146 research outputs found
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A Report to the Minnesota Legislature
No full textFinal report of the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group providing information gathered in relation to their charge, which included analysis of existing and proposed actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, review of historic and forecast emissions as a baseline for progress, and an overview of costs and benefits of recommended options
Final Arizona greenhouse gas inventory and reference case projections 2990-2020
No full textabstract: On February 2, 2005, Governor Janet Napolitano signed Executive Order 2005-02 establishing the Climate Change Advisory Group. It directed the CCAG, under the coordination of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), to:
1) prepare an inventory and forecast of Arizona greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; and
2) develop a Climate Change Action Plan with recommendations for reducing GHG emissions in Arizona.Appendix D: Final Arizona greenhouse gas inventory and reference case projections 2990-2020
Climate change adaptation and the rental sector
No full textAbstractThe research employed an asset-based approach to understanding the capacities, assets and skills which tenants, landlords and housing managers bring to climate change adaptation. The project also took a pro-poor approach focusing on the adaptive capacity of low-income renters in the public and private sectors, addressing the equity dimensions of vulnerability and adaptation. In addition to analysing a range of secondary sources such as media articles, ‘green’ guides and policy documents, the research analysed primary data from interviews and focus groups, focusing on:The assets of the rental sector in adaptationBarriers which limit the capacity of individuals and organisations to exercise these assetsThe relationships between the stakeholders – tenants, landlords and property managers – which underlie both assets and barriers to adaptation.We found that the tenants we interviewed were motivated by concern about the impact of human activity on the environment, and exercised this concern through everyday sustainable household practices, as well as through engagement with community or political organisations. They believed however that their capacity to act in the home was inhibited by a lack of care from some landlords and property managers about the sustainability of rental housing.Public housing managers who were interviewed positioned the public housing sector as policy leaders in sustainability and adaptation, but as constrained by a lack of resources (human and financial) and the busy reactive nature of their work. Busyness and lack of resources was also seen as a constraint on private property managers’ capacity to advocate or arrange for sustainability modifications to the properties they managed. Property managers emerged as crucial ‘knowledge brokers’ mediating between landlords and tenants, but expressed a need for more information and training. Both tenants and property managers acknowledged that the current shortage of rental housing in many areas was one of the most important constraints on tenants’ ability to influence the market through preference for more adaptive and sustainable housing. The interviews and focus groups with tenants and property managers mapped out a strong asset base in the rental sector including: tenants’ strong visions for the future; property managers’ understandings of the tenant/landlord/property manager relationships, legislation, costing and procurement processes; organisational and community networks; and existing adaptive capacity already evident in the everyday practices.The research report makes recommendations in the following areas:increased support for an enhanced role for property managers as advocates and knowledge brokers for sustainability and adaptationincentives and education for landlords to see investment properties as ‘ethical investments’ to enable tenants to adapt to climate changeincreased overall supply of rental housing, particularly affordable rental housingincreased assets for tenants to enable investments of time and money in a secure ‘home’changes to tenancy conditions and better communication with landlordsgovernment action on regulatory change to support the above changes, including action on housing supply and a review of rental building sustainability standards.Please cite this report as:Instone, L, Mee, K, Palmer, J, Williams, M, Vaughan, N 2013 Climate change adaptation and the rental sector, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, pp. 200.AbstractThe research employed an asset-based approach to understanding the capacities, assets and skills which tenants, landlords and housing managers bring to climate change adaptation. The project also took a pro-poor approach focusing on the adaptive capacity of low-income renters in the public and private sectors, addressing the equity dimensions of vulnerability and adaptation. In addition to analysing a range of secondary sources such as media articles, ‘green’ guides and policy documents, the research analysed primary data from interviews and focus groups, focusing on:The assets of the rental sector in adaptationBarriers which limit the capacity of individuals and organisations to exercise these assetsThe relationships between the stakeholders – tenants, landlords and property managers – which underlie both assets and barriers to adaptation.We found that the tenants we interviewed were motivated by concern about the impact of human activity on the environment, and exercised this concern through everyday sustainable household practices, as well as through engagement with community or political organisations. They believed however that their capacity to act in the home was inhibited by a lack of care from some landlords and property managers about the sustainability of rental housing.Public housing managers who were interviewed positioned the public housing sector as policy leaders in sustainability and adaptation, but as constrained by a lack of resources (human and financial) and the busy reactive nature of their work. Busyness and lack of resources was also seen as a constraint on private property managers’ capacity to advocate or arrange for sustainability modifications to the properties they managed. Property managers emerged as crucial ‘knowledge brokers’ mediating between landlords and tenants, but expressed a need for more information and training. Both tenants and property managers acknowledged that the current shortage of rental housing in many areas was one of the most important constraints on tenants’ ability to influence the market through preference for more adaptive and sustainable housing. The interviews and focus groups with tenants and property managers mapped out a strong asset base in the rental sector including: tenants’ strong visions for the future; property managers’ understandings of the tenant/landlord/property manager relationships, legislation, costing and procurement processes; organisational and community networks; and existing adaptive capacity already evident in the everyday practices.The research report makes recommendations in the following areas:increased support for an enhanced role for property managers as advocates and knowledge brokers for sustainability and adaptationincentives and education for landlords to see investment properties as ‘ethical investments’ to enable tenants to adapt to climate changeincreased overall supply of rental housing, particularly affordable rental housingincreased assets for tenants to enable investments of time and money in a secure ‘home’changes to tenancy conditions and better communication with landlordsgovernment action on regulatory change to support the above changes, including action on housing supply and a review of rental building sustainability standards.By: Lesley Instone, Kathleen Mee, Jane Palmer, Miriam Williams and Nicola Vaughan
Iowa Climate Change Advisory Council Final Report 2008.
No full textOn April 27, 2007, Iowa Governor Chet Culver signed Senate File 485, a bill related to greenhouse gas emissions. Part of this bill created the Iowa Climate Change Advisory Council (ICCAC), which consists of 23 governor-appointed members from various stakeholder groups, and 4 nonvoting, ex officio members from the General Assembly.
ICCAC’s immediate responsibilities included submitting a proposal to the Governor and General Assembly that addresses policies, cost-effective strategies, and multiple scenarios designed to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions. Further, a preliminary report was submitted in January 2008, with a final proposal submitted in December 2008.
In the Final Report, the Council presents two scenarios designed to reduce statewide
greenhouse gas emissions by 50% and 90% from a 2005 baseline by the year 2050. For
the 50% reduction by 2050, the Council recommends approximately a 1% reduction by
2012 and an 11% reduction by 2020. For the 90% reduction scenario, the Council
recommends a 3% reduction by 2012 and a 22% reduction 2020. These interim targets
were based on a simple extrapolation assuming a linear rate of reduction between now
and 2050.
In providing these scenarios for your consideration, ICCAC approved 56 policy options
from a large number of possibilities. There are more than enough options to reach the
interim and final emission targets in both the 50% and 90% reduction scenarios. Direct
costs and cost savings of these policy options were also evaluated with the help of The
Center for Climate Strategies, who facilitated the process and provided technical
assistance throughout the entire process, and who developed the Iowa Greenhouse Gas
Emissions Inventory and Forecast in close consultation with the Iowa Department of
Natural Resources (IDNR) and many Council and Sub-Committee members. About half
of the policy options presented in this report will not only reduce GHG emissions but are
highly cost-effective and will save Iowans money. Still other options may require
significant investment but will create jobs, stimulate energy independence, and advance
future regional or federal GHG programs
Potential Capacity for Geologic Carbon Sequestration in the Midcontinent Rift System in Minnesota
No full textMinnesota, with a population of about five million, is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, and a state that is vulnerable to climate change, such as the impact that increased frequency or severity of drought would have on agriculture, water supply, wildlife, and lake levels. Minnesota therefore has an interest in reducing our own vulnerability, while concurrently contributing to needed world-wide solutions. As has been stressed, for example, in documents prepared for and by the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group, emissions reductions can have multiple benefits, including conservation, cost efficiency, and air quality enhancement, while also directly contributing to mitigation of climate change. Anthropogenic climate change seems already to have begun, however, so adaptation to climate change accompanies mitigation in the climate change policy agenda. Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved through reduced fossil fuel combustion, while concurrently capturing and storing carbon in biomass, or in geologic repositories. It has become apparent that the best approach in the current circumstances is for all options to concurrently be assessed.Thorleifson, L.Harvey, editor. (2008). Potential Capacity for Geologic Carbon Sequestration in the Midcontinent Rift System in Minnesota. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/117609
Environmental change and migration: implications for Australia
No full textThis paper argues that Australia needs a national policy framework on environmental migration, as climate change and natural disasters could displace potentially thousands of people in coming years.
In the Pacific Islands region, climate change and natural disasters could displace potentially thousands of people in coming years. A significant number of these people could end up as environmental migrants to Australia. This paper argues that Australia needs a national policy framework on environmental migration to manage the new flow of migrants in ways that maximise the benefits, but also minimise the costs to the country, including any increase in irregular migration.
Key points:
It is likely that an increased number of migrants will arrive in Australia during the next decade as a result of the effects of environmental change in Pacific Island countries.
Even if the scale of any environmental migration to Australia can be reduced by supporting adaptation to environmental change in the affected countries, some migration to Australia from the Pacific Island is still likely to occur.
Australia needs a national policy framework on environmental migration that includes continuing support for multilateral initiatives on environmental migration, capacity-building in origin and transit countries, and national legislation that leverages existing labour migration programs and targets a limited number of countries
OFR11-02, Potential for Implementation of Mineral Carbonation as a Carbon Sequestration Method in Minnesota
No full textMinnesota, with a population of about five million, is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, and a state that is vulnerable to climate change, such as the impact that increased frequency or severity of drought or storms would have on agriculture, water supply, wildlife, lake levels, and public security. Minnesota therefore has an interest in reducing our own vulnerability, while concurrently contributing to needed world-wide solutions. As has been stressed, for example, in documents prepared for and by the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group, emissions reductions can have multiple benefits, including conservation, cost efficiency, and air quality enhancement, while also directly contributing to mitigation of climate change. Anthropogenic climate change seems already to have begun, however, so adaptation to climate change accompanies mitigation in the climate change policy agenda. Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved through reduced fossil fuel combustion, while concurrently capturing and storing carbon in biomass, or in geologic repositories. It has become apparent that the best approach is likely to be for several options to concurrently be implemented.
Minnesota may be well positioned to utilize the mineral carbonation method of geologic carbon sequestration, given the presence of vast tonnages of appropriate rock material in the Duluth region, some of which could be mined for copper, nickel, and platinum group elements, pending the outcome of current permitting procedures. Should these deposits go into production, a slurry of minerals suitable for mineral carbonation of CO2 would be produced as a waste product from the mines. The principal constraint to mineral carbonation at present appears to be cost. Nevertheless, there could be developments in the method, and there could be circumstances in which a particularly favorable mineral carbonation opportunity could coincide with constraints to other aspects of the sequestration procedure, such as considerations regarding transportation, thus possibly making mineral carbonation a conceivable option.Minnesota Minerals Coordinating CommitteeThorleifson, L.Harvey. (2011). OFR11-02, Potential for Implementation of Mineral Carbonation as a Carbon Sequestration Method in Minnesota. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/117343
Climate Change Negotiations and Third World Countries (Past, Present and Future)
No full textInternational response to tackle climate change resulted in the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1992 (IPCC), entrusted with the task to present scientific findings to develop international legal framework on climate change. IPCC presented four reports and fifth report is around the corner which successively endorsed the climate change phenomena, its impacts and vulnerabilities of the different regions mostly inhabited by the third world countries. International efforts to tackle the climate change phenomenon resulted in the designing of the United Nations Convention Framework on the Climate Change 1992 (UNFCCC) embedding different environmental principles and the most pivotal one was the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities reinforcing the historical responsibilities notion of the developed countries to help developing countries in terms of finance and technology. This principle remained the guiding principle of UNFCCC negotiations since 1992 between developed and developing countries and got legal expression in the Kyoto Protocol 1997(upto 2012 and extended up to 2020 on interim basis to frame new agreement by 2015, applicable by 2020) to UNFCCC which prescribed compulsory obligations to developed countries and provided cushion of time allowance for developing countries obligations to reduce the carbon emissions; the real objective of UNFCCC and the financial help and technological transfer for adaptation and mitigation the carbon emissions. Unfortunately, developing countries could not effectively implement the climate change obligations and could not equip themselves to put themselves on the path of sustainable development resultantly having stalled round of negotiations in each year Conference of Parties (COP) except in COP 17 at Durban 2011 where it was principally agreed that new regime or agreement needed to be sketched by 2015, to be applied by 2020, applicable to all parties (moving away from the cornerstone principle of common but differentiated responsibilities) but developing countries started interpreting the cornerstone principle in such a manner and terms to suit them like the common but shared responsibilities according to historical sharing towards carbon emissions for each country which choked the negotiation process and endangered the negotiation for new international climate treaty to tackle climate change horrendous effects on the earth eco-system
Youth engagement with climate change and well-being: a study of Dutch and South African university students
No full textThis doctoral study investigates the different forms, levels, and pathways of youth engagement with climate change and the implications for the well-being of youth in different contexts of vulnerability and adaptability. It aims to understand such engagement through the accounts and interactions of youth themselves and within their own environmental, socio-cultural, and political context, thereby contributing a holistic understanding of youth engagement in specific countries, an area under-researched in current literature.
cultural stereotypes, and socio-political worldviews and structures; b) the need for enhancing young people's skills and prospects for future employment and welfare within an increasingly interconnected, technologically-driven, and sustainability-oriented workplace, through incorporating more critical, futures-oriented, and inter-disciplinary pedagogies of education and learning for sustainability within the higher education curriculum; c) the importance of academic and socio-political spaces and opportunities that foster critical reflection, interpersonal interaction, and collective action in strengthening young people's influence for change and their subjective and social well-being; and d) the need for more critical and empowering platforms and pathways that promote meaningful youth engagement and conscious power-sharing amongst youth and other stakeholders in society. Key recommendations emphasize multi-stakeholder partnerships with youth across political, academic, medical, civic and corporate spectrums to empower young people, especially higher education youth, to meaningfully contribute to future educational, developmental, and health agendas and strategies.
The study aligns its conceptual and methodological rationale through applying a critical interpretivist research approach which ensures an analytical, contextual, and in-depth understanding of such engagement in different countries. It is conducted in the Netherlands and South Africa, which historically have had distinct vulnerabilities and approaches to climate change and diverse pathways for youth engagement. Particular emphasis is placed on higher education youth who constitute the future leaders, informed decision makers, and active and innovative agents of society.
Fieldwork was undertaken throughout 2011, coinciding with the International Year of Youth and the COP17 international climate change conference. In each country, focus groups were conducted with university and college students from diverse socio-demographic and academic backgrounds. These focus groups sought depth and meaning through critical reflection, futures thinking, and a profound and interactive dialogic process. Qualitative interviews investigated more in-depth the emerging themes; whereas participant-observation, meetings with key informants, and document review promoted a comprehensive and valid understanding of the context in which such engagement is taking place.
Key findings reveal: a) the contextual power differentials that strongly shape youth efficacy and agency, especially personal demographic and academic backgrounds
Enabling low-carbon living in new UK housing developments
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe a tool (the Climate Challenge Tool) that allows house builders to calculate whole life carbon equivalent emissions and costs of various carbon and energy reduction options that can be incorporated into the design of new developments. Design/methodology/approach: The tool covers technical and soft (or lifestyle) measures for reducing carbon production and energy use. Energy used within the home, energy embodied in the building materials, and emissions generated through transport, food consumption and waste treatment are taken into account. The tool has been used to assess the potential and cost-effectiveness of various carbon reduction options for a proposed new housing development in Cambridgeshire. These are compared with carbon emissions from a typical UK household. Findings: The tool demonstrated that carbon emission reductions can be achieved at much lower costs through an approach which enables sustainable lifestyles than through an approach which focuses purely on reducing heat lost through the fabric of the building and from improving the heating and lighting systems. Practical implications: The tool will enable house builders to evaluate which are the most cost-effective measures that they can incorporate into the design of new developments in order to achieve the significant energy savings and reduction in carbon emissions necessary to meet UK Government targets and to avoid dangerous climate change. Originality/value: Current approaches to assessing carbon and energy reduction options for new housing developments concentrate on energy efficiency options such as reducing heat lost through the fabric of the building and improving the heating and lighting systems, alongside renewable energy systems. The Climate Challenge Tool expands the range of options that might be considered by developers to include those affecting lifestyle choices of future residents. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
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