Randers, Jorgen. "The Real Message of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩 – A Plea for Forward-Looking Global Policy". GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society. June 20, 2012. https://ethz.ch/...
The Limits to Growth (LtG) published in April 1972, called for managing the reduction of resources used in economic development. It warned that overshoot will be caused by significant institutional delays in decision-making and showed how the equilibrium between remedial action and ecosystem improvement could be achieved. LtG claimed that global society will be forced to decline or collapse because of significant reaction delays in the global economy. It postulated that a truly sustainable global solution will require both technological advances and behavioral change. It argued humanity must agree on the investment in new climate-friendly solutions before they become commercially profitable.
Posted on 05/02/22
Recent Abstracts
- Ryan Nunn, Jimmy O’Donnell, Jay Shambaugh, Lawrence H. Goulder, Charles D. Kolstad, and Xianling Long. "Ten Facts about the Economics of Climate Change and Climate Policy".
Brookings Institution.
https://www.brookings.edu/...
The world’s climate has already changed measurably in response to accumulating greenhouse gas (GHG). Considerable uncertainties surround both the extent of future climate change and the biophysical impacts of such change. Despite the uncertainties, climate scientists strongly agree that in the absence of measures to significantly reduce GHG emissions, the changes in climate will be substantial – with long-lasting effects on many of Earth’s physical and biological systems. There are significant risks associated with low probability but potentially catastrophic outcomes. Although a focus on median outcomes alone warrants efforts to reduce emissions of GHGs, economists argue that the uncertainties and associated risks justify more aggressive policy action than otherwise would be warranted.Posted on 14/05/24
- Michael Berkebile-Weinberg, Danielle Goldwert, Kimberly C. Doell, Jay J. Van Bavel & Madalina Vlasceanu. "The differential impact of climate interventions along the political divide in 60 countries".
Nature.
(May 08, 2024).
https://www.nature.com/...
A major barrier to climate change mitigation is the political polarization of climate change beliefs. In a global experiment, the differential impact of eleven climate interventions across the ideological divide were assessed. This paper examines the political polarization of climate change at the level of beliefs and behaviors. Despite the broad scientific consensus identifying human activity as a significant contributor to this global crisis, beliefs about the reality of anthropogenic climate change and the extent to which climate change is a global emergency that warrants action have become increasingly politically polarized. The political polarization of climate change is problematic given its detrimental impact on climate action and support for mitigation policies.Posted on 13/05/24
- Gawel, Antonia, Nathan Cooper, and Lukas Bester. "The IPCC Report and the Need for Radical Climate Action".
World Economic Forum.
(March 03, 2022).
https://www.weforum.org/...
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report demonstrates that climate breakdown is happening more quickly than anticipated and warns that much of the planet will soon become uninhabitable. The science-driven report emphasizes the urgent need for radical climate action to stay in a climate safety zone and to accelerate transformational adaptation measures. Other organizations, like the EU European Environment Agency (EEA), have an apparent optimism bias, stating there has been "remarkable progress" – even "overachievement" – towards meeting the EU's climate and energy targets, even that Europe is "well on track in its journey" to avoid the life-threatening climate catastrophe.Posted on 11/05/24
- Linklaters. "Navigating the Risks of Greenwashing in the Voluntary Carbon Market".
ISDA.
Accessed May 08, 2024.
https://www.isda.org/...
Voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) offer an important market mechanism for firms to efficiently abate their emissions. By utilizing the VCM, they can buy verified carbon credits (VCCs) from carbon projects that have a lower marginal cost of abatement. One of the main obstacles in delivering the lowest cost abatement through VCCs and liquid transparent VCMs is the perceived risk of greenwashing and its associated reputational and regulatory risks. This paper will: (1) provide an overview of VCCs; (2) explain greenwashing; (3) describe the origin, causes and risks of nature- and technology-based VCC methodologies; (4) discuss the effects of greenwashing on carbon markets; (5) highlight market reforms to minimize the risk of greenwashing; and (6) provide recommendations.Posted on 08/05/24
- T. M. Lenton, D.I. Armstrong McKay, S. Loriani, J.F. Abrams, S.J. Lade, J.F. Donges, M. Milkoreit, T. Powell, S.R. Smith, C. Zimm, J.E. Buxton, E. Bailey, L. Laybourn, A. Ghadiali, J.G. Dyke (eds). "The Global Tipping Points Report 2023".
University of Exeter.
Accessed May 07, 2024.
https://global-tipping-points.org/...
The Global Tipping Points Report, launched at COP28 on 6 December 2023, is an authoritative assessment of the risks and opportunities of both negative and positive tipping points in the Earth system and society. A "tipping point" is that point at which a small change or a series of small changes or incidents becomes significant enough to cause a larger, more important change and make a big difference to a system. A tipping point occurs when change in part of a system becomes self-perpetuating beyond a threshold, leading to substantial, widespread, frequently abrupt and often irreversible impact as well as possibilities of non-abrupt and reversible tipping points. A "tipping event" describes the crossing of a tipping point and "tipping dynamics" the resulting changes that unfold.Posted on 08/05/24
- Cornwall, Andrea. "Buzzwords and Fuzzwords: Deconstructing Development Discourse".
Development in Practice.
(
https://www.researchgate.net/...
There are sustainable cities, economics, construction, destruction, investing, operation, and, inevitably, consultants – “There is nothing, it seems, that cannot be called ‘sustainable’”. A correct understanding of the term is important in the processes of policy-making and socioeconomic development as it has become a boundary term used for identification. Its widespread misuse to further the political and financial objectives of the counterproductive and unsustainable development of our communities and societies across the world has become a major concern to all socioeconomic stakeholders. Concern about the misuse of the term was being voiced well before this article's appearance in 2007.Posted on 07/05/24
- Khajuria, Anupam, Vella A. Atienza, Suchana Chavanich, Wilts Henning, Ishrat Islam, Ulrich Kral, Meng Liu, et al.. "Accelerating Circular Economy Solutions to Achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals".
Circular Economy.
(September 2022).
https://www.sciencedirect.com/...
A reduction of environmental and socioeconomic impacts of products and services can be achieved through a circular economy as a critical enabler of the sustainable use of natural resources. Systematic materials cycling for closed-loop resource supply chains and the integration of resource circularity with the SDGs is fundamental to the concept of the circular economy. Besides its importance in the ESG reporting of resource and solution providers, circularity is key for the SDG-targeted development of communities. The importance of the circular economy is reflected in many goals and targets in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Posted on 06/05/24
- Kotz, Maximilian, Anders Levermann and Leonie Wenz. "The Economic Commitment of Climate Change".
Nature.
(April 17, 2024).
https://www.nature.com/...
Even if CO₂ emissions were drastically reduced immediately, the global economy would still be heading towards a significant drop of 19% in GDP by 2050, according to a recent study published in Nature. Scientists at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) assessed future impacts of changing climatic conditions on economic growth and their persistence. They estimate the damages due to climate change at six times – 600% – greater than the mitigation costs needed to limit global warming to to the target of two degrees, based on empirical data from more than 1,600 regions worldwide over the past 40 years. Such forecasts of the macroeconomic damage caused by climate change are crucial to informing public and policy debates about adaptation, mitigation and climate justice.Posted on 03/05/24
- Syed Abdul Rehman Khan, Muhammad Umar, Alam Asadov, Muhammad Tanveer, and Zhang Yu. "Technological Revolution and Circular Economy Practices: A Mechanism of Green Economy".
Sustainability.
(November 04, 2024).
https://www.mdpi.com/...
Business models are being transformed by rising environmental concerns, Industry 4.0 technologies, and circular economy (CE) practices, which are the prevailing business considerations. Keeping these considerations in view, this work looks into the role of Industry 4.0 technologies in the adoption of CE practices and their impact on the economic, operational, and organizational performance of firms. Industry 4.0 technologies significantly enhance circular economy practices and found to positively correlate with environmental and operational performance, while the higher economic and operational performance boosts organizational performance. The findings illustrate that CE practices have a significant positive effect on environmental, economic, and operational performance of the firms.Posted on 29/04/24
-
European Commission.
"Circular Economy – Principles for Buildings Design". Accessed April 24, 2024.
https://ec.europa.eu/...
Circular economy principles for sustainable building design stress resource efficiency in construction to prevent and reduce construction and demolition waste and to re-use and recycle building materials and products. This document informs the key participants in the building value chain about sustainable building design. The document informs the participants in the building value chain about sustainable building design: (1) building users, facility managers and owners; (2) design teams; (3) builders and contractors; (4) product manufacturers; (5) deconstruction and demolition teams; (6) investors, developers and insurance providers; and (7) governments, regulators and local authorities. It builds on the voluntary Common European Framework of Sustainability Indicators – "Level(s)".Posted on 26/04/24
- Ho, Oanh Thi-Kieu, and Usha Iyer-Raniga. "Life Cycle Costing: Evaluate Sustainability Outcomes for Building and Construction Sector".
Springer Nature Switzerland.
2022.
https://www.researchgate.net/...
Life-cycle cost (LCC) is the sum of all costs related to the life cycle of a building from investment to its deconstruction. For a sustainable building, it is anticipated that the environmental impacts associated with the design, construction, and operation of this building are lower than conventional construction. LCC is typically used for assessing energy efficiency or determining energy impacts in building projects. Comprehensive life-cycle costing is recognized through life-cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA), which comprises the three measurement techniques of environmental life-cycle assessment (LCA), environmental life-cycle costing (LCC), and social LCA (SLCA). Despite the limitations of scope, LCC is an effective approach for assessing SDG-targeted sustainability outcomes.Posted on 25/04/24
- Baskin, Kara. "The state of supply chain sustainability".
MIT Sloan School of Management.
(December 14, 2023).
https://mitsloan.mit.edu/...
This report published by MIT Sloan defines supply chain sustainability as “the management of environmental and social impacts within and across networks consisting of suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and customers.” The five key takeaways from the report, which captures a turbulent world that continues to grapple with the complex goal of sustainability, are (1) Commitment to supply chain sustainability appears to be resilient to certain types of crises but vulnerable to others; (2) Sustainability commitments aren’t consistent across supply chains and around the world, (3) Pressure to increase supply chain sustainability comes from multiple quarters; (4) Pressure to increase supply chain sustainability comes from multiple quarters, (5) Many firms have no net-zero goals.Posted on 24/04/24
- Laila Mendy, Mikael Karlsson and Daniel Lindvall. "Counteracting climate denial: A systematic review".
Sage Publications.
(January 20, 2024).
https://journals.sagepub.com/...
Despite overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change, climate denial is still widespread. While much research has characterized climate denial, comparatively fewer studies have systematically examined how to counteract it. This review fills this gap by exploring the research about counteracting climate denial, the effectiveness and the intentions behind intervention. Through a systematic selection and analysis of 65 scientific articles, this review finds multiple intervention forms, including education, message framing and inoculation. The intentions of intervening range from changing understanding of climate science, science advocacy, influencing mitigation attitudes and counteracting vested industry. The review offers guiding questions for counteracting climate denialism.Posted on 23/04/24
- Pucker, Kenneth P., and Andrew King. "ESG Investing isn’t Designed to Save the Planet".
Harvard Business Review.
(August 01, 2022).
https://hbr.org/...
Erroneously, ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investing is widely assumed to reward companies for helping the planet. However, ESG ratings, which underlie ESG fund selection, are based on the impact the changing world has on companies’ profit and loss. Asset managers have deliberately allowed the confusion to go unrefuted and even encourage it since ESG funds are highly popular and come with higher management fees. The harm is that ESG investing leads policymakers to believe that the market can remedy the threatened environmental and socioeconomic disaster while only prompt significant government intervention can avert imminent climate catastrophe.Posted on 22/04/24
- Cammarano, Antonello, Mirko Perano, Francesca Michelino, Claudio Del Regno, and Mauro Caputo. "SDG-Oriented Supply Chains: Business Practices for Procurement and Distribution".
Sustainability.
(January 25, 2022).
https://www.mdpi.com/...
Sustainable practices can be implemented within supply chains to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Procurement and distribution processes can be reengineered by implementing sustainable approaches that consider the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainability. SDG-oriented supply chains demonstrate a positive relationship between sustainable development and supply-chain performance enhancement. There are differences in the number of opportunities depend on the motivation for implementing them, industry and supply-chain processes, performance achieved, and SDGs pursued. Companies have many opportunities to support the 2030 Agenda and enhance their market and organizational performance when aligning their supply chains with the SDGs.Posted on 18/04/24
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