Valuation of Mortality Risk Attributable to Climate Change: Investigating the Effect of Survey Administration Modes on a VSL

While the COVID-19 pandemic has presented an immediate risk to human life around the world, climate change poses an arguably greater—although less immediate—threat to our species’ survival. Within the framework of life-history theory (LHT), this pre-registered study investigated whether extrinsic risk (i.e., external factors that pose a risk to an individual’s life, e.g., COVID-19) and existential risk (i.e., risks with outcomes that threaten the existence of humans as a species, e.g., climate change) had similar or different relationships with reproductive decision-making. A UK representative sample of 325 participants between 18 and 35 years of age was asked to indicate their ideal number of children, ideal age to start having children, and whether their desire for a child had recently changed. Participants were asked about their experiences of COVID-19 and given a series of scales with which to assess their beliefs about climate change. In support of LHT, the study found evidence that knowing people who had been hospitalized with or died of COVID-19 was associated with a greater ideal number of children. Conversely, there was no clear evidence of a relationship between climate change beliefs and reproductive decision-making. The repercussions for understanding how we interpret and respond to different forms of mortality risk are discussed.

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When does deprivation motivate future-oriented thinking? The case of climate change

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x17001066 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 40 ◽

Author(s):

Adam R. Pearson ◽

Sander van der Linden

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Decision Making ◽

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Mortality Risk ◽

Psychological Research ◽

Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽

Extrinsic Mortality ◽

Cross Domain ◽

Lower Socioeconomic

AbstractPepper & Nettle overstate cross-domain evidence of present-oriented thinking among lower-socioeconomic-status (SES) groups and overlook key social and contextual drivers of temporal decision making. We consider psychological research on climate change – a quintessential intertemporal problem that implicates inequities and extrinsic mortality risk – documenting more future-oriented thinking among low- compared to high-SES groups.

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Future Temperature-Related Mortality Risk Under Climate Change Scenarios

Ambient Temperature and Health in China ◽

10.1007/978-981-13-2583-0_8 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 117-130

Author(s):

Tiantian Li ◽

Zhiying Sun ◽

Yi Zhang ◽

Chen Chen ◽

Jie Ban

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Mortality Risk ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Related Mortality

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A Quantitative Estimation of the Effects of Measures to Counter Climate Change on Well-Being: Focus on Non-Use of Air Conditioners as a Mitigation Measure in Japan

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12208694 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (20) ◽

pp. 8694

Author(s):

Ryota Arai ◽

Masashi Kiguchi ◽

Michio Murakami

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Mortality Risk ◽

Quantitative Estimation ◽

Well Being ◽

Air Conditioner ◽

Mitigation Measure ◽

Air Conditioners ◽

Mortality Risks ◽

Risk Of Mortality ◽

The Impact

Measures to mitigate climate change are being considered all over the world. Reducing the use of air conditioners is one such measure. While it seems to be effective in mitigating climate change, it may also reduce individuals’ well-being and increase the risk of heatstroke. To compare the impact of reducing air conditioner use and the mortality risks, the indicator Loss of Happy Life Expectancy (LHpLE), which measures the reduction in the length of life that individuals can spend happily, was used. The reduction in well-being due to non-use of air conditioners was obtained by applying the propensity score matching method to the results of a questionnaire. We evaluated the impact of reducing air conditioner use in both the current and future situation in comparison to the mortality risk from flood and heatstroke, respectively. The increase in mortality risk due to flooding was estimated based on numerical simulation, and the increase in the risk of mortality due to heatstroke was estimated based on existing reports in Japan. Using these results, the magnitude of the impacts on LHpLE caused by the reduction in well-being due to the non-use of an air conditioner and the increase in the mortality risks were compared, both for the current situation and the future. The results show that LHpLE due to non-use of air conditioners was much greater than that due to the risk of mortality due to flood and heatstroke, and implied that reducing air conditioner use is not necessarily a good way as a mitigation measure. This result would be useful for creating and implementing measures to counter climate change and could also be applied in many other fields.

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Tree Mortality Risks Under Climate Change in Europe: Assessment of Silviculture Practices and Genetic Conservation Networks

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.3389/fevo.2021.706414 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Cathleen Petit-Cailleux ◽

Hendrik Davi ◽

François Lefèvre ◽

Pieter Johannes Verkerk ◽

Bruno Fady ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Forest Management ◽

Mortality Risk ◽

Tree Mortality ◽

Frost Damage ◽

Carbon Starvation ◽

Genetic Conservation ◽

Future Climate ◽

Extreme Climatic Events ◽

Hydraulic Failure

General Context: Climate change can positively or negatively affect abiotic and biotic drivers of tree mortality. Process-based models integrating these climatic effects are only seldom used at species distribution scale.Objective: The main objective of this study was to investigate the multi-causal mortality risk of five major European forest tree species across their distribution range from an ecophysiological perspective, to quantify the impact of forest management practices on this risk and to identify threats on the genetic conservation network.Methods: We used the process-based ecophysiological model CASTANEA to simulate the mortality risk of Fagus sylvatica, Quercus petraea, Pinus sylvestris, Pinus pinaster, and Picea abies under current and future climate conditions, while considering local silviculture practices. The mortality risk was assessed by a composite risk index (CRIM) integrating the risks of carbon starvation, hydraulic failure and frost damage. We took into account extreme climatic events with the CRIMmax, computed as the maximum annual value of the CRIM.Results: The physiological processes' contributions to CRIM differed among species: it was mainly driven by hydraulic failure for P. sylvestris and Q. petraea, by frost damage for P. abies, by carbon starvation for P. pinaster, and by a combination of hydraulic failure and frost damage for F. sylvatica. Under future climate, projections showed an increase of CRIM for P. pinaster but a decrease for P. abies, Q. petraea, and F. sylvatica, and little variation for P. sylvestris. Under the harshest future climatic scenario, forest management decreased the mean CRIM of P. sylvestris, increased it for P. abies and P. pinaster and had no major impact for the two broadleaved species. By the year 2100, 38–90% of the European network of gene conservation units are at extinction risk (CRIMmax=1), depending on the species.Conclusions: Using a process-based ecophysiological model allowed us to disentangle the multiple drivers of tree mortality under current and future climates. Taking into account the positive effect of increased CO2 on fertilization and water use efficiency, average mortality risk may increase or decrease in the future depending on species and sites. However, under extreme climatic events, our process-based projections are as pessimistic as those obtained using bioclimatic niche models.

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Non-Linear Response to Global Climate Change of Temperature-Related Mortality Risk in England and Wales

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3839497 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Wan Ting Katty Huang ◽

Isobel Braithwaite ◽

Andrew Charlton-Perez ◽

Christophe Sarran ◽

Ting Sun

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Mortality Risk ◽

Global Climate Change ◽

Linear Response ◽

Global Climate ◽

England And Wales ◽

Non Linear ◽

Related Mortality

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Global mortality risk assessment from river flooding under climate change

Environmental Research Letters ◽

10.1088/1748-9326/abff87 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Junlin Zhang ◽

Wei Xu ◽

Xinli Liao ◽

Shuo Zong ◽

Baoyin Liu

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Risk Assessment ◽

Mortality Risk ◽

River Flooding

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Averting robo-bees: why free-flying robotic bees are a bad idea

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences ◽

10.1042/etls20190063 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (6) ◽

pp. 723-729

Author(s):

Roslyn Gleadow ◽

Jim Hanan ◽

Alan Dorin

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Computer Simulation ◽

Food Security ◽

European Countries ◽

Plant Interactions ◽

Plant Insect Interactions ◽

Native Habitat ◽

Insect Pollinators ◽

Insect Interactions

Food security and the sustainability of native ecosystems depends on plant-insect interactions in countless ways. Recently reported rapid and immense declines in insect numbers due to climate change, the use of pesticides and herbicides, the introduction of agricultural monocultures, and the destruction of insect native habitat, are all potential contributors to this grave situation. Some researchers are working towards a future where natural insect pollinators might be replaced with free-flying robotic bees, an ecologically problematic proposal. We argue instead that creating environments that are friendly to bees and exploring the use of other species for pollination and bio-control, particularly in non-European countries, are more ecologically sound approaches. The computer simulation of insect-plant interactions is a far more measured application of technology that may assist in managing, or averting, ‘Insect Armageddon' from both practical and ethical viewpoints.

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