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Climate change and the resulting extreme weather events bring significant economic losses and many unstable factors. It is an important means to actively seek environmental protection and climate governance countermeasures to meet severe challenges. As an environmental protection tool widely used by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), environmental taxes are expected to play an important role in combating climate change and reducing extreme weather events. Based on public goods theory, collective cooperation theory, externality theory and double dividend theory of environmental taxes, this paper takes 36 OECD countries as research samples and empirically tests the role of environmental taxes in mitigating climate change process and reducing extreme weather events through the establishment of panel Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. The empirical results show that the environmental taxes on the whole is conducive to reducing the frequency of abnormal temperature weather and plays a positive role in reducing carbon dioxide emissions in OECD countries. Further research shows that environmental budget and environmental technologies play a positive role in the process of environmental taxes to delay climate change and reduce extreme weather events. In other words, we should attach importance to the investment of environmental protection funds and the research and development of environmental protection technology while carrying out environmental taxes. The robustness test shows that the main regression results of this paper have strong robustness. The research in this paper enriches theories and existing literature related to environmental taxes and climate change, and provides new research ideas and policy guidance for delaying the process of climate change and responding to extreme weather events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions and climate change risk have become constraints on global economic sustainable development. Environmental regulation (ER) is a key method for achieving synergy in CO 2 and pollution reduction in China. This paper is the first study to explore the effects of ER on CO 2 emissions by exploiting the National Environmental Protection 11th Five-Year Plan (NEP11-FYP). The implementation of the NEP11-FYP significantly decreases CO 2 emissions by 19.73% in key environmental cities relative to other cities. Heterogeneity analyses suggest that this negative impact is larger in western cities and cities with more pressure to reduce CO 2 emissions. Scale effects, structural effects, and technical effects might be three potential influencing channels through which ER contributes to the CO 2 reduction effect. In addition, the results of the spatial externality of the NEP11-FYP demonstrate a positive spillover effect in neighboring cities within a distance of 300 km and a negative spillover effect in cities more than 500 km away. Our empirical findings provide policy implications for implementing low-carbon transition strategies and reducing CO 2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to explore how environmental protection expenditures (EPE) affect innovation and investigate the potential causal relationship between the two variables. The novelty and main contribution of our paper to the literature stems from the fact that we look at total environmental protection expenditures from both the public and private sectors, and distinguishing between corporations and households in the private sectors. We also consider both inputs and outputs of innovation and address potential endogeneity issues in this relationship, which are both lacking in the current literature. Using a panel of EU countries over the period 2006–2020, this study generally finds a positive impact of EPE on innovation after controlling for the effects of trade, credit, education and inflation on innovation, and using the System GMM estimator to treat endogeneity. Moreover, EPE from the government sector drives the bulk of this positive impact. The core results are robust to alternative measures of innovation, alternative estimation techniques that address endogeneity (i.e., the Lewbel 2SLS, Mundlak, and Hausman-Taylor estimators) and the moderation effects of Climate Change Performance (CCPI). This study also provides a useful guide to policy makers engaged in environmental planning. • We evaluate the impact of environmental protection expenditures (EPE) on innovation in mainly EU countries. • We use longitudinal dataset for the group of EU countries over the period 2006–2020. • We find a positive impact of EPE on innovation. • The results are robust for observable heterogeneity, alternative measures of innovation and estimation techniques. • This study provides a useful guide to policy makers engaged in environmental planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Expert technical and economic rationalities overlook political aspects of sustainability. • Local experiences reveal structures and processes that shape inequitable outcomes. • Sustainable developmentality creates a triple-bind for rural mountain residents. • The triple-bind contributes to large numbers migrating from mountain dwellings. • Mountain migration and land abandonment is a political not an inevitable process. Sustainability challenges persist in the central Indian Himalayas (CIH) despite an array of solutions proffered by external experts. This paper interrogates the 'sustainability gaze' of external experts – which reflects attempts to reconcile neoliberal economic growth with environmental conservation within the logics of technical and biophysical rationalities - by exploring local experiences of rapid and uncertain social and environmental change. Three strands of policy and practice shape the gaze: (i) natural hazard mitigation for climate change adaptation; (ii) reducing social vulnerability through pro-poor development; and (iii) increasing resilience through environmental management and conservation. Results challenge narratives that overpopulation causes environmental degradation and changing patterns of migration are a natural process of modernisation in the CIH. Alternative local narratives highlight haphazard and inequitable economic growth, lack of mountain planning and disaster management, inadequate social welfare programmes, and monkey relocation policies as the major sustainability challenges. The paper discusses how the gaze produces 'sustainable developmentality' - a depoliticising process that cultivates multiple and conflicting mountain subjectivities, namely: (i) active community members responsible for mitigating natural hazards, (ii) productive farmers and flexible waged labourers, and (iii) custodians of the environment. This creates a triple-bind for smallholders which has forced huge numbers to migrate from their mountain dwellings with unsustainable outcomes. Exploring local perspectives re-politicises the debate, exposing the contradictions and tensions of the gaze and the broader systemic issues of power and inequity the gaze overlooks. Such insights are crucial for rendering development policies more relevant to mountain residents of the CIH and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The potential of pine wastes for carbon-rich biochar production is explored. • Advancements in biochar production technologies are emphasized. • Biochar properties are highly influenced by temperature, heating rate, and inert conditions. • Selection of upgradation technique depends on specific biochar application. • Solar pyrolysis demonstrates great potential as a low-cost biochar production technology. Pine wastes, including pine needles, cones, and wood, are abundantly produced as an agroforestry by-product globally and have shown tremendous potential for biochar production. Various thermochemical conversion technologies have exhibited promising results in converting pine wastes to biochar, displaying impressive performance. Hence, this review paper aims to investigate the possibilities and recent technological advancements for synthesizing biochar from pine waste. Furthermore, it explores techniques for enhancing the properties of biochar and its integrated applications in various fields, such as soil and water remediation, carbon sequestration, battery capacitor synthesis, and bio-coal production. Finally, the paper sheds light on the limitations of current strategies, emphasizing the need for further research and study to address the challenges in pine waste-based biochar synthesis. By promoting sustainable and effective utilization of pine wastes, this review contributes to environmental conservation and resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies how climate change affects green technology innovation among enterprises from the perspective of attention to global warming. The results show that abnormal temperatures significantly inhibit the green technology innovation output of local enterprises. Our conclusion still holds after a series of robustness checks. This effect is more pronounced for nonstate-owned enterprises and manufacturing enterprises. Moreover, CSR and information opacity aggravate the inhibitory effect of abnormal temperatures on green innovation. We find that abnormal temperatures increase the short-term environmental protection investment of enterprises in a region, which has a crowding out effect on R&D investment and inhibits green innovation. This study helps to deepen the understanding of climate risk and enterprise green innovation and provides an empirical basis for how to carry out environmental regulation to promote sustainable development. • This study explores the impact of climate change attention on corporate green innovation. • Abnormal temperature is used as a proxy for climate change attention (Choi et al., 2020). • We find that abnormal temperature significantly reduces corporate green innovation. • This effect is more pronounced for nonstate-owned enterprises and manufacturing enterprises. • CSR and information opacity aggravate the inhibitory effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Review of green finance (GF) and green innovation (GI) as catalysts for circularity. • Conceptual framework to explore the potential circularity and environmental benefits. • Future research directions to understand the pathway for GF and GI in carbon neutrality field. • Effective involvement of different stakeholders in the implementation of GF and GI. There is growing attention from governments and regulators towards crucial matters such as climate change and global warming, resulting in a pressing need to investigate the factors that make it possible for businesses to engage in green finance (GF). The externality of environmental pollution prioritizes the need of green innovation (GI) in public management. GF distributes financial resources to the research and development (R&D) of clean energy and environmentally friendly goods and processes; it is complementary to the GI process for environmental protection. GF policies help to alleviate the impacts of financial constraints and GI impaired industries involving new products, processes, services and the global market. To better understand how GF and GI have functioned as a catalyst for circular economy practices, this paper seeks to present a historical and contemporary overview of these concepts. The research is thoroughly dissected by a systematic literature evaluation of articles from 2016 to 2023 that appear in peer-reviewed journals and are indexed in the SCOPUS database. To attain supply chain circularity, this article encompasses four major research themes concerning the adoption of GF and green technologies. The research also includes a network analysis of shortlisted articles to examine the overall citation trends. It is shown that several institutional theories are associated with the investigated area. As a final step, a framework is provided to illustrate how GF and GIs might be used to achieve supply chain circularity. The research findings provide a novel concept related to GF within the context of GI which are significant for environmentalists, policymakers, green investors, and researchers. Through its findings, the study provides a conceptual framework that promotes sustainable strategies to effectively balance financial considerations and environmental innovation. It helps to leverage the potential of green research and practice to create value for businesses and to benefit society at large. The analysis provides an unexplored and significant contribution to current literature in terms of delivering evidence of the past and present approaches to GF and GI in a circular economy. The results of this study will attract the attention of policymakers and stakeholders to develop and combine the two concepts in research and practice to attain environmental balance in the circular economy and to promote long term sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Asian air pollutants exert substantial effect on the climate and environment change over the Tibetan Plateau (TP). This paper investigates the trans-boundary transport of PM 10 , PM 2.5 , and O 3 from South Asia to the TP via WRF-Chem sensitive analysis. It is found that PM 10 , PM 2.5 , and O 3 over South Asia are mainly sourced from anthropogenic sources. South Asian emissions contribute up to 54% of PM 10 (PM 2.5) in the TP in the pre-monsoon season. For O 3 , the highest contribution of 18.13% is in the monsoon season, while the lowest contribution of 8.67% is in the winter season. To evaluate the respective contributions of anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions in South Asia to PM 10 , PM 2.5 , and O 3 in the TP, anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions in South Asia are considered separately. The results show that the largest percentage contribution of PM 10 (PM 2.5) from South Asian anthropogenic emissions to PM 10 (PM 2.5) in the TP with value of 35.86% (37.77%) occurs in winter, while the lowest percentage contribution of 16.52% (16.77%) appears in the monsoon season. For O 3 , the largest contribution of 17.74% from South Asian anthropogenic emissions appears in the monsoon season, whereas the lowest contribution of 8.59% occurs in winter. Compared to the anthropogenic emissions, the biomass burning emissions in South Asia have a relative less contribution to PM 10 , PM 2.5 , and O 3 in the TP. The largest contribution of PM 10 (PM 2.5) from South Asian biomass burning emissions to PM 10 (PM 2.5) in the TP is 20.04% (18.37%) in the pre-monsoon season. Conversely, the lowest contribution of 0.58% (0.53) appears in the monsoon season. O 3 from South Asian biomass burning emissions contributes <1% to O 3 in the TP in each season, implying that the biomass burning emissions in South Asia have little effect on O 3 in the TP. This study is of great significance to the ecological environment protection for the TP. • Contributions of South Asian emissions to PM 10 , PM 2.5 , and O 3 in the TP are quantified. • Anthropogenic emissions in South Asia have a larger contribution to PM 10 , PM 2.5 , and O 3 in the TP. • O 3 from South Asian biomass burning emissions contributes <1% to O 3 in the Tibetan Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Transdisciplinary research has been introduced as an approach to integrate different bodies of knowledge to learn and to develop solutions towards socio-ecological transformations. In these concepts, broad stakeholder involvement is intended to promote knowledge integration, consensus formation and activation of local actors to initiate and advance learning and change processes. In doing so, however, transdisciplinary processes enter societal battlegrounds and meet conflicting interest and knowledge claims. Thus, building on the discussion on transdisciplinarity in the context of sustainability-related research, the paper seeks to understand when and why which types of conflicts emerge in sustainability-related transdisciplinary research, how they affect knowledge integration, and how they can be resolved. It develops a categorization of conflicts including differing values, conflicting interests, dissimilar claims of legitimacy, and diverse knowledge claims. They are applied empirically in the analysis of a project on regional adaptation to climate change in Northwestern Germany. It studies processes and outcomes with regard to the societal impact of the project and discusses experiences of conflicts and relevant solutions. The paper finds that societally relevant transdisciplinary research processes need to be prepared for conflict resolution and overcoming resistance and blockages in cases when consensus formation and mutual agreement is not attainable. Highlights • Analyses types of conflicts in sustainability-related transdisciplinary research • Finds that conflicts are rarely addressed in this literature • Identifies conflicts from differing values, interests, claims of legitimacy, and knowledge claims • Studies conflicts in an adaptation case in Northwestern Germany • Finds conflicts between values and legitimacy claims in the case study [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discourse on vulnerability to climate change presents many complexities. Among these are the constant tension between policy makers and academics. This paper unpacks these complexities in order to analyze how Small Island Developing States (SIDS) deal with the notion of vulnerability at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The lack of a clear definition of vulnerability at the UNFCCC has created many tensions among developing countries because the notion of vulnerability is associated with financial and technical resource distribution. However, on a strategic level SIDS have had to demonstrate their vulnerabilities within the UNFCCC in order to remain relevant and compete with other groups for these resources. This paper highlights some of these tensions, especially among developing countries, through an in-depth analysis of vulnerability within academia and foreign policy through the UNFCCC. We argue that competing definitions of vulnerability by academics and policymakers evoke different methodologies for understanding and measuring vulnerability. Further, we find that within the UNFCCC, prioritizing mitigation policies over adaptation has increased SIDS’ vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local government organisations in coastal Australia have historically commissioned studies aimed at understanding risks in their locality to future sea level rise as a starting point for developing adaptation strategies to climate change. Therefore, the success of the overall adaptation activities of local government are strongly influenced by the way those initial risk studies are scoped and conducted, and how the outputs of those studies underpin subsequent adaptation planning activities within the organization. Mainstreaming of adaptation planning activities within local government is critical in terms of getting stakeholder support and required resources for its implementation. This paper analyses a sample of these coastal risk assessment studies across seven states and territories in Australia, with an aim to critically investigate the current state of practice among coastal local governments. First, we develop a typology of studies that have been undertaken by or for practitioners to understand coastal climate change risks, and discuss the applicability of the studies within the policy-making context of local government. Second, we identify a set of sample studies from the ‘grey literature’ through a systematic process and investigate to what extent they adhere to best practice risk management guidelines and principles, such as ISO31000. Third, we interview stakeholders from top performing studies to identify how/if the risk studies helped their organization in progressing their adaptation planning. We find that there is a significant inconsistency among terminologies in the coastal climate change risk assessment unpublished literature as studies use “risk”, vulnerability” and “hazard” concepts interchangeably despite their separate objectives and aims. Most studies perform poorly in evaluating risk against broader organizational criteria. Subsequently, it is difficult to integrate the findings of such studies into a broader organizational risk register, limiting opportunities for identified coastal climate change risks to be integrated into councils’ long-term strategic decision making. Conversely, the follow up interviews of studies that performed well in scoping and consultation in our assessment demonstrate that these aspects were beneficial to stakeholders in terms of informing adaptation planning. Importantly, the findings presented in this paper confirm the need for a consistent risk assessment approach for local councils in the coastal zone to underpin successful adaptation planning. This is a critical issue, not only for Australia, but for local government organisations globally given that sea level rise is a projected threat for all populated coastal regions worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Targets are crucial to the definition, effort and investment implied in any plan. The way how they are set should therefore be carefully thought and decided. In the context of local energy planning, however, the increasingly active attitude of local stakeholders has not yet been corresponded by an evolution on the way how targets are set. The aim of this work is to review how targets are currently defined and, after justification is found, to develop a new methodology for target setting in the context of local energy planning, that can guide local authorities and other stakeholders to act towards global climate change mitigation and other policy objectives. This paper begins with a critical assessment of existing targets set in the context of local energy planning, in order to understand how they were defined and the implications of different methodological choices. Here, the drawbacks found on current practices call for the need of a new methodology that answers to two fundamental requisites: being able to reflect local characteristics and past accountability, by taking into account the starting point; and being quantitatively coherent with existing long-term goals. The paper then presents an alternative approach for target setting that corresponds to the referred requisites, and illustrates the implications through the application to nine municipalities in the Metropolitan Area of Porto. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In accordance with the Paris Agreement, many nations have set out a global framework to stabilise and prevent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to mitigate climate change. This study reviewed the literature on the GHG protection and control (GHGPC) impacts of overburden fractures in relation to coal mining. Different factors, such as geological conditions, mining conditions, and gas extraction methods, were compared because they influence GHGPC. Carbon emissions, coal mining safety, and environmental protection are crucial parameters. GHGPC can (1) improve the safety and efficiency of mining, (2) reduce GHG emissions, and (3) generate clean gas resources. During mining, cracks appear in overburden strata, causing GHG emissions. Various techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, two-dimensional and three-dimensional physical similarity simulations, permeability testing, and numerical simulations, have been adopted to determine the macroscopic and microscopic features of overburden fractures. Finally, the extraction method of GHG was optimised through field practice, namely, roadway, borehole, and pipe extraction, were analysed, and the comprehensive GHG extraction method was preferred to achieve superior management results. This paper reviewed studies that examine the development of fractures to elucidate the significance of GHGPC. Moreover, this article provides new insights into the achievement of the "dual carbon strategy" with particular reference to coal mining; it also summarises the holistic life cycle of gas management in terms of overburden activity, gas transport patterns, reservoir characteristics and typical technologies. It also summarises the holistic life span of GHGPC management in terms of overburden activity, GHG transport patterns, reservoir characteristics, and typical technologies. Finally, the authors discuss and conclude the article with proposed methods for future research directions. • The role of GHGPC in carbon neutrality was talked about from various aspects. • Technologies for GHG transport, extraction, and utilisation were elaborated. • GHG extraction technologies in coal mining were introduced. • New energy supply and the dual carbon strategy in coal mining were described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International attempts have not succeeded in addressing climate change, leaving an even heavier responsibility on countries, firms and people. As tourism is an expanding branch in the world economy, it is crucial to focus on how climate change issues are addressed in this industry as well. This paper analyses a group of tourism firms in Norway that join together to promote growth and profitability in winter tourism. The span in how these firms deal with environmental issues ranges from ecotourism till not addressing the subject at all. Although the majority of the firms have environmental issues on the agenda, environmental issues are not included in the cooperation. We use critical discourse theory to explore how this stance on environmental issues within a cooperation has come about, and categorize the firms into three discourses: neoclassical economics, environmental economics and ecological economics. Our data indicate that the hegemonic power of neoclassical economics hampers an environmental focus in the network. This power is exerted through the position of being environmentally indifferent. The paper adds knowledge to economic discourses on firm level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Integrated coastal management (ICM) has been developing concomitantly with the realisation of the severity of the potential impacts of climate change. The discourse on climate change and adaptation has also included the awareness that adaptation must take place at all levels of government, particularly local government. Climate change is expected to have significant impacts on the physical, social, environmental and economic environments of coastal cities and towns, and in particular on the poor and vulnerable communities within these cities and towns. The crucial role that local government can play in climate protection and building cities'' and communities'' resilience to climate change is widely recognised at the global level. This paper explores the legal and policy connexion between ICM, local government and climate change in Mozambique and South Africa, two developing countries in Africa. The state of institutionalisation of coastal management at national through to local government is also examined. The authors contend that the state, character and maturity of the ICM policy domain can create an enabling environment within which local government agencies can prepare for future impacts of climate change. Conversely it can also limit, delay and hinder climate change adaptation. The paper concludes with the identification of some key success factors for assessing the effectiveness of the existing policy and legal frameworks to respond to the challenges of climate change. It also identifies some key principles to be included in future legislative reform to promote ICM, cooperative governance and greater preparedness for climate change at local government level. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Climate change impacts on water resources, particularly groundwater, is a highly debated topic worldwide, triggering international attention and interest from both researchers and policy makers due to its relevant link with European water policy directives (e.g. 2000/60/EC and 2007/118/EC) and related environmental objectives. The understanding of long-term impacts of climate variability and change is therefore a key challenge in order to address effective protection measures and to implement sustainable management of water resources. This paper presents the modeling approach adopted within the Life+ project TRUST (Tool for Regional-scale assessment of groUndwater Storage improvement in adaptation to climaTe change) in order to provide climate change hazard scenarios for the shallow groundwater of high Veneto and Friuli Plain, Northern Italy. Given the aim to evaluate potential impacts on water quantity and quality (e.g. groundwater level variation, decrease of water availability for irrigation, variations of nitrate infiltration processes), the modeling approach integrated an ensemble of climate, hydrologic and hydrogeologic models running from the global to the regional scale. Global and regional climate models and downscaling techniques were used to make climate simulations for the reference period 1961–1990 and the projection period 2010–2100. The simulation of the recent climate was performed using observed radiative forcings, whereas the projections have been done prescribing the radiative forcings according to the IPCC A1B emission scenario. The climate simulations and the downscaling, then, provided the precipitation, temperatures and evapo-transpiration fields used for the impact analysis. Based on downscaled climate projections, 3 reference scenarios for the period 2071–2100 (i.e. the driest, the wettest and the mild year) were selected and used to run a regional geomorphoclimatic and hydrogeological model. The final output of the model ensemble produced information about the potential variations of the water balance components (e.g. river discharge, groundwater level and volume) due to climate change. Such projections were used to develop potential hazard scenarios for the case study area, to be further applied within climate change risk assessment studies for groundwater resources and associated ecosystems. This paper describes the models'' chain and the methodological approach adopted in the TRUST project and analyzes the hazard scenarios produced in order to investigate climate change risks for the case study area. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: One of the central questions in climate change debates concerns fair burden-sharing, i.e. justice in the distribution of costs of undertaking climate-managing policies. In this paper it is argued that in order to distribute such costs justly, it is necessary to have a nuanced understanding of what types of burdens they represent. Climate managing policies are usually divided into responses that seek to reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (mitigation) and responses that seek to prevent harm arising from a changing climate (adaptation). Some have argued that there are normatively significant differences between mitigation and adaptation: that the two responses adhere to different logics and evoke different patterns of burden-sharing. This paper argues that the relevant distinction is instead between negative and positive climate duties, i.e. whether an agent has a duty to undertake climate-managing policies on account of the harm its excessive emissions are causing or simply on account of its ability to assist those in need. The paper offers a typology of the different mitigation and adaptation responses that can be sorted under the negative/positive distinctions. This way of conceptualizing the issue not only enables us to better address the burden-sharing question, offering a more nuanced understanding of the types of climate burdens that are ascribable to agents and pointing out the appropriate roles of contributory responsibility and ability. It also clarifies aspects of the climate negotiations, and explains why it matters whether adaptation finance transferred to vulnerable countries is portrayed as compensation for harmful emissions or simply as donor countries discharging their humanitarian duties. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recent moves by national and local policy makers have sought to encourage individuals to engage in a wide range of pro-environmental practices to address both discrete environmental problems and major, global challenges such as climate change. The major framing device for these developments is the notion of ‘citizen–consumers’, which positions individual ecological responsibilities alongside consumer choice logics in a Neo-liberal socio-economic framework. In the environmental social sciences, there have been recent moves to interpret the citizen–consumer through adopting a social practices approach, which advances the notion that in understanding environmental commitments, a deeper appreciation of underlying norms, values, identity politics and consumption is required to uncover the complex processes that lead to environmental practices in specific contexts. This paper argues that whilst these approaches have considerable utility in tracing the normalisation of established and discrete environmental practices in particular contexts, the issue of climate change represents an independent and over-arching discursive conflict between new and embedded practices that challenges the ability of citizen–consumers to act as agents for change. Accordingly, the data presented in this paper suggest that climate change can be seen as an unsettling and dynamic issue that generates discursive conflict in its own right around fundamental issues of knowledge, responsibility, scale and place. The paper therefore argues that a new and more critical perspective is required within environmental social science to understand (conflicting) discourses of sustainable living between the ‘passive’ normalisation of conventional environmental practice and the ‘contested’ ambiguities of climate change. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Continuing to lead the way in the fight against climate change and protecting the environment, Egypt moved little steps towards building regulations for all new construction in the country hopefully to achieve major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and water use. This paper is an analytical study of unified building regulation and standard buildings cods in Egypt in order to figure out how much they comply with green architecture. The paper also investigates the opportunities and challenges in Egyptian building culture which will affect its movement towards green principles. The paper is concluded with some recommendations to peter involve some green principles within unified building law in Egypt. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper is concerned with environmental governance and policy formation in the area of climate change. Specifically, it examines a decision by the UK Government in 2003 to adopt a demanding, long-term CO2 emissions reduction target, following the advice of one of its longest standing environmental advisory bodies, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. It explores the origins of the Commission''s recommendation and the reasons for its relatively rapid uptake in public policy. It argues that in both cases, a complex mix of structural and contingent, cognitive and non-cognitive factors can be identified, operating at different levels of governance. Finally, the paper reflects on what we might learn from this particular case about policy processes and the role of knowledge and expert advice within them. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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]

Abstract: The issue of the social geographical dimensions of climate change is timely and important. This paper sets out to explore one example of this: how people living in the Pacific who are most at risk of being made landless by climate change are portrayed in policy discourse, and how high-level international representatives of Pacific nations have responded to these portrayals. At the heart of this is contention over the portrayal of Pacific Island peoples as ‘climate refugees’. This paper analyses a number of documents since the 1980s, largely from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that deploy the identity construct of ‘climate refugees’. Fieldwork undertaken at the United Nations in New York in 2004 also enabled seven interviews with national ambassadors representing Pacific small island states. Interviews revealed how Pacific ambassadors have responded to the category of ‘climate refugees’, and positioned themselves in the discursive field surrounding the climate change debate. A poststructuralist framework, drawing on Foucault’s ideas of discourse and subject categories provided a means to critically scrutinise and better understand how people from Pacific countries are imagined in the wider, global geopolitical arena, but crucially, how leaders from these nations also construct themselves in relation to climate change and its associated impacts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Both mitigation of and adaptation to climate change require actions to be taken in many sectors of society, but so far this is hardly happening. This paper suggests possibilities for widening climate change policy by strengthening inter-linkages between climate policies and various relevant policy areas to mainstream climate change concerns. It argues that, if these inter-linkages can be strengthened and policy coherence is improved, the effectiveness of climate policy can be enhanced while also supporting these other policy areas. The contention in this paper is that improved policy coherence and mainstreaming requires climate policies to go beyond the UNFCCC framework to realise its full potential and to better deal with possible trade-offs. The potential benefits in the policy domains of poverty reduction, rural development and agriculture, disaster management, energy security, air quality and trade, and finance are examined, and the institutional and organisations linkages highlighted. Finally, opportunities for mainstreaming are identified to make better use of possible synergies between climate and related policy areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A new practical application of neural network (NN) techniques to environmental numerical modeling has been developed. Namely, a new type of numerical model, a complex hybrid environmental model based on a synergetic combination of deterministic and machine learning model components, has been introduced. Conceptual and practical possibilities of developing hybrid models are discussed in this paper for applications to climate modeling and weather prediction. The approach presented here uses NN as a statistical or machine learning technique to develop highly accurate and fast emulations for time consuming model physics components (model physics parameterizations). The NN emulations of the most time consuming model physics components, short and long wave radiation parameterizations or full model radiation, presented in this paper are combined with the remaining deterministic components (like model dynamics) of the original complex environmental model—a general circulation model or global climate model (GCM)—to constitute a hybrid GCM (HGCM). The parallel GCM and HGCM simulations produce very similar results but HGCM is significantly faster. The speed-up of model calculations opens the opportunity for model improvement. Examples of developed HGCMs illustrate the feasibility and efficiency of the new approach for modeling complex multidimensional interdisciplinary systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper seeks to develop an alternative account of the geographies of environmental governance to those current conceptions which tend to take space and scale for granted as pre-given, contained, natural entities. Through an engagement with the debates on the politics of scale, the argument is made that a new spatial grammar of environmental governance must be sensitive to both the politics of scale and the politics of networks. Rather than considering scalar and non-scalar interpretations of spatiality as necessarily opposite, the paper argues that through a more careful deployment of concepts of hierarchy and territory common ground between scalar and network geographies can be forged, and can inform our understanding of environmental governance. In making this argument, the paper provides an overview of contemporary configurations of global environmental governance, and seeks to illustrate by reference to one transnational municipal network, the Cities for Climate Protection programme, how governing the environment involves both political processes of scaling and rescaling the objects and agents of governance, as well as attempts to create new, networked, arenas of governance. The paper concludes that recognition of new spatial grammars is necessary for understanding emerging hybrid forms of environmental governance and their political and ecological implications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988 and the U.S. Global Change Research Program in 1990 led to the extensive study of complex global change during the past decade, often referred to as integrated assessment (IA). Integrated assessment models (IAMs) are analytical tools for conducting integrated assessments. IAMs include a variety of quantitative models as well as scenario-based approaches, which are more recent attempts to integrate social systems and values into integrated assessment. However, social systems and values change in response to results from policy actions, or in response to new information obtained after such actions are taken. Therefore, full integration of scientific models and concerns about social values can only be achieved in models that incorporate decisions, actions, and information gathered from such actions. It is the inadequate incorporation of the consequences of sequential policy decisions (such as the elimination of currently available policy choices, or the creation of new ones) that limits the usefulness of IAMs in informing policy decisions. This paper proposes the use of Markov decision processes (MDPs) as a policy decision tool for integrated assessment and demonstrates the utility of this approach using a simple numerical example. In addition to proposing a MDP decision model, this paper advocates adaptive management (AM) as the decision-making process to embed the decision model. It is argued that AM is inherently suited as a decision process for integrated assessment, particularly due to its key tenets of experimentalism (“learning by doing”), multi-scalar analysis and place-sensitivity. Thus, this paper makes an important contribution by enhancing the usefulness of integrated assessment as a policy decision tool, rather than merely an analytical one. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Under the climate change treaties, developed countries are under a quantitative obligation to limit their emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). This paper argues that although the climate change regime is setting up various measures and mechanisms, there will still be significant uncertainty about the actual emission reductions and the effectiveness of the regime will depend largely on how countries actually implement their obligations in practice. These uncertainties arise from the calculation of emissions from each source, the tallying up these emissions, adding or deducting changes due to land use change and forestry (LUCF) and finally from subtracting or adding emission reduction units (ERUs). Further, it points to the problem of uncertainty in the reductions as opposed to the uncertainty in the inventories themselves. The protocols have temporarily opted to deal with these problems through harmonisation in reporting methodologies and to seek transparency by calling on parties involved to use specific guidelines and to report on their uncertainty. This paper concludes that this harmonisation of reporting methodologies does not account for regional differences and that while transparency will indicate when countries are adopting strategies that have high uncertainty; it will not help to increase the effectiveness of the protocol. Uncertainty about compliance then becomes a critical issue. This paper proposes to reduce this uncertainty in compliance by setting a minimum requirement for the probability of compliance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper tests for the applicability of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis at the Canadian and provincial/territorial levels using greenhouse gas emissions as an indicator for environmental degradation. The hypothesis is tested using provincial and territorial panel data from 1990 to 2014. The results vary depending on the econometric estimation method. The pooled regression results are mixed, with the EKC hypothesis confirmed at the Canadian level and in half of the provinces and territories. However, the fixed-effects regression results confirm the EKC hypothesis at the Canadian level and in all provinces and territories. The results also highlight the significance of technological change and province/territory specific characteristics in determining the level of greenhouse gas emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European semi-natural grasslands maintained through traditional practices are among the most species-rich plant communities within the present-day rural landscape. However, land use change has caused a drastic decline in grassland area. In European agricultural policy, agri-environmental schemes (AES) have been introduced to preserve, enhance and restore biodiversity on European farmland. Goričko Landscape Park (GLP) in Slovenia is Natura 2000 area with the aim to preserve traditional and extensive small-scale farming. Measures to encourage proper management of extensively used meadows in GLP were carried out within the Agricultural Environmental Climate Scheme (AECS). The aims of this research were to identify key factors that might affect an owner’s decision to adopt AECS. The data were collected with online and paper versions of a survey completed by 198 meadow owners between April 2015 and April 2016. Owners reported that 41.3% of a total of 368 meadows were involved in AECS. In year 2015, there were 156 officially registered Agricultural Economies from GLP. With 53 analysed meadows (34%), involved in AECS, the confidence level was 95% and the confidence interval was 11. Based on binominal logistic regression factors having a positive significant influence on participation in AECS were, as follows: large meadow area, higher education level and higher knowledge about goals of Natura 2000. Factors that do not statistically significantly contribute to participation in AECS are meadow type, income, age, gender, environmental values, management independence, subsidy rate and knowledge about AECS. Factor having a negative significant influence on participation in AECS was subsidy procedure. To increase the number of participants in AECS and therefore encourage proper management of extensively used meadows, young owners should be encouraged to participate in AECS, because older owners who had completed secondary school were more likely to participate in AECS. There is also a lack of female owners participating in AECS because of their lack of skills and knowledge about AECS. Additionally the subsidy procedure for joining AECS should be simplified. Owners should get more information about AECS and available options and why it even matters to implement AECS. With knowledge about the factors that influence participation in AECS, we can positively affect farmer behaviour, thereby increasing the number of participants in AECS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agroforestry, the integration of trees and shrubs with livestock and/or crops, can make a substantial contribution to mitigating and enabling adaptation to climate change. However, its full potential will only be achieved if the challenges to agroforestry implementation are identified and the most efficient and sustainable solutions are made widely known. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to explore these challenges and to determine the most suitable set of solutions for each challenge that combines local effectiveness with European scale relevance. We performed a two-step “solution scanning” exercise. First, the main challenges to sustainable agroforestry in Europe were identified through 42 participatory workshops with 665 local stakeholders. The solutions to each challenge were scanned and classified into either direct solutions (28) to address climate change or indirect solutions (32) that improve the sustainability of agroforestry. In a second step, the direct solutions were prioritized through expert consultation in terms of their potential benefits for mitigation and adaptation. The most commonly reported barriers were a lack of knowledge and reliable financial support to which the most widely suggested indirect solutions were agroforestry training programmes and the development of safe economic routes. The direct solutions considered as holding the greatest mitigation and adaptation potential were the adoption of practices capable to increase soil organic carbon pools and the implementation of multifunctional hedgerows and windbreaks respectively. Our solution scanning approach can inform the implementation of the European climate strategy in general and to the Common Agricultural Policy in particular by pointing to concrete climate beneficial actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High levels of observed city involvement in energy and climate initiatives indicate that free-riding has been much less of a barrier to local climate protection efforts than suggested by theories of collective action. This study investigates why local governments have adopted various energy and climate change policy instruments despite the non-excludability of climate benefits. This paper advances theories of institutional collective action (ICA) and policy diffusion by testing ICA based hypotheses that local officials are able to overcome collective action problems to the extent that the costs of these initiatives are minimized through policy network interactions, the extent to which climate action produces localized benefits or compliments local environmental, development or growth management efforts, and the extent to which energy and climate protection efforts generate selective benefits to elected and appointed local government officials who advance their career interests depending on the existing configurations of political system institutions. Analysis of adoptions of the Climate Protection Agreements by Florida Cities indicates larger cities are more likely to adopt climate agreement, while district elections decrease the likelihood of climate policy adoption. Moreover, economic development rather than growth management or environmental problem situation is linked to climate initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many cities publish climate change mitigation strategies and other policy measures to support the wide spread uptake of Electric Vehicles (EVs). This paper investigates the effectiveness of these strategies and the provision of infrastructures in 30 UK cities, with a specific emphasis on those strategies that are within the remit of cities and local authorities. The climate mitigation strategies and supporting documents were obtained from 30 UK cities recommended by the Urban Audit Methodology. We show that 13 cities mention EVs in their strategies. Analysing EV registrations and the EV infrastructures that is provided by cities we found that there is no statistical difference in the number of charging points or EVs between the cities that have EVs as part of their climate change mitigation strategy and those that do not. It was shown that EV uptake was more generally associated with other factors (such as local vehicle population or income) rather than any documented EV/climate mitigation strategy. We demonstrate that local strategies are failing in achieving the much needed step change and make suggestions how to improve EV uptake as an even more radical thinking and policies may become necessary to achieve carbon reduction targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this study is to show that by understanding the food-energy-water nexus, potential unforeseen negative outcomes can be avoided in the pursuit of sustainable development. To do this, this paper uses a novel approach to compare a combined farm and short rotation coppice willow system, in which the willow was planted as a riparian buffer, with a food-only and an energy only system. The impact of each system was investigated through the lens of the food-energy-water nexus using life cycle assessment techniques. Data from previous research was adapted in order to quantify the impacts for a typical Irish dairy farm, which is indicative of intensive agriculture across Europe. On a typical Irish dairy farm, the implementation of a short rotation coppice willow riparian buffer strip could reduce total nitrogen and phosphorus leachate by 14% and 9% respectively. Total CO 2 eq emissions could be reduced by 16.5% if energy from the willow displaces fossil fuels, while the impact on milk production and profit is minimal. Thus, the use of short rotation coppice willow as a riparian buffer strip has the potential to reduce strain on the entire food-energy-water nexus. By considering the food-energy-water nexus, the negative impacts of the food-only and energy-only systems were also highlighted. The paper also shows how a better understanding of the food-energy-water nexus supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and could help ameliorate the impact of climate change on the food-energy-water ecosystem. Image 1 • Understanding the FEW nexus supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals. • Negative outcomes can be avoided by assessing systems using the lens of the FEW nexus. • SRC willow riparian buffer strips can complement agricultural intensification. • Nitrogen (−14%) and phosphorus (−9%) exports to water can be permanently reduced. • Agricultural GHG emissions can be reduced by 16.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A regional green development index system is established based on the "driver-pressure-state-impact-response" model. • The level of regional green development in Hubei, China, is rising, and the gap between regions is narrowing. • The inter-regional spillover effect of green development is greater than the intra-regional spillover effect. • Technological innovation and the living environment have a positive spillover effect on green development. Green development strives to harmonize economic and social development with environmental protection. It is an innovative development model for people to follow in response to global climate change. This paper first combines the "driver-pressure-state-impact-response" (DPSIR) model with the entropy weighting method to measure the level of green development in Hubei Province from 2010 to 2018. Then, the spatial Durbin model (SDM) is used to analyse in depth the spatiotemporal evolutionary pattern and spatial spillover effects. The results indicate that after 2014, the levels of green development increased significantly and that regional differences gradually shrank. ρ = 0.409 indicates that the green development level has a positive spatial spillover effect, and the spillover effect between regions is greater than that within a region. The spatial spillover effects of the industrial structure and growth efficiency are −2.17 and −8.64, respectively, while the spatial spillover effects of technological innovation and the living environment are 7.35 and 0.32, respectively. Based on our findings, we provide several policy recommendations for developing countries to achieve green, coordinated and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“Ecosystem services” is a phrase with many meanings, yet very few studies have primarily focused on comparing different definitions of the term. Ecosystem services are now generally used in identifying an appropriately wide range of environmental variables for policy and management as well as better understanding the benefits provided by those aspects of the environment. A review of the dominant definitions of ecosystem services reveals the term is comprehensive in its scope and requires further specification for most purposes. Analysis further reveals that there are four main categories of conceptual definitions. The paper concludes that ecosystem services can be identified at various points along the spectrum of nature-human interaction depending on which specific definition is chosen and that the term was not created to identify a novel set of environmental objects or processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is the first that theorises and empirically tests, at the organisational level, the role that ‘Green’ Human Resource Management (HRM) practices play in facilitating employees' collective engagement in environment protection by taking voluntary actions that ‘go the extra mile’. In this regard, we take an original perspective on Environmental Management (EM) as an organisational change that requires strong support from employees. This allows us to investigate the mediating role of collective commitment to change – and specifically to EM – with regard to the relationship between ‘Green’ HRM practices and collective voluntary behaviours towards the environment. Our results show that ‘Green’ HRM practices are conducive to voluntary behaviours towards the environment at the collective level. Moreover, employees' willingness to support their organisation in its EM endeavour partially mediates this relationship. Additionally, by conceptualising three different types of ‘Green’ HRM practices, our results disentangle their relative importance and their differing impact on collective behaviours towards the environment. This paper thus provides scholars of EM and managers with original evidence-based guidelines on how to leverage ‘Green’ HRM to enhance employees' collective attitudes and behaviours towards the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current editorial summarized some of the scientific works presented in the Sustainable Energy and Environmental Protection (SEEP) conference-held at the University of the West of Scotland, UK, 2018. The selected work was directly related to the scope of the Renewable, Sustainable Energy Reviews (RSER) journal. During the conference activities, experts from all around the world in the subjects of: renewable energy, climate change, optimization, and economics presented and discussed the progress made in renewable energy sources, as well as the new strategies for protecting the environment from the hazards connected with fossil fuel utilization. The methods presented in the conference focused on several directions: the development of efficient energy conversion systems with low/no environmental impacts; the suggested policies to widespread renewable energies; the restriction in the emission of greenhouse gases, and the recent progresses in CO 2 capture. This editorial focused on the renewable energy developments and their positive effect on the climate change, and briefly summarized the accepted manuscripts in this issue. • Effects of renewable energy on climate change. • Background on the International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environmental Protection SEEP. • Summary of selected papers of SEEP 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We collect greenhouse mitigation options data to support rule making analysis and research work. [•] We develop a greenhouse mitigation options database and a model to perform user-defined scenarios analysis. [•] The database contains cost and performance information for GHG mitigation options for the power, cement, and pulp and paper sectors. [•] The database is a repository of data on available GHG technologies in various stages of development for several industry sectors. [•] The database contains approximately 350 studies for all three sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In an effort to diversify economies and reduce high oil dependency, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries plan to increase the use of renewable energy sources to meet the challenges of a post-oil future. The Accession to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol, which require a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has started a process of environmental awakening in the GCC countries. This paper reviews the publications on renewable energy with reference to the GCC countries since 2005. The objective was to investigate the benefits of funding and investing in renewable energy projects in the GCC countries. The article shows that the GCC countries have begun to adopt a more pro-active approach toward renewable energy that will help progress the GCC countries towards sustainability. The reorientation of strategies and policies toward renewable energy is evolving in the GCC countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Fake controversies have influenced policy making on health and environmental issues for decades, resulting in major implementation setbacks worldwide. As a case study, in this paper we examine fake controversies produced by a small group of active Brazilian researchers that have seriously impacted environmental conservation, particularly in issues related to deforestation and climate change. Based on the literature, we develop a typology of strategies deployed in fake controversies, which include manufacturing uncertainty, misusing scientific credentials, and disregarding scientific literature. Afterwards, we examine the influence of this group of contrarians at the National Congress. We then analyze the fake controversies promoted by these contrarians and argue that, to properly understand them, we need to consider a strategy so far overlooked in the literature: the manufacture of "pseudo-facts", namely, affirmations at odds with the established literature but that strives to appear as scientific facts. Unlike other contexts, in which contrarians have mainly sought to cast doubt on consensual issues by arguing that there are still considerable uncertainties surrounding them, in Brazil pseudo-facts on deforestation have been produced and published outside the peer-reviewed literature. We conclude the study with recommendations on how to oppose fake scientific controversies that threaten environmental conservation in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Water scarcity is a serious issue on many small coral islands, including the Spermonde Archipelago in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. An important driver behind it is population growth. Additionally, the predicted impacts of climate change will further accelerate the problem. While a lot of scientific attention has been paid to water scarcity in the Pacific, little is known about the situation in Indonesia. The paper presents the results of the first scientific study on water scarcity in an Indonesian Archipelago. It combines an analysis of historical and contemporary documents with a study about local perceptions on water scarcity. 160 people on four case study islands were interviewed about water availability and quality in the past and at present. The results show that although water scarcity is not a new issue, it has increased from the 1960s onwards. Possible anthropogenic and natural drivers behind this development are discussed, and management implications presented. It is argued that management measures need to be island-specific and require local institutions for water management. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The dominant approach to mainstreaming climate adaptation into sectoral policies relies on an ‘upscaling’ model in which it is envisaged to extract lessons from local change processes to inspire generic sub-national and national policies. One of the central methodological questions, which remain unanswered in climate change adaptation research, is exactly how public policy can learn from highly contextual experiences of community-based adaptation and what role should be played by case study research. In this paper we undertake a comparison between three large research projects in Sweden, Canada and Indonesia, which aim to study and/or foster local adaptation in selected case studies through a process of social learning. We present a novel framework based on mapping of ‘sense-making perspectives’, which enables analysis of the multiple ways case study research can support local climate adaptation and link such efforts to higher level public policy. The analysis demonstrates how methodological choices shape how case study research works at the interface between planned (steered/regulatory policy) and self-organised adaptation of stakeholders (non-coercive policy). In this regard, there is a need for a high degree of transparency from the research community to enable local professionals to decide on their stakes and interests when inviting researchers into their grounded activities. We conclude that case study research can achieve new significance if viewed as a platform to leverage stakeholder competencies when informing existing social structures and enable the implementation of political objectives, but equally driving the very reinvention and improvement of these institutions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: This paper presents an analytical framework to encompass contributions to the literature on equity in climate change, and highlights the consequences—in terms of future emissions allocations—of different approaches to equity. These include: progressive cuts relative to historic levels; equal per capita emissions, historic responsibility, and ability to pay; and preserving future development opportunities. We show that because climate change goals dictate a stringent global carbon budget, each of the approaches to equity necessarily imposes large costs on at least some groups of countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Today, innumerable damages caused by the city and the action of a man on built and natural environments, are recorded in majority of developed countries and also under development ones, which had created in the last few years, complex problems difficult to solve like: pollutions, destructions of natural and rural landscapes, uncontrolled rejections of waste, problems of water and frequent variations of the climate. Algerian cities haven’t escaped to this truth and this situation is related with the history of the development process adopted in Algeria, during the years of post independence. The development of these cities was done without looking for or respecting environmental requirements. Theoretically, Algeria has a complete building formed by different plans and schemes covering environment, land use planning and urbanism fields to raise this challenge and avoid errors of the past, particularly before nineties and after, by adopting a holistic approach and giving a broadest sense of environment protection. But until now, just a few great actions recently carried out by the ministry of land use planning, environment and tourism are registered, and the rest confirms that these tools don’t have any effect suspected on ground, for various causes. The most important causes can be resumed in the lack of dialogue and coordination efforts between concerning actors and theirs institutions, and the absence of an explanation relating to the whole approach able to make these tools even they were appeared in different laws, working as a united body. That''s why these instruments were ineffective and the situation became difficult and critical. The present paper will focus on this reality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Public deliberative platforms have been argued as potentially beneficial in fostering adaptive capacity to respond to climate change. However, little is known about the veracity of such claims, and indeed how deliberation and adaptive capacity can and do intersect. In response, this paper reports on findings from a project into public responses to climate change in the Australian Capital Region. It utilises quantitative analysis—in the form of Q methodology—and qualitative analysis, to compare discourses that emerged from individual scenario-based interviews with those that emerged at the end of a 4-day public deliberative process. It shows that while the scenario interviews had an impact on participants, this impact is not sustained. By contrast, the deliberative process gave rise to new discourses, one of which (labelled ‘Collective Action Imperative’) is argued as indicative of a potentially constructive personal and collective adaptive capacity. However, advocating deliberative processes still requires caution, as less adaptive discourses prevailed, suggesting strong governance signals and leadership are still essential for fostering a positive public response to the challenges of climate change. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The international climate change negotiations leading to and including the Copenhagen and Cancun Conferences of the Parties in 2009 and 2010 have shown a very different balance of power from those of the 1997 Kyoto round. This “New World dis(Order)” is characterized by insecurity of the United States in the face of economic and political decline vis-à-vis China; fragmentation of the Group of 77 developing nations negotiating bloc; and weakening of the European Union, which was cut out entirely from the group negotiating the Copenhagen Accord. In addition to old alignments of developing countries based on solidarity, negotiating blocs have fractured along lines of responsibility for climate change, capability to address it, and national vulnerability to climate risks. This paper assesses whether, over the past two decades, negotiations have come closer to meeting basic criteria of international climate justice, and chronicles how environmental negotiations have come to reflect a different and shifting balance of power. Drawing insights from Giovanni Arrighi and Beverly Silver''s analyses of US hegemonic decline and the rise of China, the article argues that the roots of the worst stubbornness by the US in recent climate talks lie in growing insecurity about its ability to provide jobs for its workers in a future where all sorts of work is moving to China and India. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Copenhagen 2009 was a major moment in the development of climate change as an issue. But climate sceptics before and during this event, sought to influence the nature of debate, and for this reason, the way Copenhagen was covered in the mass media was particularly important. This paper outlines the contours of contrarian arguments and claims, and assesses their reflection in the coverage at Copenhagen. The focus is on television, and extends to the assessment of internet – both modes of mass communication underrepresented in the existing literature. The results suggest a higher profile for contrarians and scepticism than is perhaps healthy, and speak to the role of these mass media, now and in the future, particularly with regard to the issue of public comprehension of the issues involved. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Social marketing is the systematic application of marketing concepts and techniques to achieve specific behavioural goals relevant to the social good. Social marketing approaches are becoming increasingly popular among governmental and non-governmental actors seeking to engage the public on climate change. The effectiveness of social marketing in achieving specific behavioural goals is empirically well-supported. However, in the first systematic critique of social marketing as a strategy for engaging the public on climate change, we present evidence that social marketing alone is insufficient to build support for the more ambitious policy changes and interventions that constitute a proportional response to climate change. In some circumstances, social marketing approaches may even be counterproductive. We describe some alternative approaches for engaging the public, which may provide governmental and non-governmental actors with additional or preferable tools for promoting public engagement with climate change. Given the scale of the challenge, it seems critical that those seeking to engage the public are equipped with the most effective strategies available – a goal that this paper seeks to contribute to. We conclude that acknowledging the limitations of social marketing – and exploring alternative methods of engaging the public – is an urgent task for climate change communication researchers and practitioners. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Mitigating climate change is recognized as an increasingly urgent task that requires understanding a range of different strategies, including voluntary behavior change. Among the psychological barriers to behavior change are perceptions of powerlessness and the commons dilemma. This paper examines the association between these factors in a sample of New Zealand citizens and clarifies their importance in relation to other barriers to action to mitigate climate change, including uncertainty and perceived risk. Stronger perceptions of powerlessness and the commons dilemma were related to lower levels of action to mitigate climate change and lesser importance being placed upon climate change as an influence on individual actions. The perceived risk of climate change and the perception that humans influence climate change were the strongest predictors of mitigation action. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]