A systematic review of spatial disaggregation methods for climate action planning

National-level climate action plans are often formulated broadly. Spatially disaggregating these plans to individual municipalities can offer substantial benefits, such as enabling regional climate action strategies and for assessing the feasibility of national objectives. Numerous spatial disaggregation approaches can be found in the literature. This study reviews and categorizes these. The review is followed by a discussion of the relevant methods for the disaggregation of climate action plans. It is seen that methods employing proxy data, machine learning models, and geostatistical ones are the most relevant methods for the spatial disaggregation of national energy and climate plans. The analysis offers guidance for selecting appropriate methods based on factors such as data availability at the municipal level and the presence of spatial autocorrelation in the data.As the urgency of addressing climate change escalates, understanding the spatial aspects of national energy and climate strategies becomes increasingly important. This review will serve as a valuable guide for researchers and practitioners applying spatial disaggregation in this crucial field.

Overlooked uneven progress across sustainable development goals at the global scale: Challenges and opportunities

Differences in progress across sustainable development goals(SDGs)are widespread globally;meanwhile,the rising call for prioritizing specific SDGs may exacerbate such gaps.Nevertheless,how these progress differences would influence global sustainable development has been long neglected.Here,we present the first quantitative assessment of SDGs’progress differences globally by adopting the SDGs progress evenness index.Our results highlight that the uneven progress across SDGs has been a hindrance to sustainable development because(1)it is strongly associated with many public health risks(e.g.,air pollution),social inequalities(e.g.,gender inequality,modern slavery,wealth gap),and a reduction in life expectancy;(2)it is also associated with deforestation and habitat loss in terrestrial and marine ecosystems,increasing the challenges related to biodiversity conservation;(3)most countries with low average SDGs performance show lower progress evenness,which further hinders their fulfillment of SDGs;and(4)many countries with high average SDGs performance also showcase stagnation or even retrogression in progress evenness,which is partly ascribed to the antagonism between climate actions and other goals.These findings highlight that while setting SDGs priorities may be more realistic under the constraints of multiple global stressors,caution must be exercised to avoid new problems from intensifying uneven progress across goals.Moreover,our study reveals that the urgent needs regarding SDGs of different regions seem complementary,emphasizing that regional collaborations(e.g.,demand-oriented carbon trading between SDGs poorly performed and well-performed countries)may promote sustainable development achievements at the global scale.

Barriers and Drivers for Mainstreaming Nature-Based Solutions for Flood Risks: The Case of South Korea

Nature-based solutions(NBS)are seen as a promising adaptation measure that sustainably deals with diverse societal challenges,while simultaneously delivering multiple benefits.Nature-based solutions have been highlighted as a resilient and sustainable means of mitigating floods and other hazards globally.This study examined diverging conceptualizations of NBS,as well as the attitudinal(for example,emotions and beliefs)and contextual(for example,legal and political aspects)barriers and drivers of NBS for flood risks in South Korea.Semistructured interviews were conducted with 11 experts and focused on the topic of flood risk measures and NBS case studies.The analysis found 11 barriers and five drivers in the attitudinal domain,and 13 barriers and two drivers in the contextual domain.Most experts see direct monetary benefits as an important attitudinal factor for the public.Meanwhile,the cost-effectiveness of NBS and their capacity to cope with flood risks were deemed influential factors that could lead decision makers to opt for NBS.Among the contextual factors,insufficient systems to integrate NBS in practice and the ideologicalization of NBS policy were found to be peculiar barriers,which hinder consistent realization of initiatives and a long-term national plan for NBS.Understanding the barriers and drivers related to the mainstreaming of NBS is critical if we are to make the most of such solutions for society and nature.It is also essential that we have a shared definition,expectation,and vision of NBS.