Elsevier, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Volume 50, June 2021
Effective management of slow-onset impacts such as coastal erosion, desertification and sea level rise and their often-transformative impacts on communities and countries has remained relatively unexplored in terms of policy and finance responses. Drawing on relevant global experience, this paper investigates recent approaches to planned relocation as one possible response to climate change impacts and considers principles to inform the design of a fair and effective funding system.
Elsevier, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Volume 50, June 2021
Slow-onset events (SOE) such as sea level rise, desertification, salinisation, ocean acidification, loss of biodiversity and forests or glacial retreat fall under loss and damage (L&D) from climate change impacts under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and are increasingly threatening the environment and people's livelihoods. Irreversible SOE are closely linked to non-economic losses (NEL) such as health, human mobility or loss of ecosystem services. Neither L&D from SOE nor NELs have a dedicated funding stream.
Elsevier, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Volume 50, June 2021
The processes of salinisation and alkalinisation of soil that caused the formation of different types of saline (halomorphic) soils are characteristic of the northern part of Serbia — the area of Vojvodina. These soils are characterized by poor physical and chemical properties due to a high content of salt and/or adsorbed Na+ ions because of which are being used to a limited extent in agricultural production, and more as pastures.
Elsevier, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Volume 50, June 2021
A growing scientific evidence reaffirms that slow onset climate events such as desertification, sea level rise and loss of biodiversity will place an increasing number of people at risk of poverty and social marginalization. Establishing national social protection systems aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement could be a key policy approach to address increasing risks from long-term changes to the climate system.
Elsevier, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Volume 50, June 2021
Based on a systematic review of journal articles, books and book chapters, and policy papers, we evaluate possible sources of finance for addressing loss and damage from slow onset climate events in developing countries. We find that most publications explore insurance schemes which are not appropriate for most slow onset events. From this, we determine that only a few sources are sustainable. Levies and taxes are seen as relatively fair, predictable, adequate, transparent, and additional.
Elsevier, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Volume 50, June 2021
Many studies have assessed the concept of geodiversity. Most studies have focused on large spatial scales, ranging from watersheds to landscapes. Recent studies from the Israeli drylands indicate that shrubs and trees growing in low-geodiversity sites experience mass mortality following long-term droughts, whilst those in high-geodiversity sites demonstrate high durability. Our objective was to review the relevance of small-scale geodiversity to the slow onset effects of climate change defined by the UN-FCCC, including land and forest degradation, biodiversity loss, and desertification.
Elsevier, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Volume 50, June 2021
This paper explores physical, psychological, social, and institutional vulnerabilities associated with slow-onset events (SoEs) of climate change. Based on review of interdisciplinary research in the context of Pakistan, this paper reviews the relevance of multi-level vulnerabilities and how they exacerbate impacts of SoEs of climate change. The physical vulnerabilities of climate change have been relatively well researched; however, research on the psychological, social, and institutional vulnerabilities and their intersectional associations with SoEs have been rare.
Elsevier, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Volume 50, June 2021
Loss and Damage studies have tended to focus on rapid-onset events with lesser attention to slow-onset events such as drought. Even when discussed, narratives around droughts emphasize implications on rural populations and there remain empirical and conceptual gaps on drought impacts in urban areas. We focus on losses and damages associated with urban drought and water insecurity through a review of interventions and policies in seven Asian countries. We find evidence of urban droughts leading to tangible losses (e.g. groundwater over-extraction, economic impacts) and intangible losses (e.g.
Elsevier, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Volume 50, June 2021
The association of melting Himalayan glaciers and planetary health is complex. Climate change has accelerated the melting of Himalayan glaciers, with profound impacts on the planetary health realms of the Himalayan region and that now threaten hundreds of millions of people. Using a complex adaptive systems framework based on a systematic literature review, this complexity has been captured and mapped in nine subsystem categories: ecological services, disaster, water security, food security, energy security, livelihood and culture, migration, conflict and public health.
Elsevier, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Volume 50, June 2021
This paper reviews the evidence on slow-onset events presented in the Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL) and the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC), both published in 2019. It analyses how the reports, and recent literature cited in them, deal with the eight types of slow-onset events, specified by the UNFCCC: increasing temperatures, sea level rise, salinization, ocean acidification, glacial retreat, land degradation, desertification and loss of biodiversity.
