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Background: Climate change is the 21 st century's greatest threat to health. Anaesthesia is responsible for high levels of waste production, significant greenhouse gas emissions and extensive energy consumption. Our aim was to design an instrument to assess attitudes and knowledge among anaesthetists as well as their organisation's readiness for change regarding climate action., Methods: In 2020, the Provider Education and Evaluation Project (PEEP) questionnaire was sent to anaesthetists working at a university hospital, which contains 65 items in five areas: demographics, personal attitudes, organisational readiness, opportunities, and specific anaesthesiologic knowledge regarding climate action. Except for two open text questions, all questions were closed questions., Results: 104 anaesthetists responded to the survey (response rate 62%). Environmental protection and sustainability were important to all participants (100%). Most felt threatened by the ongoing climate crisis (94.2%). While most participants agreed that their employer had the financial or technological capacities and that sustainability targets were compatible with core business activities (approval >60% for all), they felt unprepared and stated that they had too little time to consider environmental aspects during daily routines (disapproval >60% for all). Furthermore, knowledge on topics such as ongoing efforts to tackle climate change or the climate footprint of drugs and medical products, was rather scarce., Conclusion: The PEEP questionnaire is an applicable and viable tool to assess anaesthetists' knowledge and attitudes towards climate change and organisational readiness for change. While participants care about the climate crisis, organisational readiness was low, especially when it comes to staff readiness (i.e., skills and knowledge) and cultural readiness (i.e., shared values). These aspects need to be considered in order to successfully implement a carbon neutral health care system., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

Background: The decarbonization of the mobility sector is one of the main challenges in the context of climate mitigation. In Germany, as in many other countries, policy measures aiming to make the mobility system greener frequently fail to produce substantial results, not least due to a lack of support by large sections of the general public. Policy measures directed at reducing car traffic in particular are often met with indifference and resistance. The question thus arises: what basis do citizens use to form their (often negative) opinions about sustainable mobility policies? As a conceptual starting point for our empirical analysis, we draw on the frame concept and focus on people's frames of the politics of mobility. With "politics of mobility" we refer to everything people could consider as political with regard to mobility. We understand frames as culturally mediated patterns of interpretation that ultimately motivate and guide actions. Results: Based on interviews and focus group data gathered in the region of the city of Stuttgart (Germany), we identify two dominant frames as well as combinations of these frames by which people make sense of the activities of political actors in the field of mobility. In one frame, which we labeled "politics-as-actor", mobility politics are interpreted with reference to politics as some kind of monolithic abstract actor. In the other, which we labeled as "politics-as-staged-process", mobility politics are portrayed as an interest-driven, opaque process that only purport to being democratic. Conclusions: In terms of policy recommendations, we use our findings to derive suggestions for how to increase support for green mobility policies: transparent implementation of policy measures, pragmatic policy styles and the involvement of intermediaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity loss and climate change are deeply intertwined and constitute a complex and interdependent crisis. These interlinked sustainability issues need to be addressed through an integrated approach. However, governments have been slow to integrate the need to protect both climate and biodiversity into environmental governance. NGOs, as non-profit organisations promoting public good, are seen as having the potential to recognise and advocate for this much-needed holistic protection of climate and biodiversity. But to what extent and in what ways do NGOs recognise this climate-biodiversity nexus? This article addresses these questions through an analysis of 107 German climate NGOs, examining their 190 annual reports from two time periods, 2016/2017 and 2021/2022. We found that, while German climate NGOs have made significant progress in recognising the climate-biodiversity nexus, they lack recognition of the role of biodiversity in stabilising the climate and the unintended negative consequences of climate policies and measures for biodiversity, highlighting that NGOs are still far from being holistic environmental stewards. Climate NGOs need to integrate the interplay between climate and biodiversity objectives into their organisational activities and align their mandates to promote synergies and minimise trade-offs between climate and biodiversity actions. We suggest that one way forward is to increase collaboration between NGOs. NGOs could then complement each other's expertise and be better placed to jointly contribute to finding integrated solutions for climate and biodiversity protection and mainstreaming biodiversity into climate policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Germany, emissions from drained organic soils contributed approximately 53.7 Mio. t of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-eq) to the total national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2021. In addition to restoration measures, shifting management practices, rewetting, or using peatlands for paludiculture is expected to significantly reduce GHG emissions. The effects of climate change on these mitigation measures remains to be tested. In a 2017 experimental field study on agriculturally used grassland on organic soil, we assessed the effects of rewetting and of predicted climate warming on intensive grassland and on extensively managed sedge grassland (transplanted Carex acutiformis monoliths). The testing conditions of the two grassland types included drained versus rewetted conditions (annual mean water table of − 0.13 m below soil surface), ambient versus warming conditions (annual mean air temperature increase of + 0.8 to 1.3 °C; use of open top chambers), and the combination of rewetting and warming. We measured net ecosystem exchange of CO2, methane and nitrous oxide using the closed dynamic and static chamber method. Here, we report the results on the initial year of GHG measurements after transplanting adult Carex soil monoliths, including the controlled increase in water level and temperature. We observed higher N2O emissions than anticipated in all treatments. This was especially unexpected for the rewetted intensive grasslands and the Carex treatments, but largely attributable to the onset of rewetting coinciding with freeze–thaw cycles. However, this does not affect the overall outcomes on mitigation and adaptation trends. We found that warmer conditions increased total GHG emissions of the drained intensive grassland system from 48.4 to 66.9 t CO2-eq ha−1 year−1. The shift in grassland management towards Carex paludiculture resulted in the largest GHG reduction, producing a net cooling effect with an uptake of 11.1 t CO2-eq ha−1 year−1. Surprisingly, we found that this strong sink could be maintained under the simulated warming conditions ensuing an emission reduction potential of − 80 t CO2-eq ha−1 year−1. We emphasize that the results reflect a single initial measurement year and do not imply the permanence of the observed GHG sink function over time. Our findings affirm that rewetted peatlands with adapted plant species could sustain GHG mitigation and potentially promote ecosystem resilience, even under climate warming. In a warmer world, adaptation measures for organic soils should therefore include a change in management towards paludiculture. Multi-year studies are needed to support the findings of our one-year experiment. In general, the timing of rewetting should be considered carefully in mitigation measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We shed new light on a long-standing question in political science: When confronted with costly policy choices, do citizens form their preferences using material (economic) concerns or other-regarding motivations, such as the distribution of costs, and how are these moderated by political ideology? Using the case of carbon taxation, a widely advocated policy solution to climate change, we conducted survey experiments in Germany and the United States to assess the relative importance of these forms of preferences. The results show that individuals are primarily concerned with how a carbon tax would affect their individual income. There are also important cross-national differences with high-income German respondents being more receptive to redistributive policy design, especially in contrast to high-income Democrats who significantly decrease support for carbon taxation. These findings highlight how the constituencies generated by new policies can significantly alter the distribution of mass support for action on emerging societal problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mountain forests are plant diversity hotspots, but changing climate and increasing forest disturbances will likely lead to far‐reaching plant community change. Projecting future change, however, is challenging for forest understory plants, which respond to forest structure and composition as well as climate. Here, we jointly assessed the effects of both climate and forest change, including wind and bark beetle disturbances, using the process‐based simulation model iLand in a protected landscape in the northern Alps (Berchtesgaden National Park, Germany), asking: (1) How do understory plant communities respond to 21st‐century change in a topographically complex mountain landscape, representing a hotspot of plant species richness? (2) How important are climatic changes (i.e., direct climate effects) versus forest structure and composition changes (i.e., indirect climate effects and recovery from past land use) in driving understory responses at landscape scales? Stacked individual species distribution models fit with climate, forest, and soil predictors (248 species currently present in the landscape, derived from 150 field plots stratified by elevation and forest development, overall area under the receiving operator characteristic curve = 0.86) were driven with projected climate (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) and modeled forest variables to predict plant community change. Nearly all species persisted in the landscape in 2050, but on average 8% of the species pool was lost by the end of the century. By 2100, landscape mean species richness and understory cover declined (−13% and −8%, respectively), warm‐adapted species increasingly dominated plant communities (i.e., thermophilization, +12%), and plot‐level turnover was high (62%). Subalpine forests experienced the greatest richness declines (−16%), most thermophilization (+17%), and highest turnover (67%), resulting in plant community homogenization across elevation zones. Climate rather than forest change was the dominant driver of understory responses. The magnitude of unabated 21st‐century change is likely to erode plant diversity in a species richness hotspot, calling for stronger conservation and climate mitigation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Germany is known as a leader in energy transition, but the country keeps falling short of meeting stated objectives. While attention has been high on climate change related policy leadership, the competing domestic alliances in the field of energy transition have received scant attention. In Germany, the strong momentum of the conversion to renewable energy has been stalled in the second half of the 2010s. Enabled by an increasing weight of neoliberal economic concerns, traditional energy coalitions have managed to reshape the path of energy transition. In this article three competing discourse coalitions are introduced to examine their constituencies and projects in the field of energy and politics. It focuses on radical ecological forces around the Öko-Institut, environmental modernization capacities linked to Green Budget Germany and fossil interest groups intersecting with neoliberal academic and partisan think tanks. As such, the article opens a view on multiple contestations over Germany's Energiewende. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior evidence suggests that perspective-taking may promote pro-environmental behavior, at least for low-cost behaviors or local environmental problems. Climate change, however, requires costly mitigation efforts and is a global problem. Thus, in this study, we examine whether perspective-taking in the context of climate change is effective in promoting mitigation behaviors, including actual and/or costly behaviors, the mechanisms through which perspective-taking works, and if the distance to the person adversely affected by climate change matters for the effect. We conducted an online experiment with a non-student sample from Germany (n = 557), utilizing a 2 × 2 factorial design, to investigate the impact of perspective-taking and distance on three outcome measures: a climate donation, signing a petition, and approval of mitigation policies. We find that perspectivetaking does not promote these mitigation behaviors, yet it raises the degree perspective-takers value and - for close others - feel connected with the affected person. Exploratory analysis shows that dispositional perspective-taking and empathic concern are correlated with mitigation behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Der Moderne Staat is the property of Verlag Barbara Budrich GmbH and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To successfully battle climate change, it is crucial to reach people across political camps and national borders. Research from dual-party systems indicates that climate change communication is most effective when it addresses how climate action promotes recipients' political values. Yet, to our knowledge, there is no such evidence from multi-party systems. To fill this gap, we conducted three studies in two Central European, German-speaking countries: Germany and Austria. In Study 1, we framed conservative and liberal climate protection messages using values from Schwartz's Theory of Basic Human Values. Liberals agreed more with the liberally framed than with the conservatively framed climate protection message. In Study 2, we framed the climate protection message based on moral foundations. Conservative participants agreed more with the conservatively framed climate protection message than with the liberally framed one. Study 3 integrated values from multiple frameworks, and ultimately conservatives as well as liberals agreed more to climate protection statements that touched on values reflecting their political ideology. Thus, empirical findings from dual-party systems hold for countries with more than two parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adverse consequences of climate change often affect people and places far away from those that have the greatest capacity for mitigation. Several correlational and some experimental studies suggest that the willingness to take mitigation actions may diminish with increasing distance. However, the empirical findings are ambiguous. In order to investigate if and how socio-spatial distance to climate change effects plays a role for the willingness to engage in mitigation actions, we conducted an online experiment with a German population sample (n = 383). We find that the willingness to sign a petition for climate protection was significantly reduced when a person in India with a name of Indian origin was affected by flooding, as compared to a person in Germany with a name of German origin. Distance did not affect donating money to climate protection or approving of mitigation policies. Our results provide evidence for the existence of a negative effect of distance to climate change consequences on the willingness to engage in low-cost mitigation actions. Investigating explanations for such an effect, we find that it can be attributed to the spatial rather than the social dimension of distance. Moreover, we find some cautious evidence that people with strong racist attitudes react differently to the distance manipulations, suggesting a form of environmental racism that could also reduce mitigation action in the case of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using longitudinal data from two household surveys in 2017 and 2019, we analyze attitudes toward climate change and climate policy in Germany. We find that nearly 20% of respondents state that they do not believe in climate change, and more than 30% are doubtful that climate change is mainly caused by human action. Moreover, we detect that political orientation is strongly correlated with these attitudes, as respondents inclined to Germany's right-wing populist party AfD are substantially more climate-skeptical and object to climate policies more frequently. Even though our results show that climate change skepticism increased between 2017 and 2019, coinciding with the rise of the Fridays for Future movement, AfD voters did not move further away from the average respondent during this period. Moreover, fixed-effects estimations show that the climate attitudes of voters who switch to AfD during the study period hardly change, indicating that the orientation towards the AfD does not change climate attitudes. Instead, AfD might attract people who were already climate skeptical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental catastrophes, including the increased severity and frequency of climate extremes, can act as "windows of opportunities" that challenge citizens' mental models and motivate them to engage in reflective processes, challenging their pre-conceived ideas. Less well understood is whether experiencing changing weather conditions, common in mid-latitudes, can have a similar effect and increase the citizens' concerns about climate change and their willingness to accept more stringent climate policies. In this paper, we investigate the effects of changing seasonal temperature on the perceived seriousness of climate change and willingness to mitigate climate change. We use data from four yearly waves of a spatially explicit representative population survey in Germany and weather records from the postal code areas in which they live. To our knowledge, this study is the first analysis to link individual perceptions towards climate change and different mitigation options with seasonal temperature changes at specific locations in Europe. The analyzed perceptions were strongly influenced by socio-demographic characteristics and broader societal changes, as well as individual experiences of seasonal temperatures. The results show that experienced seasonal temperature change influences personal climate change concerns as well as the willingness to mitigate climate change, although with a weaker effect. The results indicate that it is the absolute temperature variation experienced that is important, rather than whether it is getting colder or warmer than usual. Considering the influences identified in this study can offer a window of opportunity for more stringent and targeted climate change policy. • Seasonal temperature changes influence climate change perception. • Effects can offer a window of opportunity for more stringent climate change policy. • Governmental mitigation policy solutions less supported than self-determined options. • Perceptions influenced by broader societal changes as well as individual experiences. • Need for targeted climate change communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even throughout a global pandemic, climate change continues to be a fiercely discussed topic—both politically and legally—the world over. Particularly in light of the many Covid-19 related financial aid programs (including transnational ones) and the associated economic stabilization and reconstruction plans, a sustainable climate policy and legal order should be expected to play a role for an economy that has fallen into a slump. Nevertheless, a lively discussion on how best to achieve climate protection continues to take place in already established systems such as the private law system. Here, as far as climate change is concerned, tort law appears to be the focus of these discussions. The extent to which tort law and the issue of climate change can be brought together is also increasingly being discussed in Germany. This article attempts to shed light on the questions of how tort law could contribute to the mitigation of climate change and how climate change could fit into the law of torts of the German civil law legal system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strong public support is a prerequisite for ambitious and thus costly climate change mitigation policy, and strong public concern over climate change is a prerequisite for policy support. Why, then, do most public opinion surveys indicate rather high levels of concern and rather strong policy support, while de facto mitigation efforts in most countries remain far from ambitious? One possibility is that survey measures for public concern fail to fully reveal the true attitudes of citizens due to social desirability bias. In this paper, we implemented list-experiments in representative surveys in Germany and the United States (N = 3620 and 3640 respectively) to assess such potential bias. We find evidence that people systematically misreport, that is, understate their disbelief in human caused climate change. This misreporting is particularly strong amongst politically relevant subgroups. Individuals in the top 20% of the income distribution in the United States and supporters of conservative parties in Germany exhibit significantly higher climate change skepticism according to the list experiment, relative to conventional measures. While this does not definitively mean that climate skepticism is a widespread phenomenon in these countries, it does suggest that future research should reconsider how climate change concern is measured, and what subgroups of the population are more susceptible to misreporting and why. Our findings imply that public support for ambitious climate policy may be weaker than existing survey research suggests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proliferative kidney disease (PKD) caused by the myxozoan parasite Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae is an emerging salmonid disease implicated in recent declines in salmonid populations. Laboratory experiments have shown that the clinical symptoms of PKD exacerbate with increasing temperature. However, empirical evidence for a relationship between climate change and PKD driven declines in wild salmonid stocks is scarce.The current study uses both empirical data and ecological niche modelling to extrapolate future changes in temperature and precipitation on the spread of PKD in relation to changes in suitability of rivers for its primary bryozoan and secondary salmonid hosts.A 20‐year dataset on brown trout density using standardised method shows a decline of more than 50% in the population of the river Wutach, south‐western Germany at 536–755 m elevation. The decline coincides with higher prevalence of PKD. This decline was temperature related and driven by reduced local survival of parr to yearlings. Kidney hyperplasia was highest at low elevations and correlated negatively with trout density.Niche models based on state‐wide data show strong overlap in the areas suitable for T. bryosalmonae and its primary bryozoan hosts, and a strong link with temperature. Projections based on moderate to high emission‐case climate change scenarios predict a 50%–82% decrease in the area suitable for salmonids within this century, linked to PKD.The empirical data identify temperature‐mediated PKD as the underlying cause of the population decline. This relationship was corroborated by the niche modelling results. The highest losses are expected in projected salmonid suitable areas where salmonid habitats currently overlap with areas suitable for T. bryosalmonae.With ongoing climate change, both current and future populations are at severe risk to T. bryosalmonae and its associated disease PKD. Conservation efforts of salmonid stocks are dependent on climate mitigation and measures to help salmonids adapt to the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest management affects carbon sequestration (mitigation) and resilience of forest ecosystems (adaptation) under climate change. Therefore, the efforts to integrate these two approaches have been made by the political arrangements to seek the synergy effects and deal with trade-offs. To study the state of the art linkages and forest policies to realize both adaptation and mitigation, we systematically review the literature highlighting the topic (136 publications) and outline two different approaches from Germany and Japan as countries with substantial forest resources and high influences on international forest policies and wood trade. We identify three linkages: (1) an ecosystem (based) approach assuming that a resilient ecosystem (adaptation), has high potential as a carbon sink (mitigation), (2) a sustainable forest management (SFM) aiming for enhancing forests' resilience and carbon sink potential simultaneously, and (3) a cross-sectoral approach generating synergies among multiple sectors of agriculture, forestry, urban design, and nature conservation. We find that a significant objective is still SFM for sustaining the forest area andwood production, where SFM examples in Germany and Japan exemplify contributions to carbon sinks and ongoing disaster risk management, respectively. Overall, the current differentiated objectives of SFM do not underpin the twofold approach and their synergy effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Company cars have received considerable attention because of their partial tax-exemption and the changes in travel behaviour they stimulate, including car model choices, distances driven, and car ownership patterns. This paper is the first to present evidence on actual transport behaviour change, based on mobility and fuel diaries, and comparing a sample of 624 company cars and 9328 private cars in Germany. Analysis confirms that company cars belong to the more heavily motorized car segments (with an average 97 kW, as opposed to 79 kW of private cars), and are driven more than private cars (24,672 km per year, compared to 12,828 km per year for private cars). Company car benefits also increase average household vehicle numbers by 25%. Results show that it is imperative to distinguish company cars of company owners relative to those driven by employees, as negative externalities increase significantly where company cars are used by the latter. Abolishing company car benefits could significantly reduce emissions from passenger road transport and stimulate change in the country's automotive industries towards a lower-carbon path. As Germany is not currently on track to meet its climate mitigation targets, this would be a timely policy shift. Key policy insights Company car benefits increase transport demand, car ownership, and average vehicle fleet engine power. These effects are particularly relevant for employees. Company cars have, in spite of their larger size and greater engine power, a (modestly) better fuel economy than private cars, possibly because they represent more recent and hence more efficient car models. A policy focus on vehicle fuel efficiency improvements will fail to reduce the German car fleet's CO2 emissions to a sustainable level. Abolishing company car benefits could yield a significant reduction in GHG emissions from passenger road transport. Company car subsidies are an out-dated mode of support for the fossil-fuel based automotive industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate models project higher temperatures and a substantial net water deficit during the summer months over Germany until the end of the 21st century. The agricultural sector is particularly vulnerable to changing weather and climate conditions. In this study, we examine the role of irrigation for potato yields as a climate change adaptation measure in Northeast Lower Saxony (Germany). The region represents the largest irrigated area in Germany and is one of the main growing areas of potatoes. We develop a statistical multivariate regression model to investigate whether regional climate and irrigation data at the monthly and county level are suitable to describe potato yield variability from 1978 to 2018. Irrigation is estimated based on the climatic water balance and crop water demand. These estimates are calibrated against irrigation data from local agencies to account for realistic monthly water withdrawals. We analyze future yield changes based on climate model projections for the 21st century and different irrigation scenarios. We find that the potato yield will decrease significantly by 18% on average until 2050 with climate projection uncertainty of ±6.4% under the high emission scenario RCP 8.5 and without irrigation. Irrigation at current levels could compensate for about 54% of these yield losses. Doubling the amount of irrigation minimizes yield losses by as much as 80%. Under the low (middle) emission scenario RCP 2.6 (RCP 4.5), potato yield are projected to decrease moderately by 4.5% ± 3.4% (5.4% ± 2.8%) with irrigation at current levels. We show that the yield losses mainly originate from higher temperatures during the summer. Our analysis indicates that the capacity of irrigation to minimize yield losses is limited. Strengthening climate change mitigation efforts may be more effective in preventing yield losses. However, the effect of elevated CO 2 might buffer the high yield losses, especially in RCP 8.5. The studies supports farmers and decision makers in assessing future risks in potato yields. It can guide policymakers in allocating economic resources to cope with climate change. [Display omitted] • Potato yields in Germany will decrease sharply under climate change for RCP8.5. • Irrigation at current levels mitigates about half of the yield losses. • Irrigation potential is limited because it can not buffer high temperatures. • Climate change mitigation and other adaption actions need to complement irrigation. • The effect of elevated CO2 might buffer high yield losses, especially in RCP8.5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both crises, the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic need collective mitigation support. In the context of COVID-19, the support of mitigation strategies has found its way to the forefront of debates. Our aim was to contribute empirical evidence to this debate by investigating mitigation behaviors across both crises and discussing similarities and differences. To this end, we drew on the Norm Activation Model and the concept of Social Identity to understand individuals' support of mitigation strategies in the climate crisis and their support of governmental strategies to mitigate the spread of the virus. Data were gathered within a Germany-wide survey (N = 3092) carried out in June and July 2020. Three predictors significantly explained the support of mitigation strategies in both crises: (1) The awareness that the entire society is affected by the pandemic emerged as the strongest predictor for support of COVID-19 mitigation strategies, whereas (2) social identification with others making efforts to mitigate the climate crisis was the strongest predictor for support of climate crisis mitigation strategies. (3) Efficacy expectations that together with others one can make a substantial contribution to mitigate the respective crisis predicted support of mitigation strategies in the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis to similar proportions. The results point to the need for targeting the communication of mitigation strategies in a pandemic on raising awareness for the collective nature of the problem whereas strengthening efficacy expectations and feelings of belonging, e.g. through participation processes, could generally strengthen the support of mitigation strategies in both crises. • In both crises, measure support was linked to problem awareness, efficacy and identification. • Problem awareness was strongest predictor for support in the COVID-19 pandemic. • For support in climate crisis social identification was strongest predictor. • Points to the need for different strategies of communication of measures. • Focus on awareness in COVID-19 pandemic and on efficacy and identification in climate crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have analysed the environmental impact of vegan, vegetarian, or reduced meat diets. To date, literature has not evaluated how diet shifts affect environmental impacts by utilising portfolios which reflect personal nutrition preferences. Further, changing diets could alter the available land for non-food uses. This paper defines novel diet portfolios to outline alternative diet transitions and choices within the population and finds their effect on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, primary energy use, and land use in Germany. The aim of this study is to capture how these diet shifts affect land availability and increase the options for land-based climate change mitigation strategies. To do so, a contextualisation is made to compare the use of freed-up land for afforestation or biomethane production (with and without carbon capture and storage). The investigated diet portfolios lead to a reduction of the investigated impacts (GHG emissions: 7–67%; energy use: 5–46%; land use: 6–64%). Additionally, afforestation of freed-up land from each diet portfolio leads to further emission removals of 4–37%. In comparison, using the land to produce energy crops for biomethane production could lead to 2–23% further CO2-eq emission reductions when replacing fossil methane. If biomethane production is paired with carbon capture and storage, emission abatement is increased to 3–34%. This research indicates various short-term pathways to reduce GHG emissions with portfolio diet shifts. Utilising freed-up land for climate change mitigation strategies could prove essential to meet climate targets, but trade-offs with, e.g. biodiversity and ecosystem services exist and should be considered. • Diet portfolios are used to represent realistic population diets. • Diet portfolios include a mixture of 12 different diets. • GHG emissions decrease by 67% if the population adopts a Vegan diet. • Afforestation removes almost double the emissions compared to biomethane. • BECCS has similar GHG abatement to afforestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is heat becoming a major threat to cities? Following the heat wave in Europe in 2003, which is estimated to have caused the deaths of 70,000 people, municipal authorities began to develop adaptation and mitigation plans and programs. Legal obligations to consider climate change within various development projects have been defined, e.g. by the latest amendment of the EU EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) Directive (2014/52/EU) and the Federal Building Code (BauGB §1a (5)). However, urban heat hazards have not yet received as much attention as, for example, carbon dioxide emissions as drivers of global warming. Dense urban structures, high buildings, dark surfaces, and high population densities trigger urban heat effects. With about 3/4 of Europeans living in cities, measures to reduce heat-related impacts are needed. This paper evaluates how German cities have implemented measures towards climate change adaptation. The results show that 24 out of 30 cities have developed mitigation and/or adaptation plans, with a majority focusing on mitigating 2, indicating less awareness of urban heat hazards. Moreover, we found elaborate and comprehensive examples which might serve as blue-prints for adaptation strategies. Based on the inhomogeneous scope of the different plans and programs, there remains a need for guidance and more knowledge exchange among the cities on mitigation/adaptation options and preferably information on their effectiveness, to further assist cities in tackling heat stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the advantages of applying the concept of social-ecological resilience (SER) and the related thinking in transdisciplinary research. The theoretical reflections are exemplified by transdisciplinary research experiences using the concept of SER as a bridging concept in the field of climate-change adaptation instead of developing a new and very context-specific conceptual bridge. The findings are based on ontological reflections concerning the complex and hybrid phenomenon of climate change and the need for transdisciplinary research as well as on reflections on the performed interdisciplinary research and the exploratory transdisciplinary research approach with practitioners from the German administration. The experiences so far have shown that it was more focused on the general ideas of social-ecological resilience thinking instead of using the concept of SER as an analytical tool. We conclude that the use of a common conceptual framework in general and of social-ecological resilience thinking in particular offers tangible advantages in transdisciplinary research dealing with climate change and adaptation to the impacts of climate change. In our case, social-ecological resilience thinking helped-after translation into practical terms-to open the field for further consideration from the very beginning as well as to open the space for common creative work; to define the problem; and to choose the relevant variables to look at. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, Germany has created a sophisticated climate change legislation framework which in many instances implements international and particularly EU requirements. In some areas, Germany has played a pioneer role in shaping the development of EU law. As an environmental problem of truly global scale, climate change mitigation is heavily reliant on the achievement of international consensus. But it also requires effective, level-specific solutions to problems at all rungs of the multi-level policy hierarchy comprising the international community, the European Union and the Federal Republic of Germany with its sixteen states and numerous cities and municipalities. Much progress has therefore already been made, but efforts must be greatly intensified right across the board. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The paper discusses opportunities for integration of the climate protection strategy declared by the German government into spatial and urban land-use plans in Germany. The paper gives a brief overview of German climate protection related legislation, gives some statistics on energy demand in the housing sector in Germany, and identifies opportunities for climate change mitigation in urban areas through enhanced spatial planning and energy-efficient homes. Drawing on statistical analysis the paper identifies discrepancies between trends in population densities and actual housing floor space. The paper further identifies opportunities for increasing heating efficiency of houses by managing the spatial arrangement of apartments and buildings. The overall conclusion of the paper is that adjustments in the spatial planning legal base in Germany are necessary to integrate specific climate protection tools that will allow an increase in energy efficiency in housing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Germany and Great Britain together emit one third of all EU emissions. Achieving the overall EU targets will thus require a transformation particularly in these two countries. There is no effective climate protection without addressing the biggest emitters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are numerous studies assessing the influence of individual sociological, political, and demographic factors on attitudes towards climate change. However, there is still a need for a deeper understanding of the reasons behind these attitudes and for research based on results from more than one country. This study empirically examines a range of psychosocial and demographic determinants of support for climate policy (renewable energy, energy efficiency and carbon tax) in Germany and Poland (n = 1969). The results show that the societies of both countries, despite significant differences in income, culture and political stance on climate change, similarly support implementation of climate policies. For both countries valid predictors of support are: awareness, emotional response to climate crisis, sense of control, and belief in effectiveness of solutions; the study also shows predictors relevant in only one country. Factor analysis identified similar dimensions of attitudes toward climate change in both countries. The main findings show that support for climate policy is high in both countries and that the public is ready to accept more ambitious climate goals. Despite the differences between the countries, a coherent climate policy seems justified. The study also shows differences between the countries and provides recommendations for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Climate impact analysis of air transport from Germany. • Scenario dependent forecast of passenger flights from Germany. • Scenario dependent forecast of specific emissions by traffic regions. • Focus on both CO 2 and NO x emissions. • Forecast of climate impact effects for three scenarios up to the year 2100. Transport is considered to be a major contributor to emissions, resulting in a deterioration of local air quality and contributing to global climate change. The present paper focuses on how passenger flights departing from German airports contribute to global climate change. We describe in detail, how traffic forecasts for three scenarios entitled Reference, Free Play and Regulated Shift have been developed and how the resultant emissions have been quantified. Subsequently, we applied a climate model, providing insights into the very long-term climate effects under different assumptions on emissions up to the year 2100. The modelling framework shows that the development of emissions results from complex interactions of demand development and supply decisions, which highly influence the climate impact. With this paper, we show that an integrated, multi-disciplinary analysis can create valuable indicators and advice for transport policy decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the different stakeholder based discourses and challenges around the Franconian Lake District (FLD), a recently constructed large reservoir system in Germany. The construction and operation of reservoirs represent a massive alteration of their natural and social environments leading to discourses and potential conflicts between a wide scope of heterogeneous interest patterns. Studies have shown that large reservoirs can be an important contributor to water supply, irrigation, energy storage and therefore climate change mitigation on a global scale, which brings these conflicting interests to a broader societal concern. Yet, information about conflicts around existing (German) reservoirs is limited. To assess which issues and conflicts appear on the daily agenda and how they are perceived, communicated and addressed by the stakeholders, a total of 609 articles in the Nürnberger Nachrichten and 22 semi-structured expert interviews were analysed, using qualitative content analysis. The results show that discourses at FLD are predominantly determined by economic factors. Management issues are dominated by discussions about cyanobacteria, which can pose a health risk, thereby impeding recreational use of the lakes and consequently causing economic losses and an image problem for the region. The issue is also strongly interlinked with other aspects of concern and therefore one of the main challenges at the FLD. Due to the construction of the lakes and the evolving strong tourism sector, the formerly agricultural region was subject to a major structural change linking together a very heterogeneous set of interests. The results of this study can help in establishing a management framework to suit all stakeholders and possibly be transferrable to similar projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is supposed to exacerbate conflicts arising from resource scarcity and contrasting objectives. Some European authors highlighted already the need to look at conflicting interests when elaborating and applying adaptation and mitigation strategies. This study analysed the level of consideration of these emerging topics arising through increased competition of resources, contrasting interests, climate change adaptation as well as mitigation measures for Austria and Southern Germany in detail. Furthermore, it surveyed the application of possible approaches for conflict prevention and mitigation in an international perspective and additionally examined the particular role of SEA as one of the instruments to cope with conflicts related to climate change. The results express the strong need to look at emerging conflicts in cross-sectoral and sectoral adaptation early enough and a strategic perspective. Based on the content analysis of the Austrian and German adaptation and mitigation documents, expert interviews as well as the international literature review, a rather low consideration of these emerging topics as well as approaches to cope with them became evident. In response to these deficiencies, the paper introduces a first framework to identify and tackle emerging and exacerbated conflicts related to climate change. This novel framework is internationally applicable. In the final step of the framework approaches to prevent and minimize conflicts are the key topic. Among these approaches, SEA could take a leading role in case mandatory planning instruments cover the topics related to potential or existing exacerbated fields of conflicts. Overall a mix of formal and informal instruments and a more cross-sectoral perspective seems necessary. To this aim, the paper introduces four main guiding principles to consider and minimize up-coming conflicting topics. • Consideration of cc related conflicts is very diverse in adaptation documents. • A more strategic view of emerging conflicts is of particular importance. • This paper presents a novel framework to identify and tackle conflicts. • SEA can partly address these conflicting topics depending on its role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Invoking health benefits to promote climate-friendly household behavior has three unique advantages: (i) health co-benefits accrue directly to the acting individual, they are "private goods" rather than public ones; (ii) the evidence base for, and magnitude of health co-benefits is well-established; and (iii) the idea of a healthy life-style is well-engrained in public discourse, much more so than that of a climate-friendly life-style. In previous research, assessing the influence of information on health effects on people's motivation to adopt mitigation actions, health co-benefits for the individual were typically confounded with collective health co-benefits, for example from pollution reduction. The present research aims to overcome this limitation by providing information on individual health co-benefits that are unconditional on the actions of others (direct health co-benefits). We report effects of this kind of health information on stated willingness to adopt mitigation actions as well as on simulation-based carbon emission reductions in a pre-registered experimental setting among 308 households in 4 mid-size case-study cities in 4 European high-income countries: France, Germany, Norway and Sweden. For each mitigation action from the sectors food, housing, and mobility, half of the sample received the amount of CO 2 equivalents (CO 2 -eq) saved and the financial costs or savings the respective action generated. The other half additionally received information on direct health co-benefits, where applicable. For households receiving information on direct health co-benefits, we find a higher mean willingness to adopt food and housing actions, and a greater proportion very willing to adopt one or more mitigation actions (OR 1.86, 95% CI 1.1, 3.12); and a greater simulated reduction in overall carbon footprint: difference in percent reduction -2.70%, (95% CI -5.34, -0.04) overall and -4.45%, (95% CI -8.26, -0.64) for food. Our study is the first to show that providing information on strictly unconditional, individual health co-benefits can motivate households in high-income countries to adopt mitigation actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]