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Climate change and biodiversity-Analysis of the policy framework
... This underlines the fact that biodiversity had not been given as much importance as climate change. There were also missing links in the implementation, functioning and active participation of the Parties of the two conventions (Gupta & Dube 2018;Gupta 2015Gupta , 2016Gupta et al. 2014). However, the inherent linkages between climate change and biodiversity are evident from the vast scientific literature, (Valentine 1968;Jutro 1991;Fahey et al. 2010;Abrahms et al. 2017;Penn et al. 2018;Du et al. 2019;Tittensor et al. 2019;Chapin and Díaz 2020;Santora et al. 2020;Zellweger et al. 2020;Weiskopf et al. 2020;Chen et al. 2020) highly covered in documents published by the convention secretariats as well (Secretariat of CBD 2003Campbell et al. 2009;CBD 2009;UNFCCC 2013). ...
Two major multilateral environmental agreements–the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)–were negotiated in 1992 to tackle the global crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. However, the interlinkages between these two concerns were less recognized and structured which impaired the development of streamlined policies to tackle both simultaneously. Over the last nearly 20 years, increased scientific output on their interlinkages seems to have galvanized the world towards synergistic approaches aimed at transformation instead of business-as-usual effort. The Paris Climate Agreement to the UNFCCC characterizes this synergy by recognizing the importance of conservation and biodiversity protection and ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems. To understand to what extent, scientific output helped reach such synergistic decisions, we studied the temporal distribution of publications on the interlinkages between climate and biodiversity, vis-à-vis important decisions and approaches recognized by the UNFCCC and CBD. The research is based on scientometric meta-analysis of publications, assessing the trends, geographic distribution, key authors, journals, and funding organizations from 1992 to 2021. This information is simultaneously mapped for its significance for major decisions of the two conventions. The later part of the paper sheds light on the science-policy interface by taking cues from outputs of this research and recent workshops and meetings on climate- and biodiversity-related topics.
Humans have basic needs to satisfy, which are widely expressed as adequate food, shelter, clothing, education, clean water and air, sanitation, and good health, among others. These universal physiological needs are at the core of the material aspect of human security. Meeting these needs is a requisite for survival and essential for human well-being. Human insecurity occurs when these basic needs are not met. Failure to satisfy them is unjust and a serious denial of basic human rights and security. Recent literature points out that unsatisfied basic needs may not solely be attributed to poverty and lack of access to basic services but also to pressing environmental factors such as climate change impacts and disaster risks. This chapter contends that the provision of basic needs, which forms the very core of human security, will be progressively threatened in many parts of Asia as climate changes and disaster risks escalate. It further argues that climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies have been employed by many Asian countries, although there is yet no comprehensive assessment of their effectiveness in satisfying the human basic needs and security of the poor and vulnerable sector. The chapter concludes that it is crucial to mainstream CCA and DRR in national and local development agenda particularly in the less economically developed and more vulnerable countries in Asia, with the end view of protecting the basic needs and security of the poor in the context of changing climate and increasing incidence of disasters.
Steel dominates the global metal production accounting for 5 % of increase in Earth’s atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Today, India is the 4th largest producer of crude steel in the world. The sector contributes around 3 % to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) but adds 6.2 % to the national greenhouse gas (GHG) load. It accounts for 28.4% of the entire industry sector emissions, which are 23.9% of the country’s total emissions. Being a developing country, India is not obliged to cut its emissions under the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC), but gave voluntary commitment to reduce the emission intensity of its GDP by 20–25 % from the 2005 level by 2020. This paper attempts to find out if the Indian steel sector can help the country in fulfilling this commitment. The sector reduced its CO2 emissions per ton of steel produced by 58% from 1994 to 2007. The study generates six scenarios for future projections which show that the sector can reduce its emission intensity by 12.5 % to 63 %. But going by the conservative estimates, the sector can reduce emission intensity by 30 % to 53 %. However, actual emissions will go up significantly in every case.
Southeast-Asia (SEA) constitutes a global biodiversity hotspot, but is exposed to extensive deforestation and faces numerous threats to its biodiversity. Climate change represents a major challenge to the survival and viability of species, and the potential consequences must be assessed to allow for mitigation. We project the effects of several climate change scenarios on bat diversity, and predict changes in range size for 171 bat species throughout SEA. We predict decreases in species richness in all areas with high species richness (>80 species) at 20502080, using bioclimatic IPCC scenarios A2 (a severe scenario, continuously increasing human population size, regional changes in economic growth) and B1 (the greenest scenario, global population peaking mid-century). We also predicted changes in species richness in scenarios that project vegetation changes in addition to climate change up to 2050. At 2050 and 2080, A2 and B1 scenarios incorporating changes in climatic factors predicted that 39% species would lose all currently suitable niche space. When considering total extents of species distribution in SEA (including possible range expansions), 26% of species may have no suitable niche space in 20502080. When potential vegetation and climate changes were combined only 1% of species showed no changes in their predicted ranges by 2050. Although some species are projected to expand ranges, this may be ecologically impossible due to potential barriers to dispersal, especially for species with poor dispersal ability. Only 113% of species showed no projected reductions in their current range under bioclimatic scenarios. An effective way to facilitate range shift for dispersal-limited species is to improve landscape connectivity. If current trends in environmental change continue and species cannot expand their ranges into new areas, then the majority of bat species in SEA may show decreases in range size and increased extinction risk within the next century.
Southeast Asia is a region extremely rich in natural heritage. However, rising populations, economic development and other factors pose significant dangers to the environment of the region. Therefore the development of environmental law in this part of the world deserves attention. The overview shows the legal environmental mechanisms now in place on the national level. Most states have environmental clauses established as a constitutional principle and the extent of respective legislation has increased significantly in recent years. On the international level, they are also mostly members of many global environmental treaties. Furthermore, Southeast Asian states have increased regional cooperation in the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, the common efforts to enforce the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and the Mekong River Treaty (Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia) are examples for regionally coordinated efforts in the protection of the environment. However, for the time being the regional instruments are, in the tradition of the ASEAN-Way, comparatively soft and seemingly not par ticularly effective. Most importantly, the majority of Southeast Asian states have serious problems in the field of effective administration, which affects the enforcement of national laws and the fulfillment of international obligations alike. Whereas Singapore is the only state in the region that has enforcement capacity comparable (or even better) than average Western developed countries, states like Indonesia and Cambodia suffer from deeply rooted dysfunctions in their administrative and judicial structures. Although the current process of strengthening ASEAN (preparation of an ASEAN-Charter etc.), might be helpful in respect to a more effective environmental policy in the region, success in the in the fighting of illegal logging, forest fires, over-fishing etc. will depend to a significant extent on an overall improvement in the administrative, legal structures and capacities.
Asia has experienced spectacular economic growth over the past two decades. However, this economic progress has come at a high cost. It has led to unprecedented environmental consequences. So this region needs to shift the conventional pattern of “develop first and then treat the pollution” to a trajectory of sustainable development. To that end, this paper examines a variety of policy responses, at national, regional and international levels, to deal with growing concerns about the environmental challenges in Asia. In the context of national responses, special attention is paid to the following issues: coordination between the central and local governments, market-based environmental instruments and industrial policies, tougher emissions standards for mobile and stationary sources and fuel quality, policies to promote energy efficiency and the use of clean energy and biofuels, the integration of environmental policies with economic and sectoral policies, and engagement of the private sector through e.g., ecolabelling, green government procurement, corporate ratings and disclosure programs, and drawing the support of financial institutions to promote improved corporate environmental performance. The paper concludes that having the right policy mix, coupled with strengthened cooperation at national, local and regional levels, will ensure continuing economic growth in the region without compromising its limited ecological-carrying capacity and environmental quality.
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