ABSTRACT
The last 12 months have provided further evidence of the potential for cascading ecological and socio-political crises that were warned of 12 months ago. Then a consensus statement from the Regional Action on Climate Change Symposium warned: "the Earth's climatic, ecological, and human systems are converging towards a crisis that threatens to engulf global civilization within the lifetimes of children now living." Since then, the consequences of a broad set of extreme climate events (notably droughts, floods, and fires) have been compounded by interaction with impacts from multiple pandemics (including COVID-19 and cholera) and the Russia-Ukraine war. As a result, new connections are becoming visible between climate change and human health, large vulnerable populations are experiencing food crises, climate refugees are on the move, and the risks of water, food, and climate disruption have been visibly converging and compounding. Many vulnerable populations now face serious challenges to adapt. In light of these trends, this year, RACC identifies a range of measures to be taken at global and regional levels to bolster the resilience of these populations in the face of such emerging crises. In particular, at all scales, there is a need for globally available local data, reliable analytic techniques, community capacity to plan adaptation strategies, and the resources (scientific, technical, cultural, and economic) to implement them. To date, the rate of growth of the support for climate change resilience lags behind the rapid growth of cascading and converging risks. As an urgent message to COP27, it is proposed that the time is now right to devote much greater emphasis, global funding, and support to the increasing adaptation needs of vulnerable populations.
ABSTRACT
From the Document: Water is essential to public health. While the vast majority of American households served by water utilities receive a reliable supply of high-quality drinking water, there remain homes where water and wastewater services have been shut off or disconnected due to non-payment. There are no national and few state-level requirements for water utilities to report on water disconnections, so it is difficult to assess the scope of the problem. Previous research has demonstrated that race is the strongest predictor for access to plumbing, but further research is needed to understand the equity issues underlying utility disconnection. This Issue Brief offers a summary of what is currently known about differences in water disconnections due to non-payment in the U.S. across income, race, and housing type. Given the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic of 2020, ensuring safe water for all is an increasingly urgent public health and racial justice issue.COVID-19 (Disease);Water-supply;Water demand management
ABSTRACT
From the Document: The 2020 COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic has sparked a nationwide discussion around the practice of utilities disconnecting water service to households that are unable or fail to pay their bills. [...] In response to the pandemic, many water utilities, governors, and state legislatures in the U.S. have placed temporary moratoriums on water service disconnections. [...] This Issue Brief identifies novel and practical approaches that water utilities and the state and federal government can take to maximize water access while preserving utility revenue and preventing excessive debt accumulation.COVID-19 (Disease);Water-supply;Water demand management
ABSTRACT
From the Document: This Issue Brief provides an early assessment of some of the critical impacts of the pandemic for municipal water demand. We find that stay-at-home orders and business shutdowns increased residential demand and decreased non-residential (i.e., commercial, industrial, and institutional) demand. The net effect of these changes varies from community to community, depending on the relative proportion of residential and non-residential water uses and the major economic sectors in the community.COVID-19 (Disease);Water-supply;Water demand management