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.     

Impact assessment of climate policy on Poland's power sector

This article addresses the impact of the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) on Poland’s conventional energy sector in 2008–2020 and further till 2050. Poland is a country with over 80% dependence on coal in the power sector being under political pressure of the European Union’s (EU) ambitious climate policy. The impact of the increase of the European Emission Allowance (EUA) price on fossil fuel power sector has been modelled for different scenarios. The innovation of this article consists in proposing a methodology of estimation actual costs and benefits of power stations in a country with a heavily coal-dependent power sector in the process of transition to a low-carbon economy. Strong political and economic interdependence of coal and power sector has been demonstrated as well as the impact caused by the EU ETS participation in different technology groups of power plants. It has been shown that gas-fuelled combined heat and power units are less vulnerable to the EU ETS-related costs, whereas the hard coal-fired plants may lose their profitability soon after 2020. Lignite power plants, despite their high emissivity, may longer remain in operation owing to low operational costs. Additionally, the results of long-term, up to 2050, modelling of Poland’s energy sector supported an unavoidable need of deep decarbonisation of the power sector to meet the post-Paris climate objectives. It has been concluded that investing in coal-based power capacity may lead to a carbon lock-in of the power sector. Finally, the overall costs of such a transformation have been discussed and confronted with the financial support offered by the EU. The whole consideration has been made in a wide context of changes ongoing globally in energy markets and compared with some other countries seeking transformation paths from coal. Poland’s case can serve as a lesson for all countries trying to reduce coal dependence in power generation. Reforms in the energy sector shall from the very beginning be an essential part of a sustainable transition of the whole nation’s economy. They must scale the power capacity to the future demand avoiding stranded costs. The reforms must be wide-ranging, based on a wide political consensus and not biased against the coal sector. Future energy mix and corresponding technologies shall be carefully designed, matched and should remain stable in the long-term perspective. Coal-based power capacity being near the end of its lifetime provides an economically viable option to commence a fuel switch and the following technology replacement. Real benefits and costs of the energy transition shall be fairly allocated to all stakeholders and communicated to the society. The social costs and implications in coal-dependent regions may be high, especially in the short-term perspective, but then the transformation will bring profits to the whole society.     

Coxsackievirus B4 as a Causative Agent of Diabetes Mellitus Type 1: Is There a Role of Inefficiently Treated Drinking Water and Sewage in Virus Spreading?

This study proposed to detect the enterovirus (EV) infection in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) and to assess the role of insufficiently treated water and sewage as sources of viral spreading. Three hundred and eighty-two serum specimens of children with T1D, one hundred serum specimens of children who did not suffer from T1D as control, and forty-eight water and sewage samples were screened for EV RNA using nested RT-PCR. The number of genome copies and infectious units of EVs in raw and treated sewage and water samples were investigated using real-time (RT)-PCR and plaque assay, respectively. T1D markers [Fasting blood glucose (FBG), HbA1c, and C-peptide], in addition to anti-Coxsackie A & B viruses (CVs A & B) IgG, were measured in control, T1D-negative EV (T1D–EV^?), and T1D-positive EV (T1D–EV⁺) children specimens. The prevalence of EV genome was significantly higher in diabetic children (26.2%, 100 out of 382) than the control children (0%, 0 out of 100). FBG and HbA1c in T1D–EV^? and T1D–EV⁺ children specimens were significantly higher than those in the control group, while c-peptide in T1D–EV^? and T1D–EV⁺ children specimens was significantly lower than that in the control (n = 100; p < 0.001). Positivity of anti-CVs A & B IgG was 70.7, 6.7, and 22.9% in T1D–EV⁺, T1D–EV^?, and control children specimens, respectively. The prevalence of EV genome in drinking water and treated sewage samples was 25 and 33.3%, respectively. The prevalence of EV infectious units in drinking water and treated sewage samples was 8.5 and 25%, respectively. Quantification assays were performed to assess the capabilities of both wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and water treatment plants (WTPs) to remove EV. The reduction of EV genome in Zenin WWTP ranged from 2 to 4 log₁₀, while the reduction of EV infectious units ranged from 1 to 4 log₁₀. The reduction of EV genome in El-Giza WTP ranged from 1 to 3 log₁₀, while the reduction of EV infectious units ranged from 1 to 2 log₁₀. This capability of reduction did not prevent the appearance of infectious EV in treated sewage and drinking water. Plaque purification was performed for isolation of separate EV isolates from treated and untreated water and sewage samples. Characterization of the EV amplicons by RT-PCR followed by sequencing of these isolates revealed high homology (97%) with human coxsackievirus B4 (CV B4) in 60% of the isolates, while the rest of the isolates belonged to poliovirus type 1 and type 2 vaccine strains. On the other hand, characterization of the EV amplicons by RT-PCR followed by sequencing for T1D–EV⁺ children specimens indicated that all samples contained CV B4 with the same sequence characterized in the environmental samples. CV B4-contaminated drinking water or treated sewage may play a role as a causative agent of T1D in children.     

Assessment of the Virological Quality of Marine and Running Surface Waters in NW Greece: A Case Study

The virological quality of surface marine and running water samples collected from Igoumenitsa gulf and Kalamas river (NW Greece) was assessed from October 2012 to September 2013. Sampling sites were exposed to different land and/or anthropogenic effects. Seawater samples were collected monthly from five sampling stations (new harbor, old harbor, wastewater treatment plant outlet, protected Natura area, Drepano beach). Viral targets included human adenoviruses (hAdVs), as index human viruses, while noroviruses (NoVs) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) were also studied. Kalamas river samples were collected seasonally, from three sampling stations (Soulopoulo, Dam, Sagiada-estuaries), while viral targets included also porcine adenoviruses (pAdVs) and bovine polyoma viruses (bPyVs), as additional index viruses. All water samples were analyzed for standard bacterial indicators, as well. Physicochemical and meteorological data were also collected. Based on the standard bacterial indices, both sea and river water samples did not exceed the limits set according to Directive 2006/7/EU. However, positive samples for hAdVs were found occasionally in all sampling sites in Igoumenitsa gulf (23.3%, 14/60) showing fecal contamination of human origin. Moreover, HAV was detected once, in the sampling site of the old port (at 510 GC/L). Most of the Kalamas water samples were found positive for hAdVs (58.3%, 7/12), while human noroviruses GI (NoVGI) (8.3%, 1/12) and GII (NoVGII) (16.7%, 2/12) were also detected. HAV, pAdVs, and bovine polyomaviruses (bPyVs) were not detected in any of the analyzed samples. No statistically significant correlations were found between classic bacterial indicators and viral targets, nor between viruses and meteorological data. Overall, the present study contributed to the collection of useful data for the biomonitoring of the region, and the assessment of the overall impact of anthropogenic activities. It provided also valuable information for the evaluation of the risk of waterborne viral infections and the protection of public health. It was the first virological study in the area and one of the few in Greece.     

The Impact of Winter Relocation and Depuration on Norovirus Concentrations in Pacific Oysters Harvested from a Commercial Production Site

Oysters contaminated with norovirus present a significant public health risk when consumed raw. In this study, norovirus genome copy concentrations were determined in Pacific oysters (Magallana gigas) harvested from a sewage-impacted production site and then subjected to site-specific management procedures. These procedures consisted of relocation of oysters to an alternative production area during the norovirus high-risk winter periods (November to March) followed by an extended depuration (self-purification) under controlled temperature conditions. Significant differences in norovirus RNA concentrations were demonstrated at each point in the management process. Thirty-one percent of oyster samples from the main harvest area (Site 1) contained norovirus concentrations >?500 genome copies/g and 29% contained norovirus concentrations <?100 genome copies/g. By contrast, no oyster sample from the alternative harvest area (Site 2) or following depuration contained norovirus concentrations >?500 genome copies/g. In addition, 60 and 88% of oysters samples contained norovirus concentrations <?100 genome copies/g in oysters sampled from Site 2 and following depuration, respectively. These data demonstrate that site-specific management processes, supported by norovirus monitoring, can be an effective strategy to reduce, but not eliminate, consumer exposure to norovirus genome copies.     

A decision tree approach modelling functional group abundance in a pasture ecosystem

Decision tree, one of the data mining approaches, was used to model the relative abundance of five functional groups of plant species, namely high fertility response grasses (HFRG), low fertility tolerance grasses (LFTG), legume, moss and flatweeds in a New Zealand hill-pasture ecosystem using aboveground biomass. The model outputs were integrated with a geographic information system (GIS) to map and validate the predictions on a pasture. The decision tree models clearly revealed the interactions between the functional groups and environmental and management factors, and also indicated the relative importance of these factors in influencing the functional group abundance. Soil Olsen P was the most significant factor influencing the abundance of LFTG and moss, while soil bulk density, slope and annual P fertiliser input were the most significant factors influencing the abundance of legume, HFRG and flatweeds, respectively. Generally, slope and soil Olsen P were the two key factors underlying the patterns of abundance for these five functional groups. For the five functional groups studied, there was an overall predictive accuracy of 75%. Modelling functional group abundance simplified the investigation of the complex interrelationship between species and environment in a pasture ecosystem. The integration of the decision tree with GIS in this study provides a platform to investigate community structure and functional composition for a pasture over space, and thus can be applied as a tool in pasture management.     

Unique zinc mass in mandibles separates drywood termites from other groups of termites

Previously, the presence of metals in arthropod mandibles has been linked with harder cuticle, and in termites, a 20% increase in hardness has been found for mandibles containing major quantities of zinc. The current study utilises electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis to assess incidence and abundance of metals in all extant subfamilies of the Isoptera. The basal clades contain no zinc and little to no manganese in the cutting edge of the mandible cuticle, suggesting that these states are ancestral for termites. However, experimentation with mandibles in vitro indicates the presence of some elements of the cuticular biochemistry necessary to enable uptake of zinc. The Termopsidae, Serritermitidae, Rhinotermitidae and Termitidae all contain minor quantities of manganese, while trace to minor quantities of zinc occur in all except the Serritermitidae. In contrast, all Kalotermitidae or drywood termites contain major levels of zinc in the mandible edge. Diet and life type are explored as links to metal profiles across the termites. The presence of harder mandibles in the drywood termites may be related to lack of access to free water with which to moisten wood. Scratch tests were applied to a set of mandibles. The coefficient of friction for Cryptotermes primus (Kalotermitidae) mandibles, when compared with species from other subfamilies, indicates that zinc-containing mandibles are likely to be more scratch resistant.     

Potential ZnS fossilization of gastropods (Middle Jurassic claystones from Central Poland)

The rich fossil fauna in the Middle Jurassic claystones that crop out in the Krakow-Czestochowa Upland is extensively replaced by sulfide minerals, mainly pyrite. Sphalerite (ZnS) is rare and restricted to the internal casts of gastropods, often together with framboidal and euhedral pyrite and calcite. Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectrometer study was undertaken to explain this curious association. The results show that although direct infilling of the carbonate shell, similar to processes occurring during pyritization, is probable, it does not explain all textures observed. We propose that the carbonate shells were initially infilled by calcite and iron sulfides and sphalerite subsequently replaced the calcite casts. Preferential occurrence of ZnS in gastropods could result from accumulation of higher concentration of zinc during the organisms' life. After death, this Zn was introduced into the carbonate making gastropods more prone to ZnS replacement. Formation of ZnS casts was probably a late diagenetic event as zinc content of the surrounding sediment does not appear to influence sphalerite formation.     

A multi-criteria decision analysis of solid waste treatment options in Pakistan: Lahore City—a case in point

Population of the world is increasing day by day, resulting in enormous amount of waste production. In the modern age of great technological advancements, there needs to be a systematic method to keep the environment clean. The waste management activities, i.e., collection, transport and disposal, pose a great challenge to the waste managers as they have to factor in various eclectic factors such as land availability, facilities available, budget, time required and the impact it would have on the environment, while tackling this problem. Lahore, despite being the most developed city of Pakistan, does not have a suitable solid waste management system. An increasing population leads to more waste generation, and in Lahore the situation is no different. Several waste management companies are working in the city, but as of yet they have not been able to make significant inroads to completely eradicate the problem. The aim of this paper is to suggest a suitable way for dealing with the waste. To accomplish this aim, a hierarchy-based model is used, considering six criteria and five alternatives. We used multi-criteria decision analysis to decide among different waste management alternatives. Forecasting has been used to find the population and waste produced over the years. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) are used to rank the feasible alternative. The results show that the population and waste were increasing drastically. Aerobic digestion was ranked as the best alternative for waste management according to AHP and TOPSIS, but there is great variation among the rank of other alternatives.