Annual Review of Environment and Resources - Volume 48, 2023
Volume 48, 2023
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The Commons
Vol. 48 (2023), pp. 531–558More LessCommons—resources used or governed by groups of heterogeneous users through agreed-upon institutional arrangements—are the subject of one of the more successful research programs in the social-environmental sciences. This review assesses research on the commons to accomplish three tasks. First, it surveys the theoretical, substantive, and methods-focused achievements of the field, illustrating how commons research has also influenced natural resource policy making. Second, it examines the changing trajectories of commons research, emphasizing the growing interest of commons researchers in new methods and the application of insights to new social contexts. Third, the review suggests that research on the commons can find continuing relevance by addressing contemporary and future social-environmental challenges. It highlights three directions in particular: (a) strengthening the focus on issues of power and equity, (b) applying insights about effective commons governance to collaborative attempts to craft commons in new societal spaces, and (c) advancing an emerging emphasis on causal analysis and taking advantage of novel streams of large-scale public datasets.
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Governance and Conservation Effectiveness in Protected Areas and Indigenous and Locally Managed Areas
Yin Zhang, Paige West, Lerato Thakholi, Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi, Miriam Supuma, Dakota Straub, Samantha S. Sithole, Roshan Sharma, Judith Schleicher, Ben Ruli, David Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Mattias Borg Rasmussen, Victoria C. Ramenzoni, Siyu Qin, Deborah Delgado Pugley, Rachel Palfrey, Johan Oldekop, Emmanuel O. Nuesiri, Van Hai Thi Nguyen, Nouhou Ndam, Catherine Mungai, Sarah Milne, Mathew Bukhi Mabele, Sadie Lucitante, Hugo Lucitante, Jonathan Liljeblad, Wilhelm Andrew Kiwango, Alfred Kik, Nikoleta Jones, Melissa Johnson, Christopher Jarrett, Rachel Sapery James, George Holmes, Lydia N. Gibson, Arash Ghoddousi, Jonas Geldmann, Maria Fernanda Gebara, Thera Edwards, Wolfram H. Dressler, Leo R. Douglas, Panayiotis G. Dimitrakopoulos, Veronica Davidov, Eveline M.F.W. Compaoré-Sawadogo, Yolanda Ariadne Collins, Michael Cepek, Paul Berne Burow, Dan Brockington, Michael Philippe Bessike Balinga, Beau J. Austin, Rini Astuti, Christine Ampumuza, and Frank Kwaku AgyeiVol. 48 (2023), pp. 559–588More LessIncreased conservation action to protect more habitat and species is fueling a vigorous debate about the relative effectiveness of different sorts of protected areas. Here we review the literature that compares the effectiveness of protected areas managed by states and areas managed by Indigenous peoples and/or local communities. We argue that these can be hard comparisons to make. Robust comparative case studies are rare, and the epistemic communities producing them are fractured by language, discipline, and geography. Furthermore the distinction between these different forms of protection on the ground can be blurred. We also have to be careful about the value of this sort of comparison as the consequences of different forms of conservation for people and nonhuman nature are messy and diverse. Measures of effectiveness, moreover, focus on specific dimensions of conservation performance, which can omit other important dimensions. With these caveats, we report on findings observed by multiple study groups focusing on different regions and issues whose reports have been compiled into this article. There is a tendency in the data for community-based or co-managed governance arrangements to produce beneficial outcomes for people and nature. These arrangements are often accompanied by struggles between rural groups and powerful states. Findings are highly context specific and global generalizations have limited value.
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Sustainability Careers
Vol. 48 (2023), pp. 589–613More LessAddressing climate change and achieving sustainable development are the grand challenges for this century. This review assesses how sustainability and green jobs are changing in response to these formidable challenges, with a focus on energy transitions and responsible production and consumption. The energy transition to renewable sources will generate a net increase in employment, although some regions of the world may see net losses. Jobs in responsible consumption and production, motivated by changing consumer demand and savings from circular economy strategies, will increase the number of green and sustainability jobs. Since sustainability and green jobs require higher levels of creative problem-solving, more nonroutine activities, formal education, and on-the-job training than traditional jobs, more training will be necessary to meet skills demands in green and sustainability positions. We review how competency and capacity approaches to learning, credentialing, and on-the-job training have been employed to meet growing demand for sustainability and green jobs.
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Three Decades of Climate Mitigation Policy: What Has It Delivered?
Vol. 48 (2023), pp. 615–650More LessAfter tentative efforts during the 1990s, the past two decades have seen a rapid increase in the number of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mitigation policies, initially in a few frontrunner countries and more recently spreading globally. Over the same period, GHG emissions have continued to rise, but the rate of growth has recently slowed. Are mitigation policies having an effect? To explore this question, we review and synthesize the empirical literature on the impact of mitigation policies on three key outcomes: GHG emissions, proximate emission drivers like energy intensity and land use, and low-carbon technologies. Our key contribution to the available literature lies in establishing an empirically based track record of climate action, focusing on methodologically sound ex post studies. We find that mitigation policies have had a discernible impact on emissions and multiple emission drivers. Most notably, they have led to reductions in energy use, declines in deforestation rates, as well as cost reductions and capacity expansions of low-carbon technologies in many instances. Furthermore, implemented policies to date are likely to have reduced global emissions by several billion tons of CO2eq per year compared to a world without mitigation policies. In the light of current ambitions on climate action falling short of what is required to limit global warming to the Paris temperature goals, we conclude that there is ample evidence of policy instruments with demonstrable impacts, but that efforts need to be hugely strengthened and expanded. Also, far more attention is required to policy monitoring, evaluation, and learning so as to strengthen the basis for future policy and the attribution of its impacts.
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Overheating of Cities: Magnitude, Characteristics, Impact, Mitigation and Adaptation, and Future Challenges
Vol. 48 (2023), pp. 651–679More LessUrban overheating is the most documented phenomenon of climate change impacting humans. This article presents the most recent developments on the magnitude and characteristics of urban overheating and the potential synergies with global climatic change. It analyses the latest qualitative and quantitative data on the impact of higher urban temperatures on buildings’ energy supply and demand, heat-related mortality, morbidity and wellbeing, human productivity, survivability of low-income populations, and environmental quality of cities. It describes the state of the art on the development of innovative mitigation materials, advanced urban greenery, heat dissipation, and evaporative techniques as the main mitigation and adaptation technologies to offset the impact of urban overheating. It also analyses the current knowledge on the impact of each mitigation technology on energy, health, environmental quality, urban economy, and survivability. Finally, this article presents the main future challenges related to urban overheating and proposes a specific research agenda to alleviate and counterbalance its impact on human life.
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Risks to Coastal Critical Infrastructure from Climate Change
Vol. 48 (2023), pp. 681–712More LessCoastal systems are sensitive to direct and indirect impacts of climate change. Approximately 90% of all coastal areas will be affected by climate change to varying degrees. Nearly half of the world's major cities are located within 50 km of a coast, and coastal population densities are 2.6 times greater than those of inland areas, with a steep rise over the years. While coastal critical infrastructure is expanding, more social and physical systems are increasingly exposed to climate-induced hazards. The interconnectedness and interdependencies of critical infrastructure systems increase their systemic instability and fragility, resulting in greater dynamic risk and cascading impacts. Coastal critical infrastructure systems on several continents are at risk from the effects of climate change, including sea level rise, storm surges, and extreme weather events. Therefore, it is necessary to build and run climate-resilient infrastructure that is planned, designed, implemented, and operated to predict, be prepared for, and adapt to changing climatic circumstances. This review provides an up-to-date, objective, and critical assessment based on the literature to help determine what is known and what needs the future attention of researchers.
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US Legal and Regulatory Framework for Nuclear Waste from Present and Future Reactors and Their Fuel Cycles
Vol. 48 (2023), pp. 713–736More LessThe nuclear waste management and disposal program in the United States for highly radioactive waste (spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste) has thus far been unsuccessful despite an effort that spans 40 years and the expenditure of tens of billions of dollars. Yet, today, there is considerable interest in and promotion of advanced reactor technologies, such as small modular reactors that will expand spent fuel inventories that may very well remain at the site where they are generated, awaiting permanent, geologic disposal. We examine critical elements of the US legal and regulatory framework that have impeded the success of the US program. We make recommendations on steps that are required for a successful nuclear waste program, particularly considering the development of advanced nuclear reactors and their fuel cycles.
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Metrics for Decision-Making in Energy Justice
Vol. 48 (2023), pp. 737–760More LessEnergy equity and justice have become priority considerations for policymakers, practitioners, and scholars alike. To ensure that energy equity is incorporated into actual decisions and analysis, it is necessary to design, use, and continually improve energy equity metrics. In this article, we review the literature and practices surrounding such metrics. We present a working definition for energy justice and equity, and connect them to both criteria for and frameworks of metrics. We then present a large sampling of energy equity metrics, including those focused on vulnerability, wealth creation, energy poverty, life cycle, and comparative country-level dynamics.We conclude with a discussion of the limitations, gaps, and trade-offs associated with these various metrics and their interactions thereof.
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Modeling Low Energy Demand Futures for Buildings: Current State and Research Needs
Alessio Mastrucci, Leila Niamir, Benigna Boza-Kiss, Nuno Bento, Dominik Wiedenhofer, Jan Streeck, Shonali Pachauri, Charlie Wilson, Souran Chatterjee, Felix Creutzig, Srihari Dukkipati, Wei Feng, Arnulf Grubler, Joni Jupesta, Poornima Kumar, Giacomo Marangoni, Yamina Saheb, Yoshiyuki Shimoda, Bianka Shoai-Tehrani, Yohei Yamaguchi, and Bas van RuijvenVol. 48 (2023), pp. 761–792More LessBuildings are key in supporting human activities and well-being by providing shelter and other important services to their users. Buildings are, however, also responsible for major energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during their life cycle. Improving the quality of services provided by buildings while reaching low energy demand (LED) levels is crucial for climate and sustainability targets. Building sector models have become essential tools for decision support on strategies to reduce energy demand and GHG emissions. Yet current models have significant limitations in their ability to assess the transformations required for LED. We review building sector models ranging from the subnational to the global scale to identify best practices and critical gaps in representing transformations toward LED futures. We focus on three key dimensions of intervention (socio-behavioral, infrastructural, and technological), three megatrends (digitalization, sharing economy, and circular economy), and decent living standards. This review recommends the model developments needed to better assess LED transformations in buildings and support decision-making toward sustainability targets.
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Advances in Qualitative Methods in Environmental Research
Vol. 48 (2023), pp. 793–811More LessQualitative research methods examine a wide range of topics in the study of environment and resource management. This first review on the topic highlights innovative and impactful research over the past few decades, drawing from social science disciplines that include sociology, geography, anthropology, political science, public policy, and psychology. We describe qualitative research methods that have addressed five scientific goals: (a) describing what the world is like, (b) predicting what the world can be like, (c) acknowl-edging researcher positionality and reflexivity and diversifying ways of knowing in theorizing and research designs, (d) integrating imaginaries into empirical research and building narratives to make sense of possible futures and to broaden our view of scientific inquiry, and (e) helping scholars grapple with the deep complexity of socioecological systems. As we explore these themes, we explain foundational qualitative approaches and highlight examples of environmental qualitative research that apply them.
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Attribution of Extreme Events to Climate Change
Vol. 48 (2023), pp. 813–828More LessWithin the past decade, the attribution of extreme weather events and their impacts has enabled scientists, the public, and policymakers alike to connect real-world experiences of extreme weather events with scientific understanding of anthropogenic climate change. Attribution studies of recent extreme weather events have formed a new and important line of evidence in the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report understanding present-day impacts of climate change. IPCC studies using different methods of event attribution have been assessed together, highlighting that these differences are smaller than the academic discourse on the methods suggests. This development raised two important research questions the science needs to answer: First, how do we formally combine attribution statements using highly conditional methods with probabilistic assessments of how climate change alters the likelihood and intensity of extreme weather events? Second, under what circumstances are individual attribution studies still necessary and to what extent do existing attribution studies provide enough information to answer societal questions? Furthermore, the scientific development still leaves important gaps, particularly in countries of the Global South, leading to ethical questions around the need and requirement of attribution of extreme events in policy contexts, informing adaptation and loss and damage and the role of vulnerability.
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Previous Volumes
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Volume 49 (2024)
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Volume 48 (2023)
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Volume 47 (2022)
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Volume 46 (2021)
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Volume 45 (2020)
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Volume 44 (2019)
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Volume 43 (2018)
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Volume 42 (2017)
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Volume 41 (2016)
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Volume 40 (2015)
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Volume 39 (2014)
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Volume 38 (2013)
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Volume 37 (2012)
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Volume 36 (2011)
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Volume 35 (2010)
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Volume 34 (2009)
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Volume 33 (2008)
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Volume 32 (2007)
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Volume 31 (2006)
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Volume 30 (2005)
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Volume 29 (2004)
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Volume 28 (2003)
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Volume 27 (2002)
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Volume 26 (2001)
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Volume 25 (2000)
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Volume 24 (1999)
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Volume 23 (1998)
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Volume 22 (1997)
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Volume 21 (1996)
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Volume 20 (1995)
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Volume 19 (1994)
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Volume 18 (1993)
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Volume 17 (1992)
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Volume 16 (1991)
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Volume 15 (1990)
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Volume 14 (1989)
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Volume 13 (1988)
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Volume 12 (1987)
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Volume 11 (1986)
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Volume 10 (1985)
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Volume 9 (1984)
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Volume 8 (1983)
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Volume 7 (1982)
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Volume 6 (1981)
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Volume 5 (1980)
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Volume 4 (1979)
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Volume 3 (1978)
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Volume 2 (1977)
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Volume 1 (1976)
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Volume 0 (1932)