Climate change,ambient air pollution,and students'mental health

The impact of global climate change and air pollution on mental health has become a crucial public health issue.Increased public awareness of health,advancements in medical diagnosis and treatment,the way media outlets report environmental changes and the variation in social resources affect psychological responses and adaptation methods to climate change and air pollution.In the context of climate change,extreme weather events seriously disrupt people's living environments,and unstable educational environments lead to an increase in mental health issues for students.Air pollution affects students'mental health by increasing the incidence of diseases while decreasing contact with nature,leading to problems such as anxiety,depression,and decreased cognitive function.We call for joint efforts to reduce pollutant emissions at the source,improve energy structures,strengthen environmental monitoring and governance,increase attention to the mental health issues of students,and help student groups build resilience;by establishing public policies,enhancing social support and adjusting lifestyles and habits,we can help students cope with the constantly changing environment and maintain a good level of mental health.Through these comprehensive measures,we can more effectively address the challenges of global climate change and air pollution and promote the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Econometric Study of Relationship between Change of Farmland Quantity and Policy of Farmland Protection in China

According to the data from Investigation Report of Land Use Change in China,The Land Resources Communique of China and Chronicle of Statistical Data for Five Decades of New China issued from Ministry of Land Resources,we select two indices:change of farmland quantity and policy of farmland protection.According to econometric theory,by using Eviewes 5.1 software,co-integration analysis,Granger causality test,impulse response and other analysis methods,we analyze the relationship between change of farmland quantity and policy of farmland protection in China since the reform and opening-up.The results show that there is long-term balanced relationship between change of farmland quantity and policy of farmland protection,and there is a certain mechanism restricting motion of variables between the two so as to make the two deviate from each other little and step towards balance in the long run;there is unilateral causality relationship between farmland change and policy of farmland protection,namely that the farmland change is the Granger cause of policy of farmland protection,while policy of farmland protection is not the Granger cause of farmland change;impulse response and variance decomposition indicate that farmland change plays the role of promoting policy of farmland protection continuously,and the role is strengthened along with prolonged lag period;the policy of farmland protection has strong inertia,because it is impacted by the former level of itself,and the policy of farmland protection plays insignificant role in promoting farmland quantity.Consequently,the important approach of solving problem of rapid decrease of farmland is to formulate long-term strategy,strengthen theoretical research of farmland protection and reinforce degree of formulation,implementation and surveillance of farmland protection policy.

Perceptions of climate change in China:The research and policy connection

Global climate change has evolved from a scientific problem into an economic and political problem oI worlOwloe rater- est. National perspectives play a crucial role in addressing climate change. Mutual understanding of perspectives is nec- essary to result in rational policies and a consensus among stakeholders with divergent interests. Conceptual frameworks for understanding the problem of climate change in China, the largest developing country and the largest greenhouse gas emitter, are of great significance to national and international efforts to address the problems of climate change. Chinese perceptions of climate change as a sustainable development problem have recently been in tension with an emerging Western perspective that frames climate change as a security issue. This paper explores Chinese perceptions of climate change as expressed in recent governmental policy statements, public opinion surveys, and academic scholarship with a focus on publications in Chinese-language journals, often unfamiliar in the West. It looks at the relationship between Chinese research and policy and finds that the Chinese policy frame of climate change as a sustainable development problem draws from the body of domestic research and is reflective of the perspectives and multidisciplinary approach of Chinese researchers in areas of climate change.

Climate Change Impacts, Agroforestry Adaptation and Policy Environment in Sri Lanka

Despite its low emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHGs), Sri Lanka is considered as a vulnerable small island nation under climate change. Agroforestry, which uniquely integrates trees into land use systems, has historically contributed to climate change adaptation in Sri Lanka. Hence, the promotion of agroforestry practices is vitally important to enhance the resiliency of the country to future climate change. This paper reviews the literature and discusses the adverse impacts of climate change on agriculture and forestry, the effects of adapting agroforestry on climate changes, and important policies for promoting agroforestry adaptation in Sri Lanka. The adverse impacts of climate change on agriculture and forestry are identified as follows: endangerment of natural assets;prevalence of pests, diseases and invasive species;agriculture and forest damage;and high levels of food insecurity. The adaptation of agroforestry impacts climate change by increasing the tree cover outside forests, enhancing forest carbon stocks, conserving biodiversity, reducing risks and damage intensity, maintaining health and vitality, and scaling up multiple benefits. Changing regulations and legislation, developing awareness and capacity, planning for climate-smart agroforest landscapes, offering no-regret options and implementing climate change adjustment programs are discussed as important policy measures. It is concluded that agroforestry, along with favourable policy, has an important role in climate change adaptation by enhancing resilience to climate impacts on farming systems.

Assessing the Sensitivity of Climate Change Targets to Policies of Land Use, Energy Demand, Low Carbon Energy and Population Growth

A reduced scale model of the coupled carbon cycle, population dynamics, energy system and land use characteristics is used to assess the sensitivity of atmospheric carbon to a variety of policies. Policies simulated include reduction of the rate of growth of the population;reduction of the rate of conversion of forested land to cropland;reduction in per capita energy demand in developed nations;reduction in per capita energy demand in developing nations;reduction in the carbon intensity of energy production in developed nations;and reduction in the carbon intensity of energy production in developing nations. For each policy, both the time to onset of the policy and the fractional annual rate of change in the associated model variable are established. Using as a measure of sensitivity the extension in years required for atmospheric carbon to reach the policy ceiling of 1160 BMT, achieved at a policy that introduces a rate of change in each affected model variable of 0.05 per year (a 5% change per year), then the policies in decreasing order of sensitivity are: Developing nations per capita growth (17 years), Developing nations carbon intensity (17 years), Population control (11 years), Developed nations carbon intensity (2.9 years), Developed nations per capita growth (2.8 years) and Land use (1.3 years). These values are all approximately doubled when population is stabilised first. An analysis of the model results also shows a convergence of the developed and developing nations per capita carbon emissions by 2100 when a portfolio of policies is selected to prevent a doubling of the pre-industrial revolution level of atmospheric carbon at any point in the future, consistent with a principle of “contract and converge”.

Uncovering the Real Challenges in the Fight against Climate Change

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a global call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. There are 17 SDGs in all, these on the one hand, are based on the idea that economic development, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability are all essential for a healthy and sustainable world, and on the other hand, they provide a framework for governments, businesses, and civil society to work together to achieve common goals. And they are a reminder that we all have a responsibility to protect our planet and its people. One of the most pressing and urgent goals is SDG 13 - Climate Action. Climate change is a global challenge that affects the entire world, urgent action is needed to combat climate change and its impacts. The rapid rise of the fight against climate change reflects an increased interest among specialists. This research deals rigorously with a wide range of dilemmas, which have arisen over time. The research aims to reveal new actions, in order to combat current and future climate change obstacles. The main goal is to bring out the quality of policies and programs in the field of climate change. The results of this research should provide new directions in the development of new policies and programs, in order to help governments, businesses and civil society work together to achieve common goals. The results obtained by specialists, should be a reminder that we all have a responsibility to protect our planet and its people.

Change in Childcare Policy and Defamilialization

This study explores childcare policy change in South Korea by employing the gradual institutional change model and in relation to the concept of defamilialization.T his study measured the degree of defamilialization quantitatively using the data of Childcare Statistics between 2001-2016 and conducted hierarchical cluster analysis.The analysis results showed that the trajectories of childcare policy in South Korea could be divided into three clusters-2001-2006 for the first cluster,2007-2012 for the second cluster,and2013-2016 for the third cluster-and there were two changes-conversion and layering.Childcare policy in South Korea has taken the path of familialization,market defamilialization,and active familialization.

Urban transport policy response to global climate change in China

Accompanying with the economic development and the process of industrialization and urbanization in China, the energy consumption and greenhouse gases emission of transport sector increased rapidly. From the viewpoint of how the urban traffic management department should cope with the global climate change, based on the economy, institutional reform, planning and policies in China, the paper analyzed the main important problems and obstacles in the development of urban transport, put forward the corresponding policy recommendations which could lead the urban transport system transform to low carbon emission and become more suitable to the climate change.

Global progress in climate change adaptation policies and its implication for China

This paper reviews the progress in climate change adaptation(CCA) policies both under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) and in major regions and countries,including the EU and its major member countries,the influential developed countries in the Asia-Pacific region,the emerging economies and the least developed countries(LDCs).The progress made in China in CCA policies is also reviewed and compared with that in other countries.Finally,good international practices are proposed for China's policy development.It is found that adaptation has been given the same priority as mitigation since the twenty-first century with regard to climate change-related actions.The topics related to adaptation in the international climate change negotiations under the UNFCCC have evolved from mechanisms for finance and technology development and transfer exclusively in the early stages to implementation of practical adaptation programs and actions.Since 2006,major developed and developing countries have frequently set forward specific CCA policies or general climate change policies involving adaptation in the form of laws,frameworks,strategies,and plans.The LDCs have also been working on National Adaptation Programmes of Action and subsequent National Adaptation Plans with the support from the financial mechanisms under the UNFCCC.Therefore,globally,it has become a common practice to develop national or regional policies to plan and guide CCA actions.China has established climate change policies involving adaptation at the national,regional,and sectorial levels since 2007.However,these policies have strong limitations in their knowledge base,strategic positioning,contents,and implementation mechanisms,e.g.lack of a sound knowledge base,an international perspective,clear responsibilities for policy implementation,and appropriate monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.It is recommended that China should further strengthen its technical capabilities in climate change projections as well as impact,vulnerability,and risk assessment,and develop methodologies and techniques for the preparation,impact assessment and implementation of CCA policies.Furthermore,future CCA strategies or plans should be developed with an emphasis on China's vision and strategic position on the world stage.

Resources and international climate change policy gridlock

Few other policy zones are as complex as the issue of climate change.If the more pessimistic projections of climate change doom are correct,then the failure to address the issue is likely to be catastrophic and irreversible.The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted the potential extinction of many species and that the existence of small-island and other vulnerable countries will be threatened if business-as-usual greenhouse gas emissions continue.Climate change is a transboundary problem and requires unprecedented levels of cooperation between states and serious and sustained responses from major emitters.However,the growing demand and consumption of natural resources for continued energy security and cornucopian economic growth have undermined the outcomes of international climate change negotiations.It is argued here that there is a strong connection between the major emitters'positions at United Nations'climate talks,their possessions,dependence and consumption of natural resources,and the continued undermining of international climate change policy for unsustainable growth.This paper assesses the resource politics of the US,China,India,Canada,Russia,and Saudi Arabia and their positions at climate talks to show the link between lack of climate change policy progress and the positions of these main players.

Cultivated-land change in Mu Us Sandy Land of China before and after the first-stage grain-for-green policy

Mu Us Sandy Land(MUSL) of China, as a typical eco-fragile and farming-pastoral transitional region, shows great vulnerability to disturbances from cultivation activity. In this region, the conflict between cultivation activity and environmental protection has not attracted great importance until the implementation of China's Grain-for-Green Policy(CGGP) since2000. Here, using Landsat5 TM/Landsat7 ETM+ images from 1990, 2000, and 2010, we monitor the cultivation activity and land-use/cover changes(LUCC) resulting from cultivation activity in the MUSL region. Based on the data from images, we developed a series of databases of cultivated activity-induced LUCC and use them to discuss comparatively the spatio-temporal evolution trends of cultivation activity before and after CGGP implementation. These results provide evidence for managers to evaluate the implementation effectiveness of governmental policy and the influence of cultivation activity on the ecological environment of the MUSL region.

Perspective on the Potential Impact of Climate Change on China’s Aviation Safety Development and Policy Suggestions

With the rapid development of social economy,the strategic position of civil aviation in the national economy is highlighted,and its development potential is enormous.Extreme weather events under the background of climate change have brought great challenges to aviation safety.Starting with the rapid development of civil aviation in China,based on the trend of increasing the risk of aviation security and the risk of economic loss under the warming background,the effect of climate change on aviation safety development was analyzed from seven aspects: extreme weather and climate events affecting aviation safety,the number of takeoff limit days,fog and haze (low visibility) affecting aviation safety,flight time increasing,takeoff condition of high plateau airport changing,aircraft corrosion and clear-air turbulence,and the possible impact of the development of aviation industry on climate change was analyzed.Finally,based on the mutual influence of climate change and aviation industry,five policy suggestions were proposed,including the scientific planning of the new airport layout,the construction of the aviation meteorological data sharing platform,the comprehensive assessment of the impact of climate change on the aviation,the development of the aeronautical weather index insurance and new risk response training for aviation staff under the background of climate change.This study has a reference value for a comprehensive understanding of the interaction between climate change and the development of aviation safety in China.

Investigation of Climate and Land Use Policy Change Impacts on Food Security in Eastern Sudan, Gadarif State

The aims of this research were to investigate the impacts of climate variations on land use policies, food security and vegetation cover in Gadarif State (eastern Sudan) during 1961 to 2013. Analysis of precipitation and temperature time series revealed that the annual precipitation was decreasing while the temperature was increased in the study area. Precipitation was decreasing at a rate of −50.3 mm/10a, while the temperature was increasing at a rate of 0.02°C/10a. The result of both SPEI and SPI showed that the Gadarif State has been changed to a high frequency of drought during 1961-2013. Sorghum yield showed a significant positive relationship with precipitation during July and October (CC = 0.364 and 0.321, respectively), moreover, a significant positive relationship between Sesame yield and precipitation was observed during July (CC = 0.335). A significant negative relationship between Sorghum yield and mean temperature was observed during the rainy season (July to October) with CC = −0.278. The yield productivity of Sorghum and Sesame had decreased significantly (from more than 800 kg/ha in the 1960s to less than 200 kg/ha in 2000s for Sorghum, while 500 kg/ha in 1960s to 100 kg/ha in 2000s for Sesame). The Mechanized Rain-fed Agriculture (MRA) area of Sorghum and Sesame in the Gadarif State had been increased from 1,058,241 ha to 2,799,655 ha during 1961 to 2013. Thus, we ultimately suggest that in the Gadarif State, policy makers must strive for an increase in yield per unit area by using sufficient fertilizers along with the gradual increment in tendencies of grain production through expansion of the cultivated area.

Forests Policies and Programmes in India: Implications for Climate Change Adaptation

Climate change is a major global environmental and developmental challenge and climate proofing of vulnerable sectors, programmes, natural systems and communities by integrating adaptation and mitigation options into planning process are increasingly becoming an integral part of development. The basic premises on which this could happen are the national and sectoral policies that govern any programmes and actions implemented on ground. This study reviews existing policies, plans and programmes and their implications for climate change. Based on the analyses, key areas of research, policy initiatives and institutional and capacity development needs have been identified, to facilitate climate change adaptation. The forest policies formulated so far in India have been broadly aimed at conservation, reduction of pressure on forests and provisioning of biomass to the large forest dependent population for their fuel and fodder needs apart from generating revenue through production and sale of timber. However, these have not been formulated with climate change as a consideration and therefore may become less effective as climate change and its impacts become increasingly evident. The study clearly identifies that the current policies and programmes have elements/features and activities that directly or indirectly contribute positively towards adaptation, although the primary implications are towards biodiversity and to some extent ecosystem functioning. It finally highlights the need for incorporating climate change concerns in forest sector development programmes and also to address the issue of climate change.

China's adjustment of climate change policies:what lessons can be learned from the US?

From the US New Energy Plan, personnel appointment, and diplomatic activities, etc., we can see that US is now on the way to returning to the negotiation table and undertaking the leadership in addressing climate change. What US has done puts tremendous challenges on China, which emits large amount of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. However, different from US, China is undergoing rapid development, and huge energy consumption is unavoidable. China has to make a balance between developing economy and addressing climate change. This paper focuses on the US climate change policies and its greenhouse gas emissions, and its influences on China climate change policy. China greenhouse gas emissions and relative policies are also analyzed to see what situation China is in, and what challenges that China is facing. Consequently, combing China's local situation, we propose several solutions for China to address climate change, i.e. moving towards a low carbon economy, struggling for emitting more, enhancing China-US cooperation, and implementing different climate change policies based on local situation. Meanwhile, the achievements that China has made are also introduced.

Changes and Development of Home and Community Based Elderly Care Service Policies in China

This paper analyzes the current situation of the development of home and community based elderly care service in China,points out the existing problems,and puts forward improvement measures,aiming to deepen the understanding of HCBS and promote the theoretical research and practice of community home-based elderly care service.

Toward a more open and collaborative climate change policy framework in Hong Kong and Macao within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

The special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao enjoy a high degree of autonomy from the national policy system in devising their local policies,including measures related to climate change.Hong Kong and Macao each have their own climate change policies,some aspects of which are more advanced than policies in China's Mainland.While their high degree of policy autonomy has advantages,this has also isolated them from China's larger environmental management and practices that continue to advance at scale.This paper reviews the climate change policies of the two special administrative regions and analyzes their strengths and innovations,particularly in adaptation.It also identifies areas where there could be closer engagement,collaboration,and capacity-building with the China's Mainland,which has the potential for greater positive impacts,especially on a regional basis.