What can cities do to increase resilience?

2007 ◽  
Vol 365 (1860) ◽  
pp. 2731-2739 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Crichton
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Insurance Industry ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Change Mitigation

This paper examines climate change mitigation and adaptation from an insurance industry perspective, with particular reference to London and the USA. It illustrates how British insurers are increasingly shaping public policy and using new technology to manage the risks from climate change impacts and makes a plea for society to make more use of insurance expertise in future decision making. In particular, more dialogue is needed between architects, planners and insurers to adapt our buildings and cities for climate change impacts. The paper is an abbreviated and updated version of the paper presented by the author in Houston, Texas, in 2005.

Gender, Forests and Climate Change

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paloma Marcos Morezuelas
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Payment Schemes ◽  
Gender Lens ◽  
Change Mitigation

As users of forest products and guardians of traditional knowledge, women have always been involved in forestry. Nevertheless, their access to forest resources and benefits and participation in forest management is limited compared to mens despite the fact that trees are more important to women, who depend on them for their families food security, income generation and cooking fuel. This guide aims to facilitate the incorporation of a gender lens in climate change mitigation and adaptation operations in forests, with special attention to those framed in REDD. This guide addresses four themes value chains, environmental payment schemes, firewood and biodiversity that relate directly to 1) how climate change impacts affect women in the forest and 2) how mitigation and adaptation measures affect womens access to resources and benefits distribution.

scholarly journals Aiding multi-level decision-making processes for climate change mitigation and adaptation

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (39) ◽  
pp. 392006
Author(s):  
Katherine Anne Daniell ◽  
M A Mdnez Costa ◽  
N Ferrand ◽  
M Vassileva ◽  
F Aix ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Change Mitigation

scholarly journals Aiding multi-level decision-making processes for climate change mitigation and adaptation

2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine A. Daniell ◽  
María A. Máñez Costa ◽  
Nils Ferrand ◽  
Ashley B. Kingsborough ◽  
Peter Coad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Change Mitigation

scholarly journals What are the Implications for Public Policy in New Zealand regarding Biochar as a Climate Change Mitigation Tool?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Dorothee Quade
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Wood Processing ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Satisfactory Outcome ◽  
Change Mitigation

<p>The past years have seen biochar appearing on the political radar as a potential greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation tool. Biochar is a charcoal-like substance that is produced from smouldering biomass in oxygen-starved conditions in a kiln. The resulting light and highly porous material can be applied to soil where it has been suggested that it sequesters carbon and increases soil fertility. This research surveys the current scientific understanding of biochar and the institutional framework pertinent to climate change mitigation and potential future biochar deployment in NZ. This is complemented by empirical data, gathered via semi-structured interviews and online surveys. The stakeholder groups determined for the purpose of this study are agriculture (with an emphasis on organic agriculture), forestry and wood processing, bioenergy/biochar businesses, research institutions and government agencies. There is no recognition of biochar in international compliance carbon markets at present and the debate about biochar's future inclusion is ongoing. Biochar performance in soils is highly variable depending on feedstock, manufacturing conditions, soil type and climate to name a few. Scientific uncertainties are related to the permanence of carbon storage in biochar, its agronomic benefits when applied to soil and its life cycle performance in terms of greenhouse gases and energy. While research into a more detailed understanding of biochar is underway, there is still a lack of large-scale and long-term field trials both internationally and domestically. In this context, public policy is faced with decision-making under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Theory suggests some guidance in the form of environmental policy principles such as the sustainability and Precautionary Principles. General policy criteria, including effectiveness, efficiency, equity, compliance with international obligations and political and social acceptability, as well as innovation theory are also proposed as a theoretical framework against which to assess the viability of biochar in a NZ setting. Results suggest that biochar deployment in NZ may be a boutique solution for niche applications rather than a large-scale commercial opportunity. Biochar research in NZ is nascent, yet future policy decision-making depends on its outcomes to assess the merits of biochar for NZ. If biochar technology is to be diffused in NZ, policy will need to carefully craft legislation and incentive structures so as to ensure a sustainable pathway. Various stakeholder groups need to be consulted throughout the decision-making process. Transparency is key to building trust and understanding about the potentials and pitfalls of biochar deployment in NZ. A public debate and continuous dialogue between the research, policy, practitioners and other communities is required to achieve a mutually satisfactory outcome.</p>

Examining climate change mitigation and adaptation behaviours among public sector organisations in the USA

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 591-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Brody ◽  
Himanshu Grover ◽  
Eric Lindquist ◽  
Arnold Vedlitz
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Change Mitigation

scholarly journals Post-2020 biodiversity targets need to embrace climate change

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (49) ◽  
pp. 30882-30891
Author(s):  
Almut Arneth ◽  
Yunne-Jai Shin ◽  
Paul Leadley ◽  
Carlo Rondinini ◽  
Elena Bukvareva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Change Mitigation

Recent assessment reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) have highlighted the risks to humanity arising from the unsustainable use of natural resources. Thus far, land, freshwater, and ocean exploitation have been the chief causes of biodiversity loss. Climate change is projected to be a rapidly increasing additional driver for biodiversity loss. Since climate change and biodiversity loss impact human societies everywhere, bold solutions are required that integrate environmental and societal objectives. As yet, most existing international biodiversity targets have overlooked climate change impacts. At the same time, climate change mitigation measures themselves may harm biodiversity directly. The Convention on Biological Diversity’s post-2020 framework offers the important opportunity to address the interactions between climate change and biodiversity and revise biodiversity targets accordingly by better aligning these with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. We identify the considerable number of existing and proposed post-2020 biodiversity targets that risk being severely compromised due to climate change, even if other barriers to their achievement were removed. Our analysis suggests that the next set of biodiversity targets explicitly addresses climate change-related risks since many aspirational goals will not be feasible under even lower-end projections of future warming. Adopting more flexible and dynamic approaches to conservation, rather than static goals, would allow us to respond flexibly to changes in habitats, genetic resources, species composition, and ecosystem functioning and leverage biodiversity’s capacity to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

scholarly journals What are the Implications for Public Policy in New Zealand regarding Biochar as a Climate Change Mitigation Tool?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Dorothee Quade
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Wood Processing ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Satisfactory Outcome ◽  
Change Mitigation

<p>The past years have seen biochar appearing on the political radar as a potential greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation tool. Biochar is a charcoal-like substance that is produced from smouldering biomass in oxygen-starved conditions in a kiln. The resulting light and highly porous material can be applied to soil where it has been suggested that it sequesters carbon and increases soil fertility. This research surveys the current scientific understanding of biochar and the institutional framework pertinent to climate change mitigation and potential future biochar deployment in NZ. This is complemented by empirical data, gathered via semi-structured interviews and online surveys. The stakeholder groups determined for the purpose of this study are agriculture (with an emphasis on organic agriculture), forestry and wood processing, bioenergy/biochar businesses, research institutions and government agencies. There is no recognition of biochar in international compliance carbon markets at present and the debate about biochar's future inclusion is ongoing. Biochar performance in soils is highly variable depending on feedstock, manufacturing conditions, soil type and climate to name a few. Scientific uncertainties are related to the permanence of carbon storage in biochar, its agronomic benefits when applied to soil and its life cycle performance in terms of greenhouse gases and energy. While research into a more detailed understanding of biochar is underway, there is still a lack of large-scale and long-term field trials both internationally and domestically. In this context, public policy is faced with decision-making under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Theory suggests some guidance in the form of environmental policy principles such as the sustainability and Precautionary Principles. General policy criteria, including effectiveness, efficiency, equity, compliance with international obligations and political and social acceptability, as well as innovation theory are also proposed as a theoretical framework against which to assess the viability of biochar in a NZ setting. Results suggest that biochar deployment in NZ may be a boutique solution for niche applications rather than a large-scale commercial opportunity. Biochar research in NZ is nascent, yet future policy decision-making depends on its outcomes to assess the merits of biochar for NZ. If biochar technology is to be diffused in NZ, policy will need to carefully craft legislation and incentive structures so as to ensure a sustainable pathway. Various stakeholder groups need to be consulted throughout the decision-making process. Transparency is key to building trust and understanding about the potentials and pitfalls of biochar deployment in NZ. A public debate and continuous dialogue between the research, policy, practitioners and other communities is required to achieve a mutually satisfactory outcome.</p>

scholarly journals The place of a socio-cultural environment in climate change discourse

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Recha
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Economic Security ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Cultural Dynamics ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation Strategies ◽  
Change Mitigation

The significance of climate change is reflected in global level efforts such as Conference of Parties and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reporting. The global level platform develops consensus on evidences and pathways to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Unfortunately, these efforts often lack social-cultural dynamics to climate change. This study adopted a desktop survey to establish the place of socio-cultural dynamics in climate change discourse. In this study, it is argued that socio-economic security and attributes, cultural-orientation and inter-group dimensions are key determinants to implementation of climate change programmes. To successfully design and implement climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, first address socioeconomic securities of communities, bring on board sub-national considerations and package climate change impacts as a threat to nationalism.

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