Does the Trade-off Between Energy Security and Climate Change Protection Matter? The Canadian Tar Sands Case

Author(s):  
Laura Castellucci
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda Boyers ◽  
Francesca Parrini ◽  
Norman Owen-Smith ◽  
Barend F. N. Erasmus ◽  
Robyn S. Hetem

AbstractSouthern Africa is expected to experience increased frequency and intensity of droughts through climate change, which will adversely affect mammalian herbivores. Using bio-loggers, we tested the expectation that wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), a grazer with high water-dependence, would be more sensitive to drought conditions than the arid-adapted gemsbok (Oryx gazella gazella). The study, conducted in the Kalahari, encompassed two hot-dry seasons with similar ambient temperatures but differing rainfall patterns during the preceding wet season. In the drier year both ungulates selected similar cooler microclimates, but wildebeest travelled larger distances than gemsbok, presumably in search of water. Body temperatures in both species reached lower daily minimums and higher daily maximums in the drier season but daily fluctuations were wider in wildebeest than in gemsbok. Lower daily minimum body temperatures displayed by wildebeest suggest that wildebeest were under greater nutritional stress than gemsbok. Moving large distances when water is scarce may have compromised the energy balance of the water dependent wildebeest, a trade-off likely to be exacerbated with future climate change.


2009 ◽  
Vol 276 (1672) ◽  
pp. 3553-3560 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Cresswell ◽  
J. A. Clark ◽  
R. Macleod

Energy Policy ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 3434-3442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuula Teräväinen ◽  
Markku Lehtonen ◽  
Mari Martiskainen

2021 ◽  
pp. 120-126
Author(s):  
Soeranto Human ◽  
Sihono ◽  
Wijaya Murti Indriatama

Abstract Global climate change effects in agricultural fields often increase plant stress. For mitigating the negative effects of climate change, climate-smart agricultural policies should be developed, for example through the improvement of crop adaptability, productivity and quality in environments impacted by climate change. Attempts to increase crop genetic variability must be sought to aid in mitigating adverse consequences of climate change. For that purpose, mutation breeding plays an important role since it can increase genetic variation of important crops. By selecting desired mutant genotypes, the plant breeder can advance their germplasm by progressing lines with good adaptability, high productivity and quality under adverse conditions. For Indonesia, significant adverse impacts of climate change have appeared in some agricultural regions, such as prolonged drought problems in the east. To face the worsening conditions brought about by climate change and variability, a crop was sought that would require less agricultural input, being drought tolerant, having good adaptability and with high economic value. The choice fell on sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). In certain areas sorghum is recognized as a source of food, feed and fuel. Mutation breeding of sorghum has been conducted at the Centre for Isotopes and Radiation Application (CIRA) of the National Nuclear Energy Agency of Indonesia (BATAN). Sorghum mutation breeding is relevant to the national programme on food and energy diversification to support food and energy security in the country. The breeding objectives are to improve sorghum genotypes for improved yield and quality, and with tolerance to adverse conditions brought about by climate change, especially prolonged drought. Three sorghum mutant varieties have now been obtained and are being developed further by stakeholders. Sorghum cultivation in Indonesia has made significant impacts on mitigating the effects of climate change and supporting the food and energy diversification programme for maintaining food and energy security in the country. It has also promoted economic growth in rural areas impacted by climate change.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haifeng Deng ◽  
Paolo Davide Farah

Abstract National energy security, parallel with the ultimate goal of emissions reductions, is of utmost priority for the Chinese government. In order to comply with the requirements set by the Kyoto Protocol, the Chinese government announced, on 25 November 2009, that 2020’s CO2 emissions would be reduced by 40–45 per cent in accordance with the data collected from 2005. Said goal was met three years ahead of schedule. Even in light of such an accomplishment, however, commentators suggest that the overall nationally determined contributions (NDCs) made by the Parties belonging to the Paris agreement are not enough to reduce global warming by even 2°C. This article focuses on the concept of energy security in assessing whether, and how, the priorities related to climate change are gradually changing. After analysing climate change’s impact on China, conducted via an analysis of the study’s available literature and through the support of international data, this article mainly focuses on the concept of energy security, itself. Under the second section, based on the examination of China’s efforts to transition towards a low-carbon economy, the authors provide a holistic definition of energy security through the lens of three dimensions: energy supply security, energy economy and energy ecological security. The third section, in turn, addresses the relationship between energy security and climate change. The results presented in the conclusion insist that, in order to strengthen environmental protection in China, it is crucial to reform the highly inefficient and strictly regulated national energy market. In doing so, China’s transition to a low-carbon society and economy could prove less painful, as China’s available resources offer the potential for a strengthened ecological dimension and sustained socio-economic development.


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