AdaptNet for 19 February 2008

Recommended Citation

"AdaptNet for 19 February 2008", ADAPTNet English Edition, February 19, 2008, https://nautilus.org/adaptnet/adaptnet-for-19-february-2008/

AdaptNet for 19 February 2008

  1. Effect of Climate Change on Rural Australia
  2. Climate Change Impacts on Cities – Literature Review
  3. Dangerous Level of GHGs and Climate Change Knowledge
  4. Human Development Challenge of 21st Century – Climate Change
  5. Adaptive Governance in Water Sector – South Asia
  6. Better Air Quality Workshop 2008 – Bangkok

1. Effect of Climate Change on Rural Australia

The paper addresses the effect of climate change on various aspects (natural resources, agricultural activity, population health, social/economic development) in Australian rural and remote regions. It stresses the need to explore relevant adaptation and mitigation strategies for gaining a better understanding of the overall impact of climate change on regional Australia.

Effect of Climate Change on Australian Rural and Remote Regions: What Do We Know and What Do We Need to Know? Peng Bi and Kevin A. Parton, Australian Journal of Rural Health (AJRH), Vol. 16 (1), February 2008
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2. Climate Change Impacts on Cities – Literature Review

This report presents an overview of the emerging literature relating to climate change impacts on cities. It identifies a number of research priorities including; the need for further scoping studies, additional impact areas, progress in a range of methodological issues, and the need for developing city-scale adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Literature Review on Climate Change Impacts on Urban City Centres: Initial Findings, Alistair Hunt and Paul Watkiss, Working Party on Global and Structural Policies, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), December 2007 [PDF]

3. Dangerous Level of GHGs and Climate Change Knowledge

The paper argues that the grim reports issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) could be absurdly optimistic as the Earth’s climate system is dominated by positive radiative feedbacks. It finds that the current climate change knowledge does not permit accurate specification of the dangerous level of human-made GHGs.

Climate Change and Trace Gases, James Hansen et al., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A (2007) 365, 1925–1954, 2007 [PDF]

4. Human Development Challenge of 21st Century – Climate Change

The report provides a stark account of the threat posed by global warming. It argues that the world is drifting towards a ‘tipping point’ that could lock the world’s poorest countries and their poorest citizens in a downward spiral. Turning to adaptation, the report calls on rich countries to put climate change adaptation at the centre of international partnerships on poverty reduction.

Human Development Report 2007/2008 – Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a Divided World, Kevin Watkins et al., The Human Development Report Office (HDRO), UNDP, November 2007 [PDF]  

5. Adaptive Governance in Water Sector – South Asia

Climate change together with other socio-economic stresses will have substantial impacts on water resources in South Asia. The paper discusses the current status of adaptation and mitigation mechanisms in South Asian water sector. It argues that the vulnerability of population from extreme hydro-meteorological hazards can be reduced through institutional adaptive governance.

Climate Change, Adaptation and Adaptive Governance in Water Sector in South Asia, Monirul Mirza, Amsterdam Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, 2007 [PDF]

6. Better Air Quality Workshop 2008 – Bangkok

Better Air Quality-2008 Workshop will be held in Bangkok, Thailand from November 12-14, 2008. ‘Linkages between air pollutants and GHG emissions’ will be a cross-cutting issue through several of the conference program topics. Abstracts (maximum 300 words) may be submitted by March 30, 2008.

Better Air Quality 2008 – Workshop,  Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities – Philippines and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), Bangkok, Thailand, November 12-14, 2008

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AdaptNet is a free weekly report produced by RMIT University Global Cities Institute’s Climate Change Adaptation Working Group in partnership with the Australian Centre for Science, Innovation and Society at Melbourne University, Australia.

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For further information, please contact the editor, Saleem Janjua.