Understanding the Nexus between Climate Change, the Shift in Land Use toward Cashew Production and Rural Food Security in Ghana;the Experiences of Farmers in the Transition Zone of Ghana

This study summarises the findings from a study investigating rural small-holding farmers’experiences on the shift from food crop to cashew in the forest/savanna transitional agro-ecological zone of Ghana and its impact on rural food security.Using a mix method approach,the study sampled the views of 400 farmers from 9 farming communities in the Wenchi Municipality of Ghana via questionnaire and semi-structured interview and collated statistical data on crop production to trace the nexus between climate change,agrarian land-use decisions and food security.The study found evidence of increasing shift from food crop to cashew production.This was evidenced by increasing cashew cultivation and cashew output and decreasing total land acreage for food crops and increasing food insecurity of farmers.The findings revealed that about 71%of farmers had expanded their cashew farms and another 41.0%have turned their food crops’lands to cashew production.Besides cashew production,(57.0%)has overtaken the traditional food crop-maize(25.5%)production in terms of output.Instructively,the study found that the main motivation for the shift from food crop to cashew production is not only to maximise income in bulk,but also climate change adaptability issues.The study found that the cashew crop is resilient in adapting to the changing climate and less prone to pests’invasion compared to maize in the study District.The study found that food security among rural folks had been seriously compromised by the conversion of farmlands from food crop to cashew farming.Although,the study found that female farmers have higher consciousness to food security yet less motivated to shift from food crop to cashew crop production compared to men.Worryingly,females are the hardest hit group because of their low ownership of or access to farmlands and low voices of women in farmland use decision making in a men-dominant rural extended family setting of the study District.The study concludes that climate change adaptability concern has introduced a new set of risks including crop failure due to changing rainfall pattern and increasing incidence of pest invasions forcing the rural folks to compromise innovative indigenous farming focus and practices that have helped them to navigate extreme food poverty.This study,therefore,argues for improved food crop seeds tailored to the specific climatic context and innovative farming practices that beef-up small-holding farmers’capacity to navigate climate change to continually produce food crop to ensure rural food security and sustainability.

Low Adaptive Capacity in Africa and Climate Change Crises

2021 The changing climate is unequivocal,and it is generally recognised as a threat to the terrestrial environment due to its cross-sectoral and irreversible impacts.Since the inception of industrial revolution(1750),the concentration of greenhouse gases(carbon dioxide,methane and nitrous oxide)in the atmosphere has been compromised.Until the past two centuries,the quantity of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere had never surpassed about 280 part per million(ppm)and 790 part per billion(ppb),respectively.Rise in greenhouse gases(GHGs)has impacted almost every biotic component on the surface of the earth,and regions which have low adaptive capacity and greatly depend on agriculture and biodiversity for livelihood are hard hit.This phenomenon has resulted in global warming,extinction of some fora and fauna species,precipitation variability,extreme weather conditions,migration of biotic creatures from one geographical area to another,melting of icecap,sea level rise,coral breach and so on during the last century.The contribution of emission of greenhouse gases of Africa is insignificant,however,the repercussion of the changing climate is crucial in the region due to the presence of other stressors such as poverty,corruption,diseases,geographical position of the continent,low adaptive capacity,rain-fed agriculture etc.,and this has led to conflict over resources usage,food insecurity,forced migration,ill-health and many more.

Comprehensive report on China's Long-Term Low-Carbon Development Strategies and Pathways

1.Introduction 2020 is an unusual year in which the COVID-19 pandemic has raged through the globe,infecting tens of millions of people and killing hundreds of thousands.The pandemic has not only wreaked havoc on public health systems,economic activities,and people's lives,but also has greatly affected and will continue to reshape the world's political,economic,and trade patterns.

Key global climate governance problems and Chinese countermeasures

Presently,the full implementation of the negotiations and collaborations under the Paris Agreement faces new key problems and severe challenges.These problems and challenges include the following:how to honor the principle of“common but differentiated responsibilities”to facilitate a comprehensive,balanced,and effective implementation of the key elements of the Paris Agreement,such as adaptation,mitigation,finance,technology,capacity building,and transparency;how to uphold and maintain the status of China and other emerging countries as developing countries in light of the requirements of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the historical responsibilities of these countries;and how to assess the goal of limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5℃and what constitutes an equitable carbon mitigation pathway for different types of countries.Developed countries and developing countries have drastically diverging views on carbon border adjustment measures for trade with developing countries proposed by several developed countries such as the European Union.Developed countries have demonstrated obvious intentions and actions designed to weaken and neglect the principle of“common but differentiated responsibilities”,to impose mitigation pressure on developing countries,to shift the responsibilities for emissions onto others,and to pass on the costs of mitigation.The maneuvering among different types of countries and interest groups has become increasingly intense.In response,China must maintain its strategic focus,adhere to the goals and principles established by the Paris Agreement,stick to its strategic positioning as a developing country,solidify strategic support from the developing world,and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries.China played a conducive role in facilitating the Paris Agreement and has become an active participant,contributor,and leader in global climate governance.China must continue to follow Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and its conception of ecological civilization and the concept of building a community of common destiny,to actively lead the cooperation process in the construction of a global climate governance system characterized by equity,justice,and win-win collaborations,and to promote compliance with the Paris Agreement.At the same time,China should accelerate the green,low-carbon,circular transformation of its economy;accelerate the coordinated governance of the economy,environment,and climate change;and formulate and implement a long-term low-carbon development strategy.By the middle of the 21st century,while achieving the goal of building a great modern socialist country,China can also achieve a deep decarbonization development path that is in line with the goal of limiting the global temperature increase to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5℃.

Impacts of Changing Climate on Maize Production in the Transitional Zone of Ghana

This study sought to assess the challenges and opportunities that come with climate change and variability impacts on maize farming in the Nkoranza South Municipality in the Transitional Zone of Ghana. The mixed method approach (qualitative and quantitative) was used in collecting the data. Rainfall data obtained from the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) indicated that the dry cell between the major and minor rainy seasons was getting wetter and the two seasons were gradually merging whereas the first and last quarters of the year were getting drier over the last couple of decades. The situation over the last five years (2010-2015) had worsened as the amount of total rainfall had reduced by 22% compared to the 30 year period between 1960 and 1982. The results of the study showed that farmers had perceived changes in climate in the form of decreasing rainfall, rising air temperatures and seasonal changes in rainfall pattern which were affecting their maize farming operations. The major setbacks within the area were deficit in rainy days and intermittent erratic rainfall affecting maize production. The major opportunity available to farmers in the face of changing climate in this agroecological zone was cashew production. About 76.8% of the respondents had diversified into cashew farming as a result of rainfall failure and strong resistance of the cashew trees to changing and variable climate.

Temperature Trends on Gran Canaria (Canary Islands). An Example of Global Warming over the Subtropical Northeastern Atlantic

The variation in temperature on the island of Gran Canaria is studied using the method applied to the nearby island of Tenerife [1]. An upward warming trend of 0.09°C ± 0.05°C (α = 0.01) was seen from 1946 to date, which has accelerated since the seventies to 0.17°C ± 0.10°C (α = 0.01). The increase was higher at night (0.11°C ± 0.05°C) than by day (0.08°C ± 0.06°C), so the temperature range decreased slightly. These values are similar to those of Tenerife and the time series of anomalies for the two islands are highly correlated. On the coast the same relationship to the sea surface temperature was found as in Tenerife, but in the mid-altitude areas to windward, some differences were detected that are hypothetically attributable to the different relief of the two islands.

Index for climate change adaptation in China and its application

With the increasing awareness of the risks and impacts of climate change, scholars tend to pay more attention to the applications of indicators, which access the effectiveness of climate change adaptation. This study aims to evaluate the overall progress of climate change adaptation in China during 2010–2018 in a quantitative manner. The Index for Climate Change Adaptation in China (ICCAC) has been thus developed by adopting the analytic hierarchy process weighting and expert scoring method. Namely, ICCAC is composed of national climate change impacts, adaptation actions in key sectors, adaptation progress in key sectors, and the national adaptation policy framework. Overall, the ICCAC and its four sub-indexes increased significantly from 2010 to 2018, on a yearly-basis. Each sub-index implied that the socio-economic impacts caused by climate change in China have been alleviated gradually;specifically, the mainstream endeavor of key sectors has witnessed remarkable progress, however, it is worth noting that the gap between individual adaptation actions and policies still exists;the implementation effect of policies in key sectors is not as affluent as that of actions;the current adaptation endeavor in key areas is still closely related to the mainstream business of corresponding competent ministries rather than adaptation-aimed actions;the national adaptation policy framework has been primarily formed, but there are still some deficiencies. As a result, the gap in China's adaptation process could be mainly manifested in the following five aspects: i) adaptation effectiveness assessment in forestry and urban infrastructure is urgently needed;ii) policies in marine and water resources sectors need structural reforms;iii) evaluation criteria for national adaptation are not necessarily sufficient;iv) the improvement of adaptive management efficiency has stagnated recently;and v) the adaptation works of relevant Ministries should be coordinated and put forward the corresponding strategies. Finally, this study presents four proposals: conducting an evaluation of adaptation actions in all key sectors, integrating climate change impacts into sectoral planning decisions, launching concrete action plans for adaptation, establishing a complete policy framework on adaptation.

全球气候治理新动向与中国应对

After more than 30 years of negotiations,a multilateral climate governance system,with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(hereinafter referred to as the Convention),the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement as the key pillars,has been formed worldwide.This system promotes collaboration among all parties to address the challenges of climate change within the framework of sustainable development and to protect the Earth,on which human beings depend.During his speech at the opening ceremony of the Paris Climate Change Conference in 2015,Chinese President Xi Jinping stated,“As an important part of global governance,the global efforts on climate change can be taken as a mirror for us to reflect on what models to have for future global governance and how to build a community of shared future for mankind.Much valuable inspiration may thus be drawn.”1 Climate change is a pressing global crisis and a long-term challenge.It is a global consensus,and a main area for major-power competition to address climate change.In this context,gaining awareness of the latest developments in global climate governance and analyzing the meaningful challenges it presents would hold great practical significance for China’s engagement in global climate governance.

Multi-sectoral and sustainable solutions to enable national carbon neutrality

Carbon neutrality and a carbon-negative economy are important concepts introduced nearly 20 years ago that have become key measures for realising the climate goals of the Paris Agreement.The revised Paris Climate Accords are designed to limit global warming to‘below’1.5℃ above pre-industrial temperatures.The recently released IPCC AR6 report shows that the realisation of climate goals requires a fundamental transformation of national,regional,and global energy system,including a substantial reduction in overall fossil fuel use,the deployment of low-emission energy sources,the transition to alternative energy carriers such as Hydrogen or Ammonia,and the improvement of energy efficiency and conservation.Over 140 countries have pledged to align their national emissions and abate their targets with these goals that have been reaffirmed in a diverse range of studies on impacts,pathways,technologies,and policies needed in all economies,but in particular in the largest economies of China,the European Union,Japan,and the United States.

Active travel and sustainable transport

So far we have plenty of evidence that show how active travel,defined broadly here as walking and cycling,and encompassing multimodality with public transport and the use of a variety of micromobility options,affect positively the environment and public health,reduce car congestion in urban roads,and is the most effective solution towards decarbonisation.However,in many parts of the world and in many cities we still see a gap in the transport policies that prioritize active travel,with most policies still focusing on the car and its supporting infrastructures of more and wider roads,more parking and so on.Even the decarbonisation discourse is riddled with references to the electric,maybe shared,autonomous car as being the sustainable solution for the future.

The Road to Low-Carbon Transformation

CHINA made the commitment to reduce its CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 40-45 percent by 2020 as compared with 2005 at the UN Climate Change Conference 2009 in Copenhagen;and simultaneously increase the proportion of non-fossil energy consumption to 15 percent of its total energy mix.That commitment was honored ahead of schedule.

China's pre-2020 CO2 emission reduction potential and its influence

China achieved the reduction of CO2 intensity of GDP by 45% compared with 2005 at the end of 2017, realizing the commitment at 2009 Copenhagen Conference on emissions reduction 3 years ahead of time. In future implementation of the "13th Five-Year Plan (FYP)," with the decline of economic growth rate, decrease of energy consumption elasticity and optimization of energy structure, the CO2 intensity of GDP will still have the potential for decreasing before 2020. By applying KAYA Formula decomposition, this paper makes the historical statistics of the GDP energy intensity decrease and CO2 intensity of energy consumption since 2005, and simulates the decrease of CO2 intensity of GDP in 2020 and its influences on achieving National Determined Contribution (NDC) target in 2030 with scenario analysis. The results show that China's CO2 intensity of GDP in 2020 is expected to fall by 52.9%-54.4% than the 2005 level, and will be 22.9%-25.4% lower than 2015. Therefore, it is likely to overfulfill the decrease of CO2 intensity of GDP by 18% proposed in the 13th FYP period. Furthermore, the emission reduction potentiality before 2020 will be conducive to the earlier realization of NDC objectives in 2030. China's CO2 intensity of GDP in 2030 will fall by over 70% than that in 2005, and CO2 emissions peak will appear before 2030 as early as possible. To accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy, China needs to make better use of the carbon market, and guide the whole society with carbon price to reduce emissions effectively. At the same time, China should also study the synergy of policy package so as to achieve the target of emission reduction.

Towards carbon neutrality:A study on China's long-term low-carbon transition pathways and strategies

As the world's biggest carbon dioxide(CO_(2))emitter and the largest developing country,China faces daunting challenges to peak its emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality within 40 years.This study fully considered the carbon-neutrality goal and the temperature rise constraints required by the Paris Agreement,by developing six long-term development scenarios,and conducting a quantitative evaluation on the carbon emissions pathways,energy transformation,technology,policy and investment demand for each scenario.This study combined both bottom-up and top-down methodologies,including simulations and analyses of energy consumption of end-use and power sectors(bottom-up),as well as scenario analysis,investment demand and technology evaluation at the macro level(top-down).This study demonstrates that achieving carbon neutrality before 2060 translates to significant efforts and overwhelming challenges for China.To comply with the target,a high rate of an average annual reduction of CO_(2) emissions by 9.3%from 2030 to 2050 is a necessity,which requires a huge investment demand.For example,in the 1.5℃ scenario,an investment in energy infrastructure alone equivalent to 2.6%of that year's GDP will be necessary.The technological pathway towards carbon neutrality will rely highly on both conventional emission reduction technologies and breakthrough technologies.China needs to balance a long-term development strategy of lower greenhouse gas emissions that meets both the Paris Agreement and the long-term goals for domestic economic and social development,with a phased implementation for both its five-year and long-term plans.

Advances,challenges,and perspectives for CCUS source-sink matching models under carbon neutrality target

With the widespread popularity of carbon neutrality,the decarbonization approach using carbon capture,utilization,and storage(CCUS)has grown from a low-carbon utilization technology to an indispensable technology for the entire global carbon-neutral technology system.As a primary method to support CCUS research,source-sink matching models face several new demand-oriented challenges.Comprehensive research and in-depth insights are needed to guide targeted capability upgrades.This review evaluates the advances,challenges,and perspectives of various CCUS source-sink matching models developed in the past 10 years.We provide an integrated conceptual framework from six key attributes relating to mitigation targets,carbon sources,carbon sinks,transportation networks,utilization,and integration(synergy).The results indicate that previous models have effectively deepened our understanding of the matching process by targeting various CCUS-related issues and provided a solid foundation for more robust models to be developed.Six perspectives are put forward to outline research and development prospects for future models,which may have meaningful effects for advancement under emerging carbon neutrality targets.

ROAD TO CARBON NEUTRALIZATION

China needs to overcome greater challenges than developed countries to meetits carbon-heutral target The annual plenary session of the National People's Congress(NPC),the top legislature of the country,held in March unveiled new targets for achieving carbon neutralization.

A Holistic Response

When representatives from around the globe meet in Katowice,Poland,for the annual UN Climate Change Conference,the world’s attention will once again be on the 2015 Paris Agreement.The pact committed to limiting global warming to 2℃above pre-industrial levels,with 1.5°C being the preferred curb.The Katowice meeting in December is expected to come up with a roadmap for the implementation of the asreement.