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This article raises the question whether there is in fact a specific field within civil engineering that may be connected to the impact of Covid-19, namely radon exposure in interior spaces in certain parts of the world. Radon exposure is particularly high in regions that have seen high mortality rates related to SARS-CoV-2. Examples of these include the Bergamo region in Italy and the Erz Mountains, the Fichtel Mountains or the Bavarian Forest in south-eastern Germany. But is there actually a correlation, or is this merely a coincidence? Is there in fact a causality? If so, constructional measures to protect against the decay products of radon in interior spaces would gain a new significance that goes beyond the realms of current knowledge. This article cannot provide a definitive answer to these questions due to the current patchiness of data in Germany. Nevertheless, this paper will use the data available to demonstrate that there is evidence of a possible correlation or causality between the two, and that this merits further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article raises the question whether there is in fact a specific field within civil engineering that may be connected to the impact of Covid-19, namely radon exposure in interior spaces in certain parts of the world. Radon exposure is particularly high in regions that have seen high mortality rates related to SARS-CoV-2. Examples of these include the Bergamo region in Italy and the Erz Mountains, the Fichtel Mountains or the Bavarian Forest in south-eastern Germany. But is there actually a correlation, or is this merely a coincidence? Is there in fact a causality? If so, constructional measures to protect against the decay products of radon in interior spaces would gain a new significance that goes beyond the realms of current knowledge. This article cannot provide a definitive answer to these questions due to the current patchiness of data in Germany. Nevertheless, this paper will use the data available to demonstrate that there is evidence of a possible correlation or causality between the two, and that this merits further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a bibliometric analysis of social life cycle assessment (S-LCA), which has gained importance due to the need to know the social impact of business operations on persons. Using the PRISMA methodology, we identified 190 documents regarding SLCA in the SCOPUS database and were analyzed with the VOSviewer software. Specifically, the most cited documents, authors, organizations, and countries are analyzed and the most productive according to the number published. This analysis included the most used keywords are analyzed on the S-LCA topic. Findings indicate that this topic has become relevant since 2007, and currently, the number of scientific publications has an exponential trend. It has been identified that Traverso M. is the author who has 19 products with 603 citations; however, Guyton R.A. is the most cited author with only two papers and 813 citations. The institution that publishes the most on this topic is the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Spain), with three papers and 108 citations. Authors from 46 countries were identified, but the most productive are Italy and Germany, and the most cited are the United States of America and Germany. A total of 1625 keywords were identified, but life cycle assessment, social life cycle assessment, and sustainable development are the most used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building an energy system compatible with the Paris Agreement requires large-scale investment in renewable energy technologies (RET). Designing effective energy policies, therefore, requires an understanding of the dynamics of RET investment risk. This study draws on RET project data and 40 interviews with investors in Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. We show that risk premiums and investment risk have declined for solar photovoltaics and onshore wind technologies in all three countries. Increasing technology reliability at a lower cost, data availability, better assessment tools and credible and stable policies were crucial elements of this declining investment risk. We identify the five most relevant risk types (curtailment, policy, price, resource and technology), show their relative importance over time and use network analysis of interview transcripts to identify the drivers behind the observed changes. While technology and policy risks have declined substantially over time, curtailment and price risks are becoming relatively more important. From these insights, we derive recommendations for policymakers aiming to accelerate the transition towards a Paris-compatible energy system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]