3,788 research outputs found

    Climate change and firm strategies

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    My dissertation explores the overarching question: how do firms respond to climate change? Chapter 1 is entitled “Climate Change Exposure and Firm’s Adaptation Strategies”. In this chapter, I build a novel dataset that compiles information on the adaptation strategies of publicly traded companies globally and merge it with climate science data. Using these data, I examine whether, how, and under which conditions firms adapt to physical climate change exposures. I find that most firms don’t adapt to different climate change exposures. Firms take a targeted approach to adaptation – responding more to those aspects of climate exposures that are likely to affect them directly. Also, I show that firms with better ESG ratings are more responsive to varying climate exposures. I then report evidence that perception and capabilities may provide the mechanisms for different adaptation rates and strategies. The 2nd chapter, titled “Assessing the Climate Change Exposure of Foreign Direct Investment" (published in Nature Communications in 2022 and coauthored with Kevin Gallagher) explores the climate change exposure of foreign direct investments. Despite the increasing impact of physical climate risks on firms and facilities globally, little is known about how multinational companies incorporate such risks into their overseas investment decisions. This chapter examines the climate change exposures of multinational companies’ overseas investments. Globally, foreign investments are significantly exposed to lower physical climate risks, compared with local firms across countries. Within countries, however, the differences of physical climate risks between foreign and local facilities are small. We also examine China, as it is rapidly becoming one of the largest sources of outward foreign investment across the globe. We find that foreign investment from China is significantly more exposed to water stress, floods, hurricanes, and typhoon risks across countries, compared with other foreign facilities. Within host countries, however, the physical climate risks of Chinese overseas facilities are comparable to those of non-Chinese foreign investments. Chapter 3 is titled “Competing or Complementary Labels? Estimating Spillovers in Chinese Green Building Certification” (published in the Strategic Management Journal, 2021). I and Tim Simcoe examine the spillovers in the adoption of “competing” green building certifications, one important climate change mitigation strategy. In this chapter, we argue that there can be positive spillovers in the adoption of “competing” certifications and propose a framework for understanding how such spillovers arise through three channels: suppliers, adopters, and users of various labels. Our empirical analysis demonstrates these effects in the context of Chinese green-building certification. Specifically, we measure spillovers from adoption of the Chinese Green Building Evaluation Label (GBEL) to adoption of the alternative LEED standard within the same city. To isolate the causal impact of GBEL on LEED adoption, we use local government subsidies as an instrumental variable. We find evidence of market-level spillovers through the supplier and user channels, but little evidence of building-level scope economies

    Bio-inspired optimization in integrated river basin management

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    Water resources worldwide are facing severe challenges in terms of quality and quantity. It is essential to conserve, manage, and optimize water resources and their quality through integrated water resources management (IWRM). IWRM is an interdisciplinary field that works on multiple levels to maximize the socio-economic and ecological benefits of water resources. Since this is directly influenced by the river’s ecological health, the point of interest should start at the basin-level. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the application of bio-inspired optimization techniques in integrated river basin management (IRBM). This study demonstrates the application of versatile, flexible and yet simple metaheuristic bio-inspired algorithms in IRBM. In a novel approach, bio-inspired optimization algorithms Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) are used to spatially distribute mitigation measures within a basin to reduce long-term annual mean total nitrogen (TN) concentration at the outlet of the basin. The Upper Fuhse river basin developed in the hydrological model, Hydrological Predictions for the Environment (HYPE), is used as a case study. ACO and PSO are coupled with the HYPE model to distribute a set of measures and compute the resulting TN reduction. The algorithms spatially distribute nine crop and subbasin-level mitigation measures under four categories. Both algorithms can successfully yield a discrete combination of measures to reduce long-term annual mean TN concentration. They achieved an 18.65% reduction, and their performance was on par with each other. This study has established the applicability of these bio-inspired optimization algorithms in successfully distributing the TN mitigation measures within the river basin. Stakeholder involvement is a crucial aspect of IRBM. It ensures that researchers and policymakers are aware of the ground reality through large amounts of information collected from the stakeholder. Including stakeholders in policy planning and decision-making legitimizes the decisions and eases their implementation. Therefore, a socio-hydrological framework is developed and tested in the Larqui river basin, Chile, based on a field survey to explore the conditions under which the farmers would implement or extend the width of vegetative filter strips (VFS) to prevent soil erosion. The framework consists of a behavioral, social model (extended Theory of Planned Behavior, TPB) and an agent-based model (developed in NetLogo) coupled with the results from the vegetative filter model (Vegetative Filter Strip Modeling System, VFSMOD-W). The results showed that the ABM corroborates with the survey results and the farmers are willing to extend the width of VFS as long as their utility stays positive. This framework can be used to develop tailor-made policies for river basins based on the conditions of the river basins and the stakeholders' requirements to motivate them to adopt sustainable practices. It is vital to assess whether the proposed management plans achieve the expected results for the river basin and if the stakeholders will accept and implement them. The assessment via simulation tools ensures effective implementation and realization of the target stipulated by the decision-makers. In this regard, this dissertation introduces the application of bio-inspired optimization techniques in the field of IRBM. The successful discrete combinatorial optimization in terms of the spatial distribution of mitigation measures by ACO and PSO and the novel socio-hydrological framework using ABM prove the forte and diverse applicability of bio-inspired optimization algorithms

    New Directions in Private Law Theory

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    New Directions in Private Law Theory brings together some of the best new work on private law theory, reflecting the breadth of this increasingly important field. The contributions interrogate a wide range of topics including aspects of private law doctrine, its development, ordering and application. The authors adopt a variety of different approaches and contribute to ongoing and important debates about the moral foundations of private law, the individuation of areas of private law and the connections between private law and everyday moral experience. Questions addressed include: Does the diversity identified amongst claims in unjust enrichment mean that the category is incoherent? Are claims in tort law always about compensating for wrongs? How should we understand parties’ agreement in contract? The contributions shed new light on these and other topics, and the ways in which they intersect and open up new lines of scholarly enquiry. The book will be of interest to researchers working in private law and legal theory, but it will also appeal to those outside of law, most notably researchers with an interest in moral and political philosophy, economics and history

    Integrated Planning of Multi-energy Grids: Concepts and Challenges

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    In order to meet ever-stricter climate targets and achieve the eventual decarbonization of the energy supply of German industrial metropolises, the focus is on gradually phasing out nuclear power, then coal and gas combined with the increased use of renewable energy sources and employing hydrogen as a clean energy carrier. While complete electrification of the energy supply of households and the transportation sector may be the ultimate goal, a transitional phase is necessary as such massive as well as rapid expansion of the electrical distribution grid is infeasible. Additionally, German industries have expressed their plans to use hydrogen as their primary strategy in meeting carbon targets. This poses challenges to the existing electrical, gas, and heating distribution grids. It becomes necessary to integrate the planning and developing procedures for these grids to maximize efficiencies and guarantee security of supply during the transition. The aim of this paper is thus to highlight those challenges and present novel concepts for the integrated planning of the three grids as one multi-energy grid.Comment: NEIS 2022; Conference on Sustainable Energy Supply and Energy Storage System

    Role of RIPK3 in the Pathogenesis of TET2 Mutant Hematopoietic Malignancies

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    Hematopoiesis is dynamically controlled by an epigenetic landscape that regulates gene transcription. Ten-eleven translocation 2 (TET2) is a Fe2+ and α-ketoglutarate (α-KG)-dependent dioxygenase that regulates the transcriptional status of genes associated with hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal and multiple stages of lineage commitment and differentiation. TET2 mutations are commonly detected in almost all types of hematopoietic malignancies, including myeloproliferative disorder, acute myeloid leukemia, and peripheral T-cell lymphomas. In most cases, TET2 is a founder mutation that occurred in hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs). The mutant HSCs undergo clonal expansion and evolution with the accumulation of additional mutations for malignant transformation. Microbial-stimulated inflammatory signals have been reported to play a critical role in the development of TET2 mutant hematopoietic malignancies. RIPK3 is a key mediator of inflammatory cytokine-induced necroptosis signaling. Animal studies suggested that the RIPK3-mediated pathway is activated in TET2 mutant myeloid cells, which attributes to the increased incidence of coronary heart disease and stroke. However, the role of RIPK3 signaling in the pathogenesis of TET2 mutant hematopoietic malignancies is not studied. Here we report that RIPK3 signaling is required for the development of myeloid malignancies but represses peripheral T cell lymphomas (PTCL) in TET2 knockout (Tet2-/-) mice. Different from TET2-/- mice which develop chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) after 18 months of age, all TET2 and RIPK3 compound knockout (Tet2-/-Ripk3-/-) mice develop PTCL within 10-15 months with features commonly observed in patients with angioimmunoblastic T cell lymphoma (AITL), a PTCL subtype. Mechanistically, in myeloid progenitor cells, RIPK3 mediates tumor necroptosis factor-α (TNFα)-stimulated proliferation/survival signaling that is essential for CMML pathogenesis; however, in CD4+ T cells, RIPK3 inhibits the differentiation and proliferation of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells by restricting ICOS-stimulated PI3K-AKT signaling. Ripk3 is specifically required in modulating surface ICOS levels by regulating receptor-internalization in Tfh cells as well as receptor shedding into follicular dendritic cells (fDC) respectively. On the other hand, intact TNFα-Ripk3 signaling is essential in conferring enhanced hematopoietic fitness to Tet2-/- HSPCs and myeloid-biased progenitors. Collectively, this study sheds light on novel lineage-specific roles of Ripk3 in regulating Tfh cell homeostasis and myelopoiesis in Tet2 deficient mice

    Pathophysiology of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)

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    Spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to paralysis, sensory, and autonomic nervous system dysfunctions. However, the pathophysiology of SCI is complex, and not limited to the nervous system. Indeed, several other organs and tissue are also affected by the injury, directly or not, acutely or chronically, which induces numerous health complications. Although a lot of research has been performed to repair motor and sensory functions, SCI-induced health issues are less studied, although they represent a major concern among patients. There is a gap of knowledge in pre-clinical models studying these SCI-induced health complications that limits translational applications in humans. This reprint describes several aspects of the pathophysiology of spinal cord injuries. This includes, but is not limited to, the impact of SCI on cardiovascular and respiratory functions, bladder and bowel function, autonomic dysreflexia, liver pathology, metabolic syndrome, bones and muscles loss, and cognitive functions
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