Teaching climate risk for water planning: a pilot training for tertiary students and practitioners in Brazil

Climate change is one of the major challenges of our society; thus educational resources on climate risk and adaptation are needed. In this case study, we present a short-duration face-to-face training for water professionals about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s climate risk framework. The training uses problem-based learning (PBL) pedagogy, and its suitability and benefits are evaluated with qualitative observation and self-assessment of knowledge of tertiary students and practitioners from five independent groups in Brazil. We find that the application of a mapping exercise using the IPCC's climate risk framework supports learning about climate risk, as well as data interpretation, creativity, teamwork, communication, and critical thinking by the participants. This work merges the IPCC's climate risk framework and PBL for climate risk training. The proposed training enables the teaching of climate risk in stand-alone courses and professional development training in areas where climate is an embedded component.

Projected Impact of Heat on Mortality and Labour Productivity under Climate Change in Switzerland

Extreme temperatures have reached unprecedented levels in many regions of the globe due to climate change anda further increase is expected. Besides other consequences, high temperatures increase the mortality risk and severely affectthe labour productivity of workers. We perform a high-resolution spatial analysis to assess the impacts of heat on mortality and labour productivity in Switzerland and project their development under different Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios, considering that no socio-economic changes takes place. The model is based on the risk framework of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which combines the three risk components: Hazard, Exposure, and Vulnerability. We model the two impact categories in the same spatially explicit framework and we integrate uncertainties into the analysis through a Monte Carlo simulation. We model, that first, about 670 people die today per year because of heat in Switzerland. Second, the economic costs caused by losses in labour productivity amount to around CHF 413 million (approx. $ 465 million) per year. Should we remain on an RCP8.5 emissions pathway, these values may double (for mortality) or even triple (for labour productivity) by the end of the century. Under an RCP2.6 scenario impacts are expected to slightly increaseand peak around mid-century, when climate is assumed to stop warming. Even though uncertainties in the model are large, theunderlying trend in impacts is unequivocal. The results of the study are valuable information for political discussions and allowfor a better understanding of the cost of inaction.

Procurement Risk Framework: Guidance Note on Procurement

This guidance note describes ADB’s procurement risk framework for managing procurement risk throughout the procurement cycle. Effective risk management minimizes impacts on project objectives from adverse events. The guidance note describes how risks are identified, assessed, and managed at the country and sector/agency levels, and how those risks are used as inputs into the identification, assessment, and management of risk at the project level during procurement planning and through contract implementation.

Negatively buoyant CO2 solution sequestration in synformal traps

Dissolving CO2 into water or brine produces a denser fluid than the CO2-free equivalent at all salinity, temperature and pressure conditions relevant to sedimentary basins. Negative buoyancy of CO2 solutions opens the possibility of utilizing negative relief trapping configurations for CO2 sequestration, as opposed to structural highs conventionally sought for positively buoyant fluids such as hydrocarbons or pure CO2. Exploring sedimentary basins for negative buoyancy traps can readily utilize hydrocarbon exploration datasets and techniques. Some major systemic differences when exploring for negative as opposed to positive buoyancy traps are examined here. Trap spatial scale is a consideration due to the inherent long-wavelength synformal geometry of basins. Antiforms are areally restricted relative to synforms, which may be embedded within larger-scale synformal closure at length scales right up to that of the basin itself. Multiscale synformal structure varies with basin type and may not be fully identified due to truncation effects arising from data coverage limitations. Similar to hydrocarbon exploration, CO2 trap exploration must consider potential sequestration volumes in an uncertainty and risk framework. Charge risk is unnecessary in sequestration projects, however, the multiscale nature of synformal traps should be considered when estimating range of storage volumes.This article is part of the Energy Geoscience Series available at https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/energy-geoscience-series