scholarly journals Water Security or Water Resilience? Climate Resilient Water Management in Wellington New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Nigel Taptiklis
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Management ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Yield Model

<p>A confluence of factors including population growth, climate change, resource constraints and legacy effects poses significant challenges to the sustainability of cities worldwide. With the deep complexity inherent in socio-ecological systems, 'solutions' sometimes shift the problem in space or time or drive the system in the opposite direction than intended. A case study into climate change adaptation and community resilience in the context of urban water management was undertaken in Wellington, New Zealand, using a 'post normal' science approach. Climate change and water demand scenarios for 2040 and 2090 were analysed using Greater Wellington Water’s 'sustainable yield' model and downscaled general circulation climate model data. Semi-structured interviews and a systems modelling workshop were conducted in order to gain an understanding of the local context for adaptation, resilience and response option selection. With a 20% reduction of aggregate per capita demand and greater storage capacity, Wellington has sufficient water from current sources to smooth increased flow variability due to climate change and to meet increased demand from the projected increase in population. Adaptation pathways and the potential for 'maladaptation' is explored and an integrated framework for optimising urban water resilience developed.</p>

scholarly journals Water Security or Water Resilience? Climate Resilient Water Management in Wellington New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Nigel Taptiklis
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Management ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Yield Model

<p>A confluence of factors including population growth, climate change, resource constraints and legacy effects poses significant challenges to the sustainability of cities worldwide. With the deep complexity inherent in socio-ecological systems, 'solutions' sometimes shift the problem in space or time or drive the system in the opposite direction than intended. A case study into climate change adaptation and community resilience in the context of urban water management was undertaken in Wellington, New Zealand, using a 'post normal' science approach. Climate change and water demand scenarios for 2040 and 2090 were analysed using Greater Wellington Water’s 'sustainable yield' model and downscaled general circulation climate model data. Semi-structured interviews and a systems modelling workshop were conducted in order to gain an understanding of the local context for adaptation, resilience and response option selection. With a 20% reduction of aggregate per capita demand and greater storage capacity, Wellington has sufficient water from current sources to smooth increased flow variability due to climate change and to meet increased demand from the projected increase in population. Adaptation pathways and the potential for 'maladaptation' is explored and an integrated framework for optimising urban water resilience developed.</p>

scholarly journals Zero Carbon Building Practices in Aotearoa New Zealand

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4455
Author(s):  
Thao Thi Phuong Bui ◽  
Suzanne Wilkinson ◽  
Niluka Domingo ◽  
Casimir MacGregor
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Building Projects ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Zero Carbon

In the light of climate change, the drive for zero carbon buildings is known as one response to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Within New Zealand, research on climate change mitigation and environmental impacts of buildings has received renewed attention. However, there has been no detailed investigation of zero carbon building practices. This paper undertakes an exploratory study through the use of semi-structured interviews with government representatives and construction industry experts to examine how the New Zealand construction industry plans and implements zero carbon buildings. The results show that New Zealand’s construction industry is in the early stage of transiting to a net-zero carbon built environment. Key actions to date are focused on devising a way for the industry to develop and deliver zero carbon building projects. Central and local governments play a leading role in driving zero carbon initiatives. Leading construction firms intend to maximise the carbon reduction in building projects by developing a roadmap to achieve the carbon target by 2050 and rethinking the way of designing and constructing buildings. The research results provide an insight into the initial practices and policy implications for the uptake of zero carbon buildings in Aotearoa New Zealand.

scholarly journals Projections of mid-century summer air-quality for North America: effects of changes in climate and precursor emissions

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 5367-5390 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Kelly ◽  
P. A. Makar ◽  
D. A. Plummer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
North American ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Climate Simulation ◽  
Ammonia Emissions

Abstract. Ten year simulations of North American current and future air-quality were carried out using a regional air-quality model driven by a regional climate model, in turn driven by a general circulation model. Three separate summer scenarios were performed: a scenario representing the years 1997 to 2006, and two SRES A2 climate scenarios for the years 2041 to 2050. The first future climate scenario makes use of 2002 anthropogenic precursor emissions, and the second applied emissions scaling factors derived from the IPCC Representative Concentration Pathway 6 (RCP 6) scenario to estimate emissions for 2050 from existing 2020 projections. Ten-year averages of ozone and PM2.5 at North American monitoring network stations were used to evaluate the model's current chemical climatology. The model was found to have a similar performance for ozone as when driven by an operational weather forecast model. The PM2.5 predictions had larger negative biases, likely resulting from the absence of rainwater evaporation, and from sub-regional negative biases in the surface temperature fields, in the version of the climate model used here. The differences between the two future climate simulations and the current climate simulation were used to predict the changes to air-quality that might be expected in a future warmer climate, if anthropogenic precursor emissions remain constant at their current levels, versus if the RCP 6 emissions controls were adopted. Metrics of concentration, human health, and ecosystem damage were compared for the simulations. The scenario with future climate and current anthropogenic emissions resulted in worse air-quality than for current conditions – that is, the effect of climate-change alone, all other factors being similar, would be a worsening of air-quality. These effects are spatially inhomogeneous, with the magnitude and sign of the changes varying with region. The scenario with future climate and RCP 6 emissions for 2050 resulted in an improved air-quality, with decreases in key pollutant concentrations, in acute human mortality associated with air-pollution, and in sulphur and ozone deposition to the ecosystem. The positive outcomes of the RCP 6 emissions reductions were found to be of greater magnitude than the negative outcomes of climate change alone. The RCP 6 scenario however resulted in an increase in the deposition of nitrogen, as a result of increased ammonia emissions expected in that scenario, compared to current ammonia emissions levels. The results of the study raise the possibility that simultaneous reductions of greenhouse gases and air pollution precursors may further reduce air pollution levels, with the added benefits of an immediate reduction in the impacts of air pollution on human and ecosystem health. Further scenarios to investigate this possibility are therefore recommended.

Adapting Cities to Climate Change: Institutional Change around Sustainable Urban Water Concepts in the City of Hamburg, Germany

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Hawxwell ◽  
Joerg Knieling
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Management ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Management Concepts ◽  
Urban Water Systems

&lt;p&gt;Diverse concepts have emerged in recent decades which (at least in their rhetoric) aim to instigate processes that make cities more resilient to climate change and support more sustainable urban development (Coaffee and Lee 2016; Hodson and Marvin 2017). With regards to urban water management, the Water-Sensitive City (WSC) is one such concept that promotes urban water planning to &amp;#8220;protect, maintain and enhance the multiple benefits and services of the total urban water cycle that are highly valued by society&amp;#8221; (Wong and Brown 2009, 674). The WSC, along with related integrated urban water management concepts have seen growing scholarly attention in recent years (see e.g. Fletcher et al. 2015). The emergence of such concepts reflects the growing demand for more sophisticated and integrated understanding and management of urban water systems. Such an ambitious model represents a broadening of the competencies and responsibilities of practitioners involved in water management and improved coordination with other urban sectors. Thus, such changes (must) typically coincide with changes amongst actors engaged directly or indirectly in water management, along with the prevailing institutional arrangements that govern their activities.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Yet very little is known about processes of institutionalisation of such concepts within socio-technical regimes such as those that characterise urban water systems (Fuenfschilling and Truffer 2014). This paper aims to map processes of institutionalisation of concepts associated with the Water-Sensitive City amongst practitioners working in urban water management related fields in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. The research explores changes in the institutional arrangements between 1990 and 2020.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;References&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Coaffee, J., and P. Lee. 2016. &lt;em&gt;Urban Resilience:&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;Planning for Risk, Crisis and Uncertainty&lt;/em&gt;. Macmillan International Higher Education.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Fletcher, T. D., W. Shuster, W. F. Hunt, R. Ashley, D. Butler, S. Arthur, S. Trowsdale, et al. 2015. &amp;#8216;SUDS, LID, BMPs, WSUD and More &amp;#8211; The Evolution and Application of Terminology Surrounding Urban Drainage&amp;#8217;. &lt;em&gt;Urban Water Journal&lt;/em&gt; 12 (7): 525&amp;#8211;42. https://doi.org/10.1080/1573062X.2014.916314.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Fuenfschilling, L., and B. Truffer. 2014. &amp;#8216;The Structuration of Socio-Technical Regimes - Conceptual Foundations from Institutional Theory&amp;#8217;. &lt;em&gt;Research Policy&lt;/em&gt; 43 (4): 772&amp;#8211;91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2013.10.010.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Hodson, M., and S. Marvin. 2017. &amp;#8216;Intensifying or Transforming Sustainable Cities? Fragmented Logics of Urban Environmentalism&amp;#8217;. &lt;em&gt;Local Environment&lt;/em&gt; 22 (sup1): 8&amp;#8211;22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2017.1306498.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Wong, T. H. F., and R. R. Brown. 2009. &amp;#8216;The Water Sensitive City: Principles for Practice&amp;#8217;. &lt;em&gt;Water Science and Technology&lt;/em&gt; 60 (3): 673&amp;#8211;82. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2009.436.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Decision-making through the grapevine: Winegrowers' perceptions on climate change and the barriers to adaptation planning in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alyssa Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Wine Industry ◽  
Adaptation Planning ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Wine Production ◽  
Climate Change Research

<p>New Zealand wine is cultivated in cool climates that produce distinctive flavours and wine-styles, which are representative of the terroir of the region. The effects of climate change can impact the quality and quantity of winegrapes, and the production of premium wine. The aim of this research was to investigate adaptation planning in the New Zealand wine industry by evaluating winegrowers’ decision-making and perceptions of climate change. Research was conducted using primary survey data from New Zealand winegrowers and semi-structured interviews with winegrowers from three case study regions of Marlborough, Central Otago, and Hawke’s Bay. The study was designed to assess how climate change is understood throughout the industry, whether adaptation plans are being developed or employed and the barriers hindering winegrowers’ implementation of adaptation strategies. The results show that winegrowers are somewhat informed about climate change with some adaptation planning occurring. However, the majority of winegrowers have no plans to adapt to climate change. The uncertainty in the climate science and the availability of information were indicated as a barrier to adaptation planning. Winegrowers convey the need for regional information with a focus on reliable forecasting and climate projections for the next few years. The New Zealand wine industry is in a positive position to undertake adaptation with the opportunity to exploit the benefits of climate change for wine production.</p>

scholarly journals Modelling the impacts of climate change on tropospheric ozone over three centuries

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 6805-6843 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. B. Hedegaard ◽  
A. Gross ◽  
J. H. Christensen ◽  
W. May ◽  
H. Skov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ozone Concentration ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Global Climate Model ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
The Arctic

Abstract. The ozone chemistry over three centuries has been simulated based on climate prediction from a global climate model and constant anthropogenic emissions in order to separate out the effects on air pollution from climate change. Four decades in different centuries has been simulated using the chemistry version of the atmospheric long-range transport model; the Danish Eulerian Hemispheric Model (DEHM) forced with meteorology predicted by the ECHAM5/MPI-OM coupled Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Model. The largest changes in both meteorology, ozone and its precursors is found in the 21st century, however, also significant changes are found in the 22nd century. At surface level the ozone concentration is predicted to increase due to climate change in the areas where substantial amounts of ozone precursors are emitted. Elsewhere a significant decrease is predicted at the surface. In the free troposphere a general increase is found in the entire Northern Hemisphere except in the tropics, where the ozone concentration is decreasing. In the Arctic the ozone concentration will increase in the entire air column, which most likely is due to changes in transport. The change in temperature, humidity and the naturally emitted Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are governing with respect to changes in ozone both in the past, present and future century.

scholarly journals Tacit knowledge in water management: a case study of Sponge City

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeyu Yao ◽  
Sarah Bell
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Tacit Knowledge ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Sponge City ◽  
Qualitative Thematic Analysis ◽  
Sustainable Urban Water Management

Sustainable, resilient urban water management is fundamental to good environmental and public health. As an interdisciplinary task, it faces enormous challenges from project complexity, network dynamics, and the tacit nature of knowledge being communicated between actors involved in design, decisions and delivery. Among others, some critical and persistent challenges to the implementation of sustainable urban water management include the lack of knowledge and expertise, lack of effective communication and collaboration, and lack of shared understanding and context. Using the Chinese Sponge City programme as a case study, this paper draws on the perspectives of Polanyi and Collins to investigate the extent to which knowledge can be used and exchanged between actors. Using Collins’ conceptualisation of the terrain of tacit knowledge, the study identifies the use of relational, somatic, and collective tacit knowledge in the Sponge City pilot project. Structured interviews with 38 people working on a Sponge City pilot project provided data that was rigorously analysed using qualitative thematic analysis. The paper is original in using theories of tacit knowledge to explain barriers and pathways for information and messages being communicated between actors in urban water management. The methods and results provide the groundwork for analysing the access and mobilisation of tacit knowledge in the Sponge City pilot project, with relevance for other complex, interdisciplinary environmental projects and programmes.

scholarly journals How Does Digitization Succeed in the Municipal Water Sector? The WaterExe4.0 Meta-Study Identifies Barriers as well as Success Factors, and Reveals Expectations for the Future

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (22) ◽  
pp. 7709
Author(s):  
Günter Müller-Czygan ◽  
Viktoriya Tarasyuk ◽  
Christian Wagner ◽  
Manuela Wimmer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Digital Systems ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Water Industry ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
The Future ◽  
German Speaking

Water is increasingly taking center stage when it comes to coping with climate change. Especially in urban areas, negative consequences from heavy rainfall events and prolonged dry periods are rising worldwide. In the past, the various tasks of urban water management were performed by different departments that often did not cooperate with each other (water supply, wastewater disposal, green space irrigation, etc.), as the required water supply was not a question of available water volumes. This is already changing with climate change, in some cases even dramatically. More and more, it is necessary to consider how to distribute available water resources in urban areas, especially during dry periods, since wastewater treatment is also becoming more complex and costly. In the future, urban water management will examine water use in terms of its various objectives, and will need to provide alternative water resources for these different purposes (groundwater, river water, storm water, treated wastewater, etc.). The necessary technological interconnection requires intelligent digital systems. Furthermore, the water industry must also play its role in global CO2 reduction and make its procedural treatment processes more efficient; this will also only succeed with adequate digital systems. Although digitization has experienced an enormous surge in development over the last five years and numerous solutions are available to address the challenges described previously, there is still a large gap between the scope of offerings and their implementation. Researchers at Hof University of Applied Sciences have investigated the reasons for this imbalance as part of WaterExe4.0, the first meta-study on digitization in the German-speaking water industry, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Only 11% of roughly 700 identified products, projects and studies relate to real applications. For example, the surveyed experts of the water sector stated that everyday problems are considered too little or hardly at all in new solutions, which greatly overburdens users. Furthermore, they see no adequate possibility for a systematic analysis of new ideas to identify significant obstacles and to find the best way to start and implement a digitization project. The results from four methodologically different sub-surveys (literature and market research, survey, expert interviews and workshops) provide a reliable overview of the current situation in the German-speaking water industry and its expectations for the future. The results are also transferable to other countries.

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