Climate Change and Local Pollution Effects – An Integrated Approach

Few studies on measures for mitigation of damage caused by man-made emissions to the environment have tried to consider all major effects. We illustrate the importance of an integrated approach by estimating costs and benefits of a proposed energy saving program for Hungary, originally designed to reduce CO2 emissions. The dominant benefit of implementing the program is likely to be reduced health damage from local pollutants. Also reduced costs of material damage and to a lesser extent vegetation damage contribute to make the net benefit considerable. Compared to the reduction in these local and regional effects, the benefits from reducing greenhouse gases are likely to be minor. Since local effects in general occur much earlier after measures have been implemented than effects of increased emissions of greenhouse gases, inclusion of local effects makes evaluation of climate policy less dependent on the choice of discount rate. In our opinion, similar results are likely for many measures originally designed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases particularly in some areas in developing countries with high local pollution levels. Main uncertainties in the analysis, e.g. in the relationships between damage and pollution level, are discussed.     

Climate Change Projections for the United States Midwest

Environmental and societal factors such asair quality, water quality andavailability, land use changes andexpanding urbanization are alreadyaffecting human health and welfare,agriculture, and natural ecosystems in theMidwestern United States. Over thiscentury, these existing stresses willlikely be exacerbated by climate changesresulting from human activities. It isessential that policy decisions aimed atpreserving the well-being of a region beinformed by a good understanding of theregion's climate, how climate might change,and the uncertainties inherent in futureprojections. Recent updates in climatemodeling expertise and an expanded view ofpossible non-intervention emissionscenarios have narrowed the range of changethat can be expected over the Midwestthroughout the next century in some ways,while broadening it in others. In contrastto previous studies, which generallyconsider a mid-range scenario for futureemissions, this study presents the range ofchange that would result from low to highscenarios for climate change. In this waywe account for uncertainties inanthropogenic forcing on climate change inthe region and quantify the potentialeffects of human actions on future climate.This analysis also combines the latestclimate model projections with historicalrecords of observed climate over the pastcentury, effectively placing potentialchanges in extreme event frequencies suchas heavy rainfall events and temperaturethreshold exceedances within the context ofobserved variability over the past century.The purpose of this study is to provide anupdated picture of the potential impacts ofclimate change on the Midwest to inform theimpact assessment and policy developmentcommunity. From the magnitude of thechanges projected by this study, it isclear that these must be included in futurepolicy decisions in order to ensure thesuccessful adaptation and survival ofexisting human and natural systems in theMidwest.     

Estimating baseline carbon emissions for the Eastern Panama Canal watershed

To participate in the potential market for carbon credits based on changes in the use and management of the land, one needs to identify opportunities and implement land-use based emissions reductions or sequestration projects. A key requirement of land-based carbon (C) projects is that any activity developed for generating C benefits must be additional to business-as-usual. A rule-based model was developed and used that estimates changes in land-use and subsequent carbon emissions over the next twenty years using the Eastern Panama Canal Watershed (EPCW) as a case study. These projections of changes in C stocks serve as a baseline to identify where opportunities exist for implementing projects to generate potential C credits and to position Panama to be able to participate in the emerging C market by developing a baseline under scenarios of business-as-usual and new-road development. The projections show that the highest percent change in land use for the new-road scenario compared to the business-as-usual scenario is for urban areas, and the greatest cause of C emission is from deforestation. Thus, the most effective way to reduce C emissions to the atmosphere in the EPCW is by reducing deforestation. In addition to affecting C emissions, reducing deforestation would also protect the soil and water resources of the EPCW. Yet, under the current framework of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), only credits arising from reforestation are allowed, which after 20 years of plantation establishment are not enough to offset the C emissions from the ongoing, albeit small, rate of deforestation in the EPCW. The study demonstrates the value of spatial regional projections of changes in land cover and C stocks: The approach helps a country identify its potential greenhouse gas (GHG) emission liabilities into the future and provides opportunity for the country to plan alternative development pathways. It could be used by potential project developers to identify which types of projects will generate the largest C benefits and provide the needed baseline against which a project is then evaluated. Spatial baselines, such as those presented here, can be used by governments to help identify development goals. The development of such a baseline, and its expansion to other vulnerable areas, well positions Panama to respond to the future market demand for C offsets. It is useful to compare the projected change in land cover under the business-as-usual scenario to the goals set by Law 21 for the year 2020. Suggested next steps for analysis includeusing the modeling approach to exploreland-use, C dynamics and management ofsecondary forests and plantations, soilC gains or losses, sources ofvariability in the land use and Cstock projections, and other ecologicalimplications and feedbacks resulting fromprojected changes in land cover.     

Climate Change Daaptational Deficiencies in Developing Countries: the Case of Sub-Saharan Africa

Adaptation is nowrecognized as an inevitable component ofthe overall climate change responsestrategy. For a developing region likesub-Saharan Africa with low greenhouse gasemissions and high vulnerability to theimpacts of climate change, the importanceof adaptation in climate change policy iseven more fundamental. This paper examined alook at the adaptational preparedness ofthe sub-Saharan African region to climatechange. Clearly evident in theenvironmental strategy and developmentfocus of these countries is lack ofrecognition of the need to adapt, poorincentive to adapt and low capacity toadapt to climate change. This furtherexacerbates their vulnerability and hasimplications for the global climate changeresponse strategy. Unfortunately, fewattempts have been made to understand thestructural reasons underlying the pervasivepattern of adaptational unpreparedness inthe region, neither has there been acomprehensive and systematic analysis ofhow to remedy this problem. This paper is acontribution in this regard. It alsohighlights the factors to whichinternational community need to payattention, if it truly wishes to make itsefforts at adaptation more global inscope.     

青藏高原东北部气候变化的异质性及其成因

利用1961-2016年西宁等青藏高原东北部13个气象台站气温、降水等气象资料以及国家气候中心发布的南海季风指数、西伯利亚高压指数等大气环流特征量数据,分析近56年来气候变化与高原主体的差异性及其可能的气候成因。研究表明：近56年来青藏高原东北部气候变暖趋势十分显著,年平均气温气候倾向率高达0.39 ℃/10 a,呈现出三次明显的阶梯性增高态势,并于1994年前后发生了由冷到暖的突变,同时具有明显的空间差异性;年降水量及四季降水量均没有明显变化趋势,虽然经历了2002年左右由少到多的变化,但并未出现明显突变,年降水量具有3年、5年的准周期,而年降水日数微弱减少,降水强度呈增加趋势;该区域气候变化的年际波动主要受到东亚季风、高原季风和南海季风的年际振荡及其相互作用的影响,而西风环流的作用并不明显,植被覆盖的恢复既是对2002年以来降水量增加的具体反应,同时也对于气候变暖趋势起到了一定的缓和作用。     

Recovery and chemical utilization of carbon dioxidefrom fossil-fuel burning industrial sources

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Climate change adaptation in the ski industry

Regardless of the success of climate change mitigation efforts, the international community has concluded that societies around the world will need to adapt to some magnitude of climate change in the 21st century. While some economic sectors (e.g., agriculture, water resources and construction) have been actively engaged in climate change adaptation research for years, adaptation has received scant consideration within the tourism-recreation industry. This is particularly the case for adaptation by tourism operators (supply-side). One exception where progress on supply-side climate adaptation has been made is the ski industry. This paper provides a brief overview of the literature on the implications of climate change for the international ski industry and how adaptation by ski area operators has been treated within these studies. This is followed by an inventory of climate adaptation practices currently used by ski industry stakeholders, including the historical development of certain key adaptations and constraints to wider use. The characteristics of ski areas with higher adaptive capacity are identified. Considering the highly competitive nature of the ski industry and the generally low climate change risk appraisal within the industry, climate change adaptation is anticipated to remain individualistic and reactive for some time. With only a few exceptions, the existing climate change literature on winter tourism has not considered the wide range of adaptation options identified in this paper and has likely overestimated potential damages. An important task for future studies is to develop methodologies to incorporate adaptation so that a more accurate understanding of the vulnerability of the international ski industry can be ascertained.     

Numerous experiments for the impact of warming climate on the phenology and grain yield of winter wheat

Based on the environmental and crop data at Zhenjiang City, in Jiangsu Province, middle east of China, the growing process of winter wheat was simulated by CERES-Wheat model assuming the daily average temperature is 1℃ to 2℃ higher than at the present, which are mostly possible for the change of climate because of enrichment of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The simulation results show that warming climate can promote development rate and shorten phenological stages of wheat, and the grain yield will be higher than present. Its impact on the kernel weight and grains per square meter were different for the plantings of various sowing dates. The results of this study suggest that substantial changes in agricultural production and management practices are needed to respond to the climatic changes expected to take place in China.     

环厦门海域水色变化的多光谱多时相遥感分析

采用基于影像光谱信息建立的水质遥感模型对环厦门海域1989～2003年间的水色变化进行了分析.通过对水体及其所含物质的物理光学性质分析,水质遥感模型的建立可以不依赖于和卫星同步的水质采样数据建立水质遥感.这使得遥感对水色分析的应用更容易,而且还可以利用大量卫星存档数据来进行水质的历史变化分析.使用基于可见光和近红外波段反射率创建的模型研究了离水信号和水中物质(悬浮物和浮游植物)的关系.提出了一套可用于Landsat TM/ETM 和SPOT 5影像的水专题处理流程,并用于揭示所研究海域中悬浮物和叶绿素浓度的时空变化规律.研究表明,利用基于影像光谱的水质遥感模型,可以快速有效地揭示长时间范围内水色的时空变化.总的看来,环厦门海域的悬浮物浓度在所研究的时期内,有显著的增加,叶绿素的浓度在局部也有明显的升高.最明显的是,高悬浮物浓度的海域面积所占的比例从1989年的0.2%上升到2003年的10.2%.综合分析表明,九龙江河口所带来的巨量悬浮物是该海域最主要的陆源排海物和污染源,过度的水产养殖是另一个主要的污染因子.     

Soil carbon pool in China and its global significance

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