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This data set contains the essential files used as input for the analysis, intermediate files produced during the analysis, and the key output fields. The code of the analysis is available here: https://github.com/VUB-HYDR/2021_Thiery_etal_Science Input fields: - isimip.zip: Postprocessed ISIMIP2b simulation output. This data set is very similar to the data presented in Lange et al. (2020 Earth's Future) but includes selected additional impact models and scenarios (notably RCP8.5). This data set also includes the gridded population data. - GMT_50pc_manualoutput_4pathways.xlsx: Global mean temperature anomaly trajectories from the IPCC SR15 - wcde_data.xlsx: postprocessed cohort size data originally obtained from the Wittgenstein Centre Human Capital Data Explorer. - WPP2019_MORT_F16_1_LIFE_EXPECTANCY_BY_AGE_BOTH_SEXES.xlsx: Postprocessed life expectancy data originally obtained from the UNited Nations World Population Programme Intermediate files *only use if you're interested in reproducing the results*: - workspaces.zip: Postprocessed ISIMIP2b simulation output. These matlab workspaces contain data on land area annually exposed to extreme events which is stored in a format designed to speed up the analysis. - mw_isimip.mat: ISIMIP2 simulations metadata (e.g. model, gcm and rcp name per simulation) - mw_countries.mat: information on the countries used in the analysis (e.g. border polygon coordinates) - mw_exposure.mat: age-dependent exposure computed from the ISIMIP and population data - mw_exposure_pic.mat: pre-industrial control age-dependent exposure computed from the ISIMIP and population data - mw_exposure_pic_coldwaves.mat: pre-industrial control age-dependent exposure to coldwaves computed from the ISIMIP and population data Output of the analysis: - mw_output.mat: Matlab workspace containing all variables produced during the analysis presented in thepaper. Use this file if you wish to look up certain numbers or want to use the study results for further analysis.

This dataset underpins the study "Synergies and conflicts of energy development and water security in Africa". The study provides insights into energy supply and demand, power generation, investments and total system costs, water consumption and withdrawal as well as carbon dioxide emissions for the African continent. We developed a model to evaluate energy supply and water requirements to cover the energy needs of the African continent during the period 2015-2065. The model was developed using the open-source modeling system for long-term energy planning OSeMOSYS. The objective function is to minimise total energy system costs, rather than, for example, co-optimise the energy and water sectors. Other energy resources were also included in the model except for adding the water analysis, and the dataset was updated based on the latest available information. The OSeMOSYS model developed to conduct the study “Energy projections for African countries”, itself extended from the Electricity Model Base for Africa (TEMBA), was further extended, included exports for all fuels, water loss due to evaporation in hydropower plants and more scenarios examined. Furthermore, the latest available data on the energy system of Africa was also updated. The TEMBA model produces aggregate energy, and detailed power system results in each country in the African continent. The power sector results are also reported with power pool aggregation. The OSeMOSYS model and input data used to produce these results can be found at KTH-dESA/jrc_temba: TEMBA 2.1 (Version v2.1) [Data set]. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4889373 (Authors: Ioannis Pappis, Vignesh Sridharan, Will Usher, & Mark Howells. (2021). The initial study was funded by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (contract number C936531 - JRC/PTT/2018/C.7/0038/NC).

AbstractMultinational conservation initiatives that prioritize investment across a region invariably navigate trade-offs among multiple objectives. It seems logical to focus where several objectives can be achieved efficiently, but such multi-objective hotspots may be ecologically inappropriate, or politically inequitable. Here we devise a framework to facilitate a regionally cohesive set of marine-protected areas driven by national preferences and supported by quantitative conservation prioritization analyses, and illustrate it using the Coral Triangle Initiative. We identify areas important for achieving six objectives to address ecosystem representation, threatened fauna, connectivity and climate change. We expose trade-offs between areas that contribute substantially to several objectives and those meeting one or two objectives extremely well. Hence there are two strategies to guide countries choosing to implement regional goals nationally: multi-objective hotspots and complementary sets of single-objective priorities. This novel framework is applicable to any multilateral or global initiative seeking to apply quantitative information in decision making.

<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>

Much of the debate on sustainability is predicated on the belief that environmental demands lead to the production of sustainable technologies that induce environmental benefits. This fails to account for the influential ways technologies are used in practice, and the interactions between users and technologies that shape their environmental effects. This article uses the example of how cars and their drivers together accomplish the practice of driving through their interactions with each other, and explores the implications this has for generating environmental outcomes. We draw on a body of literature that argues how together, users and technologies participate in carrying out practices that actively shape outcomes, and we show how and why this applies to sustainability. The article presents the case of the Toyota Prius, analyzing Toyota’s intent in designing a sustainable car and contrasting it with the perspectives of thirty-eight of its drivers. We find that the possibility for fuel and carbon reduction is coproduced and is a result of complex interactions between technology, drivers, and driving practice.