Disclosure of climate risk information by the world’s largest companies

The risks related to global climate change are seen as threats to companies, taking into consideration their impact on the return on investment. In order to mitigate climate risk and introduce new opportunities to financiers, companies need to identify, manage, and report climate risks. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the climate risks disclosed by the 100 largest companies in the world, according to the Bloomberg and Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC 2015) classification, and identify some characteristics of these companies that explain the disclosure level of such information. Preliminary results revealed that of the companies investigated, 14% did not disclose any climate risk information in the Carbon Disclosure Program (CDP) report. Also, from the companies that disclosed information according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), 9.9% did not provide information regarding policies, actions, and strategies for mitigating the risks related to climate change. The results shown by the content analysis suggested that, in general, there is still a low level of disclosure about climate risks by these companies. The final results through econometric instruments and statistical tests indicate that the size of the company or the fact that corporations are from developed countries do not necessarily explain the level of information disclosed. However, the activity sector, the continent, and the efficiency of the Board of Directors are factors that strongly explain the level of climate risk disclosure. We conclude that more effort is needed to encourage an engaging attitude from corporations to develop actions, policies, and strategies to mitigate climate change risks and threats. In addition, the world’s largest companies should make a greater investment in climate risk disclosure.     

Juvenile morphology: A clue to the origins of the most mysterious of mysticetes?

The origin of the pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata) has long been one of the most vexing conundrums of marine mammal evolution. The extremely disparate skeletal structure of Caperea and a patchy fossil record have left morphology and molecules at odds: whereas most morphological analyses ally Caperea with right whales (Balaenidae), most molecular studies instead suggest a close relationship with rorquals (Balaenopteridae) and grey whales (Eschrichtiidae). The morphological evidence supporting a Caperea-balaenid clade consists of several shared features of the skull and mandible, as traditionally observed in adult individuals. Here, we show that at least two of these features, the ascending process of the maxilla and the coronoid process, arise from substantially different precursors early during ontogeny and therefore likely do not represent genuine synapomorphies. Both of these juvenile morphologies have adult counterparts in the fossil record, thus indicating that the ontogenetic variation in the living species may be a genuine reflection of differing ancestral states. This new evidence contradicts previous morphological hypotheses on the origins of Caperea and may help to reconcile morphological and molecular evidence.     

Amphimixis and the individual in evolving populations: does Weismann’s Doctrine apply to all,most or a few organisms?

The German biologist August Weismann (1834–1914) proposed that amphimixis (sexual reproduction) creates variability for natural selection to act upon, and hence he became one of the founders of the Neo-Darwinian theory of biological evolution. He is perhaps best known for what is called “Weismann’s Doctrine” or “Weismann’s Barrier” (i.e. the irreversible separation of somatic and germ cell functionalities early during ontogeny in multicellular organisms). This concept provided an unassailable argument against “soft inheritance” sensu Lamarck and informed subsequent theorists that the only “individual” in the context of evolution is the mature, reproductive organism. Herein, we review representative model organisms whose embryology conforms to Weismann’s Doctrine (e.g. flies and mammals) and those that do not (e.g. freshwater hydroids and plants) based on this survey and the Five Kingdoms of Life scheme; we point out that most species (notably bacteria, fungi, protists and plants) are “non-Weismannian” in ways that make a canonical definition of the “individual” problematic if not impossible. We also review critical life history functional traits that allow us to create a matrix of all theoretically conceivable life cycles (for eukaryotic algae, embryophytes, fungi and animals), which permits us to establish where this scheme Weismann’s Doctrine holds true and where it does not. In addition, we argue that bacteria, the dominant organisms of the biosphere, exist in super-cellular biofilms but rarely as single (planktonic) microbes. Our analysis attempts to show that competition among genomic variants in cell lineages played a critical part in the evolution of multicellularity and life cycle diversity. This feature was largely ignored during the formulation of the synthetic theory of biological evolution and its subsequent elaborations.     

Rural vehicle emission as an important driver for the variations of summertime tropospheric ozone in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region during 2014–2019

Tropospheric ozone (O₃) pollution is increasing in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region despite a significant decline in atmospheric fine aerosol particles (PM_2.5) in recent years. However, the intrinsic reason for the elevation of the regional O₃ is still unclear. In this study, we analyzed the spatio-temporal variations of tropospheric O₃ and relevant pollutants (PM_2.5, NO₂, and CO) in the BTH region based on monitoring data from the China Ministry of Ecology and Environment during the period of 2014–2019. The results showed that summertime O₃ concentrations were constant in Beijing (BJ, 0.06 µg/(m³•year)) but increased significantly in Tianjin (TJ, 9.09 µg/(m³•year)) and Hebei (HB, 6.06 µg/(m³•year)). Distinct O₃ trends between Beijing and other cities in BTH could not be attributed to the significant decrease in PM_2.5 (from -5.08 to -6.32 µg/(m³•year)) and CO (from -0.053 to -0.090 mg/(m³•year)) because their decreasing rates were approximately the same in all the cities. The relatively stable O₃ concentrations during the investigating period in BJ may be attributed to a faster decreasing rate of NO₂ (BJ: -2.55 µg/(m³•year); TJ: -1.16 µg/(m³•year); HB: -1.34 µg/(m³•year)), indicating that the continued reduction of NO_x will be an effective mitigation strategy for reducing regional O₃ pollution. Significant positive correlations were found between daily maximum 8 hr average (MDA8) O₃ concentrations and vehicle population and highway freight transportation in HB. Therefore, we speculate that the increase in rural NO_x emissions due to the increase in vehicle emissions in the vast rural areas around HB greatly accelerates regional O₃ formation, accounting for the significant increasing trends of O₃ in HB.     

Can Dufour��s gland compounds honestly signal fertility in the primitively eusocial wasp Ropalidia marginata?

Unlike queens of typical primitively eusocial species, Ropalidia marginata queens are docile and non-interactive, and hence cannot be using dominance to maintain their status. It appears that the queen maintains reproductive monopoly through a pheromone, of which the Dufour's gland is at least one source. Here, we reconfirm earlier results showing that queens and workers can be correctly classified on a discriminant function using the compositions of their respective Dufour's glands, and also demonstrate consistent queen-worker differences based on categories of compounds and on single compounds also in some cases. Since the queen pheromone is expected to be an honest signal of the fecundity of a queen, we investigate the correlation of Dufour's gland compounds with ovarian activation of queens. Our study shows that Dufour's gland compounds in R. marginata correlate with the state of ovarian activation of queens, suggesting that such compounds may portray the fecundity of a queen, and may indeed function as honest signals of fertility.     

Environmental threats to the Three Gorges Reservoir Region:Are mutagenic and genotoxic substances important?

<正>The Three Gorges Dam project(TGDP),with a total static investment of 95.46 billion RMB(US$10.97 billion)based on the 1993 price level,commenced in 1994 and was completed in 2012.The creation of the Three Gorges Reservoir following the completion of the TGDP had brought about significant changes to the Three Gorges Reservoir Region(TGRR),stretching from the town of Sandouping in Hubei Province to the Jiangjin District of Chongqing Municipality.The TGDP has led to progressive urbanization and industrialization of the TGRR,accompanied by increased shipping activities,greater     

Environmental activisms of firm’s neighboring residents: an empirical study in China

This paper develops an analytical framework based on the reasoned action theory and discusses the environmental activism (EA) of residents living close to the polluting companies. The data was collected by a questionnaire survey conducted in August of 2009 in Suzhou city of Jiangsu Province, China, which successfully obtained a total of 343 valid responses. The survey suggests that the residents are reluctant to act against their neighboring polluters. Nearly 10% respondents have never taken any action against the polluters, and the occasional EA participators account for 66.2% of the total. The items of EA, which require the residents to directly communicate with the governments or polluters, achieve very low ratios of participations (with a range of 5–25%). The path analysis confirms that there are large influences of certain attitudinal components on EA involvement. Understanding of corporate environmental information significantly determines the resident’s intention of EA practices. The residents have an obvious tendency to act collectively against the polluters. An essential message of this study is that the strategy of corporate environmental information disclosure may effectively increase the resident’s readiness of EA participation. The government shall responsively support the residents’ EA efforts since successful environmental protests will greatly convince them to jointly act against their neighboring polluters.     

Parker��s sneak-guard model revisited: why do reproductively parasitic males heavily invest in testes?

Alternative reproductive tactics are widespread in males and may cause intraspecific differences in testes investment. Parker's sneak-guard model predicts that sneaker males, who mate under sperm competition risk, invest in testes relatively more than bourgeois conspecifics that have lower risk. Given that sneakers are much smaller than bourgeois males, sneakers may increase testes investment to overcome their limited sperm productivity because of their small body sizes. In this study, we examined the mechanism that mediates differential testes investment across tactics in the Lake Tanganyika cichlid fish Lamprologus callipterus. In the Rumonge population of Burundi, bourgeois males are small compared with those in other populations and have a body size close to sneaky dwarf males. Therefore, if differences in relative testis investment depend on sperm competition, the rank order of relative testis investment should be dwarf males?>?bourgeois males in Rumonge?=?bourgeois males in the other populations. If differences in relative testis investment depend on body size, the rank order of relative testes investment should be dwarf males?>?bourgeois males in Rumonge?>?bourgeois males in the other populations. Comparisons of relative testis investment among the three male groups supported the role of sperm competition, as predicted by the sneak-guard model. Nevertheless, the effects of absolute body size on testes investment should be considered to understand the mechanisms underlying intraspecific variation in testes investment caused by alternative reproductive tactics.     

Carbon tax,emission trading,or the mixed policy: which is the most effective strategy for climate change mitigation in China?

China, as the world’s largest emitter, intends to achieve the peaking of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions around 2030 and to make best efforts to peak early to mitigate global change. Under this strategy, a dynamic, recursive computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is used to analyze the economy, energy, and environment impact of CO₂ emission reduction policy based on 17 scenarios in China: carbon tax, emission trading scheme (ETS), and the mixed policy in different price level, in order to find out which kind of emission reduction strategy is more feasible. The results show that CO₂ emission in 2030 will be reduced with the implementation of tax, ETS and mixed policy, by 10–13 %, 12–14 %, and 18–28 %, respectively. From 2016 to 2030, China can reduce 18,338–24,156 Mt CO₂ through the implementation of mixed policy. Furthermore, relative to single policy, mixed policy has stronger effects on primary energy consumption cut, by 738–1124 Mtoe or 18–28 %, which will make CO₂ emissions reach a peak before 2030 and the peak emission is not greater than 12 billion tons which is in line with the reduction demand in China. Thus, the mixed policy is the most effective strategy so that mixed policy is recommended to parties included in Annex I in United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Kyoto Protocol and other countries with large potential of emission reduction, while ETS is suggested to countries with low carbon emissions per capita which can balance economic development and CO₂ mitigation.     

Longer visits on familiar plants?: testing a regular visitor’s tendency to probe more flowers than occasional visitors

An individual pollinator may tend to consecutively probe more flowers on a plant to which it returns at shorter intervals than other plants. In a large net cage, I let individually marked bumble bees forage on flowering heads of red clovers arranged in 37 bottles (plants), each of which was monitored by an observer to record every visit and probe for 2.5 h on each of 3 days. The data of collective visits by marked individuals revealed that the bees had their own foraging areas, in which they visited a set of plants frequently and others less often, i.e., the same individual bee repeatedly returned to certain plants as a regular visitor while sampling others as an occasional visitor. I further found that as a regular visitor, an individual bee tended to probe more flowering heads on familiar plants while probing fewer on unfamiliar plants as an occasional visitor. The mean number of consecutive probes by a bee was also positively correlated with its activity (the total number of plant visits made during the observation period). The fact that each bee behaves differently on different plants indicates that the same individual pollinator can exert different influence on the reproductive success of each plant: apparently, a pollinator likely reduces the potential for geitonogamous self-pollination when foraging as an occasional visitor. Attracting occasional visitors therefore may be beneficial for plants to avoid geitonogamy. This study thus emphasizes the importance of paying attention to pollinator individuality in pollination ecology.     

Landscape planning in an East Asian coastal region: the Hangzhou Bay, China

--The first area in China to which the McHargian approachto landscape planning was applied was the Hangzhou Bay area on thecentral coast. Using published maps and documents and analyzingremote sensing data, an ecological inventory (GIS) was firstdeveloped. Based on this data, several criteria for land and wateruse suitability evaluation were produced. These were then overlayedto evaluate the entire region for several categories of land andwater uses, and a suitability synthesis map was produced. This mapbecame the basis for developing several possible concepts andplans for the sustainable development of the region. It is atimely and much needed approach in a rapidly developing countrylike China if development is to fulfill both present needs andallow future generations to fulfill theirs too.     

Gauging the pharmaceutical burden on Sydney’s environment: a preventative response

Metabolized and/or unmetabolized fractions of pharmaceuticals upon excretion or being washed from the skin can undergo complex chemical reactions. Entering the sewerage system some may also react with other synthetic chemicals to form unfathomable brews. Unfortunately most sewerage treatment plants fail to remove a sizeable proportion of these compounds. Their impact when released to the environment as a component of treated effluent remains a matter for conjecture although some insight has, for example, derived from work done on the effects of antibiotics on insects at entry points (dung) to pasture and groundwater. There is the possibility too that effects are occurring toward the limits of detection of suspect compounds notably endocrine disruption. To draw attention to the seriousness of the local problem in a situation where no data exists, a gross estimate of the annual drug load has been made for Sydney’s environment using statistics collected under the Australian Government’s Prescribed Benefits and Repatriation Benefits Scheme. This amounts to 17 tonnes but allowing for hospitals and clinics as well as OTC and illicit drugs, the overall figure is probably closer to 30 tonnes per annum. A two-prong impact reduction strategy is proposed comprising suggestions for curbing the discharge of existing medications and most importantly, a longer term fix utilising both natural product pharmaceuticals and vaccines and even gene therapy.     

Reauthorization of CERCLA and the redevelopment of brownfields: who will pay the orphan’s share?

This paper examines significant and unjustifiable differences arising under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA, Pub. L. No. 96-510, 94 Stat. at Large 2767, codified as amended at 42 USC §§ 9601-9675) in the way in which the Superfund may be used to remediate "orphaned" National Priorities List (NPL) sites and "orphaned" brownfield sites. Under both the existing law and numerous proposals for the reauthorization of CERCLA, while the Superfund may be used for the remediation of orphaned NPL sites, it may not be used for the remediation of orphaned brownfield sites. In each situation, however, an absent, insolvent, defunct, bankrupt or judgment-proof party has created a situation in which remediation costs must be borne by the public. The study concludes that there is no fundamental policy reason for treating these orphans differently and presents recommendations to facilitate the remediation and redevelopment of both NPL sites and brownfield sites.     

RNA interference: from an ancient mechanism to a state of the art therapeutic application?

Now that the sequencing of many genomes has been completed, the basic challenges are finding the genes and predicting their functions. Up until now, a large information gap has existed between the knowledge of genome sequence and our knowledge of protein function. The assessment of gene function may be performed using the tools of reverse genetics, including knock-out mice, antisense oligomers, aptamers, and ribozymes. These approaches have been superseded by RNA interference (RNAi), which exhibits much more potency for the investigation of protein function than the techniques listed above. As already known some years ago, RNAi is based on an ancient anti-viral defense mechanism in lower eukaryotes. It is induced by double-stranded RNA and its processing to 21–23 nt small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which cause the degradation of homologous endogenous mRNA. The way RNAi works has still to be determined, but it already serves as a first-choice approach to generate loss-of-function phenotypes among a broad variety of eukaryotic species, such as nematodes, flies, plants, fungi and mammals. RNAi also represents an extremely powerful tool, becoming a therapeutic approach to curing infectious diseases originated by viral or parasitic invasion. In this review we present the current view of how RNAi works in different eukaryotic species and its high potential for functional genomics and in rational drug design.     

Darwin’s warm little pond revisited: from molecules to the origin of life

All known cosmic and geological conditions and laws of chemistry and thermodynamics allow that complex organic matter could have formed spontaneously on pristine planet Earth about 4,000 mya. Simple gasses and minerals on the surface and in oceans of the early Earth reacted and were eventually organized in supramolecular aggregates and enveloped cells that evolved into primitive forms of life. Chemical evolution, which preceded all species of extant organisms, is a fact. In this review, we have concentrated on experimental and theoretical research published over the last two decades, which has added a wealth of new details and helped to close gaps in our previous understanding of this multifaceted field. Recent exciting progress in the molecular and genetic analyses of existing life, in particular microorganisms of ancient origin, even supports the possibility that a cellular, self-reproducing common ancestor might be assembled and resurrected in anaerobic cultures at some time in the future. Charles Darwin did not, and indeed, could not, address and specify the earliest phases of life which preceded the Origin of Species. However, in a famous letter, he sketched “a warm little pond with all sorts of… (chemicals, in which) …a protein was chemically formed.” We try to trace the impact of his charming clear-sighted metaphor up to the present time.     

Après Paris: Breakthrough innovation as the primary moral obligation of rich countries

While the notion of differentiated responsibility has always included an element of technological transfer, the growing disparity between the deployment of non-scalable renewable energy sources in the rich countries and the massive expansion of fossil infrastructure elsewhere has brought new urgency to issues of climate leadership. Breakthrough innovation into technologies capable of providing an abundance of clean energy now appears necessary not only to broaden energy access but also to ensure that fossil fuels are quickly displaced globally (including in those countries that have failed to take climate change seriously). Moreover, it is reasonable to expect that a climatechanged world in itself will demand abundant energy to facilitate everything from carbon dioxide removal to mass desalination for agriculture and other adaptation measures. Considering the moral and political impossibility of treating sustained poverty as the “solution” to the climate crisis, this paper suggests that rich countries have a moral obligation to invest in breakthrough innovation into technologies that are compatible with a future global economic convergence around OECD-levels.