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Cooperative co-evolution (CC) is an effective framework that can be used to solve large-scale optimization problems. It typically divides a problem into components and uses one optimizer to solve the components in a round-robin fashion. However the relative contribution of each component to the overall fitness value may vary. Furthermore, using one optimizer may not be sufficient when solving a wide range of components with different characteristics. In this paper, we propose a novel CC framework which can select an appropriate optimizer to solve a component based on its contribution to the fitness improvement. In each evolutionary cycle, the candidate optimizer and component that make the greatest contribution to the fitness improvement are selected for evolving. We evaluated the efficacy of the proposed CC with Optimizer Selection (CCOS) algorithm using large-scale benchmark problems. The numerical experiments showed that CCOS outperformed the CC model without optimizer selection ability. When compared against several other state-of-the-art algorithms, CCOS generated competitive solution quality.

In conventional building design projects architects make pre-design and conceptual design decisions on buildings and hand these down to structural and building services engineers to follow up with design development. It is well known that the conceptual design stage of a project is the point where decisions make the most impact, and changes can be made at least cost. The sustainability and innovation aspects of projects often suffer in this respect. One way of addressing this is through Integrated Design Methods that set out mobilise the full potential of all design disciplines on a project by getting them to work effectively together. This method involves architect, engineers, contractors, and owners/clients in all design phases. The current literature reported fundamental principles and processes of Integrated Design however current industry practices do not fully embrace them. Introducing integrated design studios into university pedagogies is a key step in addressing this. Reports on methods of setting up integrated design studios in a university context are however rare. The aim of this article is to develop and document the underlying settings for such design studios. The principles and best practices for applying integrated design are identified. A specific framework of settings in university context is developed and the justifications presented. This article may be of value for the industry and universities to setup integrated design studios to better foster integrated design education.

Abstract We model game-theoretic situations in which agents motivated by Kantian ethics interact with conventional Nashian agents. We define the concept of generalized Kant–Nash equilibrium which encompasses the Nash equilibrium, the Kantian equilibrium and the Kant–Nash equilibrium as special cases. We show the existence and uniqueness of a Kant–Nash equilibrium in a static game of climate change mitigation, and derive its properties. In a dynamic setting, we analyze a differential game of climate change mitigation in the presence of both types of agents, and compare their Markov emission strategies. For both the static model and the dynamic model, as the population share of Kantians increases, the quality of the environment improves, and both types of agents are better off.

Feed in tariff (FiT) is one of the most efficient ways that many governments throughout the world use to stimulate investment in renewable energies (REs) technology. For governments, financial management of the policy is very challenging as that it needs a considerable amount of budget to support RE producers during the long remuneration period. In this paper, we illuminate that the early growth of REs capacity could be a temporary boost and the system elements would backlash the policy if financial circumstances are not handled well. To show this, we chose Iran as the case, which is in the infancy period of FiT implementation. Iran started the implementation of FiT policy in 2015 aiming to achieve 5 GW of renewable capacity until 2021. Analyses show that the probable financial crisis will not only lead to inefficient REs development after the target time (2021), but may also cause the existing plants to fail. Social tolerance for paying REs tax and potential investors trust emanated from budget related mechanisms are taken into consideration in the system dynamics model developed in this research to reflect those financial effects, which have rarely been considered in the previous researches. To prevent the financial crisis of the FiT funding and to maintain the stable growth in long term, three policy scenarios are analyzed: continuation of the current program with higher FiT rates, adjusting the FiT rates based on the budget status, and adjusting the tax on electricity consumption for the development of REs based on the budget status. The results demonstrate that adjusting the tax on electricity consumption for the development of REs based on budget status leads to the best policy result for a desired installed capacity development without any negative social effects and financial crises.

<p>To understand how global warming can be kept well-below 2°C and even 1.5°C, climate policy uses scenarios that describe how society could transform in order to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Such scenario are typically created with integrated assessment models that include a representation of the economy, and the energy, land-use, and industrial system. However, current climate change scenarios have a key weakness in that they typically focus on reaching specific climate goals in 2100 only. <br><br>This choice results in risky pathways that delay action and seemingly inevitably rely on large quantities of carbon-dioxide removal after mid-century. Here we propose a framework that more closely reflects the intentions of the UN Paris Agreement. It focusses on reaching a peak in global warming with either stabilisation or reversal thereafter. This approach provides a critical extension of the widely used Shared Socioecononomic Pathways (SSP) framework and reveals a more diverse picture: an inevitable transition period of aggressive near-term climate action to reach carbon neutrality can be followed by a variety of long-term states. It allows policymakers to explicitly consider near-term climate strategies in the context of intergenerational equity and long-term sustainability.</p>

AbstractREDD+ presents novel options for conservation in the tropics, yet it is unclear how biodiversity‐focused organizations or actors should react to these carbon‐focused opportunities. Here, we critically assess for the first time the expected outcomes of five contrasting scenarios of engagement between a biodiversity actor and REDD+. We discover that in the Berau regency, Indonesia, it is usually beneficial for a biodiversity actor to react in some way to REDD+, but the preferred reaction depends on whether a REDD+ project is already developing in the region, and the scale and type of conservation objectives. In general, from a strict biodiversity perspective, the most cost efficient reaction to the presence of REDD+ is to use biodiversity funds to protect areas neglected by REDD+. Our results demonstrate that if biodiversity actors fail to adapt the way they pursue conservation in the tropics, REDD+ opportunities could go largely untapped.

Coastal systems are increasingly threatened by multiple local anthropogenic and global climatic stressors. With the difficulties in remediating global stressors, management requires alternative approaches that focus on local scales. We used manipulative experiments to test whether reducing local stressors (sediment load and nutrient concentrations) can improve the resilience of foundation species (canopy algae along temperate rocky coastlines) to future projected global climate stressors (high wave exposure, increasing sea surface temperature), which are less amenable to management actions. We focused on Fucoids (Cystoseira barbata) along the north-western Adriatic coast in the Mediterranean Sea because of their ecological relevance, sensitivity to a variety of human impacts, and declared conservation priority. At current levels of sediment and nutrients, C. barbata showed negative responses to the simulated future scenarios of high wave exposure and increased sea surface temperature. However, reducing the sediment load increased the survival of C. barbata recruits by 90.24% at high wave exposure while reducing nutrient concentrations resulted in a 20.14% increase in the survival and enhanced the growth of recruited juveniles at high temperature. We conclude that improving water quality by reducing nutrient concentrations, and particularly the sediment load, would significantly increase the resilience of C. barbata populations to projected increases in climate stressors. Developing and applying appropriate targets for specific local anthropogenic stressors could be an effective management action to halt the severe and ongoing loss of key marine habitats.