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Melinda Harm Benson and Robin K. Craig, Ensia
The End of Sustainability?
›July 30, 2014 // By Wilson Center Staff
The time has come for us to collectively reexamine – and ultimately move past – the concept of sustainability. The continued invocation of sustainability in policy discussions ignores the emerging realities of the Anthropocene, which is creating a world characterized by extreme complexity, radical uncertainty, and unprecedented change. From a policy perspective, we must face the impossibility of even defining – let alone pursuing – a goal of “sustainability” in such a world. It’s not that sustainability is a bad idea. The question is whether the concept of sustainability is still useful as an environmental governance framework.
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New Research Explores Causality of Climate-Related Conflict, Effectiveness of Migration
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Migration is an “extreme” form of climate adaptation, but it does pay off for some, write Md. Monirul Islam et al. in a new article in the journal Climatic Change. In a study analyzing two Bangladeshi fishing communities, one long-established, the other the result of migration, the authors examine the effects of climate-induced migration on livelihood vulnerability. -
Don’t Forget About Governance: The Risk of Tunnel Vision in Chasing Resilience for Asia’s Cities
›Asia is going through an unprecedented wave of urbanization. Secondary and tertiary cities are seeing the most rapid changes in land-use and ownership, social structures, and values as peri-urban and agricultural land become part of metropolitan cityscapes. All the while, climate change is making many of these fast-growing cities more vulnerable to disasters.
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India’s Faltering Energy Production, Damaged Water Resources Demand Modi’s Close Attention
›India’s new prime minister swept into office in May on a message of aspiration and a reputation for action.
During the nearly 13 years that Narendra Modi served as chief minister of Gujarat before becoming prime minister, his successes included drastically curtailing the number of hours that manufacturers in India’s premier industrial state went without electricity. The state’s transmission grid was strengthened and he promoted the development of 900 megawatts of solar generating capacity (equivalent to a large nuclear plant).
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Addressing Reproductive Health and Rights in a Post-MDG World Begins With Inequality
›The importance of reproductive health and rights in responding to global climate change and facilitating sustainable development is becoming increasingly clear. But as two articles recently published in The Lancet explain, any post-Millennium Development Goals development agenda that hopes to address these issues must do a better job reaching populations that have largely been excluded from recent advancements. -
Brian Kahn, Climate Central
Weather Disasters Have Cost the Globe $2.4 Trillion
›July 17, 2014 // By Wilson Center StaffWeather- and climate-related disasters have caused $2.4 trillion in economic losses and nearly 2 million deaths globally since 1971 according to a new report. While the losses are staggering, the report also shows that we have learned from past disasters, lessons the world will need as development continues in hazardous areas and the climate continues to change.
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Environmental Dimensions of Sustainable Recovery: Learning From Post-Conflict and Disaster Response
›“Environmental specialists need to change,” said Anita van Breda at the Wilson Center on June 25. “In the new normal, our work has to have a different relevancy.” [Video Below]
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Climate Change Will Test Water-Sharing Agreements
›July 15, 2014 // By Thomas CurranMany existing water-sharing treaties should be re-assessed in the context of climate change, write Shlomi Dinar, David Katz, Lucia De Stefano, and Brian Blakespoor in a World Bank working paper.
Showing posts from category climate change.
