manchester climate monthly

Welcome to the first ever edition of MoJO (Monthly Journal Overview): a monthly listing of academic articles about climate change and Manchester – articles by Manchester based academics, articles about Manchester and other “particularly interesting” articles that have appeared in journals.
This does not include all items published in the issue of the journals we kept an eye on – just those of particular relevance.

It will be published and sent out on the first of the month. We think that the main audience will be academics and interested activists.

For “terms and conditions” see the end of the list. As this is the first edition, any feedback on what you think of it, what would make it more useful to you etc would be appreciated. Similarly if you know of any suitable articles we have missed please tell us about them too, we can always include them next time.

Hope you enjoy it!

Mark Haworth (MCFly Volunteer)

(Journals are listed alphabetically The Journals covered in this issue are;
Cities, Climatic Change, EcoCities, Ecology and Society, Energy Policy
Environmental Politics, Global Environmental Change, Local Environment)

Cities

Volume 29, Issue 1February 2012, Pages 32–39
An alternative model for evaluating sustainable urbanizationLiyin Shena, Yi Penga, Xiaoling Zhangb, Yuzhe Wu
Abstract
In recent years, there has been rapid urbanization worldwide, resulting in both benefits and problems. Sustainable urbanization has become an important aspect in promoting sustainable development. Existing studies have introduced various methodologies to guide urbanization towards sustainable practices. The application of these methods has contributed to improving urban sustainability. To further support the effective applications of the principles of sustainable urbanization, a tool is needed to evaluate whether a particular process of urbanization is sustainable. In this paper, we introduce an alternative model for evaluating sustainable urbanization by investigating the relationship between urbanization and urban sustainability. The practice of sustainable urbanization is defined as a dynamic process that enables urban sustainability to improve or to maintain a certain level of practice. By employing this definition, we introduce a sustainable urbanization elasticity coefficient eSU, which is defined by two parameters: urbanization velocity (VμR) and urban sustainability velocity (VμS). The sustainability of an urbanization process is measured by the value of eSU or read from the VμR–VμS coordinate. A case study demonstrates the application of the measure eSU and the VμR–VμS coordinate. The proposed model is an effective tool to help policy makers understand whether the urbanization processes they support are sustainable and thus whether to correct practices. The model also allows comparison of different urbanization practices and thereby encourages the sharing of successful experiences.

Volume 29, Issue 1 February 2012, Pages 1–11
Can cities become self-reliant in food?
Sharanbir S. Grewal, Parwinder S. Grewal
Abstract
Modern cities almost exclusively rely on the import of resources to meet their daily basic needs. Food and other essential materials and goods are transported from long-distances, often across continents, which results in the emission of harmful greenhouse gasses. As more people now live in cities than rural areas and all future population growth is expected to occur in cities, the potential for local self-reliance in food for a typical post-industrial North American city was determined. …
This study provides support to the hypothesis that significant levels of local self-reliance in food, the most basic need, is possible in post-industrial North American cities. It is concluded that while high levels of local self-reliance would require an active role of city governments and planners, public commitment, financial investment, and labor, the benefits to human health, the local and global environment, and the local economy and community may outweigh the cost.

Climatic Change

Volume 110, Numbers 3-4
Potential climatic transitions with profound impact on Europe Review of the current state of six ‘tipping elements of the climate system’
Anders Levermann, Jonathan L. Bamber, Sybren Drijfhout, Andrey Ganopolski, Winfried Haeberli, Neil R. P. Harris, Matthias Huss, Kirstin Krüger, Timothy M. Lenton and Ronald W. Lindsay, et al.
Abstract
We discuss potential transitions of six climatic subsystems with large-scale impact on Europe, sometimes denoted as tipping elements. These are the ice sheets on Greenland and West Antarctica, the Atlantic thermohaline circulation, Arctic sea ice, Alpine glaciers and northern hemisphere stratospheric ozone. Each system is represented by co-authors actively publishing in the corresponding field. For each subsystem we summarize the mechanism of a potential transition in a warmer climate along with its impact on Europe and assess the likelihood for such a transition based on published scientific literature. As a summary, the ‘tipping’ potential for each system is provided as a function of global mean temperature increase which required some subjective interpretation of scientific facts by the authors and should be considered as a snapshot of our current understanding.

EcoCities

Carter,J.G. and Connelly, A. 2012. Adapting to climate change: a Greater Manchester policy perspective,EcoCities project, University of Manchester, Manchester UK
Summary
This EcoCities working paper maps out the policy landscape on climate change adaptation, focusing particularly on its implications for progress on adaptation in Greater Manchester. Although policy frameworks can rapidly shift, this review offers a snapshot into key pieces of legislation and their implementation as it stands at the beginning of 2012. The paper begins at supra-national level before concentrating on national policy and then strategies influencing the growth and development of Greater Manchester. The conclusion draws together the major implications of the review adaptation policy, and considers how this may define the scope of partnership working towards ensuring that Manchester is a ‘well-adapted’ city.

EcoCities
Kazmierczak, A. (2012). Heat and social vulnerability in Greater Manchester: a risk-response case study. EcoCities project, University of Manchester, Manchester UK

Summary
Under the changing climate, the temperatures in Greater Manchester are projected to rise. This may be particularly dangerous to people and communities considered to be vulnerable to excessive heat: those in poor health, young or old age, and those isolated from others because of cultural differences or insufficient access to social networks. Analysing the risk and understanding the spatial variations in vulnerability will allow policy-makers to develop adaptation responses tailored to the needs of certain communities and different sorts of risk across Greater Manchester. This EcoCities report provides this analysis as well as recommends suitable adaptation options.
Firstly, it explores the risk that high temperatures pose to vulnerable communities in Greater Manchester. Secondly, the report investigates a number of adaptation responses relating to changing land cover, retrofitting buildings, providing ‘cooling centres’ and involving emergency services and the voluntary sector. Thirdly, a neighbourhood-level case study is provided in order to discuss the risks and adaptation responses at finer spatial scale. The concluding remarks pull together these strands to offer a set of key messages relating to the data produced that will assist policy-makers and other interested bodies in developing appropriate adaptation responses to the risks and hazards that higher temperatures may inflict on the most vulnerable members of our society.

Ecology and Society

Vol 16(4): 2. (2011)Toward an Integrated History to Guide the Future
Van der Leeuw, S., R. Costanza, S. Aulenbach, S. Brewer, M. Burek, S. Cornell, C. Crumley, J. A. Dearing, C. Downy, L. J. Graumlich, S. Heckbert, M. Hegmon, K. Hibbard, S. T. Jackson, I. Kubiszewski, P. Sinclair, S. Sörlin, and W. Steffen.
ABSTRACT
Many contemporary societal challenges manifest themselves in the domain of human–environment interactions. There is a growing recognition that responses to these challenges formulated within current disciplinary boundaries, in isolation from their wider contexts, cannot adequately address them. Here, we outline the need for an integrated, transdisciplinary synthesis that allows for a holistic approach, and, above all, a much longer time perspective. We outline both the need for and the fundamental characteristics of what we call “integrated history.” This approach promises to yield new understandings of the relationship between the past, present, and possible futures of our integrated human–environment system. We recommend a unique new focus of our historical efforts on the future, rather than the past, concentrated on learning about future possibilities from history. A growing worldwide community of transdisciplinary scholars is forming around building this Integrated History and future of People on Earth (IHOPE). Building integrated models of past human societies and their interactions with their environments yields new insights into those interactions and can help to create a more sustainable and desirable future. The activity has become a major focus within the global change community.

Energy Policy

Volume 40January 2012, Pages 219–230
Whole systems appraisal of a UK Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) system: Energy, environmental, and economic evaluations
Geoffrey P. Hammond, Hassan A. Harajlia, Craig I. Jonesa, Adrian B. Winnett
Abstract
Energy analysis, environmental life-cycle assessment (LCA) and economic appraisals have been utilised to study the performance of a domestic building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system on a ‘whole systems’ basis. Energy analysis determined that the system paid back its embodied energy in just 4.5 years. LCA revealed that the embodied impacts were offset by the electricity generated to provide a net environmental benefit in most categories. Only carcinogens, ecotoxicity and minerals had a small net lifetime burden. A financial analysis was undertaken from the householder’s perspective, alongside cost-benefit analysis from a societal perspective. The results of both indicated that the systems are unlikely to pay back their investment over the 25 year lifetime. However, the UK is in an important period (2010/11) of policy transition with a move away from the ‘technology subsidies’ of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) and towards a ‘market development policy’ of feed-in tariffs. Representing the next stage on an innovation S-curve this is expected to facilitate rapid PV uptake, as experienced in countries such as Germany, Denmark, and Spain. The results of the present study clearly demonstrate the importance of the new government support scheme to the future uptake of BIPV.

Environmental Politics

Volume 21 Issue 1, 2012 pages 1-25
Networking in environmental movement organisation coalitions: interest, values or discourse?
Monica Di Gregori
Abstract
Networks of information and resource exchanges between social movement organisations (SMOs) have a dual function. Such networks can support instrumental alliances among very distinct and weakly connected SMOs, but they often support the formation of more tightly-knit social movement and SMO discourse coalitions. What distinguishes an instrumental from amore substantive alliance is the density of networking. The coalescing force in dense networks is not necessarily a collective identity, but the similarity in values (value homophily) or a shared discourse. Evidence from Indonesian environmental activism is used to draw three propositions on networking, value homophily and discursive practices in coalition work: networks tend to be most dense among environmental SMOs that share the same variety of environmentalism; density of interaction in SMO discourse coalitions reveals ongoing framing activities; and environmental SMO discourse coalitions bridge across SMOs with distinct yet compatible environmental values.

Global Environmental Change

Volume 22, Issue 1, February 2012, Pages 245–254Benchmarking sustainability in cities: The role of indicators and future scenarios
Christopher T. Boykoa, Mark R. Gaterellb, Austin R.G. Barberc, Julie Brownc, John R. Brysond, David Butlere, Silvio Caputob, Maria Caseriof, Richard Colesf, Rachel Coopera, Gemma Daviesg, Raziyeh Farmanie, James Haled, A. Chantal Halesd, C. Nicholas Hewittg, Dexter V.L. Hunth, Lubo Jankovicf, Ian Jeffersonh, Joanne M. Leachh, D. Rachel Lombardih, A. Robert MacKenzieg, Fayyaz A. Memone, Thomas A.M. Pughg, John P. Sadlerd, Carina Weingaertnerh, J. Duncan Whyattg, Christopher D.F. Rogers.

Abstract
Scenarios are a useful tool to help think about and visualise the future and, as such, are utilised by many policymakers and practitioners. Future scenarios have not been used to explore the urban context in much depth, yet have the potential to provide valuable insights into the robustness of decisions being made today in the name of sustainability. As part of a major research project entitled Urban Futures, a toolkit has been developed in the UK to facilitate the use of scenarios in any urban context and at any scale relevant to that context. The toolkit comprises two key components, namely, (i) a series of indicators comprising both generic and topic area-specific indicators (e.g., air quality, biodiversity, density, water) that measure sustainability performance and (ii) a list of characteristics (i.e., 1–2-sentence statements about a feature, issue or small set of issues) that describe four future scenarios. In combination, these two components enable us to measure the performance of any given sustainability indicator, and establish the relative sensitivity or vulnerability of that indicator to the different future scenarios. An important aspect of the methodology underpinning the toolkit is that it is flexible enough to incorporate new scenarios, characteristics and indicators, thereby allowing the long-term performance of our urban environments to be considered in the broadest possible sense.

Volume 22, Issue 1, February 2012, Pages 299–307

Link between climate change mitigation and resource efficiency: A UK case study
John Barrett, Kate Scott

Abstract

This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the links between dematerialisation and climate change mitigation. Methods used for material flow analyses (MFA) within the wider context of industrial ecology (which includes a focus on all resource flows in an economy, not purely material tonnage) tend to focus either on detoxification and pollution reduction or dematerialisation and resource productivity. An environmentally extended input–output (EEIO) model incorporates both aspects, which need to be dealt with when looking at how to meet challenging greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets. The approach understands both production systems and consumption patterns and has the ability through scenarios to analyse the (GHG) effectiveness of a wide range of material efficiency options. This analysis adopts an environmentally extended input–output approach to assess the role of material efficiency measures in reducing UK GHG emissions by 2050. A method for projecting the variables and parameters in the model, including the supply of and demand for materials and products, is presented and applied to investigate thirteen material efficiency strategies in the UK.

Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability

Volume 16, Issue 10
Green infrastructure: reconciling urban green space and regional economic development: lessons learnt from experience in England’s north-west regionKaren Horwood
Abstract

Green infrastructure (GI) is an approach to green space that is gathering momentum. It is increasingly being adopted by policy makers and practitioners as a way to frame urban green space policy. This article is based on research on how the meaning of GI is developing in the policy-making context within the north-west region of the UK. It is argued that policy making at the regional scale emphasises economic development, and this leads to a particular way of framing urban green space. This article examines the ways of talking about GI that respond to this focus, the way in which they are articulated and the impact this has on ways of seeing urban green space.

Volume 17 Issue 1 , 2012 pages 75-91
Environmental citizens: climate pledger attitudes and micro-generation installation
Paul Upham
Abstract
To date, the phenomenon of climate pledging has been little investigated. This paper describes the results of a questionnaire survey of 201 climate pledgers in Greater Manchester (UK), focusing on attitudes and behaviour relevant to environmental citizenship. In particular, attention is given to attitudes and behaviour related to renewable energy and micro-generation, selectively comparing with national UK data. The survey shows that installation cost and lengthy pay-back times have been major constraints on microgen installation not just for the general population, but also for those with a high degree of environmental commitment. Nonetheless, the microgen installation rate among the climate pledgers as of early 2011, before the introduction of feed-in tariffs, was at least 11 times higher than the national average. Using regression analyses, the best model that could be found for explaining installation of the most popular microgen technology, solar thermal, accounted for 27% of variance. Within this model, environmental commitment was of less importance than having given serious consideration to other microgen options. While this was possibly due to group homogeneity, in general, the results do emphasise the limits to environmental citizenship.

MoJO Terms and Conditions
This service is provided as a free summary of recent climate research (especially by and about Manchester UK). It does NOT pretend to be a comprehensive overview of climate research. Non-inclusion of articles and books is not (usually) a judgment on the quality of that work, but a reflection on our human fallibility and time-poverty.
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