Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Social and Behavioral Sciences
CASH Paradox, ReWASH, Bronze-2-Gold and JEDI AWAKENS: introduction of new concepts to enhance the sustainability of the water-energy nexus
Published: 2023-10-04
Subjects: Education, Engineering, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Amidst the escalating impacts of climate change and extreme weather events, participatory decision-making in water management stands out as a sustainable approach for disaster risk reduction. Hydrological disasters, such as floods and droughts, are increasing globally due to anthropogenic activities, necessitating adaptation in water infrastructure. The OECD projects severe water stress for 2.3 [...]
Large-scale green grabbing for wind and solar PV development in Brazil
Published: 2023-08-22
Subjects: Geographic Information Sciences, Geography, Human Geography, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Large-scale wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) infrastructures are expanding rapidly in Brazil. These projects can exacerbate struggles for land rooted in weak land governance, with negative impacts for traditional populations due to loss of access to common lands. Here, we trace how green grabbing, i.e. the large-scale appropriation and control of (undesignated) public lands, both formally legal [...]
Adaptation to climate damages is not inevitable
Published: 2023-07-21
Subjects: Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Understanding how climate change will affect human welfare must account for how humans will adapt to the changing environment. Adaptations are often local, unobserved, or will only emerge in the future, posing a challenge for attempts to empirically derive climate damage functions and leading to claims that such empirically based functions overestimate the future economic costs of warming. By [...]
Projecting Future Heat Stress Disparities to 2100 in the Contiguous United States
Published: 2023-07-09
Subjects: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Global warming increases health risks from heat exposure. Historical evidence suggests disproportionate impacts of heat exposure in different regions across socioeconomic groups in the US. However, little is known about the scale of potential disparities and which populations stand to be most vulnerable under different future climate scenarios. Here, we assess county-level heat exposure, measured [...]
Moral Hazards and Geoengineering: Evidence from a Large-Scale Online Experiment
Published: 2023-07-08
Subjects: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Geoengineering (especially solar radiation management) may help to reduce the negative outcomes of climate change by minimising or reversing global warming. However, many express the worry that geoengineering may pose a moral hazard, i.e., that information about geoengineering may lead to a reduction in climate change mitigation efforts. In this paper, we report a large-scale pre-registered, [...]
Whispers of the Woodlands: Unveiling the Interplay of Forest Conservation and Livelihood through Community Narratives
Published: 2023-06-26
Subjects: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Amidst nature's enchanting embrace, forests stand as revered guardians, safeguarding biodiversity and nurturing rural livelihoods. In this journey, a qualitative study takes flight, exploring the cherished perspectives of the community within Iligan City's rustic expanse in Iligan City, Philippines. Its purpose? To unveil the intricate dance between forest conservation efforts and local [...]
Key predictors for climate policy support and political mobilization: The role of beliefs and preferences
Published: 2023-06-16
Subjects: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Public support and political mobilization are two crucial factors for the adoption of ambitious climate policies in line with the international greenhouse gas reduction targets of the Paris Agreement. Despite their compound importance, they are mainly studied separately. Using a random forest machine-learning model, this article investigates the relative predictive power of key established [...]
Governing high-integrity ecosystem markets
Published: 2023-04-07
Subjects: Social and Behavioral Sciences
There is growing global interest in the potential for ecosystem markets to facilitate climate and nature recovery. Yet, poorly designed and operated markets are prone to corporate “greenwashing” and negative consequences for nature and local communities. With the rapid emergence of ecosystem markets around the world, there is a need to systematically analyse ecosystem market governance [...]
Has Tropical Cyclone Disaster Risk Increased in Bangladesh: Retrospective Analysis of Storm Information, Disaster Statistics, and Mitigation Measures
Published: 2023-03-31
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Risk Analysis, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Tropical cyclone (TC) disaster risk has likely increased in Bangladesh since the beginning of the 21st century. It is primarily due to the cumulative impact of rising coastal exposures such as population, insufficient funding to address disaster risks, and ineffective utilization of century-old early warning signals for TC. From 2000 to 2020, the average number of people affected by a Category [...]
Understanding and Assessing Demographic (In)Equity Resulting from Extreme Heat Exposure due to Lack of Tree Canopies in Norfolk, VA using Agent-Based Modeling
Published: 2023-03-31
Subjects: Biodiversity, Environmental Public Health, Environmental Studies, Human Geography, Public Health, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Statistics and Probability
Prolonged exposure to extreme heat can result in illness and death. In urban areas of dense concentrations of pavement, buildings, and other surfaces that absorb and retain heat, extreme heat conditions can arise regularly and create harmful environmental exposures for residents daily during certain parts of the year. Tree canopies provide shade and help to cool the environment, making mature [...]
A scoping review of seismic risk communication in Europe
Published: 2023-03-15
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Although earthquakes are a threat in many countries and considerable resources have been invested in safety regulations, communities at risk often lack awareness and preparedness. Risk communication is a key tool for building resilient communities, raising awareness, and increasing preparedness. Over the past 2 decades, seismic risk communication has evolved significantly. This has led to a [...]
Aquifer depletion exacerbates agricultural drought losses in the US High Plains
Published: 2023-03-10
Subjects: Environmental Studies, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Aquifer depletion poses a major threat to the ability of farmers, food supply chains, and rural economies globally to use groundwater as a means of adapting to climate variability and change. Empirical research has demonstrated the large differences in drought risk exposure that exist between rainfed and irrigated croplands, but previous work commonly assumes water supply for the latter is [...]
Did hydroclimate conditions contribute to the political dynamics of Majapahit? A preliminary analysis
Published: 2023-02-21
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Climate, Earth Sciences, Environmental Studies, Geography, Human Geography, Nature and Society Relations, Physical and Environmental Geography, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Majapahit was the largest Hindu-Buddhist empire that ruled the Indonesian archipelago from the late 13th to mid-16th centuries CE. Only now there is still a lot of history surrounding the Majapahit era that has yet to be revealed. One is about how environmental factors influenced the political dynamics at that time. This study tries to discuss the influence of hydroclimate regimes using the Paleo [...]
THE DYNAMICS OF SUSTAINABILITY TRANSITIONS: AN ARCHETYPE FOR TRANSFORMATION
Published: 2023-02-05
Subjects: Engineering, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Significant global sustainability challenges include among others, energy, climate, and sanitation. Previous Sustainability Transition research has attempted to understand transformation complexity and interdependence, primarily through single-case methodological studies or large-scale analytical frameworks such as the Multi-Level Perspective. This leaves a knowledge gap on common dynamics [...]
Drought impacts on the electricity system, emissions, and air quality in the western US
Published: 2023-01-10
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
The western United States has experienced severe drought in recent decades, and climate models project increased drought risk in the future. This increased drying could have important implications for the region's interconnected, hydropower-dependent electricity systems. Using power-plant level generation and emissions data from 2001-2021, we quantify the impacts of drought on the operation of [...]