Search

Business opportunities in the European High North (EHN) are accompanied by the danger of cyber-threats, especially to critical infrastructures which in these Arctic regions become “extra critical” because of the harsh environmental climatic conditions and remoteness of distances. Critical infrastructures (CI) in the EHN are crucial for numerous sectors, such as the energy sector which is completely depended on digitalization, internet and computers’ commands. Such a new condition of extra criticality should also include human security concerns to avoid human disasters. An effective legal framework under “exceptionally critically infrastructure conditions” (ECIC) for this technology is important not only in terms of national legislation, but also in view of a regional, international and global networks character. This paper links for the first time, law, internet and cybersecurity, environment and society in a global human security dimension in a multi-regulatory contextual analysis. The aim is to trace the legal framework for response to a cyber-attack to critical infrastructure in the energy sector and takes Norway as a case study because this country is highly dependent on cyber technology and on critical infrastructures. The question of research is: using a human security focus in the case of cyber-threats under ECIC in the EHN, what ways can an assessment recommend to improve international, and regional law? Five analytical tasks are undertaken: 1) the concept of critical infrastructure vulnerability to cyber-attacks under “exceptionally critically infrastructure conditions” (ECIC) in the EHN with focus on the energy sector is explained in connection to the notion of human security, 2) a backdrop of regional and international collaboration is followed, 3) a trajectory of multilevel contextual analysis of the different sources of law and policy applicable to cyber-threats to CI is outlined, and 4) an examination of cooperation under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

For the in situ resource utilization (ISRU) of asteroids, the cost-mass conundrum needs to be solved, and technologies may need to be conceptualised from first principals. By using this approach, this Review seeks to illustrate how chemical process intensification can help with the development of disruptive technologies and business matters, how this might influence space-industry start-ups, and even industrial transformations on Earth. The disruptive technology considered is continuous microflow solvent extraction and, as another disruptive element therein, the use of ionic liquids. The space business considered is asteroid mining, as it is probably the most challenging resource site, and the focus is on its last step: the purification of adjacent metals (cobalt versus nickel). The key economic barrier is defined as the reduction in the amount of water used in the asteroid mining process. This Review suggests a pathway toward water savings up to the technological limit of the best Earth-based processes and their physical limits.

Shale gas, as an emerging unconventional resource in China, has beenregarded as a promising option for diversifying away from traditional fossil fuels and enhancing national security of energy supply. This study analyzed the barriers affecting the sustainable shale gas revolution in China and prioritized the feasible strategic measures by employing the methods of fuzzy Analytic Network Process and Interpretative Structural Modeling. The aim is to help the stakeholders and administrators to better comprehend the relative importance of the barriers and adopt suitable measures. The results demonstrated that the lack of governmental support and guidelines, lack of regulations and standards, and lack of core technologies are the most important barriers hindering the energy transition to shale gas in China. The refinement of subsidies, advanced research, and harmonized standards could in large overcome many of these barriers.

Sustainability is an important and difficult consideration for the stakeholders/decision-makers when planning a biofuel supply network. In this paper, a Mixed-Integer Non-linear Programming (MINLP) model was developed with the aim to help the stakeholders/decision-maker to select the most sustainable design. In the proposed model, the emergy sustainability index of the whole biodiesel supply networks in a life cycle perspective is employed as the measure of the sustainability, and multiple feedstocks, multiple transport modes, multiple regions for biodiesel production and multiple distribution centers can be considered. After describing the process and mathematic framework of the model, an illustrative case was studied and demonstrated that the proposed methodology is feasible for finding the most sustainable design and planning of biodiesel supply chains.

The treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW) has become an urgently important task of many countries. This objective of this study is to present a novel group multi-attribute decision analysis method for prioritizing the MSW treatment alternatives based on the interval-valued fuzzy set theory. This study allows multiple stakeholders to participate in the process of decision-making and they are also allowed to use linguistic variables to rate the alternatives and determine the weights of the evaluation criteria. The interval-valued fuzzy group decision making trail and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method was developed to determine the weights of the evaluation criteria by considering the independent relationships among these criteria. The multi-actor interval-valued fuzzy grey relational analysis was developed to rank the waste-to-energy scenarios. Four alternative processes for MSW treatment including landfill, anaerobic digestion, incineration, and gasification were studied by the developed model, and the results reveal that the developed model can successfully help the stakeholders to determine the priority sequence of the alternative MSW treatment scenarios.

During the last decades numerous environmental problems have been exacerbated, and in some cases created. Traditionally, such problems have been addressed through environmentally sound technologies. The diffusion of such technologies has, however, been slow, where the focus has primarily been on high-polluting sectors. This paper explores the environmental actions of a relatively low-polluting sector, the insurer industry, in regards to environmentally sound technologies, by schematizing the concept of environmentally sound technologies as it is defined in Agenda 21. The Agenda 21 definition is critical when discussing environmentally sound technologies, as typologies of academic scholars are defined from the perspective of manufacturers ignoring the role of relatively low-polluting sectors when dealing with environmental issues. Five focus points from a climate change statement issued by the Nordic insurance industry are then integrated into the schematic framework. Case study examples from 16 Nordic insurance companies and secondary data of insurers' activities are used to illustrate insurers' role in enhancing development and utilization of environmentally sound technologies. Although the insurance industry offers many examples of its role in the development and utilization of environmentally sound technologies, this paper highlights the following points (1) there are still areas for improvements, (2) there is a large capacity that could be utilized, and (3) business opportunities are expected to increase once climate change consequences become more apparent. Due to the slow uptake of environmentally sound technologies, it is important to strengthen the focus on the role and obligation of low-polluting sectors as a part of the supporting infrastructure dealing with environmental sustainability issues. This paper shows the potential of opportunities arising from the synergies between environmentally sound technologies and finance and service providers to address such issues.

This chapter describes recent advances of water systems in the net-zero paradigm, across industrial, government, and military applications. The elements of the chapter are definitions, innovations, assessment methods, best practices, case studies, evaluation of investments, strategic plans, and challenges for future work. The chapter benefited from discussion and shared experience of about 50 participants in a NATO workshop convened in Sonderborg, Denmark, in February 2015. The chapter authors were the participants of the workshop specifically asked to address issues of water systems.

The challenges of sustainability are becoming more apparent and changes need to take place in how we organise collectively. This book stems from and builds on a collaboration and collective learning between the military and the civilian world in order to facilitate discussion of the current state of triple net zero and long-term and sustainable energy strategies. It is widely recognized that implementation of policies to benefit environmental sustainability, energy security, and preparedness at both military installations and small cities are imperative, since energy is intricately linked to the entire set of net zero goals and vision. Here the focus is especially on learning from best practices across these two domains.

This chapter proposed a multicriteria decision-making methodology for the sustainability prioritization of industrial systems. The methodology incorporates a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process method that allows the users to assess the soft criteria by using linguistic terms. A fuzzy analytic network process method is used to calculate the weights of each criterion, which can tackle the interdependencies and interactions among the criteria. The preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluation approach is used to prioritize the sustainability sequence of the alternative systems. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis method was developed to investigate the most critical and sensitive criteria. The developed methodology was illustrated by a case study to rank the sustainability of five alternative hydrogen production technologies. The advantages of the developed methodology over the previous approaches were demonstrated by comparing the results determined by the proposed framework with those determined by using the pervious approaches.

Management of natural resources and infrastructure systems for sustainability is complicated by uncertainties in the human and natural environment. Moreover, decisions are further complicated by contradictory views, values, and concerns that are rarely made explicit. Scenario analysis can play a major role in addressing the challenges of sustainability management, especially the core question of how to scan the future in a structured, integrated, participatory, and policy-relevant manner. In a context of systems engineering, scenario analysis can provide an integrated and timely understanding of emergent conditions and help to avoid regret and belated action. The purpose of this paper is to present several case studies in natural resources and infrastructure systems management where scenario analysis has been used to aide decision making under uncertainty. The case studies include several resource and infrastructure systems: (1) water resources (2) land-use corridors (3) energy infrastructure, and (4) coastal climate change adaptation. The case studies emphasize a participatory approach, where scenario analysis becomes a means of incorporating diverse stakeholder concerns and experience. This approach to scenario analysis provides insight into both high-performing and robust initiatives/policies, and, perhaps more importantly, influential scenarios. Identifying the scenarios that are most influential to policy making helps to direct further investigative analysis, modeling, and data-collection efforts to support the learning process that is emphasized in adaptive management.

A multicriteria decision-making methodology for the sustainability prioritization of industrial systems is proposed. The methodology incorporates a fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process method that allows the users to assess the soft criteria using linguistic terms. A fuzzy Analytic Network Process method is used to calculate the weights of each criterion, which can tackle the interdependencies and interactions among the criteria. The Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation approach is used to prioritize the sustainability sequence of the alternative systems. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis method was developed to investigate the most critical and sensitive criteria. The developed methodology was illustrated by a case study to rank the sustainability of five alternative hydrogen production technologies. The advantages of the developed methodology over the previous approaches were demonstrated by comparing the results determined by the proposed framework with those determined using the pervious approaches. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2015

The complexity of climate information, particularly as related to climate scenarios, impacts, and action alternatives, poses significant challenges for science communication. This study presents a geographic visualization approach involving lay audiences to address these challenges. VisAdapt (TM) is a web-based visualization tool designed to improve Nordic homeowners understanding of climate change vulnerability and to support their adaptive actions. VisAdapt is structured to enable individual users to explore several climate change impact parameters, including temperature and precipitation, for their locations and to find information on specific adaptation measures for their house types and locations. The process of testing the tool included a focus group study with homeowners in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden to assess key challenges in geographic visualization, such as the level of interactivity and information. The paper concludes that geographic visualization tools can support homeowners climate adaptation processes, but that certain features, such as downscaled climate information are a key element expected by users. Although the assessment of interactivity and data varied both across countries and user experience, a general conclusion is that a geographic visualization tool, like VisAdapt, can make climate change effects and adaptation alternatives tangible and initiate discussions and collaborative reflections. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Funding Agencies|Norden Top-level Research Initiative sub-programme "Effect studies and adaptation to climate change"

Climate change communication on anticipated impacts and adaptive responses is frequently presented as an effective means to facilitate implementation of adaptation to mitigate risks to residential buildings. However, it requires that communication is developed in a way that resonates with the context of the target audience, provides intelligible information and addresses perceived barriers to adaptation. In this paper we reflect upon criteria for useful climate change communication gained over a three year development process of a web-based tool – VisAdapt™ – aimed at increasing the adaptive capacity among Nordic homeowners. Based on the results from continuous user-testing and focus group interviews we outline lessons learned and key aspects to consider in the design of tools for communicating complex issues such as climate change effects and adaptive response measures. This is the authors' accepted and refereed manuscript to the article.

Initiatives to adapt to the effects of climate change are growing in number but may fail to achieve the desired outcomes unless critical competing interests are taken into account during the planning process.

The aim of this work was to develop a model for optimizing the life cycle cost of biofuel supply chain under uncertainties. Multiple agriculture zones, multiple transportation modes for the transport of grain and biofuel, multiple biofuel plants, and multiple market centers were considered in this model, and the price of the resources, the yield of grain and the market demands were regarded as interval numbers instead of constants. An interval linear programming was developed, and a method for solving interval linear programming was presented. An illustrative case was studied by the proposed model, and the results showed that the proposed model is feasible for designing biofuel supply chain under uncertainties

The impact of climate change in the Arctic Ocean such as ice melting and ice retreat facilitatesnatural resources extraction. Arctic fossil fuel becomes the drivers of geopolitical changes in theArctic Ocean. Climate change facilitates natural resource extractions and increases competitionbetween states and can result in tensions, even military ones. This article investigates through apolitical and legal analysis the role of China as an emerging regulatory sea power in the ArcticOcean given its assertive “energy hungry country behaviour” in the Arctic Ocean. The United NationsConvention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Arctic Council (AC) are taken into considerationunder climate change effects, to assess how global legal frameworks and institutionscan deal with China’s strategy in the Arctic Ocean. China’s is moving away from its role as “humblepower” to one of “informal imperialistic” resulting in substantial impact on the Arctic and Antarticdynamism. Due to ice-melting, an easy access to natural resources, China’s Arctic strategy in theArctic Ocean has reinforced its military martitime strategy and has profoundly changed its maritimemilitary doctrine shifting from regional to global in the context of UNCLOS. In particular, it iswondered, what China understands about the public order dimension of UNCLOS. The article concludesthat despite China’ assertive behaviour towards the Arctic environmental ocean and its rise as global sea power, for the time being, China cannot be considered as a variable for Arctic securityas there are no sufficient legal and policy objective elements to adduct that it constitutes athreat to Artic ocean security.

In a global context, the outlook for the Nordic region is relatively favourable, given its relatively stronger resiliency to climate change impacts in comparison to many other geo-political regions of the world. Overall, the projected climatic changes include increases in mean temperatures and in precipitation, although regional variations can be significant. The countries’ robust institutions and economies give them a strong capacity to adapt to these changes. Still, the need for adaptation to the changing climate has been and still is substantial, and in most of the region, there has been progress on the issue. This paper explores the potential for Nordic cooperation on adaptation; specifically, for the development of a regional adaptation strategy. In particular, it addresses two questions (1) What is the current state of adaptation in the Nordic countries? and (2) What are the potential benefits and weaknesses of a Nordic strategy for adaptation? In order to answer these two questions, this paper examines reviews the current national adaptation policies of each Nordic country and discusses the challenges facing a Nordic strategy and finally assesses the potential for common Nordic adaptation policy and further cooperation.

Collective actions of stakeholders are required for fulfilling the climate commitments of the Kyoto protocol. The insurance sector's global influence and societal impact is fairly well documented. The sector influences societies based on its interaction with stakeholders, on its products, business and political stance. As such, it is a critical actor in facilitating key climate change actions of mitigation and adaptation, and has already been recognized as a leading sector in terms of climate adaptation. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of non-life insurers in fulfilling the climate commitments of the Kyoto Protocol. This paper is based on a case study on Nordic non-life insurance companies. The study documents that Nordic insurers are responding to climate-related threats and opportunities in a strategic manner by reducing their own impacts, through their core activities, and by influencing others to act. Although Nordic insurers do not classify their actions into mitigation and adaptation, but classify them according to their core activities, they demonstrate through actions their role as potential allies for nations in fulfilling the Kyoto protocol climate commitments. The study also reveals that the commercial reality of the industry is not the same as the expected contribution to climate commitments, for instance as specified in international conventions and treaties and in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and industry reports.

This chapter provides findings of a working group from the NATO conference on Sustainable Cities and Military Installations, whose purpose was to identify the emerging challenges and methods in water resources management. The chapter identifies several themes of sustainable water resources planning, including: (i) the triple net zero concept of water, energy, and materials; (ii) risk, uncertainty, and future scenarios as multiple planning criteria; (iii) interactions within and across multiple spatial and temporal scales; and (iv) application of the second law of thermodynamics to ecological systems.

This review paper focuses on an important new question: how can climate change affect maritime and other cities of Southeast Asia, and what challenges and possible responses can be identified based on historical and current regional policies and action, especially with regard to air pollution? This review was undertaken as part of the ISDP and ISEAS sponsored initiative: Regional Cooperation in Environmental Protection: Lessons from Two Regions (EU and ASEAN). We examined the cases of the EU and ASEAN policies for the protection of air quality from a scientific practitioner’s point of view. We seek to ascertain if ASEAN can respond to regional human-induced environmental problems given existing problems of national sovereignty and the interest-based character of ASEAN-type associations, since ASEAN’s goal, in contrast to that of the EU, has been regional cooperation rather than regional integration. Both regions are responding differently to climate change and the global economic and environmental realities resulting from, or arising in reaction to, their policies (or lack thereof ). While the EU and ASEAN can and should learn from one another and their relations have been the subject of studies (see for example), there are still challenges to be addressed to effectively drive improvement of critical regional (air) pollution issues that may ultimately impact health and productivity. Each regional organization has in its own manner made exemplary efforts towards resolving environmental degradation within its own region and taken efforts to make a positive international impact, but there is still the need for international treaties and more local efforts to empower the regional visions. Our aim is to highlight the status of the respective policy frameworks and exemplify areas in which we can learn from one another in the field of air pollution, given its global relevance for climate change. We conclude by suggesting a strategic summary framework for future action. This paper is not meant to be a history of either EU or ASEAN policy; for this, the reader is referred instead to appropriate literature, most notably the EU Environmental Policy Handbook, especially the air quality chapter (3) with excellent background information on European Atmospheric Environment Policy.

Publisher Summary Theoretical techniques have revolutionized the study of chemistry. Due to the parallel development of theoretical methods and computing power, quantum chemistry has become fast and flexible, often yielding detailed insight into chemical processes that cannot be obtained in the laboratory. The earliest report of combining quantum chemistry with the atmosphere deals with the excitation of nitrogen and oxygen molecules as the primary event in the photo-excitation of the atmosphere. Models of atmospheric chemistry have grown with the abilities of computers and the demands of simulating climate change. One example is the simulation of isotopic fractionation in the photolysis of nitrous oxide isotopologues using time-dependent wave-packet propagation. Quantum chemistry provides data that improves understanding of chemical kinetics. The data is further used as input for parameterizing transport and deposition models or chemical reaction schemes in models of various other atmospheric processes. Theoretical techniques are tested through comparison to laboratory measurements and atmospheric observations, and then further applied towards predicting mechanisms and reaction rates which are currently unknown.

In nearly all domains of Global Change Research (GCR), the role of humans is a key factor as a driving force, a subject of impacts, or an agent in mitigating impacts and adapting to change. While advances have been made in the conceptualisation and practice of interdisciplinary Global Change Research in fields such as climate change and sustainability, approaches have tended to frame interdisciplinarity as actor-led, rather than understanding that complex problems which cut across disciplines may require new epistemological frameworks and methodological practices that exceed any one discipline. GCR studies must involve from their outset the social, human, natural and technical sciences in creating the spaces of interdisciplinarity, its terms of reference and forms of articulation. We propose a framework for funding excellence in interdisciplinary studies, named the Radically Inter- and Trans-disciplinary Environments (RITE) framework. RITE includes the need for a realignment of funding strategies to ensure that national and international research bodies and programmes road-map their respective strengths and identified areas for radical interdisciplinary research; then ensure that these areas can and are appropriately funded and staffed by talented individuals who want to apply their creative scientific talents to broader issues than their own field in the long term, rather than on limited scope (5 year and less) research projects. While our references are mostly to Europe, recommendations may be applicable elsewhere. In nearly all domains of Global Change Research (GCR), the role of humans is a key factor as a driving force, a subject of impacts, or an agent in mitigating impacts and adapting to change. While advances have been made in the conceptualisation and practice of interdisciplinary Global Change Research in fields such as climate change and sustainability, approaches have tended to frame interdisciplinarity as actor-led, rather than understanding that complex problems which cut across disciplines may require new epistemological frameworks and methodological practices that exceed any one discipline.GCR studies must involve from their outset the social, human, natural and technical sciences in creating the spaces of interdisciplinarity, its terms of reference and forms of articulation. We propose a framework for funding excellence in interdisciplinary studies, named the Radically Inter- and Trans-disciplinary Environments (RITE) framework. RITE includes the need for a realignment of funding strategies to ensure that national and international research bodies and programmes road-map their respective strengths and identified areas for radical interdisciplinary research; then ensure that these areas can and are appropriately funded and staffed by talented individuals who want to apply their creative scientific talents to broader issues than their own field in the long term, rather than on limited scope (5 year and less) research projects. While our references are mostly to Europe, recommendations may be applicable elsewhere.