scholarly journals Establishing global climate resilience to persistent organic pollutants through the private sector: a call to reform institutional standards of the International Finance Corporation

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (02) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lok Ming Tam ◽  
Wesley Chiang ◽  
Khang T. Huynh
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
International Finance ◽  
Organic Pollutants ◽  
Persistent Organic Pollutants ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
International Finance Corporation ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Proactive Measures

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are toxic synthetic chemicals prevalent in the environment that have been linked to serious health effects including various cancers, hypertension, and diabetes. Owing to their unique physicochemical properties, POP accumulation in the environment poses a serious risk to public health. Over the last few decades global climate change (GCC) has exacerbated increasing temperature and extreme weather events, which reduce the storage capacity of POPs in the environment and precipitate their global remobilization. If we remain unprepared to block GCC-associated release of POPs globally, our adaptation and resilience to climate change will be jeopardized. The Stockholm Convention, an international treaty that aims to reduce and eliminate POPs, is not fully enforceable due to a lack of environmental funds for governments of developing countries. One way to circumnavigate these financial hurdles is to create new markets for POP removal through the private sector. We recommend the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank, reform its institutional regulations to consistently guarantee funding for proactive measures against POPs. We additionally recommend investing in local POP removal infrastructure projects that encourage economic growth.

scholarly journals Interrogating Climate Adaptation Financing in Zimbabwe: Proposed Direction

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6517
Author(s):  
Innocent Chirisa ◽  
Trynos Gumbo ◽  
Veronica N. Gundu-Jakarasi ◽  
Washington Zhakata ◽  
Thomas Karakadzai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Coastal Zones ◽  
Resource Base

Reducing vulnerability to climate change and enhancing the long-term coping capacities of rural or urban settlements to negative climate change impacts have become urgent issues in developing countries. Developing countries do not have the means to cope with climate hazards and their economies are highly dependent on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, water, and coastal zones. Like most countries in Southern Africa, Zimbabwe suffers from climate-induced disasters. Therefore, this study maps critical aspects required for setting up a strong financial foundation for sustainable climate adaptation in Zimbabwe. It discusses the frameworks required for sustainable climate adaptation finance and suggests the direction for success in leveraging global climate financing towards building a low-carbon and climate-resilient Zimbabwe. The study involved a document review and analysis and stakeholder consultation methodological approach. The findings revealed that Zimbabwe has been significantly dependent on global finance mechanisms to mitigate the effects of climate change as its domestic finance mechanisms have not been fully explored. Results revealed the importance of partnership models between the state, individuals, civil society organisations, and agencies. Local financing institutions such as the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) have been set up. This operates a Climate Finance Facility (GFF), providing a domestic financial resource base. A climate change bill is also under formulation through government efforts. However, numerous barriers limit the adoption of adaptation practices, services, and technologies at the scale required. The absence of finance increases the vulnerability of local settlements (rural or urban) to extreme weather events leading to loss of life and property and compromised adaptive capacity. Therefore, the study recommends an adaptation financing framework aligned to different sectoral policies that can leverage diverse opportunities such as blended climate financing. The framework must foster synergies for improved impact and implementation of climate change adaptation initiatives for the country.

scholarly journals The effects of climate change on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the North Sea

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1525-1557
Author(s):  
K. O'Driscoll ◽  
B. Mayer ◽  
J. Su ◽  
M. Mathis
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Organic Pollutants ◽  
North Sea ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Persistent Organic Pollutants ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Open Boundary ◽  
The North ◽  
The Future ◽  
The North Sea

Abstract. The fate and cycling of two selected legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs), PCB 153 and γ-HCH, in the North Sea in the 21st century have been modelled with combined hydrodynamic and fate and transport ocean models. To investigate the impact of climate variability on POPs in the North Sea in the 21st century, future scenario model runs for three 10 yr periods to the year 2100 using plausible levels of both in situ concentrations and atmospheric, river and open boundary inputs are performed. Since estimates of future concentration levels of POPs in the atmosphere, oceans and rivers are not available, our approach was to reutilise 2005 values in the atmosphere, rivers and at the open ocean boundaries for every year of the simulations. In this way, we attribute differences between the three 10 yr simulations to climate change only. For the HAMSOM and atmospheric forcing, results of the IPCC A1B (SRES) 21st century scenario are utilised, where surface forcing is provided by the REMO downscaling of the ECHAM5 global atmospheric model, and open boundary conditions are provided by the MPIOM global ocean model. Dry gas deposition and volatilisation of γ-HCH increase in the future relative to the present. In the water column, total mass of γ-HCH and PCB 153 remain fairly steady in all three runs. In sediment, γ-HCH increases in the future runs, relative to the present, while PCB 153 in sediment decreases exponentially in all three runs, but even faster in the future, both of which are the result of climate change. Annual net sinks exceed sources at the ends of all periods.

scholarly journals Influences of Extreme Precipitation on China’s Mining Industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6719
Author(s):  
Yuanzhe Liu ◽  
Wei Song
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Economic System ◽  
Technical Progress ◽  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Labor Input ◽  
Industrial Economic

Global climate change is increasingly influencing the economic system. With the frequent occurrence of extreme weather events, the influences of climate change on the economic system are no longer limited to the agricultural sector, but extend to the industrial system. However, there is little research on the influences of climate change on industrial economic systems. Among the different sectors of the industrial economic system, the mining industry is more sensitive to the influences of climate change. Here, taking the mining industry as an example, we analyzed the influences of extreme precipitation on the mining industry using the trans-logarithm production function. In addition, the marginal output elasticity analysis method was employed to analyze the main factors influencing the mining industry. It was found that the mining investment in fixed assets, labor input, and technical progress could promote the development of the mining economy, while the extreme precipitation suppressed the growth of the mining industry. The increase in fixed asset investment and the technical progress could enhance the resistance of the mining industry to extreme precipitation, while there was no indication that labor input can reduce the influences of extreme precipitation.

scholarly journals Possible Effects of Climate Change on Ixodid Ticks and the Pathogens They Transmit: Predictions and Observations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas H Ogden ◽  
C Ben Beard ◽  
Howard S Ginsberg ◽  
Jean I Tsao
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Ixodid Ticks ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
Recent Climate ◽  
Tick Survival

Abstract The global climate has been changing over the last century due to greenhouse gas emissions and will continue to change over this century, accelerating without effective global efforts to reduce emissions. Ticks and tick-borne diseases (TTBDs) are inherently climate-sensitive due to the sensitivity of tick lifecycles to climate. Key direct climate and weather sensitivities include survival of individual ticks, and the duration of development and host-seeking activity of ticks. These sensitivities mean that in some regions a warming climate may increase tick survival, shorten life-cycles and lengthen the duration of tick activity seasons. Indirect effects of climate change on host communities may, with changes in tick abundance, facilitate enhanced transmission of tick-borne pathogens. High temperatures, and extreme weather events (heat, cold, and flooding) are anticipated with climate change, and these may reduce tick survival and pathogen transmission in some locations. Studies of the possible effects of climate change on TTBDs to date generally project poleward range expansion of geographical ranges (with possible contraction of ranges away from the increasingly hot tropics), upslope elevational range spread in mountainous regions, and increased abundance of ticks in many current endemic regions. However, relatively few studies, using long-term (multi-decade) observations, provide evidence of recent range changes of tick populations that could be attributed to recent climate change. Further integrated ‘One Health’ observational and modeling studies are needed to detect changes in TTBD occurrence, attribute them to climate change, and to develop predictive models of public- and animal-health needs to plan for TTBD emergence.

scholarly journals Climate risk perception and media framing

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-262
Author(s):  
Renata Peregrino de Brito ◽  
Priscila Laczynski de Souza Miguel ◽  
Susana Carla Farias Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to analyze the media coverage of the impact of extreme weather events (EWE) and related risk management activities in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach Using a documentary analysis, the authors examined the media coverage of droughts and floods from 2003 to 2013 with concomitant official reports. Findings The results indicate that although media coverage conveys the direct impact of floods and droughts on society, it underemphasizes the importance of risk management activities. Moreover, the private sector rarely engages in risk management and mitigation activities, despite the documented supply chain disruptions. Research limitations/implications This study focuses solely on media coverage as provided by wide-circulation newspaper in Brazil and would benefit by being extended to all media platforms. Practical implications The results highlight the need for private sector involvement in risk management activities to facilitate the adaptation to climate change. Social implications The study reveals the deficiency of existing reports and lack of awareness regarding EWE. Originality/value The study contributes by focusing on climate awareness and how society can adapt to climate change, as well as how businesses can improve supply chain operations to facilitate smoother risk management.

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