Middle class evolving to precariat: labour conditions for the 21st Century

Depto. de Trabajo Social y Servicios SocialesFac. de Trabajo SocialTRUEpu

Covenant of Mayors: key criteria for adaptation to climate change in local plans

Global warming has been stated to be unequivocal and human influenced. The emissions and atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased to a degree that they are producing disturbances to the world climatic system. Several climate change impacts have occurred, while others will occur or will be intensified in the future. Ocean acidification, sea-level rise and extreme weather events are some of the projected impacts which, in addition, might have negative effects on the environment, society and the economy. These effects need to be addressed in order to reduce vulnerability to climatic hazards by means of climate change adaptation planning. However, adaptation is a rather unknown topic for many cities that have been focusing more on climate change mitigation. The new Covenant of Mayors (CoM), launched in 2015, includes adaptation to climate change as one of the three main pillars of local action towards 2050: mitigation, adaptation and secure affordable and sustainable access to Energy. The covenant signatories share a common vision to 2050 based on: — Decarbonised territories, thus contributing to keeping average global warming well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, in line with the international climate agreement reached at COP 21 in Paris in December 2015. — More resilient territories, thus preparing for the unavoidable adverse impacts of climate change. — Universal access to secure, sustainable and affordable energy services for all, thus enhancing quality of life and improving energy security. The JRC, as technical and scientific support actor should assure the CoM soundness and provide guidance to support climate change adaptation planning and implementation to signatory cities. The aim of this report is to stablish the rationale behind the essential requirements for successful adaptation in the frame of the CoM, based on literature review and Joint Research Centre’s knowledge on climate change adaptation. The results of this report highlight the need for identification of current and future climatic hazards, an inventory of critical infrastructure, active stakeholder and citizen participation, maladaptation avoidance, and an estimation of adaptation action costs.JRC.E.1-Disaster Risk Managemen

Covenant of Mayors’ Annual Report

In this report we have analysed the submission of vulnerability risk assessments and adaptation actions of 40 European local authorities in the framework of the Covenant of Mayors. According to the information received from the signatories, Northern Europe and Central North Europe will face a multi-hazard scenario in the future, whereas Central Europe South and Southern Europe are already facing multi-hazard events. Hazardous events are expected to intensify in all regions. Climate hazards are likely to impact several municipal sectors, especially “land use planning”. Floods, extreme heat, landslides, extreme precipitation, and sea level rise are expected to influence land uses in most regions. Adaptation actions differ depending on the hazard tackled and the climate region considered. However, further “studies” is a common adaptation action proposed across all regions, pointing to the need for additional assessments. Not surprisingly, actions with a large infrastructure component like flood protection systems appear as the most costly action type. Lastly, a range of remaining gaps have been identified in the analysis, and need careful attention, such as improvement of stakeholder and citizen engagement, improvement of planning actions (which includes reducing the inconsistencies between the risk and vulnerability assessment and the actions proposed), and better address the risk of implementing maladaptation actions.JRC.E.1-Disaster Risk Managemen

Evaluation of organic and inorganic residues for organic production systems and small properties of Paraguay

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of organic and inorganic residues in the soil and agricultural products of the small property. Were evaluated doses of ash obtained from the soybean processing industry, doses of compost made from residues of the sugar industry and dose of bovine manure from the farm itself.CONACYT – Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaPROCIENCI

Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy: adaptation to climate change - Evaluation procedure and assessment criteria

The European Commission's Joint Research Centre checks the eligibility of the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAP) and carries out an analysis of the information submitted by the EU Covenant of Mayors signatories. This quality control is carried out by means of a set of assessment criteria that contributes to guaranteeing the credibility and reliability of the whole Covenant of Mayors initiative. The evaluation criteria are divided in five sub-components: compliance with the time frame, completeness, coherence, quantification, and progress. Only the mandatory criteria can be used to decide on the eligibility of the SECAP. The remaining evaluation criteria are only analysed to formulate recommendations to the signatories.JRC.E.1-Disaster Risk Managemen

Persistence with dual antiplatelet therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome: a population-based cohort study in Catalonia (Spain)

Objectives: Guidelines recommending 12-month dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in patients with ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (STEACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were published in year 2012. We aimed to describe the influence of guideline implementation on the trend in 12-month persistence with DAPT between 2010 and 2015 and to evaluate its relationship with DAPT duration regimens recommended at discharge from PCI hospitals. Design: Observational study based on region-wide registry data linked to pharmacy billing data for DAPT follow-up. Setting: All PCI hospitals (10) belonging to the acute myocardial infarction (AMI) code network in Catalonia (Spain). Participants: 10 711 STEACS patients undergoing PCI between 2010 and 2015 were followed up. Primary and secondary outcome measures: Primary outcome was 12-month persistence with DAPT. Calendar year quarter, publication of guidelines, DAPT duration regimen recommended in the hospital discharge report, baseline patient characteristics and significant interactions were included in mixed-effects logistic regression based interrupted time-series models. Results: The proportion of patients on-DAPT at 12 months increased from 58% (56-60) in 2010 to 73% (71-75) in 2015. The rate of 12-month persistence with DAPT significantly increased after the publication of clinical guidelines with a time lag of 1 year (OR=1.20; 95% CI 1.11 to 1.30). A higher risk profile, more extensive and complex coronary disease, use of drug-eluting stents (OR=1.90; 95% CI 1.50 to 2.40) and a 12-month DAPT regimen recommendation at discharge from the PCI hospital (OR=5.76; 95% CI 3.26 to 10.2) were associated with 12-month persistence. Conclusion: Persistence with 12-month DAPT has increased since publication of clinical guidelines. Even though most patients were discharged on DAPT, only 73% with potential indication were on-DAPT 12 months after PCI. A guideline-based recommendation at PCI hospital discharge was highly associated with full persistence with DAPT. Establishing evidence-based, common prescribing criteria across hospitals in the AMI-network would favour adherence and reduce variability

How to develop a Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP) in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA) supports local authorities in Sub-Saharan Africa in the climate challenge and in their efforts in ensuring access to clean energy. It is the "regional covenant" of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM). Under the CoM SSA, local authorities are invited to make a voluntarily political commitment to implement climate and energy actions in their communities and agree on a long-term vision to tackle 3 pillars, namely access to energy, climate mitigation and climate adaptation. In order to translate the political commitment into practical measures, CoM SSA signatories commit to elaborating and implementing a Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP). This document has been prepared to assist Sub-Saharan Africa local authorities in preparing a Climate Action Plan. This document is part of the guiding materials developed to assist local governments in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in preparing a climate action plan. The full set of guiding materials consists of: - "Guidebook: How to develop a Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP) in Sub-Saharan Africa" - Extended version; - Summary of the "Guidebook: How to develop a Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP) in Sub-Saharan Africa"; - "How to develop a SEACAP in Sub-Saharan Africa: short starting guide". It provides step-by-step guidance and examples of measures relevant for local authorities in Sub Saharan context.JRC.C.2-Energy Efficiency and Renewable

Guidebook 'How to develop a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP)'

The Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (CoM) is an ambitious initiative for local climate and energy actions. This document provides signatories with a set of methodological principle, procedures and best practices to develop their SECAP. The Part 1 of this document relates to the SECAP process; while Part 2gives an insight on the elaboration of municipality assessments (BEI and RVA), finally Part 3 describes technical issues, measures and policies that can be implemented at local level.JRC.C.2-Energy Efficiency and Renewable

PRISM (Polarized Radiation Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission): A White Paper on the Ultimate Polarimetric Spectro-Imaging of the Microwave and Far-Infrared Sky

PRISM (Polarized Radiation Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) was proposed to ESA in response to the Call for White Papers for the definition of the L2 and L3 Missions in the ESA Science Programme. PRISM would have two instruments: (1) an imager with a 3.5m mirror (cooled to 4K for high performance in the far-infrared---that is, in the Wien part of the CMB blackbody spectrum), and (2) an Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) somewhat like the COBE FIRAS instrument but over three orders of magnitude more sensitive. Highlights of the new science (beyond the obvious target of B-modes from gravity waves generated during inflation) made possible by these two instruments working in tandem include: (1) the ultimate galaxy cluster survey gathering 10e6 clusters extending to large redshift and measuring their peculiar velocities and temperatures (through the kSZ effect and relativistic corrections to the classic y-distortion spectrum, respectively) (2) a detailed investigation into the nature of the cosmic infrared background (CIB) consisting of at present unresolved dusty high-z galaxies, where most of the star formation in the universe took place, (3) searching for distortions from the perfect CMB blackbody spectrum, which will probe a large number of otherwise inaccessible effects (e.g., energy release through decaying dark matter, the primordial power spectrum on very small scales where measurements today are impossible due to erasure from Silk damping and contamination from non-linear cascading of power from larger length scales). These are but a few of the highlights of the new science that will be made possible with PRISM.Comment: 20 pages Late