increase the (meta-)population capacity and permeability of landscapes may help but the effectiveness of such measures in a warming climate has rarely been evaluated. Here, we simulate range dynamics of 51 species from three taxonomic groups (vascular plants, butterflies and grasshoppers) in Central Europe as driven by twenty-first-century climate scenarios and analyse how three habitat-based conservation strategies (establishing corridors, improving the landscape matrix, and protected area management) modify species' projected range size changes. These simulations suggest that the conservation strategies considered are unable to save species from regional extinction. For those persisting, they reduce the magnitude of range loss in lowland but not in alpine species. Protected area management and corridor establishment are more effective than matrix improvement. However, none of the conservation strategies evaluated could fully compensate the negative impact of climate change for vascular plants, butterflies or grasshoppers in central Europe.

Impacts of climate change, variability and adaptation strategies on ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Impacts of climate change, variability and adaptation strategies on agriculture in semi arid areas of Tanzania: The case of Manyoni District in Singida Region, Tanzania. ... The changes have affected crops and livestock in a number of ways resulting in reduced productivity. Empirical analysis of rainfall suggest decreasing ...

Farmers Ideas of Climate Change and Strategies for Adaptation in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Farmers Ideas of Climate Change and Strategies for Adaptation in Northern Part of Katsina State. ... The study reveals that changes in temperature and precipitation cause changes in crop varieties, changes in planting dates, a shorter growing season, and increased use of water conservation techniques. Various adaptation ...

Conservation strategies, sustainable development and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manning, E.; Rizzo, B.; Wiken, E.

1990-01-01

The relationship between conservation strategies, sustainable development and climatic change is discussed. A broad conceptual model of environment-economy relationships is introduced, which can aid in understanding the sources of the stresses put on the environment and the ability of the environment to respond. The supply side of the model introduces the concept of the environment as a source of environmental functions, each distinguishable part of which can be described in terms of a range of biological or physical variables. These functions have the potential to produce an extensive range of goods, services, values, etc. The demand side of the model is population powered and anthropocentric. Transformation functions occur to alter the supply to satisfy the demand, and may range from picking an apple to combinations of transport, combination, distillation and packaging of many different substances. Climate change can be viewed as one of the most significant feedbacks from our demands on the resource base, most particularly from the transformation functions used. Conservation strategies are a means to try to address concerns with all areas of the system embodied in the model. 36 refs., 4 figs

Farmers´ perceptions of climate change and agricultural adaptation strategies in rural Sahel

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mertz, Ole; Mbow, Cheikh; Reenberg, Anette

2009-01-01

Farmers in the Sahel have always been facing climatic variability at intra- and inter-annual and decadal time scales. While coping and adaptation strategies have traditionally included crop diversification, mobility, livelihood diversification, and migration, singling out climate as a direct driver...... of changes is not so simple. Using focus group interviews and a household survey, this study analyzes the perceptions of climate change and the strategies for coping and adaptation by sedentary farmers in the savanna zone of central Senegal. Households are aware of climate variability and identify wind...

A review of Thailand's strategies for global climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boonchalermkit, S.

1994-01-01

Thailand is greatly concerned about global climate change, which is caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and the release of chlorofluorocarbons. The country itself is not currently a major contributor to global climate change. However, as Thailand's economy expands and its burning of fossil fuels increases, the country's contribution to global climate change could increase. Thailand's use of primary energy supplies grew at an average rate of 13.4 percent per year in the period 1985 to 1990. The rapid, sustained growth was due to the overall pace of growth in the economy and the expansion of industrial, construction, and transportation activities. The primary energy demand was approximately 31,600 kilotons of oil equivalent (KTOE) in 1990. The transportation sector accounted for the largest proportion of energy demand at 30 percent. Within the next 15 years, the power sector is expected to overtake the transportation sector as the largest consumer of energy. Petroleum is currently the predominant source of energy in Thailand, accounting for 56 percent of the primary energy demand. Thailand recognizes that it has an important part to play in finding solutions to minimizing emissions of greenhouse gases and identifying viable response strategies. Thus, in this paper the authors will present several policy strategies relevant to climate change in Thailand and discuss how they have been implemented and enforced. Policies concerning forestry, energy, and environment are reviewed in detail in this paper

Adaptation Strategies of Wheat to Climate Change (Case Study: Ahvaz Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Delghandi

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction In recent years human activities induced increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2. Increases in [CO2] caused global warming and Climate change. Climate change is anticipated to cause negative and adverse impacts on agricultural systems throughout the world. Higher temperatures are expected to lead to a host of problems. On the other hand, increasing of [CO2] anticipated causing positive impacts on crop yield. Considering the socio-economic importance of agriculture for food security, it is essential to undertake assessments of how future climate change could affect crop yields, so as to provide necessary information to implement appropriate adaptation strategies. In this perspective, the aim of this study was to assess potential climate change impacts and on production for one of the most important varieties of wheat (chamran in Khouzestan plain and provide directions for possible adaptation strategies. Materials and Methods: For this study, The Ahvaz region located in the Khuzestan province of Iran was selected. Ahvaz has a desert climate with long, very hot summers and mild, short winters. At first, thirteen GCM models and two greenhouse gases emission (GHG scenarios (A2 and B1 was selected for determination of climate change scenarios. ∆P and ∆T parameters at monthly scale were calculated for each GCM model under each GHG emissions scenario by following equation: Where ∆P, ∆T are long term (thirty years precipitation and temperature differences between baseline and future period, respectively. average future GCM temperature (2015-2044 for each month, , average baseline period GCM temperature (1971-2000 for each month, , average future GCM precipitation for each month, , average baseline period GCM temperature (1971-2000 for each month and i is index of month. Using calculated ∆Ps for each month via AOGCM models and Beta distribution, Cumulative probability distribution function (CDF determined for generated ∆Ps. �

An adaptation strategy of sandland peasants in Yogyakarta toward climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Rusdiyana, E.; Suminah

2018-03-01

This study aims to explore and describe the adaptation strategies of sandland peasants toward climate change. Qualitative research method was employed and the data were collected through observation. In addition, the recording of the data, interview and the validity of data were determined by triangulation of sources. The results of the research showed that the adaptation strategies of sandland peasants toward climate change were; (1) the adjustment of crop varieties, (2) the utilization of productive crops as wind breaking, and (3) the irrigation system using “sumur panthek”.

Ethical implications of co-benefits rationale within climate change mitigation strategy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rita Vasconcellos Oliveira

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Climate change mitigation effort is being translated into several actions and discourses that make collateral benefits and their rationale increasingly relevant for sustainability, in such a way that they are now a constant part of the political agenda. Taking a border and consensual perspective, co-benefits are considered here to be emerging advantages of the implementation of measures regarding the lowering of greenhouse gases.Departing from the analysis of policy documents referring to two European urban transportation strategies, the emergent co-benefits are problematized and discussed to better understand their moral aspect. Further ethical reflection is conducted after an analysis of some unintended consequences of co-benefits rationale coming from the mentioned examples. The focus is primarily on the challenges of an integrative moral justification for co-benefits and also for their role in the climate change mitigation effort. We also discuss the limitations of the current normative models that frame co-benefits rationale, from a moral viewpoint and in relation to the overall climate change mitigation strategy.In this article, we propose the concepts of well-being and freedom, as portrayed by Capabilities Approach, as possible guiding notions for the moral and social evaluation of goodness of these emergent benefits and their rationale too. Additionally, some preliminary conclusions are drawn regarding the potential of the presented concepts to favour the climate change mitigation action. Finally, a scenario is drawn where Capabilities Approach is the moral guideline for co-benefits rationale showing this way its potential in terms of enhancing climate change mitigation strategy.

Climate change adaptation strategies by small-scale farmers in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Mburu

SPSS) ... were financial constraints (93.4%), lack of relevant skills (74.5%) and lack of ... Key words: Climate change, small-scale farmers, adaptation strategies. ... investment in irrigation infrastructure, high post-harvest ..... 72.0 School drop out.

Advance strategy for climate change adaptation and mitigation in cities

Science.gov (United States)

Varquez, A. C. G.; Kanda, M.; Darmanto, N. S.; Sueishi, T.; Kawano, N.

2017-12-01

An on-going 5-yr project financially supported by the Ministry of Environment, Japan, has been carried out to specifically address the issue of prescribing appropriate adaptation and mitigation measures to climate change in cities. Entitled "Case Study on Mitigation and Local Adaptation to Climate Change in an Asian Megacity, Jakarta", the project's relevant objectives is to develop a research framework that can consider both urbanization and climate change with the main advantage of being readily implementable for all cities around the world. The test location is the benchmark city, Jakarta, Indonesia, with the end focus of evaluating the benefits of various mitigation and adaptation strategies in Jakarta and other megacities. The framework was designed to improve representation of urban areas when conducting climate change investigations in cities; and to be able to quantify separately the impacts of urbanization and climate change to all cities globally. It is comprised of a sophisticated, top-down, multi-downscaling approach utilizing a regional model (numerical weather model) and a microscale model (energy balance model and CFD model), with global circulation models (GCM) as input. The models, except the GCM, were configured to reasonably consider land cover, urban morphology, and anthropogenic heating (AH). Equally as important, methodologies that can collect and estimate global distribution of urban parametric and AH datasets are continually being developed. Urban growth models, climate scenario matrices that match representative concentration pathways with shared socio-economic pathways, present distribution of socio-demographic indicators such as population and GDP, existing GIS datasets of urban parameters, are utilized. From these tools, future urbanization (urban morphological parameters and AH) can be introduced into the models. Sensitivity using various combinations of GCM and urbanization can be conducted. Furthermore, since the models utilize

Adaptation Strategies and Resilience to Climate Change of Historic Dwellings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Rubio-Bellido

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Historic city centres have a large amount of dwellings in Europe, which were built to provide a comfortable shelter with the absence of mechanical means. The knowledge of climate responsive design strategies can play a significant role in reducing the energy demand of extant buildings, paving the way for its sustainable development in the face of the rising threat to its occupants of climate change. The residential architecture, developed, in most cases, in dense urban centres, was built using both available materials and traditional and academic construction technologies. This paper thoroughly investigates the extant urban conglomerate in Cádiz and analyses, in a qualitative and quantitative manner, which bioclimatic design strategies were applied and the city’s adaptation for future climate scenarios. The results indicate that historic housing in Cádiz is creatively adapted to the local natural conditions by means of a combination of climate responsive strategies, and there is significant scope for improvement in the ongoing response to global warming.

Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change by Food Crop Farmers in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... constraints to farmers adaptation strategies. Inputs supply to the local farmers should also come with government subsidy. This will go a long way in alleviating the sufferings of the farmers, as regards inadequate supply and delivery of agricultural inputs. Key words: Adaptation, Strategies, Climate, Change, Food, Crop,

Consultation paper : Nova Scotia's renewed energy strategy and climate change action plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-10-01

The Nova Scotia Department of Energy is seeking to create a sustainable and prosperous Nova Scotia that is responsive to climate change. The purpose of this report was to inform public discussion around two upcoming documents, namely the renewed energy strategy focusing on broad energy policy and a climate change action plan for Nova Scotia to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The report discussed mitigation measures, as it is closely tied with energy use. The consultation process to inform the two documents was to include public forums and direct stakeholder consultation. The report discussed Nova Scotia's strategy for dealing with climate change and the world of energy. Recent changes in energy prices, exploration, awareness, and emerging but uncertain technologies were presented. Long term planning and a review of policy changes were also addressed. The report also presented options for a renewed energy strategy and discussed air quality; energy conservation and efficiency; electricity; natural gas; energy opportunities; government action; and government intervention. Submissions were also sought as input to the discussion paper. refs., tabs., figs., appendices

Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies Used by ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The majority (73.6%) of the farmers opined that in recent times, flooding had increased which is an indication of climate change. Reduction in the use of generator to get power in the farmers' houses (69.1%) and crop rotation practices (67.3%) were mitigation and adaptation strategies employed by the farmers against the ...

The Climate Change Strategy Gap: Crafting a Strategic Framework for the Department of Defense

Science.gov (United States)

2016-03-24

infrastructure in place to provide water for the current rural population, as their resources are diminishing as well.62 The population in Yemen is...decelerate its contributions to climate change within its purview and to mitigate the effects of climate change on its facilities and infrastructure ...of climate change on its facilities and infrastructure . However, the 2015 National Security Strategy specifically cites climate change as a threat

Regional adaptation strategies to climate change: Guidelines for urban planning in Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maruna Marija

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The problems of climate change significantly alter the character of urban planning. While changes in the planning process are aimed at mechanisms for urgent action in the transformed circumstances in the sense of a deeper understanding of the causes of phenomena and prediction of future changes, modification of specific measures suppose to be related to the regulatory framework for new and existing construction that will lead to reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and the development of resistance to settlements' extreme impacts. The focus has shifted to land-use planning and the development and application of building regulations. It is considered that planning at the local level is an appropriate instrument for solving the problem of climate impacts in the community. In general, urban planning is an instrument of implementation of national strategies for mitigation and adaptation at the local level. Successful implementation of the strategy is based on a developed vertical and horizontal institutional and procedural coordination. In the circumstances of specific context of post-socialist urban restructuring, which is characterized by a lack of developed institutions and appropriate procedures, it is difficult to expect the entire application of prescribed procedures and harmonization of vertical and horizontal spatial development policies. Accordingly, it is recommended that policies be aimed at short-term improvements that are based on existing climate risk management and short-term projections of climate impacts. Among the main recommendations of the regional climate change adaptation strategies related to policy-makers in the field of urban development is to establish new and efficient use of existing legislation in the field of environment and planning. It is believed that most countries in the region have adequate legislation and efforts should be directed towards more effective implementation of existing planning and building

Towards a national adaptation strategy in view of climate changes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. DOUKAKIS

2004-06-01

• The general national adaptation principles. The presentation analyses all the above concepts and proposes specific guidelines to formulate a Greek National Adaptation Strategy to mitigate the impacts of anthropogenic climate changes.

Farmers’ Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change and Their Implications in the Zou Department of South Benin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adégnandjou Mahouna Roland Fadina

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Climate change is a global phenomenon. Its impact on agricultural activities in developing countries has increased dramatically. Understanding how farmers perceive climate change and how they adapt to it is very important to the implementation of adequate policies for agricultural and food security. This paper aims to contribute to an understanding of farmers’ adaptation choices, determinants of the adaptation choices and the long-term implications of the adaptation choices. Data were collected from 120 respondents in the Zou Department of Benin. A binary logit model was used to analyze the factors influencing household decisions to adapt to climate change. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was estimated to analyze the factors influencing households’ choice of adaptation strategies to climate change. The results show that farmers have a developed perception of climate change. These changes are translated by rainfall disturbances (rainfall delays, early cessation, bad rainfall distribution etc., shortening of the small dry season, increasing of temperature and sometimes, violent winds. The survey reveals that Benin farmers adopt many strategies in response to climate change. These strategies include “Crop–livestock diversification and other good practices (mulching, organic fertilizer,” “Use of improved varieties, chemical fertilizers and pesticides,” “Agroforestry and perennial plantation” and “Diversification of income-generating activities.” The findings also reveal that most of the respondents use these strategies in combination. From the binary logit model, we know that “farming experience” and “educational level of household head” positively influence adaptation decisions. The result of the multinomial logit analysis shows that farming experience, educational level, farm size and gender have a significant impact on climate change adaptation strategies. Based on in-depth analysis of each strategy, we

Implementing adaptation strategies by legal, economic and planning instruments on climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albrecht, Eike; Missler-Behr, Magdalena; Schmidt, Michael; Spyra, Simon P.N. (eds.) [Brandenburg Univ. of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (Germany)

2014-07-01

The causes and effects of climate change are just as varied as the proposed solutions and approaches for dealing with the problem. Given the global character of climate change, comprehensive global cooperation is called for that leads to effective and appropriate international action in accordance with the respective responsibilities. These will inevitably differ depending on the capabilities and the social and economic situations of the respective actors. The contributions in this book present a variety of ideas, approaches and tools regarding the adaptation to climate change in specific countries and regions. In addition to examining (existing) legal instruments, they also focus on the implementation of economic instruments and planning tools, as well as their (further) development. Rather than simply discussing strategies to counteract climate change by reducing emissions, the authors also search for ways of actively adapting to climate change.

Implementing adaptation strategies by legal, economic and planning instruments on climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albrecht, Eike; Missler-Behr, Magdalena; Schmidt, Michael; Spyra, Simon P.N.

2014-01-01

The causes and effects of climate change are just as varied as the proposed solutions and approaches for dealing with the problem. Given the global character of climate change, comprehensive global cooperation is called for that leads to effective and appropriate international action in accordance with the respective responsibilities. These will inevitably differ depending on the capabilities and the social and economic situations of the respective actors. The contributions in this book present a variety of ideas, approaches and tools regarding the adaptation to climate change in specific countries and regions. In addition to examining (existing) legal instruments, they also focus on the implementation of economic instruments and planning tools, as well as their (further) development. Rather than simply discussing strategies to counteract climate change by reducing emissions, the authors also search for ways of actively adapting to climate change.

Assessing climate change impacts and adaptation strategies for smallholder agricultural systems in Uganda

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bagamba, F.; Bashaasha, B.; Claessens, L.F.G.; Antle, J.

2012-01-01

The debate on whether climate change will impact on peoples’ livelihoods and, hence, the need to act is essentially over and has instead shifted to the development of strategies needed by different regions and countries to adapt to climate change effects. However, there is still scanty information

Economic analysis of adaptive strategies for flood risk management under climate change

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pol, van der T.D.; Ierland, van E.C.; Gabbert, S.G.M.

2017-01-01

Climate change requires reconsideration of flood risk management strategies. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA), an economic decision-support tool, has been widely applied to assess these strategies. This paper aims to describe and discuss probabilistic extensions of CBA to identify welfare-maximising

Climate Change Adaptation Strategies and Constraints in Northern Ghana: Evidence of Farmers in Sissala West District

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clifford James Fagariba

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Research findings indicate that most African countries are vulnerable to climate change as a result of challenges such as poverty, weather extremes, and insufficient governmental agricultural support. For this reason, the researchers used the Sissala West District as a case study to determine factors influencing farmers’ adaptation to climate change and strategies used to avert climate change impact. A total of 330 small-scale farmers were sampled for survey and 150 key informants were used in focus group discussions. Utilizing the logistic regression model, the study indicated irregular rainfall, high temperature, weather information, and high evaporation as the factors that highly influenced farmers’ ability to adapt to climate change. A Weighted Average Index used to measure weather extremes revealed that drought and temperature had the highest level of occurrence. Furthermore, climate change adaptation strategies assessed in the study showed that agroforestry practices, drought-resistant crops, and mulching were the most preferred methods. The study concluded that farmers’ ability to adapt to climate change can be improved if the Environmental Protection Agency and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture intensify climate adaptation campaigns, increase access to weather information, and train farmers on adaptable strategies including, but not limited to, alternative sources of livelihood.

Stakeholders' participatory diagnosis of climate change impacts on subsistence agriculture in Sikkim, India, for identifying adaptation strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Azhoni, A.; Goyal, M. K.

2017-12-01

Narrowing the gap between research, policy making and implementing adaptation remains a challenge in many parts of the world where climate change is likely to severely impact subsistence agriculture. This research aims to narrow this gap by matching the adaptation strategies being framed by policy makers and perspectives of consultants and researchers which are expected to be implemented by development agencies farmers in the state of Sikkim in India. Our case study examined the framing and implementation of State Action Plan on Climate Change through semi-structured interviews carried out with decision makers in the State Government, Scientific Organisations, consultants, local academia, implementing and development agencies, and farmers for whom the adaptation strategies are targeted. Using Social Network and Stakeholder Analysis approach, this research unravels the complexities of perceiving climate change impacts, identifying adaptation strategies, and implementing climate change adaptation strategies. While farmers are less aware about the global phenomenon of climate change impacts for their subsistence livelihood, their knowledge of the local conditions and their close interaction with the State Government Agriculture Department provides them an access to new and high value crops. Although important steps are initiated through the Sikkim State Action Plan on Climate Change it is yet to deliver effective means of adaptation implementation and identifying the networks of close coordination between the various implementing agencies will likely to pay rich dividends. While Sikkim being a small and hilly state with specific contextual challenges of climate change impacts, the results from this study highlights how the internal and external networks between various types of stakeholders informs decision makers in identifying local impacts of climate change and plan adaptation strategies.

Assessment of impact of climate change and adaptation strategies on maize production in Uganda

Science.gov (United States)

Kikoyo, Duncan A.; Nobert, Joel

2016-06-01

Globally, various climatic studies have estimated a reduction of crop yields due to changes in surface temperature and precipitation especially for the developing countries which is heavily dependent on agriculture and lacks resources to counter the negative effects of climate change. Uganda's economy and the wellbeing of its populace depend on rain-fed agriculture which is susceptible to climate change. This study quantified the impacts of climate change and variability in Uganda and how coping strategies can enhance crop production against climate change and/or variability. The study used statistical methods to establish various climate change and variability indicators across the country, and uses the FAO AquaCrop model to simulate yields under possible future climate scenarios with and without adaptation strategies. Maize, the most widely grown crop was used for the study. Meteorological, soil and crop data were collected for various districts representing the maize growing ecological zones in the country. Based on this study, it was found that temperatures have increased by up to 1 °C across much of Uganda since the 1970s, with rates of warming around 0.3 °C per decade across the country. High altitude, low rainfall regions experience the highest level of warming, with over 0.5 °C/decade recorded in Kasese. Rainfall is variable and does not follow a specific significant increasing or decreasing trend. For both future climate scenarios, Maize yields will reduce in excess of 4.7% for the fast warming-low rainfall climates but increase on average by 3.5% for slow warming-high rainfall regions, by 2050. Improved soil fertility can improve yields by over 50% while mulching and use of surface water management practices improve yields by single digit percentages. The use of fertilizer application needs to go hand in hand with other water management strategies since more yields as a result of the improved soil fertility leads to increased water stress, especially

USGS global change science strategy: A framework for understanding and responding to climate and land-use change

Science.gov (United States)

Burkett, Virginia R.; Taylor, Ione L.; Belnap, Jayne; Cronin, Thomas M.; Dettinger, Michael D.; Frazier, Eldrich L.; Haines, John W.; Kirtland, David A.; Loveland, Thomas R.; Milly, Paul C.D.; O'Malley, Robin; Thompson, Robert S.

2011-01-01

This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Global Change Science Strategy expands on the Climate Variability and Change science component of the USGS 2007 Science Strategy, “Facing Tomorrow’s Challenges: USGS Science in the Coming Decade” (U.S. Geological Survey, 2007). Here we embrace the broad definition of global change provided in the U.S. Global Change Research Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–606,104 Stat. 3096–3104)—“Changes in the global environment (including alterations in climate, land productivity, oceans or other water resources, atmospheric chemistry, and ecological systems) that may alter the capacity of the Earth to sustain life”—with a focus on climate and land-use change.There are three major characteristics of this science strategy. First, it addresses the science required to broadly inform global change policy, while emphasizing the needs of natural-resource managers and reflecting the role of the USGS as the science provider for the Department of the Interior and other resource-management agencies. Second, the strategy identifies core competencies, noting 10 critical capabilities and strengths the USGS uses to overcome key problem areas. We highlight those areas in which the USGS is a science leader, recognizing the strong partnerships and effective collaboration that are essential to address complex global environmental challenges. Third, it uses a query-based approach listing key research questions that need to be addressed to create an agenda for hypothesis-driven global change science organized under six strategic goals. Overall, the strategy starts from where we are, provides a vision for where we want to go, and then describes high-priority strategic actions, including outcomes, products, and partnerships that can get us there. Global change science is a well-defined research field with strong linkages to the ecosystems, water, energy and minerals, natural hazards, and environmental health components of the USGS Science Strategy

Business responses to global climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pinkse, J.M.

2006-04-27

This research project studies the evolution and determinants of corporate climate strategies of multinationals. Since most companies are affected by global climate change in a direct or indirect way, a range of strategies are emerging to mitigate climate change. These strategies are not only of a political nature (e.g. influencing government institutions), but also of a competitive nature. The aim is to introduce a typology of corporate climate strategies, paying specific attention to the market components related to climate change. More and more, multinationals' actions in reducing greenhouse gas emissions are aimed at achieving a sustained competitive advantage in addition to compliance with government regulation. What factors determine these market strategies for climate change will be explored in a theoretical framework based on institutional theory and the resource-based view of the firm.

Managing for climate change on federal lands of the western United States: perceived usefulness of climate science, effectiveness of adaptation strategies, and barriers to implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kerry B. Kemp

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Recent mandates in the United States require federal agencies to incorporate climate change science into land management planning efforts. These mandates target possible adaptation and mitigation strategies. However, the degree to which climate change is actively being considered in agency planning and management decisions is largely unknown. We explored the usefulness of climate change science for federal resource managers, focusing on the efficacy of potential adaptation strategies and barriers limiting the use of climate change science in adaptation efforts. Our study was conducted in the northern Rocky Mountains region of the western United States, where we interacted with 77 U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management personnel through surveys, semistructured interviews, and four collaborative workshops at locations across Idaho and Montana. We used a mixed-methods approach to evaluate managers' perceptions about adapting to and mitigating for climate change. Although resource managers incorporate general language about climate change in regional and landscape-level planning documents, they are currently not planning on-the-ground adaptation or mitigation projects. However, managers felt that their organizations were most likely to adapt to climate change through use of existing management strategies that are already widely implemented for other non climate-related management goals. These existing strategies, (e.g., thinning and prescribed burning are perceived as more feasible than new climate-specific methods (e.g., assisted migration because they already have public and agency support, accomplish multiple goals, and require less anticipation of the future timing and probability of climate change impacts. Participants reported that the most common barriers to using climate change information included a lack of management-relevant climate change science, inconsistent agency guidance, and insufficient time and resources to access

Combating the effects of climatic change on forests by mitigation strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dieter Matthias

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Forests occur across diverse biomes, each of which shows a specific composition of plant communities associated with the particular climate regimes. Predicted future climate change will have impacts on the vulnerability and productivity of forests; in some regions higher temperatures will extend the growing season and thus improve forest productivity, while changed annual precipitation patterns may show disadvantageous effects in areas, where water availability is restricted. While adaptation of forests to predicted future climate scenarios has been intensively studied, less attention was paid to mitigation strategies such as the introduction of tree species well adapted to changing environmental conditions. Results We simulated the development of managed forest ecosystems in Germany for the time period between 2000 and 2100 under different forest management regimes and climate change scenarios. The management regimes reflect different rotation periods, harvesting intensities and species selection for reforestations. The climate change scenarios were taken from the IPCC's Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES. We used the scenarios A1B (rapid and successful economic development and B1 (high level of environmental and social consciousness combined with a globally coherent approach to a more sustainable development. Our results indicate that the effects of different climate change scenarios on the future productivity and species composition of German forests are minor compared to the effects of forest management. Conclusions The inherent natural adaptive capacity of forest ecosystems to changing environmental conditions is limited by the long life time of trees. Planting of adapted species and forest management will reduce the impact of predicted future climate change on forests.

Geography Teachers and Climate Change: Emotions about Consequences, Coping Strategies, and Views on Mitigation

Science.gov (United States)

Hermans, Mikaela

2016-01-01

It has been indicated that teachers' emotions about climate change and their views on mitigation influence their instruction and students' engagement in mitigation actions. The aim of the study is to explore Finnish secondary geography teachers' emotions about the consequences of climate change, their strategies for coping with these emotions, and…

Soil mapping and processes models to support climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies: a review

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz-Rojas, Miriam; Pereira, Paulo; Brevik, Eric; Cerda, Artemi; Jordan, Antonio

2017-04-01

As agreed in Paris in December 2015, global average temperature is to be limited to "well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels" and efforts will be made to "limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. Thus, reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in all sectors becomes critical and appropriate sustainable land management practices need to be taken (Pereira et al., 2017). Mitigation strategies focus on reducing the rate and magnitude of climate change by reducing its causes. Complementary to mitigation, adaptation strategies aim to minimise impacts and maximize the benefits of new opportunities. The adoption of both practices will require developing system models to integrate and extrapolate anticipated climate changes such as global climate models (GCMs) and regional climate models (RCMs). Furthermore, integrating climate models driven by socio-economic scenarios in soil process models has allowed the investigation of potential changes and threats in soil characteristics and functions in future climate scenarios. One of the options with largest potential for climate change mitigation is sequestering carbon in soils. Therefore, the development of new methods and the use of existing tools for soil carbon monitoring and accounting have therefore become critical in a global change context. For example, soil C maps can help identify potential areas where management practices that promote C sequestration will be productive and guide the formulation of policies for climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Despite extensive efforts to compile soil information and map soil C, many uncertainties remain in the determination of soil C stocks, and the reliability of these estimates depends upon the quality and resolution of the spatial datasets used for its calculation. Thus, better estimates of soil C pools and dynamics are needed to advance understanding of the C balance and the potential of soils for climate change mitigation. Here

Climate Change and Poverty Reduction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anderson, Simon

2011-08-15

Climate change will make it increasingly difficult to achieve and sustain development goals. This is largely because climate effects on poverty remain poorly understood, and poverty reduction strategies do not adequately support climate resilience. Ensuring effective development in the face of climate change requires action on six fronts: investing in a stronger climate and poverty evidence base; applying the learning about development effectiveness to how we address adaptation needs; supporting nationally derived, integrated policies and programmes; including the climate-vulnerable poor in developing strategies; and identifying how mitigation strategies can also reduce poverty and enable adaptation.

Climate Change and Energy Sustainability. Which Innovations in European Strategies and Plans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rocco Papa

2014-05-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the effects of climate change on urban areas have pushed more and more policy-makers and urban planners to deal with the management of territorial transformations in a systemic and multi-sector perspective, due to the complexity of the issue. In order to enhance the urban governance of climate change and cope with environmental sustainability, the concept of resilience can be used. In this perspective, the present work has a double purpose: on the one hand to reflect on he need to adopt a new comprehension/interpretive approach to the study of the city, which embraces the concept of resilience, and on the other hand to perform a reading of European strategies and plans oriented to mitigate the effects of climate change and to achieve the goals of energy and environmental sustainability. This paper describes some of the results of the knowledge framework of the Project Smart Energy Master for the energy management of territory financed by PON 04A2_00120 R & C Axis II, from 2012 to 2015 aimed at supporting local authorities in the development of strategies for the reduction of energy consumption through actions designed to change behavior (in terms of use and energy consumption and to improve the energy efficiency of equipment and infrastructure. The paper is divided into three parts: the first is oriented to the definition of the new comprehension/interpretive approach; the second illustrates a series of recent innovations in planning tools of some European States due to the adoption of the concept of resilience; the third, finally, describes and compares the most innovative energy and environmental strategies aimed at contrasting and/or mitigate the effects of climate change, promoted in some European and Italian cities.

Farmer’s perception of climate change and responsive strategies in three selected provinces of South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zelda A. Elum

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The world has responded to climate change phenomenon through two broad response mechanisms (mitigation and adaptation strategies with the aim of moderating the adverse effects of climate change and/or to exploit any arising beneficial opportunities. The paper aims to examine the trend in climate parameters, farmers’ perception of climate change, constraints faced in production and to identify the strategies (if any that farmers have adopted to cope with the effects of changing climate. A one-way analysis of variance, percentage analysis and Garrett ranking technique were applied to a set of primary data collected from 150 randomly sampled farmers with the aid of questionnaires in three purposively selected provinces through the months of June to August 2015. The analytical results of obtained recent weather data revealed that the climate parameters have significantly changed over time and these were substantiated by farmers’ experiences. The farmers are engaging in various climate-response strategies, among which, the planting of drought-tolerant varieties is most common. Therefore, it is important to enhance farmers’ access to improved drought-tolerant seeds and efficient irrigation systems. Also observed, is that the lack of awareness of insurance products and inability to afford insurance premiums were the principal reasons majority of the farmers did not have insurance. These present a need to strengthen insurance adoption among farmers through various supporting programmes that may include premium subsidies and media outreach. The paper under one platform provides evidence of changing climate, farmers’ responses towards mitigating perceived adverse effects of the changed climate, and South Africa’s national policy on adaptation and mitigation.

F:ACTS! : Forms for adapting to climate change through territorial strategies : the handbook

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Garcia, A.M.; Ónega, J.; Crecente, R.; Holst, van F.; Abts, E.; Timmermans, W.; Stolk, M.

2014-01-01

The F:ACTS! project contributed to generating knowledge on how to develop territorial strategies to adapt to climate change, facilitating the interchange of experience and information among its 14 partners across 8 countries. Integrated territorial strategies incorporate local diversity since they

Climate change, adaptation strategies and mobility: evidence from four settlements in Senegal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sall, Mohamadou [Universite Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (Senegal); Tall, Serigne Mansour [ONU-Habitat (UN); Tandian, Aly [Universite Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis (Senegal); Samb, Al Assane

2011-11-15

This research investigates the impact of climate change on the mobility of people in four settlements in Senegal: Ngueye Ngueye, Gandiole, the Senegal River delta and Ourossogui. A qualitative approach involving semi-structured interviews and focus groups was used to determine how daily life in these communities is being affected by environmental change. Some migrants spend long periods as far afield as Mauritania, the Gambia or Spain, while others stay closer to home, going to places like Saint-Louis, Dakar and Mbour for short periods. Mobility is an opportunity for migrants to generate funds and send money home. It is a key factor in adaptation to climate change, as a strategy for survival and for diversifying incomes. The problems encountered in the ecological study zones are not entirely due to climate change, for migration is also triggered by factors such as the opening of the breach in Saint-Louis or lack of support for rural development. However, climate change is certainly accelerating disruptions and transformations in the study sites. Moreover, while migrants' financial transfers help improve daily life for some families, they also increase socio-economic inequalities between households that include migrants and those that do not. People are moving away from (but not necessarily abandoning) purely agricultural livelihoods and seeking to diversify their sources of income. This may come from migration, or from artisanal activities undertaken in the locality - such as metalwork, woodwork, sewing or hairdressing. Another option that many women have taken is using micro-credit facilities to start processing local produce, crushing groundnuts and preparing cereals to sell at the weekly markets. Other adaptation strategies are developed and adopted through technical innovations or awareness-raising and educational activities. These activities often require institutional support from the State or from NGOs involved in implementing projects and helping

Workshop approach for developing climate change adaptation strategies and actions for natural resource management agencies in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Jessica E. Halofsky; David L Peterson; Michael J. Furniss; Linda A. Joyce; Constance I. Millar; Ronald P. Neilson

2011-01-01

Concrete ways to adapt to climate change are needed to help land-management agencies take steps to incorporate climate change into management and take advantage of opportunities to balance the negative effects of climate change. Because the development of adaptation tools and strategies is at an early stage, it is important that ideas and strategies are disseminated...

Integrated ocean management as a strategy to meet rapid climate change: the Norwegian case.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoel, Alf Håkon; Olsen, Erik

2012-02-01

The prospects of rapid climate change and the potential existence of tipping points in marine ecosystems where nonlinear change may result from them being overstepped, raises the question of strategies for coping with ecosystem change. There is broad agreement that the combined forces of climate change, pollution and increasing economic activities necessitates more comprehensive approaches to oceans management, centering on the concept of ecosystem-based oceans management. This article addresses the Norwegian experience in introducing integrated, ecosystem-based oceans management, emphasizing how climate change, seen as a major long-term driver of change in ecosystems, is addressed in management plans. Understanding the direct effects of climate variability and change on ecosystems and indirect effects on human activities is essential for adaptive planning to be useful in the long-term management of the marine environment.

Climate Change Adaptation Strategies and Farm-level Efficiency in Food Crop Production in Southwestern, Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Otitoju, MA.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Food crop yields depend largely on prevailing climate conditions, especially in Africa, where rain-fed agriculture predominate. The extent to which climate impacts are felt depends principally on the adaptation measures used by farmers. This study focused on the effect of climate change adaptation strategies on farm-level technical efficiency. The study used primary data collected from 360 randomly selected farmers in Southwest Nigeria. Cobb-Douglass stochastic frontier production model was used to analyse the data. Multiple cropping, land fragmentation, multiple planting dates, mulching and cover cropping were the major climate change adaptation strategies employed by the farmers. While land fragmentation and multiple planting dates had significant positive relationships, years of climate change awareness and social capital had significant inverse relationships, with technical inefficiency. This may be because while land fragmentation may hinder farm mechanization, multiple planting dates may increase the monotonousness and drudgery of farming. On the other hand, social capital and climate change awareness could help ameliorate the effects of, particularly, land fragmentation through resource pooling. It is therefore recommended that the farmers be encouraged to form cooperative societies so as to leverage their resource status through collective efforts.

When we don't know the costs or the benefits: adaptive strategies for abating climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lempert, R.J.; Schlesinger, M.E.; Bankes, S.C.

1996-01-01

Most quantitative studies of climate-change policy attempt to predict the greenhouse-gas reduction plan that will have the optimum balance of long-term costs and benefits. The authors find that the large uncertainties associated with the climate-change problem can make the policy prescriptions of this traditional approach unreliable. In this study the authors construct a large uncertainty space that includes the possibility of large and/or abrupt climate changes and/or of technology breakthroughs that radically reduce projected abatement costs. Computational experiments are used on a linked system of climate and economic models to compare the performance of a simple adaptive strategy - one that can make midcourse corrections based on observations of the climate and economic systems - and two commonly advocated 'best-estimate' policies based on different expectations about the long-term consequences of climate change. It was found that the 'Do-a-Little' and 'Emissions-Stabilization' best-estimate policies perform well in the respective regions of the uncertainty space where their estimates are valid, but can fail severely in those regions where their estimates are wrong. In contrast, the adaptive strategy can make midcourse corrections and avoid significant errors. While its success is no surprise, the adaptive-strategy approach provides an analytic framework to examine important policy and research issues that will likely arise as society adapts to climate change, which cannot be easily addressed in studies using best-estimate approaches. 44 refs., 15 figs., 3 tabs

Climate change on the Colorado River: a method to search for robust management strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Keefe, R.; Fischbach, J. R.

2010-12-01

The Colorado River is a principal source of water for the seven Basin States, providing approximately 16.5 maf per year to users in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Though the dynamics of the river ensure Upper Basin users a reliable supply of water, the three Lower Basin states (California, Nevada, and Arizona) are in danger of delivery interruptions as Upper Basin demand increases and climate change threatens to reduce future streamflows. In light of the recent drought and uncertain effects of climate change on Colorado River flows, we evaluate the performance of a suite of policies modeled after the shortage sharing agreement adopted in December 2007 by the Department of the Interior. We build on the current literature by using a simplified model of the Lower Colorado River to consider future streamflow scenarios given climate change uncertainty. We also generate different scenarios of parametric consumptive use growth in the Upper Basin and evaluate alternate management strategies in light of these uncertainties. Uncertainty associated with climate change is represented with a multi-model ensemble from the literature, using a nearest neighbor perturbation to increase the size of the ensemble. We use Robust Decision Making to compare near-term or long-term management strategies across an ensemble of plausible future scenarios with the goal of identifying one or more approaches that are robust to alternate assumptions about the future. This method entails using search algorithms to quantitatively identify vulnerabilities that may threaten a given strategy (including the current operating policy) and characterize key tradeoffs between strategies under different scenarios.

Using a social justice and health framework to assess European climate change adaptation strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Boeckmann, Melanie; Zeeb, Hajo

2014-11-28

Climate change puts pressure on existing health vulnerabilities through higher frequency of extreme weather events, changes in disease vector distribution or exacerbated air pollution. Climate change adaptation policies may hold potential to reduce societal inequities. We assessed the role of public health and social justice in European climate change adaptation using a three-fold approach: a document analysis, a critical discourse analysis of a subgroup of strategies, and a ranking of strategies against our social justice framework. The ranking approach favored planning that includes various adaptation types, social issues and infrastructure changes. Themes on values identified in the five subgroup documents showed that risks are perceived as contradictory, technology is viewed as savior, responsibilities need to be negotiated, and social justice is advocated by only a few countries. Of 21 strategy documents assessed overall, those from Austria, England and Sweden received the highest scores in the ranking. Our qualitative assessment showed that in European adaptation planning, progress could still be made through community involvement into adaptation decisions, consistent consideration of social and demographic determinants, and a stronger link between infrastructural adaptation and the health sector. Overall, a social justice framework can serve as an evaluation guideline for adaptation policy documents.

Climate change in semi-arid Malawi: Perceptions, adaptation strategies and water governance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miriam K. Joshua

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Climate change and variability are a threat to sustainable agricultural production in semi-arid areas of Malawi. Overdependence on subsistence rain-fed agriculture in these areas calls for the identification of sustainable adaptation strategies. A study was therefore conducted in Chikwawa, a semi-arid district in southern Malawi, to: (1 assess community’s perception of a changing climate against empirical evidence, (2 determine their local adaptive measures, (3 evaluate the potential of irrigated agriculture as an adaptive measure in household food security and (4 challenges over access to available water resources. The study employed focus group discussions and key informant interviews to assess people’s perceptions of climate change and variability and their desired interventions. To validate the people’s perceptions, rainfall and temperature data for the period 1960–2010 were analysed. A participatory complete randomised experimental design in both rain-fed and dry season–irrigated conditions was conducted to assess a maize cropping system that would improve adaptation. The study established persistent declining yields from rain-fed production in part because of perennial rainfall failure. In response, the community has shifted its focus to irrigation as an adaptation strategy, which has in turn triggered water conflicts in the community over the control of the resource. Water legislation however fails to adequately provide for rules governing sharing of water resources between various stakeholders. This article therefore recommends development of an appropriate institutional framework that forms a strong basis for equitable distribution of water for irrigation in areas most vulnerable to extreme climate events – including droughts and floods. Keywords: Food Security; Climate Change and Variability; Rainfall Variability; Irrigation; Water Resources; Governance Crisis

Influence of the management strategy model on estimating water system performance under climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Francois, Baptiste; Hingray, Benoit; Creutin, Jean-Dominique; Hendrickx, Frederic

2015-04-01

The performance of water systems used worldwide for the management of water resources is expected to be influenced by future changes in regional climates and water uses. Anticipating possible performance changes of a given system requires a modeling chain simulating its management. Operational management is usually not trivial especially when several conflicting objectives have to be accounted for. Management models are therefore often a crude representation of the real system and they only approximate its performance. Estimated performance changes are expected to depend on the management model used, but this is often not assessed. This communication analyzes the influence of the management strategy representation on the performance of an Alpine reservoir (Serre-Ponçon, South-East of France) for which irrigation supply, hydropower generation and recreational activities are the main objectives. We consider three ways to construct the strategy named as clear-, short- and far-sighted management. They are based on different forecastability degrees of seasonal inflows into the reservoir. The strategies are optimized using a Dynamic Programming algorithm (deterministic for clear-sighted and implicit stochastic for short- and far-sighted). System performance is estimated for an ensemble of future hydro-meteorological projections obtained in the RIWER2030 research project (http://www.lthe.fr/RIWER2030/) from a suite of climate experiments from the EU - ENSEMBLES research project. Our results show that changes in system performance is much more influenced by changes in hydro-meteorological variables than by the choice of strategy modeling. They also show that a simple strategy representation (i.e. clear-sighted management) leads to similar estimates of performance modifications than those obtained with a representation supposedly closer to real world (i.e. the far-sighted management). The Short-Sighted management approach lead to significantly different results, especially

Management strategies in anticipation of climatic change and the resulting impact on wetlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clay, R.; Neraasen, T.; Coley, R.

1991-01-01

Two significant impacts of climate change could affect waterfowl. Climate changes that induce dryness and reduce surface water would have a detrimental effect on waterfowl production capabilities. Global warming could also increase sea levels and flood critical waterfowl overwintering habitat. Strategies undertaken by Ducks Unlimited, a waterfowl conservation organization, to respond to the threat posed by global warming to waterfowl are reviewed. Ducks Unlimited will continue to assist with wetland restoration and preservation throughout the Great Plains. Strategies to enhance retention include converting marginally arable land to permanent forage, forage backflooding, and encouragement of zero and minimum tillage operations. Improved efficiency of irrigation projects is important to foster water conservation. Widespread surface water drainage should be discouraged, by combinations of legislation and economic incentives. Ducks Unlimited is refocusing its activites on parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba that are likely to have relatively wetter conditions under climatic warming

Climate change effects and adaptation strategies in the wine sector: a quantitative literature review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandro Sacchelli

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a quantitative literature review focusing on how scientific research analysed climate change impact on wine chain as well as potential adaptation strategies. The work is based on content analysis and text mining and takes into account researches from 1990 to 2015. A particular emphasis was given to the evaluation of suggested or implemented adaptation strategies at both global and national levels. Data were analysed using cluster analysis, multidimensional scaling and specificity evaluation. Results show that the study of climate change impacts on the wine sector is a recently emerging research topic. Adaptation strategies have not yet been explored thoroughly in the literature, and in-depth uncertainty quantification is also needed. Finally, additional research gaps and potential future issues are suggested.

Resilience, human agency and climate change adaptation strategies in the Arctic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sejersen, Frank

2009-01-01

and work with a number of barriers for resilience. The objective of the article is first to address the position of institutional barriers in the studies and strategies. Second the article analyses the role human agency is ascribed in proposed strategies and projects in Nunavut and Greenland. With a focus......  In the Arctic, indigenous peoples, researchers and governments are working to develop climate change adaptation strategies due to the rapid changes in sea ice extent, weather conditions and in the ecosystem as such. These strategies are often based on specific perceptions of vulnerability...... on institutions and human agency the question is not only ‘how do people manage to adapt?' but moreover ‘what constrains people in pursuing a given adaptation strategy?' The article introduces the concept of double agency which stresses two different aspects of human agency that can be used to understand...

Climate Change and Public Health Surveillance: Toward a Comprehensive Strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Moulton, Anthony Drummond; Schramm, Paul John

Climate change poses a host of serious threats to human health that robust public health surveillance systems can help address. It is unknown, however, whether existing surveillance systems in the United States have adequate capacity to serve that role, nor what actions may be needed to develop adequate capacity. Our goals were to review efforts to assess and strengthen the capacity of public health surveillance systems to support health-related adaptation to climate change in the United States and to determine whether additional efforts are warranted. Building on frameworks issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we specified 4 core components of public health surveillance capacity relevant to climate change health threats. Using standard methods, we next identified and analyzed multiple assessments of the existing, relevant capacity of public health surveillance systems as well as attempts to improve that capacity. We also received information from selected national public health associations. Multiple federal, state, and local public health agencies, professional associations, and researchers have made valuable, initial efforts to assess and strengthen surveillance capacity. These efforts, however, have been made by entities working independently and without the benefit of a shared conceptual framework or strategy. Their principal focus has been on identifying suitable indicators and data sources largely to the exclusion of other core components of surveillance capacity. A more comprehensive and strategic approach is needed to build the public health surveillance capacity required to protect the health of Americans in a world of rapidly evolving climate change. Public health practitioners and policy makers at all levels can use the findings and issues reviewed in this article as they lead design and execution of a coordinated, multisector strategic plan to create and sustain that capacity.

Climate Change and Public Health Surveillance: Toward a Comprehensive Strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Moulton, Anthony Drummond; Schramm, Paul John

2017-01-01

Context Climate change poses a host of serious threats to human health that robust public health surveillance systems can help address. It is unknown, however, whether existing surveillance systems in the United States have adequate capacity to serve that role, nor what actions may be needed to develop adequate capacity. Objective Our goals were to review efforts to assess and strengthen the capacity of public health surveillance systems to support health-related adaptation to climate change in the United States and to determine whether additional efforts are warranted. Methods Building on frameworks issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we specified 4 core components of public health surveillance capacity relevant to climate change health threats. Using standard methods, we next identified and analyzed multiple assessments of the existing, relevant capacity of public health surveillance systems as well as attempts to improve that capacity. We also received information from selected national public health associations. Findings Multiple federal, state, and local public health agencies, professional associations, and researchers have made valuable, initial efforts to assess and strengthen surveillance capacity. These efforts, however, have been made by entities working independently and without the benefit of a shared conceptual framework or strategy. Their principal focus has been on identifying suitable indicators and data sources largely to the exclusion of other core components of surveillance capacity. Conclusions A more comprehensive and strategic approach is needed to build the public health surveillance capacity required to protect the health of Americans in a world of rapidly evolving climate change. Public health practitioners and policy makers at all levels can use the findings and issues reviewed in this article as they lead design and execution of a coordinated, multisector strategic

Communicating the Urgency and Challenge of Global Climate Change: Lessons Learned and New Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Dilling, L.; Moser, S. C.

2004-12-01

Climate change can sometimes be characterized as a "creeping environmental problem"--it is complex and long-term, involves long system lags, lacks the immediacy of everyday experience and thus is hard to perceive, and feels overwhelming to most individuals. Climate change thus does not typically attain the status of an urgent concern, taking priority over other matters for individuals, organizations or in the policy arena. We review the major reasons behind this lack of urgency, and document the observed consequences of previous communication strategies, including lack of public understanding, indifference, confusion, fear and uncertainty. We find that certain emotional motivators such as fear and guilt, while oft-employed, do not actually result in improved recognition of the urgency of the issue, nor do they typically result in action. Rather, positive and engaging approaches may be more likely to achieve this goal. We propose seven strategies to improve the communication of climate change and its urgency: 1) Abide by basic communication rules and heed the warnings of communication experts; 2) Address the emotional and the temporal components of "urgency"; 3) Increase the persuasiveness of the message; 4) Use trusted messengers-broaden the circle; 5) Use opportunities well; 6) Tap into individual and cultural strengths and values; and 7) Unite and Conquer. The multi-faceted nature of the proposed strategies reflects the unique challenges of the climate change issue as well as the need to engage all levels and sectors of societies in the solution, from individuals, to businesses, to governments. These strategies and results emerged from a multi-disciplinary, academic/practitioner workshop on the topic held at NCAR in summer 2004.

The role of uncertainty in climate change adaptation strategies — A Danish water management example

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Refsgaard, J.C.; Arnbjerg-Nielsen, Karsten; Drews, Martin

2013-01-01

We propose a generic framework to characterize climate change adaptation uncertainty according to three dimensions: level, source and nature. Our framework is different, and in this respect more comprehensive, than the present UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approach and could...... are epistemic (reducible) by nature but uncertainties on adaptation measures are complex, with ambiguity often being added to impact uncertainties. Strategies to deal with uncertainty in climate change adaptation should reflect the nature of the uncertainty sources and how they interact with risk level...

Assessing Strategies for Urban Climate Change Adaptation: The Case of Six Metropolitan Cities in South Korea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae-Seung Lee

2018-06-01

Full Text Available As interest in climate change adaptation grows, an increasing number of national and local governments are developing adaptation strategies. This study assesses the strategies for urban climate change adaptation of municipal governments in South Korea. The adaptation plans and budget expenditures of six metropolitan cities in South Korea were compared, based on the Implementation Plan for Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (IPCCAS 2012–2016 and annual expenditure reports of each city. The results show that the actual implementation of these adaptation programs varied vis-à-vis the original plans, in terms of the level of overall expenditure and sector-specific expenditure. The following findings were drawn from the analysis: First, in most cases, the highest adaptation priorities were disaster/infrastructure, water management, and the health sector. Second, actual expenditure on climate change adaptation programs was smaller than the planned budget in the IPCCAS. Third, the prioritized sectors matched for planning and implementation in Seoul, Daegu, Daejeon, and Incheon, but not in Busan and Ulsan. Fourth, the adaptation programs of South Korean metropolitan cities do not seem to have been well-tailored to each case.

Climate change science education across schools, campuses, and centers: strategies and successes

Science.gov (United States)

Merrill, J.; Harcourt, P.; Rogers, M.; Buttram, J.; Petrone, C.; Veron, D. E.; Sezen-Barrie, A.; Stylinski, C.; Ozbay, G.

2016-02-01

With established partnerships in higher education, K-12, and informal science education communities across Delaware and Maryland, the NSF-funded MADE CLEAR project (Maryland Delaware Climate Change Education, Assessment, and Research) has instituted a suite of professional development strategies to bring climate change science into science education methods courses, K-12 classrooms, university lecture halls, and public park facilities. MADE CLEAR partners have provided consistent climate literacy topics (mechanisms, human contributions, local and global impacts, mitigation and adaptation) while meeting the unique needs of each professional community. In-person topical lectures, hands-on work with classroom materials, seed funding for development of new education kits, and on-line live and recorded sessions are some of the tools employed by the team to meet those needs and build enduring capacity for climate change science education. The scope of expertise of the MADE CLEAR team, with climate scientists, educators, learning scientists, and managers has provided not only PD tailored for each education audience, but has also created, fostered, and strengthened relationships across those audiences for long-term sustainability of the newly-built capacity. Specific examples include new climate change programs planned for implementation across Delaware State Parks that will be consistent with middle school curriculum; integration of climate change topics into science methods classes for pre-service teachers at four universities; and active K-12 and informal science education teams working to cooperatively develop lessons that apply informal science education techniques and formal education pedagogy. Evaluations by participants highlight the utility of personal connections, access to experts, mentoring and models for developing implementation plans.

Polish country study to address climate change: Strategies of the GHG`s emission reduction and adaptation of the Polish economy to the changed climate. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-01-01

The Polish Country Study Project was initiated in 1992 as a result of the US Country Study Initiative whose objective was to grant the countries -- signatories of the United Nations` Framework Convention on Climate Change -- assistance that will allow them to fulfill their obligations in terms of greenhouse gases (GHG`s) inventory, preparation of strategies for the reduction of their emission, and adapting their economies to the changed climatic conditions. In February 1993, in reply to the offer from the United States Government, the Polish Government expressed interest in participation in this program. The Study proposal, prepared by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry was presented to the US partner. The program proposal assumed implementation of sixteen elements of the study, encompassing elaboration of scenarios for the strategy of mission reduction in energy sector, industry, municipal management, road transport, forestry, and agriculture, as well as adaptations to be introduced in agriculture, forestry, water management, and coastal management. The entire concept was incorporated in macroeconomic strategy scenarios. A complementary element was the elaboration of a proposal for economic and legal instruments to implement the proposed strategies. An additional element was proposed, namely the preparation of a scenario of adapting the society to the expected climate changes.

Climate change adaptation strategies for federal forests of the Pacific Northwest, USA: ecological, policy, and socio-economic perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas A. Spies; Thomas W. Giesen; Frederick J. Swanson; Jerry F. Franklin; Denise Lach; K. Norman. Johnson

2010-01-01

Conserving biological diversity in a changing climate poses major challenges for land managers and society. Effective adaptive strategies for dealing with climate change require a socioecological systems perspective. We highlight some of the projected ecological responses to climate change in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A and identify possible adaptive actions that...

Adapting to climate change in forest based land use systems: A guide to strategy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Secrett, C M

1997-12-31

The prospect of climate change and sea level rise as a result of greenhouse gas emissions presents a serious challenge to decision-makers concerned with ensuring sustainable development. This report provides a guide to means of reducing the potential impact of the global warming problem on the forest sector whilst ensuring that more immediate development priorities are met. The most effective response strategy will be one that simultaneously brings both immediate development and longer-term adaptive benefits. This report outlines ways of constructing an adaptive response strategy that can help achieve these ends. The approach is referred to as sustainable adaptation. A prototype methodological framework of the sustainable adaptation approach has been provided with the summary. The first priority of sustainable adaption is to base climate change responses on actions that meet basic ecological and social needs now and in the future. Solutions should necessarily include relieving current development pressures in the tropical forest sector. The key is to couple adaptive responses to climate change with sustainable development solutions to present-day forest use problems. Implementing adaptive land-use policies and management practices which are likely to minimise the adverse impacts of anticipated climate change should meet current sustainable management goals. Implementing sustainable land-use and forestry management practices should meet adaptation goals. This report presents a discussion of the fundamental issues underlying the development of a sustainable adaptation strategy and a prototype methodological framework. The findings are based on case studies conducted in Central America (Costa Rica and Nicaragua); SADCC countries in Africa (Zimbabwe, Botswana, Tanzania); and Asia (Vietnam). 450 refs

Adapting to climate change in forest based land use systems: A guide to strategy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Secrett, C.M.

1996-12-31

The prospect of climate change and sea level rise as a result of greenhouse gas emissions presents a serious challenge to decision-makers concerned with ensuring sustainable development. This report provides a guide to means of reducing the potential impact of the global warming problem on the forest sector whilst ensuring that more immediate development priorities are met. The most effective response strategy will be one that simultaneously brings both immediate development and longer-term adaptive benefits. This report outlines ways of constructing an adaptive response strategy that can help achieve these ends. The approach is referred to as sustainable adaptation. A prototype methodological framework of the sustainable adaptation approach has been provided with the summary. The first priority of sustainable adaption is to base climate change responses on actions that meet basic ecological and social needs now and in the future. Solutions should necessarily include relieving current development pressures in the tropical forest sector. The key is to couple adaptive responses to climate change with sustainable development solutions to present-day forest use problems. Implementing adaptive land-use policies and management practices which are likely to minimise the adverse impacts of anticipated climate change should meet current sustainable management goals. Implementing sustainable land-use and forestry management practices should meet adaptation goals. This report presents a discussion of the fundamental issues underlying the development of a sustainable adaptation strategy and a prototype methodological framework. The findings are based on case studies conducted in Central America (Costa Rica and Nicaragua); SADCC countries in Africa (Zimbabwe, Botswana, Tanzania); and Asia (Vietnam). 450 refs

Analysis of regional climate strategies in the Barents region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Himanen, S.; Inkeroeinen, J.; Latola, K.; Vaisanen, T.; Alasaarela, E.

2012-11-15

Climate change is a global phenomenon with especially harsh effects on the Arctic and northern regions. The Arctic's average temperature has risen at almost twice the rate as elsewhere in the past few decades. Since 1966, the Arctic land area covered by snow in early summer has shrunk by almost a fifth. The Barents Region consists of the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia (i.e. the European part of Russia). Climate change will cause serious impacts in the Barents Region because of its higher density of population living under harsh climatic conditions, thus setting it apart from other Arctic areas. In many cases, economic activities, like tourism, rely on certain weather conditions. For this reason, climate change and adaptation to it is of special urgency for the region. Regional climate change strategies are important tools for addressing mitigation and adaptation to climate change as they can be used to consolidate the efforts of different stakeholders of the public and private sectors. Regional strategies can be important factors in achieving the national and international goals. The study evaluated how the national climate change goals were implemented in the regional and local strategies and programmes in northern Finland. The specific goal was to describe the processes by which the regional strategies were prepared and implemented, and how the work was expanded to include the whole of northern Finland. Finally, the Finnish preparatory processes were compared to case examples of processes for preparing climate change strategies elsewhere in the Barents Region. This analysis provides examples of good practices in preparing a climate change strategy and implementing it. (orig.)

Winds of change: corporate strategy, climate change and oil multinationals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kolk, A.; Levy, D.L.

2001-01-01

Behind pessimistic expectations regarding the future of an international climate treaty, substantial changes can be observed in company positions. Multinationals in the oil and car industries are increasingly moving toward support for the Kyoto Protocol, and take measures to address climate change.

Mainstreaming climate change adaptation strategies into New York State Department of Transportation's operations.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-31

This study identifies climate change adaptation strategies and recommends ways of mainstreaming them into planned actions, including legislation, policies, programs and projects in all areas and at all levels within the New York State Department of T...

Climate change and nutrition: creating a climate for nutrition security.

Science.gov (United States)

Tirado, M C; Crahay, P; Mahy, L; Zanev, C; Neira, M; Msangi, S; Brown, R; Scaramella, C; Costa Coitinho, D; Müller, A

2013-12-01

Climate change further exacerbates the enormous existing burden of undernutrition. It affects food and nutrition security and undermines current efforts to reduce hunger and promote nutrition. Undernutrition in turn undermines climate resilience and the coping strategies of vulnerable populations. The objectives of this paper are to identify and undertake a cross-sectoral analysis of the impacts of climate change on nutrition security and the existing mechanisms, strategies, and policies to address them. A cross-sectoral analysis of the impacts of climate change on nutrition security and the mechanisms and policies to address them was guided by an analytical framework focused on the three 'underlying causes' of undernutrition: 1) household food access, 2) maternal and child care and feeding practices, 3) environmental health and health access. The analytical framework includes the interactions of the three underlying causes of undernutrition with climate change,vulnerability, adaptation and mitigation. Within broad efforts on climate change mitigation and adaptation and climate-resilient development, a combination of nutrition-sensitive adaptation and mitigation measures, climate-resilient and nutrition-sensitive agricultural development, social protection, improved maternal and child care and health, nutrition-sensitive risk reduction and management, community development measures, nutrition-smart investments, increased policy coherence, and institutional and cross-sectoral collaboration are proposed as a means to address the impacts of climate change to food and nutrition security. This paper proposes policy directions to address nutrition in the climate change agenda and recommendations for consideration by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Nutrition and health stakeholders need to be engaged in key climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives, including science-based assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC

Climate change and water resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Younos, Tamim; Grady, Caitlin A.

2013-01-01

This volume presents nine chapters prepared by international authors and highlighting various aspects of climate change and water resources. Climate change models and scenarios, particularly those related to precipitation projection, are discussed and uncertainties and data deficiencies that affect the reliability of predictions are identified. The potential impacts of climate change on water resources (including quality) and on crop production are analyzed and adaptation strategies for crop production are offered. Furthermore, case studies of climate change mitigation strategies, such as the reduction of water use and conservation measures in urban environments, are included. This book will serve as a valuable reference work for researchers and students in water and environmental sciences, as well as for governmental agencies and policy makers.

Climate change and water resources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Younos, Tamim [The Cabell Brand Center for Global Poverty and Resource Sustainability Studies, Salem, VA (United States); Grady, Caitlin A. (ed.) [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States). Ecological Sciences and Engineering Program

2013-07-01

This volume presents nine chapters prepared by international authors and highlighting various aspects of climate change and water resources. Climate change models and scenarios, particularly those related to precipitation projection, are discussed and uncertainties and data deficiencies that affect the reliability of predictions are identified. The potential impacts of climate change on water resources (including quality) and on crop production are analyzed and adaptation strategies for crop production are offered. Furthermore, case studies of climate change mitigation strategies, such as the reduction of water use and conservation measures in urban environments, are included. This book will serve as a valuable reference work for researchers and students in water and environmental sciences, as well as for governmental agencies and policy makers.

Climate change and Finland. Summary of the Finnish research programme on climate change (SILMU)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-12-31

Anthropogenic impacts on the Earth`s atmosphere are expected to cause significant global climate changes during the next few decades. These changes will have many consequences both in nature and on human activities. In order to investigate the implications of such changes in Finland, a six-year multidisciplinary national research programme on climate and global change, the Finnish Research Programme on Climate Change (SILMU), was initiated in 1990. The key research areas were: (1) quantification of the greenhouse effect and the magnitude of anticipated climate changes, (2) assessment of the effects of changing climate on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and (3) development of mitigation and adaptation strategies

Climate change and Finland. Summary of the Finnish research programme on climate change (SILMU)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

Anthropogenic impacts on the Earth's atmosphere are expected to cause significant global climate changes during the next few decades. These changes will have many consequences both in nature and on human activities. In order to investigate the implications of such changes in Finland, a six-year multidisciplinary national research programme on climate and global change, the Finnish Research Programme on Climate Change (SILMU), was initiated in 1990. The key research areas were: (1) quantification of the greenhouse effect and the magnitude of anticipated climate changes, (2) assessment of the effects of changing climate on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and (3) development of mitigation and adaptation strategies

Climate change - global warming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ciconkov, Risto

2001-01-01

An explanation about climate, weather, climate changes. What is a greenhouse effect, i.e. global warming and reasons which contribute to this effect. Greenhouse gases (GHG) and GWP (Global Warming Potential) as a factor for estimating their influence on the greenhouse effect. Indicators of the climate changes in the previous period by known international institutions, higher concentrations of global average temperature. Projecting of likely scenarios for the future climate changes and consequences of them on the environment and human activities: industry, energy, agriculture, water resources. The main points of the Kyoto Protocol and problems in its realization. The need of preparing a country strategy concerning the acts of the Kyoto Protocol, suggestions which could contribute in the preparation of the strategy. A special attention is pointed to the energy, its resources, the structure of energy consumption and the energy efficiency. (Author)

R and D investment strategy for climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanford, Geoffrey J.

2009-01-01

The economic costs of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations over the coming century depend critically on the development of new technologies in the energy sector. Our research and development (R and D) investment strategy is the control variable for technology availability. This paper proposes an analytic framework for determining optimal R and D investment allocation and presents some numerical results to demonstrate the implementation of the methodology. The value of technological advance in three targeted areas-fossil-based generation, renewables, and carbon capture and storage-is represented by the increase in expected welfare in the presence of an emissions policy constraint of initially uncertain stringency. R and D expenditure increases the probability of advance. Optimal investment is determined by its relationship with success probability, which is assumed to exhibit decreasing returns to scale, relative to the value of success. While the numerical results are speculative, the paper offers insights into the nature of an optimal technology strategy for addressing climate change. (author)

International aspects of climate change: The intergovernmental panel on climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brydges, T.; Fenech, A.

1990-01-01

The impact of various international conferences concerning global climate change on international opinions and attitudes is discussed. A number of conferences over the past two decades have drawn attention to the large socio-economic consequences of climate change. There has been increasing attention given to the likely affect of anthropogenically derived greenhouse gases on the global climate. Some early uncertainty over the likely long term changes in global temperature have been replaced by a scientific consensus that global temperatures are increasing and will continue to do so into the next century. Public awareness of the possibility of climate change and severe socio-economic consequences has been increasing and was given a major impetus by the Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere. An estimate of the possible time to solution of the climate change issue is given as 1988-2005, a span of 17 years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has focused work into three working groups examining science, impacts and response strategies. 28 refs., 3 figs., 6 tabs

The politics of indigeneity: Indigenous strategies for inclusion in climate change negotiations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Doolittle Amity

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Indigenous environmental activists have clearly articulated their views on global climate change policy. The content of these views was explored during the 10-day 2008 World Conservation Congress (WCC in Barcelona. Data were primarily collected through interviews and participant observation. In addition, policy statements and declarations made by indigenous environmental activists from 2000 to 2009 were analysed to place the perspectives of indigenous leaders and environmental activists in the context of their decade-long struggle to gain negotiating power at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This study examines the rhetorical strategies indigenous leaders from around the world use to gain political recognition and legitimacy in climate change negotiations. Two core principles, relating to a particular representation of indigenous environmental knowledge are identified as fundamental rhetorical tools. These are a belief that the earth is a living being with rights and the conviction that it is the responsibility of indigenous peoples to protect the earth from over-exploitation. However, reference to indigenous environmental knowledge is not the only rhetorical mechanism used by indigenous leaders in the climate debates. When faced with specific United Nations policies to combat climate change that could have a profound impact on their land rights, some indigenous leaders adopt a more confrontational response. Fearing that new polices would reinforce historical trends of marginalisation, indigenous leaders seeking recognition in climate change debates speak less about their ecological knowledge and responsibility to the earth and more about their shared histories of political and economic marginalisation and land dispossession, experienced first through colonialism and more recently through globalisation.

Model-based scenario planning to develop climate change adaptation strategies for rare plant populations in grassland reserves

Science.gov (United States)

Laura Phillips-Mao; Susan M. Galatowitsch; Stephanie A. Snyder; Robert G. Haight

2016-01-01

Incorporating climate change into conservation decision-making at site and population scales is challenging due to uncertainties associated with localized climate change impacts and population responses to multiple interacting impacts and adaptation strategies. We explore the use of spatially explicit population models to facilitate scenario analysis, a conservation...

Business strategies for climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duchene, Patrice-Henry; Colas, Julien; Boulharouf, Zoubeida; Chalendar, Pierre-Andre de; Baecher, Cedric; Fonta, Philippe; Gay, Guillaume; Timbaud, Xavier; Rivallain, Mathieu; Salomon, Thierry

2015-03-01

Studies published in 2014, whether by IPCC scientists or New Climate Economy economists, showed that it is still possible to combat climate change without having to give up on economic growth and human development. This applies both to emerging countries which do not want to give up on their promised growth and to developed countries that fear having to surrender their lifestyles. Positioning ourselves on a greenhouse gas emission trajectory enabling us to limit global warming to 2 deg. C by the end of this century nonetheless requires a far-reaching and immediate response coordinated by all economic and political stakeholders. Companies know that they have a major role to play in dealing with the climate challenge. They are ready to change direction, as the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Kimoon urged them to do in September 2014. Companies of all sizes engaged in this process innovate and develop technological, organisational and financial solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the consequences of climate change. They are adjusting their strategies and economic models in response to these new challenges. It is these solutions that are presented in this publication 'Business strategies for climate'. All sectors of the economy are concerned; companies in all sectors can take a forward-looking approach to the changes caused by climate change and mobilise their resources to provide effective responses in line with the issues at stake. Global economic growth is resulting in a huge increase in the demand for mobility and transport. Companies are working on ways to improve vehicles, develop engines that are less fossil-fuel dependent, and on finding new ways for people to move around and to transport goods. The challenge is considerable: it will involve working with the growing need for transport while at the same time massively reducing the sector's greenhouse gas emissions. Cities are home to an ever-increasing number of people

Health coping strategies of the people vulnerable to climate change in a resource-poor rural setting in Bangladesh

OpenAIRE

Haque, Md Aminul; Budi, Aji; Azam Malik, Ahmad; Suzanne Yamamoto, Shelby; Louis, Val?rie R; Sauerborn, Rainer

2013-01-01

Background Among the many challenges faced by the people of Bangladesh, the effects of climate change are discernibly threatening, impacting on human settlement, agricultural production, economic development, and human health. Bangladesh is a low-income country with limited resources; its vulnerability to climate change has influenced individuals to seek out health coping strategies. The objectives of the study were to explore the different strategies/measures people employ to cope with clima...

iSeeChange: Crowdsourced Climate Change Reporting

Science.gov (United States)

Drapkin, J. K.

2012-12-01

Directly engaging local communities about their climate change experiences has never been more important. As weather and climate become more unpredictable, these experiences provide a baseline for community decisions, developing adaptation strategies, and planning for the future. Typically, climate change is documented in a top-down fashion: a scientist has a question, makes observations, and publishes a study; in the best case scenario, a journalist reports on the results; if there's time, a local anecdote is sought to put the results in a familiar context. iSeeChange, a public media project funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, reports local environmental change in reverse and turns community questions and conversations with scientists into reported stories that promote opportunities to learn about climate change's affects on the environment and daily life. iSeeChange engages residents of the North Fork Valley region of western Colorado in a multiplatform conversation with scientists about how they perceive their environment is changing through the course of a year - season to season. By bringing together public radio, a mobile reporting and cellular engagement strategy, and a custom crowdsourcing multimedia platform, iSeeChange provides a central access point to collect observations (texts, photographs, voice recordings, and video), organize conversations and interviews with scientists, and report stories online and on air. In this way, iSeeChange is building a dynamic crowdsourced reservoir of information that can increase awareness of environmental problems and potentially disseminate useful information about climate change and successful adaptation strategies. Ultimately, by understanding the community's information needs in a localized question-driven context, the iSeeChange platform presents opportunities for the science community to better understand the value of information and develop better ways to tailor information for communities to use

Climate change-related risks and adaptation strategies as perceived in dairy cattle farming systems in Tunisia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hajer Amamou

Full Text Available The perception of risks due to climate change by farmers and the measures they take to address those risks are of paramount importance in policy-making if the implementations of targeted adaptation and mitigation strategies are to be economically and environmentally sustainable. This study focused on Tunisian dairy farmers’ perceptions of the risks and the actions taken to cope with changes attributable to climate change. Using a bottom-up approach, 566 surveys were carried out randomly among dairy farmers throughout Tunisia. A total of 70 diagnostic variables relating to farm characteristics, resources, management, performances and profit, in addition to climate change risk perception and adaptation strategies, were identified and analyzed. Using multivariate statistical analysis, four dairy farming groups were identified. The largest proportions of farmers belonged to the two above-ground dairy systems: without utilized agricultural areas; and with non-dairy utilized agricultural areas (Clusters 1 and 2. A minority of farmers belonged to medium-sized and large farms that specialized in milk production (Clusters 3 and 4 and has access to sufficient land, water and capital resources. In all the clusters, almost all the farmers perceived that the greatest impact of climate change would be on cow performance and forage production. The attitudes of the farmers towards adaptation to climate change are associated with farm typology. They focused mainly on increasing water capacity for livestock and crop production and improving livestock and housing conditions. The knowledge obtained from this study could be helpful for decision-makers and stakeholders in efforts to develop policies for farm management practices that address climate change and can be adapted to the country’s diverse farming systems. Keywords: Dairy farming system, Typology, Adaptation, Climate change

Influence of smallholder farmers’ perceptions on adaptation strategies to climate change and policy implications in Zimbabwe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiri Obert

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Smallholder agricultural production is largely affected by climate change and variability. Despite the negative effects brought by climate variability, smallholder farmers are still able to derive livelihoods. An understanding of factors that influence farmers’ responses and adaptation to climate variability can improve decision making for governments and development partners. This study investigated farmers’ perceptions and adaptation strategies to climate change and how these influence adaptation policies at local level. A survey was conducted with 100 households randomly selected from Chiredzi district. Data collected was used to derive farmer perceptions to climate change as well as the influence of their perceptions and subsequent adaptation methods to ensuing local agricultural adaptation measures and policies. The results indicated that smallholder farmers perceived general reduction in long-term annual rainfall and rising local average temperatures. Adverse trends in rainfall and average temperature perceived by farmers were consistent with empirical data. These perceptions and other socio-economic factors helped to shape smallholder farmer agricultural adaptation strategies. Policy implications are that the government and development partners should seek ways to assist autonomous adaptations by farmers through investments in planned adaptation initiatives.

Evaluation of co-benefits from combined climate change and air pollution reduction strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Leitao, Joana; Van Dingenen, Rita; Dentener, Frank; Rao, Shilpa

2014-05-01

The connection of climate change and air pollution is becoming more relevant in the process of policy making and implementation of emission control strategies because of resulting co-benefits and trade-offs. Some sectors, such as fossil fuel combustion, are sources of both pollutants (NOx and PM) as well as greenhouse gas (CO2). Additionally, the use of wood burning as biofuel to reduce climate impact may in fact deteriorate air quality. Furthermore, several air pollutants are important radiative forcers and regulating their emissions impacts on climate. It is evident that both problems need to be undertaken with a common strategy and the existence of cross-policy with co-benefits may encourage their implementation. The LIMITS FP7 project (http://www.feem-project.net/limits/index.html) was designed with the main goal of assessing strategies for reduction of GHG emissions so that the 2°C target can be achieved. The work developed focus on the evaluation of the implementation of strategies analysing several aspects of different scenarios, namely: the feasibility of low carbon scenarios in terms of available technologies and infrastructure, the required financial mechanisms, and also the co-benefits regarding energy security, economic development and air pollution. For the latter, five integrated assessment models (IAMs) provided greenhouse gases and pollutant emission values for several scenarios. These were based on air pollution scenarios defined according to stringency and implementation of future global legislation. They which were also combined with 2 climate policy scenarios (no climate policy and 2.8 W/m2 target). The former are mostly focused on non-climate policies and technical control measures for emissions of air pollutants, such as PM2.5, NOx and SO2, with their emission factors harmonized between the IAMs. With the global air quality source-receptor model TM5-FASST the impact of the resulting emissions was analysed and the co-benefits of combined

Climate Change Education: Goals, Audiences, and Strategies--A Workshop Summary

Science.gov (United States)

Forest, Sherrie; Feder, Michael A.

2011-01-01

The global scientific and policy community now unequivocally accepts that human activities cause global climate change. Although information on climate change is readily available, the nation still seems unprepared or unwilling to respond effectively to climate change, due partly to a general lack of public understanding of climate change issues…

Effects of climate change on rice production and strategies for adaptation in southern China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jin, Z.; Ge, D.; Chen, H.; Fang, J. [Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (China)

1995-12-31

The CERES-rice (Oryza sativa L.) model was calibrated and validated for nine sites in southern China to examine its suitability to model rice production in this area, using agronomic data from more than three successive years. After determining the genetic coefficients for the cultivars, the CERES-rice model was run a second time for the same locations for a time period of 20 to 30 yr. The model used local climate data (1958--1986) and doubled-CO{sub 2} climate change scenarios generated from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), Geophysical Fluid dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), and United Kingdom Meteorological Office (UKMO) global climate models (GCMs), with and without supplemental irrigation(to model paddy and upland rice, respectively). The study estimated the potential impacts of climate change on rice production by comparing the base runs with the runs under the three doubled-CO{sub 2} GCM scenarios and it considered the physiological effects of CO{sub 2} on rice growth in each GCM scenario. Finally, the study examined several strategies for adapting to climate change.

Synopsis of climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Angela Jardine; Jonathan Long

2014-01-01

Changes in climate can interact with other stressors to transform ecosystems and alter the services those ecosystems provide. This synopsis presents themes that run through the synthesis report regarding the impacts of a changing climate on the forests and waters of the synthesis area as well as long-term, broad-scale, science-based strategies to promote system...

Struggle against climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

This document first proposes a presentation of the cross-cutting policy defined for the struggle against climate change. It notably presents its various programs. It describes the implemented strategy which aims at reducing on a short term greenhouse gas emissions with the available technologies, at making the climate challenge a driver for economic competitiveness, at developing the knowledge on climatic change and at preparing the necessary adaptation measures, and at stating on the international scene the French commitment and its dynamic role in front of the climate challenge

Comparison of Strategies for Climate Change Adaptation of Water Supply and Flood Control Reservoirs

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, T. L.; Yang, P.; Bhushan, R.

2016-12-01

With climate change, streamflows are expected to become more fluctuating, with more frequent and intense floods and droughts. This complicates reservoir operation, which is highly sensitive to inflow variability. We make a comparative evaluation of three strategies for adapting reservoirs to climate-induced shifts in streamflow patterns. Specifically, we examine the effectiveness of (i) expanding the capacities of reservoirs by way of new off-stream reservoirs, (ii) introducing wastewater reclamation to augment supplies, and (iii) improving real-time streamflow forecasts for more optimal decision-making. The first two are hard strategies involving major infrastructure modifications, while the third a soft strategy entailing adjusting the system operation. A comprehensive side-by-side comparison of the three strategies is as yet lacking in the literature despite the many past studies investigating the strategies individually. To this end, we developed an adaptive forward-looking linear program that solves to yield the optimal decisions for the current time as a function of an ensemble forecast of future streamflows. Solving the model repeatedly on a rolling basis with regular updating of the streamflow forecast simulates the system behavior over the entire operating horizon. Results are generated for two hypothetical water supply and flood control reservoirs of differing inflows and demands. Preliminary findings suggest that of the three strategies, improving streamflow forecasts to be most effective in mitigating the effects of climate change. We also found that, in average terms, both additional reservoir capacity and wastewater reclamation have potential to reduce water shortage and downstream flooding. However, in the worst case, the potential of the former to reduce water shortage is limited, and similarly so the potential of the latter to reduce downstream flooding.

Farmer perceptions of climate change risk and associated on-farm management strategies in Vermont, northeastern United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel E. Schattman

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Little research has been conducted on how agricultural producers in the northeastern United States conceptualize climate-related risk and how these farmers address risk through on-farm management strategies. Two years following Tropical Storm Irene, our team interviewed 15 farmers in order to investigate their perceptions of climate-related risk and how their decision-making was influenced by these perceptions. Our results show that Vermont farmers are concerned with both ecological and economic risk. Subthemes that emerged included geographic, topographic, and hydrological characteristics of farm sites; stability of land tenure; hydrological erosion; pest and disease pressure; market access; household financial stability; and floods. Farmers in our study believed that these risks are not new but that they are significantly intensified by climate change. Farmer responses were heavily focused on adaptation activities, with discussion of climate change mitigation activities notably absent. Psychological distance construal theory and hyperbolic discounting emerged as well-suited frames to explain why farmers reported adaptation activities but not mitigation strategies. Farmers will probably experience an increasing severity of climate-related impacts in the northeast region; therefore, information about climate-related risks coming from farmers’ personal experience should be integrated with forecasting data to help farmers plan effective adaptation strategies.

Impact of Climate Change on Drylands. Climate variability, livelihood strategies and policy options

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verhagen, A. [Plant Research International, Wageningen (Netherlands); Dietz, A.J. [Amsterdam Research Institute for Global Issues and Development Studies AGIDS, University of Amsterdam UvA, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

2001-09-01

The findings of the Impact of Climate Change on Drylands (ICCD) project were discussed during a workshop held on 26 and 27 April 2001. The aims of the workshop were to disseminate the findings of the ICCD project, create awareness of the possible effects of climate change and contribute to the dialogue on climate change research in West Africa. Both the workshop and the project were financed by the National Research Programme on Global Air Pollution and Climate Change (NRP), Centre Technique de Cooperation de Agricole et Rurale (CTA), Wageningen University (INREF), and Amsterdam Research Institute for Global Issues and Development Studies (AGIDS)

The Empowerment Strategy for The Food Crop Farmers in Anticipating The Climate Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Efriyani Sumastuti

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In Indonesia, the climate change and the global warming like changes in the pattern and distribution of the rainfall give impacts on agricultural production at large, especially in the food crops. These also cause droughts, floods, landslides, forest fires, rising temperatures in urban areas, and rising sea levels. The above impacts are felt by the farmers because those can lead to a decrease in production even the crop failure. This research aims to develop an empowerment strategy of the food crop farmers in anticipating the climate change in Central Java. The data used is the primary data obtained through in-depth interviews with key-person and the Focus Group Discussion (FGD. The Analysis Hierarchy Process (AHP is conducted to determine the program priorities and strate gies. The result of research shows that anticipating the climate change should be synergistically conducted in four aspects: human resources, technology, institutional and production, by involving various groups in the society. Various groups can be grouped into academics, businessmen / private sectors, government and community of food crop farmers / society.

Climate change. Managing the risks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swart, R.J.

1994-01-01

In order to address the key question if a targeted approach to climate change response is feasible, different aspects of this question are analyzed. First, the scientific and political aspects of different options to determine specific long-term objectives for climate change are evaluated on the basis of the current scientific insights and the experiences over the last 5 years to develop climate objectives. Preliminary directions for such objectives are given. Next, important analytical tools are discussed that can be applied to analyze the different options and their implications in detail. In order to evaluate the implications of mitigation options, strategies that are consistent with the preliminary climate goals are analyzed in the third part. In chapter 2, the concept of long-term environmental goals, derived from critical levels of climate change, is discussed. Also a historical perspective is provided. A new, systematic regionalized and risk-based approach to elaborate the ultimate objective of the Framework Convention on Climate Change is proposed. In chapter 3 scenarios and integrated models are discussed. Central is the description of scenarios that were developed with RlVM's Integrated Model to Assess the Greenhouse Effect (IMAGE) and the US-EPA's Atmospheric Stabilization Framework (ASF). In chapter 4 potential long-term international emissions control strategies for the different sources and sinks of the most important greenhouse gases are analyzed. Carbon dioxide from energy, carbon dioxide from deforestation, and non-CO 2 greenhouse gases are dealt with subsequently. The dissertation ends with general conclusions and recommendations for the further design of a targeted approach to climate change response, the development of analytical tools to support policy development in the area of climate change, and strategies that are consistent with preliminary long-term environmental goals. 66 figs., 8 tabs., 417 refs., 1 appendix

Local governing of climate change in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berthou, Sara Kristine Gløjmar; Ebbesen, Betina Vind

2016-01-01

This paper is concerned with the ways in which Danish municipalities seek to mitigate climate change through a range of governance strategies. Through the analysis of ten municipal climate plans using the framework of Mitchell Dean, as well as extensive ethnographic fieldwork in two municipalities......, this paper explores how local climate change mitigation is shaped by particular rationalities and technologies of government, and thus seeks to illustrate how the strategies set out in the plans construe climate change mitigation from a certain perspective, thereby rendering some solutions more likely than...

Proposing mitigation strategies for reducing the impact of rice cultivation on climate change in Egypt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eman Hasan

2013-10-01

The research results revealed that farmer acceptance or participation in applying different mitigation strategies is the cornerstone of this aspect. Meanwhile farmer awareness is essential for adaptation with climate change.

Europe adapts to climate change: Comparing National Adaptation Strategies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Biesbroek, G. Robbert; Swart, Rob J.; Carter, Timothy R.

2010-01-01

For the last two decades, European climate policy has focused almost exclusively on mitigation of climate change. It was only well after the turn of the century, with impacts of climate change increasingly being observed, that adaptation was added to the policy agenda and EU Member States started...

Assessment of Climate Change Adaptive Strategies in Small ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Animals are intrinsically dependent on the environment, and any fluctuations in weather and climate can affect them through water and land changes, such as desertification, feed and water availability. Climate change will not only impact the health and welfare of animals, but also the more than a billion people who depend ...

Navigating SA's climate change legislation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dickey, Suzanne

2006-01-01

It is proposed that there should be a legislation to address climate change and Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Bill. South Australian Government Greenhouse Strategy and climate change legislation in light of the far-reaching implications this legislation could have on clients, who face the impacts of climate change in the business and natural environment. It is a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in South Australia by 2050 to 60 per cent of 1990 levels

An adaptive strategy to climate change

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

rsamir

there is growing evidence about the impacts of climate change on freshwater availability, water accessibility, water ... Other economic sectors would also be affected such as employment, tourism and income. Source: ... Socio-economic Impact.

China's strategy for energy development and climate change mitigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Jiankun; Yu Zhiwei; Zhang Da

2012-01-01

In recent years, China has made great efforts in energy saving and carbon emission reduction by pushing forward domestic sustainable development along with global climate change mitigation. The efforts have paid off with a dramatic decrease in carbon intensity. Nevertheless, China is still confronted with tough challenges in emission control due to the fast pace of industrialization, large total historical emission and high growth rate of emissions. Therefore, China should give priority to energy saving by improving energy efficiency and sectoral structure adjustment and upgrade, and develop sustainable and renewable energy to optimize energy mix and its carbon content. China should continue to regard significant reduction of energy intensity and carbon intensity as the main objective in the near future, strive to achieve peak emissions around 2030, and realize a relatively sharp emissions reduction by 2050 in order to address climate change to meet the goal of making the warming less than 2°. During the 12th Five Year Plan (FYP), China will further strengthen measures to control the amount of energy consumption, establish a statistics, accounting and evaluation system of carbon emissions, and promote a market-based carbon emissions trading mechanism to facilitate the low-carbon transformation of China's economy. - Highlights: ► This paper studies China's strategy for energy development and climate change mitigation. ► We suggest that China should focus on reducing the energy intensity and carbon intensity of GDP, and optimization of energy mix in the near term. ► In the long term, China should achieve the peak emission around 2030, and realize a relative sharp emission reduction by 2050. ► The paper also concludes some important measures which China should take during the 12th Five-Year-Plan (2011–2015).

Corporate Climate Strategies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjarnø, Ole-Christian; Maltha, Jonas

2003-01-01

at establishing operational guidelines for energy-intensive industries to navigate and gain competitive advantages in a diverse and risky business environment. Based on a literature study of strategic environmental management and carbon management, this article aims to establish such guidelines for corporate......Since the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change outlined the first embryonic plans for an emissions market, a significant uncertainty about the value on carbon, in concert with a swift development in energy business, has brought about the concept of carbon management. Carbon management aims...... strategic carbon management for medium to large companies with greenhouse gas intensive activities. The guideline framework is established on the basis of a generic strategy structure in which the factors influencing corporate climate strategies are identified. It is concluded that there is little rationale...

An integrated framework for assessing vulnerability to climate change and developing adaptation strategies for coffee growing families in Mesoamerica.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Baca

Full Text Available The Mesoamerican region is considered to be one of the areas in the world most vulnerable to climate change. We developed a framework for quantifying the vulnerability of the livelihoods of coffee growers in Mesoamerica at regional and local levels and identify adaptation strategies. Following the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC concepts, vulnerability was defined as the combination of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. To quantify exposure, changes in the climatic suitability for coffee and other crops were predicted through niche modelling based on historical climate data and locations of coffee growing areas from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Future climate projections were generated from 19 Global Circulation Models. Focus groups were used to identify nine indicators of sensitivity and eleven indicators of adaptive capacity, which were evaluated through semi-structured interviews with 558 coffee producers. Exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity were then condensed into an index of vulnerability, and adaptation strategies were identified in participatory workshops. Models predict that all target countries will experience a decrease in climatic suitability for growing Arabica coffee, with highest suitability loss for El Salvador and lowest loss for Mexico. High vulnerability resulted from loss in climatic suitability for coffee production and high sensitivity through variability of yields and out-migration of the work force. This was combined with low adaptation capacity as evidenced by poor post harvest infrastructure and in some cases poor access to credit and low levels of social organization. Nevertheless, the specific contributors to vulnerability varied strongly among countries, municipalities and families making general trends difficult to identify. Flexible strategies for adaption are therefore needed. Families need the support of government and institutions specialized in impacts of

Factors Affecting Farmers’ Adaptation Strategies to Environmental Degradation and Climate Change Effects: A Farm Level Study in Bangladesh

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Mohammed Nasir Uddin

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Offering a case study of coastal Bangladesh, this study examines the adaptation of agriculturalists to degrading environmental conditions likely to be caused or exacerbated under global climate change. It examines four central components: (1 the rate of self-reported adoption of adaptive mechanisms (coping strategies as a result of changes in climate; (2 ranking the potential coping strategies based on their perceived importance to agricultural enterprises; (3 identification the socio-economic factors associated with adoption of coping strategies, and (4 ranking potential constraints to adoption of coping strategies based on farmers’ reporting on the degree to which they face these constraints. As a preliminary matter, this paper also reports on the perceptions of farmers in the study about their experiences with climatic change. The research area is comprised of three villages in the coastal region (Sathkhira district, a geographic region which climate change literature has highlighted as prone to accelerated degradation. One-hundred (100 farmers participated in the project’s survey, from which the data was used to calculate weighted indexes for rankings and to perform logistic regression. The rankings, model results, and descriptive statistics, are reported here. Results showed that a majority of the farmers self-identified as having engaged in adaptive behavior. Out of 14 adaptation strategies, irrigation ranked first among farm adaptive measures, while crop insurance has ranked as least utilized. The logit model explained that out of eight factors surveyed, age, education, family size, farm size, family income, and involvement in cooperatives were significantly related to self-reported adaptation. Despite different support and technological interventions being available, lack of available water, shortage of cultivable land, and unpredictable weather ranked highest as the respondent group’s constraints to coping with environmental

UK Climate Change Programme - the Institute's first submission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1999-01-01

Prior to responding to the Government's consultation paper on its Climate Change Programme, the Institute of Energy has prepared responses to the Select Committee covering this area, namely the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee. The responses cover (i) The desirability of the options contained in the UK Climate Change Strategy in the light of non-EU countries' commitments. (ii) The role of the Climate Change Strategy as the first step towards reductions in emissions in the longer term i.e. beyond 2010, with particular reference to the need for behavioural change. (iii) The Government's timetable for producing and implementing its Climate Change Strategy. The Institute's submission to the main government consultation document will cover similar ground but in more detail. (UK)

Strategies to strengthen public health inputs to water policy in response to climate change: an Australian perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Goater, Sarah; Cook, Angus; Hogan, Anthony; Mengersen, Kerrie; Hieatt, Arron; Weinstein, Philip

2011-03-01

Under current climate change projections, the capacity to provide safe drinking water to Australian communities will be challenged. Part of this challenge is the lack of an adaptive governance strategy that transcends jurisdictional boundaries to support integrated policy making, regulation, or infrastructural adaptation. Consequently, some water-related health hazards may not be adequately captured or forecast under existing water resource management policies to ensure safe water supplies. Given the high degree of spatial and temporal variability in climate conditions experienced by Australian communities, new strategies for national health planning and prioritization for safe water supplies are warranted. The challenges facing public health in Australia will be to develop flexible and robust governance strategies that strengthen public health input to existing water policy, regulation, and surveillance infrastructure through proactive risk planning, adopting new technologies, and intersectoral collaborations. The proposed approach could assist policy makers avert or minimize risk to communities arising from changes in climate and water provisions both in Australia and in the wider Asia Pacific region.

Regional Approach for Linking Ecosystem Services and Livelihood Strategies Under Climate Change of Pastoral Communities in the Mongolian Steppe Ecosystem

Science.gov (United States)

Ojima, D. S.; Galvin, K.; Togtohyn, C.

2012-12-01

Dramatic changes due to climate and land use dynamics in the Mongolian Plateau affecting ecosystem services and agro-pastoral systems in Mongolia. Recently, market forces and development strategies are affecting land and water resources of the pastoral communities which are being further stressed due to climatic changes. Evaluation of pastoral systems, where humans depend on livestock and grassland ecosystem services, have demonstrated the vulnerability of the social-ecological system to climate change. Current social-ecological changes in ecosystem services are affecting land productivity and carrying capacity, land-atmosphere interactions, water resources, and livelihood strategies. The general trend involves greater intensification of resource exploitation at the expense of traditional patterns of extensive range utilization. Thus we expect climate-land use-land cover relationships to be crucially modified by the social-economic forces. The analysis incorporates information about the social-economic transitions taking place in the region which affect land-use, food security, and ecosystem dynamics. The region of study extends from the Mongolian plateau in Mongolia. Our research indicate that sustainability of pastoral systems in the region needs to integrate the impact of climate change on ecosystem services with socio-economic changes shaping the livelihood strategies of pastoral systems in the region. Adaptation strategies which incorporate integrated analysis of landscape management and livelihood strategies provides a framework which links ecosystem services to critical resource assets. Analysis of the available livelihood assets provides insights to the adaptive capacity of various agents in a region or in a community. Sustainable development pathways which enable the development of these adaptive capacity elements will lead to more effective adaptive management strategies for pastoral land use and herder's living standards. Pastoralists will have the

Funding climate adaptation strategies with climate derivatives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Richard Little

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Climate adaptation requires large capital investments that could be provided not only by traditional sources like governments and banks, but also by derivatives markets. Such markets would allow two parties with different tolerances and expectations about climate risks to transact for their mutual benefit and, in so doing, finance climate adaptation. Here we calculate the price of a derivative called a European put option, based on future sea surface temperature (SST in Tasmania, Australia, with an 18 °C strike threshold. This price represents a quantifiable indicator of climate risk, and forms the basis for aquaculture industries exposed to the risk of higher SST to finance adaptation strategies through the sale of derivative contracts. Such contracts provide a real incentive to parties with different climate outlooks, or risk exposure to take a market assessment of climate change.

2009 Climate Change Research Strategy: Rocky Mountain Research Station

Science.gov (United States)

Forest Service U.S. Department of Agriculture

2010-01-01

Climate change and shifting demographics influence the landscape and the social and economic systems of the Interior West. Climate change impacts are already evident, as seen in declining snowpacks, changes in runoff timing and intensity, increasing fire frequency and severity, increasing drought frequency and severity, and rising temperatures.

Local farmers' perceptions of climate change and local adaptive strategies: a case study from the Middle Yarlung Zangbo River Valley, Tibet, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chunyan; Tang, Ya; Luo, Han; Di, Baofeng; Zhang, Liyun

2013-10-01

Climate change affects the productivity of agricultural ecosystems. Farmers cope with climate change based on their perceptions of changing climate patterns. Using a case study from the Middle Yarlung Zangbo River Valley, we present a new research framework that uses questionnaire and interview methods to compare local farmers' perceptions of climate change with the adaptive farming strategies they adopt. Most farmers in the valley believed that temperatures had increased in the last 30 years but did not note any changes in precipitation. Most farmers also reported sowing and harvesting hulless barley 10-15 days earlier than they were 20 years ago. In addition, farmers observed that plants were flowering and river ice was melting earlier in the season, but they did not perceive changes in plant germination, herbaceous vegetation growth, or other spring seasonal events. Most farmers noticed an extended fall season signified by delays in the freezing of rivers and an extended growing season for grassland vegetation. The study results showed that agricultural practices in the study area are still traditional; that is, local farmers' perceptions of climate change and their strategies to mitigate its impacts were based on indigenous knowledge and their own experiences. Adaptive strategies included adjusting planting and harvesting dates, changing crop species, and improving irrigation infrastructure. However, the farmers' decisions could not be fully attributed to their concerns about climate change. Local farming systems exhibit high adaptability to climate variability. Additionally, off-farm income has reduced the dependence of the farmers on agriculture, and an agricultural subsidy from the Chinese Central Government has mitigated the farmers' vulnerability. Nevertheless, it remains necessary for local farmers to build a system of adaptive climate change strategies that combines traditional experience and indigenous knowledge with scientific research and

Undergraduate Climate Education: Motivations, Strategies, Successes, and Support

Science.gov (United States)

Kirk, Karin B.; Gold, Anne U.; Ledley, Tamara Shapiro; Sullivan, Susan Buhr; Manduca, Cathryn A.; Mogk, David W.; Wiese, Katryn

2014-01-01

Climate literacy is an essential component of a strategy to comprehend and confront the grand challenge of global climate change. However, scientific complexity, societal implications, and political associations make climate change a difficult but important topic to teach. In this paper we report on the results of a survey of undergraduate faculty…

A strategy for assessing potential future changes in climate, hydrology, and vegetation in the Western United States

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Robert Stephen; Hostetler, Steven W.; Bartlein, Patrick J.; Anderson, Katherine H.

1998-01-01

Historical and geological data indicate that significant changes can occur in the Earth's climate on time scales ranging from years to millennia. In addition to natural climatic change, climatic changes may occur in the near future due to increased concentrations of carbon dioxide and other trace gases in the atmosphere that are the result of human activities. International research efforts using atmospheric general circulation models (AGCM's) to assess potential climatic conditions under atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations of twice the pre-industrial level (a '2 X CO2' atmosphere) conclude that climate would warm on a global basis. However, it is difficult to assess how the projected warmer climatic conditions would be distributed on a regional scale and what the effects of such warming would be on the landscape, especially for temperate mountainous regions such as the Western United States. In this report, we present a strategy to assess the regional sensitivity to global climatic change. The strategy makes use of a hierarchy of models ranging from an AGCM, to a regional climate model, to landscape-scale process models of hydrology and vegetation. A 2 X CO2 global climate simulation conducted with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) GENESIS AGCM on a grid of approximately 4.5o of latitude by 7.5o of longitude was used to drive the NCAR regional climate model (RegCM) over the Western United States on a grid of 60 km by 60 km. The output from the RegCM is used directly (for hydrologic models) or interpolated onto a 15-km grid (for vegetation models) to quantify possible future environmental conditions on a spatial scale relevant to policy makers and land managers.

Climate change, uncertainty and investment in flood risk reduction

OpenAIRE

Pol, van der, T.D.

2015-01-01

Economic analysis of flood risk management strategies has become more complex due to climate change. This thesis investigates the impact of climate change on investment in flood risk reduction, and applies optimisation methods to support identification of optimal flood risk management strategies. Chapter 2 provides an overview of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of flood risk management strategies under climate change uncertainty and new information. CBA is applied to determine optimal dike height...

Mainstreaming climate change adaptation strategies into New York State Department of Transportation's operations : final report.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-31

This study identifies climate change adaptation strategies and recommends ways of mainstreaming them into planned actions, including legislation, policies, programs and projects in all areas and at all levels within the New York State Department of T...

Climate change and climate policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alfsen, Knut H.; Kolshus, Hans H.; Torvanger, Asbjoern

2000-08-01

The climate issue is a great political and scientific challenge for several reasons: (1) There are many uncertain aspects of the climate problem, such as future emission of climate gases, the response of the climate system upon these gases, and the effects of climate changes. (2) It is probable, however, that anthropogenic emission of climate gases, deforestation etc. will cause noticeable climate changes in the future. This might be observed as increased frequency of extreme weather situations. This appears to be a greater threat than a gradual increase of temperature and precipitation. (3) Since the climate system is large and react only relatively slowly on changes in for instance the emission of climate gases, the climate problem can only be solved by means of long-term measures. (4) The climate changes may be irreversible. A rational short-term strategy is to ensure maximum flexibility, which can be done by ''slowing down'' (curtailing emissions) and by avoiding irreversible actions as much as possible. The long-term challenge is to develop an economically responsible alternative to the present fossil-based energy system that permits carbon-efficient technologies to compete on price with coal and unconventional oil and gas. Norway is in a special position by being a large exporter of fossil fuel and at the same time wanting to appear responsible in environmental matters. This combination may incur considerable expenses upon Norway and it is therefore important that environmental commitments like the Kyoto agreement can be honoured to the lowest possible cost. The costs can be minimized by: (1) minimizing the measure costs in Norway, (2) working to make the international quota price as low as possible, and (3) reducing the loss of petroleum income as much as possible. This report describes the earth's climate history, the forces behind climatic changes and what the prospects for the future look like. It also reviews what is being done to curtail the emission of

Effects of climate changes in Norway

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sygna, Linda; O'Brien, Karen

2001-02-01

This report presents the conclusions of a seminar on ''Effects of climate changes'' held in Norway in Oct. 2000. Too little is known about how climatic changes affect nature and society. This type of research is not well supported economically and there has been a lack of coordinated and long-term funds. This may change, however, as the development of strategies to meet climatic changes in the future requires a unified understanding of their impacts

Climate change and eHealth: a promising strategy for health sector mitigation and adaptation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Åsa Holmner

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Climate change is one of today's most pressing global issues. Policies to guide mitigation and adaptation are needed to avoid the devastating impacts of climate change. The health sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries, and its climate impact in low-income countries is growing steadily. This paper reviews and discusses the literature regarding health sector mitigation potential, known and hypothetical co-benefits, and the potential of health information technology, such as eHealth, in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The promising role of eHealth as an adaptation strategy to reduce societal vulnerability to climate change, and the link's between mitigation and adaptation, are also discussed. The topic of environmental eHealth has gained little attention to date, despite its potential to contribute to more sustainable and green health care. A growing number of local and global initiatives on ‘green information and communication technology (ICT’ are now mentioning eHealth as a promising technology with the potential to reduce emission rates from ICT use. However, the embracing of eHealth is slow because of limitations in technological infrastructure, capacity and political will. Further research on potential emissions reductions and co-benefits with green ICT, in terms of health outcomes and economic effectiveness, would be valuable to guide development and implementation of eHealth in health sector mitigation and adaptation policies.

Climate change and eHealth: a promising strategy for health sector mitigation and adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Holmner, Åsa; Rocklöv, Joacim; Ng, Nawi; Nilsson, Maria

2012-01-01

Climate change is one of today's most pressing global issues. Policies to guide mitigation and adaptation are needed to avoid the devastating impacts of climate change. The health sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries, and its climate impact in low-income countries is growing steadily. This paper reviews and discusses the literature regarding health sector mitigation potential, known and hypothetical co-benefits, and the potential of health information technology, such as eHealth, in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The promising role of eHealth as an adaptation strategy to reduce societal vulnerability to climate change, and the link's between mitigation and adaptation, are also discussed. The topic of environmental eHealth has gained little attention to date, despite its potential to contribute to more sustainable and green health care. A growing number of local and global initiatives on ‘green information and communication technology (ICT)’ are now mentioning eHealth as a promising technology with the potential to reduce emission rates from ICT use. However, the embracing of eHealth is slow because of limitations in technological infrastructure, capacity and political will. Further research on potential emissions reductions and co-benefits with green ICT, in terms of health outcomes and economic effectiveness, would be valuable to guide development and implementation of eHealth in health sector mitigation and adaptation policies. PMID:22679398

Yukon Government climate change action plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-02-01

This Climate Change Action Plan described the measures that are being taken by the Yukon Government to adapt to, understand, and reduce contributions to climate change. The action plan is the result of input received from more than 100 individuals and organizations and provides clear direction for a strategy that will minimize the negative impacts of climate change and provide economic, social and other environmental benefits through climate change mitigation. The Yukon government has already taken many actions that respond to climate change, such as: developing the Yukon Cold Climate Innovation Centre; supporting the Northern Climate Exchange for public education and outreach; funding community recycling depots and other groups that reduce waste generation, promote public awareness and divert solid waste; and working with provincial and territorial counterparts to enhance national building standards. The main objectives of the climate change actions are to enhance knowledge and understanding of climate change; adapt to climate change; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and lead Yukon action in response to climate change. tabs., figs.

GEF climate change operational strategy: Whither UNDP?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hosier, R.

1996-12-31

The paper discusses aspects of the implementation of the program for climatic change which has been come about as part of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. Initial effort has focused on providing strategic information and help to countries, on achieving offsets in greenhouse gas emissions by energy conservation or carbon sinking, and an emphasis on development of renewable energy supplies. The U.N. Development Agency has limited funding to help support startup on projects submitted. Specific examples are discussed in the areas of energy conservation and energy efficiency, adoption of renewable energy sources, and reducing the long-term costs of low greenhouse gas-emitting energy technologies.

The social construct of climate and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stehr, N.

1994-01-01

Different time scales of climate change and their differential perception in society are discussed. A historical examination of natural climate changes during the past millennium suggests that short-term changes, especially crucial changes, trigger a significant response in and by society. Short-term changes correspond to the 'time horizon of everyday life', that is, to a time scale from days and weeks to a few years. The anticipated anthropogenic climate changes, however, are expected to occur on a longer time scale. They require a response by society not on the basis of primary experience but on the basis of scientifically constructed scenarios and ways in which such information is represented in the modern media for example. Socio-economic impact research relies on concepts that are based on the premise of perfectly informed actors for the development of optimal adaptation strategies. In contrast to such a conception, we develop the concept of a 'social construct of climate' as decisive for the public perception of scientific knowledge about climate and for public policy on climate change. The concept is illustrated using a number of examples. (orig.)

Climatic change in Germany. Development, consequences, risks and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brasseur, Guy; Jacob, Daniela; Schuck-Zoeller, Susanne

2017-01-01

The book on the climatic change in Germany includes contributions to the following issues: global climate projections and regional projections in Germany and Europe: observation of the climatic change in Central Europe, regional climate modeling, limits and challenges of the regional climate modeling; climatic change in Germany - regional features and extremes: temperature and heat waves, precipitation, wind and cyclones, sea-level increase, tides, storm floods and sea state, floods, definition uncertainties, draughts, forest fires, natural risks; consequences of the climatic change in Germany: air quality, health, biodiversity, water resources, biochemical cycles, agriculture, forestry, soils, personal and commercial transport, cities and urban regions, tourism, infrastructure, energy and water supplies, cost of the climatic change and economic consequences; overall risks and uncertainties: assessment of vulnerabilities, literature review, climatic change as risk enhancement in complex systems, overall risks and uncertainties, decision making under uncertainties in complex systems; integrated strategies for the adaptation to the climatic change: the climate resilient society - transformations and system changes, adaptation to the climatic change as new political field, options for adaptation strategies.

Climate Change as a Predictable Surprise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bazerman, M.H.

2006-01-01

In this article, I analyze climate change as a 'predictable surprise', an event that leads an organization or nation to react with surprise, despite the fact that the information necessary to anticipate the event and its consequences was available (Bazerman and Watkins, 2004). I then assess the cognitive, organizational, and political reasons why society fails to implement wise strategies to prevent predictable surprises generally and climate change specifically. Finally, I conclude with an outline of a set of response strategies to overcome barriers to change

The impact of climate change on the strategies of the electricity industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

This report is a compilation of the results of a questionnaire survey conducted among eight companies from the E7 and six electricity companies outside the E7, investigating how each company, within its own particular circumstances, deals with the climate change issue as a business issue, and the specific actions that are being taken by major electric companies to alleviate the effect of greenhouse gas emissions. In doing this survey, the E7 companies expect that the results demonstrate the role of electricity as an important means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the seriousness with which electric companies in both Annex I and non-Annex I countries view climate change mitigation measures as an important aspect of their corporate strategies, and the extent of cooperation among companies in the electricity sector worldwide as an effective and practical approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 7 refs., 6 tabs., 11 figs

Kenya's Climate Change Action Plan. Low Carbon Climate Resilient Development Pathway

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murphy, D.; Sawyer, D.; Stiebert, S.; McFatridge, S. [International Institute for Sustainable Development IISD, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada); Wuertenberger, L.; Van Tilburg, X.; Hekkenberg, M. [Energy research Centre of the Netherlands ECN, Policy Studies, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Owino, T.; Battye, W. [ClimateCare, Nairobi (Kenya); Mutia, T. [Regional Institute for Social Enterprise Kenya RISE, Nairobi (Kenya); Olum, P. [Climate Change Consultant (Kenya)

2012-12-15

Kenya Vision 2030 - the long-term development blueprint for the country - aims to transform Kenya into 'a newly industrialising, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens in a clean and secure environment'. A low carbon climate resilient development pathway, as set out in this Climate Change Action Plan, can help meet Vision 2030 goals through actions that address both sustainable development and climate change. This pathway can also help the Government achieve the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed development goals without compromising the environment and its natural resources. As Kenya realizes its development aspirations, there will be gains and risks. A growing population and economy with migration to cities will mean increases in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Resulting environmental and social conditions, including increased competition over resources, could intensify vulnerability to climate risks. Transitioning to a low carbon climate resilient development pathway can address future risks thereby improving Kenya's ability to prosper under a changing climate while reducing the emissions intensity of a growing economy. Moving forward on the 2010 National Climate Change Response Strategy will help Kenya transition to a low carbon climate resilient development pathway that puts people and livelihoods at the forefront. The strategy recognized the importance of climate change and development, and this Climate Change Action Plan is the logical next step. A yearlong multistakeholder participatory process involving the public sector, private sector and civil society resulted in this Action Plan that identifies priority climate change actions for Kenya for the short, medium and long term. The Government of Kenya takes climate change and its impact on development seriously. Climate change is considered a crosscutting issue that will be mainstreamed in the planning process both at the national

Adaptation strategies for health impacts of climate change in Western Australia: Application of a Health Impact Assessment framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spickett, Jeffery T.; Brown, Helen L.; Katscherian, Dianne

2011-01-01

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the globe and there is substantial evidence that this will result in a number of health impacts, regardless of the level of greenhouse gas mitigation. It is therefore apparent that a combined approach of mitigation and adaptation will be required to protect public health. While the importance of mitigation is recognised, this project focused on the role of adaptation strategies in addressing the potential health impacts of climate change. The nature and magnitude of these health impacts will be determined by a number of parameters that are dependent upon the location. Firstly, climate change will vary between regions. Secondly, the characteristics of each region in terms of population and the ability to adapt to changes will greatly influence the extent of the health impacts that are experienced now and into the future. Effective adaptation measures therefore need to be developed with these differences in mind. A Health Impact Assessment (HIA) framework was used to consider the implications of climate change on the health of the population of Western Australia (WA) and to develop a range of adaptive responses suited to WA. A broad range of stakeholders participated in the HIA process, providing informed input into developing an understanding of the potential health impacts and potential adaptation strategies from a diverse sector perspective. Potential health impacts were identified in relation to climate change predictions in WA in the year 2030. The risk associated with each of these impacts was assessed using a qualitative process that considered the consequences and the likelihood of the health impact occurring. Adaptations were then developed which could be used to mitigate the identified health impacts and provide responses which could be used by Government for future decision making. The periodic application of a HIA framework is seen as an ideal tool to develop appropriate adaptation strategies to

Agricultural Adaptations to Climate Changes in West Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Guan, K.; Sultan, B.; Lobell, D. B.; Biasutti, M.; Piani, C.; Hammer, G. L.; McLean, G.

2014-12-01

Agricultural production in West Africa is highly vulnerable to climate variability and change and a fast growing demand for food adds yet another challenge. Assessing possible adaptation strategies of crop production in West Africa under climate change is thus critical for ensuring regional food security and improving human welfare. Our previous efforts have identified as the main features of climate change in West Africa a robust increase in temperature and a complex shift in the rainfall pattern (i.e. seasonality delay and total amount change). Unaddressed, these robust climate changes would reduce regional crop production by up to 20%. In the current work, we use two well-validated crop models (APSIM and SARRA-H) to comprehensively assess different crop adaptation options under future climate scenarios. Particularly, we assess adaptations in both the choice of crop types and management strategies. The expected outcome of this study is to provide West Africa with region-specific adaptation recommendations that take into account both climate variability and climate change.

United Nations negotiations on climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Street, R.B.

1993-01-01

Climate change is a global environmental issue which is the subject of intergovernmental negotiations in the United Nations system. The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) recommended to the UN General Assembly a four-track strategy relating to climate change: improved monitoring and assessment; increased research; development of internationally agreed policies to reduce greenhouse gases; and adoption of strategies to minimize impacts of climate change. The UN hosted a Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992 to attempt to find a common basis for action to protect the Earth's future and to secure a sustainable and equitable process of development. The focal point for UNCED efforts related to climate change is the Protection of the Atmosphere chapter of Agenda 21. Program A of this agenda contains responses to the WCED recommendations and Program B includes promotion of sustainable development in energy development, transportation, industry, and resource development. A framework convention on climate change was developed by an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee established in 1990 and adopted by 130-140 countries. This convention includes general and specific obligations such as stabilization and control of greenhouse gas concentrations, development of emission inventories, and provision of financial resources to aid developing countries in responding to the climate change problem. 3 refs

Effective Strategies for Talking about Climate Change in the Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Busch, K. C.; Osborne, Jonathan

2014-01-01

Teaching about climate science presents some unique challenges. Unlike many other science topics, mitigation and adaptation to climate change will require students to take action. This article outlines five major challenges to communicating about climate change in the classroom, drawing on research in environmental psychology: scepticism,…

Climate Change Adaptation Practices in Various Countries

Science.gov (United States)

Tanik, A.; Tekten, D.

2017-08-01

The paper will be a review work on the recent strategies of EU in general, and will underline the inspected sectoral based adaptation practices and action plans of 7 countries; namely Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, USA and Kenya from Africa continent. Although every countries’ action plan have some similarities on sectoral analysis, each country in accordance with the specific nature of the problem seems to create its own sectoral analysis. Within this context, green and white documents of EU adaptation to climate change, EU strategy on climate change, EU targets of 2020 on climate change and EU adaptation support tools are investigated.

Geopolitics of climate change: A review

OpenAIRE

Bošnjaković Branko

2012-01-01

The paper reviews the geopolitical elements of the emerging discourse on how to control, and cope with climate change. Two complementary approaches may be distinguished: the actor-related approach analyses the positioning of states and interest groups, which develop strategies on coping with climate change; the other approach addresses processes and problem areas (physical, economic, demographic…) emerging in the geographic space as a consequence of, or linked to climate change. With fa...

Climate change adaptation : planning for BC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harford, D.; Vanderwill, C.; Church, A.

2008-11-01

This paper explored climate change challenges facing British Columbia in the context of 9 topical issues, notably biodiversity, extreme events, energy, water supply, crop adaptation, health risks, sea level rise, population dynamics and new technologies. Each issue was summarized in terms of threats, current responses in British Columbia and precedents being set in Canada. The key principles of adaptation to climate change were also reviewed. In addition, the paper explored ways to adopt smart adaptation strategies-policy responses to climate change that cut across all major government functions, such as infrastructure, energy, water, economic development, resource management and agriculture. The paper emphasized that strategies that respond to the climate challenge should acknowledge the links between adaptation and mitigation, or emissions reduction. Both concepts need major investment in research, education and infrastructure to support comprehensive, effective responses. refs., tabs., figs

Forest Policies Addressing Climate Change in China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2010-01-01

As a developing country with a large population and a fragile ecological environment, China is particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. Beginning with the Rio Conference of 1992 China has played a progressively enhanced role in combating climate change. A series of policies and measures to address climate change have been taken in the overall context of national sustainable development strategy, making positive contributions to the mitigation and adaptation to climate change, among ...

Potential Impacts of Climate Change in Kenya

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogola, J.S.; Abira, M.A.; Awuor, V.O.

1997-01-01

According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), climate change is attributed directly or indirectly to human activities that alter the composition of the global atmosphere. It is a phenomenon that is still inadequately understood by the general public. Planners, policy makers and even within institutions of learning, but one which is bound to affect our environment and development activities. There is therefore need for information dissemination, systematic research, policy formulation, and development of strategies for managing climate change. The book is divided into five parts, Part I presents basic information on climate change; Part II looks at climatic change and natural resources; Part III discusses implications of climate change; Part IV presents ethical issues related to climatic change; and Part V deals with responses to climate change

Climate modelling, uncertainty and responses to predictions of change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henderson-Sellers, A.

1996-01-01

Article 4.1(F) of the Framework Convention on Climate Change commits all parties to take climate change considerations into account, to the extent feasible, in relevant social, economic and environmental policies and actions and to employ methods such as impact assessments to minimize adverse effects of climate change. This could be achieved by, inter alia, incorporating climate change risk assessment into development planning processes, i.e. relating climatic change to issues of habitability and sustainability. Adaptation is an ubiquitous and beneficial natural and human strategy. Future adaptation (adjustment) to climate is inevitable at the least to decrease the vulnerability to current climatic impacts. An urgent issue is the mismatch between the predictions of global climatic change and the need for information on local to regional change in order to develop adaptation strategies. Mitigation efforts are essential since the more successful mitigation activities are, the less need there will be for adaptation responses. And, mitigation responses can be global (e.g. a uniform percentage reduction in greenhouse gas emissions) while adaptation responses will be local to regional in character and therefore depend upon confident predictions of regional climatic change. The dilemma facing policymakers is that scientists have considerable confidence in likely global climatic changes but virtually zero confidence in regional changes. Mitigation and adaptation strategies relevant to climatic change can most usefully be developed in the context of sound understanding of climate, especially the near-surface continental climate, permitting discussion of societally relevant issues. But, climate models can't yet deliver this type of regionally and locationally specific prediction and some aspects of current research even seem to indicate increased uncertainty. These topics are explored in this paper using the specific example of the prediction of land-surface climate changes

Navigating Negative Conversations in Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Mandia, S. A.; Abraham, J. P.; Dash, J. W.; Ashley, M. C.

2012-12-01

Politically charged public discussions of climate change often lead to polarization as a direct result of many societal, economic, religious and other factors which form opinions. For instance, the general public views climate change as a political discussion rather than a scientific matter. Additionally, many media sources such as websites and mainstream venues and persons have served to promote the "controversy". Scientists who engage in a public discourse of climate change often encounter politically charged environments and audiences. Traditional presentations of the science without attention paid to political, social, or economic matters are likely to worsen the existing divide. An international organization, the Climate Science Rapid Response Team (CSRRT) suggests a strategy that can be used to navigate potentially troublesome situations with divided audiences. This approach can be used during live lecture presentations, and radio, print, or television interviews. The strategy involves identifying alternative motivations for taking action on climate change. The alternative motivations are tailored to the audience and can range from national defense, economic prosperity, religious motivation, patriotism, energy independence, or hunting/fishing reasons. Similar messaging modification can be used to faithfully and accurately convey the importance of taking action on climate change but present the motivations in a way that will be received by the audience.

Establishment of an indicator concept for the German strategy on adaptation to climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schoenthaler, Konstanze; Andrian-Werburg, Stefan von; Wulfert, Katrin [Bosch und Partner GmbH, Muenchen (Germany); Luthardt, Vera; Kreinsen, Beatrice; Schultz-Sternberg, R.; Hommel, Robert [Hochschule fuer Nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde (Germany)

2010-11-15

Even if we succeed in achieving the EU target of reducing global warming to 2 C, it will be absolutely essential to adapt to changing climatic conditions. The greenhouse gases currently present in the atmosphere will influence the climate in coming decades. The day on which it is quite clear which climatic scenario prevails, so that it is possible to model all relevant processes down to regional level, will be the day on which it is too late to adapt to the actual scenario. Our endeavours to adapt to climate change do not mean, however, that we can neglect to take measures in order to reduce the output of greenhouse gases. It is important to remember that on their own, neither adaptation nor mitigation can prevent the grave impacts resulting from climate change. In fact, they complement each other meaningfully thus helping to alleviate the risks of climate change. On 17th December 2008 the German Federal Cabinet adopted the DAS (German Strategy for the Adaptation to Climate Change), (Bundesregierung 2008). The DAS has created the framework for adapting to the consequences of climate change in Germany. First and fore-most, the DAS contributes its guidelines at Federal level, to provide a guideline for agents at other levels. The Strategy lays the foundation for a medium-term process. In conjunction with the individual Federal States and other groups representing various sectors of society, the Strategy provides a step-by-step assessment of the risks of climate change. Furthermore, it states the potential requirements for action, and defines the appropriate goals and potential adaptation measures to be developed and implemented in this process. In due course, the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) will design a comprehensive set of tools to support and advance the DAS. An integral part of this will be the Special Information System 'Adaptation' (FISKA) and an Indicator System to aid adaptation. The latter is one of the key tasks identified for the DAS. As far

Green paper on energy and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peters, R.; Whitmore, J.; Shariff, N.

2005-11-01

This green paper was created by the Canadian Environmental Network to initiate a dialogue on climate change and energy issues. Recommendations for energy strategies for Canada beyond 2012 were presented. An overview of recent climate science was presented, as well as various stabilization scenarios needed to prevent further climate change. A review of global energy trends working for and against action to prevent climate change was also provided. It was suggested that the stabilization of greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations can only be achieved when the United States and large developing economies such as China, India and Brazil transform themselves into renewable-energy based economies. Renewable energy and energy efficiency must play a central role in future climate change regimes. It was suggested that nuclear power cannot be considered as an option to reduce GHGs due to its high cost, and on-going public concerns over long-term waste disposal, fuel-cycle health and safety. A viable global framework for stabilizing GHG concentrations built on the current regimes of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol was recommended. It was suggested that richer industrialized nations must take the lead by pursuing absolute reductions and providing assistance to developing nations for mitigation and adaptation to climate change. It was recommended that developing nations should contribute to global mitigation efforts by pursuing low-carbon intensity development paths, and that effective climate change policies must address the economic barriers faced by developing nations. Other recommendations included a regulatory regime for major energy producers and users incorporating progressively lower GHG emission targets; the elimination of all subsidies for the fossil fuel and nuclear fuel-cycle and power industries; the adoption of a national renewable energy strategy; the implementation of a national energy conservation and efficiency

Hard choices : climate change in Canada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coward, H.; Weaver, A.J. (eds.)

2004-07-01

This book explains the nature of climate change, the options to respond to it and the virtues of Canada's commitment to the Kyoto Protocol. It includes a collection of essays by prominent Canadian scientists and scholars who discuss the impacts of climate change on Canada from physical, social, technological, economic and political perspectives. Climate change assessments have been made possible by monitoring and recording changes in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. As a result of these assessments, climate change has become an issue on policy agendas. Advanced computer models have convinced much of the scientific community that climate change will bring with it droughts, floods, hurricanes, forest fires, ice storms, blackouts, and increased warming in countries in high latitudes, including Canada, despite remaining uncertainties about how human activities will affect the climate. The authors cautioned that climate change response strategies can only be refined once these uncertainties are significantly reduced. refs., tabs., figs.

Ask the climate question : adapting to climate change impacts in urban regions

Science.gov (United States)

2009-06-01

As the first responders to the impacts of climate change, local governments play a crucial role in implementing the actions and strategies that will reduce their communities vulnerability to the dangers of a changing climate. This type of action o...

Geopolitics of climate change: A review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bošnjaković Branko

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The paper reviews the geopolitical elements of the emerging discourse on how to control, and cope with climate change. Two complementary approaches may be distinguished: the actor-related approach analyses the positioning of states and interest groups, which develop strategies on coping with climate change; the other approach addresses processes and problem areas (physical, economic, demographic… emerging in the geographic space as a consequence of, or linked to climate change. With failing mitigation policies and instruments, the urgency of adaptation to climate change is increasing. Assessment of regional consequences of climate change includes the perceptions and motivations of presumed losers or winners. New security implications related to climate change are emerging in the Arctic, South-East Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Energy supply security is a dominant factor in geopolitical considerations. The geopolitics of climate change is inextricably linked to many other issues of globalization. Significant shift of global power raises the discussion of ethical responsibility. Climate change is evolving as a testing ground for competitiveness and innovation potential of political and economic models in achieving sustainability.

Feframing Climate Change for Environmental Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Weems, Caitlin; Subramaniam, Prithwi Raj

2017-04-01

Repeated warnings by the scientific community on the dire consequences of climate change through global warming to the ecology and sustenance of our planet have not been give appropriate attention by the U.S. public. Research has shown that climate change is responsible for catastrophic weather occurrences--such as floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and heat waves--resulting in environmental and public health issues. The purpose of this report is to examine factors influencing public views on climate change. Theoretical and political perspectives are examined to unpack opinions held by the public in the U.S. on climate change. The Health Belief Model is used as an example to showcase the efficacy of an individual behavior change program in providing the synergy to understand climate change at the microlevel. The concept of reframing is discussed as a strategy to alter how the public views climate change.

Climate change, uncertainty and investment in flood risk reduction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pol, van der T.D.

2015-01-01

Economic analysis of flood risk management strategies has become more complex due to climate change. This thesis investigates the impact of climate change on investment in flood risk reduction, and applies optimisation methods to support identification of optimal flood risk management strategies.

An analysis of climatic impacts and adaptation strategies in Tanzania

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ojoyi, MM

2015-03-01

Full Text Available International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management An analysis of climatic impacts and adaptation strategies in Tanzania Mercy M. Ojoyi School of Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa... of feedback results from analysis of variance tests conducted. Major indicators of climate variability and change include: increased dry spells (39.7 per cent), drying of rivers (34.7 per cent), a reduction in water flows (14.6 per cent) and poor economy...

Preparing for climate change: Forestry and assisted migration

Science.gov (United States)

Mary I. Williams; R. Kasten Dumroese

2013-01-01

Although plants have moved across the landscape in response to changing climate for millennia, projections of contemporary climate change suggest that forest tree species and populations will need to migrate faster than their natural ability. Therefore, climate change adaptation strategies, such as assisted migration, have gained attention since 2007. Effective...

Water supply sustainability and adaptation strategies under anthropogenic and climatic changes of a meso-scale Mediterranean catchment.

Science.gov (United States)

Collet, Lila; Ruelland, Denis; Estupina, Valérie Borrell; Dezetter, Alain; Servat, Eric

2015-12-01

Assessing water supply sustainability is crucial to meet stakeholders' needs, notably in the Mediterranean. This region has been identified as a climate change hot spot, and as a region where water demand is continuously increasing due to population growth and the expansion of irrigated areas. The Hérault River catchment (2500 km2, France) is a typical example and a negative trend in discharge has been observed since the 1960s. In this context, local stakeholders need to evaluate possible future changes in water allocation capacity in the catchment, using climate change, dam management and water use scenarios. A modelling framework that was already calibrated and validated on this catchment over the last 50 years was used to assess whether water resources could meet water demands at the 2030 horizon for the domestic, agricultural and environmental sectors. Water supply sustainability was evaluated at the sub-basin scale according to priority allocations using a water supply capacity index, frequency of unsatisfactory years as well as the reliability, resilience and sustainability metrics. Water use projections were based on the evolution of population, per-unit water demand, irrigated areas, water supply network efficiency, as well as on the evaluation of a biological flow. Climate projections were based on an increase in temperature up to 2°C and a decrease in daily precipitation by 20%. Adaptation strategies considered reducing per-unit water demand for the domestic sector and the importation of water volume for the agricultural sector. The dissociated effects of water use and climatic constraints on water supply sustainability were evaluated. Results showed that the downstream portions would be the more impacted as they are the most exploited ones. In the domestic sector, sustainability indicators would be more degraded by climate change scenarios than water use constraints. In the agricultural sector the negative impact of water use scenarios would be

Explore 2070: what use of a prospective exercise on climate change impacts at the national scale to define adaptation strategies?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carroget, Aurelie; Perrin, Charles; Sauquet, Eric; Vidal, Jean-Philippe; Chazot, Sebastien; Chauveau, Mathilde; Rouchy, Nathalie

2017-01-01

Projected climate change could have important impacts on water availability in France by mid-21. century. The Explore 2070 prospective study, directed by the Ministry in charge of ecology, has thus highlighted the necessity to quantify and anticipate these changes, and to build adaptation strategies to limit their negative impacts on hydro-systems and human activities. This paper analyses how these works have contributed to the sensitization of water actors and to the reflection about climate change adaptation in France and to the reflection on adaptation to climate change in France

Diagnosing climate change impacts and identifying adaptation strategies by involving key stakeholder organisations and farmers in Sikkim, India: Challenges and opportunities.

Science.gov (United States)

Azhoni, Adani; Goyal, Manish Kumar

2018-06-01

Narrowing the gap between research, policy making and implementing adaptation remains a challenge in many parts of the world where climate change is likely to severely impact water security. This research aims to narrow this gap by matching the adaptation strategies being framed by policy makers to that of the perspectives of development agencies, researchers and farmers in the Himalayan state of Sikkim in India. Our case study examined the perspectives of various stakeholders for climate change impacts, current adaptation strategies, knowledge gaps and adaptation barriers, particularly in the context of implementing the Sikkim State Action Plan on Climate Change through semi-structured interviews carried out with decision makers in the Sikkim State Government, researchers, consultants, local academia, development agencies and farmers. Using Stakeholders Network Analysis tools, this research unravels the complexities of perceiving climate change impacts, identifying strategies, and implementing adaptation. While farmers are less aware about the global phenomenon of climate change impacts for water security, their knowledge of the local conditions and their close interaction with the State Government Agriculture Department provides them opportunities. Although important steps are being initiated through the Sikkim State Action Plan on Climate Change it is yet to deliver effective means of adaptation implementation and hence, strengthening the networks of close coordination between the various implementing agencies will pay dividends. Knowledge gaps and the need for capacity building identified in this research, based on the understandings of key stakeholders are highly relevant to both the research community and for informing policy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ground Water and Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Richard G.; Scanlon, Bridget; Doell, Petra; Rodell, Matt; van Beek, Rens; Wada, Yoshihide; Longuevergne, Laurent; Leblanc, Marc; Famiglietti, James S.; Edmunds, Mike;

Innovative contracting strategies for combating climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-01

The state of Maryland has made a strong commitment to combating climate change and reducing : greenhouse gas emissions. This research investigated the state of practice of innovative contracting : solutions to reduce emissions from highway constructi...

CO sub 2 induced climate change in Ontario: Interdependencies and resource strategies. Changement climatique cause par le CO sub 2 en Ontario: Interdependances et strategies en matiere de ressources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1988-01-01

A summary is presented of a workshop held in November 1985 which was convened to extend the results of an earlier study on the effect of CO{sub 2}-induced climate change on specific components of the air-water-land biota systems and resource uses in Ontario. The workshop examined the interdependencies of those impact sectors and possible resource and socio-economic strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change. Impacts on such matters as streamflow, water quality, wetlands, snowfall, solar energy, municipal water use, hydroelectric power, tourism and recreation, food production, forest resources, and residential heating requirements were evaluated. It was found that almost all components of the climate system and resource use were affected by CO{sub 2}-induced warming, but the nature and magnitude of these impacts vary considerably across resource sectors and are intricately interdependent. Direct impacts are driven by changes in temperature, precipitation, or cloud cover and affect climate system components, and interdependencies among these sectors cause indirect impacts which affect resource use. For example, changes in temperaure and precipitation affect streamflow which indirectly impacts water use, commercial shipping, and recreation. Strategies to mitigate these effects include both preventive and adjustment strategies, some of which require significant forward planning. The timing and pattern of CO{sub 2}-induced change are important in determining the most likely and desirable strategies. A 5-point framework was developed to evaluate strategies and identify research priorities. Among resource and socioeconomic adjustment strategies, research into the forestry sector is of primary importance.

Climate change in Nova Scotia : a background paper to guide Nova Scotia's climate change action plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-10-01

Climate change causes changes in the temperature of the earth, the level of the sea, and the frequency of extreme weather conditions. The province of Nova Scotia recently released an act related to environmental goals and sustainable prosperity. Addressing climate change is a key element in achieving Nova Scotia's sustainable prosperity goals outlined in the act. The Nova Scotia Department of Energy is working towards developing both policy and action, to help meet its target of a 10 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases from 1990 levels by the year 2020. Two major plans are underway, notably a climate change action plan and a renewed energy strategy. This report provided background information on Nova Scotia's climate change action plan. It discussed climate change issues affecting Nova Scotia, air pollutants, energy sources in Nova Scotia, energy consumers in the province, and Nova Scotia's approach to climate change. The report also discussed actions underway and funding sources. It was concluded that in order for the climate change action plan to be successful, Nova Scotians must use energy more efficiently; use renewable energy; use cleaner energy; and plan for change. 13 refs., 2 tabs., 6 figs., 4 appendices

Companies and adaptation to climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bourrier, Herve; Duchene, Patrice-Henry; Metcalf, Gerry; Deandreis, Celine; Hardelin, Julien; Vautard, Robert; Bailly, Boris; Gemenne, Francois; Peyrat, Olivier; Greppo, Fabien; Reysset, Bertrand; Beriot, Nicolas; Leonard, Damien; Colas, Julien; Tutenuit, Claire

2014-04-01

Whereas climate change will have significant consequences on various economic sectors (infrastructures, energy and water supply, agriculture, cities and buildings, and so on), population behaviours and uses will have to be deeply changed, and this is more particularly the case for enterprises and companies. This guide aims at presenting solutions to face the challenge of climate change for enterprises. In its first part, it outlines how our climate is already changing, gives an overview of main future climate trends in the World, indicates what will be the future climate in France, discusses the noticeable and brutal consequences for activities, resources and territories, outlines that adaptation to tomorrow's climate begins now, and discusses to which climate we'll have to adapt at the local level. In the second part, this publication explains why enterprises must adapt themselves to climate change: enterprises are in a changing environment, and must take a legal and standard framework into account, but this adaptation will have a cost. Adaptation also means uncertainty management, and enterprises are facing obstacles and brakes to adaptation. The last part describes how to implement a strategy of adaptation in an enterprise: resources for adaptation, integration of enterprise management, understanding needs to convince within the enterprise itself, assessment of vulnerability to climate change, how to define priorities for action, which options to choose to adapt the enterprise, how to implement the strategy and how to follow it up and assess it. Some sector-related sheets are provided in appendix. They indicate identified risks, potential impacts of national policies for enterprises, measures which can be freely implemented by enterprises, and identified opportunities for various sectors (health, agriculture, forest, coastal areas, fishery and aquaculture, energy and industry, transport infrastructure, town planning and built environment, tourism

climate change adaptation strategies by local farmers in kilombero

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Osondu

climatic stresses? What are institutions and political structures influencing local farmer's adaptive capacity? ... ability of the systems to adjust to climate change and has three ..... seedlings, and use of improved seed varieties. Political structures ...

Climate adaptation in NVE's areas of responsibility - Strategy 2010 - 2014; Klimatilpasning innen NVEs ansvarsomraader - Strategi 2010 - 2014

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamarsland, Arne T. (ed.)

2010-09-15

NVE has developed a comprehensive climate change strategies within their areas of responsibility. There is a systematic review of how a future climate change will affect NVE management areas; how to meet challenges, vulnerabilities, opportunities and proposals for adaptation measures. Climate adaptation is a dynamic process. It is therefore necessary to follow up the work continuously and correct direction at regular intervals. Climate change adaptation strategy of adaptation measures is a foundation and a direction sensor in NVE's business planning. (AG)

Global Climate Change and Children's Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahdoot, Samantha; Pacheco, Susan E

2015-11-01

Rising global temperature is causing major physical, chemical, and ecological changes across the planet. There is wide consensus among scientific organizations and climatologists that these broad effects, known as climate change, are the result of contemporary human activity. Climate change poses threats to human health, safety, and security. Children are uniquely vulnerable to these threats. The effects of climate change on child health include physical and psychological sequelae of weather disasters, increased heat stress, decreased air quality, altered disease patterns of some climate-sensitive infections, and food, water, and nutrient insecurity in vulnerable regions. Prompt implementation of mitigation and adaptation strategies will protect children against worsening of the problem and its associated health effects. This technical report reviews the nature of climate change and its associated child health effects and supports the recommendations in the accompanying policy statement on climate change and children's health. Copyright © 2015 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Harnessing Homophily to Improve Climate Change Education

Science.gov (United States)

Monroe, Martha C.; Plate, Richard R.; Adams, Damian C.; Wojcik, Deborah J.

2015-01-01

The Cooperative Extension Service (Extension) in the United States is well positioned to educate the public, particularly farmers and foresters, about climate change and to encourage responsible adoption of adaptation and mitigation strategies. However, the climate change attitudes and perceptions of Extension professionals have limited…

Urban Planning and Climate Change: Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fulvia Pinto

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Climate change is a current phenomenon: the temperatures rise, rainfall patterns are changing, glaciers melt and the average global sea level is rising. It is expected that these changes will continue and that the extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts, will become more frequent and intense. The impact and vulnerability factors for nature, for the economy and for our health are different, depending on the territorial, social and economic aspects. The current scientific debate is focused on the need to formulate effective policies for adaptation and mitigation to climate change. The city plays an important role in this issue: it emits the most greenhouse gas emissions (more than 60% of the world population currently lives in urban areas and the city is more exposed and vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Urban planning and territorial governance play a crucial role in this context: the international debate on the sustainability of urban areas is increasing. It’s necessary to adapt the tools of building regulations to increase the quality of energy - environment of the cities.

Four Sectors of Industry in USA and Europe compared. Business Strategies and Climate Change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van der Woerd, F.; De Wit, K.; Vellinga, P.; Kolk, A.; Levy, D.

2000-01-01

Private companies will play a critical role in implementation of successful climate policies. However, until now little is known about triggers to develop corporate climate strategies. In a USA-Europe co-operation, researchers have investigated emerging climate strategies in the oil, automobile, chemical and bank and insurance industries. A focal question was whether strategies of EU based corporations differ systematically from USA based corporations. Results show rather sectorial specific developments. In most sectors, i.e. oil, automobile and banks, European corporations generally tend to have more advanced climate policies than their USA counterparts, but this does not apply to chemical companies. In the automobile industry, USA and Europe show convergent strategies. In the other sectors, convergence is not clearly visible

A roadmap to effective urban climate change adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Setiadi, R.

2018-03-01

This paper outlines a roadmap to effective urban climate change adaptation built from our practical understanding of the evidence and effects of climate change and the preparation of climate change adaptation strategies and plans. This roadmap aims to drive research in achieving fruitful knowledge and solution-based achievable recommendations in adapting to climate change in urban areas with effective and systematic manner. This paper underscores the importance of the interplay between local government initiatives and a national government for effective adaptation to climate change and takes into account the policy process and politics. This paper argues that effective urban climate change adaptation has a contribution to build urban resilience and helps the achievement of national government goals and targets in climate change adaptation.

Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Richardson, K.; Steffen, W.; Liverman, D.; Barker, T.; Jotzo, F.; Kammen, D.M.; Leemans, R.; Lenton, T.M.; Munasinghe, M.; Osman-Elasha, B.; Schellnhuber, H.J.; Stern, N.; Vogel, C.; Waever, O.

2011-01-01

Providing an up-to-date synthesis of knowledge relevant to the climate change issue, this book ranges from the basic science documenting the need for policy action to the technologies, economic instruments and political strategies that can be employed in response to climate change. Ethical and

A Minimax Regret Analysis of Flood Risk Management Strategies Under Climate Change Uncertainty and Emerging Information

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pol, van der T.D.; Gabbert, S.; Weikard, H.P.; Ierland, van E.C.; Hendrix, E.M.T.

2017-01-01

This paper studies the dynamic application of the minimax regret (MR) decision criterion to identify robust flood risk management strategies under climate change uncertainty and emerging information. An MR method is developed that uses multiple learning scenarios, for example about sea level rise

Maize production in terms of global climate changes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bekavac Goran

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Climate changes and expected variability of climatic parameters represent a serious concern of the 21st century agriculture. At the global level, the further rise in temperature, changed quantity and distribution of precipitation, increased variability of climate parameters and the occurrence of extreme climate events are expected. In order to avoid, or at least reduce the negative effects of global climate change, several adaptation strategies are proposed. Adjustment of production technology and breeding for tolerance to changed environment are proposed as two most important adaptation measures.

Sustained Large-Scale Collective Climate Action Supported by Effective Climate Change Education Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Niepold, F., III; Crim, H.; Fiorile, G.; Eldadah, S.

2017-12-01

Since 2012, the Climate and Energy Literacy community have realized that as cities, nations and the international community seek solutions to global climate change over the coming decades, a more comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to climate literacy—one that includes economic and social considerations—will play a vital role in knowledgeable planning, decision-making, and governance. City, county and state leaders are now leading the American response to a changing climate by incubating social innovation to prevail in the face of unprecedented change. Cities are beginning to realize the importance of critical investments to support the policies and strategies that will foster the climate literacy necessary for citizens to understand the urgency of climate actions and to succeed in a resilient post-carbon economy and develop the related workforce. Over decade of federal and non-profit Climate Change Education effective methods have been developed that can support municipality's significant educational capabilities for the purpose of strengthening and scaling city, state, business, and education actions designed to sustain and effectively address this significant social change. Looking to foster the effective and innovative strategies that will enable their communities several networks have collaborated to identify recommendations for effective education and communication practices when working with different types of audiences. U.S. National Science Foundation funded Climate Change Education Partnership (CCEP) Alliance, the National Wildlife Federation, NOAA Climate Program Office, Tri-Agency Climate Change Education Collaborative and the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) are working to develop a new web portal that will highlight "effective" practices that includes the acquisition and use of climate change knowledge to inform decision-making. The purpose of the web portal is to transfer effective practice to support communities to be

The Climate Change Challenge for Land Professionals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Enemark, Stig

2014-01-01

“Climate change is the defining challenge of our time”. This statement by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon (2009) is still valid. The challenges of food shortage, environmental degradation and natural disasters are to a large extent caused by the overarching challenge of climate change, while...... the rapid urbanisation is a general trend that in itself has a significant impact on climate change. Measures for adaptation to climate change must be integrated into strategies for poverty reduction to ensure sustainable development and for meeting the Millennium Development Goals and beyond. Sustainable...... monitoring systems and systems for land administration and management should serve as a basis for climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as prevention and management of natural disasters. In facing the climate change challenge the role of land professionals is twofold: • Monitoring change...

Integrated risk analysis of global climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shlyakhter, Alexander; Wilson, Richard; Valverde A, L.J. Jr.

1995-01-01

This paper discusses several factors that should be considered in integrated risk analyses of global climate change. We begin by describing how the problem of global climate change can be subdivided into largely independent parts that can be linked together in an analytically tractable fashion. Uncertainty plays a central role in integrated risk analyses of global climate change. Accordingly, we consider various aspects of uncertainty as they relate to the climate change problem. We also consider the impacts of these uncertainties on various risk management issues, such as sequential decision strategies, value of information, and problems of interregional and intergenerational equity. (author)

An innovative approach to undergraduate climate change education: Sustainability in the workplace

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Z. P.

2009-04-01

Climate change and climate science are a core component of environment-related degree programmes, but there are many programmes, for example business studies, that have clear linkages to climate change and sustainability issues which often have no or limited coverage of the subject. Although an in-depth coverage of climate science is not directly applicable to all programmes of study, the subject of climate change is of great relevance to all of society. Graduates from the higher education system are often viewed as society's ‘future leaders', hence it can be argued that it is important that all graduates are conversant in the issues of climate change and strategies for moving towards a sustainable future. Rather than an in depth understanding of climate science it may be more important that a wider range of students are educated in strategies for positive action. One aspect of climate change education that may be missing, including in programmes where climate change is a core topic, is practical strategies, skills and knowledge for reducing our impact on the climate system. This presentation outlines an innovative approach to undergraduate climate change education which focuses on the strategies for moving towards sustainability, but which is supported by climate science understanding taught within this context. Students gain knowledge and understanding of the motivations and strategies for businesses to improve their environmental performance, and develop skills in identifying areas of environmental improvement and recommending actions for change. These skills will allow students to drive positive change in their future careers. Such courses are relevant to students of all disciplines and can give the opportunity to students for whom climate change education is not a core part of their programme, to gain greater understanding of the issues and an awareness of practical changes that can be made at all levels to move towards a more sustainable society.

International Business and Global Climate Change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kolk, A.; Pinkse, J.

2008-11-15

Climate change has become an important topic on the business agenda with strong pressure being placed on companies to respond and contribute to finding solutions to this urgent problem. This text provides a comprehensive analysis of international business responses to global climate change and climate change policy. Embedded in relevant management literature, this book gives a concise treatment of developments in policy and business activity on global, regional and national levels, using examples and systematic data from a large number of international companies. The first part outlines the international climate policy landscape and voluntary initiatives taken by companies, both alone and together with others. The second part examines companies' strategies, covering innovation for climate change, as well as compensation via emissions trading and carbon offsetting. Written by well-known experts in the field, International Business and Global Climate Change illustrates how an environmental topic becomes strategically important in a mainstream sense, affecting corporate decision-making, business processes, products, reputation, advertising, communication, accounting and finance.

International Business and Global Climate Change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolk, A.; Pinkse, J.

2008-11-01

Climate change has become an important topic on the business agenda with strong pressure being placed on companies to respond and contribute to finding solutions to this urgent problem. This text provides a comprehensive analysis of international business responses to global climate change and climate change policy. Embedded in relevant management literature, this book gives a concise treatment of developments in policy and business activity on global, regional and national levels, using examples and systematic data from a large number of international companies. The first part outlines the international climate policy landscape and voluntary initiatives taken by companies, both alone and together with others. The second part examines companies' strategies, covering innovation for climate change, as well as compensation via emissions trading and carbon offsetting. Written by well-known experts in the field, International Business and Global Climate Change illustrates how an environmental topic becomes strategically important in a mainstream sense, affecting corporate decision-making, business processes, products, reputation, advertising, communication, accounting and finance

Convergence or divergence? Status and prospects for US climate strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christiansen, Atle Christer

2003-01-01

The objective of this paper is to assess recent developments and prospects for future changes in United States (US) climate strategy. In doing so, the paper explores some of the key factors that have shaped strategies and policies to date, distinguishing between factors related to institutional and governance structures, linkages between science and policy, energy technology and the role of interest groups. Against this background, the paper attempts to explore future development paths for US climate policy. More specifically, the paper assesses opportunities for policy changes compared to the preferences of the current administration, and the prospects for future linkages between US and international climate change strategies. In brief, the paper argues that substantial changes are unlikely to take place in the near to medium term, leaving open, however, the possibility of wide-ranging changes in domestic politics or major incidents that could facilitate a shift in the perceived need for near-term action

Analysis of farmers' adaptation strategies to climate change in cocoa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Changing climate and weather patterns are predicted to have severe negative impacts on food production, food security and natural resources in the immediate and coming years. Climate change alters the development of cocoa pods, insect pests and pathogens which translate into lower crop yields and impact farm ...

Surviving climate change in small islands. A guidebook

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tompkins, E.L.; Nicholson-Cole, S.A.; Boyd, E.; Hurlston, L.A.; Brooks Hodge, G.; Clarke, J.; Trotz, N.; Gray, G.; Varlack, L.

2005-10-01

This guidebook contains information about the risks associated with climate change. It explains how existing social, economic and environmental vulnerability can magnify the risks associated with climate change and it describes actions that can be undertaken to prepare for climate change. Key terms and concepts are defined for those unfamiliar with climate change terminology. Chapter 2 outlines what small islands might be able to expect from climate change. It outlines why small islands are vulnerable to climate change, introducing the risks that climate changes pose and the hazards that they might expect. Methods of assessing vulnerability and climate impacts are presented in Chapter 3 and the process of managing the consequences of climate change through the development of an adaptation strategy is introduced. Chapter 4 outlines how you might go about starting the adaptation process, how to make risk management plans and how to link these with other planning processes. Chapter 5 guides you through a process of implementing an adaptation strategy outlining a number of important components including legislation and enforcement, and how to finance adaptation. The importance of continuing the adaptation process is also explained. Chapter 6 includes a glossary containing definitions of the key words and scientific or unusual terms used throughout this guidebook. It also contains information about and links to further sources of information such as useful organisations and publications as well as a list of references to specific documents referenced in the text

Nordic national climate adaptation and tourism strategies – (how) are they interlinked?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Landauer, Mia; Goodsite, Michael Evan; Juhola, Sirkku

2018-01-01

, there is a need to review adaptation actions for tourism within the national adaptation framework supported by research based evidence. Next, by means of Nordic cooperation, guidance for both public and private tourism actors within and across Nordic countries can be provided. This can enhance the competitiveness......The tourism sector is affected by climate change. Nordic tourism destinations have also experienced changes, such as changing precipitation patterns, lack of snow in winter and shifts in seasons. The sector has to implement adaptation strategies but it is unclear whether the current public climate...... policy is sufficient to support considering adaptation actions. We reviewed national climate strategies of the Nordic countries from the perspectives of tourism, but excluding the transport sector. We also reviewed Nordic national tourism strategies from the perspective of climate change, particularly...

Can increased organic consumption mitigate climate changes?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heerwagen, Lennart Ravn; Andersen, Laura Mørch; Christensen, Tove

2014-01-01

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the evidence for a positive correlation between increased consumption of organic products and potential climate change mitigation via decreased consumption of meat and it is discussed to what extent organic consumption is motivated by climate...... and household heating are perceived as more important strategies. Research limitations/implications – Other food-related mitigation strategies could be investigated. The climate effect of different diets – and how to motivate consumers to pursue them – could be investigated. Individual as opposed to household...... consumers. As some consumers believe that climate change can be mitigated by consuming organic food, the authors propose that this is taken into account in the development of organic farming. Originality/value – The authors propose a shift from analysing the climate-friendliness of production to addressing...

National strategy for climate change adaptation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

This book expresses the French State's view on the way to deal with the issue of climate change adaptation. After having recalled the ineluctability of some observed changes, the actors involved in this adaptation, and some guideline principles to implement adaptation, a first chapter describes the context: international mobilization, climate data evolution, definition of new criteria and critical thresholds, relationship between adaptation, alleviation and sustainable development, tensions between long and short terms. It discusses the objectives: public security and health, alleviation of inequalities with respect to risks, cost reduction, natural heritage preservation. Nine strategic axes are then identified: to develop knowledge, to strengthen the survey system, to inform, to educate and to make all actors aware, to promote a territory-based approach, to finance adaptation actions, to use regulatory and law instruments, to support voluntary approaches and the dialogue with private actors, to take the overseas peculiarity into account, and to contribute to international exchanges. The next chapters are respectively dealing with transverse approaches (water, risk prevention, health, and biodiversity), sector-based insights (agriculture, energy and industry, transports, building and housing, tourism, banks and insurance companies), medium-based approach (cities, littoral and seas, mountain, forest). The last part deals with the implementation issue

Uncertainties in extreme precipitation under climate change conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sunyer Pinya, Maria Antonia

of adaptation strategies, but these changes are subject to uncertainties. The focus of this PhD thesis is the quantification of uncertainties in changes in extreme precipitation. It addresses two of the main sources of uncertainty in climate change impact studies: regional climate models (RCMs) and statistical...... downscaling methods (SDMs). RCMs provide information on climate change at the regional scale. SDMs are used to bias-correct and downscale the outputs of the RCMs to the local scale of interest in adaptation strategies. In the first part of the study, a multi-model ensemble of RCMs from the European ENSEMBLES...... project was used to quantify the uncertainty in RCM projections over Denmark. Three aspects of the RCMs relevant for the uncertainty quantification were first identified and investigated. These are: the interdependency of the RCMs; the performance in current climate; and the change in the performance...

Will Transition of Staple Food Strategy in China Really Mitigate Global Climate Change?

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, B.; Zhao, D.

2017-12-01

With the increase in agricultural demand, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a vital challenge in mitigating climate change. Potato staple food strategy in China introduced by Ministry of Agriculture in 2015 is to gradually adjust staple food structure, which provides an opportunity to meet with the challenge. Apart from staple food structure, difference on energy, material input, geography, and crop management are essential to determine agriculture's contribution to climate change. In this study, we conduct a life cycle analysis of four staple foods in China, namely rice, wheat, maize, and potato, to develop crop-specific estimates of GHG emissions and GHG intensity by using `Production intensity' (carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per kilocalorie produced), to help us understand potential synergies and frictions between food producing and climate mitigation. Data used in this study is on city / province levels if city level is unavailable in 2015. First, we evaluate GHG reductions due to transition of staple food structure in China. Staple food GHG emissions in China are 546.90 Tg CO2e yr-1 in 2015, with 47.6%, 21.9%, 27.3% and 3.2% from rice, wheat, maize and potato. Mean production intensity of staple food is 0.45 Mg CO2e M kcal-1 in 2015. Maize leads the intensity with 0.77 Mg CO2e M kcal-1, followed by rice (0.49 Mg CO2e M kcal-1), wheat (0.28 Mg CO2e M kcal-1) and potato (0.24 Mg CO2e M kcal-1). After staple food structure adjustment, 25 Tg CO2e yr-1 (4.2%) reduction will be accomplished in 2020 without any crop management improvement. Further reduction (33.3% - 40.4%) could be achieved with crop management improvement. In addition, because of staple food structure switching, native rice production will decline, which might lead to more export from countries with higher production intensity. Estimated emission leakage from rice import is 30.10 Tg CO2e yr-1, exceeds emission reduction in native China. Therefore, potato staple food strategy could

National climate policies across Europe and their impacts on cities strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Heidrich, O; Reckien, D; Olazabal, M; Foley, A; Salvia, M; de Gregorio Hurtado, S; Orru, H; Flacke, J; Geneletti, D; Pietrapertosa, F; Hamann, J J-P; Tiwary, A; Feliu, E; Dawson, R J

2016-03-01

Globally, efforts are underway to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to climate change impacts at the local level. However, there is a poor understanding of the relationship between city strategies on climate change mitigation and adaptation and the relevant policies at national and European level. This paper describes a comparative study and evaluation of cross-national policy. It reports the findings of studying the climate change strategies or plans from 200 European cities from Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. The study highlights the shared responsibility of global, European, national, regional and city policies. An interpretation and illustration of the influences from international and national networks and policy makers in stimulating the development of local strategies and actions is proposed. It was found that there is no archetypical way of planning for climate change, and multiple interests and motivations are inevitable. Our research warrants the need for a multi-scale approach to climate policy in the future, mainly ensuring sufficient capacity and resource to enable local authorities to plan and respond to their specific climate change agenda for maximising the management potentials for translating environmental challenges into opportunities. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptation to climate change and climate variability in European agriculture: The importance of farm level responses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reidsma, P.; Ewert, F.; Oude Lansink, A.G.J.M.; Leemans, R.

2010-01-01

Climatic conditions and hence climate change influence agriculture. Most studies that addressed the vulnerability of agriculture to climate change have focused on potential impacts without considering adaptation. When adaptation strategies are considered, socio-economic conditions and farm

Sustain : the climate change challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

This special report on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions focused on widely held current opinions which indicate that average global surface temperatures are increasing. The potential consequences of climate change can include rising sea levels, drought storms, disease, and mass migration of people. While the global climate change theory is widely accepted, the report warns that there are still many uncertainties about how climate change occurs and what processes can offset human-caused emissions. Canada produces about 2 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon dioxide comprises 80 per cent of Canada's total emissions. It is well known that Canadians place a heavy demand on energy to heat and light their homes because of the northern climate, and on transportation fuels to move people, goods and services across vast distances. With the Kyoto Protocol of December 1997, developed countries agreed to legally binding greenhouse gas emission reductions of at least five per cent by 2008 to 2012. Canada agreed to a six per cent reduction below 1990 levels by 2010. Although Canada signed the Kyoto Protocol, it does not intend to ratify it until an implementation strategy has been developed with broad support. The goal is to develop a strategy by 1999. The oil and gas industry has in general improved its efficiency and reduced emissions on a per unit of production basis by installing new equipment and new operating practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere, and improve energy efficiency. The industry is conscious of its responsibility, and while not fully in agreement with the environmental doomsayers, it is prepared to take proactive actions now, albeit on a voluntary basis. What the industry wants is a balance between environmental and economic responsibility. E missions trading' and 'joint implementation' are seen as two important tools to tackle climate change on a global basis. 4 figs

Adapting agriculture to climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Howden, S Mark; Soussana, Jean-François; Tubiello, Francesco N; Chhetri, Netra; Dunlop, Michael; Meinke, Holger

2007-12-11

The strong trends in climate change already evident, the likelihood of further changes occurring, and the increasing scale of potential climate impacts give urgency to addressing agricultural adaptation more coherently. There are many potential adaptation options available for marginal change of existing agricultural systems, often variations of existing climate risk management. We show that implementation of these options is likely to have substantial benefits under moderate climate change for some cropping systems. However, there are limits to their effectiveness under more severe climate changes. Hence, more systemic changes in resource allocation need to be considered, such as targeted diversification of production systems and livelihoods. We argue that achieving increased adaptation action will necessitate integration of climate change-related issues with other risk factors, such as climate variability and market risk, and with other policy domains, such as sustainable development. Dealing with the many barriers to effective adaptation will require a comprehensive and dynamic policy approach covering a range of scales and issues, for example, from the understanding by farmers of change in risk profiles to the establishment of efficient markets that facilitate response strategies. Science, too, has to adapt. Multidisciplinary problems require multidisciplinary solutions, i.e., a focus on integrated rather than disciplinary science and a strengthening of the interface with decision makers. A crucial component of this approach is the implementation of adaptation assessment frameworks that are relevant, robust, and easily operated by all stakeholders, practitioners, policymakers, and scientists.

Climate Change and Health: Nurses as Drivers of Climate Action

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cara Cook

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Changes to Earth’s climate are occurring globally at unprecedented rates with significant impacts to human and population health, including increased likelihood of mental health illnesses, food and water insecurity, insect-borne and heat-related illnesses, and respiratory diseases. Those in the health sector are seeing the challenges patients and community members are experiencing as a result of current and projected climate threats. Health professionals, including nurses, have an opportunity to lead the charge to significantly improve society’s response to climate change and foster the strategies needed to promote health. This article highlights the current work of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, a national nursing organization focused solely on environmental health concerns, in inspiring and empowering nurses across the country to engage in action to reduce their climate impact, move climate solutions forward, and improve the ability of health care institutions and communities to respond to the health impacts of climate change.

Forest management considerations and climatic change in the Pacific Northwest: A framework for devising adaptation/mitigation strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gucinski, H.; McKelvey, R.

1991-01-01

The potential for global climate change, especially in its regional and local manifestations, requires decision making in the face of uncertainty. It is demonstrated that in the Pacific Northwest region, the present climate forecasts are uncertain and probabilistic, and the ecological responses are equally uncertain, but a framework for analyzing and devising response strategies for future conditions is feasible in this context. A risk-based approach derived from classical decision analysis is suggested as the most rational response currently practicable to protect the forest resources of the Pacific Northwest. Lists of possible events are needed for two areas: the anticipated outcome of climate change and the possible responses of Pacific Northwest forests to these changes. Meaningful analysis requires estimates of the outcomes and responses, even if they remain subjective for some time, or at least until better and more reliable information becomes available. Once possible responses have been identified, an analysis of the valuation of the tradeoffs for various strategies needs to be made. This approach permits updating, revision, and even negation, but also provides a process that puts focus on information needs and priorities for action. It is concluded that it is highly unlikely that mitigation may be easier to implement than adaptation. 39 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab

One Strategy for Reducing Uncertainty in Climate Change Communications

Science.gov (United States)

Romm, J.

2011-12-01

Future impacts of climate change are invariably presented with a very wide range of impacts reflecting two different sets of uncertainties. The first concerns our uncertainty about precisely how much greenhouse gas emissions humanity will emit into the atmosphere. The second concerns our uncertainty about precisely what impact those emissions will have on the climate. By failing to distinguish between these two types of uncertainties, climate scientists have not clearly explained to the public and policymakers what the scientific literature suggests is likely to happen if we don't substantially alter our current emissions path. Indeed, much of climate communications has been built around describing the range of impacts from emissions paths that are increasingly implausible given political and technological constraints, such as a stabilization at 450 or 550 parts per million atmospheric of carbon dioxide. For the past decade, human emissions of greenhouse gases have trended near the worst-case scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, emissions paths that reach 800 ppm or even 1000 ppm. The current policies of the two biggest emitters, the United States and China, coupled with the ongoing failure of international negotiations to come to an agreement on restricting emissions, suggests that recent trends will continue for the foreseeable future. This in turn suggests that greater clarity in climate change communications could be achieved by more clearly explaining to the public what the scientific literature suggests the range of impacts are for our current high emissions path. This also suggests that more focus should be given in the scientific literature to better constraining the range of impacts from the high emissions scenarios.

Climate Change and Maize Production: Empirical Evidence from ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Michael Madukwe

The study examined the adaptation strategies to climate change in Oke ... adverse effects of climate on their health and well-being and take advantage of the ... to climate change at the farm level of the food crop farmers in Oke-Ogun area of ... of the famers were married while 7.5% were divorced. The educational level of the ...

Ensuring sustainable development within a changing climate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meltofte Traerup, S L [Technical Univ. of Denmark, Risoe National Lab. for Sustainable Energy, Systems Analysis Div., Roskilde (Denmark)

2010-09-15

The research in this thesis focuses on the impacts of and adaptation to present variations in climate and to projected future changes. The research has dealt with different levels, i.e. household/community, national/policymaking, and sectoral level, to show different perspectives of the implications of climate variability and change to development. In particular, it focuses on how present variations in rainfall patterns affect rural households, ways to strengthen households' resilience to climate variability, and the costs and benefits of adaptation measures. The research attempts to contribute to the knowledge that informs the development community and national governments for policy-making on the implications of climate change on development planning and strategies. It is argued in the thesis that it is essential for sustainable development to mainstream climate change into strategies and planning where relevant. To do this a knowledge of the costs and benefits of diverse adaptation measures is essential. Fluctuations in annual and seasonal rainfall, both in terms of modest and excessive rains, are found to cause negative shocks to rural household incomes in the Kagera a region of Tanzania. An analysis of rainfall and household data for the region shows large local discrepancies in the distribution of rainfall, as well as in households reporting shocks to income caused by harvest failure. It is also evident from the research results that the timing of rainfall seems to play a greater role than the level of annual precipitation. The coping strategies that households report following subsequent to a harvest failure further show local divergence in the choice of, for example, taking casual employment and relying on support from others in the form of informal networks. These results support earlier work which points in the same direction and emphasizes that policies should be targeted to local specificities. This provides a great motivation for targeted responses to

Ensuring sustainable development within a changing climate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meltofte Traerup, S.L. (Technical Univ. of Denmark, Risoe National Lab. for Sustainable Energy, Systems Analysis Div., Roskilde (Denmark))

2010-09-15

The research in this thesis focuses on the impacts of and adaptation to present variations in climate and to projected future changes. The research has dealt with different levels, i.e. household/community, national/policymaking, and sectoral level, to show different perspectives of the implications of climate variability and change to development. In particular, it focuses on how present variations in rainfall patterns affect rural households, ways to strengthen households' resilience to climate variability, and the costs and benefits of adaptation measures. The research attempts to contribute to the knowledge that informs the development community and national governments for policy-making on the implications of climate change on development planning and strategies. It is argued in the thesis that it is essential for sustainable development to mainstream climate change into strategies and planning where relevant. To do this a knowledge of the costs and benefits of diverse adaptation measures is essential. Fluctuations in annual and seasonal rainfall, both in terms of modest and excessive rains, are found to cause negative shocks to rural household incomes in the Kagera a region of Tanzania. An analysis of rainfall and household data for the region shows large local discrepancies in the distribution of rainfall, as well as in households reporting shocks to income caused by harvest failure. It is also evident from the research results that the timing of rainfall seems to play a greater role than the level of annual precipitation. The coping strategies that households report following subsequent to a harvest failure further show local divergence in the choice of, for example, taking casual employment and relying on support from others in the form of informal networks. These results support earlier work which points in the same direction and emphasizes that policies should be targeted to local specificities. This provides a great motivation for targeted

Japan's Ambivalent Diplomacy on Climate Change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pajon, C.

2010-01-01

Japan often pictures itself as an environmental leader. While many examples of Japan's actions against climate change are in line with global climate change norms, others can be in opposition to them. This study, based on first hand interviews with Japanese policy makers and actors from the private and civil society sector, gives an informed perspective on the process through which Japan came to integrate and implement, at the domestic level, the international objective of climate change prevention, pointing out the discrepancies, tensions or synergies that emerged. As the current governance on climate change, and particularly after the Copenhagen conference, tends to reassert the importance of the national level against the global one, the Japanese case can serve as an example of tools and strategies that fully integrate the domestic level

Assessment of U.S. firm-level climate change performance and strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Yu; Wang, Derek D.; Li, Shanling; Shi, Qinfen

2016-01-01

Climate change is becoming an increasingly critical concern for human society. While there has been a great deal of research on climate change performance at the country/region level, our research focuses on the study of firm-level environmental efficiency as a proxy for firms' climate change management. Using a unique data set on U.S. S&P 500 firms for the period 2012–2013 and DEA slack-based models, we obtain firms' environmental efficiencies in six sectors. The results show significant performance dispersions both across and within the sectors. We highlight each sector's pros and cons in the environmental performance and propose guidelines for policy makers to further improve climate change performance. We also evaluate firms' operational performance and propose a unified performance measure by integrating operational and environmental efficiencies. Overall, we find there is no significant relationship between operational and environmental efficiencies in any of the six industrial sectors under study. The unified performance measures are more driven by the environmental efficiency than the operational efficiency. - Highlights: •U.S. firms have large variations in climate performance across/within the sectors. •Relationship between operational and climate performances is not significant. •The operational and climate performances can be captured in a unified measure.

What Is Climate Change? (Environmental Health Student Portal)

Science.gov (United States)

... of the solution Take Aim at Climate Change (Passport to Knowledge) - Interactive website, including a video and topics on climate change, polar bears, glaciers, and carbon dioxide. Cool School Challenge (Pugent Sound Clean Air Agency) - Engages students and teachers in practical strategies to ...

Specificities of Spatial System Transformation and Strategies of the Russian Arctic Redevelopment under the Conditions of Climate Changes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir Nikolaevich Leksin

2017-09-01

Full Text Available A bunch of papers has been published by foreign and Russian researchers on climate change impact on the environment and regional socioeconomic development. The bulk of them is focused on analyzing drivers and impact assessments for the Arctic region characterized by the most intensive climate change worldwide. The paper puts to the fore a nontrivial issue of considering the climate change impact factor within the methodology and practice of the strategic process of the Russian Arctic redevelopment. The issue above is complicated by the imperative of ranking of the salience of the climate change socioeconomic implications as priorities of the governance and public administration of the comprehensive development of the macro-region under consideration. The lack of the effective tools for consolidation of the needed resources further exacerbates it. The summary of the findings of the national and international researchers in the area of climate change impact on environment, settlements and economic activity in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF is introduced to substantiate the policy decisions made. We have specified the methodological issues related to peculiarities and role of the climate change factor plays in policy decisions within the context of contemporary knowledge on patterns of spatial systems transformation, their capabilities of selforganization and adaptation to externalities. The authors have revealed the general regularities and specificity of the AZRF transformation as a spatial system and the impact of climate change produced on this process. We have particularly emphasized the issues of adaptation to climate change of the AZRF indigenous population whose health and economic activities experience increased risks associated with high intensiveness of the climatic fluctuations. Recommendations for using scenario (variation approach to redesigning strategies and programs of AZRF development are substantiated

Smart and Resilient Cities. A Systemic Approach for Developing Cross-sectoral Strategies in the Face of Climate Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rocco Papa

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Climate change is considered one of the main environmental issues challenging contemporary cities. Meanwhile, urban development patterns and the growth of urban population represent the main contributors to climate change, affecting the total energy consumptions and the related greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, a breakthrough in current urban development patterns is required to counterbalance the climate-related issues.This study focuses on the Smart City and Resilient City concepts; in detail, based on the review of existing literature, it analyzes the synergies between the two concepts, highlighting how the Smart City concept is more and more widely interpreted as a process addressed to make cities “more livable and resilient and, hence, able to respond quicker to new challenges” (Kunzmann, 2014. Nevertheless, current initiatives to improve cities’ smartness and resilience in the European cities are very fragmented and operational tools capable to support multi-objective strategies are still at an early stage. To fill this gap, embracing a systemic perspective, the main characteristics of a smart and resilient urban system have been identified and arranged into a conceptual model. The latter represents a preliminary step for the development of an operational tool capable to guide planners and decision-makers in carrying out multi-objective strategies addressed to enhance the response capacities of complex urban systems in the face of climate change.

Make way for the climate. National adaptation strategy. The interdepartmental memorandum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-11-01

This memorandum describes the outline of a national strategy for adaptation to the consequences of climate change. The memorandum is the first report of the Adapting Spatial Planning to Climate Change programme (ARK). [mk] [nl

Regional climate change strategies and initiatives

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Archer, Emma RM

2017-10-01

Full Text Available of stabilising greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations at a level that would inhibit human-induced global warming and climate change. More recently, all 15 member states have signed the Paris Agreement, which aims to reduce GHG emissions in order to limit global... (but are not limited to) feed-in tariffs for renewable energy; removal of fossil fuel subsidies; “polluter pays” and “user pays” taxes; as well as discussions around green market incentivisation (very much an emerging conversation). These obviously...

Forest Service Global Change Research Strategy, 2009-2019 Implementation Plan

Science.gov (United States)

Allen Solomon; Richard A. Birdsey; Linda A. Joyce

2010-01-01

In keeping with the research goals of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the climate change strategy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the climate change framework of the Forest Service, this Forest Service Global Change Research Strategy, 2009-2019 Implementation Plan (hereafter called the Research Plan), was written by Forest Service Research...

Economics of adaptation to climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perthuis, Ch.; Hallegatte, St.; Lecocq, F.

2010-02-01

This report proposes a general economic framework for the issue of adaptation to climate change in order to help public and private actors to build up efficient adaptation strategies. It proposes a general definition of adaptation, identifies the major stakes for these strategies, and discusses the assessment of global costs of adaptation to climate change. It discusses the role and modalities of public action and gives some examples of possible adaptation measures in some important sectors (building and town planning, energy and transport infrastructures, water and agriculture, ecosystems, insurance). It examines the regional and national dimensions of adaptation and their relationship, and defines steps for implementing an adaptation strategy. It describes and discusses the use of economic tools in the elaboration of an adaptation strategy, i.e. how to take uncertainties into account, which scenarios to choose, how to use economic calculations to assess adaptation policies

Climate Change and Maize Production: Empirical Evidence from ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Michael Madukwe

been argued for as major reasons for global climate change. IPCC (2007) confirmed global fluctuations in ... examine adaptation strategies for climate change; and analyse fishers' livelihoods and adaptive capacity. ... (vii) Average annual income from fishing: Respondents were asked to state their income from fishing. 2.

Talent Management Strategies and Innovation Climate in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susan Bahrami

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Talent management (TM strategies are one of the most important factors that can change the innovation climate. The main aim of this research was to investigate the influence of TM strategies on innovation climate in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The target population included all faculty members. In this research, 242 faculty members were selected through accidental sampling method. Data collection instruments were TM strategies questionnaire based on Collings and Mellahi’s model and innovation climate questionnaire based on Luthans et al. model. The data analysis was done using Pearson correlation, one way ANOVA, t-tests and regression model. Results: According to the results, TM strategies and innovation climates cores were 4.29±1.17 and 4.17±1.17, respectively. The results showed that there was a statistically significant relationship with TM strategies (open communication, employee development, rewards and recognitions, managing performance and open climate/culture and innovation climate. As a result, all research hypotheses were confirmed. Conclusion: TM strategies are a comprehensive, department wide program designated to improve the employees’ satisfaction, strengthen the workplace learning and help the employees better manage the changes and transitions. The study suggested that talent management strategies are a comprehensive, department wide program designated to improve the faculty member’s satisfaction, strengthen workplace learning and help the employees better manage the changes and transitions.

How does climate change cause extinction?

Science.gov (United States)

Cahill, Abigail E; Aiello-Lammens, Matthew E; Fisher-Reid, M Caitlin; Hua, Xia; Karanewsky, Caitlin J; Ryu, Hae Yeong; Sbeglia, Gena C; Spagnolo, Fabrizio; Waldron, John B; Warsi, Omar; Wiens, John J

2013-01-07

Anthropogenic climate change is predicted to be a major cause of species extinctions in the next 100 years. But what will actually cause these extinctions? For example, will it be limited physiological tolerance to high temperatures, changing biotic interactions or other factors? Here, we systematically review the proximate causes of climate-change related extinctions and their empirical support. We find 136 case studies of climatic impacts that are potentially relevant to this topic. However, only seven identified proximate causes of demonstrated local extinctions due to anthropogenic climate change. Among these seven studies, the proximate causes vary widely. Surprisingly, none show a straightforward relationship between local extinction and limited tolerances to high temperature. Instead, many studies implicate species interactions as an important proximate cause, especially decreases in food availability. We find very similar patterns in studies showing decreases in abundance associated with climate change, and in those studies showing impacts of climatic oscillations. Collectively, these results highlight our disturbingly limited knowledge of this crucial issue but also support the idea that changing species interactions are an important cause of documented population declines and extinctions related to climate change. Finally, we briefly outline general research strategies for identifying these proximate causes in future studies.

The economics of climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

An international Conference on the Economics of Climate Change was convened by the OECD and the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris, in June 1993. Participants included many of the world's foremost experts in the field, as well as representatives from business, labour, and other non-governmental organisations. The Conference sought to examine points of consensus and divergence among existing studies on the economics of climate change. Participants also focused on how economic analysis could contribute to meeting the obligations of OECD countries under the 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change. Discussions centered on such topics as the economic costs and benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation strategies, the potential role of carbon taxes and other economic instruments in the policy mix, possibilities for technological change and diffusion, especially in the energy sector, and joint abatement action between industrialized and developing countries. This volume contains the papers presented at the Conference, as well as summaries of the subsequent discussions. It provides an overview of the 'state of the art' in the economics of climate change and several suggestions for future research. (author)

Adapting agriculture to climate change in Kenya: household strategies and determinants.

Science.gov (United States)

Bryan, Elizabeth; Ringler, Claudia; Okoba, Barrack; Roncoli, Carla; Silvestri, Silvia; Herrero, Mario

2013-01-15

Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are particularly vulnerable to climate change, given dependence on agricultural production and limited adaptive capacity. Based on farm household and Participatory Rural Appraisal data collected from districts in various agroecological zones in Kenya, this paper examines farmers' perceptions of climate change, ongoing adaptation measures, and factors influencing farmers' decisions to adapt. The results show that households face considerable challenges in adapting to climate change. While many households have made small adjustments to their farming practices in response to climate change (in particular, changing planting decisions), few households are able to make more costly investments, for example in agroforestry or irrigation, although there is a desire to invest in such measures. This emphasizes the need for greater investments in rural and agricultural development to support the ability of households to make strategic, long-term decisions that affect their future well-being. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Climate change in Australia: technical report 2007

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

The purpose of this report is to provide an up-to-date assessment of observed climate change over Australia, the likely causes, and projections of future changes to Australia's climate. It also provides information on how to apply the projections in impact studies and in risk assessments. The two main strategies for managing climate risk are mitigation (net reductions in greenhouse gas emissions) to slow climate change and adaptation to climate impacts that are unavoidable. A number of major advances have been made since the last report on climate change projections in Australia (CSIRO 2001) including: a much larger number of climate and ocean variables are projected (21 and 6 respectively); a much larger number (23) of climate models are used; the provision of probabilistic information on some of the projections, including the probability of exceeding the 10th, 50th and 90th percentiles; greater emphasis on projections from models that are better able to simulate observed Australian climate; a detailed assessment of observed changes in Australian climate and likely causes; and information on risk assessment, to provide guidance for using climate projections in impact studies

Climate change and the permafrost carbon feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Schuur, E A G; McGuire, A D; Schädel, C; Grosse, G; Harden, J W; Hayes, D J; Hugelius, G; Koven, C D; Kuhry, P; Lawrence, D M; Natali, S M; Olefeldt, D; Romanovsky, V E; Schaefer, K; Turetsky, M R; Treat, C C; Vonk, J E

2015-04-09

Large quantities of organic carbon are stored in frozen soils (permafrost) within Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. A warming climate can induce environmental changes that accelerate the microbial breakdown of organic carbon and the release of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane. This feedback can accelerate climate change, but the magnitude and timing of greenhouse gas emission from these regions and their impact on climate change remain uncertain. Here we find that current evidence suggests a gradual and prolonged release of greenhouse gas emissions in a warming climate and present a research strategy with which to target poorly understood aspects of permafrost carbon dynamics.

Water access, water scarcity, and climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukheibir, Pierre

2010-05-01

This article investigates the approaches of the various discourses operating in the water sector and how they address the issues of scarcity and equitable access under projected climate change impacts. Little synergy exists between the different approaches dealing with these issues. Whilst being a sustainable development and water resources management issue, a holistic view of access, scarcity and the projected impacts of climate change is not prevalent in these discourses. The climate change discourse too does not adequately bridge the gap between these issues. The projected impacts of climate change are likely to exacerbate the problems of scarcity and equitable access unless appropriate adaptation strategies are adopted and resilience is built. The successful delivery of accessible water services under projected climate change impacts therefore lies with an extension of the adaptive water management approach to include equitable access as a key driver.

Climate Change: A Threat to Agricultural Production in Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In recent times, climate change has generated a global issue of discourse, because of its potential effects on the human interest, including agriculture. It is observed that absence of rapid response strategies to both short and long term climate change, including climate variability will have significant effect on the agricultural ...

The diversity of gendered adaptation strategies to climate change of Indian farmers: A feminist intersectional approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Ravera, Federica; Martín-López, Berta; Pascual, Unai; Drucker, Adam

2016-12-01

This paper examines climate change adaptation and gender issues through an application of a feminist intersectional approach. This approach permits the identification of diverse adaptation responses arising from the existence of multiple and fragmented dimensions of identity (including gender) that intersect with power relations to shape situation-specific interactions between farmers and ecosystems. Based on results from contrasting research cases in Bihar and Uttarakhand, India, this paper demonstrates, inter alia, that there are geographically determined gendered preferences and adoption strategies regarding adaptation options and that these are influenced by the socio-ecological context and institutional dynamics. Intersecting identities, such as caste, wealth, age and gender, influence decisions and reveal power dynamics and negotiation within the household and the community, as well as barriers to adaptation among groups. Overall, the findings suggest that a feminist intersectional approach does appear to be useful and worth further exploration in the context of climate change adaptation. In particular, future research could benefit from more emphasis on a nuanced analysis of the intra-gender differences that shape adaptive capacity to climate change.

EU focus on climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

Faced with the mounting evidence of the harmful effects of climate change, the European Union is convinced that the world must take urgent action to tackle the problem. That is why the EU has been at the forefront of international efforts to deal with climate change for well over a decade. The EU is convinced that the status quo is simply not an option. Without urgent, concerted action, the problem will continue to get worse with potentially disastrous consequences. That is why the European Union has consistently taken the lead in international moves to tackle climate change and why it will continue to develop this strategy for as long as it takes to guarantee a world for ourselves and our children where everyone can grow, breathe and live in safety

Economy and policy of climatic changes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faucheux, S.; Joumni, H.

2005-01-01

In an economical framework, this book discusses the following topics: policies against the climatic changes, the scientific prospectives facing this policies priority, their costs, the new international market of carbon, the future technological innovations. This book exposes also socio-economic, geopolitical and technological questions bound to theses climatic changes and their regulation. It analyzes more especially the North-South strategies and the flexibility tools challenges of the Kyoto protocol. (A.L.B.)

Scenarios of long-term farm structural change for application in climate change impact assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mandryk, M.; Reidsma, P.; Ittersum, van M.K.

2012-01-01

Towards 2050, climate change is one of the possible drivers that will change the farming landscape, but market, policy and technological development may be at least equally important. In the last decade, many studies assessed impacts of climate change and specific adaptation strategies. However,

Modulation of sociotechnical change as climate change challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arentsen, M.J.; Eberg, J.W.

2001-01-01

position in the cases. The analysis showed the benefits of a broad analysis of socio-technical change and development processes as conducted by Matric. The fifth and final chapter processes the analytical and empirical findings of Matric into recommendations on modulation of dynamics of socio-technical change. It is argued that modulation oriented intervention should be based on clear knowledge of the complexities involved in sociotechnical change processes. Without knowledge and understanding of what is going on in terms of technology, innovations and technological change, it is hardly possible and rather unproductive to intervene. Developing this kind of knowledge is not easy and turns out to be rather time consuming, but at the same time very essential for developing modulation approaches and strategies. On the base of this kind of diagnosing it is possible to develop robust and effective intervention strategies. The core-idea underlying modulation as suggested by Matric is that intervention should not be problem or policy goal-oriented, but change and development-oriented in a way that climate change needs endogenously adapt in processes of co-evolutionary change. Modulation therefore, should account for the evolutionary logic of change and development. The core elements of this kind of evolutionary oriented diagnosing are listed, the entrance points for modulation are discussed, and the modulation approaches and strategies are described. Finally, current climate change policies are reflected upon in the perspective of the findings of Matric. 225 refs

Hydrologic refugia, plants, and climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

McLaughlin, Blair C; Ackerly, David D; Klos, P Zion; Natali, Jennifer; Dawson, Todd E; Thompson, Sally E

2017-08-01

Climate, physical landscapes, and biota interact to generate heterogeneous hydrologic conditions in space and over time, which are reflected in spatial patterns of species distributions. As these species distributions respond to rapid climate change, microrefugia may support local species persistence in the face of deteriorating climatic suitability. Recent focus on temperature as a determinant of microrefugia insufficiently accounts for the importance of hydrologic processes and changing water availability with changing climate. Where water scarcity is a major limitation now or under future climates, hydrologic microrefugia are likely to prove essential for species persistence, particularly for sessile species and plants. Zones of high relative water availability - mesic microenvironments - are generated by a wide array of hydrologic processes, and may be loosely coupled to climatic processes and therefore buffered from climate change. Here, we review the mechanisms that generate mesic microenvironments and their likely robustness in the face of climate change. We argue that mesic microenvironments will act as species-specific refugia only if the nature and space/time variability in water availability are compatible with the ecological requirements of a target species. We illustrate this argument with case studies drawn from California oak woodland ecosystems. We posit that identification of hydrologic refugia could form a cornerstone of climate-cognizant conservation strategies, but that this would require improved understanding of climate change effects on key hydrologic processes, including frequently cryptic processes such as groundwater flow. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Multinationals' Political Activities on Climate Change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolk, A.; Pinkse, J.

2007-01-01

This article explores the international dimensions of multinationals' corporate political activities, focusing on an international issue - climate change - being implemented differently in a range of countries. Analyzing data from Financial Times Global 500 firms, it examines the influence on types and process of multinationals' political strategies, reckoning with institutional contexts and issue saliency. Findings show that the type of political activities can be characterized as an information strategy to influence policy makers toward market-based solutions, not so much withholding action on emission reduction. Moreover, multinationals pursue self-regulation, targeting a broad range of political actors. The process of political strategy is mostly one of collective action. International differences particularly surface in the type of political actors aimed at, with U.S. and Australian firms focusing more on non-government actors (voluntary programs) than European and Japanese firms. Influencing home-country (not host-country) governments is the main component of international political strategy on climate change

Mainstreaming of Climate Change into the Ghanaian Tertiary Educational System

Science.gov (United States)

Nyarko, B. K.

2013-12-01

The impact of Climate Change has a far-reaching implication for economies and people living in the fragile Regions of Africa analysts project that by 2020, between 75 million and 250 million people will be exposed various forms of Climate Change Stresses. Education as a key strategy identified under Agenda 21 has been incorporated into the efforts of various educational institutions as a means of mitigating climate change and enhancing sustainability. Climate Change education offers many opportunities and benefits for educators, researchers, learners, and for wider society, but there are also many challenges, which can hinder the successful mainstreaming of climate change education. The study aims at understanding barriers for Climate Change Education in selected tertiary institutions in Ghana. The study was conducted among Geoscience Departments of the 7 main public universities of Ghana. The transcript analysis identified issues that hinders the mainstreaming of Climate Change, these includes existing levels of knowledge and understanding of the concept of climate change, appreciating the threshold concepts, ineffective teaching of Climate Change and some Departments are slow in embracing Climate Change as a discipline. Hence to develop strategies to mainstream climate change education it is important to recognise that increasing the efficiency and delivery of Climate Change education requires greater attention and coordination of activities and updating the educators knowledge and skill's. Various Ministries should be challenged to develop and integrate climate change into education policies. In the design of curriculum, there is a need to integrate Climate Change Education into curricula without compromising already overstretched programmes of study. There is a need to encourage and enhance innovative teaching approaches such as Problem-based learning (PBL) is an approach that challenges students to learn through engagement in a real problem. Institutions and

Adaptation to climate change in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-03-01

This report first comments some data and facts illustrating climate change. It discusses its various impacts (extreme meteorological events, dramatic impacts on ecosystems with the possible disappearance of some vegetal and animal species, crisis regarding food resources, health risks, population migrations notably because of sea level rise), and briefly evokes these impacts in France. It outlines the need for adaptation and describes the different adaptation principles: reduction of vulnerability, and anticipation of changes and of their impacts. It comments how adaptation and mitigation are two complementary approaches. It presents the French State strategy with its national adaptation strategy, its national adaptation plan, the mandatory elaboration of regional schemes for climate, air and energy, and the action of local communities

Climatic change and local policy, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Policy options and implementation strategies to reduce emission of CO2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schol, E.; Van den Bosch, A.; Ligthart, F.A.T.M.; Roemer, J.C.; Ruijg, G.J.; Schaeffer, G.J.; Dinkelman, D.H.; Kok, I.C.; De Paauw, K.F.B.

1998-04-01

Insight is given into the local policy options with respect to climate change, in this case within the sphere of influence of Amsterdam local authorities. A list of new policy options for CO2-reduction has been made with the assistance of local policy makers and representatives of interest groups. These policy options have been divided into three qualitative scenarios: Institutional Cultural Change, Technological Innovation and Least Regrets. The environmental, economic and other effects have been described for each policy option. The three most interesting policy options have been selected by local policy makers and representatives of interest groups during a workshop. Implementation strategies have been developed for the options selected. These strategies have been discussed during a second workshop. The reduction target, stabilization of CO2-emissions in 2015 compared to 1993, can be realized by a combination of all the new policy options. The three selected policy options count for 40% of this total CO2-emission reduction. Finally, a general outline on the methodology to construct local policies for climate protection has been described. This methodology can also be applied to other cities and municipal administrators, e.g. participants of Cities for Climate Protection, an initiative of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, or the Netherlands Climate Association. 136 refs

Climate change and climate policy; Klimaendringer og klimapolitikk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alfsen, Knut H.; Kolshus, Hans H.; Torvanger, Asbjoern

2000-08-01

The climate issue is a great political and scientific challenge for several reasons: (1) There are many uncertain aspects of the climate problem, such as future emission of climate gases, the response of the climate system upon these gases, and the effects of climate changes. (2) It is probable, however, that anthropogenic emission of climate gases, deforestation etc. will cause noticeable climate changes in the future. This might be observed as increased frequency of extreme weather situations. This appears to be a greater threat than a gradual increase of temperature and precipitation. (3) Since the climate system is large and react only relatively slowly on changes in for instance the emission of climate gases, the climate problem can only be solved by means of long-term measures. (4) The climate changes may be irreversible. A rational short-term strategy is to ensure maximum flexibility, which can be done by ''slowing down'' (curtailing emissions) and by avoiding irreversible actions as much as possible. The long-term challenge is to develop an economically responsible alternative to the present fossil-based energy system that permits carbon-efficient technologies to compete on price with coal and unconventional oil and gas. Norway is in a special position by being a large exporter of fossil fuel and at the same time wanting to appear responsible in environmental matters. This combination may incur considerable expenses upon Norway and it is therefore important that environmental commitments like the Kyoto agreement can be honoured to the lowest possible cost. The costs can be minimized by: (1) minimizing the measure costs in Norway, (2) working to make the international quota price as low as possible, and (3) reducing the loss of petroleum income as much as possible. This report describes the earth's climate history, the forces behind climatic changes and what the prospects for the future look like. It also reviews what is being done

Revisiting the concept of adaptation to climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juvanon Du Vachat, R.

2013-01-01

We clarify what is the adaptation to climate change, as compared to the mitigation (limitation of green-house gases). Adaptation will be necessary in any case in the future climate, even if we stop the emission of these gazes, because of the inertial response of the climatic machinery. We consider some socio-economic sectors like agriculture, viticulture, forestry, where the professionals are largely aware of the concepts of climate change. In these cases they have already defined their adaptation strategy. For other sectors, a classical method proposed by researchers is to study the results of impacts studies, using regional climate models. The limitation of these models is discussed. Then another method is proposed: to create a room for dialogue between researchers in charge of numerical simulations and some stake-holders or representative of the sector. This has been the method used successfully by the Canadian consortium OURANOS. Finally the role of extreme climate events is highlighted, because some reflection and financial evaluation is usually done after their occurrence, even if the link with climate change is not clearly demonstrated. The role of geographers and meteorologists is vigorously encouraged since they have some expertise for defining adaptation strategy. (author)

Undocumented migration in response to climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Riosmena, Fernando; Hunter, Lori M.; Runfola, Daniel M.

2016-01-01

In the face of climate change induced economic uncertainty, households may employ migration as an adaptation strategy to diversify their livelihood portfolio through remittances. However, it is unclear whether such climate migration will be documented or undocumented. In this study we combine detailed migration histories with daily temperature and precipitation information for 214 weather stations to investigate whether climate change more strongly impacts undocumented or documented migration from 68 rural Mexican municipalities to the U.S. during the years 1986–1999. We employ two measures of climate change, the warm spell duration index (WSDI) and the precipitation during extremely wet days (R99PTOT). Results from multi-level event-history models demonstrate that climate-related international migration from rural Mexico was predominantly undocumented. We conclude that programs to facilitate climate change adaptation in rural Mexico may be more effective in reducing undocumented border crossings than increased border fortification. PMID:27570840

Undocumented migration in response to climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Nawrotzki, Raphael J; Riosmena, Fernando; Hunter, Lori M; Runfola, Daniel M

In the face of climate change induced economic uncertainty, households may employ migration as an adaptation strategy to diversify their livelihood portfolio through remittances. However, it is unclear whether such climate migration will be documented or undocumented. In this study we combine detailed migration histories with daily temperature and precipitation information for 214 weather stations to investigate whether climate change more strongly impacts undocumented or documented migration from 68 rural Mexican municipalities to the U.S. during the years 1986-1999. We employ two measures of climate change, the warm spell duration index ( WSDI ) and the precipitation during extremely wet days ( R99PTOT ). Results from multi-level event-history models demonstrate that climate-related international migration from rural Mexico was predominantly undocumented. We conclude that programs to facilitate climate change adaptation in rural Mexico may be more effective in reducing undocumented border crossings than increased border fortification.

ADAPTATION PROCESS TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN AGRICULTURE- AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghulam Mustafa

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Climatic variations affect agriculture in a process with no known end means. Adaptations help to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change. Unfortunately, adaptation has never been considered as a process. Current study empirically identified the adaptation process and its different stages. Moreover, little is known about the farm level adaptation strategies and their determinants. The study in hand found farm level adaptation strategies and determinants of these strategies. The study identified three stages of adaptation i.e. perception, intention and adaptation. It was found that 71.4% farmers perceived about climate change, 58.5% intended to adapt while 40.2% actually adapted. The study further explored that farmers do adaptations through changing crop variety (56.3%, changing planting dates (44.6%, tree plantation (37.5%, increase/conserve irrigation (39.3% and crop diversification (49.2%. The adaptation strategies used by farmers were autonomous and mostly determined perception to climate change. It was also noted that the adaptation strategies move in a circular process and once they are adapted they remained adapted for a longer period of time. Some constraints slow the adaptation process so; we recommend farmers should be given price incentives to speed-up this process.

Managing burned landscapes: Evaluating future management strategies for resilient forests under a warming climate

Science.gov (United States)

K. L. Shive; P. Z. Fule; C. H. Sieg; B. A. Strom; M. E. Hunter

2014-01-01

Climate change effects on forested ecosystems worldwide include increases in drought-related mortality, changes to disturbance regimes and shifts in species distributions. Such climate-induced changes will alter the outcomes of current management strategies, complicating the selection of appropriate strategies to promote forest resilience. We modelled forest growth in...

Climate change adaptation: Uncovering constraints to the use of adaptation strategies among food crop farmers in South-west, Nigeria using principal component analysis (PCA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moradeyo Adebanjo Otitoju

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study focused on the constraints to the use of climate variability/change adaptation strategies in South-west Nigeria. Multistage random technique was employed to select the location and the respondents. Descriptive statistics and principal component analysis (PCA were the analytical tools engaged in this study. The constraints to climate variability and change examined before did not use PCA but generalized factor analysis. Hence, there is need to examine these constraints extensively using PCA. Uncovering the constraints to the use of climate variability/change adaptation strategies among crop framers is important to give a realistic direction in the development of farmer-inclusive climate policies in Nigeria. The PCA result showed that the principal constraints that the farmers faced in climate change adaptation were public, institutional and labour constraint; land, neighbourhood norms and religious beliefs constraint; high cost of inputs, technological and information constraint; farm distance, access to climate information, off-farm job and credit constraint; and poor agricultural programmes and service delivery constraint. These findings pointed out the need for both the government and non-government organizations to intensify efforts on institutional, technological and farmers’ friendly land tenure and information systems as effective measures to guide inclusive climate change adaptation policies and development in South-west Nigeria.

Europe adapts to climate change. Comparing National Adaptation Strategies in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Swart, R.J.; Biesbroek, G.R.; Binnerup, S.; Carter, T.; Cowan, C.; Henrichs, T.; Loquen, S.; Mela, H.; Morecroft, M.; Reese, M.; Rey, D.

2009-01-01

Climate Change is happening. Even if global emission reductions and mitigation efforts over the next decades prove to be successful, a signifi cant amount of human-induced climate change has become inevitable. In addition to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, many EU countries are therefore

Managing for multiple resources under climate change: national forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Joyce, Linda A; Blate, Geoffrey M; McNulty, Steven G; Millar, Constance I; Moser, Susanne; Neilson, Ronald P; Peterson, David L

2009-12-01

This study explores potential adaptation approaches in planning and management that the United States Forest Service might adopt to help achieve its goals and objectives in the face of climate change. Availability of information, vulnerability of ecological and socio-economic systems, and uncertainties associated with climate change, as well as the interacting non-climatic changes, influence selection of the adaptation approach. Resource assessments are opportunities to develop strategic information that could be used to identify and link adaptation strategies across planning levels. Within a National Forest, planning must incorporate the opportunity to identify vulnerabilities to climate change as well as incorporate approaches that allow management adjustments as the effects of climate change become apparent. The nature of environmental variability, the inevitability of novelty and surprise, and the range of management objectives and situations across the National Forest System implies that no single approach will fit all situations. A toolbox of management options would include practices focused on forestalling climate change effects by building resistance and resilience into current ecosystems, and on managing for change by enabling plants, animals, and ecosystems to adapt to climate change. Better and more widespread implementation of already known practices that reduce the impact of existing stressors represents an important "no regrets" strategy. These management opportunities will require agency consideration of its adaptive capacity, and ways to overcome potential barriers to these adaptation options.

Conceptual Model of Climate Change Impacts at LANL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dewart, Jean Marie [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-05-17

Goal 9 of the LANL FY15 Site Sustainability Plan (LANL 2014a) addresses Climate Change Adaptation. As part of Goal 9, the plan reviews many of the individual programs the Laboratory has initiated over the past 20 years to address climate change impacts to LANL (e.g. Wildland Fire Management Plan, Forest Management Plan, etc.). However, at that time, LANL did not yet have a comprehensive approach to climate change adaptation. To fill this gap, the FY15 Work Plan for the LANL Long Term Strategy for Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability (LANL 2015) included a goal of (1) establishing a comprehensive conceptual model of climate change impacts at LANL and (2) establishing specific climate change indices to measure climate change and impacts at Los Alamos. Establishing a conceptual model of climate change impacts will demonstrate that the Laboratory is addressing climate change impacts in a comprehensive manner. This paper fulfills the requirement of goal 1. The establishment of specific indices of climate change at Los Alamos (goal 2), will improve our ability to determine climate change vulnerabilities and assess risk. Future work will include prioritizing risks, evaluating options/technologies/costs, and where appropriate, taking actions. To develop a comprehensive conceptual model of climate change impacts, we selected the framework provided in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Resilience Toolkit (http://toolkit.climate.gov/).

Impact of African traditional worldviews on climate change adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanganyado, Edmond; Teta, Charles; Masiri, Busani

2018-03-01

Recent studies show cultural worldviews are a key determinant of environmental risk perceptions; thus, they could influence climate change adaptation strategies. African traditional worldviews encourage harmony between humans and the environment through a complex metaphysical belief system transmitted through folklore, taboos, and traditional knowledge. However, African traditional worldviews hold a belief in traditional gods that was shown to have a low connectedness to nature and a low willingness to change. In Makueni District, Kenya, 45% of agropastoralists surveyed believed drought was god's plan and could not be changed. In contrast, traditional knowledge, which is shaped by African traditional worldviews, is often used to frame adaptive strategies such as migration, changing modes of production, and planting different crop varieties. Furthermore, traditional knowledge has been used as a complement to science in areas where meteorological data was unavailable. However, the role of African traditional worldviews on climate change adaption remains understudied. Hence, there is a need to systematically establish the influence of African traditional worldviews on climate change risk perception, development of adaptive strategies, and policy formulation and implementation. In this commentary, we discuss the potential impacts of African traditional worldviews on climate change adaptation. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:189-193. © 2018 SETAC. © 2018 SETAC.

Livestock in a changing climate: production system transitions as an adaptation strategy for agriculture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weindl, Isabelle; Lotze-Campen, Hermann; Popp, Alexander; Müller, Christoph; Schmitz, Christoph; Rolinski, Susanne; Havlík, Petr; Herrero, Mario

2015-01-01

Livestock farming is the world’s largest land use sector and utilizes around 60% of the global biomass harvest. Over the coming decades, climate change will affect the natural resource base of livestock production, especially the productivity of rangeland and feed crops. Based on a comprehensive impact modeling chain, we assess implications of different climate projections for agricultural production costs and land use change and explore the effectiveness of livestock system transitions as an adaptation strategy. Simulated climate impacts on crop yields and rangeland productivity generate adaptation costs amounting to 3% of total agricultural production costs in 2045 (i.e. 145 billion US$). Shifts in livestock production towards mixed crop-livestock systems represent a resource- and cost-efficient adaptation option, reducing agricultural adaptation costs to 0.3% of total production costs and simultaneously abating deforestation by about 76 million ha globally. The relatively positive climate impacts on grass yields compared with crop yields favor grazing systems inter alia in South Asia and North America. Incomplete transitions in production systems already have a strong adaptive and cost reducing effect: a 50% shift to mixed systems lowers agricultural adaptation costs to 0.8%. General responses of production costs to system transitions are robust across different global climate and crop models as well as regarding assumptions on CO 2 fertilization, but simulated values show a large variation. In the face of these uncertainties, public policy support for transforming livestock production systems provides an important lever to improve agricultural resource management and lower adaptation costs, possibly even contributing to emission reduction. (letter)

Climate Change Adaptation. Challenges and Opportunities for a Smart Urban Growth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriana Galderisi

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Climate change is one of the main environmental issues challenging cities in the 21th century. At present, more than half of the world population lives in cities and the latter are responsible for 60% to 80% of global energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG emissions, which are the main causes of the change in climate conditions. In the meantime, they are seriously threatened by the heterogeneous climate-related phenomena, very often exacerbated by the features of the cities themselves. In the last decade, international and European efforts have been mainly focused on mitigation rather than on adaptation strategies. Europe is one of the world leaders in global mitigation policies, while the issue of adaptation has gained growing importance in the last years. As underlined by the EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change, even though climate change mitigation still remains a priority for the global community, large room has to be devoted to adaptation measures, in order to effectively face the unavoidable impacts and related economic, environmental and social costs of climate change (EC, 2013. Thus, measures for adaptation to climate change are receiving an increasing financial support and a growing number of European countries are implementing national and urban adaptation strategies to deal with the actual and potential climate change impacts. According to the above considerations, this paper explores strengths and weaknesses of current adaptation strategies in European cities. First the main suggestions of the European Community to improve urban adaptation to climate change are examined; then, some recent Adaptation Plans are analyzed, in order to highlight challenges and opportunities arising from the adaptation processes at urban level and to explore the potential of Adaptation Plans to promote a smart growth in the European cities.

Implications of climate change for Pacific Northwest forest management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wall, G.

1991-01-01

A Canada/USA symposium was held to identify potential consequences of global climate change to Pacific Northwest forests; to identify the future role and relative contribution of those forests in the balance of carbon, moisture, and energy exchange of the atmosphere; and to develop recommendations for Pacific Northwest forest management strategies and policy options for responding to global climate change. Papers were presented on such topics as regional climatic change, forest responses and processes, public policy on forests and climatic change, sequestration of atmospheric carbon, forest management, and forest adaptation to climatic change. Separate abstracts have been prepared for 14 papers from this symposium

A climate for development. Climate change policy options for Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okoth-Ogendo, H.W.O.; Ojwang, J.B.

1995-01-01

The seriousness of the potential impacts of climate change on development in Africa is now well recognized within, and increasingly outside, scientific circles. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is a landmark in international environmental governance, providing a mechanism for exchange, negotiation and institution-building to re-direct development towards more efficient use of resources, especially energy. The message of 'A climate for Development' is that unless policy-makers fully understand both the international commitments made under the Convention and the essential national development priorities of their own countries, effective action on climate change is unlikely to be realized. The action needed, however, can at the same time stimulate capacity-building, planning and policy change which would strengthen the economic and ecological base of African countries. The climate change issue has hence brought us face to face with the urgency of the basic issues of sustainable development in Africa. The book discusses key issues that cut across all African countries, such as emissions and their impacts, financial resources and technology transfer for emissions abatement strategies. It then provides a sectoral analysis of greenhouse gas emissions and abatement options focusing on energy, industry, agriculture, forestry and transportation. The book concludes with guidelines for options which may be considered by African countries to ensure that climate change concerns are effectively dealt with in the context of their development priorities. 113 refs

Climate Change Effects on Agricultural Production of Iran: II. Predicting Productivity of Field Crops and Adaptation Strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Koocheki

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction Recent evidences confirm that during the next few decades, many agroclimatic indices of Iran would be affected by global climate change. Koocheki et al. using two General Circulation Models showed that the mean annual temperature of the country will increase between 3.5-4.5°C while mean precipitation will reduce by 7-15% to 2050. It is well established that crop growth and development would drastically affect by the future global warming and its consequences because yield determining processes such as photosynthesis and crop phenology are directly related to temperature. On the other hands, the combined effects of CO2 enrichment and temperature rise on crop growth are complicated and should be studied using crop simulation models. Furthermore, adapting to climatic variability will have a substantially greater effect in reducing impacts than willing mitigation. However, such impacts on crop productivity at national scale and adaptive measures for future conditions are rarely studied in Iran. In this research crop development and yield of wheat, corn, chickpea and sugar beet were simulated for the target year of 2050 and the results are compared with the current yield as the baseline. Materials and Methods Future climatic variables were predicted using A1f (business as usual scenario by GFDL general circulation model and the results were used as weather inputs in the SUCROS model which was previously validated against measured data of the four crops. To account for the effect of CO2 enrichment on crop growth the photosynthesis routine of the model was adopted for increased CO2 concentration using a scaling factor. Changes in developmental stages of each crop were estimated for the future conditions and the relation between duration of these stages and yield was determined. Predicted crop yields for the year 2050 were compared with the current potential yields considering some adaptation strategies. Results and Discussion Results

Conservation policies and planning under climate change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strange, Niels; Thorsen, Bo Jellesmark; Bladt, Jesper Stentoft

2011-01-01

Biodiversity conservation policies focus on securing the survival of species and habitats according to their current distribution. This basic premise may be inappropriate for halting biodiversity decline under the dynamic changes caused by climate change. This study explores a dynamic spatial...... conservation prioritization problem where climate change gradually changes the future habitat suitability of a site’ current species. This has implications for survival probability, as well as for species that potentially immigrate to the site. The problem is explored using a set of heuristics for both of two...... networks. Climate change induced shifts in the suitability of habitats for species may increase the value of such adaptive strategies, the benefit decreasing with increasing migration probabilities and species distribution dynamics....

Progress report of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force : recommended actions in support of a national climate change adaptation strategy

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-05

The scope, severity, and pace of : future climate change impacts are : difficult to predict. However, : observations and long-term scientific : trends indicate that the potential : impacts of a changing climate on : society and the environment will b...

Climate change impacts health in Tunisia | IDRC - International ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2012-03-26

Mar 26, 2012 ... Research is showing that climate change is having major impacts on human health. Weather-related disasters are on the rise and water- and vector-borne diseases are spreading. Strategies to adapt to the effects of climate change may also pose unforeseen health risks. Read more about a project in ...

High resolution crop growth simulation for identification of potential adaptation strategies under climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, K. S.; Yoo, B. H.

2016-12-01

Impact assessment of climate change on crop production would facilitate planning of adaptation strategies. Because socio-environmental conditions would differ by local areas, it would be advantageous to assess potential adaptation measures at a specific area. The objectives of this study was to develop a crop growth simulation system at a very high spatial resolution, e.g., 30 m, and to assess different adaptation options including shift of planting date and use of different cultivars. The Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) model was used to predict yields of soybean and maize in Korea. Gridded data for climate and soil were used to prepare input data for the DSSAT model. Weather input data were prepared at the resolution of 30 m using bilinear interpolation from gridded climate scenario data. Those climate data were obtained from Korean Meteorology Administration. Spatial resolution of temperature and precipitation was 1 km whereas that of solar radiation was 12.5 km. Soil series data at the 30 m resolution were obtained from the soil database operated by Rural Development Administration, Korea. The SOL file, which is a soil input file for the DSSAT model was prepared using physical and chemical properties of a given soil series, which were available from the soil database. Crop yields were predicted by potential adaptation options based on planting date and cultivar. For example, 10 planting dates and three cultivars were used to identify ideal management options for climate change adaptation. In prediction of maize yield, combination of 20 planting dates and two cultivars was used as management options. Predicted crop yields differed by site even within a relatively small region. For example, the maximum of average yields for 2001-2010 seasons differed by sites In a county of which areas is 520 km2 (Fig. 1). There was also spatial variation in the ideal management option in the region (Fig. 2). These results suggested that local

Extended impacts of climate change on health and wellbeing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, Felicity; Sabel, Clive E.; Morton, Katherine; Hiscock, Rosemary; Depledge, Michael H.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Incorporates wellbeing into understandings of climate change impacts on health. • Considers a range of secondary impacts of climate change on health and wellbeing. • Examines co-benefits and dis-benefits of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies for health and wellbeing. • Emphasises the spatially and socially differentiated repercussions of adaptation and mitigation measures. - Abstract: Anthropogenic climate change is progressively transforming the environment despite political and technological attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to tackle global warming. Here we propose that greater insight and understanding of the health-related impacts of climate change can be gained by integrating the positivist approaches used in public health and epidemiology, with holistic social science perspectives on health in which the concept of ‘wellbeing’ is more explicitly recognised. Such an approach enables us to acknowledge and explore a wide range of more subtle, yet important health-related outcomes of climate change. At the same time, incorporating notions of wellbeing enables recognition of both the health co-benefits and dis-benefits of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies across different population groups and geographical contexts. The paper recommends that future adaptation and mitigation policies seek to ensure that benefits are available for all since current evidence suggests that they are spatially and socially differentiated, and their accessibility is dependent on a range of contextually specific socio-cultural factors

Climate change, variability and extreme events : risk assessment and management strategies in a Peach cultivated area in Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Alfieri, Silvia Maria; De Lorenzi, Francesca; Basile, Angelo; Bonfante, Antonello; Missere, Daniele; Menenti, Massimo

2014-05-01

Climate change in Mediterranean area is likely to reduce precipitation amounts and to increase temperature thus affecting the timing of development stages and the productivity of crops. Further, extreme weather events are expected to increase in the future leading to significant increase in agricultural risk. Some strategies for effectively managing risks and adapting to climate change involve adjustments to irrigation management and use of different varieties. We quantified the risk on Peach production in an irrigated area of "Emilia Romagna" region ( Italy) taking into account the impact on crop yield due to climate change and variability and to extreme weather events as well as the ability of the agricultural system to modulate this impact (adaptive capacity) through changes in water and crop management. We have focused on climatic events causing insufficient water supply to crops, while taking into account the effect of climate on the duration and timing of phenological stages. Further, extreme maximum and minimum temperature events causing significant reduction of crop yield have been considered using phase-specific critical temperatures. In our study risk was assessed as the product of the probability of a damaging event (hazard), such as drought or extreme temperatures, and the estimated impact of such an event (vulnerability). To estimate vulnerability we took into account the possible options to reduce risk, by combining estimates of the sensitivity of the system (negative impact on crop yield) and its adaptive capacity. The latter was evaluated as the relative improvement due to alternate management options: the use of alternate varieties or the changes in irrigation management. Vulnerability was quantified using cultivar-specific thermal and hydrologic requirements of a set of cultivars determined by experimental data and from scientific literature. Critical temperatures determining a certain reduction of crop yield have been estimated and used to assess

Designing ecological climate change impact assessments to reflect key climatic drivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Sofaer, Helen R; Barsugli, Joseph J; Jarnevich, Catherine S; Abatzoglou, John T; Talbert, Marian K; Miller, Brian W; Morisette, Jeffrey T

2017-07-01

Identifying the climatic drivers of an ecological system is a key step in assessing its vulnerability to climate change. The climatic dimensions to which a species or system is most sensitive - such as means or extremes - can guide methodological decisions for projections of ecological impacts and vulnerabilities. However, scientific workflows for combining climate projections with ecological models have received little explicit attention. We review Global Climate Model (GCM) performance along different dimensions of change and compare frameworks for integrating GCM output into ecological models. In systems sensitive to climatological means, it is straightforward to base ecological impact assessments on mean projected changes from several GCMs. Ecological systems sensitive to climatic extremes may benefit from what we term the 'model space' approach: a comparison of ecological projections based on simulated climate from historical and future time periods. This approach leverages the experimental framework used in climate modeling, in which historical climate simulations serve as controls for future projections. Moreover, it can capture projected changes in the intensity and frequency of climatic extremes, rather than assuming that future means will determine future extremes. Given the recent emphasis on the ecological impacts of climatic extremes, the strategies we describe will be applicable across species and systems. We also highlight practical considerations for the selection of climate models and data products, emphasizing that the spatial resolution of the climate change signal is generally coarser than the grid cell size of downscaled climate model output. Our review illustrates how an understanding of how climate model outputs are derived and downscaled can improve the selection and application of climatic data used in ecological modeling. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sink or Swim: Adapting to the Hydrologic Impacts of Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Gleick, P. H.

2014-12-01

Climate changes lead to a wide range of societal and environmental impacts; indeed, strong evidence has accrued that such impacts are already occurring, as summarized by the newest National Climate Assessment and other analyses. Among the most important will be alterations in the hydrologic cycle, changes in water supply and demand, and impacts on existing water-related infrastructure. Because of the complexity of our water systems, adaptation responses will be equally complex. This problem has made it difficult for water managers and planners to develop and implement adaptation strategies. This talk will address three ways to think about water-related adaptation approaches to climate change: (1) strategies that are already being implemented to address population and economic changes without climate change; (2) whether these first-line strategies are appropriate for additional impacts that might result from climatic changes; and (3) new approaches that might be necessary for new, non-linear, or threshold impacts. An effort will also be made to differentiate between adaptation strategies that influence the hydrologic cycle directly (e.g., cloud seeding), those that influence supply management (e.g., construction of additional reservoirs or water-distribution systems), and those that affect water demand (e.g., removal of outdoor landscaping, installation of efficient irrigation systems).

Connecting today's climates to future climate analogs to facilitate movement of species under climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Littlefield, Caitlin E; McRae, Brad H; Michalak, Julia L; Lawler, Joshua J; Carroll, Carlos

2017-12-01

Increasing connectivity is an important strategy for facilitating species range shifts and maintaining biodiversity in the face of climate change. To date, however, few researchers have included future climate projections in efforts to prioritize areas for increasing connectivity. We identified key areas likely to facilitate climate-induced species' movement across western North America. Using historical climate data sets and future climate projections, we mapped potential species' movement routes that link current climate conditions to analogous climate conditions in the future (i.e., future climate analogs) with a novel moving-window analysis based on electrical circuit theory. In addition to tracing shifting climates, the approach accounted for landscape permeability and empirically derived species' dispersal capabilities. We compared connectivity maps generated with our climate-change-informed approach with maps of connectivity based solely on the degree of human modification of the landscape. Including future climate projections in connectivity models substantially shifted and constrained priority areas for movement to a smaller proportion of the landscape than when climate projections were not considered. Potential movement, measured as current flow, decreased in all ecoregions when climate projections were included, particularly when dispersal was limited, which made climate analogs inaccessible. Many areas emerged as important for connectivity only when climate change was modeled in 2 time steps rather than in a single time step. Our results illustrate that movement routes needed to track changing climatic conditions may differ from those that connect present-day landscapes. Incorporating future climate projections into connectivity modeling is an important step toward facilitating successful species movement and population persistence in a changing climate. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

Public perception of climate change in the cold regions of Russia: an example of Yakutia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. A. Anisimov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The rate of climate change in the Russian cold regions is nearly twice larger than the global‑mean rate. Besides climate risks, such changes lead to new possibilities, which require scientifically based regional adaptation strategies. Climate could be viewed as an inexhaustible public resource that creates opportuni‑ ties for sustainable development. Long‑term trends show that climate as a resource is becoming more read‑ ily available in the cold regions, notwithstanding the general perception that globally climate change is one of the challenges of the 21st century. Adaptation strategies are required for balancing the risks and potential benefits resulting from the changing climate. Success of such strategies depends on the public perception of climate change. This study compares the observational data on climate and environmental changes with the results of the public survey conducted in Yakutia in the period 2012–2017. The survey involved nearly 2000 respondents in several cities and 2 villages (Ust‑Maja, Saskhulakh representing different economical, socio‑ logical, permafrost, vegetation, and climatic conditions. Results indicated that public perception of the climatic and environmental changes is not univocal, and depends on many factors. Low probability extreme events, such as unusual weather patterns or abrupt land‑ scape changes may have greater effect than the long‑term climate trends. Currently less than half of the pop‑ ulation in Yakutia consider climate change as an established fact, and are ready to take actions in this regard. Meanwhile, Yakutia is a region where observational records demonstrate the most pronounced changes in climatic regime compared to other Russian regions. The contrast between the actual changes and public per‑ ception of such changes has important implication for developing adaptation strategies. To be effective, such strategies should combine knowledge coming from instrumental‑ and

Calibration, uncertainties and use of soybean crop simulation models for evaluating strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change in Southern Brazil

OpenAIRE

Rafael Battisti

2016-01-01

The water deficit is a major factor responsible for the soybean yield gap in Southern Brazil and tends to increase under climate change. Crop models are a tool that differ on levels of complexity and performance and can be used to evaluate strategies to manage crops, according the climate conditions. Based on that, the aims of this study were: to assess five soybean crop models and their ensemble; to evaluate the sensitivity of these models to systematic changes in climate; to assess soybean ...

A framework for adapting urban forests to climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Leslie Brandt; Abigail Derby Lewis; Robert Fahey; Lydia Scott; Lindsay Darling; Chris Swanston

2016-01-01

Planting urban trees and expanding urban forest canopy cover are often considered key strategies for reducing climate change impacts in urban areas. However, urban trees and forests can also be vulnerable to climate change through shifts in tree habitat suitability, changes in pests and diseases, and changes in extreme weather events. We developed a three-step...

How will the EU climate adaptation strategy affect EU agricultural policies?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Helle Ørsted; Karali, Eleni; Castellari, Sergio

A key objective in the EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change (COM (2013) 216 final) is to ensure mainstreaming, i.e. integration, of adaptation measures into European sectoral policies. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is one such sectoral policy which is prioritised in the strategy...... as an area to be climate proofed. The CAP is under revision and will be reformed for the 2014-2020 period with the explicit objectives of strengthening the competitiveness and the sustainability of agriculture (EC). Climate change adaptation objectives are included in the proposal for a greening...... of the single payment scheme (2011/0280 (COD), and the proposal for the Rural Development Fund also specifically sets out climate change adaptation as a cross-cutting objective to which rural development funding must contribute 2011/0282 (COD). This paper therefore examines the most important challenges...

Adapting to climate change in Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Downing, T.E. Ringius, L. Hulme, M. Waughray, D.

1997-01-01

The intersection of present vulnerability and the prospect of climate change in Africa warrants proactive action now to reduce the risk of large-scale, adverse impacts. The process of planning adaptive strategies requires a systematic evaluation of priorities and constraints, and the involvement of stakeholders. An overview of climate change in Africa and case studies of impacts for agriculture and water underlie discussion of a typology of adaptive responses that may be most effective for different stakeholders. The most effective strategies are likely to be to reduce present vulnerability and to enhance a broad spectrum of capacity in responding to environmental, resource and economic perturbations. In some cases, such as design of water systems, an added risk factor should be considered. 2 figs., 7 tabs., 48 refs

Climate change: Implications for water and ecological resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wall, G.; Sanderson, M.

1990-01-01

A conference was held to discuss the implications of climate change on water and ecological resources. The meeting consisted of a number of plenary sessions, luncheon speeches, an open forum, and five workshops. Presentations concerned regional and global issues, climate modelling, international aspects of climate change, water resources supply and demand, wetlands, wildlife and fisheries, agriculture and forests, and conservation strategies. Separate abstracts have been prepared for 32 presentations from the conference

A history of the science and politics of climate change: the role of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bolin, B. [University of Stockholm, Stockholm (Sweden)

2007-11-15

In response to growing concern about human-induced global climate change, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was formed in 1988. Written by its first Chairman, this book is a unique overview of the history of the IPCC. It describes and evaluates the intricate interplay between key factors in the science and politics of climate change, the strategy that has been followed, and the regretfully slow pace in getting to grips with the uncertainties that have prevented earlier action being taken. The book also highlights the emerging conflict between establishing a sustainable global energy system and preventing a serious change in global climate. Contents are: Part I. The Early History of the Climate Change Issue: 1. Nineteenth century discoveries; 2. The natural carbon cycle and life on earth; 3. Global research initiatives in meteorology and climatology; 4. Early international assessments of climate change; Part II. The Climate Change Issue Becomes One of Global Concern: 5. Setting the stage; 6. The scientific basis for a climate convention; 7. Serving the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee; 8. The Second IPP Assessment Report; 9. In the aftermath of the IPCC Second Assessment; 10. The Kyoto Protocol is agreed and a third assessment begun; 11. A decade of hesitance and slow progress; Part III. A Turning Point in Addressing Climate Change?: 12. Key scientific finding of prime political relevance; 13. Climate change and the future global energy supply system; Concluding remarks. 9 figs.

From Resistance to Receptiveness: Farmer Willingness to Participate in Extension Discussions About Climate Variability and Climate Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David C. Diehl

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Identifying what Extension professionals believe are the critical elements of a communication strategy that is most likely to encourage agricultural producers to participate in discussions of climate variability and climate change is pivotal to providing timely solutions to issues facing farmers. The current study involved interviews with 50 Extension professionals from four southeastern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina who were engaged in ongoing work related to climate and agriculture. Respondents were asked to assess how best to engage farmers in conversations related to climate variability and climate change. Qualitative analysis showed that Extension professionals recommended avoiding content related to politics, attribution of climate change to human causes, and telling farmers what to do. Respondents recommended emphasizing adaptation strategies, climate variability over climate change, evidence that climate change exists, and the financial benefits for farmers. In addition, Extension professionals proposed several delivery methods they thought would be most effective with farmers, including delivery tailored to the characteristics of the audience, a positive overall tone, and an understanding that engagement should be viewed as a long-term process based on building relationships with farmers. The findings suggest that farmers are a potentially receptive audience on climate issues when properly approached.

'Changing climate, changing health, changing stories' profile: using an EcoHealth approach to explore impacts of climate change on inuit health.

Science.gov (United States)

Harper, S L; Edge, V L; Cunsolo Willox, A

2012-03-01

Global climate change and its impact on public health exemplify the challenge of managing complexity and uncertainty in health research. The Canadian North is currently experiencing dramatic shifts in climate, resulting in environmental changes which impact Inuit livelihoods, cultural practices, and health. For researchers investigating potential climate change impacts on Inuit health, it has become clear that comprehensive and meaningful research outcomes depend on taking a systemic and transdisciplinary approach that engages local citizens in project design, data collection, and analysis. While it is increasingly recognised that using approaches that embrace complexity is a necessity in public health, mobilizing such approaches from theory into practice can be challenging. In 2009, the Rigolet Inuit Community Government in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Canada partnered with a transdisciplinary team of researchers, health practitioners, and community storytelling facilitators to create the Changing Climate, Changing Health, Changing Stories project, aimed at developing a multi-media participatory, community-run methodological strategy to gather locally appropriate and meaningful data to explore climate-health relationships. The goal of this profile paper is to describe how an EcoHealth approach guided by principles of transdisciplinarity, community participation, and social equity was used to plan and implement this climate-health research project. An overview of the project, including project development, research methods, project outcomes to date, and challenges encountered, is presented. Though introduced in this one case study, the processes, methods, and lessons learned are broadly applicable to researchers and communities interested in implementing EcoHealth approaches in community-based research.

Exploring the Multifaceted Topic of Climate Change in Our Changing Climate and Living With Our Changing Climate

Science.gov (United States)

Brey, J. A.; Kauffman, C.; Geer, I. W.; Mills, E. W.; Nugnes, K. A.; Stimach, A. E.

2015-12-01

As the effects of climate change become more profound, climate literacy becomes increasingly important. The American Meteorological Society (AMS) responds to this need through the publication of Our Changing Climate and Living With Our Changing Climate. Both publications incorporate the latest scientific understandings of Earth's climate system from reports such as IPCC AR5 and the USGCRP's Third National Climate Assessment. Topic In Depth sections appear throughout each chapter and lead to more extensive, multidisciplinary information related to various topics. Additionally, each chapter closes with a For Further Exploration essay, which addresses specific topics that complement a chapter concept. Web Resources, which encourage additional exploration of chapter content, and Scientific Literature, from which chapter content was derived can also be found at the conclusion of each chapter. Our Changing Climate covers a breadth of topics, including the scientific principles that govern Earth's climate system and basic statistics and geospatial tools used to investigate the system. Released in fall 2015, Living With Our Changing Climate takes a more narrow approach and investigates human and ecosystem vulnerabilities to climate change, the role of energy choices in affecting climate, actions humans can take through adaption, mitigation, and policy to lessen vulnerabilities, and psychological and financial reasons behind climate change denial. While Living With Our Changing Climate is intended for programs looking to add a climate element into their curriculum, Our Changing Climate is part of the AMS Climate Studies course. In a 2015 survey of California University of Pennsylvania undergraduate students using Our Changing Climate, 82% found it comfortable to read and utilized its interactive components and resources. Both ebooks illuminate the multidisciplinary aspect of climate change, providing the opportunity for a more sustainable future.

Increasing of Urban Radiation due to Climate Change and Reduction Strategy using Vegetation

Science.gov (United States)

Park, C.; Lee, D.; Heo, H. K.; Ahn, S.

2017-12-01

Urban Heat Island (UHI) which means urban air temperature is higher than suburban area is one of the most important environmental issues in Urban. High density of buildings and high ratio of impervious surfaces increases the radiation fluxes in urban canopy. Furthermore, climate change is expected to make UHI even more seriously in the future. Increased irradiation and air temperature cause high amount of short wave and long wave radiation, respectively. This increases net radiation negatively affects heat condition of pedestrian. UHI threatens citizen's health by increasing violence and heat related diseases. For this reason, understanding how much urban radiation will increase in the future, and exploring radiation reduction strategies is important for reducing UHI. In this research, we aim to reveal how the radiation flux in the urban canyon will change as the climate change and determine how much of urban vegetation will be needed to cover this degradation. The study area is a commercial district in Seoul where highly populated area. Due to the high density of buildings and lack of urban vegetation, this area has a poor thermal condition in summer. In this research, we simulate the radiation flux on the ground using multi-layer urban canopy model. Unlike conventionally used urban canopy model to simulate radiation transfer using vertically single layer, the multi-layer model we used here, enables to consider the vertical heterogeneous of buildings and urban vegetation. As a result, net radiation of urban ground will be increase 2.1 W/m² in the 2050s and 2.7 W/m² in the 2100s. And to prevent the increase of radiation, it is revealed that the urban vegetation should by increased by 10%. This research will be valuable in establishing greening planning as a strategy to reduce UHI effect.

Adaptation to climate change. Strategy and policy; Aanpassing aan klimaatverandering. Strategie en beleid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-11-15

The Court of Audit investigated the Dutch 'climate adaptation policy', or the measures taken to adapt to the impacts of climate change Netherlands and thus reduce its vulnerability [Dutch] De Algemene Rekenkamer heeft onderzoek gedaan naar het Nederlandse 'klimaatadaptatiebeleid', oftewel naar de maatregelen die worden getroffen om Nederland aan te passen aan de gevolgen van de klimaatverandering en zodoende minder kwetsbaar te maken.

Biodiversity redistribution under climate change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pecl, Gretta T.; Bastos, Miguel; Bell, Johann D.

2017-01-01

Distributions of Earth’s species are changing at accelerating rates, increasingly driven by humanmediated climate change. Such changes are already altering the composition of ecological communities, but beyond conservation of natural systems, how and why does this matter? We review evidence that ...... by changes in species distribution. Consideration of these effects of biodiversity redistribution is critical yet lacking in most mitigation and adaptation strategies, including the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals....

Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Strategies in Spring Barley Production in the Czech Republic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trnka, M.; Zalud, Z.; Dubrovsky, M.

2004-01-01

The crop model CERES-Barley was used to assess the impacts of increased concentration of atmospheric CO2 on growth and development of the most important spring cereal in Central and Western Europe, i.e., spring barley, and to examine possible adaptation strategies. Three experimental regions were selected to compare the climate change impacts in various climatic and pedological conditions. The analysis was based on multi-year crop model simulations run with daily weather series obtained by stochastic weather generator and included two yield levels: stressed yields and potential yields. Four climate change scenarios based on global climate models and representing 2 x CO2 climate were applied. Results: (1) The crop model is suitable for use in the given environment, e.g., the coefficient of determination between the simulated and experimental yields equals 0.88. (2) The indirect effect related to changed weather conditions is mostly negative. Its magnitude ranges from -19% to +5% for the four scenarios applied at the three regions. (3) The magnitude of the direct effect of doubled CO2 on the stressed yields for the three test sites is 35-55% in the present climate and 25-65% in the 2 x CO2 climates. (4) The stressed yields would increase in 2 x CO2 conditions by 13-52% when both direct and indirect effects were considered. (5) The impacts of doubled CO2 on potential yields are more uniform throughout the localities in comparison with the stressed yields. The magnitude of the indirect and direct effects ranges from -1 to -9% and from +31 to +33%, respectively. Superposition of both effects results in 19-30% increase of the potential yields. (6) Application of the earlier planting date (up to 60 days) would result in 15-22% increase of the yields in 2 x CO2 conditions. (7) Use of a cultivar with longer vegetation duration would bring 1.5% yield increase per one extra day of the vegetation season. (8) The initial water content in the soil water profile proved to be one

Accounting for health in climate change policies: a case study of Fiji.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrow, Georgina; Bowen, Kathryn

2014-01-01

Climate change is expected to affect the health of most populations in the coming decades, having the greatest impact on the poorest and most disadvantaged people in the world. The Pacific islands, including Fiji, are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The three major health impacts of climate change in Fiji explored in this study were dengue fever, diarrhoeal disease, and malnutrition, as they each pose a significant threat to human health. The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent the Fiji National Climate Change Policy, and a selection of relevant sectoral policies, account for these human health effects of climate change. The study employed a three-pronged policy analysis to evaluate: 1) the content of the Fijian National Climate Change Policy and to what extent health was incorporated within this; 2) the context within which the policy was developed; 3) the relevant processes; and 4) the actors involved. A selection of relevant sectoral policies were also analysed to assess the extent to which these included climate change and health considerations. The policy analysis showed that these three health impacts of climate change were only considered to a minor extent, and often indirectly, in both the Fiji National Climate Change Policy and the corresponding National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, as well as the Public Health Act. Furthermore, supporting documents in relevant sectors including water and agriculture made no mention of climate change and health impacts. The projected health impacts of climate change should be considered as part of reviewing the Fiji National Climate Change Policy and National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, and the Public Health Act. In the interest of public health, this should include strategies for combating dengue fever, malnutrition, and water-borne disease. Related sectoral policies in water and agriculture should also be revised to consider climate change and its impact on human

Accounting for health in climate change policies: a case study of Fiji

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Georgina Morrow

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Climate change is expected to affect the health of most populations in the coming decades, having the greatest impact on the poorest and most disadvantaged people in the world. The Pacific islands, including Fiji, are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Objective: The three major health impacts of climate change in Fiji explored in this study were dengue fever, diarrhoeal disease, and malnutrition, as they each pose a significant threat to human health. The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent the Fiji National Climate Change Policy, and a selection of relevant sectoral policies, account for these human health effects of climate change. Design: The study employed a three-pronged policy analysis to evaluate: 1 the content of the Fijian National Climate Change Policy and to what extent health was incorporated within this; 2 the context within which the policy was developed; 3 the relevant processes; and 4 the actors involved. A selection of relevant sectoral policies were also analysed to assess the extent to which these included climate change and health considerations. Results: The policy analysis showed that these three health impacts of climate change were only considered to a minor extent, and often indirectly, in both the Fiji National Climate Change Policy and the corresponding National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, as well as the Public Health Act. Furthermore, supporting documents in relevant sectors including water and agriculture made no mention of climate change and health impacts. Conclusions: The projected health impacts of climate change should be considered as part of reviewing the Fiji National Climate Change Policy and National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, and the Public Health Act. In the interest of public health, this should include strategies for combating dengue fever, malnutrition, and water-borne disease. Related sectoral policies in water and agriculture should

EC strategy against climatic change. Estrategia de la CE pava hacer frente al cambio climatico

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carrillo, D

1992-10-01

On the 20 October 1990 the joint council of ministers of the environment and energy decided to adopt as a community objective, to fight the greenhouse effect and its consequent climatic change, the establishment of the level of CO[sub 2] emissions in the year 2000 at the levels of 1990. This objective was to be reached by a mixed strategy, comprising control measures at community level, complemented by other actions nationally.

Should the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change recognize climate migrants?

Science.gov (United States)

Gibb, Christine; Ford, James

2012-12-01

Climate change is expected to increase migration flows, especially from socially and environmentally vulnerable populations. These ‘climate migrants’ do not have any official protection under international law, which has implications for the human security of migrants. This work argues that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) can and should recognize climate migrants, and is the most relevant international framework for doing so. While not legally binding, the acknowledgment of climate displacement, migration and planned relocation issues in the UNFCCC’s Cancun Adaptation Framework indicates a willingness to address the issue through an adaptation lens. Herein, the paper proposes a framework for setting the institutional groundwork for recognizing climate migrants, focusing on the most vulnerable, promoting targeted research and policy agendas, and situating policies within a comprehensive strategy.

Should the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change recognize climate migrants?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibb, Christine; Ford, James

2012-01-01

Climate change is expected to increase migration flows, especially from socially and environmentally vulnerable populations. These ‘climate migrants’ do not have any official protection under international law, which has implications for the human security of migrants. This work argues that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) can and should recognize climate migrants, and is the most relevant international framework for doing so. While not legally binding, the acknowledgment of climate displacement, migration and planned relocation issues in the UNFCCC’s Cancun Adaptation Framework indicates a willingness to address the issue through an adaptation lens. Herein, the paper proposes a framework for setting the institutional groundwork for recognizing climate migrants, focusing on the most vulnerable, promoting targeted research and policy agendas, and situating policies within a comprehensive strategy. (letter)

The national adaptation plan to climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galliot, M.

2013-01-01

Adaptation to climate change is a necessity, as well as reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. Since 2001, the National Observatory on the effects of global warming gathers and disseminates news on the effects of climate change and drive implementation of adaptation in France. A national strategy was adopted in 2006, followed by an analysis of the impacts of climate change and associated costs that could amount to several billion euros per year at the end of the century. Preceded by extensive consultation that involved stakeholders Grenelle Environment the National Adaptation Plan was published in mid-2011. It covers all sectors and many areas. He has more than 80 concrete actions that will commit France to adapt to the new climate. (author)

Developing tools and strategies for communicating climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Bader, D.; Yam, E. M.; Perkins, L.

2011-12-01

Research indicates that the public views zoos and aquariums as reliable and trusted sources for information on conservation. Additionally, visiting zoos and aquariums helps people reconsider their connections to conservation issues and solutions. The Aquarium of the Pacific, an AZA-accredited institution that serves the most ethnically diverse population of all aquariums in the nation, is using exhibit space, technology, public programming, and staff professional development to present a model for how aquariums can promote climate literacy. Our newest galleries and programs are designed to immerse our visitors in experiences that connect our live animal collection to larger themes on ocean change. The Aquarium is supporting our new programming with a multifaceted staff professional development that exposes our interpretive staff to current climate science and researchers as well as current social science on public perception of climate science. Our staff also leads workshops for scientists; these sessions allow us to examine learning theory and develop tools to communicate science and controversial subjects effectively. Through our partnerships in the science, social science, and informal science education communities, we are working to innovate and develop best practices in climate communication.

Smart energy strategies. Meeting the climate change challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

This book published by the Energy Science Center (ESC) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich presents a wide selection of reports on how the challenge of dealing with climate change can be met. The 69 reports included cover a wide range of topics ranging from traffic modelling, biofuels and electrification of power trains, through demand-side management, electricity production and distribution and life cycle assessment, to the integration of wind power and renewable energy technologies. Also, climate policy matters are dealt with as are nano-technology applications in the energy area and the integration of energy conversion and production processes and waste management

Smart energy strategies. Meeting the climate change challenge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2008-07-01

This book published by the Energy Science Center (ESC) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich presents a wide selection of reports on how the challenge of dealing with climate change can be met. The 69 reports included cover a wide range of topics ranging from traffic modelling, biofuels and electrification of power trains, through demand-side management, electricity production and distribution and life cycle assessment, to the integration of wind power and renewable energy technologies. Also, climate policy matters are dealt with as are nano-technology applications in the energy area and the integration of energy conversion and production processes and waste management.

Brownfield redevelopment as a measure for climate changes mitigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cizler Jasna

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper explores brownfield renewal as a measure of sustainable land use. The aim was to highlight the brownfield redevelopment as a strategy for mitigation of negative effects of climate changes. Emphasis was put on innovative concepts in brownfield redevelopment, which involve land recycling, application of ecological and sustainable solutions. Main case studies are from Austria. Their analysis and evaluation show which concepts and strategies are used in successful redevelopment projects, and which strategies give the best results. This shows that brownfield renewal can have positive effects on regulation and mitigation of climate changes. Finally, guidelines for climate changes accountable and redevelopment will be derived. Research methodology is qualitative and combined, comprising of data analysis, case studies (field work, interviews with relevant actors, analysis of case studies and evaluation according to previously defined criteria, synthesis of results and generalisation and interpretation of results.

Climate change: Moving from scientific to institutional and policy questions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitchell, B.

1990-01-01

The issue of how societies, through their policies and institutional arrangements, can most effectively respond to climate change, is discussed. Four characteristics contributing to the continued failure to resolve the issue are an enormous uncertainty in every part of the problem; the long time scale of effects, ensuring that a modest amount of discounting reduces the present day cost of any future environmental impact that is less than catastrophic to minor proportions; a belief that trying to avert climate change will be very expensive no matter how it is done; and the global nature of the issues calls for an unprecedented amount of international cooperation. Strategies to deal with climate change may be grouped into three categories: preventative, curative and adaptive. The preventative or adjustment strategy involves the restriction or reduction of activities that contribute to carbon dioxide emissions. Under this approach there would be no new fossil fuel plants constructed, and some existing plants might be closed. The curative strategy focuses on addressing the carbon dioxide concentrations being produced and concentrates on neutralizing them. The adaptive or adaptation strategy assumes that carbon dioxide concentrations will continue to build and that society will eventually develop means to cope with the climatic alteration. To assist policy makers, those conducting research need to devote more effort to examining the interrelationships among climate change and other societal concerns, the aspects of uncertainty and surprise, and the range of strategies. 21 refs

Proceedings from the sustainable development and climate change workshop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Halsnaes, K.; Olhoff, A.

2001-07-01

The specific objectives of the workshop were: 1) To consider how longer-term development priorities link with climate change concerns. 2) To identify options for meeting developing countries needs and priorities while contributing to sustainable development both locally and globally. 3) To discuss possible longer term action at domestic and international levels by countries to further the sustainable development and climate change discussion. First of all, it was recognised that there has been a strong support, endorsement, and agreement among all participants on using sustainable development as a framework for climate change olicies, and this agreement is very encouraging for further activities and collaboration. Furthermore, there is a need for new innovative international financial schemes taht can support sustainable development investments with large climate change benefits. This is maybe beyond the scope of the UNFCCC, but will maybe be more important than the convention in controlling global GHG emissions. It was several times emphasised in the discussion that capacity building and institutional strengthening in developning countries are needed to implement long-term global strategies. Several national examples of sustainable development policies with large impacts on climate change were given at the workshop. These include: 1) The ethanol programme of Brazil. 2)Energy efficiency programmes in China that are part of general economic development strategies. 3) Development of natural gas supply through investment in a pipeline project in Shanghai in China. 4) Energy efficiency and renewable energy programme in India that are linked to economic development programmes. Detailed national programmes for forestry, agriculture and land use sectors. 5) National development programmes including climate change policies in South Korea with broad stakeholder participation, and the use of market instruments. 6) The South Africa approach to use sustainable development

Proceedings from the sustainable development and climate change workshop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halsnaes, K.; Olhoff, A.

2001-01-01

The specific objectives of the workshop were: 1) To consider how longer-term development priorities link with climate change concerns. 2) To identify options for meeting developing countries needs and priorities while contributing to sustainable development both locally and globally. 3) To discuss possible longer term action at domestic and international levels by countries to further the sustainable development and climate change discussion. First of all, it was recognised that there has been a strong support, endorsement, and agreement among all participants on using sustainable development as a framework for climate change olicies, and this agreement is very encouraging for further activities and collaboration. Furthermore, there is a need for new innovative international financial schemes taht can support sustainable development investments with large climate change benefits. This is maybe beyond the scope of the UNFCCC, but will maybe be more important than the convention in controlling global GHG emissions. It was several times emphasised in the discussion that capacity building and institutional strengthening in developning countries are needed to implement long-term global strategies. Several national examples of sustainable development policies with large impacts on climate change were given at the workshop. These include: 1) The ethanol programme of Brazil. 2)Energy efficiency programmes in China that are part of general economic development strategies. 3) Development of natural gas supply through investment in a pipeline project in Shanghai in China. 4) Energy efficiency and renewable energy programme in India that are linked to economic development programmes. Detailed national programmes for forestry, agriculture and land use sectors. 5) National development programmes including climate change policies in South Korea with broad stakeholder participation, and the use of market instruments. 6) The South Africa approach to use sustainable development

Migration and adaptation to climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tacoli, Cecilia

2007-11-15

Climate change is having an undeniable impact on many human systems and behaviours, including population mobility. This is hardly surprising: migration is an adaptive response to changes in people's circumstances. Yet environmental factors are not the whole story. Socio-economic, political and cultural factors are also closely linked to population movement, and heavily influence vulnerability to both direct and indirect impacts of climate change. Shifts in migration patterns are a strategy of adaptation to complex transformations, and recognising and accommodating this is key in policies for sustainable development and poverty reduction in the context of growing environmental stress.

Climate change scenarios for Canada's national parks : a users manual

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, B.; Wun, N.; Scott, D.; Barrow, E.

2003-01-01

A screening level impact assessment has shown that the implications of climate change for Canada's national parks are considerable. Climate change scenarios will be an important component in examining the potential climate change impacts and the implications of adaptation strategies. Most climate change scenarios are based on vulnerability, impact and adaptation research. This user's manual describes the development of 3 types of climate change scenarios including scenarios from global climate models (GCMs), bioclimate scenarios and daily scenarios for use by Parks Canada. The manual offers advice to first-time climate change scenario users in choosing and interpreting climate change, bioclimate and daily scenarios. It also addresses the theoretical and practical foundations of each climate scenario and shows how to access data regarding the various scenarios. Hands-on exercises are included as an interpretive aid. 20 refs., 4 tabs., 19 figs

Stuck in the tar sands : how the federal government's proposed climate change strategy lets oil companies off the hook

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-10-01

The credibility of any federal climate change strategy must be measured against its ability to reduce emissions from the tar sands. However, the federal government has proposed a climate change strategy that would allow tar sands producers to double their total emissions over the next decade. This report discussed how the federal government's proposed climate change strategy lets oil companies off the hook. The report discussed the problems and harmful effects associated with tar sands development, including greenhouse gas emissions; water depletion and pollution; toxic air emissions; destruction of the boreal forest; violation of native rights; threat to energy security; and negative socio-economic spin-off from an overheated economy. The federal government's proposed strategy was also assessed in terms of its weak greenhouse gas targets; ignoring the recent growth in tar sands emissions; adopting intensity-based targets instead of hard caps on greenhouse gas pollution, allowing total emissions from the tar sands to keep climbing; putting off critical measures until 2018; awarding oil companies hundreds of millions of dollars in credits for meeting targets they have already adopted voluntarily; lowballing the price of oil and downplaying future growth in tar sands emissions; ignoring huge portions of the oil industry's greenhouse gas pollution; letting oil companies buy their way out at rockbottom prices instead of forcing them to reduce their own emissions; and subsidizing increased tar sands production. It was concluded that the federal government's proposed plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was inadequate, because it failed to crack down on rising greenhouse gas emissions from the tar sands, one of Canada's most carbon intensive and fastest growing industries. 29 refs., 1 appendix

Genetic plant improvement and climate changes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magno Antonio Patto Ramalho

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The consequences of climate change for the agribusiness in Brazil have been widely debated. The issue isdiscussed in this publication to show the expected problems, particularly those associated with increases in temperature andwater stress. It is emphasized that the genetic improvement of plants, based on the experience in the past, has much tocontribute to mitigate these problems. To invest in the breeding of new cultivars, selected under stress conditions, is certainlythe best possible strategy for agriculture to cope with changes caused by climate alterations.

Emergency Managers Confront Climate Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John R. Labadie

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Emergency managers will have to deal with the impending, uncertain, and possibly extreme effects of climate change. Yet, many emergency managers are not aware of the full range of possible effects, and they are unsure of their place in the effort to plan for, adapt to, and cope with those effects. This may partly reflect emergency mangers’ reluctance to get caught up in the rancorous—and politically-charged—debate about climate change, but it mostly is due to the worldview shared by most emergency managers. We focus on: extreme events; acute vs. chronic hazards (floods vs. droughts; a shorter event horizon (5 years vs. 75–100 years; and a shorter planning and operational cycle. This paper explores the important intersection of emergency management, environmental management, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. It examines the different definitions of terms common to all three fields, the overlapping strategies used in all three fields, and the best means of collaboration and mutual re-enforcement among the three to confront and solve the many possible futures that we may face in the climate change world.

Climate change adaptation in Ethiopia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weldegebriel, Zerihun Berhane; Prowse, Martin

Ethiopia is vulnerable to climate change due to its limited development and dependence on agriculture. Social protection schemes like the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) can play a positive role in promoting livelihoods and enhancing households’ risk management. This article examines......, they suggest the PSNP may not be helping smallholders diversify income sources in a positive manner for climate adaptation. The article concludes by arguing for further investigation of the PSNP’s influence on smallholders’ adaptation strategies....

A Model for Collaborative Learning in Undergraduate Climate Change Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Teranes, J. L.

2008-12-01

Like several colleges and universities across the nation, the University of California, San Diego, has introduced climate change topics into many existing and new undergraduate courses. I have administered a program in this area at UCSD and have also developed and taught a new lower-division UCSD course entitled "Climate Change and Society", a general education course for non-majors. This class covers the basics of climate change, such as the science that explains it, the causes of climate change, climate change impacts, and mitigation strategies. The teaching methods for this course stress interdisciplinary approaches. I find that inquiry-based and collaborative modes of learning are particularly effective when applied to science-based climate, environmental and sustainability topics. Undergraduate education is often dominated by a competitive and individualistic approach to learning. In this approach, individual success is frequently perceived as contingent on others being less successful. Such a model is at odds with commonly stated goals of teaching climate change and sustainability, which are to equip students to contribute to the debate on global environmental change and societal adaptation strategies; and to help students become better informed citizens and decision makers. I present classroom-tested strategies for developing collaborative forms of learning in climate change and environmental courses, including team projects, group presentations and group assessment exercises. I show how critical thinking skills and long-term retention of information can benefit in the collaborative mode of learning. I find that a collaborative learning model is especially appropriate to general education courses in which the enrolled student body represents a wide diversity of majors, class level and expertise. I also connect collaborative coursework in interdisciplinary environmental topics directly to applications in the field, where so much "real-world" achievement in

Assessment of Climate Change Impacts and Evaluation of Adaptation Strategies for Grain Sorghum and Cotton Production in the Texas High Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Kothari, K.; Ale, S.; Bordovsky, J.; Hoogenboom, G.; Munster, C. L.

2017-12-01

The semi-arid Texas High Plains (THP) is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the United States. However, agriculture in the THP is faced with the challenges of rapid groundwater depletion in the underlying Ogallala Aquifer, restrictions on pumping groundwater, recurring droughts, and projected warmer and drier future climatic conditions. Therefore, it is imperative to adopt strategies that enhance climate change resilience of THP agriculture to maintain a sustainable agricultural economy in this region. The overall goal of this study is to assess the impacts of climate change and potential reduction in groundwater availability on production of two major crops in the region, cotton and grain sorghum, and suggest adaptation strategies using the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) Cropping System Model. The DSSAT model was calibrated and evaluated using data from the long-term cotton-sorghum rotation experiments conducted at Helms Farm near Halfway in the THP. After achieving a satisfactory calibration for crop yield (RMSE MACA) projected future climate datasets from nine CMIP5 global climate models (GCMs) and two representative concentration pathways (RCP 4.5 and 8.5) were used in this study. Preliminary results indicated a reduction in irrigated grain sorghum yield per hectare by 6% and 8%, and a reduction in dryland sorghum yield per hectare by 9% and 17% under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios, respectively. Grain sorghum future water use declined by about 2% and 5% under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5, respectively. Climate change impacts on cotton production and evaluation of several adaptation strategies such as incorporating heat and drought tolerances in cultivars, early planting, shifting to short season varieties, and deficit irrigation are currently being studied.

NASA NDATC Global Climate Change Education Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, B.; Wood, E.; Meyer, D.; Maynard, N.; Pandya, R. E.

2009-12-01

This project aligns with NASA’s Strategic Goal 3A - “Study Earth from space to advance scientific understanding and meet societal needs and focuses on funding from the GCCE Funding Category 2: Strengthen the Teaching and Learning About Global Climate Change Within Formal Education Systems. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report (2007) those communities with the least amount of resources will be most vulnerable, and least likely to adapt to the impacts brought on by a changing climate. Further, the level of vulnerability of these communities is directly correlated with their ability to implement short, medium and long range mitigation measures. The North Dakota Association of Tribal Colleges (NDATC) has established a climate change education initiative among its six member Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). The goal of this project is to enhance the TCUs capacity to educate their constituents on the science of climate change and mitigation strategies specifically as they apply to Indian Country. NDATC is comprised of six American Indian tribally chartered colleges (TCUs) which include: Cankdeska Cikana Community College, serving the Spirit Lake Dakota Nation; Fort Berthold Community College, serving the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation; Sitting Bull College, serving the Hunkpapa Lakota and Dakota Nation; Turtle Mountain Community College, serving the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa; Sisseton Wahpeton College serving the Sisseton and Wahpeton Dakota Nation, and United Tribes Technical College, serving over 70 Tribal groups from across the United States. The purpose of this project is to (1) increase awareness of climate change and its potential impacts in Indian Country through education for students, faculty and presidents of the TCUs as well as Tribal leadership; (2) increase the capacity of TCUs to respond to this global threat on behalf of tribal people; (3) develop climate change mitigation strategies relevant to Indian

Climate Change Mitigation: Climate, Health, and Equity Implications of the Visible and the Hidden

OpenAIRE

Shonkoff, Seth Berrin

2012-01-01

Anthropogenic climate change and the mitigation strategies aimed to attenuate it are both issues of great importance for human rights, public health, and socioeconomic equity. To understand these concerns and to better inform policy and strategic action it is critical to explore: 1) the disparities in the costs and benefits of climate shifts; 2) the abilities of different populations to adapt to these shifts; and 3) the social and health equity dimensions of the climate change mitigation stra...

Adapting inland fisheries management to a changing climate

Science.gov (United States)

Paukert, Craig P.; Glazer, Bob A.; Hansen, Gretchen J. A.; Irwin, Brian J.; Jacobson, Peter C.; Kershner, Jeffrey L.; Shuter, Brian J.; Whitney, James E.; Lynch, Abigail J.

2016-01-01

Natural resource decision makers are challenged to adapt management to a changing climate while balancing short-term management goals with long-term changes in aquatic systems. Adaptation will require developing resilient ecosystems and resilient management systems. Decision makers already have tools to develop or ensure resilient aquatic systems and fisheries such as managing harvest and riparian zones. Because fisheries management often interacts with multiple stakeholders, adaptation strategies involving fisheries managers and other partners focused on land use, policy, and human systems, coupled with long-term monitoring, are necessary for resilient systems. We show how agencies and organizations are adapting to a changing climate in Minnesota and Ontario lakes and Montana streams. We also present how the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission created a management structure to develop adaptation strategies. These examples demonstrate how organizations and agencies can cope with climate change effects on fishes and fisheries through creating resilient management and ecological systems.

Climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1990-01-01

In this paper, the authors discuss in brief the magnitude and rate of past changes in climate and examine the various factors influencing climate in order to place the potential warming due to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in context. Feedback mechanisms that can amplify or lessen imposed climate changes are discussed next. The overall sensitivity of climate to changes in forcing is then considered, followed by a discussion of the time-dependent response of the Earth system. The focus is on global temperature as an indicator for the magnitude of climatic change

Climate change 101 : understanding and responding to global climate change

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

To inform the climate change dialogue, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and the Pew Center on the States have developed a series of brief reports entitled Climate Change 101: Understanding and Responding to Global Climate Change. These reports...

Classical Ecological Restoration and its Current Challenges: Assisted Migration as an Adaptation Strategy to Climate Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pilar A. Gómez-Ruiz

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Ecological restoration is a very active area in ecology and of great importance for ecosystems management. Despite of being a relatively young discipline, the classical concepts of restoration seem, at present, impractical considering the great challenges generated by modification and destruction of ecosystems. This is due to anthropic activities (deforestation, change of land use, pollution and global climate change. In the classic definition of restoration, the objective is to recover the degraded ecosystem to the same conditions of a historical reference state. However, nowadays the ecosystems return to a state prior to the disturbances seems unviable, because the thresholds of resilience have already been overcome. Additionally, climate change is causing environmental changes at an unprecedented rate. For this reason, ecological restoration needs to unite efforts of diverse actors to recover ecosystems that can be sustainable and functional in the future, where the species could be able to tolerate the environmental conditions that will exist in the long term. Assisted migration has been proposed as a conservation strategy; it is defined as the translocation of species to new locations outside their known range of distribution. In the current context of loss of diversity and ecosystems, this strategy could be fundamental for the formation of new communities that can later become novel ecosystems where species that are fundamental to the dynamics of ecosystems can persist and, at the same time, recover function, structure and resilience.

Climate Change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Torben Valdbjørn; Hansen, Ernst Jan de Place

2011-01-01

This paper presents the effects of climate change relevant for Denmark, including the change in mean year values as well as the extent of maximum and minimum extremes. Described by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the assumptions that the scenarios are based on were outlined...... and evaluated in a Danish context. The uncertainty of the scenarios leaves major challenges that, if not addressed and taken into account in building design, will grow far more serious as climate change progresses. Cases implemented in the Danish building stock illustrate adaptation to climate change...... and illustrate how building design can include mitigating measures to counteract climate change. Cases studied were individual buildings as well as the urban environment. Furthermore the paper describes some of the issues that must be addressed, as the building sector is investing in measures to adapt to climate...

The Climaware project: Impacts of climate change on water resources management - regional strategies and European view

Science.gov (United States)

Thirel, Guillaume; D'Agostino, Daniela; Démerliac, Stéphane; Dorchies, David; Flörke, Martina; Jay-Allemand, Maxime; Jost, Claudine; Kehr, Katrin; Perrin, Charles; Scardigno, Alessandra; Schneider, Christof; Theobald, Stephan; Träbing, Klaus

2014-05-01

Climate projections produced with CMIP5 and applied by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its fifth assessment report indicate that changes in precipitation and temperature are expected to occur throughout Europe in the 21th century, with a likely decrease of water availability in many regions. Besides, water demand is also expected to increase, in link with these expected climate modifications, but also due to socio-economic and demographic changes. In this respect, the use of future freshwater resources may not be sustainable from the current water management perspective. Therefore adaptation strategies will most likely be needed to cope with these evolutions. In this context, the main objective of the ClimAware project (2010-2013 - www.uni-kassel.de/fb14/wasserbau/CLIMAWARE/, a project implemented within the IWRM-NET Funding Initiative) was to analyse the impacts of climate change (CC) on freshwater resources at the continental and regional scales and to identify efficient adaptation strategies to improve water management for various socio-economic sectors. This should contribute to a more effective implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and its instruments (river basin management plans, programmes of measures). The project developed integrated measures for improved freshwater management under CC constraints. More specifically, the objectives of the ClimAware project were to: • elaborate quantitative projections of changes in river flows and consequences such as flood frequency, drought occurrence and sectorial water uses. • analyse the effect of CC on the hydromorphological reference conditions of rivers and therefore the definition of "good status". • define management rules/strategies concerning dam management and irrigation practices on different time perspectives. • investigate uncertainties in climate model - scenario combinations. The research approach considered both European and regional perspectives, to get

Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Climate is the average weather in a place over a period of time. Climate change is major change in temperature, rainfall, snow, ... by natural factors or by human activities. Today climate changes are occurring at an increasingly rapid rate. ...

Climate change: potential implications for Ireland's biodiversity

Science.gov (United States)

Donnelly, Alison

2018-03-01

A national biodiversity and climate change adaptation plan is being developed for Ireland by the Department of Communications, Climate Action, and Environment. In order to inform such a plan, it was necessary to review and synthesize some of the recent literature pertaining to the impact of climate change on biodiversity in Ireland. Published research on this topic fell within three broad categories: (i) changes in the timing of life-cycle events (phenology) of plants, birds, and insects; (ii) changes in the geographic range of some bird species; and (iii) changes in the suitable climatic zones of key habitats and species. The synthesis revealed evidence of (i) a trend towards earlier spring activity of plants, birds, and insects which may result in a change in ecosystem function; (ii) an increase in the number of bird species; and (iii) both increases and decreases in the suitable climatic area of key habitats and species, all of which are expected to impact Ireland's future biodiversity. This process identified data gaps and limitations in available information both of which could be used to inform a focused research strategy. In addition, it raises awareness of the potential implications of climate change for biodiversity in Ireland and elsewhere and demonstrates the need for biodiversity conservation plans to factor climate change into future designs.

Economic Impact Assessment of Alternative Climate Policy Strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kemfert, C.

2001-10-01

This paper investigates the world economic implications of climate change policy strategies, especially the evaluation of impacts by an implementation of Clean Development Mechanisms, Joint Implementation and Emissions trading with a world integrated assessment model. Of special interest in this context are the welfare spill over and competitiveness effects that result from diverse climate policy strategies. In particular, this study elaborates and compares multi gas policy strategies and explores the impacts of the inclusion of sinks. Because of the recent decision of an isolated climate policy strategy by the United States of America, we examine the economic impacts of all world regions by a non cooperative and free rider position of the USA. It turns out that Clean Development Mechanisms and Joint Implementation show evidence of improvement in the economic development in the host countries and increase the share of new applied technologies. The decomposition of welfare effects demonstrates that the competitiveness effect including the spill over effects from trade have the strongest importance because of the intense trade relations between countries. Climatic effects have a significant impact within the next 50 years, cause considerable welfare losses to world regions and will intensify if some highly responsible nations like the USA do not reduce their emissions

Revisiting climate change adaptation through proactive policy designing and institutional mechanism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashish K. Chaturvedi

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Climate change is a foremost challenge for agricultural productivity. The vulnerability is predominantly located in tropical regions with marginal farmers of developing countries. Enhancement of the adaptive capacity to climate change could be possible through revisiting the policy options with institutional reforms for adapting to the climate risks and sustaining the resilience in India. Innovative win-win approaches with key policy framework include innovative institutions, technologies, management systems and necessary financing mechanisms. Areas for utmost importance comprise agricultural research, irrigation, information technologies, market support, rural roads and extension services. Support from stakeholders to ensure effective adaptation/ mitigation strategy implementation and to provide financial support for addressing climate change issue is very essential. Along with these principles, a strong public-private partnership with successful institutional mechanisms may lead to the formulation of climate change adaptation strategies.

Adaptation to climate change in urban areas: climate-greening London, Rotterdam, and Toronto

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mees, H.L.P.; Driessen, P.P.J.

2011-01-01

This article aims to gain insight into the governance capacity of cities to adapt to climate change through urban green planning, which we will refer to as climate-greening. The use of green space is considered a no-regrets adaptation strategy, since it not only absorbs rainfall and

Climate change and waterborne diarrhoea in Northern India: Impact and adaptation strategies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Moors, E.J.; Singh, T.; Siderius, C.; Balakrishnan, S.; Mishra, A.

2013-01-01

Although several studies show the vulnerability of human health to climate change, a clear comprehensive quantification of the increased health risks attributable to climate change is lacking. Even more complicated are assessments of adaptation measures for this sector. We discuss the impact of

Public perceptions about climate change mitigation in British Columbia's forest sector

Science.gov (United States)

Hagerman, Shannon; Kozak, Robert; Hoberg, George

2018-01-01

The role of forest management in mitigating climate change is a central concern for the Canadian province of British Columbia. The successful implementation of forest management activities to achieve climate change mitigation in British Columbia will be strongly influenced by public support or opposition. While we now have increasingly clear ideas of the management opportunities associated with forest mitigation and some insight into public support for climate change mitigation in the context of sustainable forest management, very little is known with respect to the levels and basis of public support for potential forest management strategies to mitigate climate change. This paper, by describing the results of a web-based survey, documents levels of public support for the implementation of eight forest carbon mitigation strategies in British Columbia’s forest sector, and examines and quantifies the influence of the factors that shape this support. Overall, respondents ascribed a high level of importance to forest carbon mitigation and supported all of the eight proposed strategies, indicating that the British Columbia public is inclined to consider alternative practices in managing forests and wood products to mitigate climate change. That said, we found differences in levels of support for the mitigation strategies. In general, we found greater levels of support for a rehabilitation strategy (e.g. reforestation of unproductive forest land), and to a lesser extent for conservation strategies (e.g. old growth conservation, reduced harvest) over enhanced forest management strategies (e.g. improved harvesting and silvicultural techniques). We also highlighted multiple variables within the British Columbia population that appear to play a role in predicting levels of support for conservation and/or enhanced forest management strategies, including environmental values, risk perception, trust in groups of actors, prioritized objectives of forest management and socio

Climatic change. Prevent or endure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aalbers, R.F.T.; Vollebergh, H.R.J.

1996-01-01

The question is which policy must be pursued taking into account the uncertainty of the consequences of climatic change. It appears there is a tendency to use that uncertainty in arguments to postpone measures to fight the possible consequences of climatic change and wait for learning effects to gain more knowledge. The authors, however, contend that such a policy strategy is sub-optimal. Policy should not aim at discovering certainties on which policy can be based. Instead, policy should focus on the question how we wish to deal with known uncertainties. The application of the so-called precautionary principle seems to be the best optimal policy strategy. Supplementary reasons to plead for a strict use of that principle are endogenous risk (expected damage is higher than in case of exogenous risk) in relation to the possibility of threshold effects (effects as a result of sudden events) and the ambiguity aversion of the society concerning the lack of information, or a combination of both. 1 fig., 14 refs

Climate change and climate variability: personal motivation for adaptation and mitigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Semenza, Jan C; Ploubidis, George B; George, Linda A

2011-05-21

Global climate change impacts on human and natural systems are predicted to be severe, far reaching, and to affect the most physically and economically vulnerable disproportionately. Society can respond to these threats through two strategies: mitigation and adaptation. Industry, commerce, and government play indispensable roles in these actions but so do individuals, if they are receptive to behavior change. We explored whether the health frame can be used as a context to motivate behavioral reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation measures. In 2008, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in the United States using random digit dialing. Personal relevance of climate change from health threats was explored with the Health Belief Model (HBM) as a conceptual frame and analyzed through logistic regressions and path analysis. Of 771 individuals surveyed, 81% (n = 622) acknowledged that climate change was occurring, and were aware of the associated ecologic and human health risks. Respondents reported reduced energy consumption if they believed climate change could affect their way of life (perceived susceptibility), Odds Ratio (OR) = 2.4 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.4-4.0), endanger their life (perceived severity), OR = 1.9 (95% CI: 1.1-3.1), or saw serious barriers to protecting themselves from climate change, OR = 2.1 (95% CI: 1.2-3.5). Perceived susceptibility had the strongest effect on reduced energy consumption, either directly or indirectly via perceived severity. Those that reported having the necessary information to prepare for climate change impacts were more likely to have an emergency kit OR = 2.1 (95% CI: 1.4-3.1) or plan, OR = 2.2 (95% CI: 1.5-3.2) for their household, but also saw serious barriers to protecting themselves from climate change or climate variability, either by having an emergency kit OR = 1.6 (95% CI: 1.1-2.4) or an emergency plan OR = 1.5 (95%CI: 1.0-2.2). Motivation for voluntary mitigation is mostly dependent on

Make way for the climate. National adaptation strategy. The policy paper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-11-01

The policy paper is a background document of the interdepartmental memorandum 'Make way for climate', in which the outline is described for a national strategy for adaptation to the consequences of climate change. [mk] [nl

Development and Climate Change in Tanzania. Focus on Mount Kilimanjaro

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agrawala, S.; Moehner, A.; Van Aalst, M.; Smith, J.; Hitz, S.; Hemp, A.; Meena, H.; Mwakifwamba, S.M.; Hyera, T.; Mwaipopo, O.U.

2003-01-01

This document is an output from the OECD Development and Climate Change project, an activity jointly overseen by the EPOC Working Party on Global and Structural Policies (WPGSP), and the DAC Network on Environment and Development Co-operation (ENVIRONET). The overall objective of the project is to provide guidance on how to mainstream responses to climate change within economic development planning and assistance policies, with natural resource management as an overarching theme. This report presents the integrated case study for Tanzania carried out under an OECD project on Development and Climate Change. The report is structured around a three-tiered framework. First, recent climate trends and climate change scenarios for Tanzania are assessed, and key sectoral impacts are identified and ranked along multiple indicators to establish priorities for adaptation. Second, donor portfolios in Tanzania are analyzed to examine the proportion of donor activities affected by climate risks. A desk analysis of donor strategies and project documents as well as national plans is conducted to assess the degree of attention to climate change concerns in development planning and assistance. Third, an in-depth analysis is conducted for climate change impacts and response strategies for Mount Kilimanjaro - a critical ecosystem, biodiversity hotspot, and source of freshwater. This part of the analysis draws upon extended field research by a case study consultant in collaboration with national and international partners

Climate change and North American rangelands: Assessment of mitigation and adaptation strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Linda A. Joyce; David D. Briske; Joel R. Brown; H. Wayne Polley; Bruce A. McCarl; Derek W. Bailey

2013-01-01

Recent climatic trends and climate model projections indicate that climate change will modify rangeland ecosystem functions and the services and livelihoods that they provision. Recent history has demonstrated that climatic variability has a strong influence on both ecological and social components of rangeland systems and that these systems possess substantial...

Climate consoles: Pieces in the puzzle of climate change adaptation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dominique Bachelet

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Conservation Biology Institute (CBI has been developing web applications to centralize and serve credible and usable information that allows natural resource managers, as well as the general public, to better understand the challenges posed by on-going environmental change. In particular CBI has designed a series of climate consoles that provide natural resource managers the most recent 5th Climate Model Intercomparison Program (CMIP5 climate projections, landscape intactness, and soil sensitivity for a series of reporting units over the western United States. The publically available web sites were refined based on feedback from a variety of users. In this paper, we describe each of the tools developed as open-source applications and provide details of their infrastructure in the hope they can be used and possibly modified by a wider audience. They were designed to be used as stepping-stones towards planning effective climate change adaptation strategies.

Biodiversity, climate change and complexity: An opportunity for securing co-benefits?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roe, Dilys

2006-10-15

Climate change and biodiversity loss are both major environmental concerns, yet the links between them often go unrecognised. Not only does the science of climate change and biodiversity share similar characteristics, but climate change both affects, and is affected by biodiversity. Diversity confers far greater resilience on natural systems, thus reducing their vulnerability – and the vulnerability of the people that depend upon them – to climate change. Yet climate adaptation and mitigation strategies that are blind to biodiversity can undermine this natural and social resilience. Ignoring the links between biodiversity and climate risks exacerbates the problems associated with climate change and represents a missed opportunity for maximising co-benefits.

Europe facing climate change - a border adjustment measure to prepare the after-Kyoto?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbas, Mehdi; Sindico, Francesco

2012-01-01

Considering the different relationships between the trade framework and that of the struggle against climate change, the authors address the European Union (EU) environmental strategy within the perspective of a multilateral governance of climate changes for the after-Kyoto period. After having recalled what is at stake in a border adjustment measure and outlined the difficulties of implementation of a tax-based solution at a multilateral level, the authors present the available strategies for the EU. Then, they address the strategy based on trade liberalization as incentive to the struggle against climate changes. They discuss the derogation to standard rules and finally propose a governance system between the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC) and the WTO

Exploring climate change impacts and adaptation options for maize production in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia using different climate change scenarios and crop models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kassie, B.T.; Asseng, S.; Rotter, R.P.; Hengsdijk, H.; Ruane, A.C.; Ittersum, van M.K.

2015-01-01

Exploring adaptation strategies for different climate change scenarios to support agricultural production and food security is a major concern to vulnerable regions, including Ethiopia. This study assesses the potential impacts of climate change on maize yield and explores specific adaptation

The biological consequences of climate changes: An ecological and economic assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batie, S.S.; Shugart, H.H.

1991-01-01

The following subject areas are covered: (1) the level of climate change; (2) impacts of climate change on ecological systems (short-term (decadal), medium term (centenary), and long-term (millennial) effects); and (3) ecological consequences of climate change - evaluating the social costs (the problem of valuing consequences, intergenerational problem, and safe minimum standard strategies and policies)

Overview of the risk management approach to adaptation to climate change in Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noble, D.; Bruce, J.; Egener, M.

2005-03-01

Climate change poses risks related to frequent and extreme weather events, changes in water availability and changes in the performance of infrastructure systems. Risk management offers a decision-making framework to assist in the selection of optimal or cost-effective strategies using a systematic public process. Risks related to climate change are a new type of risk and are increasingly of concern for governments and citizens around the world. An introduction to risk-based approaches to climate change adaptation decision-making in Canada was presented in this paper. Steps in the risk management process were presented. Risk management approaches from various countries were reviewed, including the Canadian Standards Association's (CSA) national risk management guideline; the Government of Canada's Integrated Risk Management Framework; the Caribbean Risk Management Guideline; World Bank risk management strategies for adaptation to climate change; and the United Kingdom Climate Impacts Program. Details of a study conducted by the United Kingdom Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs to explore the implications of climate change were also presented. Vulnerabilities of response mechanisms to climate change and the interrelations of public systems were reviewed. Issues concerning infrastructure renewal and development were examined, as well as emergency planning and management strategies. It was concluded that the development of training materials and tools for decision-makers in Canada is needed. A climate change risk management planning guidebook was proposed. refs., tabs., figs

Guidelines for the adaptation to floods in changing climate

Science.gov (United States)

Doroszkiewicz, Joanna; Romanowicz, Renata J.

2017-08-01

A decrease of flood damages in the future requires not only adaptation to flood caused by present day climate, but also climate change effects on floods should be taken into account. The paper illustrates the need to take into account changing climate conditions in flood adaptation strategies and to apply in practice the concept of integrated water resource management (IWRM). IWRM is based on a number of policy instruments, economic instruments, political signals, and also, on the effects of climate change on floods and collaboration across national, regional and local administrative units. The guidelines for a country adaptation to floods in a changing climate are outlined. A comparison of the adaptive capacities in Poland and Norway is used to illustrate the need for the implementation of proposed guidelines to assure flood risk management under climate change in a sustainable way.

Climate change velocity underestimates climate change exposure in mountainous regions

Science.gov (United States)

Solomon Z. Dobrowski; Sean A. Parks

2016-01-01

Climate change velocity is a vector depiction of the rate of climate displacement used for assessing climate change impacts. Interpreting velocity requires an assumption that climate trajectory length is proportional to climate change exposure; longer paths suggest greater exposure. However, distance is an imperfect measure of exposure because it does not...

The adaptation to climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Gameren, Valentine; Weikmans, Romain; Zaccai, Edwin