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The article is devoted to the study of legislation in the sphere of adaptation of agricultural production to climate change. It is noted that the implementation of this type of activity is not only related to environmental pollution, but also directly depends on favorable climatic conditions. It is stated that the norms that regulate relations in the sphere of adaptation of agricultural production to climate change in Ukraine are contained in various legal acts, mostly of a strategic or conceptual in nature. Sometimes their norms are inconsistent and contradictory. There is no mechanism for the implementation of the measures established in these documents. So, their implementation becomes optional. In particular, the Recommendations on the adaptation of agriculture to climate change for the period up to 2030, which are provided by the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Realization Concept of State Policy in the Sphere of Climate Change for the Period up to 2030, approved by the Decree of the CMU of December 6, 2017 № 878-p, are unadopted. It is claimed that for solving the problem of adaptation of agriculture to climate change, it is especially important to increase the role of organic production as an activity that contributes to sustainable development of rural areas and solving a number of social problems. Because organic production is one of the most common direction of climate smart agriculture, it is proposed to put Consept of this one on basis of the legislation about adaptation of Ukrainian agricult ure to climate change. Taking into account the significant negative impact of agricultural production to the environment, we propouse to provide agriculture among the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions (industry, energy and transport) into the Ukrainian Law of February 28, 2019 «About the Basic Principles (Strategy) of the Ukrainian State Environmental Policy for the Period up to 2 030» (part I) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the predictive relationships among climate policy uncertainty (CPU), oil prices, and renewable energy (RE) stock market returns, particularly highlighting the challenges posed by the varying data frequencies of these variables. The study utilizes a comprehensive dataset comprising monthly CPU, daily oil prices, and RE stock returns, sourced globally. By applying a mixed-frequency causality test (MFCT), the analysis reveals significant predictability across different time horizons, particularly highlighting the strong influence of oil prices on RE stock returns over short-term horizons, while CPU demonstrates a more pronounced effect over medium to long-term horizons. In contrast, the application of the classical Granger causality test on low-frequency (monthly) data indicates an insignificant relationship between CPU and RE stocks, suggesting that traditional models may overlook important predictive dynamics. The analysis was conducted using Matlab code, and the findings provide valuable insights for policymakers in designing effective climate policies and for investors in optimizing portfolio strategies and hedging against risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, economic growth has been closely coupled to carbon emissions responsible for climate change, but to stabilize global mean temperature, net-zero carbon emissions are necessary. Some economies have begun to reduce emissions while continuing to grow, but this decoupling is not fast enough to achieve global climate targets. Subnational climate actions seem to be crucial for the achievement of these targets. Here, we uncover the effectiveness of subnational efforts by estimating decoupling rates and CO2 emission intensities over the last three decades for over 1,500 subnational regions, encompassing 85% of global emissions, using global data on reported economic output and gridded production-based emissions. Thirty percent of regions with available data have fully decoupled, with higher-income and historically carbon-intensive regions exhibiting higher rates of decoupling and declining emission intensity. Countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development with greater spending on subnational climate actions show higher decoupling rates, as do subnational regions in EU countries where climate policies have been implemented, highlighting the effectiveness of subnational policies. Moreover, subnational analysis reveals greater variance of decoupling rates within national boundaries than between them and that countries with weaker governance typically show higher variance of decoupling within their borders. If recent rates of production-based carbon decoupling continue, less than half of subnational regions would reach net-zero before 2050, even when accounting for observed acceleration via socioeconomic development and assuming no interregional carbon leakage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy transition in the electricity sector is central to limiting global warming to 1.5 °C. Countries around the world rely on official planning documents, such as strategies, special programs, and action plans, to guide these efforts. However, there are few systematic approaches and tools that can help policy makers determine comprehensiveness, coherence, consistency, and coordination when designing these planning documents. This represents a risk to meet energy transition and climate change goals if the relationships of policies and actions included in these documents are not addressed properly. To this end, this paper proposes an approach to model hierarchical relationships using the theory of change, while causal relationships are allocated using policy makers' experience (yet can also be exogenously allocated using other models). As a case study, this work investigates Mexico's energy transition policy of the electricity sector over the 2013–2018 period. The results show that Mexico's official planning documents lack a good design since most policies and actions are not articulated in the right sequence and privilege clean centralized and distributed generation and energy efficiency, while others related to the modernization of electrical grids and climate and environmental policies are barely included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores hydrological and meteorological drought in the Coastal Constantine basin, the Cheffia and Mexa dams in northeast Algeria in particular, using a time series of monthly rainfall and dam inflow data over 54 years (1965–2018). Recently, these dams have experienced recurring droughts, significantly reducing water storage and severely impacting the population's drinking water supply. To better assess the severity and trends of these droughts, we applied a range of methods (Mann-Kendall test, Sen's slope estimator, Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI), and Innovative Trend Analysis (ITA) method). SPI and SSI were chosen because they can be applied across various timescales, easy to calculate, and have demonstrated accuracy. Additionally, the trend analysis techniques were preferred because they have few assumptions, are resistant to incomplete data, offer the advantage of visual interpretation, and have the ability to capture changes within data subgroups. The findings analysis shows an autumn rainfall increase (1.18 mm/year) and a significant spring decrease (-2.23 mm/year). In addition, an annual rainfall trend magnitude ranging from − 5.26 mm/year to 1.71 mm/year. The Cheffia Dam experiences a summer inflow decrease (-0.05 hm³/year) and an overall annual decline (-0.35 hm³/year), while the Mexa Dam shows a significant spring inflow decrease (-0.17 hm³/year) with a slight annual decline (-0.07 hm³/year). The ITA method revealed severe and prolonged droughts with increasing severity over time, as shown by the SPI and SSI drought trend analysis. These trends affirm the growing impact of reduced precipitation on water resources and emphasize the urgent need for proactive water management strategies in the region. The results highlight the extremely difficult conditions and the severe drought, particularly in central parts of the basin, over the past 54 years, and underscore ongoing challenges in managing water resources amid changing climatic conditions. This situation negatively impacts the Boulatane dam project and the under-construction Boukhroufa dam. Thus, it is necessary to implement necessary measures to mitigate the effects of prolonged droughts on water availability and infrastructure development. The study's findings provide a foundation for spatial and temporal analysis and management of droughts in water-stressed regions globally, in the context of climate change with innovative techniques. The results emphasize the need for policymakers to prepare for droughts and adopt early warning systems. It is recommended that water conservation efforts be strengthened, new water structures be built, and climate change policies be adapted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa faces huge challenges of poverty and unemployment, yet at the same time, needs to make a contribution to climate action. Historically, our pattern of development gave rise to the 'minerals-energy complex', locking us into low employment and high emissions development. It has proved difficult to change this structure, with political economy interests opposing shifts and high adjustment costs. We analyse policy instruments that can reshape the development path: reducing incentives to capital-intensive and high emissions heavy industry, ending direct and indirect support for cheap electricity, and removing fossil fuel subsidies. Industrial policy should pay attention to creating comparative advantage in more labour-demanding sectors. Agriculture can create employment, while enhancing carbon sinks. Based on our exploration of such policy instruments, we suggest that future development can align employment and mitigation objectives, seeking synergies across industrial, energy, and climate policy, while at the same time managing trade-offs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective carbon taxation is essential for achieving the green transition. However, there is typically stiff opposition to carbon taxation due to adverse equity and other impacts. Hence, it is essential to get a better understanding of which factors, including the use of tax revenue, can increase acceptability. To date, stated preference methods, rarely used to analyse this issue, have focused only on households. We conduct two national choice experiment surveys of Norwegian households and companies. The experiments include carbon taxes on transport fuel and associated emission reductions and different revenue recycling options as attributes. We find that both groups are more accepting of higher tax levels if the revenues finance climate change mitigation efforts. There is some heterogeneity among the groups with regard to using revenues to reduce different dimensions of inequality. Simulating policy scenarios, we find acceptance for the highest carbon tax among both groups when the revenues are used both to finance climate change mitigation efforts and to reduce rural-urban inequalities. This policy option points to an acceptable carbon tax close to an estimated level necessary for reaching the most ambitious climate target set by the Norwegian government. In Norway, further research should explore whether an effective carbon tax level could be achieved with modest efficiency loss, while also alleviating inequality. Key policy insights: Policymakers need a better understanding of the factors, including the use of associated tax revenues, that increase carbon tax acceptability in order to ensure that the tax is high enough to effectively reduce emissions. Simultaneously considering levels of carbon tax acceptance among households and companies could increase the chance of implementing higher, more effective carbon tax levels by identifying mutual interests and points of divergence. Our results show that companies and households concur to a certain extent on the most socially acceptable policy option; earmarking carbon tax revenues to finance climate change mitigation efforts and to reduce rural-urban inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and implementation of targeted policies and programmes are crucial to addressing climate challenges. In this study, we sought to understand the means by and extent to which the Central American Climate-Smart Agriculture Strategy (EASAC) has contributed to addressing the specific climate challenges facing the regional agricultural sector. We applied a theory-based evaluation and contribution analysis to examine this policy and identified 252 changes at the national and regional levels that align with the EASAC theory of change (ToC). Contribution analysis revealed that none of the 23 changes we assessed could be attributed solely to the EASAC; however, it contributed directly, in combination with other actors and institutions, to 10 such changes. Our results question the efficacy of non-binding regional policies, such as the EASAC, in influencing national policy changes and highlight the dependency of climate policy implementation on international cooperation in the Central American Integration System region. Intersectoral and actor coordination, the availability of technical and research expertise, and research input appear critical to the successful implementation of regional climate policy. Key policy insights Theory-based assessments and contribution analyses are relevant and rigorous tools that can be effectively applied to climate policy. They enable a deeper understanding and more effective management of climate governance. International organizations play crucial roles in translating international agreements into policies, particularly in Central America, where public climate finance remains limited. Such organizations are responsible for developing and funding policies that align with these agreements. Many changes aligned with the EASAC ToC framework have been observed, reflecting the dynamic process of up-scaling regional climate-smart agriculture. Most changes have been focused on policy formulation and adjustment, with fewer related to establishing alliances and platforms for dialogue. The EASAC strategy of targeting non-binding regional governance to influence national governments is inherently limited and may be ineffective on its own. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobility is one of the most debated issues in the current discussion on transport policies and the climate change. Related indicators are the modal split, transport growth and travel time savings, used for travel behaviour evaluations. In official transport statistics, the modal split is generally used in two ways, according to the number of modal trips and to the modal trip length. Although they are usually used separately, we will show that they are directly connected, where the latter is a weighted version of the former. The introduction of the reference units of "person" and "day" overcomes the limitations of a trip-based definition and extends the ansatz to a mobility-based methodology, where all modal combinations can be considered. Empirical data analysis shows, that transport growth is founded on the increase of individual motorised transport at the disadvantage of pedestrians, whereas other modes remain fairly stable. Daily travel time generally increases especially with individual motorised transport in comparison to non-motorised modes, which shows an inconsistency, for example, for some assumptions or approaches of travel time savings. The proposed methodology does not require any prior assumptions and provides therefore a simple and general applicability. The data analysis is based on national travel survey data from Germany, Switzerland, UK and USA from the 1970-ies up to 2018. One main result of the paper is a frame of reference for the relativity of mobility behaviour, which consistently connects these mobility indicators. • Using modal split definition and developed new functions for mobility behaviour. • Introducing reference units of person and time for a framework for mobility. • The frame of reference provides the basis for a new definition of mobility behaviour. • Further extensions are introduced to transport growth and travel time savings. • A systematic consistency and complementarity is obtained between the mobility indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stringent policies that significantly increase the cost of greenhouse gas emissions, such as CO2$_2$, are increasingly necessary for mitigating climate change. Yet while richer individuals in society generate the most CO2$_2$ emissions and thus will face the largest absolute cost burden, they also tend to be more supportive of stringent environmental policies. In this paper, we examine how information about the distribution of carbon emissions by income affects support for carbon taxation. While carbon taxation is widely advocated as the most efficient policy for mitigating climate change, it faces significant political hurdles due to its distributional costs. Using original survey data, with an embedded experiment, we find that providing information about the actual distribution of household CO2$_2$ emissions by income significantly changes individuals' support for carbon taxation. These effects are particularly pronounced at the bottom of the household income distribution, leading to increased support for costly climate policies. However, individuals who believe that carbon taxes will reduce their income continue to hold their level of support for carbon taxation. Our findings have significant implications for understanding the public's response to the distributional consequences of the green transitions and ultimately their political feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature-based solutions (NbSs) are recognised as relevant to spatial planning in addressing societal challenges, although their uptake is limited and fragmented to some case studies, and difficulties emerge from their implementation and operationalisation. The research developed a literature review to investigate how NbS has been considered for its implementation and operationalisation in spatial planning and how NbS has been included across different policy instruments and used to address climate change adaptation (CCA). The results highlighted: Firstly, the review contributed to bridge the gap in NbS implementation and operationalisation by proposing a novel three-dimensional categorisation system to guide the selection of suitable NbS principles to address societal challenges; secondly, this study still revealed gaps in some policy areas, despite the effort to extensively apply NbS across diverse policy instruments to CCA. Overall, the review further emphasises the need for future research focused on monitoring and evaluating NbS's effectiveness to CCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do discursive fields influence support for climate policies? The European Green Deal (EGD) has gained media attention in part because it was presented as a cross-sectorial strategy aiming to 'transform the European economy'. Our analysis focuses on two specific policy proposals of the EGD: the carbon border adjustment mechanism and the reform for a greener Common Agricultural Policy. By comparing their discourse network structure, we aim to understand policy (dis)continuity introduced with the EGD. We use an original longitudinal dataset and discourse network analysis to map framing dynamics over time and understand how particular frames can gather support in policy networks. Our study shows that two elements favor policy change, namely the resonance of new frames with the discursive field and the presence of brokers connecting previously disconnected actors or coalitions. This paper is relevant for scholars interested in the discursive layer of policy networks as well as (dis)continuity in policy debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ups and downs of climate policy uncertainty (CPU) cast a captivating shadow over the budgets allocated to renewable energy (RE) technologies, where strategic choices and risk assessment will determine the course of our green environmental revolution. The main intention of this investigation is to scrutinize the effect of CPU on the RE technology budgets (RETBs) in the top 10 countries with the highest RE research and development budgets (the USA, China, South Korea, India, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Australia, and Italy). Although former researchers have typically employed panel data tools to contemplate the connection between CPU and RE technology, they repeatedly ignored variations in this connection throughout different economies. In contrast, our research adopts a unique approach, "quantile‐on‐quantile," to check this association at the country‐to‐country level. This approach offers a comprehensive worldwide perspective while procuring tailor‐made perceptions for individual economies. The outcomes suggest that CPU significantly decreases RETBs across several data quantiles in our sample nations. In addition, the outcomes underscore that the connections between our variables differ among nations. These outcomes highlight the significance of policymakers implementing thorough appraisals and skillfully governing plans relevant to CPU and RETBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the huge difference in their climatic regimes, the OECD countries are among the world's largest energy consumers and emitters of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide. Nonetheless, no studies have been conducted to decompose and decouple the long-term influential primary factors of carbon emissions for these countries. In this research, the Log Mean Divisia Method I is used to inspect the contribution of several influencing factors to fill this knowledge gap. Moreover, Tapio (Transp Policy 12(2):137–151, 2005) decomposition analysis (DA) is performed to investigate the driving forces of CO2 emissions over the 1990–2019 years. The study provides an in-depth analysis of how to reduce CO2 emissions and the factors that contribute to their variation, which is crucial for both global and regional climate change policies. DA shows that, up to 2004, the activity effect and the population effect drove the emissions to increase; while, in more recent years, the activity effect was able to curb the emissions. Decoupling analysis show the prevalence of the expansive negative decoupling regime for the 1990–2004 and 2015–2019 periods, while several countries were in the strong decoupling phase over the central period (2005–2009). According to the results, further efforts to increase energy efficiency, political support for digitalization and decentralized energy systems, and setting up a unique emission trading system are recommended for air pollution reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predicting tourism demand is crucial for policymakers and stakeholders in the tourism industry, enabling them to enhance promotional strategies, optimize marketing efforts, align investments, and achieve operational efficiency. While existing research has highlighted the negative impact of global risk factors such as geopolitical risks, economic policy uncertainty, and climate changes on tourism demand, the specific influence of climate policy changes and their differential impact on tourist arrivals has been less explored. Addressing this gap, our study employs bivariate, multiple, and partial wavelet methods to analyze the differential impact of climate policy uncertainty and geopolitical risk on tourism arrivals in the United States. Utilizing recent monthly data from January 1996 to August 2022, we uncover significant time-frequency varying dependencies between these factors and tourism demand. Our causality analysis reveals that both geopolitical risk and climate policy uncertainty are key determinants of tourism demand in the U.S. Furthermore, the Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag model corroborates the findings of the wavelet analysis, highlighting asymmetrical interactions in the long run. These findings offer valuable insights and have significant implications for policymakers and industry stakeholders, suggesting the need for adaptive and responsive tourism strategies that consider the evolving landscape of geopolitical and climate policy uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the influence of climate policy uncertainty (CPU) on corporate cash holding decisions of U.S. tourism and hospitality firms. We find that CPU is negatively associated with corporate cash holdings for tourism and hospitality firms in the United States. A further analysis indicates that the impact of CPU on cash holdings lasts 2 years and disappears afterward. We also show that CPU is negatively associated with corporate cash holdings for hotel firms, but its impacts on airline, restaurant, and casino firms are insignificant. Results from cross-sectional analyses show that financial constraints and climate risk exposure moderate the relationship between CPU and corporate cash holdings. Our main findings are insensitive to additional robustness tests, including an instrumental variable test and subsample analyses. Our results have timely implications for academics, investors, and regulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While some see carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) as crucial for cost-effective decarbonization, it faces opposition based on air pollution and equity concerns. To understand this cost–air pollution trade-off, we simulate the potential impacts of allowing CCUS deployment in the US power sector under plausible climate policies. We show that the existence of this trade-off critically depends on the underlying policy, which affects the type of generation CCUS could displace: under a policy that incentivizes coal generation, CCUS might improve health outcomes and reduce costs. When we disaggregate our results, we find that the air pollution (PM2.5) effects of allowing CCUS, positive or negative, are largest for Black and low-income populations. We show that allowing CCUS can yield energy-cost savings, particularly benefiting lower-income communities. Our sensitivity analyses highlight the effects of uncertainties on costs and benefits. Overall, this study contributes to our understanding of broader distributional consequences of allowing CCUS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate mitigation policies have broad environmental and socioeconomic impacts and thus underpin progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through national-scale integrated modeling, we explore the spillover effects of China's long-term climate mitigation pathways (CMPs) on achieving all 17 SDGs, and then identify a cost-effective CMP for China with co-benefits for sustainability. Our analysis indicates that the 9 original CMPs and 180 bundled CMPs can both substantially boost the SDGs, resulting in an increase of 6.33–8.86 and 5.90–9.33 points in overall SDG score (0=no progress, 100=full achievement) by 2060, compared to the Reference pathway of 70.75 points, respectively. The identified cost-effective CMP deals with the trade-offs among sustainability, CO2 emissions and mitigation cost, and maximizes the synergies between them. This CMP can inform future directions for China's policy-makers to maximize the potential synergies between carbon neutrality and long-term sustainable development. Climate mitigation have broad effects on achieving Sustainable Development Goals. This paper explores the spillover effects of China's climate mitigation pathways and identify a cost-effective pathway with co-benefits for sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a theory of gradualism in the implementation of good policies, suitable for environments featuring time consistency. We downplay the role of the initial period by allowing agents both to wait for future agents to start equilibrium play and to restart the equilibrium by ignoring past history. The allocation gradually transits toward one that weighs both short- and long-term concerns, stopping short of the Ramsey outcome but greatly improving upon Markovian equilibria. We use the theory to account for the slow emergence of both climate policies and the reduction of global tariff rates. (JEL C73, E21, E61, F13, H30) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to unravel the relationship between market-driven impacts of climate change and firms' deployment of renewable energy (RE) innovation. The purpose is to understand how market-related forces, influenced by uncertainty, shape firms' behaviour in response to climate change challenges. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on the behavioural theory of the firm (BTOF), the paper develops a conceptual model to decode the relationship between each category of market-driven impacts and the resulting RE innovation within firms. The model takes into account the role of uncertainty and differentiates between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and domestic firms. Findings: The analysis reveals five key sources of market-driven impacts: investor sentiment, media coverage, competitors' adoption of ISO 14001, customer satisfaction and shareholder activism. These forces influence the adoption of RE innovation differently across firms, depending on the level of uncertainty and the discrepancy between environmental performance and aspiration level. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the literature in four ways. Firstly, it emphasises the importance of uncertainty associated with market-driven impacts, which stimulates different responses from firms. Secondly, it fills a research gap by focusing on the proactivity of firms in adopting RE innovation, rather than just operational strategies to curb emissions. Thirdly, the paper extends the BTOF by incorporating the concept of uncertainty in explaining firm behaviour. Finally, it provides insights into the green strategies of MNEs in the face of climate change, offering a comprehensive model that differentiates MNEs from domestic firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive energy consumption and poor regulatory framework in urban areas have created environmental slums and are a serious threat to sustainability. East Asian and Pacific economies are vulnerable to climate crises and striving for sustainability by transition to green energy and taking climate initiatives. In the past, no study has explored the effectiveness of energy transitions and climate actions in the context of East Asia and Pacific. To understand the effectiveness of these efforts, this study has been planned and executed to examine the impact of energy transition and climate actions, along with emissions from residential and commercial buildings, per capita income, and effective governance, on sustainable cities and communities in East Asia and the Pacific region. The study utilizes panel data of six high‐income countries and 11 lower‐middle and upper‐middle income countries from 2000 to 2022 for comparative empirical analysis. Empirical analysis is performed using truncated regression due to the nature of the data. The study found that energy transition, climate actions, and governance effectiveness increase the sustainability of cities and communities. However, emissions from residential buildings and per capita income adversely affect the sustainability of cities and communities. Furthermore, the dynamics of energy transition and climate change vary according to the income classifications of East Asian and Pacific countries. Energy transition and emissions showed a higher impact in HICs, while climate actions were more resilient in lower‐middle and upper‐middle income countries. These findings emphasize the transition to clean and green energy, prompt climate policy actions, and effective governance to ensure sustainability in East Asian and Pacific cities and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the years, Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) has been recognized as a crucial element in the toolkit of measures to combat climate change. At the European Union (EU) level, CCS plays a vital role in climate policy, particularly in reducing CO2 emissions from hard-to-abate industries. However, no comprehensive legal framework covers all stages of CCS. These stages include carbon capture techniques, transportation by ships or pipelines, injection, site closure, and post-closure management. Each of these stages is regulated by different legal frameworks that address various topics such as geoengineering, climate change, industrial activities, property, transportation, port operations, waste management, dumping, health, and the environment. Critical legal questions remain unanswered, such as who is liable for discharges in the marine environment during the transportation of CO2 by ships and for the long-term management of sub-seabed storage sites. As the transportation of CO2 by ships will likely have transboundary implications, we explore the legal possibilities, limitations and risks associated with exporting CO2 streams for sequestration under the sub-seabed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing influence of regional governments in shaping climate policy and driving the renewable energy transition in multilevel democracies like Spain provides incentives for parties in favor of decentralization to emphasize these issues. Recent research has shown that such parties act as climate pioneers at the regional tier of government, driven by their desire to assert stronger subnational authority. To investigate these dynamics at the national level, this article examines the manifestos of the parties that won seats in the 2016, 2019, and 2023 Spanish national elections. The empirical findings suggest that parties are more likely to prioritize climate change and the renewable energy transition if they are pro-decentralization. By emphasizing how multilevel governance strengthens these priorities through party competition and the quest for regional autonomy, this article fills an important gap spanning decentralization and policy preferences related to climate and renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how European think tanks with obstructive positions on climate policy use the social network X to advance their agendas. The aim is to understand their digital communication strategies, the issues they address, the use of hyperlinks, and the impact on interaction and online polarization. A mixed-methods analysis was conducted on tweets from twelve organizations known for opposing climate policies. Out of an initial 96,607 tweets, 803 relevant messages were selected to evaluate thematic content and interaction reach. The analysis identified five dominant thematic areas in the tweets: economic impacts of climate policy, ideological perspectives, questioning of official science, proposed technological solutions, and other messages. The higher levels of interaction were generated by messages with a political or ideological focus and those proposing technological solutions. In addition, most hyperlinks directed users to the think tanks' own websites rather than to external sources. European anti-climate change think tanks use social network X to promote their agendas through ideological and technical messages that generate high engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The OCO-2 and GOSAT series of satellites provide near-global coverage of CO2 and CH4 mixing ratios. To accurately derive emission fluxes from the observed mixing ratios, it is crucial that these data meet specific precision and systematic error requirements. In this study, we report validation results for GOSAT and OCO-2 over South Asia, obtained using a portable Fourier Transform infrared Spectrometer (FTS) at a tropical rural site (Gadanki; Latitude: 13.45° N, Longitude: 79.18° E) in Southern India, from November 2015 to July 2016. Biases in CH4 mixing ratios from GOSAT ranged from -9 to -18.5 ppb, depending on the collocation criteria, while CO2 data from OCO-2 demonstrated better accuracy and precision, meeting the requirements of ESA's Climate Change Initiative (CCI). Using the FLEXPART model, we also show that CH4 emissions from regional sources accounted for only 35 % of the day-to-day observed variability. Both model-derived and observed mixing ratios exhibited the same seasonal variation, with higher values in October–November and lower values in June–July. However, the observed mixing ratios decreased by approximately 100 ppb, while the model-derived values decreased by only 20 ppb, suggesting that atmospheric chemistry and variations in background concentrations play a significant role over South India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the impact of Climate Policy Uncertainty (CPU) on real estate market volatility, utilizing the CPU index to assess how climate policy affects various real estate segments. It highlights the significant impact of CPU on sectors with high energy demand and emissions, such as industrial and residential. A multi-horizon analysis reveals the long-term sensitivity of CPU's influence, with significant sensitivity noted in coastal regions prone to climate risks. The findings provide crucial insights for investors and policymakers, emphasizing the importance of integrating CPU considerations into strategic decision-making for real estate investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic emissions alter atmospheric composition and therefore the climate, with implications for air pollution- and climate-related human health. Mortality attributable to air pollution and non-optimal temperature is a major concern, expected to shift under future climate change and socioeconomic scenarios. In this work, results from numerical simulations are used to assess future changes in mortality attributable to long-term exposure to both non-optimal temperature and air pollution simultaneously. Here we show that under a realistic scenario, end-of-century mortality could quadruple from present-day values to around 30 (95% confidence level:12-53) million people/year. While pollution-related mortality is projected to increase five-fold, temperature-related mortality will experience a seven-fold rise, making it a more important health risk factor than air pollution for at least 20% of the world's population. These findings highlight the urgent need to implement stronger climate policies to prevent future loss of life, outweighing the benefits of air quality improvements alone. For different future scenarios, end-of-century mortality could quadruple from present day values. Importantly, the non-optimal temperature attributable mortality will increase at faster rate than the air pollution one, making it a more important health risk factor than air pollution for at least 20% of the world's population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges that local governments have in achieving climate objectives, both within EU member states' national climate policy and national climate law, and how this relates to the literature on multi-level governance. More specifically, the differences and similarities between the national climate plans and national climate legislation of four selected member states (Germany, Ireland, Netherlands and Spain) have been examined. The findings from this can be related to the literature on multi-level governance when it comes to opportunities and challenges regarding the role that local governments fulfill. On the one hand, local governments are often seen as potential key drivers that can successfully work together and whose involvement can lead to more effective climate governance. On the other hand, local governments are legally and financially dependent on higher levels of government in the implementation of their assigned climate-related tasks and responsibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the potential role of climate policy uncertainty (CPU) on the long-term correlations between clean energy and different energy metals based on the DCC-MIDAS model. Our results show that CPU negatively affects the long-term correlation and will cause an additional negative impact when it increases. Moreover, risk management performance results show that energy metals are potential diversification tools for the clean energy asset and the efficiency is improved during the high-CPU period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea ice altimetry currently remains the primary method for estimating sea ice thickness from space, however time-series of sea ice thickness estimates are of limited use without having been quality-controlled against reference measurements. Such reference observations for sea ice thickness validation in the polar regions are sparse and rarely presented in a format matching the satellite-derived products. Here, the first published comprehensive collection of sea ice reference observations including freeboard, thickness, draft and snow depth from sea ice-covered regions in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) and the Southern Hemisphere (SH) is presented. The observations have been collected using airborne sensors, autonomous drifting buoys, moored and submarine-mounted upward-looking sonars, and visual observations. The data package has been prepared to match the spatial (25 km for NH and 50 km for SH) and temporal (monthly) resolutions of conventional satellite altimetry-derived sea ice thickness data products for a direct evaluation of these. This data package, also known as the Climate Change Initiative (CCI) sea ice thickness (SIT) Round Robin Data Package (RRDP) was produced within the ESA CCI sea ice project. The current version of the CCI SIT RRDP covers the polar satellite altimetry era (1993–2021) and is part of ongoing efforts to keep the dataset updated. The CCI SIT RRDP has been collocated to satellite-derived sea ice thickness products from CryoSat-2, Envisat and ERS-1/2 produced within ESA CCI and the Fundamental Data Records for Altimetry (FDR4ALT) project to demonstrate the overlap and inter-comparison between the reference observations and satellite-derived products. Here, the CCI SIT RRDP is introduced along with examples of its use as a validation source for satellite altimetry products, where the averaging, collocation and uncertainty methodology is presented and their advantages and limitations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding predictors of climate policy support is important for tackling climate change. Previous research demonstrated that policy support is partially driven by cultural worldviews. Yet, treating policies as a homogeneous concept, this literature neglected the existence of different policy types. Making this distinction is important because each type implies a distinct solution to the same problem (i.e., carbon emissions) with varying degrees of retained freedom for agents. Given that diverging worldviews imply different preferences for individual freedom, we hypothesize an interaction between policy types and cultural worldviews on climate policy support: Policy support is stronger when the retained freedom of a policy type is aligned with the worldview‐based preferences for such freedom. Using a representative sample of the UK population (N = 1991) and actual policy proposals of UK political parties, our results partly support our hypothesized interaction. Although communitarian‐egalitarians, compared to all other worldview groups, indicated stronger support across policy types, contrary to our hypothesis they showed their weakest support for command‐and‐control and their strongest for information‐based policies. Individualist‐hierarchists, in contrast and in line with our argument, showed the weakest support for command‐and‐control policies and strongest support for voluntary policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Aims Design Methods Results Conclusion Implications for Nursing Profession Impact Reporting Method Patient or Public Contribution To examine the relationship between organisational agility and nurses' green work behaviour and to assess how climate activism mediates this relationship. Understanding this relationship is crucial for promoting sustainable practices in healthcare.A cross‐sectional research design was employed. This approach was chosen to examine how organisational agility and climate activism simultaneously influence green work behaviour in the present context, providing a snapshot of their synergistic interactions.This study was conducted in 2024 at eight hospitals in Egypt, with a total of 781 nurses conveniently selected for participation. Data were collected using validated instruments: the Agility Survey, Employee Green Behaviour Scale and Environmental Action Scale. Correlation and path analyses were utilised to test the study hypotheses.Nurses reported moderate levels of organisational agility, climate activism and green work behaviour. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between organisational agility, climate activism and green work behaviour. Organisational agility and climate activism emerged as significant predictors of green work behaviour, with climate activism acting as a partial mediator between organisational agility and green work behaviour.This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on fostering sustainable nursing practices as results indicate that agile organisations, which embrace flexibility and nurse‐led climate initiatives, are better positioned to promote sustainable behaviour.Practical strategies include selecting nurses with high climate literacy, designing agile working strategies and promoting eco‐conscious behaviours. Nurse leaders should develop policies that integrate climate initiatives into everyday practice to enhance green work behaviour.The healthcare sector faces increasing environmental challenges, making it crucial to foster green work behaviour. Our study addresses a gap in the literature by revealing that organisational agility and climate activism are essential drivers of green behaviour among nurses, offering actionable insights for greening healthcare practices.This study was reported in accordance with the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE).No patient or public contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I offer a way to measure the stringency of climate change legislation for macro-comparative studies using publicly available data. The paper is innovative in that it examines the complex interrelationship between national, subnational, and supranational legislation using data from the FaoLex database on environmental laws and policies. It is also novel in that it conducts a contextualized comparison that takes into account different national conditions for climate change policies. The resulting index is the Gross Potential Impact (GPI), which is a measure of the stimulus of legislation before taking into account implementation issues. To demonstrate the validity of the index, findings from case study research on the European Union's 2020 and 2030 climate and energy frameworks are used. The rest of the paper presents the GPI for 21 OECD countries for the period between 1990 and 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aboveground biomass density (AGBD) estimates from Earth Observation (EO) can be presented with the consistency standards mandated by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This article delivers AGBD estimates, in the format of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Tier 1 values for natural forests, sourced from National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) and Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat-2), and European Space Agency's (ESA's) Climate Change Initiative (CCI). It also provides the underlying classification used by the IPCC as geospatial layers, delineating global forests by ecozones, continents and status (primary, young (≤20 years) and old secondary (>20 years)). The approaches leverage complementary strengths of various EO-derived datasets that are compiled in an open-science framework through the Multi-mission Algorithm and Analysis Platform (MAAP). This transparency and flexibility enables the adoption of any new incoming datasets in the framework in the future. The EO-based AGBD estimates are expected to be an independent contribution to the IPCC Emission Factors Database in support of UNFCCC processes, and the forest classification expected to support the generation of other policy-relevant datasets while reflecting ongoing shifts in global forests with climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces a novel application of a temporal convolutional network (TCN) for projecting carbon tax prices, addressing the critical need for accurate forecasting in climate policy. Utilizing data from the World Carbon Pricing Database, we demonstrate that the TCN significantly outperformed traditional time series models in capturing the complex dynamics of carbon pricing. Our model achieved a 31.4% improvement in mean absolute error over ARIMA baselines, with an MAE of 2.43 compared to 3.54 for ARIMA. The TCN model also showed superior performance across different time horizons, demonstrating a 30.0% lower MAE for 1-year projections, and enhanced adaptability to policy changes, with only a 39.8% increase in prediction error after major shifts, compared to ARIMA's 95.6%. These results underscore the potential of deep learning for enhancing the precision of carbon price projections, thereby supporting more informed and effective climate policy decisions. Our findings have significant implications for policymakers and stakeholders in the realm of carbon pricing and climate change mitigation strategies, offering a powerful tool for navigating the complex landscape of environmental economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To accurately assess the current atmospheric methane budget and its future trends, it is essential to apportion and quantify the anthropogenic methane emissions to specific sources. This poses a significant challenge in the under‐sampled Middle East, where estimates predominantly depend on remote sensing observations and bottom‐up reporting of national emissions. Here, we present in situ shipborne observations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and non‐methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) collected along a >10,000‐km route from Vigo, Spain, to Abu Dhabi, UAE. By comparing our observations with Lagrangian dispersion model simulations, coupled with two methane emission inventories, we identify periods of considerable mismatch and apportion the responsible sources. Employing interspecies relationships with NMHCs has enabled the characterization of methane emissions from oil and gas (O&G) operations, urban centers, Red Sea deep water, enteric fermentation, and agriculture across diverse atmospheric environments. Our analysis reveals that the Suez area is a regional emission hotspot, where simulations consistently underestimate the methane emission sources. Importantly, the Middle Eastern O&G sector has been identified as an additional source of considerable uncertainty. Here, methane emissions were alternately underestimated and overestimated by the two inventories, exposing significant gaps in our understanding of fuel exploitation‐related emissions in the Middle East. This underscores the need for further targeted field campaigns and long‐term observations to improve the accuracy of emission data in the inventories. Plain Language Summary: For the mitigation of human‐induced methane emissions, a detailed characterization of its numerous sources is vital. This is particularly challenging in understudied regions where the source attribution and emission strength thus far relies on satellite observations and country reports. Although such data, representing the entire atmospheric column, are invaluable, source specific emission estimates remain highly uncertain. In this study, we used shipborne measurements of methane to evaluate the performance of two emission inventories commonly used in computer‐based models to simulate methane atmospheric concentrations. The relationships between methane and various co‐emitted reactive trace gases revealed the causes of discrepancies between observations and model simulations. Our results show that, while models are generally reliable at capturing high methane concentrations, they are deficient in the Suez and Middle East areas due to inadequate characterization of emissions from Oil and Gas operations. The research outcomes of this study underscore the crucial role of ground‐based observations in improving the accuracy of methane emission inventories and their reporting, and in supporting evidence‐based policies to mitigate climate change and improve air quality. Key Points: The Suez Canal and the Gulf of Suez are regional pollution hotspots with underestimated methane emission sourcesDiscrepancies between observed and modeled methane mixing ratios were resolved using non‐methane hydrocarbon observationsMethane sources from the oil and gas exploitation sector in the Middle East are particularly uncertain in emission inventories [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'People' are central both to populism, an ideology in which 'people' are pitted against corrupt elites, and to climate science and policy, which advocate 'people-centred' climate action. Our Brief Communication explores references to climate change and 'people' on Twitter (now X). Populist tropes (the people against corrupt elites) were not restricted to climate-sceptical tweets; they extended to tweets that recognised climate change was real but expressed mistrust about climate actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is easy to put words on paper; it is harder to put them into practice. This is evidenced by the frequent discrepancy between a country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and its actual climate policies. In this article, we examine whether such disharmony should be criticized. We first provide a taxonomy of types of disharmony. We then examine various problems with settling the case for a strong norm of harmonization by simply referring to the general principle that commitments ought to be kept. This opens the door to paying more attention to the long-term effects of such a norm on emission reductions. In conclusion, we call for nuance in expecting countries to harmonize their NDCs and national policies. While climate policy offers the perfect test case for this normative examination, many of our arguments could be adapted to other areas in which deviations between international commitments and domestic policies arise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To guide climate change mitigation efforts, we identify and characterize the different types of mitigation strategies countries adopted over the last two decades. The analysis exploits the novel and rich policy repository of the OECD's Climate Actions and Policies Measurement Framework (CAPMF), covering more than 120 policy variables and 50 countries over 2000–2020. All countries in the dataset increased the number of climate policy instruments and their stringency over the past two decades, but at a different pace and using different policy instruments. Using statistical cluster analysis, we identify four distinct types of mitigation strategies, which differ in the composition and stringency of mitigation policies. Regression results show that emissions are negatively associated with the overall stringency of the country's mitigation strategies. Evidence also supports the hypothesis that this relationship is stronger for mitigation strategies comprising a more diverse set of instruments, pointing to possible policy synergies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Green Deal (EGD) has had a significant impact on EU member states. In this article, we examine the extent to which it can also have large consequences for non-members. Based on a qualitative approach comparing Norway and the UK, and drawing on a burgeoning literature on 'turbulence', we ask whether the EGD creates turbulence in non-member states, what the nature of this turbulence is, and whether the extent and nature of turbulence varies with how closely affiliated a non-member is with the EU. Despite the ambitious climate policies of both countries, we identify a significant amount of turbulence generated by the EGD. Interestingly, we also find that turbulence increases with a closer EU-affiliation. However, our analysis also reveals an impressive capacity in both countries to adapt to their turbulent conditions, and a surprising durability of climate and energy policy in the face of turbulence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new dedicated coastal sea level dataset called the International Altimetry Service 2024 (IAS2024, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13208305 , Peng et al., 2024c) has been presented to monitor sea level changes along the world's coastlines. One of the reasons for generating this dataset is the quality of coastal altimeter data has been greatly improved with advanced coastal reprocessing strategies. In this study, the Seamless Combination of Multiple Retrackers (SCMR) strategy is adopted to obtain the reprocessed Jason data for January 2002 and April 2022. The evaluation results show that the data availability of the IAS2024 dataset over global coastal oceans is much higher than that of the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative version 2.3 (ESA CCI v2.3) dataset. The closure of trend differences (0.16 ± 3.98 mm yr−1) between IAS2024 and Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) tide gauge data is observed at the global scale, which further demonstrates the good performance of the IAS2024 dataset in monitoring the coastal sea level changes. The altimeter-based virtual stations have been built with the IAS2024 dataset over 0−10 km, 5−15 km and 10−20 km coastal strips, which will contribute to the analysis of coastal sea levels for the ocean community and the risk management for the policy makers. Our study also points out that no obvious variations exist in linear sea level trends from offshore to the coast in most coastal zones. In addition, the vertical land motion (VLM) estimates from the combination of coastal altimeter data with tide gauge records agree well with the University of La Rochelle 7a (ULR7a) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) solution (0.09 ± 2.22 mm yr−1), suggesting that altimeter-derived VLM estimates can be an independent data source to validate the GNSS solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current and near future climate policy will fundamentally influence the integrity of ecological systems. The Neotropics is a region where biodiversity is notably high and precipitation regimes largely determine the ecology of most organisms. We modeled possible changes in the severity of seasonal aridity by 2100 throughout the Neotropics and used birds to illustrate the implications of contrasting climate scenarios for the region's biodiversity. Under SSP‐8.5, a pessimistic and hopefully unlikely scenario, longer dry seasons (> 5%), and increased moisture stress are projected for about 75% of extant lowland forests throughout the entire region with impacts on 66% of the region's lowland forest avifauna, which comprises over 3000 species and about 30% of all bird species globally. Longer dry seasons are predicted to be especially significant in the Caribbean, Upper South America, and Amazonia. In contrast, under SSP‐2.6—a scenario with significant climate mitigation—only about 10% of the entire region's forest area and 3% of its avifauna will be exposed to longer dry seasons. The extent of current forest cover that may plausibly function as precipitation‐based climate refugia (i.e., < 5% change in length of dry periods) for constituent biodiversity is over 4 times greater under SSP‐2.6 than with SSP‐8.5. Moreover, the proportion of currently protected areas that overlap putative refugia areas is nearly 4 times greater under SSP‐2.6. Taken together, our results illustrate that climate policy will have profound outcomes for biodiversity throughout the Neotropics—even in areas where deforestation and other immediate threats are not currently in play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existential threat of climate change requires reimagining foundational aspects of society, including jobs, transportation, energy, the built environment, natural resources, health, and water and food supplies. We argue that to realize such broad scale change requires systems thinking. In this introduction to the special issue on Nonprofits and Climate Policy, we outline four systems-based views of global social change, organized by source of change and assumptions about the technical rationality of the system: engineering, evolutionary, social constructivist, and (critical) realist. By elaborating this framework, we shed light on the fundamental assumptions embedded in climate advocacy and policymaking. Along with describing key scholarship and practice-based examples for each approach, we align the articles in this special issue with the four views of global social change to inspire systems-based research and practice at the nonprofit and climate policy intersection. We hope that creating more explicit accounts of the key beliefs and expectations about how social change occurs at a global systemic level will help to advance research and practice in sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite substantial progress on understanding the influence of nonprofits in the policy process, the role of nonprofits in local agenda setting remains under-examined. Policy for land conservation is a key plank in climate change mitigation strategies making the role of land trusts in agenda setting for land conservation votes an important topic. Prior studies demonstrate that temperature anomalies increase the likelihood that climate change policy appears on state political agendas. We propose that land trusts play a critical role in facilitating this connection at the local level. Temperature anomalies create a policy window which contributes to the likelihood that conservation measures make it onto the political agenda. Combining temperature, land trust presence, and local conservation vote data from U.S. counties from 2009 to 2019, we find that both temperature anomalies and the presence of land trusts increase the probability that a land conservation measure will appear on the local political agenda. Further, we find that the effect of temperature anomalies on the probability of a vote taking place is conditional on land trust presence within the county. The findings advance existing nonprofit theory on ways in which nonprofits engage in the policy process and hint towards promising avenues of future research. The findings also provide practical evidence for practitioners and hold implications for how local policymakers can leverage existing organizations to implement climate change policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semi-arid agroecosystems are crucial for food security and ecosystem services, but land degradation threatens their sustainability. This study assessed land degradation neutrality (LDN) in a semi-arid agroecosystem of Matabeleland North Province, Zimbabwe, leveraging trends.earth within QGIS and data from the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative (1992–2020). We analysed land use/land cover (LULC), soil organic carbon (SOC), and land productivity to identify areas of degradation and stability. Additionally, we simulated 2050 land-use/land-cover maps using a cellular automata model within a GIS framework assuming a business-as-usual scenario. The model considered the 2015 LULC map as a baseline along with environmental variables such as the digital elevation model and slope. While historical trends (1992–2020) showed a decrease in bare areas (-71%) and an increase in settlements (+ 163%), cellular automata modeling predicted a concerning future trajectory with further expansion of bare land (+ 238%) and settlements (+ 72%) by 2050, alongside a decline in water bodies (-23%) and forests (-3.5%). Notably, around 26.5% of the land exhibited degradation, often linked to low SOC levels in croplands, while 59.55% remained stable over the study period. However, caution is necessary as increases in greenness may not always reflect positive restoration. Land cover transitions, particularly the conversion of forests to grasslands and settlements, emerged as potential drivers of degradation, likely leading to ecosystem service loss, habitat fragmentation, and potentially exacerbating the impacts of climate change. These findings highlight the urgent need for targeted restoration and land management strategies focused on improving SOC levels in croplands and conserving vital forest and grassland ecosystems to achieve LDN in this semi-arid region. Further research is needed to quantify specific degradation drivers, assess the effectiveness of intervention strategies, and explore the socio-economic dimensions of land degradation and LDN efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Data Interpolation Empirical Orthogonal Function (DINEOF) algorithm is used to reconstruct datasets of geophysical and biological variables such as sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll a (Chl a). In this study, we analyze the impact of both the quantity and distribution of missing data on the performance of DINEOF demonstrating how DINEOF plus a connectivity mask can be used for future data reconstruction tasks. We propose an enhanced version of DINEOF (DINEOF+) by adding two steps: 1) Using a 75% threshold of missing data for reconstructing incomplete datasets and 2) masking interpolated points that lack sufficient space–time observations in the original dataset. We successfully apply DINEOF+ to the Ocean Color Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI) global daily Chl a dataset and validate the results using in situ datasets. We find that the recovery rate varies across ocean basins and years. In oligotrophic waters, the daily data coverage increased by 40%–50% during the period from 2003 to 2020. Using DINEOF+ allows us to obtain a significantly higher temporal resolution of global Chl a data, which will improve understanding of marine phytoplankton dynamics in response to changing environments. Significance Statement: We perform an error analysis on the application of DINEOF for reconstructing a global Chl a dataset. The results of this analysis illustrate the impact of missing data—both in terms of quantity and distribution—on the performance of DINEOF. We propose using DINEOF+, an enhanced version of DINEOF that adds an editing step to mask out interpolated points based on the number of surrounding observations in the original input. The performance of DINEOF+ was validated using both simulated and in situ datasets. The results indicate that employing this masking technique effectively reduces biased estimates of missing data. DINEOF+ can be applied to other biogeochemical variables. However, caution is advised when dealing with observations characterized by high variance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Western Climate Initiative cap-and-trade program is presented as a substantial contributor to reach the climate targets set by the governments in California and Québec, by constraining emissions through declining caps. Some doubts have however been cast on the effectiveness of this program. Using a supply–demand model and published data for the third compliance period (2018–2020), we estimate five scenarios for future emissions and changes in the program's features, and we analyse the resulting price path for compliance instruments. Our key contribution rests in the identification of the key drivers of the existing overallocation. Caps were set too high, and less emissions are actually covered compared to what is officially announced (76% in California, against a claimed 80%). Offset credits also contribute to the availability of compliance instruments. These drivers result in an excess of available instruments until 2030, preventing the cap-and-trade program to play its constraining role: caps will be exceeded and emission targets missed, while fully complying with the cap-and-trade requirements. However, putting an end to overallocation would not be sufficient to reach climate targets. Governments should either reduce the level of existing allowance caps by 19–24%, or about 385 Mt, or increase the amount of covered emissions without changing the level of current caps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem, research strategy, and findings: State, local, and private-sector climate policies increasingly require estimates of site-generated vehicle miles traveled (VMT) for individual properties. No standard, agreed-upon method exists for this purpose. If alternative methods produce reasonably consistent results, then an analyst may select a method based on convenience. The purpose of this study was to determine whether this is the case. We reviewed existing applications and methods for estimating site-generated VMT, which can be conceptualized as the product of site-level trip generation and average length of a site-generated trip. We identified four plausible methods for estimating site-level trip generation and three for estimating average lengths of site-generated trips. Combining these yielded 12 methods for estimating site-generated VMT. We applied these methods to estimate trip generation, average trip length, and total VMT generated by eight existing office sites in the San Francisco Bay Area (CA) and the Wasatch Front Region of Utah. We found that trip generation and trip length estimates varied widely, with greater variation in trip generation estimates than in trip length estimates. Variation was magnified when the estimates were multiplied to produce site-generated VMT estimates, with the minimum estimate at a single site ranging from 84% to 96% lower than the corresponding maximum. Takeaway for practice: In the short term, planning policies requiring site developers or occupants to produce site-level estimates of VMT should specify consistent methods to allow for comparison across sites and over time as needed. In the long term, if VMT is to be used as a performance metric, industry-wide standards for estimating it for both existing and prospective projects are needed. Alternatively, policymakers should consider whether the goals of VMT reduction might be better met with a different performance metric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition from fossil fuels poses risks to communities and industries dependent on carbon-heavy work. This article calls for geographical scholarship to engage more fully with the experiences of those 'stranded communities' at risk of such change. It critically reviews examples of deindustrialisation and the decline of coal communities to demonstrate how energy transitions will animate new work and extend geographical understandings of economic restructuring. This paper closes with an agenda for new scholarship to proactively envision decarbonisation in ways that are anticipatory and preventative of future processes of labour restructuring and loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of climate change have been recognized as a global health emergency. Worsening climate stressors are resulting in injury, illness and death. As this threat to health grows, so does the need to adapt. Climate change adaptation has been noted to reduce the risk of disease transmission, chronic illness exacerbation, physical trauma, and the mental health impacts associated with climate change. Cities across Western Canada have initiated the process of implementing health-focused climate change adaptation; however, progress has been slow, leaving communities vulnerable to health threats. Exploring five case study communities in Western Canada, this research sheds light on factors that enable and constrain progress on health-focused climate change adaptation. Research objectives are addressed through analysis of 16 key actor interviews (with experts in public health, planning, local governance, and other related fields), and a scan of relevant strategic planning documents. Results indicate that political will, expertise, and awareness has resulted in the development of health-focused climate change adaptation policy/ plans. However, implementation of these plans lags in practice. This lag stems from a lack of implementation detail in climate change adaptation plans, limited understanding of the impact of climate change on health, and jurisdictional confusion. Key policy insights: In Western Canadian communities, implementation of health-focused climate change adaptation policy and plans lags in practice. Health-focused strategies within climate change adaptation plans are often vague. Plans must be revised to include implementation and monitoring details, to help facilitate their actualization. The impact of climate change on health is not broadly recognized by community residents. Reframing public understanding of climate change from an environmental issue to a public health issue will translate into increased support for action. Jurisdictional blurriness significantly impedes efforts. Role clarification and improved delineation of responsibilities via enhanced multi-level government coordination will help to resolve action hesitancy at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]