 Subjects -> GEOGRAPHY (Total: 493 journals)
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- Empirical comparisons between the past 5000 years of European and Eastern
Mediterranean history and precipitation as recorded by ice accumulation in
the GISP2 (Greenland) ice core
First page: kgad007
Abstract: Adequate and regular levels of precipitation are fundamental to the sustained success of civilizations based on early agricultural production technologies, but palaeoclimate studies have concentrated on temperature. Potentially important insights into the fates of early civilization can be gained, however, from long term records of precipitation. Patterns in precipitation over the past 5000 years recorded by the ice accumulation balance in the GISP 2 ice core on the Greenland plateau appear to be correlated with major events in European and Mediterranean history. Near Greenland, Viking raids coincided with a major step-wise precipitation increase after 600 CE. Viking settlement of Greenland coincided with a precipitation low. During the Egyptian Old Kingdom period of pyramid-building precipitation was higher than when the New Kingdom tombs were excavated. The Old Kingdom and Akkadian Empire both failed as precipitation descended into the same prolonged precipitation low. The end of the New Kingdom and of the other Bronze Age civilizations in the eastern Mediterranean and around the Aegean Sea coincided with the lowest ice accumulation rate in the past 5000 years. The Roman ‘Imperial Good Times’ coincided with a precipitation high. The brief 2nd century imperial reigns and those of late New Kingdom pharaohs accompanied precipitation lows, as did the Antonine and Justinianic plagues. A trans-Alpine ‘production see-saw’ hypothesis, in which the same precipitation levels generated opposite effects, fits the sequence of successes and failures of western civilizations.
PubDate: Fri, 25 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT
DOI: 10.1093/oxfclm/kgad007
Issue No: Vol. 3, No. 1 (2023)
- What’s next after carbon accounting' Emissions liability
management
First page: kgad006
Abstract: We propose a method to internalize the externality of greenhouse gas emissions built on the foundation of greenhouse gas emissions accounting, whereby firms match long-duration emissions liabilities with duration-matched removal assets. This method drives a simple decision rule: only emit greenhouse gases if the value created exceeds the cost of reversing the emissions. This approach will drive capital allocation to enhance at-risk natural capital, expand investment in technology-based carbon dioxide removals and reductions, rationalize fraught carbon markets and provide auditable and transparent net zero claims and guidance for transition pathways.
PubDate: Fri, 21 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT
DOI: 10.1093/oxfclm/kgad006
Issue No: Vol. 3, No. 1 (2023)
- The Paradox Test in Climate Litigation
First page: kgad005
Abstract: The common law and natural law traditions have both sought authority in ‘reason’ and the ‘laws of nature’. Pollock applied this logic in explaining judicial development of negligence: the application of reason to emerging science and technology. The equivalent today is a growing body of scientific evidence that humans are destroying their own habitat through climate change, biodiversity destruction and pollution. Humanity depends on its habitat for survival and therefore each step in this direction increases the risk of its extinction. The courts are already being asked to declare as unlawful governmental decisions that breach human rights and statutory or constitutional protection of the environment. This perspective article proposes that when presented with scientific evidence of habitat destruction in judicial review cases, the courts could examine whether a decision is unlawful and/or irrational. This ‘Paradox Test’ would ask: (1) will the decision contribute to the destruction of the human habitat and (2) if so, is it justified on the ground of necessity' It is proposed that a decision that failed such a test would be unlawful and irrational as contrary to what is arguably the most fundamental law of nature: species survival. The essay defines the Paradox Test, sets it in an historical context and positions it as implicitly inside the boundaries of current English doctrine of judicial review, where it would need to be judicially recognized. Consequently, practitioners are invited to apply the test in court and to share their experience.
PubDate: Thu, 13 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT
DOI: 10.1093/oxfclm/kgad005
Issue No: Vol. 3, No. 1 (2023)
- Marine methods for carbon dioxide removal: fundamentals and myth-busting
for the wider community
First page: kgad004
Abstract: To avoid global warming in excess of 1.5°C under the current sluggish adoption of drastic reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions, application of methods to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere will become essential in the near future; yet, development of these methods is in its infancy. Land-based methods are further developed than marine methods, but it is likely that similar-scaled application will be necessary in both realms. There are many misconceptions in discussion groups and fora about the ‘simplicity’ or ‘ease’ of proposed marine applications, partly because the complex marine carbon cycle is insufficiently understood by the proponents, having been discussed in largely inaccessible, technical texts only. This review outlines the basic operation of the marine carbon cycle in straightforward terms, with some simplifications, to help advance the debate among the wider community. Break-out boxes provide additional detail where desired, and references (and the sources cited therein) provide avenues for further study. The review then discusses two potential marine methods for atmospheric carbon removal that are thought to offer the greatest potential in terms of carbon removal mass: ocean iron fertilization and ocean alkalinity enhancement. Finally, six statements/arguments that seem to regularly crop up in carbon removal discussion groups are evaluated within the perspective of the compiled and reviewed information.
PubDate: Fri, 21 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT
DOI: 10.1093/oxfclm/kgad004
Issue No: Vol. 3, No. 1 (2023)
- Solar radiation modification is risky, but so is rejecting it: a call for
balanced research
First page: kgad002
PubDate: Mon, 20 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMT
DOI: 10.1093/oxfclm/kgad002
Issue No: Vol. 3, No. 1 (2023)
- Enzymes for consumer products to achieve climate neutrality
First page: kgad003
Abstract: Today, the chemosphere’s and biosphere’s compositions of the planet are changing faster than experienced during the past thousand years. CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion are rising dramatically, including those from processing, manufacturing and consuming everyday products; this rate of greenhouse gas emission (36.2 gigatons accumulated in 2022) is raising global temperatures and destabilizing the climate, which is one of the most influential forces on our planet. As our world warms up, our climate will enter a period of constant turbulence, affecting more than 85% of our ecosystems, including the delicate web of life on these systems, and impacting socioeconomic networks. How do we deal with the green transition to minimize climate change and its impacts while we are facing these new realities' One of the solutions is to use renewable natural resources. Indeed, nature itself, through the working parts of its living systems, the enzymes, can significantly contribute to achieve climate neutrality and good ecological/biodiversity status. Annually they can help decreasing CO2 emissions by 1–2.5 billion-tons, carbon demand by about 200 million-tons, and chemical demand by about 90 million-tons. With current climate change goals, we review the consequences of climate change at multiple scales and how enzymes can counteract or mitigate them. We then focus on how they mobilize sustainable and greener innovations in consumer products that have a high contribution to global carbon emissions. Finally, key innovations and challenges to be solved at the enzyme and product levels are discussed.
PubDate: Wed, 15 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMT
DOI: 10.1093/oxfclm/kgad003
Issue No: Vol. 3, No. 1 (2023)
- The potential role of descriptive and dynamic norms in promoting climate
change advocacy
First page: kgad001
Abstract: Political advocacy is arguably the most powerful form of action that citizens concerned about climate change can take. One motivator for political advocacy is the perception that there is a social norm (i.e. inherently understood social rules and standards that serve to guide social behaviors) for doing so. Using nationally representative survey data (N = 1303), we examined the association of three types of social norms—descriptive norms (i.e. perceptions about how many other people perform a behavior), retrospective and prospective dynamic norms (i.e. perceptions that a behavior has become more or less common in the past or will in the future)—with intentions to engage in political advocacy in the upcoming year and past advocacy. We found that descriptive norms and prospective dynamic norms were positively related to advocacy intentions, while only prospective dynamic norms were positively related to past advocacy (retrospective dynamic norms were negatively related to both outcomes, contrary to our theorized direction). Furthermore, we examined whether the relationship between norms and intentions/behaviors differed based on political party identification and four potential mediators of this relationship: identification with climate activists; collective efficacy (i.e. the belief that people can engage in climate advocacy and that it will make a difference); collective response efficacy (i.e. beliefs about the results of advocacy); and injunctive norms (i.e. perceptions of others’ approval of advocacy). In the moderated mediation models, we found that party identification moderated the relationships between descriptive norms and prospective dynamic norms and advocacy intention, while retrospective dynamic norms were not related as theorized. These relationships were mediated by identification with climate activists and collective efficacy as well as by injunctive norms in the case of descriptive norms. Party identification also moderated the relationship between descriptive norms and past advocacy; this relationship was mediated by identification with climate activists and injunctive norms. Taken together, these findings underscore the potential importance of perceived descriptive norms and prospective dynamic norms on political advocacy to address climate change, extending both well-established and emerging research and providing insights useful for academics and practitioners alike.
PubDate: Mon, 06 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMT
DOI: 10.1093/oxfclm/kgad001
Issue No: Vol. 3, No. 1 (2023)
- Transitioning unions: what constitutes a just transition for Swedish trade
unions'
First page: kgac006
Abstract: The inclusion of ‘just transition’ in the Paris Agreement in 2015 has inspired subsequent attempts, and hopes, to bridge jobs versus climate divide in attempts to decarbonize industrial society. But what are the imperatives for a just tr[ansition of the workforce' And what are the nationally defined development priorities for the creation of decent work and quality jobs' Through interviews with Swedish trade union representatives from Sweden’s three largest industrial emitters (steel, petroleum refining, cement) along with representatives at the central level, this study illustrates contrasting interpretations of what constitutes a just transition. The main tensions concern the time a climate transition is allowed to take; if policies should support local inhabitants or global concerns over climate change; why allegiances are limited to the industrial town or encompass a wider trade union movement; and whether national politics or European coordination is what makes a transition ‘just’. While central levels of Swedish trade unions understand just transition in international and intergenerational terms, local level trade unions advocate for an emplaced understanding of just transition. Given the risk of growing conflicts between different segments of trade unions over the issue of climate transition policies, a progressive alliance between the labour- and climate movements is improbable as matters stand at present.
PubDate: Fri, 11 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMT
DOI: 10.1093/oxfclm/kgac006
Issue No: Vol. 3, No. 1 (2022)
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