scholarly journals Built Infrastructure Renewal and Climate Change Mitigation Can Both Find Solutions in CO2

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucca Henrion ◽  
Duo Zhang ◽  
Victor Li ◽  
Volker Sick
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Concrete Technology ◽  
Embodied Carbon ◽  
Concrete Production ◽  
Reduction Methods

From technology to policy, the US is thinking about construction differently. The federal government is motivated to address the aging infrastructure across the country, and policy proposals are surfacing that seek green methods of performing this construction. This paper reviews the current status of concrete technology and policy to provide insight into the current state of the art. The scale of CO2 emissions from concrete production and use is elucidated. Current embodied emissions reduction methods show that action can be taken today in small and large projects alike. Additionally, developing concrete technologies offers pathways to reuse and rely on concrete for longer service lifetimes and reduce their lifetime embodied emissions. These concrete technologies must be implemented, and public procurement proves a unique tool to develop a nationwide demand signal for low embodied carbon building materials. Local governments closely interact with concrete producers, state governments oversee large infrastructure projects, and the federal government invests massively in construction. All three levels of government must coordinate for the effective rollout of low embodied carbon construction practices. Disparate policy approaches show successes and pitfalls to developing an effective construction policy that is aligned with climate. Importantly, approaches to addressing the twin challenge of climate change and crumbling infrastructure must consider the whole lifetime of the concrete. Throughout this paper, we examine the sector to highlight current practices and provide a vision for effective implementation.

System for supporting detailed implementation plan on measures for adaptation to climate change of local governments

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huicheul Jung ◽  
Jaeuk Kim ◽  
Insang Yu ◽  
Sung-Hun Lee
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Implementation Plan ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Implementation Plans

<p>It is mandatory to establish a detailed implementation plan on measures for adaptation to climate change of local governments, based on the Article 48 of the Framework Act on Low Carbon, Green Growth and Article 38 of the Enforcement Decree of the same Act of South Korea. However, it is difficult for local governments to establish such detailed implementation plan due to high budget spending, lack of experts in climate change field and the shift in cyclical positions of government officials. The Korea Adaptation Center for Climate Change(KACCC) has developed a system for supporting local governments to overcome the difficulties. The system provides integrated data regarding climate change adaptation, such as general information, current status and prospect of climate change, climate change impact analysis, vulnerability and risk assessment to climate change using VESTAP (Vulnerability Assessment Tool to Build Climate Change Adaptation Plan) for each region. Based on the integrated information regarding adaptation to climate change, local governments conduct a survey targeting general public, civil servants, experts, etc. using the questionnaire on adaptive awareness provided by the system. Each local government can analyze the information and inventory of adaptation measures and diagnose the policies to establish detailed implementation plans for each sector. By establishing the system, it is expected to support government officials’s task through standardization and automation of detailed implementation plans and reduce budget and time required for data collection and analysis. It is possible to improve the quality and maintain the consistency of plans by local governments. The system also supports decision making by rapid and reasonable adaptation measures leading to establishing highly effective and managed implementation plans for local governments.</p><p>※ This work was supported by Korea Environment Industry & Technology Institute(KEITI) through Climate Change Correspondence Program, funded by Korea Ministry of Environment(MOE)(2018001310004).</p>

Increase of Efficiency of Operation of Autoclaved Gas Concrete Production by the Shock Technology at Egorievsky Building Materials Factory

2018 ◽  
Vol 759 (5) ◽  
pp. 16-19
Author(s):  
A.Yu. SMIRNOV ◽  
◽  
A.M. RUBLEV ◽  
A.A. BARANOV ◽  
M.V. AKULOVA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Concrete Production

scholarly journals Current Status of Traditional Korean Medicine Services in Public Sector: A Study for Integrating Traditional Korean Medicine into Community Care System

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 493
Author(s):  
Soo-Hyun Sung ◽  
Minjung Park ◽  
Jihye Kim ◽  
Sun-Woo Jeon ◽  
Angela Dong-Min Sung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Community Care ◽  
Central Government ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Traditional Korean Medicine ◽  
Korean Medicine ◽  
Service Programs ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
Care System

Korea is currently executing a pilot program for community care of its aging population and aims to implement community care systems on a national scale by 2025. This study examines the traditional Korean medicine (TKM) service to be provided within community care by understanding the current status of TKM services. The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MoHW) sent official letters to 242 local governments (cities, districts, and counties) from October to November 2019 to survey the status of the public TKM services provided in 2018. The items of the survey included basic demographic information as well as information that could reveal how the program was implemented. In 112 local government jurisdictions (response rate 46.3%), a total of 867 TKM service programs were in place. As a result of the survey, it was revealed that they did not have any service manuals or evaluation results. To provide home-care-based TKM service for the elderly as an integrated part of a community care system, it is necessary to develop, distribute, and evaluate a standard service manual including an evaluation index by the central government.

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 A Study on Urban Inundation Using SWMM in Busan, Korea, Using Existing Dams and Artificial Underground Waterways

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 1708
Author(s):  
Yeon-Moon Choo ◽  
Sang-Bo Sim ◽  
Yeon-Woong Choe
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Flood Damage ◽  
Virtual Model ◽  
Sustainable Cities ◽  
Annual Average ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Average Rainfall ◽  
Reduction Methods ◽  
Urbanized Areas

The annual average rainfall in Busan area is increasing, causing frequent flooding of Busan’s Suyeong and Oncheon rivers. Due to the increase in urbanized areas and climate change, it is difficult to reduce flood damage. Therefore, new methods are needed to reduce urban inundation. This study models the effects of three flood reduction methods involving Oncheon River, Suyeong River, and the Hoedong Dam, which is situated on the Suyeong. Using EPA-SWMM, a virtual model of the dam and the rivers was created, then modified with changes to the dam’s height, the installation of a floodgate on the dam, and the creation of an underground waterway to carry excess flow from the Oncheon to the Hoedong Dam. The results of this study show that increasing the height of the dam by 3 m, 4 m, or 6 m led to a 27%, 37%, and 48% reduction in flooding, respectively, on the Suyeong River. It was also found that installing a floodgate of 10 × 4 m, 15 × 4 m, or 20 × 4 min the dam would result in a flood reduction of 2.7% and 2.9%, respectively. Furthermore, the construction of the underground waterway could lead to an expected 25% flood reduction in the Oncheon River. Measures such as these offer the potential to protect the lives and property of citizens in densely populated urban areas and develop sustainable cities and communities. Therefore, the modifications to the dam and the underground waterway proposed in this study are considered to be useful.

Climate Change Surge: Implementing Stringent Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies in South Africa

2010 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-183
Author(s):  
Kola Odeku ◽  
Edson Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South African ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Adaptation Strategies ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
African Government ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation Strategies

AbstractThis article examines how the South African government, realizing the country's vulnerability to climate change, deemed it necessary to strengthen adaptation and mitigation measures and put in place legal and institutional frameworks to ensure implementation and compliance. Government must take responsibility for industry's inaction by implementing policies on climate change and, more importantly, through a visible change in government policy to hold industry accountable. The stringent policies and strategies being put in place are reducing vulnerability and also enhancing a broad spectrum of capacity in responding to environmental, climatic, resource and economic perturbations. The article further reviews state of the art methods and tools available to strengthen mitigation and adaptation strategies and measures in the areas of the existing frameworks regarding climate change. It also considers various measures by Eskom in particular, and strategies embarked upon by South Africa's national and local governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Advances in the data rescue and digitization of historical wind speed observations in Sweden: the WINDGUST project

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Engström ◽  
Cesar Azorin-Molina ◽  
Lennart Wern ◽  
Sverker Hellström ◽  
Christophe Sturm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
The 1960S

<p>Here we present the progress of the first work package (WP1) of the project “Assessing centennial wind speed variability from a historical weather data rescue project in Sweden” (WINDGUST), funded by FORMAS – A Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (ref. 2019-00509); previously introduced in EGU2019-17792-1 and EGU2020-3491. In a global climate change, one of the major uncertainties on the causes driving the climate variability of winds (i.e., the “stilling” phenomenon and the recent “recovery” since the 2010s) is mainly due to short availability (i.e., since the 1960s) and low quality of observed wind records as stated by the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).</p><p>The WINDGUST is a joint initiative between the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) and the University of Gothenburg aimed at filling the key gap of short availability and low quality of wind datasets, and improve the limited knowledge on the causes driving wind speed variability in a changing climate across Sweden.</p><p>During 2020, we worked in WP1 to rescue historical wind speed series available in the old weather archives at SMHI for the 1920s-1930s. In the process we followed the “Guidelines on Best Practices for Climate Data Rescue” of the World Meteorological Organization. Our protocol consisted on: (i) designing a template for digitization; (ii) digitizing papers by an imaging process based on scanning and photographs; and (iii) typing numbers of wind speed data into the template. We will report the advances and current status, challenges and experiences learned during the development of WP1. Until new year 2020/2021 eight out of thirteen selected stations spanning over the years 1925 to 1948 have been scanned and digitized by three staff members of SMHI during 1,660 manhours.</p>

Urban Hazard Adaptation: Efficiency of a Green Infrastructure in an Italian metropolis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Busca ◽  
Roberto Revelli
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Atmospheric Pollutants ◽  
Water Runoff ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
Economic Point

<p>In recent years, safeguarding approaches and environmental management initiatives have been adopted both by international institutions and local governments , aimed at sustainable use of natural resources and their restoration, in order to manage hazard level of climate change consequences (urban flooding, droughts and water shortages, sea level rise, issues with food security).</p><p>Cities represent the main collectors of these effects, consequently they need to implement specific adaptation plans mitigating consequences of such future events: Green Infrastructures (G.I.) fall within the most effective tools for achieving the goal. In the urban context, they also identify themselves as valid strategies for biodiversity recovery and ecological functions.</p><p>This work analyzes the role of a G.I. in an urban environment, with the aim of quantifying Ecosystem Services (E.S.) provided by vegetation: through usage of <em>i-Tree</em>, specific software suite for E.S. quantification, the sustainability offered by “Le Vallere” park, a 34-hectares greenspace spread between municipalities of Turin and Moncalieri (Italy), was analyzed, in collaboration with the related management institution (<em>Ente di gestione delle Aree Protette del Po torinese</em>). The study, carried out using two specific tools (<em>i-Tree Eco and i-Tree Hydro</em>), focuses on different aspects: carbon sequestration and storage, atmospheric pollutants reduction, avoided water runoff and water quality improvement are just some of the environmental benefits generated by tree population. Tools enable to carry out the analysis also from an economic point of view, evaluating monetary benefits brought by the green infrastructure both at present day and in the future,  taking into account climate change effects through projections based on the regional climatic model COSMO-CLM (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios).</p><p>The work led to deepen potential held by the greenspace, helping the cooperating management institution  to plan future territorial agenda and to find innovative approaches for an integrated and sustainable hazard control.</p>

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