Local, regional, and global adaptations to a compound pandemic-weather stress event

Global food security can be threatened by short-term extreme events that negatively impact food production, food purchasing power, and agricultural economic activity. At the same time, environmental pollutants like greenhouse gases (GHGs) can be reduced due to the same short-term extreme stressors. Stress events include pandemics like COVID-19 and widespread droughts like those experienced in 2015. Here we consider the question: what if COVID-19 had co-occurred with a 2015-like drought year? Using a coupled biophysical-economic modeling framework, we evaluate how this compound stress would alter both agricultural sector GHG emissions and change the number of undernourished people worldwide. We further consider three interdependent adaptation options: local water use for crop production, regional shifts in cropland area, and global trade of agricultural products. We find that GHG emissions decline due to reduced economic activity in the agricultural sector, but this is paired with large increases in undernourished populations in developing nations. Local and regional adaptations that make use of natural resources enable global-scale reductions in impacted populations via increased global trade.

New insights in food security and environmental sustainability through waste food management.

Food waste has been identified as one of the major factors that constitute numerous anthropogenic activities, especially in developing countries. There is a growing problem with food waste that affects every part of the waste management system, from collection to disposal; finding long-term solutions necessitates involving all participants in the food supply chain, from farmers and manufacturers to distributors and consumers. In addition to food waste management, maintaining food sustainability and security globally is crucial so that every individual, household, and nation can always get food. "End hunger, achieve food security and enhanced nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture" are among the main challenges of global sustainable development (SDG) goal 2. Therefore, sustainable food waste management technology is needed. Recent attention has been focused on global food loss and waste. One-third of food produced for human use is wasted every year. Source reduction (i.e., limiting food losses and waste) and contemporary treatment technologies appear to be the most promising strategy for converting food waste into safe, nutritious, value-added feed products and achieving sustainability. Food waste is also employed in industrial processes for the production of biofuels or biopolymers. Biofuels mitigate the detrimental effects of fossil fuels. Identifying crop-producing zones, bioenergy cultivars, and management practices will enhance the natural environment and sustainable biochemical process. Traditional food waste reduction strategies are ineffective in lowering GHG emissions and food waste treatment. The main contribution of this study is an inventory of the theoretical and practical methods of prevention and minimization of food waste and losses. It identifies the trade-offs for food safety, sustainability, and security. Moreover, it investigates the impact of COVID-19 on food waste behavior.

Personal GHG emissions accounting and the driving forces decomposition in the past 10 years

Personal greenhouse gas (PGHG) emissions were crucial for achieving carbon peak and neutrality targets. The accounting methodology and driving forces identification of PGHG emissions were helpful for the quantification and the reduction of the PGHG emissions. In this study, the methodology of PGHG emissions was developed from resource obtaining to waste disposal, and the variations of Shanghainese PGHG emissions from 2010 to 2020 were evaluated, with the driving forces analysis based on Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) model. It showed that the emissions decreased from 3796.05 (2010) to 3046.87 kg carbon dioxides (CO2) (2014) and then increased to 3411.35 kg CO2 (2018). The emissions from consumptions accounted for around 62.1% of the total emissions, and that from waste disposal were around 3.1%, which were neglected in most previous studies. The PGHG emissions decreased by around 0.53 kg CO2 (2019) and 405.86 kg CO2 (2020) compared to 2018 and 2019, respectively, which were mainly affected by the waste forced source separation policy and the COVID-19 pandemic. The income level and consumption GHG intensity were two key factors influencing the contractively of GHG emissions from consumption, with the contributing rate of 169.3% and − 188.1%, respectively. Energy consumption was the main factor contributing to the growth of the direct GHG emissions (296.4%), and the energy GHG emission factor was the main factor in suppressing it (− 92.2%). Green consumption, low carbon lifestyles, green levy programs, and energy structure optimization were suggested to reduce the PGHG emissions. © 2023, The Author(s).

Comparing pre- and post-pandemic greenhouse gas and noise emissions from road traffic in Rome (Italy): a multi-step approach

This study presents the results of a traffic simulation analysis and emissions (greenhouse gas and noise) assessment comparing pre-pandemic (2019) and post-pandemic (2022) periods. The estimation of road traffic demand is based on conventional data sources and floating car data;next, the traffic simulation procedure was performed providing road network traffic volumes, which are the input for the emission models. The diffusion of teleworking, e-commerce, as well as the digitization of many processes, services and activities, lead to a significant change in urban mobility. Results show a significant though still not complete resumption of commuters travel activity (-10% compared to pre-pandemic period) in the morning peak-hour. This translates into an 11% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and a 0.1% increase in noise emissions.

Calculation and Assessment of CO2e Emissions in Road Freight Transportation: A Greek Case Study

Road freight transportation is already contributing significantly to global warming, and its emissions are predicted to grow dramatically in the following years. Carbon footprint calculation can be used to assess CO2e emissions to understand how an organization’s activities impact global sustainability. To this end, the main objective of this paper is initially to assess the impact of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions stemming from road freight transportation. Subsequently, we adopt the EN 16258 standard to calculate the carbon footprint of a truck fleet of a freight transport operator in Greece. Based on the obtained results, we assess the performance of the company’s fleet by adopting relevant sustainability indicators. We also evaluate the use of CNG as an alternative fuel and its impact on CO2e emissions and operational costs. The paper concludes with a list of additional measures toward further reduction and offsetting of CO2e emissions.

The Carbon Footprint of Fruit Storage: A Case Study of the Energy and Emission Intensity of Cold Stores

Despite their importance in all transportation chains, logistical sites—and in particular refrigerated facilities—are the weakest link in current emissions literature. This is largely due to a lack of quantitative research that focuses on these facilities. This article is the first of its kind to assess the emissions of eight refrigerated facilities that handle and store fresh fruit. In 2020, the analyzed facilities moved a total of 646,572 pallets of fresh fruit and emitted 32,225 t of CO2e. Five of the largest facilities were responsible for handling 18.83% of the total fresh fruit exported from South Africa during 2020. The results revealed that storing and handling a pallet of fruit in a large-scale commercial cold store requires 7.62 kWh of electricity per day. Storing and handling fresh fruit is carbon intensive since each pallet stored translates to 7.52 kg CO2e d−1. However, other factors such as the seasonality and volume of fruit handled, facility characteristics and the availability of solar electricity systems, among others, all have a significant impact on the emissions value of the facility and on the emission intensity per pallet moved through the facility.

COVID-19 impact on an academic Institution's greenhouse gas inventory: The case of Cornell University

Controlling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under rapid economic development is a major global challenge and must be addressed in order to avoid major impacts of climate change. Therefore, the accounting of GHG emissions is an important basis for regional climate change mitigation plans. In order to work towards achieving this, a standardization of GHG emissions accounting methodologies should be developed, which will promote a deep decarbonization at different geographical scales. This study builds a complete GHG emissions inventory of the Cornell University campus, quantifying the university's Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions and identify the main emissions sources. use an EIO-LCA model to investigate the GHG emissions connected to the campus procurement system. The impact of COVID-19 is explored from the perspectives of campus energy systems, transportation, and products & services consumption, which helped to determine the driving forces of GHG emissions fluctuation during the pandemic. Results show that overall, Scope 3 emissions contributed to the largest share of Cornell's GHG emissions (60.4%), followed by Scope 1 (37.8%) and Scope 2 (1.7%). The total GHG emissions of Cornell University in 2019 and 2020 were 463.5 and 404.7 thousand metric tons CO2e, respectively. During the COVID pandemic, the campus GHG emissions dropped by 10.99% in 2020 when compared to the 2019 level. When compared to 2019, 2020 Scope 1 GHG emissions reduced by 8.9%, Scope 2 GHG emissions increased by 39.5% and Scope 3 dropped by 16.1%. This study provides a comprehensive GHG accounting framework for universities in order to reach sustainable and carbon-neutral campus targets and analyzes the impact of unpreceded crises on campus life and the environment.

EU Net-Zero Policy Achievement Assessment in Selected Members through Automated Forecasting Algorithms

The European Union (EU) has positioned itself as a frontrunner in the worldwide battle against climate change and has set increasingly ambitious pollution mitigation targets for its members. The burden is heavier for the more vulnerable economies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), who must juggle meeting strict greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction goals, significant fossil-fuel reliance, and pressure to respond to current pandemic concerns that require an increasing share of limited public resources, while facing severe repercussions for non-compliance. Thus, the main goals of this research are: (i) to generate reliable aggregate GHG projections for CEE countries;(ii) to assess whether these economies are on track to meet their binding pollution reduction targets;(iii) to pin-point countries where more in-depth analysis using spatial inventories of GHGs at a finer resolution is further needed to uncover specific areas that should be targeted by additional measures;and (iv) to perform geo-spatial analysis for the most at-risk country, Poland. Seven statistical and machine-learning models are fitted through automated forecasting algorithms to predict the aggregate GHGs in nine CEE countries for the 2019–2050 horizon. Estimations show that CEE countries (except Romania and Bulgaria) will not meet the set pollution reduction targets for 2030 and will unanimously miss the 2050 carbon neutrality target without resorting to carbon credits or offsets. Austria and Slovenia are the least likely to meet the 2030 emissions reduction targets, whereas Poland (in absolute terms) and Slovenia (in relative terms) are the farthest from meeting the EU’s 2050 net-zero policy targets. The findings thus stress the need for additional measures that go beyond the status quo, particularly in Poland, Austria, and Slovenia. Geospatial analysis for Poland uncovers that Krakow is the city where pollution is the most concentrated with several air pollutants surpassing EU standards. Short-term projections of PM2.5 levels indicate that the air quality in Krakow will remain below EU and WHO standards, highlighting the urgency of policy interventions. Further geospatial data analysis can provide valuable insights into other geo-locations that require the most additional efforts, thereby, assisting in the achievement of EU climate goals with targeted measures and minimum socio-economic costs. The study concludes that statistical and geo-spatial data, and consequently research based on these data, complement and enhance each other. An integrated framework would consequently support sustainable development through bettering policy and decision-making processes.

Multidisciplinary Analysis of International Environments Based on Impacts of Covid-19: State of Art

Drawing lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic according to literature, this contribution aims to show that greening the United Nations System with stronger environmental considerations, can help to shift the global economy from fossil energy to renewable energy with public-health resilient systems. This contribution starts with highlighting the fact that past economic crises and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Global Agenda have not been able to generate strong institutional arrangements for sustainable development including climate resilience building and public health resilient systems. This allows us to apprehend the possibility that the Covid-19 pandemic crisis may face the same incapacity. In response to these statements, this contribution shares the opinion that institutional reforms within the United Nations System may lead to perennial normative provisions and institutional arrangements able to make sustainable development happen with resilient public-health systems. This note highlights the fall of GHG emissions during the Covid-19 pandemic. It shows, however, based on the history of the past crisis, that the huge investment being mobilized to recover from the pandemic can quickly absorb GHG emissions fall. The way out suggested is that both the Global Economy and the Global Public Health agendas can be revisited to be strengthened by stronger environmental considerations. One of our findings is that multilateralism can adopt suitable institutional arrangements in Global Environmental Governance throughout the current global agenda on International Environmental Governance Reform within the United Nations System. © Iran University of Science and Technology 2022

Unprecedented Impacts of Aviation Emissions on Global Environmental and Climate Change Scenario.

There has been a continuously growing trend in international commercial air traffic, with the exception of COVID-19 crises; however, after the recovery, the trend is expected to even sharpen. The consequences of released emissions and by-products in the environment range from human health hazards, low air quality and global warming. This study is aimed to investigate the role of aviation emissions in global warming. For this purpose, data on different variables including global air traffic and growth rate, air traffic in different continents, total global CO2 emissions of different airlines, direct and indirect emissions, air traffic in various UK airports and fuel-efficient aircraft was collected from various sources like EU member states, Statista, Eurostat, IATA, CAA and EUROCONTROL. The results indicated that in 2019, commercial airlines carried over 4.5 × 109 passengers on scheduled flights. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the global number of passengers was reduced to 1.8 × 109, representing around a 60% reduction in air traffic. Germany was the largest contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) from the EU, releasing 927 kt of emissions in 3 years. In the UK, Heathrow airport had the highest number of passengers in 2019 with over 80 million, and the study of monthly aircraft movement revealed that Heathrow Airport also had the highest number of EU and International flights, while Edinburgh had the domestic flights in 2018. These research findings could be beneficial for airlines, policymakers and governments targeting the reduction of aircraft emissions.

The contribution of changes in climate-friendly behaviour, climate change concern and personal responsibility to household greenhouse gas emissions: Heating/cooling and transport activities in the European Union

In the European Union (EU) the household sector is directly responsible for one quarter of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and this share is increasing. People's concern about climate change and climate-friendly behaviour could significantly mitigate emission levels. However, there is a lack of studies related to how changes in climate change concern, personal responsibility and climate-friendly behaviour contribute to household GHG emissions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse whether the changes in concern, personal responsibility and climate-friendly behaviour affected the EU household sector total (HGHG), heating/cooling and transport activities GHG emissions from the Paris Agreement until the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in the EU in 2019. Results showed that household changes in choice of green energy supplier significantly reduced, and changes in insulation of home to reduce energy consumption and heating degree days significantly increased the GHG emissions in household sector. Considering the heating/cooling sector, changes in choice of green energy supplier significantly influenced the reduction of GHG emissions. Meanwhile only changes in climate change concern significantly influenced the reduction of transport activities GHG emissions. Therefore, this study provides a new insight for policymakers how to reduce GHG emissions in the household sector.

Do environmental pollutants carrier to COVID-19 pandemic? A cross-sectional analysis.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a highly transmitted disease that spreads all over the globe in a short period. Environmental pollutants are considered one of the carriers to spread the COVID-19 pandemic through health damages. Carbon emissions, PM2.5 emissions, nitrous oxide emissions, GHG, and other GHG emissions are mainly judged separately in the earlier studies in different economic settings. The study hypothesizes that environmental pollutants adversely affect healthcare outcomes, likely to infected people by contagious diseases, including coronavirus cases. The subject matter is vital to analyze the preventive healthcare theory by using different environmental pollutants on the COVID-19 factors: total infected cases, total death cases, and case fatality ratio, in a large cross-section of 119 countries. The study employed the generalized least square (GLS) method for robust inferences. The results show that GHG and CO2 emissions are critical factors likely to increase total coronavirus cases and death rates. On the other hand, nitrous oxide, carbon, and transport emissions increase the case fatality ratio through healthcare damages. The study concludes that stringent environmental policies and improving healthcare infrastructure can control coronavirus cases across countries.

Energy and environmental sustainability of waste personal protective equipment (PPE) treatment under COVID-19.

Combating the COVID-19 pandemic has raised the demand for and disposal of personal protective equipment in the United States. This work proposes a novel waste personal protective equipment processing system that enables energy recovery through producing renewable fuels and other basic chemicals. Exergy analysis and environmental assessment through a detailed life cycle assessment approach are performed to evaluate the energy and environmental sustainability of the processing system. Given the environmental advantages in reducing 35.42% of total greenhouse gas emissions from the conventional incineration and 43.50% of total fossil fuel use from landfilling processes, the optimal number, sizes, and locations of establishing facilities within the proposed personal protective equipment processing system in New York State are then determined by an optimization-based site selection methodology, proposing to build two pre-processing facilities in New York County and Suffolk County and one integrated fast pyrolysis plant in Rockland County. Their optimal annual treatment capacities are 1,708 t/y, 8,000 t/y, and 9,028 t/y. The proposed optimal personal protective equipment processing system reduces 31.5% of total fossil fuel use and 35.04% of total greenhouse gas emissions compared to the personal protective equipment incineration process. It also avoids 41.52% and 47.64% of total natural land occupation from the personal protective equipment landfilling and incineration processes.

Effect of COVID-19 virus on reducing GHG emission and increasing energy generated by renewable energy sources: A brief study in Malaysian context.

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has globally affected the human mortality rate and economic history of the modern world. According to the World Health Organization, COVID-19 has caused a severe threat to the health of the vulnerable groups, notably the elderly. There is still some disagreements regarding the source of the virus and its intermediate host. However, the spread of this disease has caused most countries to enforce strict curfew laws and close most industrial and recreational centres. This study aims to show the potential positive effects of COVID-19 on the environment and the increase of renewable energy generation in Malaysia. To prevent the spread of this disease, Malaysia enacted the Movement Control Order (MCO) law in March 2020. Implementation of this law led to a reduction in environmental pollution, especially air pollution, in this country. The greenhouse gases (GHG) emission , which was 8 Mt CO2 eq. from January 2020 to March 2020, reduced to <1 Mt CO2 eq. for April and May. The reduction of GHG emission and pollutant gases allowed more sunlight to reach photovoltaic panels, hence increasing the renewable energy generation.

How ICT can contribute to realize a sustainable society in the future: a CGE approach.

Many information and communications technology (ICT) services have become commonplace worldwide and are certain to continue to spread faster than before, particularly along with the commercialization of 5G and movement restrictions in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Although there is a concern that ICT equipment usage may increase power consumption and emit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, ICT has also been contributing to reducing GHG emissions through improved productivity and reduced mobility. This research targeted the main ICT services used in Japan and adopted a dynamic national computable general equilibrium model to quantitatively analyze future impacts on economic growth and GHG emission reduction until 2030 by using these ICTs, while considering both the increase in power consumption of ICT itself and the reduction in environmental load in other sectors. The results showed that the spread of ICT services, especially some artificial intelligence-based services, can improve productivity in most sectors through labor-saving and contribute to improving overall gross domestic product (GDP). Additionally, increased efficiency of logistics and manufacturing can greatly reduce the input of oil and coal products and so greatly contribute to GHG emission reduction. In 2030, compared with the baseline scenario in which all technology levels are fixed at current levels, at least 1% additional GDP growth and 4% GHG emission reduction can be expected by the targeted introduction of ICT in the ICT accelerated scenario in which the technology level of ICT accelerates. This also means ICT can potentially decouple the economy from the environment.

Investigation of the urbanization contribution to the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran and the MECA countries.

The main objective of this research was to disclose the correlative contribution of urban-associated factors affecting the COVID-19 outbreak in the macro-scale of MECA countries and the downscaled micro-scale of the provincial divisions in Iran. For this purpose, the correlation coefficients between the variables and clustering analysis were used to expose the possible effects. Results revealed the comparatively strong relationships between some independent variables (e.g., total greenhouse gas emissions, CO2 emissions, nitrous oxide emissions, and urban population) and confirmed cases (R from 0.619 to 0.695), demonstrating the possible effective role of urbanization and its induced GHG emissions on the COVID-19 outbreak in the country level of the MECA region. Therefore, the results significantly confirmed the strong relationships between some independent variables (e.g., total population, urban population, fuel consumption, NO2-CO2 emissions, energy use, and total intra-changed travels) and confirmed cases (R from 0.724 to 0.945), explaining an explicit relationship between urbanization processes and the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran. Besides, the HCA results revealed the substantial role of the urban population and urban-induced energy use and gas emission in clustering locations regarding the COVID-19 outbreak in both the MECA region and Iran. The main implication of this research is to give a practical correlation between Coronavirus infection and urban constitution, aiming to increase the health of urban societies by creating effective planning in the future.

The carbon footprint of a UK University during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to compare the carbon intensity of higher education delivered on- and off-campus. This is attributed to governmental lockdown orders that have forced Universities to close their campuses, ban business travel and move all teaching and learning activities online. This study represents the first known attempt to compare the carbon footprint of a mid-sized UK University produced during the COVID-19 lockdown (April-June 2020) against that generated within the respective time period in previous years. Although the overall carbon footprint of the University decreased by almost 30% during the lockdown, the carbon intensity of online teaching and learning was found to be substantial and almost equal to that of staff and student commute in the pre-lockdown period. The study contributed to an emerging academic discourse on the carbon (dis)benefits of different models of higher education provision in the UK and beyond. The study suggested that policy and management decisions on transferring education online should carefully consider the carbon implications of this transfer.

Indirect implications of COVID-19 towards sustainable environment: An investigation in Indian context.

Efficacious transmittal of COVID-19 has compelled numerous countries worldwide to embrace temporary yet dramatic measures such as locking down entire cities, restricting all forms of transportation, imposing lockdowns, maintaining social distancing etc. These actions have considerably enhanced the quality of ambient air and water. India, being a densely populated country, imposed a strict nationwide lockdown mandate since the last week of March 2020. This paper discusses the effects of COVID-19 restrictions on several aspects of environment broadly in Indian scenario. The forward course of action in the present and probable scenarios has also been addressed. As the disease spread is still underway, lockdown restrictions yet to be lifted and the availability of metadata hitherto being restrictive, firm deductions and explications could not be made. This case study i.e. observing the effects of lockdown, is a unique opportunity to understand how the environment reacts to sharp reductions in anthropogenic activity.

Food waste management during the COVID-19 outbreak: a holistic climate, economic and nutritional approach.

Improving the food supply chain efficiency has been identified as an essential means to enhance food security, while reducing pressure on natural resources. Adequate food loss and waste (FLW) management has been proposed as an approach to meet these objectives. The main hypothesis of this study is to consider that the "strong fluctuations and short-term changes" on eating habits may have major consequences on potential FLW generation and management, as well as on GHG emissions, all taking into account the nutritional and the economic cost. Due to the exceptional lockdown measures imposed by the Spanish government, as a consequence of the emerging coronavirus disease, COVID-19, food production and consumption systems have undergone significant changes, which must be properly studied in order to propose strategies from the lessons learned. Taking Spain as a case study, the methodological approach included a deep analysis of the inputs and outputs of the Spanish food basket, the supply chain by means of a Material Flow Analysis, as well as an economic and comprehensive nutritional assessment, all under a life cycle thinking approach. The results reveal that during the first weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown, there was no significant adjustment in overall FLW generation, but a partial reallocation from extra-domestic consumption to households occurred (12% increase in household FLW). Moreover, the economic impact (+11%), GHG emissions (+10%), and the nutritional content (-8%) complete the multivariable impact profile that the COVID-19 outbreak had on FLW generation and management. Accordingly, this study once again highlights that measures aimed at reducing FLW, particularly in the household sector, are critical to make better use of food surpluses and FLW prevention and control, allowing us to confront future unforeseen scenarios.