Resilient Horizons Building Sustainable Environments For Climate Adaptation And Health

This book discusses the challenges related to climate change mitigation and adaptation. It adds valuable strategies and insights into the development of new practices solving the identified social and economic problems related to ecosystem deterioration and anticipating other disasters related to climate change. As the decarbonization of cities and communities became an issue of great interest to many researchers, the book in hand is of great importance to decision-makers and energy stakeholders and others seeking a more resilient and sustainable future and developing innovative technologies to overcome environmental deterioration. This book is a culmination of selected research papers from the first version of the international conference on ‘Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability’ which was held in 2022 in collaboration with Chongqing University, China.

To date, climate adaptation has mostly focused on protecting physical assets from potentially catastrophic climatic changes. While the lack of human vulnerability and equity components in adaptation plans and policies has been critiqued by many, this has not yet led to climate adaptation planning and policymaking processes that situates people’s health and well-being front and center. This book examines how cities can use a public health frame of climate change to boost people’s understanding of and concern about climate change and increase policy support for climate adaptation efforts at the local level. In addition, it aims to strengthen our understanding of different tools cities can use to operationalize a focus on the health implications of climate change, enhance collective decision-making capacities, and, ultimately, build human resilience to climate change.

“Climate Resilience And Innovation “ extensively explores the interplay between climate resilience and innovation, emphasizing the importance of nature-based solutions, advanced technologies, community engagement, and global cooperation to build sustainable, resilient communities capable of addressing the challenges posed by climate change. The driving idea behind the book is to examine specific areas of focus related to building a more sustainable and resilient future, offering in-depth insights and practical recommendations. Each chapter delves into different aspects such as climate technology, the science of climate change, climate-resilient infrastructure, sustainable transportation, and renewable energy innovations, aiming to provide comprehensive knowledge and actionable solutions for mitigating the impacts of climate change. Key Takeaways: - **Nature-Based Solutions (NBS)**: Utilizing natural processes and ecosystems to enhance climate resilience and provide multiple environmental and socio-economic benefits. - **Technology and Innovation**: Emphasizing advancements in carbon capture, energy efficiency, and intelligent climate prediction models alongside renewable energy integration and climate-resilient infrastructure. - **Community Engagement**: Highlighting the importance of local leadership, stakeholder collaboration, education, and participatory decision-making in fostering climate resilience. - **Global Collaboration**: Stressed the need for international agreements, multinational corporate involvement, technology exchange, financial mechanisms, and overcoming cultural differences to address climate challenges. - **Successful Case Studies**: Detailed examples of innovative climate actions in urban renewal, agriculture, water management, transportation, and conservation showing real-world applications and outcomes. - **Monitoring and Evaluation**: Importance of rigorous methods to assess the effectiveness and sustainability of climate initiatives, underpinned by adaptive management. - **Strategic Recommendations**: Advocated for strengthening international dialogue, investment in technology transfer, financial alignment, performance tracking, and inclusive global cooperation for resilient futures.

On July 22-23, 2020, the Food Forum of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a virtual workshop that explored the integration of the health, societal, economic, and environmental effects and future needs of the food system. The main objective of the 1.5-day workshop was to understand how to achieve a more sustainable, resilient, equitable, and nourishing food system. Workshop sessions examined three main dimensions of the food system: vulnerabilities, resiliency, and transformation. The workshop included discussions on global change, access to health and food, resiliency in complex dynamic systems and resiliency for the future, and consumption- and production-oriented strategies that could transform the food system. This publication highlights the presentation and discussion of the workshop.

This open access edited volume critically examines a coherence building opportunity between Climate Change Adaptation, the Sustainable Development Goals and Disaster Risk Reduction agendas through presenting best practice approaches, and supporting Irish and international case studies. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted existing global inequalities and demonstrated the scope and scale of cascading socio-ecological impacts. The impacts of climate change on our global communities will likely dwarf the disruption brought on by the pandemic, and moreover, these impacts will be more diffuse and pervasive over a longer timeframe. This edited volume considers opportunities to address global challenges in the context of developing resilience as an integrated development continuum instead of through independent and siloed agendas.

The book examines management strategies for developing and implementing strategic resilience and sustainability plans for sustainable and climate-resilient communities and organizations. It examines trends in resilience and sustainability planning, highlighting best practices and case studies. The book explores Quadruple Bottom Line strategies and methods to implement resilience and sustainability-related initiatives in organizations and communities. It also examines diverse perspectives on climate resilience, climate preparedness and readiness, greenhouse gas emission reductions policies, climate adaptation and mitigation, disaster preparedness and readiness, and sustainable energy policies and projects. Additionally, the book offers insights on strategic resilience and sustainability planning during a pandemic as well as private sector perspectives on strategic resilience and sustainability. In chapter one, the author presents expanded definitions of strategic resilience and sustainability as well as mechanisms reshaping communities and organizations. Chapter two examines strategic planning processes for communities and organizations and lays out planning steps. Chapter three offers insights into community and organizational level engagement, looking at internal and external stakeholders, organizers, partners, collaborators, and implementers of distinct stages of strategic resilience and sustainability planning. Chapter four outlines measurements and tactics to track and improve strategic resilience and sustainability reporting mechanisms using the quadruple bottom line strategy. It offers a resilience progress report to ensure accountability, answerability, transparency, and good governance. Chapter five details the implementation of a strategic resilience and sustainability plan, describing programs and initiatives to achieve resilient and sustainable communities and organizations. Chapter six extensively examines the theoretical and practical intersection between climate change, resilience, and sustainability. Chapter seven reviews resources available for strategic resilience and sustainability plans to aid communities and organizations. Chapter eight assesses the current and future state of resilience and sustainability in communities and organizations, including concerns surrounding climate change, pandemics, disaster resilience, and emergency management and preparedness.

Global climate change will alter the environmental forces of today and increasingly affect weather patterns, rises in temperature, and government policies for decades to come. To provide future generations with the knowledge and resources needed to develop solutions for these ongoing issues, current shortcomings in environmental education need to be addressed. Building Sustainability Through Environmental Education is a collection of innovative research on methods and applications for creating comprehensive environmental education programs that support sustainability practices and instruct students on a variety of topics including water resource management, disaster risks and mitigation, and issues surrounding climate change. Targeting an audience of educators, conservationists, instructional designers, administrators, academicians, researchers, policymakers, and students, this publications provides practical applications and examples of integrating best environmental sustainability practices into education.

Urban communities around the world face increased stress from natural disasters linked to climate change, and other urban pressures. They need to grow rapidly stronger in order to cope, adapt and flourish. Strong social networks and social cohesion can be more important for a community’s resilience than the actual physical structures of a city. But how can urban planning and design support these critical collective social strengths? This book offers blue sky thinking from the applied social and behavioural sciences, and urban planning. It looks at case studies from 14 countries around the world – including India, the USA, South Africa, Indonesia, the UK and New Zealand – focusing on initiatives for housing, public space and transport stops, and also natural disasters such as flooding and earthquakes. Building on these insights, the authors propose a 'gold standard': a socially aware planning process and policy recommendation for those drawing up city sustainability and climate change resilience strategies, and urban developers looking to build climate-proof infrastructure and spaces. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of urban studies, resilience studies and climate change policy, as well as policymakers and practitioners working in related fields.