The influence of institutions on the climate change adaptative capacity of winegrowers in Utiel-Requena

[EN] Climate change requires a high adaptive capacity from Utiel-Requena's winegrowers, in which institutions play an important role. This research analyzes the influence of two specific institutions, the Denominación de Origen Protegida and the irrigation communities, on the adaptive capacity of winegrowers in Utiel-Requena. Interviews were conducted and analyzed by using the Adaptive Capacity Framework consisting of 25 indicators. Results show that both institutions scored high on equity and clear board structures. Weaknesses are the low response to winegrower's needs, limited knowledge transfer, and lack of clear plans for extreme situations. Both institutions did not seem to acknowledge the importance of climate change adaptation and their role in enhancing it. Overall, the sector seems to lack engagement in terms of wine quality, technical support and stakeholder communication. The results imply that the area has little climate change awareness.Kool, EWM.; Compes López, R.; Werners, SE. (2018). The influence of institutions on the climate change adaptative capacity of winegrowers in Utiel-Requena. Revista Española de Estudios Agrosociales y Pesqueros. 251:79-99. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/124226S799925

Communicating climate change risk: A content analysis of ipcc\u27s summary for policymakers

This study investigated the effectiveness of climate change risk communication in terms of its theoretical potential to stimulate recipients\u27 awareness and behavioral change. We selected the summary for policy makers (SPM) of the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report in order to conduct a content analysis; the extended parallel process model and construal level theory served as conceptual lenses to perform the analysis. Specifically, we evaluated to what extent the SPM included informational elements of threat, efficacy and psychological distance related to climate change. The results showed that threat information was prominently present, but efficacy information was less frequently included, and when it was, more often in the latter parts of the SPM. With respect to construal level it was found that in the IPCC report concrete representations were used only sparingly. Theoretical relevance and implications for climate change risk communication with key audiences are discussed

Exploring approaches for monitoring and evaluation of climate resilient development pathways : lessons from the use of outcome mapping

Outcome mapping incorporates principles that can be used to inform considerations for the challenges and requirements for climate resilient development pathways. Before reaching the stage of an intervention when practitioners are designing a monitoring and evaluation approach, important steps must already have taken place in the intentional design phase. Indicators should be representative of intervention goals and clear in their direction in relation to long-term model projections of change in climate shocks and stresses. Development pathways in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region informed the results of this report. The Hindu Kush Himalayan region is a climate change hotspot.UK Government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO

Advancing climate resilient development pathways since the IPCC’s fifth assessment report

Development processes and action on climate change are closely interlinked. This is recognised by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its fifth assessment report, which reports on climate-resilient pathways, understood as development trajectories towards sustainable development which include adaptation and mitigation. The upcoming sixth assessment report dedicates a chapter to climate resilient development pathways. In this context, this paper asks what conceptual and empirical advances on climate resilient development pathways were made since the fifth assessment report. Through a literature review, this paper analyses goals and approaches for climate resilient development pathways, and discusses what conceptual advances have and could still be made. We find little evidence of dedicated concept development. Rather, we observe conceptual ambiguity. Literature showed four non-exclusive clusters of approaches: (a) climate action oriented, (b) social-learning and co-creation oriented, (c) mainstreaming oriented and (d) transformation oriented. We recommend operationalising climate resilient development pathways as the process of consolidating climate action and development decisions towards long-term sustainable development. This process requires explicit engagement with aspirations of actors, and connecting past developments with future aspirations and understandings of risk. Working with multiple pathways allows us to embed flexibility, anticipation and learning in planning. A greater focus is needed on issues linked to justice and equity as climate resilient development pathways will inevitably involve trade-offs. Substantiating the concept of climate resilient development pathways has the potential to bridge climate and development perspectives, which may otherwise remain separated in development and climate policy, practice and science

Climate resilient development pathways in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region

Communities throughout the world face substantial challenges in the face of climate change. This is of particular concern in climate change hotspots, especially where extreme climate effects coincide with large numbers of vulnerable and poor people. The Hindu Kush Himalayan region is one such climate change hotspot. For development to be sustainable in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, interventions need to include choices and actions that improve livelihoods and alleviate poverty, counteract climate change, are inclusive for the most vulnerable and resilient over time. Climate resilient development pathways present an option to bring together these goals, by consolidating climate action and development choices to generate pathways towards sustainable development.UK Government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO

Ten new insights in climate science 2023

Non-technical summary. We identify a set of essential recent advances in climate change research with high policy relevance, across natural and social sciences: (1) looming inevitability and implications of overshooting the 1.5°C warming limit, (2) urgent need for a rapid and managed fossil fuel phase-out, (3) challenges for scaling carbon dioxide removal, (4) uncertainties regarding the future contribution of natural carbon sinks, (5) intertwinedness of the crises of biodiversity loss and climate change, (6) compound events, (7) mountain glacier loss, (8) human immobility in the face of climate risks, (9) adaptation justice, and (10) just transitions in food systems. Technical summary. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Reports provides the scientific foundation for international climate negotiations and constitutes an unmatched resource for researchers. However, the assessment cycles take multiple years. As a contribution to cross- and interdisciplinary understanding of climate change across diverse research communities, we have streamlined an annual process to identify and synthesize significant research advances. We collected input from experts on various fields using an online questionnaire and prioritized a set of 10 key research insights with high policy relevance. This year, we focus on: (1) the looming overshoot of the 1.5°C warming limit, (2) the urgency of fossil fuel phase-out, (3) challenges to scale-up carbon dioxide removal, (4) uncertainties regarding future natural carbon sinks, (5) the need for joint governance of biodiversity loss and climate change, (6) advances in understanding compound events, (7) accelerated mountain glacier loss, (8) human immobility amidst climate risks, (9) adaptation justice, and (10) just transitions in food systems. We present a succinct account of these insights, reflect on their policy implications, and offer an integrated set of policy-relevant messages. This science synthesis and science communication effort is also the basis for a policy report contributing to elevate climate science every year in time for the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Social media summary. We highlight recent and policy-relevant advances in climate change research – with input from more than 200 experts

Individuals Matter: Exploring Strategies of Individuals to Change the Water Policy for the Tisza River in Hungary

This paper offers a novel interpretation of the introduction of floodplain rehabilitation and rural development into the water policy for the Tisza River in Hungary. It looks at the role of individuals and the strategies that they used to bring about water policy change. Five strategies are explored: developing new ideas, building coalitions to sell ideas, using windows of opportunity, playing multiple venues and orchestrating networks. Our discussion on the importance of each strategy and the individuals behind it is based on interviews, group discussions and a literature review. The international and political attention sparked by a series of floods, dike failure and a major cyanide spill, which preceded national elections, opened a window of opportunity for launching ideas. A new regional coalition successfully introduced floodplain rehabilitation into the water policy arena. Our analysis emphasizes the importance of a responsible civil servant who recognizes a new policy idea at an abstract level and a credible regional coalition that advocates the new idea regionally

Construction area expansion in relation to economic-demographic development and land resource in the Pearl River Delta of China

Since 1979, the Pearl River Delta (PRD) of China has experienced rapid socioeconomic development along with a fast expansion of construction area. Affected by both natural and human factors, a complex interdependency is found among the regional changes in construction area, GDP and population. A quantitative analysis of the four phases of the regional land use data extracted from remote sensing images and socioeconomic statistics spanning 1979 to 2009 demonstrates that the proportion of construction area in the PRD increased from 0.5% in 1979 to 10.8% in 2009, accompanied with a rapid loss of agricultural land. An increase of one million residents was associated with an increase of GDP of approximately 32 billion yuan before 2000 and approximately 162 billion yuan after 2000. Because the expansion of construction area has approached the limits of land resource in some cities of the PRD, a power function is found more suitable than a linear one in describing the relationship between GDP and construction area. Consequently, the Logistic model is shown to provide more accurate predictions of population growth than the Malthus model, particularly in some cities where a very large proportion of land resource has been urbanized, such as Shenzhen and Dongguan